Embassy Suites coming to Olathe

Rendering of the Embassy Suites to be constructed at K-10 and Ridgeview in Olathe.

From Olathe Mayor Michael Copeland:

So you may be looking at this picture and asking yourself, “When did this hotel and conference center pop up on K-10 and Ridgeview?” Well…It’s only a rendering, but Olathe got one step closer to the Embassy Suites groundbreaking when the Olathe City Council Tuesday night, Aug. 20, approved the terms under which the hotel and conference center will be constructed. The developers hope for a March ’14 groundbreaking and a late 2015 opening.

 

From KMBC 9 News: Police investigate Johnson County crime spree

A witness took this cell phone photo of a car with Missouri plates that police think might be connected with the crime spree.

Overland Park and Leawood Police have determined that men armed with guns are on a crime spree through Johnson County.

The first incident happened at 10:04 a.m. in the 5700 block of West 119th Street at Menorah Medical Center when a man armed with a handgun forced a woman and her child into a vehicle.  The robber made her drive to a the Commerce Bank at 115th Street and Nall Avenue where she was forced to withdraw money from an ATM.  The suspect then made the victim drive back to the 5700 block of West 119th Street where he left the vehicle in an unknown direction, police said.

To read more and to view the television broadcast, click here.

 

KSU Aviation Camp takes off in Olathe

Submitted by Kansas State University

Kansas State University Salina and Kansas State University Olathe have partnered to offer an aviation summer youth camp this week on the Olathe campus. Nearly 60 campers, entering the second through seventh grades, participated from across the metro area.

During the camp, students practiced flying in a simulator, learned about air traffic control, the history of aviation, built and tested hot air balloons, and toured the New Century AirCenter control tower in nearby Gardner.

Campers also received a behind-the-scenes tour of the Garmin hangar at the airport, which included static airplanes, helicopters and other custom technology.

The camp was led by six K-State Salina flight team students and Tom Karcz, assistant professor of aviation.

Olathe Commons Apartment proposal sent back to planning by council — again

From OlatheEdge.com

For the second time this year, the Olathe City Council has denied the application for an apartment development plan located on 119th Street and Alcan Street.

City council members voted unanimously to send the plan back to the Olathe Planning Commission, which also denied the application at a meeting on May 13. The Olathe City Council also denied the application at a meeting in April.

The scaled down plan proposed Tuesday saw a reduction of overall apartment units from 550 to 510, thus declining the density from 18.9 apartments per acre to 17.5. The buildings on the south property line were reduced from three-story to two-story buildings. The new plan also reduced the total number of parking spaces from 1,016 to 807 spaces.

“We are trying to find a balance for everyone so we can bring a great project to Olathe,” said John Peterson, an attorney representing Maecommon, LLC, the developer of the project.

Johnson County’s Fun Fest feeds a growing need for food

Feed the Need campaign helps to stock shelves at local food pantries

Submitted by Gerald Hay
Johnson County Government

With the goal of stocking 164 tons of food in Johnson County food pantries, County employees will launch their annual Feed the Need campaign with a kickoff event scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 12, on the County Square in downtown Olathe.

The event, open to the public, will serve as a donation drop-off site as well as offering games, drawings for prizes, food booths, and a dunk tank. Feed the Need is the County’s annual food drive and is supported by its 3,800-plus employees.

The campaign goal has been set at 164 tons of food in either cash or food donations. Each donated dollar is roughly equivalent to four pounds of food.