Category: Wyandotte County

KCK schools to hold resource fair and panel discussion on gun violence on Thursday

Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools is inviting the greater Kansas City community to a resource fair and panel discussion on gun violence.

The event is scheduled to take place at Harmon High School at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17. Harmon is at 2400 Steele Road in Kansas City, Kansas.

The first half of the event will feature more than two dozen organizations that offer resources to help promote positive health and wellness, according to a district spokesman. Organizations will include The Urban League, PACES (Wyandot Behavior Health Network), Turn the Page KC, Alive and Thrive WyCO, ThrYve, Grandparents for Gun Safety, Children’s Mercy Hospital, the Ad Hoc Group Against Crime, and more.

The second half of the evening will feature a panel of community leaders discussing ways to combat gun violence. Attendees will be able to submit questions before the panel discussion. Panel guests will then address their questions and concerns. Guests include KCKPS Police Department Chief Curtis Nicholson, Behavioral Health Coordinator Angela Dunn, Trauma Injury Prevention Specialist Olivia Desmarais, and Wyandotte County District Court Judge Delia York. KCKPS School Board President Randy Lopez will offer remarks regarding the violence crisis in the KCK community.

Dr. Anna Stubblefield, KCKPS superintendenet, will serve as moderator of the panel discussion.

“I look forward to this event in hopes that it will help us find answers on how we as a community can stop the violence,” Dr. Stubblefield said in a news release. “Violence in KCK affects everyone, and we should be able to come together to help resolve this issue.”

Dinner and beverages will be provided for those who attend.

  • Information from KCK Public Schools

Missing persons report issued for KCK woman

Joannie Wilcox

The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department has issued a missing persons report for Joannie Wilcox, 61, who lives on North 74th in Kansas City, Kansas.

Wilcox, who has a medical condition requiring prescription medications, left without her medications, according to her family, which is concerned about her.

She was last seen leaving in the evening of Nov. 9 near Washington High School, according to police.

Wilcox is 4-feet-9 with gray hair, according to the police.

Anyone who may have seen Joannie Wilcox or knows of her whereabouts should call 911 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS, according to the police.

Chamber examines election results, looks to 2023

Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

The Public Policy Committee of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce met Friday, Nov. 11 to assess the recent general election results and worked on its Legislative Agenda for 2023.

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, the incumbent Democratic Congresswoman for the 3rd District, was successful in winning a third term. She was able to defeat Republican challenger Amanda Adkins for a second time. Rep. Davids won despite Republicans who gerrymandered the 3rd District by stripping out traditionally Democratic areas of Wyandotte County and putting it in the 2nd Congressional District.

Wyandotte County will be represented by two Congress members. U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, a conservative Republican incumbent, defeated Democratic newcomer Patrick Schmidt by more than 35,000 votes.

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, the Republican incumbent, had little trouble defeating Mark Holland, a Democratic former Kansas City, Kansas, mayor, who lost by more than 200,000 votes statewide.

Third party candidates played an important role in the race for governor and lieutenant governor. The incumbent, Democrat Laura Kelly and her running mate, Democrat David Toland, were able to edge by, defeating Republicans, Attorney General Derek Schmidt and his running mate, Katie Sawyer. State Sen. Dennis Pyle, an independent candidate, and Seth Cordell, a Libertarian, attracted more than 30,000 votes. Had they not been in the race, most political observers believe Schmidt would have won. Pyle was upset that his Kansas Senate District had been gerrymandered.

Democratic legislative candidates were successful in Wyandotte County except for Bill Hutton, who lost to Republican Mike Thompson.

In reviewing its Legislative Agenda, the Chamber probably will keep many of its existing agenda items as its looks to 2023. The Chamber has traditionally supported STAR bonds, a finance method that uses sales tax to pay for infrastructure, the efforts of the district attorney to enforce business licenses, expanded Medicaid, origin-based sales tax, early child education, workforce development, sports book gaming and affordable child care.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is a member of Business West.