School lunch pro to dish up some advice
School lunch advocate to speak
Ann Cooper, a well-known chef who has become an advocate for healthier school lunches, will speak at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 7 in the Carlsen Center at Johnson County Community College.
“The audience should expect to be shocked at the little effort we’re currently contributing to school lunches,” said David Smith, JCCC professor of hospitality management. “They should ask themselves if what we’re contributing is enough.”
Smith also will lead a discussion about how the college is fostering healthy eating habits through the Open Petal Farm and the Children’s Garden at its Hiersteiner Child Development Center.
The free event is part of JCCC’s 50th anniversary celebration. RSVPs are requested at www.jccc.edu/events. Click on the Dec. 7 calendar item.
Home security discounts in Leawood
The city of Leawood has arranged $100 discounts on certain Ring home security devices — including doorbells and cameras — for the first 300 homeowners who attend a launch event on Dec. 11.
The launch is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Lodge at Ironwoods Park, 14701 Mission Road.
Under the initiative, Leawood will provide $50 for the subsidy and Ring will provide the other half. At the event, homeowners must provide proof of Leawood residence. Purchases must be made by credit card only.
If all the discounts are not redeemed on Dec. 11, the city will post an application form at leawood.org so other residents can participate until the funding limit has been reached. Go to the same website for more details.
Blue Valley deputy to lead Ray-Pec district
The Blue Valley School District will lose a deputy superintendent after this academic year when Mike Slagle takes over as superintendent of the Raymore-Peculiar School District in Cass County, Mo.
In a special meeting Nov. 23, the Ray-Pec school board tapped Slagle to replace Kari Monsees, who is retiring. Slagle will start his new job July 1.
Slagle, who has worked in Blue Valley for 25 years, has been deputy superintendent since 2015, according to a Ray-Pec news release.
That won’t be the only top administrative change in Blue Valley next summer. In February, the district announced that Tonya Merrigan would replace Superintendent Todd White, who is retiring after the current academic year. Merrigan joined Blue Valley in 1999 as a high school counselor, and worked her way up. She was a deputy superintendent when the announcement was made.
Humane Society seeks help after theft
The Heart of America Humane Society is looking for volunteer drivers, and monetary donations, after a catalytic converter theft disabled one of the organization’s cargo vans.
The drivers are needed on Saturdays to take a half dozen dogs from the Kansas City, Kansas, Animal Services location at 3301 Park Drive to a weekly adoption event at the Olathe PetSmart at 15255 W. 119th St.
The dogs are picked up around 11 a.m., and a return trip begins at 3 p.m. for those that aren’t adopted.
Humane Society board president Janet Franklin said that because of the high cost of repairing the 2005 van, the organization needs money to replace it.
“It is my understanding that this type of vandalism is happening more frequently,” she said by email. “It has been extremely disruptive to our mission of helping animals often overlooked in municipal shelters find their forever homes.”
Anyone willing to help can email Franklin at libraJH62@kc.rr.com or visit heartofamericahs.org
Property taxes due Dec. 20
Property tax statements have been going out to Johnson County taxpayers, who have until Dec. 20 to pay the first half of their real estate and personal property tax bills.
If taxes are paid by a mortgage company, the statement will say “THIS IS NOT A TAX BILL” at the bottom. A payment stub will be at the bottom for those who pay their statements directly.
Payments can be made online at taxbill.jocogov.org, by mail or in person. For more information go to jocogov.org.
Free holiday choir concert Dec. 8
The Johnson County Chorus and its select ensemble, the Choraliers, invite the public to a free holiday concert on Dec. 8. The event is a tribute to Eugene Butler, who started the chorus in 1979 at Johnson County Community College and was its first conductor.
The performance, which includes several of Butler’s compositions, begins at 3 p.m. in Yardley Hall inside the college’s Carlsen Center, College Boulevard and Quivira Road in Overland Park.
Sheri Cook-Cunningham will direct the program, which also features a guest women’s choir, Carmen Sororum.
County offers letters from Santa
If someone in your life would enjoy a personalized letter from Santa, you can get one from the fat guy’s helpers at the Johnson County Park and Recreation District.
Make arrangements by Dec. 13, either by visiting jcprd.com/formcenter (look under the 50 Plus subhead, and click on Letters from Santa) or by calling 913-826-2830. A short form will be completed with the recipient’s name, address, hoped-for gifts, and other particulars that can personalize the letter.
From there, Santa types and signs each one himself. The cost is $6 per letter for Johnson County residents or $7 per letter for nonresidents.
Pearl Harbor remembrance in Mission
The city of Mission will hold a reception and ceremony Dec. 7 to commemorate the 78th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which led to U.S. involvement in World War II.
The event is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Sylvester Powell Jr. Community Center, 6200 Martway St. The program will begin with a moment of silence at 11:55 a.m., the time in Kansas City that the bombing at Pearl Harbor began.
Scholarship goes to KU student from Olathe
University of Kansas senior Alex Murray who attended Olathe Northwest High School — will pursue a graduate degree in Ireland as one of only 12 national winners of the George J. Mitchell Scholarship.
Murray has focused his energies at KU on sustainability and environmental issues. He founded Net Impact KU, which promotes sustainability education for students and the local business community.
He expects to graduate with degrees in finance and environmental studies and then pursue an advanced degree in renewable energy and environmental finance at University College in Dublin.
“Growing up with agriculture playing such a significant role in my family, it brought to my attention these issues early on as something that can be an existential threat,” he said in a news release from the university.
Murray aspires to a career that merges his business and environmental interests. Financing and investment are key hurdles for those who want to address climate change, he said.
Merriam sets meeting on tax renewal
Merriam has scheduled an informational meeting for 7 p.m. Dec. 10 at City Hall, where voters can learn more about the city’s quarter-cent sales tax renewal that will be considered on January mail-in ballot.
The tax, which pays for street and stormwater projects, will expire at the end of 2020 unless voters renew it.
This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 12:00 AM with the headline "School lunch pro to dish up some advice."