All aboard the We-Go-Swing. Wheelchair users will enjoy this addition in Merriam park
Merriam’s new We-Go-Swing has come to Chatlain Park, so people in wheelchairs can swing with others without leaving their chairs.
The swing allows riders — including those in wheelchairs — to cooperate in making the device move. Other adaptive swings make people leave their wheelchairs in order to board the swing, the city said.
At press time, a June 10 ribbon-cutting was scheduled at the park, 6300 Carter Ave., marking the first day of play.
Leak closes two Prairie Village pools
Prairie Village closed its adult and lap pools on June 4 so repairs could be made to the leaky piping system shared by the two pools.
The city said a repair was made earlier this year after extensive testing showed a clear leak under the adult pool in a supply pipe. But that pool was down 13 inches when crews arrived for water testing on May 30 during Memorial Day weekend.
“This leak is now more significant than we have experienced in the past, and is not a leak we can keep adding water to in order to keep the pools open all summer,” the city said in a news release.
Crews were to dig 10 to 12 feet down to isolate the piping and figure out the cause of the leak. The closure was to last for the duration of the repair, which had not been determined at press time.
The aquatic complex, at 7711 Delmar St., also includes a leisure pool, a baby/wading pool and dive pool.
Rec trail opens in Lenexa
Lenexa has now completed the Lackman Trail, which safely links several city parks and complements the Mill Creek trail system.
The new, 10-foot wide trail runs along Lackman Road from Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park south to 95th Street and then west along 95th to Loiret Boulevard.
Construction on the $2.5 million project began in spring 2020. To limit the amount of tree clearing, utility relocations and temporary easements, a retaining wall was built through parts of the project.
The new pathway connects four Lenexa parks: Sar-Ko-Par Trails, Bois D’Arc, Tamarisk and Electric. A pedestrian crossing was built on Lackman between Sar-Ko-Par Trails and Bois D’Arc parks.
SM Northwest wins academic decathlon
Shawnee Mission Northwest High School took first place in this year’s Kansas Academic Decathlon competition.
The team — captain Jesse DeBok, Ryan Beck, Varshini Murugesh, Christopher Ramsey and Jacob Sell — was tested in the categories of art, music, economics, math, literature, science and social science. The students also gave speeches, wrote an essay and participated in an interview.
The theme for this year was the Cold War.
Retired Shawnee chief lands new job
Retired Shawnee Police Chief Rob Moser will start a new job on July 1: coordinator of safety and transportation for the De Soto School District. Moser left the Shawnee Police Department early last year after nearly three decades there.
Magic show comes to Prairiefire
Las Vegas illusionist Greg Gleason is now presenting magic shows at the Prairiefire development near 135th Street and Nall Avenue in south Overland Park.
The 90-minute performances, which began June 4, start at 7 and 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 1 and 3 p.m. Sundays in the Gleason Magic Experience, an 84-seat theater next to the Brass Onion restaurant. You must be 21 to attend the 9 p.m. shows, but the Sunday matinees are family friendly.
Gleason attended high school in Topeka and worked at a Kansas City nightclub in the mid-1980s. The Prairiefire performances include magic, mind reading and sleight-of-hand gambling demonstrations that casinos don’t allow in Las Vegas. Audience members can get a good look at what Gleason’s doing on a large screen behind him.
Tickets are available at GleasonMagicExperience.com.
Museum offers Sensory Friendly Mondays
The Johnson County Museum has launched Sensory Friendly Mondays, a slate of programs aimed at making the museum accessible to more individuals and families.
From 9 a.m. to noon on the first Monday of the month, the museum now offers limited-occupancy sessions designed specifically for children with sensory processing differences and Autism Spectrum Disorders.
On those days, the KidScape interactive history exhibit, along with other programs, will be presented in a comfortable, low-sensory way. The initiative was developed with support from Britain Development, a program of AdventHealth Shawnee Mission.
Because of the July 4 holiday, the next Sensory Friendly Monday is July 12. Learn more and register at jcprd.com/museum. The museum is housed in the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center at 8788 Metcalf Ave. in Overland Park.
