The 5A Kansas State Wrestling Tournament was held last weekend and a number of individual wrestlers from Turner High School and Bonner Springs High School placed.

Here they are listed by school and weight –

BONNER SPRINGS:  Caleb Seaton 4th place (119 LB), Jonathan Blackwell 2nd place (130 LB) and Aaron Puckett 4th place (140 LB).

TURNER: James Lohman 5th place (125 LB) and Armando Alcantara 6th place (189 LB).

A list of all state qualifiers from all schools will be posted later.

The Turner Board of Education will hold a public meeting tonight at Turner High School from 6–8 p.m.

The forum will allow the district's patrons to give the district feedback on possible budget cuts.

Items that will be discussed: Previous budget reductions, possible reductions for the upcoming school year, Schools for Fair Funding, legislative information and feedback for district officials.

The meeting will be held in the school's commons area.

Turner Golden Bear volleyball star Marlene Yang has signed to play volleyball at Kansas Wesleyan College.

She signed this week with family members and school officials present.

Last year, 28,000 individuals in our area needed a blood transfusion.  This year, the local needs for blood are expected to rise. 

Community Blood Center, the provider of blood services to local hospitals, will be conducting a blood drive on Friday, March 5 at Turner High School in the Auxiliary Gym to help the local hospital patients in our area that depend on life saving blood donations.

“When individuals normally think of essential community services, they think about the fire and police departments,” said Dr. Jay Menitove, Executive Director and Medical Director with Community Blood Center. 

“However, because Community Blood Center is here to meet the needs of local patients, we would hope that individuals in our community would consider us to be just as essential.”

Individuals in Kansas City can help meet the local needs by donating blood at the Community Blood Center blood drive on Friday, March 5 from 7:15 am to 12:15 pm at Turner High School in the Auxiliary Gym, 2211 S. 55th St. 

To make an appointment online go to www.esavealifenow.org and use Sponsor Code turnerhs.  You may also contact Carla Parker at (913) 288-3334. 

Just one donation can help as many as two local hospital patients.  Community Blood Center must collect at least 580 pints of blood every day to meet the needs of our area. 

All registered donors will receive a t-shirt!  This event is sponsored by NHS/KAYS.

Santa Fe Trail, both boys and girls, defeated Turner Tuesday night at Turner High School.

The Turner boys were defeated by 57-38. A four-point first quarter for the Golden Bears hurt the cause early. Turner was unable to recover from the slow start, trailing by 38-27 after three.

Chuck O'Neal, Turner's leading scorer, was limited to just six points. Isiah Harris scored a team-high 13 points.

The Lady Golden Bears were defeated by a near identical score of 57-36.

Kayla Lupardes scored a team-high 10 points. Overall, eight Turner players scored.

Like the boys team, a four-point first quarter hurt the chances for Turner. The Lady Golden Bears trailed 28-13 at halftime and were unable to gain ground in the second half.

Kansas State Treasurer Dennis McKinney will address members of the Turner Lions Club tonight.

McKinney will speak at the meeting, which begins today at 6:30 p.m. It will be held at the Arthur Waugh Community Center, located at 831 S. 55th Street in Kansas City, Kan.

It's one of a handful of appearances he's making in the Greater Kansas City metro area.

Nicole Chapman signed a letter of intent to continue her volleyball career with Hesston College.

Chapman is a star for the Turner Golden Bears volleyball team. She signed the letter last week.

She was joined by her parents and current coach.

Photo courtesy of Turner High School.

While students in the Turner School District may have enjoyed their days off earlier this month because of a winter storm, they'll have to make up for it.

Three additional days have been added onto the schedule. Pre-K through 11th graders will have to stay until June 1, while the last day for seniors in the school district is May 24.

School was called off in Turner on Jan. 6, 7 and 8 of this year.

All changes have been approved by the Turner Board of Education.

“KU Confidential,” a new work created by University of Kansas theatre students, will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12; 9 p.m. Feb. 6 and 2:30 p.m. Feb. 7 and 13, at the William Inge Theatre in Murphy Hall.

Issac Dean, a threatre major Turner High School, is among those involved in the program.

The “KU Confidential” project has been under the direction of Henry Bial, associate professor of theatre. Tammy Keiser, a graduate student in scenography from Blue Springs, Mo., is the scenic, lighting and costume designer. James Diemer, a doctoral student from Carbondale, Ill., is sound and video designer.   
   
“For the last five months, our company of nine actors, a scenographer, a stage manager and an assistant director-dramaturg has been working collaboratively to turn the everyday incidents and experiences of their lives into a theater event that speaks directly and immediately to the KU student experience,” said Bial.
   
He said the company started not with a text but with the performers themselves.
   
“We explored our talents, our lives and our desires through experiments in word, sound and image,” said Bial. “Thinking, writing and acting together over an extended period of time, we developed a play that reflects a collective, multifocal artistic vision. We emphasized imagination, invention, risk and total commitment to the performance.”
   
General admission tickets for “KU Confidential” are on sale in the KU ticket offices: University Theatre, 864-3982, and Lied Center, 864-ARTS, and online at kutheatre.com.

Seating is limited. Tickets are $15 for the public, $10 for students and $14 for senior citizens and KU faculty and staff. All major credit cards are accepted for phone and online orders.
   
The Feb. 6 “pay what you can” performance is a benefit for the LeWan Alexander Spiritship Fund. There are no advance sales. Donations will be accepted at the door.
   
“KU Confidential” contains profanity and references to drug use and sex. It is not recommended for anyone under 17, Bial said.
   
Designers and members of the ensemble for the KU production are listed below by hometown, level in school, major, parents’ names and high school.

The Bonner Springs-Edwardsville School District and Turner School District have called off school for tomorrow, joining the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools District.

For those wondering why KCKCC and Piper are not on the list – they were scheduled to be closed tomorrow regardless of the weather.

For more listings, visit KMBC Channel 9's comprehensive closings list.

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.

After losing to Harmon in the opening round of the Eudora Invitational, the Turner Golden Bears defeated Paola 61-50 in its second game.

Turner jumped out dramatically, taking a 25-5 first quarter lead. While Paola chipped some points off the lead – they trailed 35-25 at the half – Turner held them off with an 11-6 victory in the third quarter, taking a 15 point lead into the final quarter.

Chuck O'Neal's 23 points led Turner, while added 13.

(NOTE: The Bishop Ward-East score was not available)

A car accident near Interstate 70 and the Turner Diagonal bridge has been reported to EMS.

There are no word on any injuries right now at the scene.

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The Wyandotte County Spelling Bee will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at Turner High School.

The 2010 Spelling Bee will include participants from students from the four public school districts in Wyandotte County, along with the private schools located within Wyandotte County.

Each school represented in the event features a "building champion." The winner of the county bee will receive a trophy and a first place medal. The runner-up and the third place winner will also receive medals.

The winner will also travel to the Regional Spelling Bee in Great Bend, Kan. If he or she wins that event, it's on to the National Spelling Bee.

The bee is opened to any pupil in Wyandotte County who has not passed the eighth grade on or before Feb. 1, 2010, and who has not turned 15 years of age on or before Sept. 1, 2009. 

The Turner Board of Education voted to cancel the first meeting of next month, scheduled for Jan. 5, 2010.

The decision was made at this week's meeting.