The Mutual UFO Network of Missouri says there have been dozens of reports of very large UFOs over Kansas City and Lee’s Summit since Monday night.
Margie Kay of MUFON says some of the UFOs reportedly moved at extremely high speed. She says in the last 90 days there have been 84 reported sightings of UFOs in the Kansas City area.
Jeremy Irwin and Deborah Bradley plan to make a public statement today after Kansas City police say they’re no longer cooperating with investigators. Police want to know more about the disappearance of 10 month old Lisa Irwin from her crib Monday night or Tuesday morning.
Her parents have pleaded for her return, no questions asked. But police say they’ve stopped talking with detectives.
Opening night beckons, and I’m writing this when I should be glued to my playscript. But all bodes well for Romeo & Juliet, which opens tonight at Potter Hall. (Oct. 6-8 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9 3 p.m.)
Our final dress rehearsal went well, but left room for plenty of improvement for opening night. The lights, set, sound and props are ready. So is the cast.
The operative word for Wednesday’s final dress rehearsal was “energy.” That’s spelled E-N-E-R-G-Y, and should be shouted to the heavens. We did just that on Wednesday. And played a number of actors’ games to pump up the energy. It played out on the stage.
To the entire cast and crew: Break a leg! LOUDLY!
(Find previous blog entries here)
Missouri Western State University President Dr. Robert A. Vartabedian today introduced Kurt McGuffin as Western’s next director of athletics. McGuffin, currently assistant athletic director/director of athletics development at the University of Colorado-Boulder, will start at Western on Oct. 31.
”I believe that Kurt has the experience and professionalism to be an exceptional athletic director at Missouri Western,” said Dr. Vartabedian. ”I was especially impressed with his previous athletic administrative experience at universities of various sizes. Also, he has a track record of significant accomplishments in public relations, marketing and fundraising for intercollegiate athletics. Finally, he has some very good connections in our region. I ask all Griffons to join me in welcoming Kurt and his family to St. Joseph and Missouri Western.”
”It’s a great honor to be named Missouri Western’s athletic director,” said McGuffin. ”I look forward to working with Dr. Vartabedian and his administration, the coaches and athletics staff, and our student-athletes to keep the department moving in a positive direction.”
More than 80 people applied for the position. McGuffin was one of four finalists invited for on-campus interviews.
McGuffin has been at Colorado since 2010. In that position, he created and implemented a new annual giving program which increased total giving by 15 percent and added more than 600 members in the first year. He assisted with fundraising and development of a new $12.5 million court sport practice facility.
Prior to his time at Colorado, McGuffin served 10 years in the Kansas State University athletic department. From 2008-2010, he served as senior associate athletic director for external operations. He was the administrator for men’s basketball, men’s and women’s track and field/cross country and men’s and women’s golf. He oversaw all external operations in the department, including development, ticketing, marketing and communication offices. The department completed more than $25 million in facility enhancements.
McGuffin had a role in drawing more fans to Kansas State sporting events. He led marketing campaigns that generated the biggest football opening day crowd in Kansas State’s history and led the sales group that sold out men’s basketball games three out of four years. During his tenure, Kansas State women’s basketball and volleyball were in the top 10 nationally for attendance.
Previously at Kansas State, McGuffin served as associate director of athletics for development from 2005-2008. In that role, he directed the efforts of six fundraisers and four staff members to raise more than $12 million annually. He also oversaw the ticket office, which generated more than $16 million in revenue. McGuffin successfully completed the $90 million athletics department piece of the $500 million ”Changing Lives” university-wide capital campaign, and oversaw a $16.5 million growth in the endowment for athletics.
Also at Kansas State, McGuffin served as assistant director of athletics for annual giving and assistant director of athletic development. He also served as assistant director of athletics for development at the University of Idaho in 1999 and 2000, and as a graduate assistant for fundraising at Wichita State University, director of men’s basketball operations at Eastern Washington University and head men’s basketball student assistant at Kansas State.
McGuffin received his Bachelor of Science in Education from Kansas State in 1996 and his Master of Science in Education from Wichita State in 1999.
— MWSU News Release —
The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office says the man found dead at an old lumberyard Tuesday was the owner, 40 year old Christopher Lange.
Sheriff Mike Strong says there were no signs of foul play, though the death is still under investigation.
A passerby found the body near a door to the building along 169 Highway at Woodbine Road.
Kansas City police cancelled an Amber Alert but they’re still searching for a ten-month old girl who apparently was snatched from her crib Monday night.
Lisa Irwin’s father discovered her missing when he returned home from work Tuesday morning. More than 100 officers spent much of the day searching near the Irwin home in the northern part of Kansas City.
Investigators say the baby may have been taken by an intruder who entered through a window.
A Chillicothe apparel decorating facility will close in December, leaving approximately 125 without a job.
HanesBrands announced this week they will close the Gear For Sports facility in Chillicothe. Company officials say the employee’s will be provided with longevity bonuses and assist in career transitions.
While that facility is closing, another will open in what’s described as a lower-cost move. A company facility in Mexico will take over the operations currently held in the Chillicothe facility.
Gear For Sports will continue operating a facility in Lenexa Kansas. The Chillicothe facility opened in 2001. HanesBrands acquired Gear For Sports in November of last year.
Another big honor…the biggest yet…for the Student Chapter of the Wildlife Society at Missouri Western. They’ve been named the International Student Chapter of the Year by the Wildlife Society.
This is the first time a chapter from Missouri has won the international honor. The Missouri Western group has been named the North Central Section Student Chapter of the Year four times.
Faculty sponsor Dr. Cary Chevalier says, “Our students were recognized from a field of 119 student chapters in the US and Canada, including some of the largest, oldest student chapters at some of the most recognized natural resources management schools in the world.”
The Kansas Department of Transportation now expects complete work on the new Amelia Earhart Bridge in about a year. Construction work on the bridge spanning the Missouri River Buchanan County, Missouri and Atchison, Kansas was delayed over the summer months due to river flooding.
There were also fabrication issues related to the structural steel that will be used in the arch span portion of the new bridge.
Over the summer months, crews continued work on the bridge deck and on tie-in work to existing roadways on both the Kansas and Missouri side. Now that flood waters from the Missouri River have receded, crews can resume work from the river itself.
The structural steel components for the arch span section of the new bridge are scheduled to arrive on or before November 15, 2011.
As soon as the structural steel components begin to arrive, crews will begin installation work.
That work is expected to continue as weather permits throughout the winter season.
The new bridge was originally scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2011, but due to the delays is now scheduled for completion in fall 2012, weather permitting. The removal of the existing bridge is scheduled for early 2013.
The new Amelia Earhart Memorial Bridge, a four-lane, tied arch structure will stretch nearly 2,500 feet, distinguished by its double steel arches on the main river span and special aesthetic lighting. It will replace the existing two-lane structure, which was completed in 1938 and is too narrow to handle some of today’s larger truck loads and farm implements. The extra lanes also will accommodate the greater numbers of vehicles that now pass over the bridge daily.
The AE bridge replacement is a cooperative project funded by the Kansas Department of Transportation and the Missouri Department of Transportation. Of the $59.4 million construction cost, Kansas will contribute $30.6 million and MoDOT will contribute $28.8 million.
The Kansas Department of Transportation urges all motorists to be alert, obey the warning signs, and “Give ‘Em a Brake!” when approaching and driving through the project work zone. For more information on this bridge replacement project, please contact Kimberly Qualls, Northeast Kansas Public Affairs Manager, at (785) 640-9340, or Michelle Anschutz, Horton Construction Engineer, at (785) 486-2142.
The Missouri Department of Transportation announced another contract for repairs of a flood-damaged highway in Northwest Missouri.
The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission awarded a contract to Ideker Inc., of St. Joseph in the amount of $2,633,985.63 for a 2.2-mile repair and temporary resurfacing project for a section of roadway that runs from the Missouri River Bridge to east of Route 111.
The project is expected to be completed by December 15.
“We hope to restore access to local traffic as safety allows earlier than the completion date,” said Don Wichern, MoDOT’s Northwest District engineer in a news release. “Our goal is always to get these roads repaired as safely and quickly as possible so we can get them open for the public.”
