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First Judicial District CASA Association is celebrating its 30th anniversary. A party will be held Tuesday at Magnolia View Event Center in Basehor. Entertainment will include Penny Black, Brandon Jones and special guest Melissa Etheridge. Limited tickets for the event are available at www.casalvks.org CASA stands for “court-appointed special advocates.” CASA volunteers support children involved in the court system in Leavenworth and Atchison counties. CASA is headquartered at 100 S. Fifth St., Leavenworth. Children within the program may have encountered various circumstances wherein their home life has become unstable or unsafe. They may have experienced abuse of some type for which a judge requests the assistance of the CASA oversight agency to protect the best interests of the child.The CASA/GAL (guardian ad litem) program was founded in 1977 by the late Honorable Judge Soukup in Seattle, Washington. (CASA uses volunteers while guardian ad litem is a paid position.)In a video Soukup posted online five years ago, he explained why he founded the program. “It terrified me to make decisions about kids when I didn’t have anybody there that was only advocating for the child – not just an attorney but as a party to the case. I mean, every other person that’s not competent to represent themselves in a civil action of any kind is appointed guardian ad litem. Now, who’s more unable to represent themselves than a child?”Kelly Meyer is in her 19th year as executive director for First Judicial District CASA Association. She explained how CASA helps children.“Once a CASA is assigned to a case, they are assigned until that case closes – until they achieve a forever home,” Meyer said. “It’s the same person coming to their house – maybe once a week, maybe once a month. They are the ones showing up when they have parent-teacher conferences, checking to make sure they are going to their doctor’s appointments, going to every court hearing, making sure all their needs are being met and reporting directly back to the judge.”For over 20 years, Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson has represented children in court cases. “I started as a juvenile child in need of care attorney with Leavenworth in 2003,” Thompson said. “In doing that, I would appoint CASA case managers in child of need of care juvenile cases, too. We are the chief law enforcement officers for abused and neglected children.”Pinpointing a child in need of care may come in different forms.“Truancy might be something that opens the door to a finding of a child in need of care,” Thompson said. “We would appoint a CASA to make sure everything else is actually going smooth in the home. Maybe there’s just some disconnect. Or, perhaps, not only is the child missing school but here’s all these other needs this case is missing. CASA then plays a bigger role in making sure the child is getting their needs met.”Meyer said that the role of a CASA can be pivotal in a child’s life.“Research tells us that it takes only one person – one very strong person – in a child’s life that can make a difference and make them feel valued enough so that it will change the direction of their life,” Meyer said. CASA is an umbrella organization for two other support programs: CAC and CEVC.The Child Advocacy Center (CAC) partners with law enforcement and the Department for Children and Families to assist children during abuse investigations. CAC brings together a collective of law enforcement, medical professionals, child protective services, prosecutors and victim advocates to find the best solutions and help for a child caught up in abusive situations. The Child Exchange and Visit Center (CEVC) is designed to provide a safe, neutral space for noncustodial parents to conduct visitation with their child or children while court proceedings are pending. This includes supervised visitation, monitored visitation and child exchanges for parents. Meyer said that parents using CEVC will see a benefit.“Kids always love their parents,” Meyer said. “Most of the time, parents always love their children. They just don’t know how to do it correctly or they can’t learn how to do it correctly sometimes. And they can’t learn how to keep them safe – or they’re unable to keep them safe. That doesn’t make them bad people. Sometimes it just means they are unable to meet the needs of their child. That’s why we have a system that tries to make sure they’re getting everything they need to keep these kids safe.”CEVC helps get parents over hurdles by providing them with the tools and resources they need to become successful. CASA provides a structure to navigate that path. “If they’re here and we have eyes on them, we know they’re safe, the judge knows they’re safe, the residential parent knows they’re safe,” Meyer said. “And we can get over some of those hurdles. Sometimes they just need to have therapy together and get to a point where they can have a conversation. Or a child can express what needs they have that haven’t been met by a parent. And then we can get to a place where they don’t need us anymore.”CASA also provides parenting classes. “Anyone can sign up for our parenting classes,” Meyer said. “Some of our classes are court-ordered but that does not preclude anyone from taking them.”Thompson explained the reasons for his long tenure helping children through court cases.“I couldn’t think of any more rewarding work than trying to make sure people and society are best protected,” Thompson said. As for the work of CASA volunteers, Thompson said their role cannot be understated."These people give up their time," he said. "A lot of times they give up their own money, to assure the safety of kids. They don’t get anything back out of it except the reward of seeing a child being able to turn their life around. Truly the people that volunteer are heroes.”

The Flower Bar, a Basehor full-service floral shop and boutique, recently hosted its monthly parking lot party event. The event consisted of special sales at its store, a food truck and booths from local vendors offering sweet treats, drinks, permanent jewelry and other specialty items.Sabra Hotujac is the owner of The Plant Bar and said she and her staff enjoy planning the monthly events and bringing in a variety of vendors and potential new customers to her shop. She also noted that businesses along Parallel have suffered over the past few years with lengthy construction on K-7 and Parallel and now at 155th and Parallel, making it difficult for customers to get to those businesses. Having events like this is also designed to give residents a reason to figure out detours and a way to get to those businesses.“We’ve done events for around five years and we like to bring the community together while also helping local small businesses,” she said.Each month, the event has a different theme and focus to partner with other community businesses and organizations. It takes place from the second Saturday of each month from May through October or November, depending on the weather.One of the vendors that was part of this month’s second Saturday event was Kim Renshaw, a Linwood artist who makes flowers and flower arrangements from sheets of thin wood. Her arrangements are for sale inside The Flower Bar, but she also enjoys having a booth outside so she can meet people who attend the event.July’s event featured a special visit from the Fairmount Township Fire Department and one of its firetrucks. Basehor residents Seth and Tori Slayman brought their young children to get an up-close look at the rig and visit with the firefighters.“We definitely came to see the firetruck since my son is a big firetruck guy,” Seth said.In August, The Flower Bar will be partnering with nearby business Cobra Command CrossFit to hold a car show in the parking lot of those businesses. There is no entry fee and there are still some spaces available. Anyone interested in exhibiting their car should contact the business via email at flowerbarevent@mail.com. That event will take place Aug. 10.Information about additional upcoming events can be found on The Flower Bar’s Facebook or Instagram pages on social media. Hours for the business are Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays noon to 5 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

When they met this week, Leavenworth County commissioners talked about the possibility of seeking an outside organization to operate the county's Transfer Station.

Sentencing has been continued again for a man who was convicted of racketeering in Leavenworth County.