Students artists create buttons for SevenDays ‘Make a Ripple, Change the World’ event
Students create buttons for SevenDays event
The artwork of eight local students will be part of the 2018 SevenDays “Make a Ripple, Change the World” event, an observance created to embrace kindness and diversity after a white supremacist gunman killed three people at two Jewish facilities in 2014.
This year’s observance will be April 10-16.
Each year, Seven Days offers buttons that reflect the day’s theme — Love, Discover, Others, Connect, Go, You, and Onward — plus an overall button. All students who entered the competition had to submit a design for each day’s theme.
The winners:
▪ Day One, Love: Beau Bezanson, senior at Blue Valley Southwest High School.
▪ Day Two, Discover: Gabbie Granoff, seventh-grader at Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy.
▪ Day Three, Others: Syeda Mahnoor, junior at Blue Valley West High School.
▪ Day Four, Connect: Anabeth Lakker, senior at Shawnee Mission West High School.
▪ Day Five, You: Olivia Barbosa, senior at Olathe South High School.
▪ Day Six, Go: Leslie Ponce Diaz, senior at Sumner Academy of Arts & Science in Kansas City, Kan.
▪ Day Seven, Onward: Ethan Ensley, sophomore at Shawnee Mission North High School.
▪ SevenDays 2018: Jonathan Ramos Tecorall, sophomore at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School.
Physician William L. Corporon and his grandson, Reat Underwood, were killed April 13, 2014, during a shooting at the Jewish Community Center and the same gunman also shot and killed Terri LaManno at Village Shalom that day.
SevenDays also is sponsoring a songwriting contest for young artists ages 14 to 21, which already is under way with submissions due Feb. 9. The top prize is a $3,000 scholarship. Learn more at givesevendays.org.
Help envision Overland Park’s future Jan. 30
Next week, Overland Park residents can help city officials determine how to improve the community during the next two decades and beyond.
A community workshop, which starts at 7 p.m. on Jan. 30 at the Overland Park Convention Center, is part of ForwardOP, a strategic planning initiative conceived in the fall of 2016.
Peter Kageyama, a TEDx speaker who wrote the books “For the Love of Cities” and “Love Where You Live,” will deliver the keynote address.
After his presentation, small groups will collect and discuss ideas for what Overland Park should be in the future and how to reach those goals.
The free event is open to anyone — including residents, businesses and visitors. RSVPs are requested through forwardop.org. Refreshments will be provided. The convention center is at College Boulevard and Lamar Avenue.
Writer/director Kevin Wilmott to discuss film
After a Jan. 25 screening of the 2013 film “Destination: Planet Negro,” writer/director Kevin Wilmott will lead a discussion at the Central Resource Library, 9875 W. 87th St. in Overland Park.
Set in 1939, the film focuses on African-American leaders who devise an unusual response to Jim Crow segregation: build a rocket and colonize Mars. The crew blasts off, but lands in present-day America. The event starts at 6 p.m.
Merriam court cases go online
Merriam has now put its municipal court cases —going back to July 2012 — online, so defendants and others can access them from home. The web address is merriam.org/court.
“By viewing their case online, defendants have an opportunity to view their hearing dates so the chance of failure to appear decreases,” Court Administrator Sheila Sheridan said in a news release. “It will also assist bonding companies and attorneys finding hearing dates on their outstanding cases.”
Sheridan said offenders can continue to pay their fines online and possibly avoid coming to court. This benefits the court, too, she said. With fewer defendants appearing personally, the daily court processes can go faster.
Lenexa Arts Council offers scholarships
The Lenexa Arts Council is offering art scholarships to 2018 graduating seniors. The deadline to apply is Feb. 15.
Scholarships will be awarded in literary, performing and visual arts. Find the application form by clicking on the news release at lenexa.com.
A new twist on ‘escape room’ idea
The “escape room” phenomenon is coming to the Ernie Miller Nature Center, 909 N. Kansas 7, early next month in Olathe.
Escape rooms are physical adventure games in which players solve puzzles and riddles using clues, hints and strategy.
In “Escape Room: Rescue the Animals,” participants will help find the nature center’s owl and ferret, which have been kidnapped by Owen the Outlaw. Teams must beat the clock to unlock two rooms to help the animals escape.
The 90-minute program, recommended for ages 5 and up, begins at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 9 at the center. It costs $9 for Johnson County residents or $11 for non-residents. Preregistration is required.
Register by phone at 913-831-3359 or click “Activity Registration” at www.jcprd.com, and search for barcodes 41977 or 41978 for the different rooms. There is a 10-person maximum per room and teams may be combined. Children under 16 must be accompanied by a participating adult.
High credit rating will minimize borrowing in Merriam
Merriam is likely to enjoy a low-interest rate when it issues $24 million in bonds for the community center that voters approved last year.
Why? Standard and Poor’s Global has given the city an “AAA” credit rating, the company’s highest. The rating should minimize borrowing costs.
The city said it received an “Aa2” rating with Moody’s Investor Service when it last issued bonds in 2012.
Learn about celebrity politics
Johnson County Community College professor Mark Harvey will give a lecture later this month on celebrities and their influence on public policy.
A reception will follow the presentation, which begins at 7 p.m. on Jan. 30 in the Hudson Auditorium of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. It’s part of the JCCC’s College Scholars program.
Olathe adds personal finance requirement for graduation
Starting with the class of 2020, Olathe School District students must take a half-credit of consumer science and personal finance in order to graduate from high school.
The school board approved the requirement this month as it revised graduation policies. It also addressed policies for early graduation.
Canyon Creek Elementary is the name
The Olathe School District’s 36th elementary school, which isexpected to open in the fall of 2019, will be called Canyon Creek Elementary.
The school is being built at 24001 W. 97th Terrace in Lenexa, in the northern part of the district. The school board approved the name this month.
Compiled by Elaine Adams, Special to The Star