Lenexa council hears new rental plan
Aaron Cedeño | Staff Writer
The Lenexa City Council heard at its meeting Sept. 25 an alternative rental registration plan.
Assistant City Administrator Matt Shatto presented councilmembers with a scaled-back, registration-only plan. The plan calls for rental property owners to pay $10 per unit and doesn’t call for proactive property inspections.
The previous plan called for registration of rental property, a $75 fee per single-family unit and $20 for additional units in duplexes and multifamily complexes and a proactive inspection policy. There were concerns about how to pay for the program.
Councilmembers’ opinions varied in regard to how best to approach the rental registration issue, though all seemed to agree that some type of plan would need to be enacted.
Councilmember Thomas Nolte was in favor of the registration-only proposal on the grounds that it allowed the city to get over the “startup hump” and gather updated census information on rental property in Lenexa.
“We’re in progress, and tonight we have the option to either walk away and do nothing or take the whole thing,” he said. “I’m saying we’re going to take a piece tonight.”
The council directed staff to explore the registration-only plan and a phased plan suggested by City Administrator Eric Wade. That plan calls for implementation of the original plan, which would be funded largely by the city’s general fund early on. That load would decrease on a yearly basis as the fees assessed to the property owners would be increased.
The council will discuss the issue again, but no date has been set.

Local documentary debuts at film festival
Aaron Cedeño | Staff Writer
Descansos.
It’s a small word of Spanish origin, but one loaded with emotional impact for those who understand intimately what the word means and what it has come to represent.
Translated literally, descansos means “place of rest.” Today, roadside memorials, often erected to memorialize the passing of individuals involved in automobile collisions, are known by that name.
Local filmmaker Melissa Villanueva knew nothing about descansos until she met producer J. Michael Kipikash, who was developing a feature film script about roadside memorials and the growing controversy surrounding them.
“(Kipikash) had recently written a screenplay, and he said ‘I think you’d be really interested in this; I want you to read it,’ Villanueva said. “Just reading the synopsis, I was blown away to think about how personal (a roadside memorial) really is.”
Kipikash mentioned that the subject matter lent itself to a documentary with potential for exploration, and Villanueva jumped at the chance to head the project. Armed with an idea and a limited budget, Villanueva was prepared to head to Wal-Mart to purchase a consumer-grade digital camcorder on which to shoot the film until Flagler Productions stepped in.
“I’d done about a year and a half of research, and I’d done fund raising for about eight months,” Villanueva recalled. “I had enough to fly in all the people I wanted to interview and pay a crew to work with me, and that was about it.”
The Lenexa-based Flagler Productions caught wind of the project and offered Villanueva the use of state-of-the-art production equipment, including the latest in high-definition camera technology. It was a chance any filmmaker, especially a first-timer like Villanueva, would love to have.
Villanueva took that opportunity and ran with it. After hundreds of hours of preparation, research and interviews, the result is “Resting Places,” a documentary that examines both sides of the controversy swirling around the descansos phenomenon. Opponents of roadside memorials say people shouldn’t be able to use public rights of way to display religious symbols.
The film recently played to a large-scale, paying audience for the first time as part of the Kansas International Film Festival at the Glenwood Arts Theater.
For a film produced almost entirely with Kansas City talent, utilizing equipment and facilities provided by a Lenexa company, the screening — and the positive response it provoked — was a big step forward.
“I think people in Kansas City are some of the most talented people on the planet,” Villanueva said.
The one notable exception to the crew’s roster of homegrown talent is a well-known name in the film industry. Oscar-nominated actor Liam Neeson narrates “Resting Places,” and Villanueva said a series of industry connections brought him to the project.
“We had to do a little more fund raising because an Oscar-nominated actor costs a little bit of money,” she said. “It was very much worth it, and he was very gracious when we met him, sharing stories of memorials he’d seen. He embraced the project and just blew me away.”
Now with production wrapped and her first film on the screen, Villanueva said she’s navigating the uncharted waters of distribution. One potential outlet is cable TV, with another possibility being a collegiate tour of the film.
Villanueva said that the continued cultivation of local talent was important. That’s why she’s working with Flagler Productions to develop a system that would offer assistance to budding filmmakers unsure of their next step.
“I’m proud of Kansas City,” she said. “I think it’s an amazing place to live and to work with all of the artists and the fashion designers and the music. We have such a rich culture, and I love that I have an opportunity to try to bring some attention here.”

Building to begin at City Center
Aaron Cedeño | Staff Writer
What began as an idea for Lenexa’s future soon will take physical shape.
On Oct. 1, Overland Park-based development firm Varnum, Armstrong and Deeter will play host to the “Up with Steel” celebration, which will commemorate the first of the steel beams being put into place at City Center East Village’s first two buildings.
The first building will be a four-floor structure, with 20,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor and 55,000 square feet of office space on the remaining three floors.
The second building is larger and will be a seven-floor structure. The first floor will have 36,000 square feet devoted to retail, topped by two levels of decked parking and four floors of residential condominiums.
Developer Ralph Varnum said his group expected a spring completion for the first building and a summer finish for the second.
“It’s an exciting development because it is this mixed-use, new urbanism type development,” he said. “That’s the kind of development that cities all over the country are encouraging and starting to see.”
Varnum said Lenexa’s City Center was unique in that it will have little of the surface-level parking one would find in a typical suburban shopping center.
“Most of the parking will be in parking decks,” he said. “It will have a true urban feel to it.”
Varnum said City Center East Village will total 600,000 square feet with eight buildings in the development.
“We’ve also just been approved for a Springhill Suites hotel by Marriott and some additional retail and additional parking — all in Lenexa City Center East Village,” he said. “That will be started later this year or the first part of next year.”

Former Chief speaks at chamber luncheon
Aaron Cedeño | Staff Writer
Future NFL Hall of Famer Will Shields knows a thing or two about role models. 
He’s been one, had several and understands the life-changing effect a good one can have on a young person’s life.
As a college football player at the University of Nebraska during the Huskers heyday under coach Tom Osborne, Shields was no stranger to notoriety. Speaking at the Lenexa Chamber of Commerce luncheon Sept. 19, Shields remembered a time when the reality of his potential to make a difference literally was staring him in the face.
“I’m thinking, I’m a college athlete, and I’ve got this little kid looking up to me and saying ‘You’re the coolest. You’re the best. I want to be like you when I grow up,’” he recalled.
“And I’m thinking, six months ago I didn’t even think I was going to go to college. I was thinking I was going to have to go to the military to get out of Lawton (Okla.), until these coaches started saying, ‘You know, you’ve got a little talent. You can play. You can do this, you can do that.’”
After the Kansas City Chiefs drafted him in 1993, Shields hit the proverbial ground running when it came to community service. After finding out that 16 of his teammates already did significant work within the Kansas City community, he was determined to be No. 17. And so with the help of his wife, Senia, the “Will to Succeed” foundation was born.  
What started out of the back of the Shields’ house in 1993 has grown into an entity that works with more than 60 organizations in Kansas City.
“We were trying to create all of these different things, and luckily I had some good people who were behind me that helped me put these plans into motion,” Shields said.  Though he understands the responsibility that his role as a public figure brings, Shields is familiar with the other side of the coin as well. Thanks to his time as a college football player, Shields can identify with the intense scrutiny and pressure that come with the fame — and potential fortune — of being a young athlete under such bright lights.
“The simple fact is that the athlete is held to a higher responsibility than the normal person,” he said. “So if you’re a normal kid on campus, and nobody knows who you are or knew what you’ve done, it stays on campus. But if you are that kid that’s out there on Saturdays performing, everything you do is big news.
“So I think as a community we do have to realize that they’re still kids, period.”
Since his retirement at the end of last season, Shields said, his wife and three children have kept him busy. He also indicated he may look into broadcasting or coaching.
Either way, he said, expect to see him continuing his work around town.
“I think what’s really important for me is that I like the kids program the best, and that’s what I’m looking forward to,” he said.

Latino art on display
Aaron Cedeño | Staff Writer
Those who have attended the Latino Art Bravisimo Festival in the past might notice a few changes this time around.
Lenexa previously celebrated Latino heritage in the area by organizing the event in June and July with a corresponding art show.
“This year, we’ve already had the art show, and we’ve moved the festival to September for a lot of reasons,” said Debbie O’Connor, recreation supervisor for the city. “Mainly because we felt like it might be attended better because there’s so many things going on during the time period we were trying to have it before.”
Weather also was a factor, as O’Connor noted that the event had received little help from Mother Nature in its previous incarnations.
So the city will try some indoor digs on for size from noon to 8 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Lenexa Community Center, 13420 Oak St. The city still will offer the public a day filled with fun and art of all types, with food and other merchandise available for purchase.
Even though the city decided to split the two events this year, the winners of the Latino Art Show in June and July also will have their work on display.
“We, the city, like to recognize the different cultural groups that we have that are moving into the area, and those that have been in the area for a while now,” O’Connor said. “It’s a very colorful event, and there will be a lot of singing and dancing and the art.
“It’s just a great day to celebrate that heritage.”
On top of displaying the cream of the Latino Art Show crop, various musical and dance acts will hit the Community Center stage. O’Connor said the event, which is free.
“I think it will be interesting for the entire family,” she said. “These groups that are performing are just wonderful, they’re very colorful, the music is beautiful and the dancing is just unbelievable.”

Holy Trinity’s 1969 eighth-graders reconnect at reunion
Aaron Cedeño | Staff Writer
With everything the Internet is used for every day, it’s nice to know it can be good for something as simple as reconnecting old friends.
Holy Trinity Catholic Church has existed since 1880 in the Lenexa area, with the first church being built in 1892 and the first schoolhouse in 1917.
On the weekend of Sept. 15, the eighth-grade class of 1969 had a reunion — getting back in touch after most had not spoken since graduation — and it was all thanks to the Internet.
Well, that and a little old-fashioned persistence.
“I received an e-mail from one of the classmates, Jesus Ortiz, because I had registered my name on classmates.com,” said Steve Wiesner, a member of the 1969 class who, along with Ortiz, helped organize the event. “We wanted to try and track down our classmates and see if we could do a reunion.”
Having the idea and getting people excited was one thing, but it didn’t take long for Ortiz and Wiesner to discover that putting together the event was another story.
“There was a lot of excitement initially,” said Ortiz, now a Florida-based psychiatrist.
“It’s typical psychological dynamics, and it was kind of like a honeymoon period. I mean, there was just this rush of e-mails, and then it kind of went down, little by little.”
Armed with nothing more than the locations of a handful of their classmates, Wiesner set out through hours of phone calls and online searching to locate the remaining members. He ended with a list of 38 names, of which 27 were able to make the festivities. Two others were part of the class but left the school before graduation.
Not a bad percentage, considering their starting point. Wiesner said the memory of a younger, simpler time drew them back together.
“It’s just because we were all in that class together, and we wanted to try to regroup,” he said. “It was just a fun time back then, and things weren’t so complicated.”
Ortiz and Wiesner both said the good memories of their time at Holy Trinity were almost too numerous to mention, and Ortiz felt the extensive time spent with such a small group of people — combined with each of them being at a more reflective point in their lives — provided the impetus for the reconnection.
“I think it’s great to be able to reconnect at this point in our lives,” he said. “This is middle age — a time when we’re reassessing where you’re at, where you’ve been and where you’re going.”
Mass was celebrated on Saturday evening by Father Jerry Spencer, a priest at the school during much of the time the class was there, and a couple of the group’s former teachers and school administrators attended. Wiesner said the event was special and a success.
“I think there was such a spirit of celebration and gratitude that went with it,” said Sister Evelyn Gregory, the school’s former principal.
Wiesner agreed and said the gathering might have revealed something about them that had gone unnoticed.
“It’s kind of like we have a bond that we didn’t know we had,” he said. “And now it’s kind of surfaced in everybody.”

Mill Creek kicks off Chiefs season with special lunch
Aaron Cedeño | Staff Writer
During Chiefs home games, Arrowhead Stadium is home to the country’s loudest, rowdiest group of fans, known as the “Sea of Red.”
Rod Smith, principal of Mill Creek Elementary School, has tried to bring a little bit of the Arrowhead atmosphere to his school by having a special “tailgate” lunch for his students and their parents before the first Chiefs home game.
“It was something I thought would be a great way to bring the dads in to eat lunch on a Friday,” said Smith, who has organized the event for seven years. “We always have lots of moms that come and join us for lunch, but this has been a hit with the dads because all of our dads, and the moms, love the Chiefs.”
Smith said it was a fun break in routine for the students. While being served a hot dog lunch — by their fellow students on the student council no less — in the gym, they get to eat with their parents, wear Chiefs gear, watch highlight films of past Chiefs teams and have the chance to win a number of prizes.
Smith said he could tell many of his students bled red and gold.
“The kids at Mill Creek, you can tell they watch the games,” he said.
“You’ll see a lot of kids today, the older ones as they come through, if they don’t have on their Chiefs gear, they have on their own jerseys.”
Events such as these are an integral part of the Mill Creek experience.
Smith said the school’s parent-teacher organization did a great job of getting the Mill Creek community involved with the school and provided plenty of opportunities for parent-student interaction during the school year.
“It’s vital,” he said of that interaction. “Community is what it’s all about, getting the parents into the school. We have no problem (with that) at Mill Creek. They come for any and everything, and they’re very supportive of their children’s education.”
A Chiefs fan himself (though he wasn’t particularly optimistic about the outlook for the team this season), Smith said he could see no reason “Red Friday” wouldn’t continue.
“I enjoy it,” he said.
“I don’t anticipate stopping this tradition because it’s been so much fun for the kids and parents.
“We’ll keep doing it.”

SM West raises nearly $23K during Relay
Aaron Cedeño | Staff Writer
It’s amazing what a group of high school students can do in five weeks with a little guidance and determination.
Shawnee Mission West High School recently had its fourth Relay for Life to raise money for cancer research. The Sept. 21 event began at the SM West track, and though rain temporarily drove the walkers inside to the school’s gym, senior Enaam Gettino, one of the event’s co-chairs, said the event was a success.
“Students had the option of going because it had rained so much, but a lot of them stayed,” he said.
Sarah Weiner, also a senior and co-chair, estimated that three-fourths of the approximately 400 students who attended stuck things out. She saw the event as beneficial for high school students.
“I think there’s a lot of purpose, not only in the fund raising but in the entire night,” she said. “I think there’s a lot that high school students can learn from the experience.”
Mary Lea Kieffer is a counselor at SM West and heavily involved with the event’s planning. She said that while SM West doesn’t require community service for graduation, the school does all it can to promote awareness among its student body.
“Now, we do not make it a credit situation, like where some schools require a certain number of hours of community service for them even to graduate,” she said. “We don’t do that. But we obviously are trying to encourage the students to get involved with the community as much as possible, especially through volunteer work.”
Kala Glass, a representative of the American Cancer Society, said participants raised nearly $23,000, which she said was impressive given the limited timeframe within which to organize the event.
“Most of the time we’ll take a couple of months to plan a relay, and we did it in five weeks,” she said.

Ritzman gives Vikings new weapon
Andy Marso | Sportswriter
The Shawnee Mission West football team was locked in a 0-0 battle in the second half of its showdown with Olathe South two weeks ago.
The Falcons were keying on SM West’s running game, holding star tailback JD Steffen to fewer than 40 yards through three quarters. Then Tony Ritzman started catching passes, and the Vikings caught fire.
Ritzman, a fullback, came out of the backfield wide open time after time as the Falcons bit on play-action fakes to Steffen. He caught short passes and turned them into solid gains, moving the sticks and keeping South’s high-powered offense off the field.
The Vikings won 20-14 to stay undefeated, and SM West knew it had another weapon.
“Anytime you can throw the ball, it helps you out,” SM West coach Tim Callaghan said. “We tend to take things kind of in segments. We weren’t ready those first two games to have our whole offense going, so we just didn’t do it. We needed to get better at our running game, so that’s what we did.”
Ritzman caught five balls for 53 yards against South. He proved to be a valuable safety net for quarterback DJ Balazs.
By checking down often to Ritzman, Balazs had by far the most productive game by a Vikings’ quarterback to that point. He completed 9 of 13 passes for 105 yards.
Ritzman got himself open again in last week’s 29-7 victory against SM South. He ended that game with three catches for 41 yards and a touchdown.
“That’s called our bootleg play,” Callaghan said. “We’ve run that for a long time. He just happened to be the one who came open.”
Ritzman’s reliability in the passing game has helped balance SM West’s offense, which was as run-heavy as any in the state the first two games.
Now, with the threat to throw established, the Vikings’ ground attack should keep rolling.
“It’s big for us,” Ritzman said. “It helps us spread the defense out to be able to get what we need in the running game.”
Though the offense is coming along, the Vikings’ calling card is still their defense. The unit has allowed a Sunflower League-low seven points per game during the team’s 4-0 start.
Last year, current University of Nebraska reserve Blake Lawrence led the defense, and it was a shutdown group. This year, it’s more of a “bend-but-don’t-break” unit that gives up 247 yards per game but rarely concedes a touchdown.
“Stats-wise, I don’t think we’re that dominant force,” Ritzman said. “The big thing for us is that they can get a lot of yards on us, but we can’t allow points.”
Ritzman, a middle linebacker who makes the Vikings’ defensive calls, has been a key cog in the defensive machine.
At about 5 feet 11 inches tall and 210 pounds, Ritzman is plenty big for a linebacker. But his greatest strength might be his mind. He has a 4.0 grade-point average, and Callaghan said his intelligence shows on the field.
“It not only lets him know what he needs to do, but he also has the ability to realize the whole defensive scheme and help out those guys who don’t know what they need to do,” Callaghan said.
Ritzman started on last year’s state runner-up team, but the Vikings have asked for a little more out of him this year.
With marquee players like Lawrence, Jared Witter, David Leonard and others having graduated, Ritzman has to be a leader for the Vikings to repeat their success.

St. James junior is a leader on the field
Garth Sears | Special to the Lenexa Centennial
A mother gave birth to her eighth child, but by midday none of her family members remained with her. They were watching big brother play football.
In a junior varsity game against Maranatha Academy, St. James Academy running back Ben Reynoldson scored five touchdowns: four on the ground and one receiving.
Reynoldson said more important than his phenomenal game was his new sister.
“I thought it would be pretty cool to do well on the day she was born, so we could talk about it when she grows up,” he said.
Reynoldson, a junior, is the varsity’s starting running back, but was playing in the JV game because St. James doesn’t have enough players.
“He has been a captain from the get-go,” coach John Muehlberger said. “He works incredibly hard. He has spent a lot of time in the weight room. He’s probably the strongest guy on the team.”
That’s impressive considering his 5-foot-7, 160-pound frame.
The glimpses of success he showed against Maranatha don’t go to his head. If anything, the coaches want more talk out of him.
“Ben has always been a lead-by-example guy,” Muehlberger said. “But we’d like to see him open his mouth more and be a vocal leader.”
Beyond that, Reynoldson cited improving speed and strength and staying consistent as areas he will work to improve on.
“I haven’t been able to put together a complete game,” Reynoldson said. “I’m trying everything I can to be a smarter football player.”

Cindrich provides spark for Cougars soccer
Tod Palmer | Sports Editor
Shawnee Mission Northwest’s boys soccer team hasn’t established a rich tradition in recent years.
But this season, the Cougars want to change that.
So far, so good.
After finishing fourth at the season-opening Olathe Invitational, SM Northwest opened Sunflower League play with three wins in four games.
One big reason for the turnaround is Cougars forward Tyler Cindrich, who leads the squad with five goals this season.
“(Coach Todd Boren) told me at the beginning of the season that we needed to look for a goal scorer, and if we didn’t find one we’d rotate people until we did,” Cindrich said. “That was the motivation I needed to kick it up a notch.”
SM Northwest dropped its league opener against Olathe East, which was ranked No. 1 in the state at the time. Another loss seemed imminent Sept. 11 against Olathe North before Cindrich, a senior, provided a spark.
He scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second half and then notched the game-winner less than nine minutes into overtime.
The Cougars since have extended their win streak to three games.
As a junior, Cindrich hyper-extended his knee in the season’s third game and then left-ankle problems cropped up.
“I’m more fast than I am a good handler with the ball, so basically I score most of my goals because of my speed,” Cindrich said.
Obviously, the leg injuries limited Cindrich’s effectiveness, and he finished the season with only six goals.
Things are different in 2007.
Cindrich sprained the same ankle early this season, but it barely slowed him down.
“I guess it’s just because I’m older and have another year of playing varsity, so I have more experience,” Cindrich said.
It doesn’t hurt that SM Northwest also has a couple of solid midfielders, seniors Jeremy Ibarra and Danny McMullen, who are doing a good job distributing the ball to Cindrich in positions where he can be dangerous.
Still, finishing the runs has been left up to Cindrich for the most part — something that suits him fine.
“When I get the ball, all I think about is trying to get to the goal,” Cindrich said. “It’s me taking someone on or trying to get the ball to someone who’s open. That’s what we’ve been looking for. The last four seasons, that’s what we’ve been missing and we haven’t had many good seasons. No one knew how to finish, so we’ve finally got that this year.”
Of course, winning also breeds a different atmosphere around practice.
“I used to not like going to practice at all,” said Cindrich, who used to play club soccer for the Southwest United Comets (SUC) and now plays for Legends World Cup. “I just liked the games, but now we all enjoy it more. We know we’ve got to get prepared to go win games and we know we can keep getting better.”
Winning has instilled the will to keep winning in SM Northwest’s players and ramped up their confidence, he said.
“We feel pretty good,” Cindrich said. “We’re a lot better than we were last year, and we keep getting better each game. The Olathe Northwest game was one of the best games we’ve played.”
Trailing 1-0, the Cougars’ offense caught fire en route to a 5-2 victory.
Cindrich, naturally, had one of the goals — the first one, which tied the game and ignited the rout.
“At the beginning of the year, I knew we had the potential, but I didn’t think we’d work together this well,” Cindrich said. “We have a lot of seniors on the team, and we’ve come together and played well. I’m a little surprised, but I like it.”
He’ll like it even more if SM Northwest can make a deep playoff run.
Soccer is, after all, Cindrich’s best sport.
He gave up basketball to play soccer year round.
Cindrich also bowls during the winter, “but I’m not really that competitive,” he said. “I just do it for fun.”

— Contact Tod Palmer at 764-2211, ext. 140, or todpalmer@theolathenews.com.

ONW gymnastics on upswing
Garth Sears | Special to the Lenexa Centennial
The Olathe Northwest gymnastics team was eighth in the league last year. At an early-season tournament this year, the team finished fifth.
Olathe Northwest gymnastics is going places.
“I think we’re improving,” said Kayla Shain, a junior. “It’s definitely getting better.”
One of the biggest changes in this year’s team is where they practice. They now are working out with the Olathe East gymnastics program.
And more than a simple change of scenery, the move allows Northwest to work with a more established squad, which finished as the state champion runner-up last year and are a threat to win the title this year.
“A lot of East girls can do most of what we’re trying to accomplish, so they can help us out,” Shain said.
The presence of their new workout partners has created more focused practice sessions and higher expectations.
“The Northwest girls are more willing to try new things,” Northwest and East coach Lydia Messenger said.
“And they have more support.”
So far, it has worked.
Aside from the team’s fifth-place finish at the Shawnee Mission North Invitational, some individuals are standing out early this season.
Of 35 all-around competitors, Shain placed seventh. Freshman Kelsey Adams finished fifth.
Adams is one of three freshmen on the varsity team, which also has one senior and two juniors. The recipe is right for a breakout.
The team doesn’t expect to take state by storm this year, but the girls think they’ll make their mark.
“I think we can make it to state,” Adams said. “And I think we can do well there.”