Category: Events

Fire Department offers tips on how to handle fireworks safely

Free fireworks displays to be in Bonner Springs, Turner

Fireworks can be sold from June 29 through July 4 in Kansas City, Kansas. Fireworks can be discharged between July 2 and July 4. This fireworks stand is near I-70 and 78th Street.

Consumer fireworks may be discharged between July 2 and July 4 in Kansas City, Kansas, and the Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department is urging residents and visitors to be cautious when using them.

Also, an alternative to purchasing and discharging fireworks at home is attending a fireworks display. This year, free fireworks displays are June 30 in Bonner Springs and July 1 at Pierson Park.

In addition, the Kansas City Monarchs are holding Fourth of July celebrations July 1-3 and Sporting Kansas City will have a fireworks display July 3.

According to John Droppelmann, Kansas City, Kansas, fire marshal and deputy fire chief, nearly 10,000 people are injured each year as a result of the improper use of fireworks.

Fireworks are on sale from June 29 through July 4 in Kansas City, Kansas, but may be discharged only from July 2 to 4.

Safety tips for using fireworks at home

Droppelmann offered several safety tips to reduce the potential for injuries while using consumer grade fireworks.

• Purchase fireworks from reliable sources, never discharge homemade or illegal fireworks.

• Have a responsible adult in charge and never give fireworks to children.

• Always read and follow label instructions for the safe discharge of fireworks.

• Prepare a safe environment outdoors for the shooting off of fireworks by selecting an area clear of other fireworks, combustible materials (dried wood, grass, or structures) and cut the grass low in the areas will fireworks will be discharged.

• Have water readily available such as garden hose or bucket; pump sprayers are reasonably priced and portable should a grass fire ignite.

• Dispose of fireworks debris in a non-combustible container and do not place it near or in a structure; leave it curbside and soak thoroughly with water.

• Never carry fireworks in your pockets.

• When lighting fireworks, never position any part of your body over the fireworks.

• Do not shoot or point fireworks at people or animals.

• Light fireworks one at a time and wait until it discharges; never attempt to re-light a firework that did not discharge the first time. Wait 20 minutes to approach the “dud” and soak it with water.

• Never shoot fireworks in or from metal or glass containers.

• Drive with a heightened awareness during this time as children will be distracted while using fireworks and may dart out from driveways and between vehicles.

Kansas City, Kansas, municipal ordinances

• Fireworks may only be discharged between the hours of 9 a.m. and 11 p.m.

• Fireworks may only be discharged from July 2nd through July 4th.

• It is illegal to shoot fireworks from, on, or under a vehicle whether it is moving or parked.

• It is illegal to throw or place any fireworks in any gathering of persons.

• It is illegal to shoot fireworks on any public roadway, alley, or sidewalk; within 150 feet of a fireworks stand, within 100 feet of a gas station, or within 1,000 feet of a hospital or home for the aged.

• It is illegal to ignite or discharge any fireworks in any building.

• Illegal fireworks include: “Home-made” ¼ and ½ sticks, M-80s, bottle rockets, missile-type rockets (with guidance fins) and sky lanterns.
Report any illegal fireworks by calling 911 or the arson hot line, 913-573-5555.

Free community fireworks displays

Bonner Blast scheduled on Thursday

Bonner Blast, 8:30 p.m. Thursday, June 30, at Kelly Murphy Park, 129 Elm St., Bonner Springs. The Bonner Springs City Band will play patriotic music starting at 8:30 p.m. Fireworks are planned. Refreshments will be sold to support the City Band. Those attending may bring a lawn chair. The event is sponsored by the city of Bonner Springs. No admission charge.

Turner Recreation’s Fireworks in the Park event scheduled on Friday

Fireworks in the Park, 9:45 p.m. Friday, July 1, at Pierson Park, 1800 S. 55th St., Kansas City, Kansas. The fireworks show will be weather-permitting. It is open to the public. There is no admission charge. This event is sponsored by the Turner Recreation Commission. Partners for the event are the Unified Government, Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department and Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office.

There is a map on the TRC website at https://www.turnerrecreation.org/departments/fireworks.php?fbclid=IwAR2kwKp4r-zVxxTqFWfsl-xXpPvIuyvdD8rmoT7ClP0ElQHYzuQ5duCybHo
showing where people are allowed and where they are not allowed during the fireworks show.

According to the website, when all the parking lots are full, the entrances to the park will be closed. Shelter 1 and Pierson Hall will be closed, while the other shelters will be open. There will be no parking on 55th Street. No alcohol or drugs will be allowed inside the park. No persons will be allowed within the safety perimeter for this event.

Fireworks with paid admission to sports events

The Kansas City Monarchs will play the Gary SouthShore RailCats this holiday weekend at Legends Field.

On Friday, July 1, there will be skydivers before the 7 p.m. game.

At 6 p.m. Saturday, July 2, the Monarchs’ theme will be Salute to Service, honoring service members, with post-game fireworks and military vehicles on display.

At 3 p.m. Sunday, the Monarchs are planning a post-game live concert, America’s Bash, featuring David Cook and Casi Joy.

Sporting KC will play at 7 p.m. Sunday, July 3, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. The New York Red Bulls will visit. There will be post-match fireworks.

Author to speak at Bonner library tonight

Steve Paul, author of a book about Ernest Hemingway, will speak at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 28, at the Bonner Springs City Library, 201 N. Nettleton, Bonner Springs.

His talk, “Hemingway: Before the Storm,” is part of this year’s sea-themed “One Book, Many Neighbors” program.

Paul has been a long-time arts and culture editor and staff member at the Kansas City Star.

Paul has written “Hemingway at Eighteen: The Pivotal Year that Launched an American Legend” and “Literary Alchemist: The Writing Life of Evan S. Connell.”

The “One Book, Many Neighbors” program is a cooperative effort of the Bonner Springs Library as well as libraries in Atchison, Basehor, Lansing, Leavenworth, Linwood and Tonganoxie.

Town hall discussion planned tonight on drug overdoses

The Kansas City District Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department will hold a free town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 28, at the Kansas City Kansas Community College Performing Arts Center, 7250 State Ave.

Since Jan. 1, there have been 70 overdoses and 13 overdose deaths in Kansas City, Kansas, according to a police spokesman.

Since 2018, the number of overdoses has doubled every year. That year, there were only 13 overdoses; last year there were 110. It is a troubling trend being played out across the United States in big cities, as well as small towns and those in between, like KCK, according to a police spokesman.

Counterfeit pills that are made to look exactly like those dispensed from a pharmacy are fueling the increase, according to police. They contain potentially lethal amounts of fentanyl – a drug that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Many who take the pills are unaware they contain fentanyl.

Once ingested or inhaled, most overdoses occur within seconds to minutes, the spokesman stated. The only way to prevent death is by quickly administering naloxone, known commonly by the name brand, Narcan, according to police.

The DEA selected the Kansas City metropolitan area as one of 11 locations in the U.S. for Operation Engage, a community outreach effort to address this nation-wide threat posed by fentanyl and methamphetamine. This is the first of several upcoming Operation Engage events scheduled for the area.

The event will feature a panel discussion followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience.

Panelists will include DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Rogeana Patterson-King; Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department Capt. John Diaz; Libby Davis, a Shawnee mother who lost her 16-year-old son last year to a counterfeit pill; Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department Battalion Chief Chance Grey and EMT Joshua Magaha; and Megan Fowler, LCSW, director of recovery services for First Call.

  • Story from Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department