September 2010 Downtown Shareholders Newsletter

Never open your door to someone you do not know.
Never let a stranger into your home.
Verify with your current alarm service provider the status of your account or if your account has been sold to another monitoring company. If your current alarm company is going out of business, you will receive notification of that fact - in writing, not notification from someone at your door.
Never allow yourself to be rushed into signing a contract. Most alarm monitoring contracts are for a period of 3 years, with heavy penalties for early cancellation.
Any person or company that is selling door to door must have proper identification and a license issued through Business License Enforcement.
If you have asked a solicitor to leave your property and the solicitor prevents you from shutting the door or feel threatened or harassed, call 911.
If you believe that you have been a victim of a scam, please call the Kansas Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division at (800) 432-2310.

If you have any other questions, please contact the Alarm Coordinator's Office at 913-573-6109.

Downtown KCK Lunch Hop

Get your weekend of to a great start by joining us as we discover delicious delicacies in Downtown KCK. As a group, we're visiting over 20 restaurants in the area during the next year. Held on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month, this is a great way to spend your lunch hour with friends!

Coming up...

Friday, September 10th
Jay WaLe's Bakery-Bistro
503 N. 6th Street
Enjoy a wide variety of delicious gourmet salads and sandwiches and a melt-in-your-mouth selection of cookies, cakes and pies, while you sit in this lovely, little bistro...It's almost like being in Paris! Bon Apetite!!

Friday, September 24th

Edwards Original Corner Market & Deli
81 N. Mill Street
Dagwood would love this place!! For a sandwich that's truly stacked high, you've gotta check this place out. It's been a tradition in the area for 51 years!

Lunch is at 11:30am. If you would like to carpool, just contact Beth Holtwick at 913-371-0705 a few days in advance to reserve your seat!

yum...yum...yum...yum...yum...yum...yum...yum...yum...

Corner Cafe Grand Re-opening!

New Taste, New Face, Same Place!!

Join us at the YWCA on
September 21st from 7am - 9am
1017 N. 6th St.
for Free coffee and pastries and to try out our new products.

New Café Menu
New Catering Menus
New Atmosphere

As a networking opportunity, organizations are welcome to setup a table to share info about their business for a $25 fee. Just contact Alexis McDaniel at amcdaniel@ywca-kck.org or 913-371-1105 ext 248.

This is a FREE event for all! The YWCA is dedicated to being a part of this community for many years to come.
YWCA

Arts Education Clases

Art Stories

Starting Saturday, October 1
10:00 a.m.

Share an endless fascination of God by exploring stories of faith through discussion and art on Saturday mornings at the Arts Center. Each class consists of 20-30 minutes of story-telling followed by time for each person to create art on the story. The stories are:

Inner Struggle (Jacob wrestling an angel)

Overcoming Obstacles (the battle of Jericho)

Befriending the Unfriended (Zaccheus)

Peace (Jesus calms a storm)

Welcome Home (the prodigal son)

Hope (new heaven and new earth)

Bring your sense of your inner child, your heart, your creativity and whatever you need for your art (pen and paper, pencils, paint and brushes, canvas, clay, musical instrument-whatever your talent needs). These classes are appropriate for ages 16 or older. Suggested donation of $10 per session. To register, email lori@imagodeiarts.org.

Wednesday afternoons for Youth
(ages 6-12)

Visual Arts/Performing Arts
September 1, 8, 15, 22, & 29 2 - 5 pm
Session 1 - 2:30-3:30 pm
snack time
Session 2 - 4:00-5:00 pm

Intro to Acting Class

September 18, 25, & October 1

$30 for all 3 sessions

(registration minimum: 3)

To Register: email lori@imagodeiarts.org or call 913-233-0266. All events held at

Imago Dei Arts Center at the Granada Theatre.

1015 Minnesota Ave., KCK

KCK School District's Goal

KCK school chief's big goal: Make district one of the top 10 in country

By DAWN BORMANN
The Kansas City Star

When Cynthia Lane became the KCK School District superintendent this year, she set a goal that initially struck even her biggest supporters as unrealistic. "Our journey is to strive to be one of the top 10 districts in the country," she said.

Impossible? Not in the heart of a woman who couldn't read until the seventh grade and yet has become a powerful force in Kansas education. "I had a great childhood, but, yeah, school was challenging," Lane said. The intervention she received at home and at school taught her how important it was to reach out to others. "I had a teacher who reached out to me," she said. Lane, 49, now spends her days and nights thinking about ACT scores that trail the state average and the 40 percent of district students who are not reaching basic achievement standards. As teachers returned for the school year earlier this month, she told them that the district's goals would be difficult - but hardly impossible.

"We are already among the best urban school districts in the country," she said. To begin accomplishing the goals, administrators this month unveiled a new curriculum that was aligned not just with the state assessment tests, but also the ACT, a college entrance exam.

The curriculum has goals for students and educators. The district will conduct "checkpoints" every four weeks to make sure educators identify and address learning difficulties immediately. The checkpoints will allow the district to take what Lane calls a "laser-like" approach to teaching and learning. "To get different results, you've got to take bold steps," Lane said.

The district recently moved 50 percent of the teaching staff at one under-performing middle school to other buildings. Yet the move drew little public reaction in a district accustomed to new approaches.

As Lane pushes her goal to be a top 10 district in the nation, there are plenty of skeptics. Even Board of Education member Richard Kaminski, who called Lane the best superintendent candidate he had seen in more than a dozen years of sitting on search committees, questioned the goal. He noted the district had not met less lofty goals in the past. "What makes you think that we're going to make (these) goals?" Kaminski asked at a board meeting in July. "I mean really, I just want to be realistic. It is frustrating for me that we're not meeting these goals."

Lane didn't flinch. "The thing that really is different here, Mr. Kaminski, is that we have expectations for the adults' growth as well," she said about teachers. "Keep pushing us," Lane told him. "We need that to make sure our students are going to be successful."

Community members appear to be on board with her plan. Mayor Joe Reardon gave his support when he spoke at the district's employee back-to-school rally, and local leaders applauded her efforts.

"I don't know anyone who has such passion for these kids," said Randy Callstrom, executive director of PACES, an agency dedicated to helping youngsters with emotional and behavioral health concerns and their families. "Cindy is always looking at how she can do things differently for kids." Callstrom has worked with Lane for several years, including when she and other school district officials created a program to better serve children with the most severe emotional and behavioral disorders. The program brings the mental health agency together with teachers. "She recognized that they were not serving a portion of kids," Callstrom said. "It was pretty out-of-the-box thinking."

Lane has a bachelor's degree in elementary education and a master's degree in behavioral disorders from Pittsburg State University. She earned a doctorate in special education administration from the University of Kansas. She has worked in education since 1982. Twenty-two years have been spent in the Kansas City, Kan., district, but she has also worked at Parsons State Hospital and Training Center and the Spring Hill School District. Lane started her career as a special education teacher and has an extensive background in the subject.

Callstrom has watched Lane mediate emotionally charged meetings with parents of special education children and district officials. "She's very good at bringing the child's needs and school district together," he said.

Lane said she would not reach her goal without help from the community and parents. "People will say to me, 'Good luck. You've got a big job ahead of you.' Thank you, but I don't need luck," because of a well-trained and able staff, she tells them. "And then I say to them, 'Are you ready to help us?'" For now, she is asking parents to take small steps, even if it's just asking a child what he learned in school that day. "We can become the best that we possibly can, but we won't be the greatest until we have fully engaged parents and a fully engaged community," she told district leaders in the spring.

Lane wants to see the district do more to encourage parent interaction with schools. She knows many parents hold down several jobs to make ends meet, but engagement in a child's education can meet any schedule, she said. "Every day, send positive messages to your child about school," she has told them. "Push past that 'I didn't learn anything today.'" Lane's mother dropped out of high school to care for family members. Lane's mother eventually returned to high school as a married woman - and graduated. It was a powerful example. Lane also encourages parents to get their children reading. The practice had a profound impact on her life. "Reading is the gateway. The ticket to life," she said.

Lane said it was her mother and a seventh-grade teacher who helped her decode the concept of reading. She grew up in a small Kansas town where her teachers cared about her school work, but they didn't realize the full extent of her reading deficiency. Lane got by because she could sight read and recognize many words, so she never felt truly behind in classes. "I didn't learn to read until I was in the seventh grade," Lane said. She praises her seventh-grade teacher and her mother for teaching her how to learn.

If her personal struggle with reading isn't enough to convince educators that intervention can help, Lane points to research showing that educators can overcome most any obstacle to help children. "We have the power and the capacity to overturn all of those negative aspects that come with children who come from challenging circumstances," she told school leaders. "So when we're thinking about our kids and we tend to think about, well, if our parents only would, if our kids only would, or if they only had, I want us to pause and be reminded that, yeah, it would be great if parents would be the best parents that they could possibly be all the time and that our kids had all these experiences. "But we - folks in this room and folks in the system - if we are doing our work the best, we can mitigate all of those negative circumstances. It's pretty awesome when you stop think about what we can do.

"Staying Alive"
Gives CPR New Life

The Bee Gees disco song "Stayin' Alive" might help people stay alive when they get CPR -- if their rescuer knows the 1977 tune. It turns out that "Stayin Alive" has a beat that's in sync with the recommended pace for chest compressions given during CPR. So researchers put the pop tune to the test. In a small study, 15 adults -- mainly doctors, most of whom had performed CPR in recent months -- got a refresher course in CPR. During that class, they listened to "Stayin' Alive" and were asked to time their chest compressions to the beat.

Five weeks later, participants took a CPR test. This time, no music was played. Participants said they felt they were better and more confident at CPR while listening to the music, note the researchers, who included David Matlock, MD, of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, Ill. "Properly performed CPR can triple survival rates for cardiac arrest, but many people hesitate to jump in because they don't feel confident about maintaining the proper rhythm," Matlock says in a news release. "Our research subjects felt that listening to "Stayin' Alive" improved their ability to perform chest compressions at the proper speed, and indeed their performance even five weeks later was excellent," Matlock says. By Miranda Hitti, WebMD Health News

Don't miss your FREE CPR and Disaster Training class this year!

NEXT CLASS - September 28!

As a benefit of working (or living) Downtown, employees (including your families) and residents are encouraged to take these classes. Training sessions will be held once a month at the YWCA, 1017 N. 6th Street, KCK. Lunch is provided for all classes. Please register by the Thursday before each class by contacting the American Red Cross at 913-321-6314. Certification provided upon completion of the CPR training and is valid for one year.

Residential & Commercial Space Available

The recently renovated Wheat State Pizza building is now available for lease. 1,380 square feet of Commercial Space includes 2 bathrooms, wood floors, tin ceiling and large windows up front. Priced at only $985 per month!

We also have a new house in Strawberry Hill as well! 512 Barnett is just finishing up (and that's where Downtown Shareholders had their deck party!). Make sure you swing by and take a peek.

1,230 Square Feet
2 Bedroom (Double Master)
2 Full Baths
Large Garage
Full Basement (Optional 3rd Bedroom)
High Ceilings
Large Deck
Energy Star Standard Construction
Energy Star Appliances Included

Priced at only $115,500!

*Income Restrictions Apply (10 yr. tax abatement)

Contact Evelyn Hudson at City Vision for more information 913-208-5897.

Make a difference in your community.

Be a part of Revitalizing Downtown.

Join Now!

Membership benefits and information available online at
www.downtownkck.org

Downtown KCK Calendar

Thursday, Sept. 2
Bucks for BBQ
Breit's Stein & Deli
412 N. 5th St
4pm - Close

Saturday, Sept. 4
Pancakes for PACES
Applebee's at Village West
8 - 10 am

Friday, Sept. 10
Downtown Lunch Hop
Jay Wale's Bakery-Bistro
503 N. 6th St.
11:30 am

Friday, Sept. 10
Historic Lowell Lofts Open House
1040 Orville Ave
3 - 6 pm

Friday, Sept. 10
Downtown KCK 2nd Friday Art Walk
5 - 8 pm

Sept. 11, 12, 18 & 19
Shakespeare in the Parking Lot
Alcott Arts Center
180 S. 18th St.
4:30 pm

Saturday, Sept. 18
Bilingual Information Fair
Big Eleven Lake
11th & State Ave
12 - 5 pm

Tuesday, Sept. 21
Corner Cafe Grand Re-Opening
YWCA
1017 N. 6th St
7 - 9 am

Friday, Sept. 24
Downtown Lunch Hop
Edwards Original Corner Market & Deli
81 N. Mill St.
11:30 am

Tuesday, Sept 28
FREE CPR & Disaster Preparedness Class
YWCA
1017 N. 6th Street
8:30am - Noon / 1:30 - 4 pm

Buck's for BBQ

Come and enjoy George's Famous Hot Wings & BBQ to support United Way!

Thursday, September 2
4pm - Close
Breit's Stein & Deli
412 N. 5th St
$7 per person

Live music from 6 - 8 pm by
83rd St. Jumbled.

Food Critique's Corner!

Our second KCK Lunch Hop was this last Friday at
Lou Lou's Cafe
1315 Fairfax Trafficway

Based on the Lunch Bunch's professional opinions, our top picks for the day were:

Meatball Spaghetti

Strawberry Cake, Lemon Bars & Pumpkin Bars

Hogie Sandwich

With a sparkling clean facility and an awesome wait staff, this cafe ranks big on down home hospitality!!

Make sure you swing by and check them out!! And tell them that the we sent ya!

Shakespeare in the Parking Lot IV

Alcott Arts Center is featuring
Shakespeare in the Parking Lot IV.
This years production is "Much Ado About Nothing" directed by Richard T. Sutton.

September 11, 12, 18 & 19
Curtain time is 4:30pm each day.
Cost is $5 each.

Alcott Arts Center
180 S. 18th Street
Kansas City, Kansas
913-233-2787

We encourage everyone attending to bring in their old cell phones to donate to the HopeLine Box. These phones are "cleaned" and redistributed to battered womens shelters and victims of domestic violence.

Free Friday Morning Coffee

CHWC is hosting coffee every Friday. Stop by, grab a cup, get a bite to eat and meet some new friends!

Every Friday
8 - 10 am
CHWC
2 South 14th Street
Kansas City KS

Pancakes!!

ALL THE PANCAKES YOU CAN EAT!!! Proceeds to benefit PACES and the kids we serve who face behavioral and emotional issues.

Applebee's at Village West
LABOR DAY WEEKEND
Saturday, Sept. 4
8 - 10 am
$6 for adults; $4 for kids 8 & under
(includes pancakes and beverages-coffee, milk, tea, juice, soft drinks;
bacon $1 extra for 3 strips)

Historic Lowell Lofts Open House

Don't miss your chance to tour the Historic Lowell Lofts during their Open House.

Friday, September 10th
1040 Orville Avenue
(just west of 10th,
just south of Minnesota Avenue)
3 - 6 pm

It is open to the public, and we'll have some refreshments. RSVPs are appreciated but not necessary. People can call 913-287-7636 or email sharilea51@gmail.com.

September is Yoga Month!

Explore the benefits of yoga and healthy living. We offer free classes, health tips, prizes and more during September 2010 (Yoga Month).

Please pre-register due to space limitations at www.kcfitnesslink.com/yogamonth.

Visit our Web site for a list of the free events and free registration. If you are a local business, please request a free Lunch and Learn about yoga and healthy living.

Introduction to Yoga Workshop
September 5, 2010
1:30 - 3:30 pm
Learn the basics of yoga breathing, postures and philosophy. Great for those new to practice and current students alike. Bring a yoga mat.

Yoga Classes and Open House
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Join us for free classes, art, food, live music and open house.
9 - 10am: Yoga class with live Flute music, beginners welcome
11 - 12pm: Free yoga class, beginners welcome
12:30 - 3pm: Open House Festival

Free Week of Classes
Monday, September 13, 6:30 - 7:30pm
Yoga Basics, Gentle stretching, breathing and toning. Beginners welcome.
Wednesday, September 15, 6:30 - 7:30pm
Yoga Basics, Gentle stretching, breathing and toning. Beginners welcome.
Saturday, September 18, 9:00 - 10:00am
Power Yoga, Fitness yoga for flexibility, strength and muscle tone.
Sunday, September 19, 11:00 - 12:30pm Relaxing Yoga, gentle yoga class emphasizing breathing, gentle postures and stress reduction.

Free Movie Night: Featuring Enlighten Up
Thursday, September 23, 6:30 - 8:30pm
Filmmaker Kate Churchill is determined to prove that yoga can transform anyone.

KCFitnessLink Events - School of Yoga, Massage and Holistic Health
510 N. 6th Street
Register: www.kcfitnesslink.com/events

Upcoming Events at Memorial Hall
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September 10, 8pm
Titan Fight Night II

September 11, 7pm
Cagefighting for a Cause

October 16, 6pm
Switchfoot w/ The Almost In The ((Sound)) Movement

Join Us On
FACEBOOK,
LINKED-IN & TWITTER!
Now you can follow us where ever we go by joining us online on Facebook, Linked-In and Twitter. Just click on the links below to sign up:

FACEBOOK
Linked-In
Twitter Address is DTSKCK

Get Your
Very Own
KCK Banner

Tote!

Now's your chance to own your very own collectable KCK Banner tote. Made from the actual banners hanging in Downtown, these totes are great to carry notebooks, laptops, and a variety of other items around town. They make a fun and unique gift too!

$25.00 per Tote

Limited Quantities Available!

Call Beth at 913/371-0705 Today!

Clean
& Safe

Program

Notice an area that needs cleaning, a person acting suspiciously, or just need an escort to your vehicle? Call an DID Ambassador. We're here to help you!

Cleaning: Call Ed at 913-371-0705

Security: Call James at 913-387-6331

2010

Downtown Shareholders

Gold Sponsors