Author Spotlight
Kate Heitmann
The annual Student Council coat drive for the Johnson Country Christmas Bureau (JCCB) took place Nov. 9-18.
The drive was originally going to last until Nov. 12, but STUCO decided to extend it to Nov. 18 — the day when representatives from the JCCB picked up the coats.
For the past two weeks, students and staff were able to drop off coats in the large bins near the front office. As of Nov. 17, STUCO collected an estimated total of 40 coats.
Even though most students are at school only two days a week, the amount of coats collected were similar to last year.
“I go in [on] Wednesdays, Thursdays,” student body president and senior Sophie Rice said. “If I forget Wednesday [to bring coats in] I only have one more chance to get stuff there, as opposed to the traditional five. It’s just a little bit different.”
The JCCB provides a nine-day holiday shop for low-income families below the poverty line in Johnson County, where customers are able to pick out groceries, personal care items, books, gifts and winter clothing.
“It’s usually just a way around the holidays to help them and provide that support, because it is a pretty hard time,” Rice said.
Usually the can drive is also held during this time of year, but STUCO was unable to hold it as the JCCB is not accepting food donations due to COVID-19.
The former Stroud’s building on Shawnee Mission Parkway will be demolished to make way for a new Starbucks and two other spaces for lease, an estimated cost of just under $2 million.
The building will feature 6,200 square feet of spaces for lease and a Starbucks with a drive-through window.
Sophomore Phoenix Fisk is excited for the new Starbucks in Fairway. She gets Starbucks several times a week and is glad that there will be a new location opening right by her house in Fairway.
“Usually when I have a really slow day at school, I’ll go down to Starbucks and get coffee for my mom and I,” Fisk said. “I have noticed there isn’t [a Starbucks] over [in Fairway] so that should be nice.”
The Stroud’s restaurant closed last October in 2019. Before Stroud’s, a Mexican restaurant and a bakery occupied the building.
“The previous [businesses] in that particular building have struggled to be successful,” City Administrator Nathan Nogelmeier said. “So I think if we have a fresh building with some new and interesting tenants in there, that could be a really positive thing for the city of Fairway. Not only from being able to provide amenities to the residents that we currently don’t have, but also generate revenue from the city to help offset our operating expenses.”
The Fairway City Council has approved the development, however the developers contract hasn’t been made yet.
The purposes of the two other spaces has yet to be determined, but will most likely be retail, such as a restaurant or store, or a service component, like dry cleaning.
The developers are able to begin construction any day, but the city is still waiting on their request for a Community Improvement District — or in this case, a request to impose a 1.5 cent sales tax on the Starbucks.
The construction is estimated to be finished by next summer in 2021.
Tropical Storm Eta hit Florida, the Bahamas and Central America in early November, causing some counties and universities to cancel school, and residents to use sandbags as protection for their homes.
Tampa Bay experienced extensive flooding and overflowing bridges, causing some homeowners to find wildlife on their property, such as alligators and manatees.
Former East student and sophomore Lily Simmons, who moved to Watercolor, Fla. during quarantine, noticed higher winds and storm surges — big, rough waves due to storms.
“It’s definitely kind of scary to hear all of these stories and kind of experience that,” Simmons said.
In an interview with WFLA 8 news in Tampa, Fla., Mayor Jane Castor described Hurricane Eta as an “unpredictable storm in a very, very unpredictable year.”
According to the Associated Press, Eta was categorized as a category four hurricane in Nicaragua, with landslides and several power outages. A category four hurricane has winds ranging in 130-156 miles per hour and can cause extensive damages to houses, powerlines and trees. More than 20,000 people sought help in shelters from the massive power outages.
Hurricane Iota also made landfall on Nicaragua on Nov. 16 as a category four hurricane, just 15 miles away from Eta’s landfall, according to the National Public Radio.
Tropical Storm Eta set a record this year as the 28th named storm in one year since 2005. Storms are named if they sustain winds over 39 miles per hour. Meteorologists had to start using latin names because they’d gone through the entire alphabet already — hence the name “Eta.”
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