Piper High School's Derrick Weller, who finished the season with an outstanding 37-5 record, finished in third place in the 145-pound 4A Kansas State Wrestling bracket last weekend.

Weller is a senior for the Pirates.

He was the only 4A wrestler from Wyandotte County to place in the state tournament.

Piper freshman Claire Bender was selected to sing in the 160-voice state-wide choir last weekend in Wichita, Kan.

It was Bender's fourth trip to the annual Kansas Music Educators Association's music conference. Bender had to audition for the choir, which only permits members who first audition.

She's currently in Piper High School's Concert Choir, which is directed by Shelly Cole.

WARM UP YOUR WINTER at the PIPER TROPICAL PARADISE

Sponsored by Security Bank of Kansas City

6TH Annual

PIPER HIGH SCHOOL AUCTION AND DINNER

When: Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Where: George Meyn Center

Wyandotte County Park

126th & State Ave

Doors Open & Silent Auction Begins...............6:00pm

Bar Opens...........................................................6:00pm

Dinner Buffet.......................................................6:30pm

Live Auction items all night long

*monies raised will go to offset expenses for arts, activities, and athletics at Piper High School

RSVP deadline is February 12, 2010

*must be 21 years of age or older to attend.

Questions: Please call Crystal Moore at 913-721-5218 or email at crystalmoore3934@yahoo.com

Ticket price: $25 per person-includes dinner and two drink tickets.

Please include your name, address, phone number and email address along with your check payable to PIPER HIGH SCHOOL AUCTION.

Mail your RSVP to: Piper High School Auction

9430 Hurrelbrink

Kansas City, KS 66109

**Thank you for your support**

Three wrestlers from the Piper Pirates placed in last weekend's Olathe North tournament.

Collin Zwart, Derrick Weller and Airen Maxwell each won their consolation brackets at last weekend's tournament at Olathe North High School.

• Zwart defeated Tobias Popchoke of Olathe North in the consolation bracket of the 140-pound bracket.

• Weller defeated Grain Valley's Zac Hoover in the consolation bracket of the 145-pound bracket.

• Maxwell defeated Lawrence's Brad Wilson in the 215-pound consolation bracket.

The top six teams in the field:

1. Lawrence
2. Shawnee Mission East
3. Harrisonville, Mo
4. Olathe North
5. Olathe Northwest
6. Grain Valley, Mo

U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore has nominated 27 candidates within his Congressional district who are seeking to attend military service academies, two of which are from Wyandotte County.

Bonner Springs HIgh School student Jacob Barren and Piper High School student Kevin Palmer were nominated today by Moore.

“Kansas has routinely nominated outstanding candidates to become military leaders,” Moore said. “I’m confident that with such exemplary academic and leadership skills, these young people will carry on that tradition and go on to excel at their respective service academies.”

Barren is looking to attend the U.S. Naval Academy, while Palmer is looking to attend the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and/or the U.S. Naval Academy.

They are two of 52 original applications, which Moore said was a record to his office.

The Piper Board of Education will conduct a special meeting on Monday, Jan. 25.

The meeting will be held to continue the discussion on whether or not the school district should outsource custodial services and other options to generate or save revenue.

The meeting will begin at the district's central office at 6 p.m.

Those in Piper worried about out of district students attending the Piper School District can now call a hotline or email a tip to the school district.

The hotline was established in late December after a small handful residents spoke out over the past two meetings about the district's need to get tougher on enforcing its residency codes.

Last night, board members discussed possible ways to make the rule stronger. Among the possibilities thrown out – turning over case by case to the county attorney.

"It puts more pressure on us to find out if the kids are liars," said Steve Adams, Piper Superintendent. (SEE UPDATE and Adams' comment in the comment section).

Still, while residents packed November's meeting about the issue, the hotline and email address both have been relatively silent so far, according to Piper Board President Rick Kaminski.

Locally, the school district is limited on what it can do to enforce the codes, as they have to enroll students who show any kind of proof of residency.

Once students have been claimed for the official enrollment present to the state for funding, they cannot be kicked out without the district reimbursing the state.

But Adams said the school district has found individual cases this year.

For those interested, the number is (913) 721-9005 and the email address is violations@piperschools.com.

UPDATE: Adams also said parents "find creative ways," so he wasn't just targeting students with his comments.

The Piper School District will be off from school Friday.

I'm hearing other school districts have closed in the area, but I haven't been able to confirm them yet.

UPDATE: Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools has been called off for Friday.

The Piper Board of Education will hold a special meeting on Monday, Jan. 4, 2010.

The purpose of the meeting, which begins at 6 p.m., is to discuss the Piper Educational Foundation and how it will be operated.

The District Office - 12036 Leavenworth Road – will host it.

(Photos and information courtesy of Melissa Bynum.)

Students in the five second grade classes at Piper Elementary participated in a holiday project of collecting hats, scarves, mittens and gloves for the young people served by PACES, Wyandotte County’s behavioral health services for young people.

PACES serves thousands of young people each year who experience mental, emotional or behavioral challenges; many of these young people also experience the need for warm winter clothing.

While last night's Piper Board of Education meeting contained mostly bad news related to budget issues, there was one source of good news.

In a revised facilities master plan, the district will not need another bond issue until 2012, rather than the originally scheduled 2010 plan.

However, the new plan will require the district to spend some money – on renovating the former Piper West Elementary building so it could become useful for students within the district.

"We will have to use the school in some fashion," said Steve Adams, superintendent of the district.

One issue that's been a headache for long-time residents of Piper has been students or families who are attending the Piper School District, but allegedly do not live in the district.

However, short of going door to door enforcement around Piper, there's nothing too dramatic the board can do to change it.

Donna Whitemen from the Kansas Association of School Boards spoke tonight at the Piper Board of Education meeting in front of board members and a handful of residents interested in the topic.

Although the board can put some "teeth" into the policy – most notably increasing the amount of paperwork required as proof to enroll in the district – the issue likely won't be solved this school year.

"We have no authority to enter people's homes without permission or no authority to investigate people," she said. "In the scheme of things we are in the business to educate children."

Whitemen said the tricky part of the residency requirement lies in just one simple phrase: "person acting as parent." The phrase is included in the Kansas Statues Section 72-1046 which defines school district residency.

"The definition is very broad," Whitemen said. "It is a broad statue and it's hard to pin down. Legally you have to educate them."

Employees of the school district are also allowed to enroll their students into the district, even if they do not live within Piper's boundaries. Any homeless child located in the district is also required by law to be enrolled if he or she chooses to be.

Still, some board members believe Piper's policy can be toughened up.

Board president Ron Kaminski suggested the idea of "law enforcement" and argued a case of "theft of services" could be made.

"The board wants to tackle this problem," he said.

However, Whitemen said the case would not be prioritized due to more severe crimes being investigated.

Piper residents, who often jumped into the discussion, suggested a "hotline" of sorts to provide the district with information.

Piper Superintendent Steve Adams said around 100 students are turned away due to fraudulent information or not meeting the district's guidelines.

On my way home from tonight's Piper Board of Education meeting, I snapped some shots of area homes decorated with Christmas lights.

More photos after the jump. More on the meeting later.

Last year, the Turner Golden Bears struggled in their opening tournament of the season, falling all three games.

This season, Turner won two out of three games at the Eudora Invitational and have started the season 2-2.

Austin Lewis and Chuck O'Neal each scored 14 in Turner's 54-35 victory against Bishop Ward, claiming fourth place in the tournament.

Turner jumped all over Ward to begin the game, leading 21-11 after the first quarter. A dominant second quarter provided a great edge to the Bears, as they took a 32-15 lead into the half.

Alfred Rangel led Bishop Ward with 11 points.

Pirates claim third

The Piper Pirates also won their second game of the Eudora Invitational, defeating Tonganoxie 59-43 in the third place game.

Piper jumped out to a nine-point lead in the first quarter behind tough, pressuring defense and timely shooting.

By halftime, Piper built a 38-26 lead.

With its tough defense continuing, Piper built its lead to as large as 19 late in the fourth quarter.

The Piper boys and girls basketball teams earned  season sweep to begin the season on the road.

The boys defeated Santa Fe Trail 73-63, while the girls prevailed 38-30.

After building a large lead early, the Pirates found themselves in a close one. Piper led at halftime 39-28, but the lead was shrunk to one after Santa Fe Trail outscored the Pirates 23-13 in the third.

Trailing midway through the fourth, Piper went on a run to build a 10 point lead late.

Piper was led in scoring by Jamal Jarret's 23 points. Russell Loomis and David Brown each added 14.

Danyelle Cole's 14 points led the Lady Pirates in victory.

Piper trailed at halftime 14-12.

The Lady Pirates' third quarter led the turnaround, as they outscored Santa Fe Trail by four points. Piper would complete the comeback with a 13-7 fourth quarter to their advantage.