March 24th – Mass mailing of advance ballots to registered voters, who have already applied for

What's on the ballot?

Shall the City of Kansas City, Kansas, be authorized to impose an

additional three-eighths of one percent citywide retailers' sales tax the

proceeds of which shall be used for the purposes of financing public

safety and neighborhood infrastructure, including the construction,

repair, and maintenance of roads, curbs, and sidewalks, the collection

of such Sales Tax commencing on July 1, 2010, or as soon thereafter

as permitted by law, and terminating ten years after its

commencement?

In my opinion, with all the funding that was supposed to be received from the Federal government as part of the bailout, I am done paying more taxes. I'm paying enough just by shopping at the Legends. They hired police officers, had public safety take wage freezes and cuts, so they should have saved money already to cover expenses.

KCK Sales Tax Election – April 13, 2010

Important Dates

There's a new Website out there that's "hlghlighting all things Dotte" related.

The new blog, "The Dotte," can be found at www.thedotte.com. As the message says – if it's Wyandotte County related, expect it to be found on the Website.

"The Dotte website aims to be a place of community news, and show case the pride that Wyandotte County has as a community," said Colin Curtis, the author of the site. 

The blog's Twitter page can be found here.

PHOTO: The above is a picture of the Kansas City, Kan., skyline taken by Steve Curtis. The photo is the blog's artwork.

While 2009 was a bad year economically for Wyandotte County, one low number that is encouraging was revealed at today's State of the Government address.

Unified Government Mayor/CEO Joe Reardon said 2009 was a record low in crime in Wyandotte County.

In the past 20 years, there's been a 48 percent decrease in crime overall in the county. In just the past two years alone, crime has dipped 20 percent.

"I applaud our police chief and all of our public safety officers who every day are keeping this community safe," Reardon said. "I thank our neighborhood groups for their sustained efforts at making our communities rich, vibrant places to live and raise a family."

The struggling economy isn't the only surprising reason that crime has dropped dramatically in the past two years.

For a while, the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department has been shorthanded for police officers.

Stimulus funding and a proposed sales tax increase for Wyandotte County would help hire new officers and address public safety issues.

An Internet grassroots effort campaign to bring the FIFA World Cup event to the Kansas City area has been underway since earlier this fall.

Nearly 10,000 residents all around the Kansas City metro area have signed a petition, which can be viewed here.

While the games will most likely be only played at the newly renovated Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., the entire area – including Wyandotte County – will see millions of dollars in economic impact.

With the restaurants, hotels and new soccer facility in Kansas City, Kan., the Kansas side of the state-line will certainly see some benefits from having the World Cup in KC.

The United States is attempting to become the host nation for either the 2018 or 2022 event. The entire national campaign can be viewed at www.gousabid.com.

Sealy Mattress, the largest bedding manufacturer in North America, will move its Wyandotte County location to 435 Riverpark next July.

The move is the result of a newer and larger facility – about 20 percent more than its current location. Over 100 manufacturing jobs will be maintained or created due to the move, which was announced this week.

Sealy will be located at the building for at least 10 years.

"Keeping the quality-driven and world recognized brand of the Sealy Mattress Company associated with Wyandotte County for at least ten more years is a huge credit to the community and our local workforce," Unified Government Mayor/CEO Joe Reardon said. "Our development team continues to work hard to retain local businesses, which will prove to be a huge advantage for Wyandotte County in the short and long-term."

The KCK plant manufactures products for Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Arkansas.

The Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas Police Department is currently accepting applications for the position of Patrol Officer. 

For more information regarding qualifications and instructions on how to apply, please visit our websites at www.wycokck.org or www.kckpd.org.  You may also contact our Recruiting Office at 913-573-JOIN or Human Resources at 913-573-5660. 

Deadline:   February 10, 2010.

One passenger in a two-car accident Sunday afternoon near the 18th Street and Interstate 30 intersection was injured.

The accident occurred at around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Vehicle one in the incident, driven by Matthew Aliber of Overland Park, Kan., failed to stop at the red light coming off the highway and struck the second vehicle, driven by Kansas City, Kan., resident Martin Aejo-Sanchez.

While the driver was not hurt, Aracela Alejo-Sanchez, a passenger in the second vehicle, was injured. She was taken to a local hospital.

Everyone involved was wearing their seat belts.

The University of Kansas Department of Student Housing has named its 2009-10 student leaders, including resident assistants for KU’s eight residence halls, proctors and food board managers for 12 scholarship halls and top officers for the five university housing organizations.

“We are pleased that these students have stepped up to fill important leadership roles,” said Diana Robertson, director of the Department of Student Housing. “At a time when KU housing has received national attention for its student programming and its facilities, we can’t forget the day-to-day leadership that these students contribute. For them to balance academic achievement plus this leadership role is indicative of their character and personal achievements.”

For the students chosen as live-in resident assistants, proctors, desk managers and food board managers, duties include serving as role models, handling administrative and programming duties and performing paraprofessional advisory functions for residents. Food board managers also coordinate menu planning and food purchasing for their assigned halls.

Housing organization officers are elected to represent their fellow student residents and organize and facilitate shared social, intellectual and cultural concerns and activities.

A handful of the students graduated from Wyandotte County schools:

• Cherika Melinda Marie Boyd, daughter of  Denise DePriest and Reginald Boyd,  Sumner Academy Arts & Science

• Maximilliano Sylvester Ayalla, son of  Monique and Sylvester Ayalla, Sumner Academy Arts & Science

• Amber Lynn Jackson, daughter of  Mack and April Jackson, Piper High School

• Mark Anthony Marquez, son of  Aileen Buchanan, Sumner Academy Arts & Science

• James M McIntosh, son of  Marvin and Deborah McIntosh, Sumner Academy Arts & Science

• Anthony Matthias Johnson, son of  Jeffrey and Antrina Johnson, Sumner Academy Arts & Science Kansas City

Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson last week decided to give the Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board yet another 60-day extension for selecting casinos in both Wyandotte County and Sumner County.

Only one casino application remains in Wyandotte County – a partnership between International Speedway Corp. and Penn National Gaming. Initially, the partners were once competitors for Wyandotte County's casino.

The casino would be built overlooking turn two at Kansas Speedway and would include a hotel in its second phase. The $361 million project would feature a hotel in a later phase.

The hotel plan and the timing of its completion sparked some minor controversy with the Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board this summer.

Chairman Matt Alt said the speedway's "proposal" would not be rubber-stamped just because it was the only viable casino application left.

According to a September 2009 Bureau of Labor Statistics' Monthly Labor Review, the number of jobs in Wyandotte County increased by 3,385 from 1990 to 2007.

The report was released today, showing that Wyandotte County went from 76,390 jobs to 79,775 jobs, a 4.4 percent increase from 1990. Even better news was this number: employment in private-industry increased by 8.5 percent.

Over 5,000 more jobs were created in the private sector. Meanwhile, the size of government decreased by nearly 10 percent from the same time period, as 1,659 jobs were eliminated.

The greatest boost to the Wyandotte County economy was provided by the areas of education and health services, as 5,153 jobs were created in those fields. Leisure and hospitality job services increased by 1,516.

The Kansas Speedway and additional development in Western Wyandotte County is credited in the report as a stimulant to the job growth.

The increasing jobs in Wyandotte County helped Kansas double the amount of new jobs as counties across the state line located within the "Kansas City Metro " area.

A few notes should be considered:

• The study's time frame was before the economy crashed in the middle of last year.

• It does not account for the new businesses that have opened up throughout Wyandotte County from '07 to the present.

The angle behind a sales tax increase for supporters is it targets those outside of Wyandotte County who travel here to shop.

However, reader John Altevogt makes a fair point in the comments section of a previous story about how Wyandotte County residents might respond to a sales tax increase. It's one worth exploring, especially in an economy that might not get better entering 2010:

Incidentally, just as an indication of what will happen if the sales tax is increased. I found out that I could buy the same tires at the Shawnee store cheaper than I could at the Legends store because the tax was higher at the Legends store. Bye-bye WYCO, hello Shawnee. So by all means raise the tax on goods and services in WYCO and watch people flee to places where they can purchase the same goods and services cheaper.

Can someone from Friends of the Lake for Wyandotte County Lake to tell everyone about the meeting coming up.  We need eveyone in Wyandotte County to attend. The lake has so much history and we need to get it on the National Register of Historical Places.  They are tearing down gazibo's and other buildings and we can't let this continue.  Nick Sloan, I hope you can gets soem information on what they are trying to do and write a story on it.  I have also heard that a private developer is trying to buy it and have houses built around it and gate it in like Lake of the Forest and Lake Quivera. That lake is our lake and belongs to the public and needs our help to protect it.  I hope a member of Friends of the Lake will get on here and tell us more about the meeting and what is going on. I am trying to find more information to post.