More than 200 officers Overland Park officers now equipped with body cameras
OP cops now wearing body cameras
After testing a couple of models this year and last, the Overland Park Police Department has now outfitted more than 200 officers with body cameras that they will wear while on patrol.
The cameras will capture audio and video, the city said, and can be activated automatically when the lights and sirens of officers’ patrol cars are turned on, which cuts the number of steps required for documentation in an emergency.
“We’re excited to bring this technology on board,” said Police Chief Frank Donchez. “The cameras will provide more transparency for our officers and the people and community we serve every day.”
The cameras, storage costs and maintenance are funded by a $750,000 project in the city’s 2019-2023 Capital Improvement Program.
The City Council last summer approved a no-bid purchase of the cameras from WatchGuard, saying their technology can sync with the dashboard cameras that the city purchased from the same company in 2017.
Overland Park didn’t adopt body cameras as quickly some other cities, but Donchez has said that in light of the city’s low crime rate, it made sense to wait and learn from the experience of early adopters.
Ridgeview Road extension delayed until spring
A new section of Ridgeview Road won’t open this year as planned in Lenexa, and officials blame a wet spring and summer and this fall’s early freeze.
Planners are now looking at a spring opening for the new segment, which will connect Kansas 10 to Prairie Star Parkway.
“The project is nearly complete,” the city said in a news release, “but due to low temperatures, the final 2 inches of asphalt must be delayed until spring.”
Work that isn’t dependent on weather, including sidewalks and lighting, will continue in the meantime.
College recognized for student voting
Johnson County Community College has received the highest ranking possible in a national nonpartisan effort to encourage college students to vote.
The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge encourages colleges to help students form the habits of active, informed citizenship and make democratic participation a core campus value.
At a Nov. 12 awards ceremony in Washington, JCCC received a gold seal award for achieving a student voting rate of 40 to 49 percent in the 2018 midterm election. JCCC’s student voting rate was 45.5 percent, a 23-point increase from 2014.
More than 560 campuses have joined the Challenge since its launch in summer 2016.
Students design science exhibits
Johnson County school districts were well-represented among the 20 finalists for this year’s Battle of the Brains contest, in which schoolchildren design potential exhibits for Science City at Union Station.
The competition is sponsored by the Burns & McDonnell engineering firm. Eight finalists are from Johnson County:
▪ Brookwood Elementary School in the Shawnee Mission School District.
▪ Olathe East and Olathe North high schools, both in the Olathe School District.
▪ Mill Creek Middle School and the Voyagers program, both in the De Soto School District. Voyagers comprises students from Clear Creek, Horizon, Riverview and Prairie Ridge elementary schools.
▪ Oxford Middle School and Wolf Springs Elementary School, both in the Blue Valley School District.
▪ Gardner Edgerton High School in the Gardner Edgerton district.
Volunteers cut red cedars, take one home
How about a fragrant Christmas tree that’s inexpensive?
An eastern red cedar can be yours if you are willing to help remove the invasive trees on Dec. 7 from Mildale Farm, a park system property at 35250 W. 199th St. in Edgerton. Kansas City WildLands is collaborating with the Johnson County Park and Recreation District on the event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Hay wagons will take participants to the tree site and back to their cars. Participants should bring hand saws, sturdy boots, work gloves and rope to tie their tree to their vehicle. Volunteers will help load the trees.
The cedars, which are leafier than typical pine Christmas trees, come in a range of shapes and sizes, and a minimum donation of $15 is suggested for each one. Proceeds will go to conservation efforts in Greater Kansas City.
Removal of the cedars is part of a prairie restoration project at Mildale Farm, which usually is accessible only by reservation. The native species is considered invasive because their shade kills off other prairie plants when they are allowed to proliferate.
For more information or to volunteer, contact Linda Lehrbaum at 816-561-1089 or linda@bridgingthegap.org, or visit www.kcwildlands.org.
MainStream Coalition hires new leader
The MainStream Coalition has chosen Michael Poppa to be its new executive director, as of Jan. 1.
Poppa was elected to the Roeland Park City Council in 2015 but did not seek re-election this year. He now works as director of member engagement at the Northeast Johnson County Chamber of Commerce.
MainStream noted that before joining the council, Poppa had championed a non-discrimination ordinance in Roeland Park that covered LGBTQ people. It was the first such measure adopted in Johnson County. He will succeed Brandi Fisher, who is leaving after about nine years with MainStream. The organization was founded in 1993 to combat political extremism in Kansas..
Luminary walk returns to arboretum
One of Johnson County’s most popular Christmas traditions, the Luminary Walk at the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, will resume on Thanksgiving weekend with candle-lit paths, gnome and fairy villages, holiday music, a child-sized gingerbread house, lighted displays and holiday trains, and free apple cider by a campfire.
Tickets must be purchased in advance for the event, which runs from 5 to 9 p.m. on these Fridays and Saturdays: Nov. 29-30, Dec. 6-7 and Dec. 13-14. The cost is $12 per person but free for ages 5 and under. Get details and tickets at www.opabg.org. The arboretum is at 8909 W. 179 St.
This year’s sponsors are First National Bank, Westlake Ace Hardware and Sarin Energy Solutions.
Asphalt in place on Nieman Road
The ride on Nieman Road is a smoother, now that crews have laid asphalt on a stretch of Nieman Road in Shawnee.
The work was done Nov. 19-20 between Johnson Drive and Shawnee Mission Parkway. It’s part of the Nieman Now! public works project, which had been delayed by weather and utility relocation that took longer than expected.
This story was originally published November 26, 2019 at 12:00 AM with the headline "More than 200 officers Overland Park officers now equipped with body cameras."