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Briefly Noted: Two local Boy Scouts receive Eagle Scout badges; JCCC Trustees candidate forum tonight

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Two local Boy Scouts receive Eagle Scout badges. Hayden Moreland and Darren Hetzler with Troop 381 received their Eagle Scout badges at a ceremony Aug. 25 at the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, the troop’s sponsoring organization. Moreland is the son of Robert and Stephanie Moreland and is a recent graduate of Shawnee Mission South. For his Eagle Scout projects, he organized and led a team of volunteers who added a new trail section to the Shawnee Mission Environmental Science Lab by SM South. Hetzler is the son of Mark and Dana Hetzler and a current SM East student. He constructed and installed a Rockhurst hawk’s nest. It was put on top of a building at Rockhurst University so it would be quiet for the hawks. The project was to increase sustainability at Rockhurst and also a humane way to get rid of rodents at the university.

JoCo League of Women Voters to host candidate forum for Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees. The Johnson County League of Women Voters is hosting a candidate forum for the JCCC Board of Trustees today, Sept. 3, at the Nerman Museum on campus. The six candidates for the three available seats were invited to attend: Lori Bell, Colleen Cunningham, Jameia Haines, Nancy L. Ingram, Greg L. Musil and  Laura Smith-Everett. JCCC Prof. Terri Easley-Giraldo will moderate the forum. A public reception in the Nerman atrium will follow the forum, courtesy of the office of JCCC Pres. Joe Sopcich. The JCCC Faculty Association is partnering with LWVJoCo to host this event.

Congressional candidate’s record as leader of National Down Syndrome Society draws criticism from some in disability community. Sara Hart Weir, a Mission resident seeking the Republican nomination for the Kansas Third Congressional District seat, has highlighted her time leading the National Down Syndrome Society in her early campaign. However, she has faced “sharp criticism” from ex-staffers and parents “who allege that she used heavy-handed tactics to silence dissenting voices and valued access to Republican leaders over the interests of the disabled and their families,” according to a report from The Kansas City Star. Weir, who worked at the organization in high-level positions for seven years — spanning both the Obama and Trump presidencies — said that the NDSS engaged with both the Trump and Obama administrations. Other advocates have given Weir praise, including a Maryland woman who credits Weir for helping raise attention to a settlement she won after her son with Down syndrome was killed by off-duty sheriff’s deputies in 2013. [‘Hard to see her as an ally.’ Some in disability community wary of Weir’s campaign — The Kansas City Star]

Lenexa nonprofit Heart to Heart International to deploy resources after Hurricane Dorian. Heart to Heart International, a Lenexa-based nonprofit, is sending help to those in the path of Hurricane Dorian. The group has positioned itself to send volunteers to the Bahamas as soon as Dorian passes. An advance team with the nonprofit’s mobile medical unit was also sent to the southeastern region of the United States to prepare for the storm’s arrival. [KC-based Heart to Heart International deploying to Dorian’s path — KMBC]

About the author

Leah Wankum
Leah Wankum

Hi there! I’m Leah Wankum, and I’m the Post’s Deputy Editor. I’m thrilled to call Johnson County home, and I’m deeply committed to the Post’s philosophy that an informed community is a strong community.

I’m a native of mid-Missouri, and attended high school in Jefferson City before going on to the University of Central Missouri, where I earned a master’s degree in mass communication.

Prior to joining the Post as a reporter in 2018, I was the editor of the Richmond News in Ray County, Missouri. I’ve also written for several publications, including the Sedalia Democrat and KC Magazine.

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