News

Leavenworth County commissioners have rejected a proposed annexation by the city of Tonganoxie.

Basehor has another new business, all to provide better local services for residents.The latest new business is a UPS Store located at 15721 Pinehurst Drive and is owned and operated by Basehor resident Varsha Henry.Henry, her husband and twin daughters moved to Basehor in 2015. This UPS Store is her first venture as a small business owner. She quit her job after 23 years to become a mom and knew that she didn’t want to go back into the corporate world, choosing to be a stay-at-home mom when her children were young. She decided to get back into the working world doing something similar to her previous position in supply chain and procurement. She wanted to work with a well-known and established brand.This UPS Store has been in the works for several years. Three years ago, Henry was looking for an appropriate space to begin her business, but there was a shortage of the type of space she needed to lease. That’s when she decided to build from the ground up something that could be customized to be exactly what she needed. Unfortunately, timing was bad and interest rates increased just as her loan was approved. Those higher rates made her loan payments unfeasible and she had to put the plans of opening a UPS Store franchise on hold while at the same time battling strict Basehor city construction requirements and regulations. It seemed to be one roadblock after another.“I was a little nervous about opening the store in our city because there’s no similar business in our area to compare, but I was also very excited to get it open. It not only brings this service to our area, but I am also offering these services to the surrounding cities including Tonganoxie, DeSoto, Bonner Springs and even as far as McLouth,” said Henry.Before opening a store, each franchisee attends a series of extensive training classes to learn how to run a UPS store and how established processes can help a store owner and operator become successful. Henry also had two weeks of in-store training on how to work with customers and back-office processes just before she opened her new store.Henry’s UPS Store offers a variety of services that may not immediately come to mind. In addition to traditional shipping of packages, her location also offers shredding, copy making, laminating, scanning, passport photos, as well as digital and paper printing from posters and banners to everything in between. Her store also can act as a receiving point for packages when someone isn’t available to sign for it, who might be worried about theft, or may be traveling.One especially convenient service that Henry’s store offers is mailbox services with an actual street address that allows packages to be accepted from all carriers, something traditional Post Office Box numbers do not offer.“Our mailbox services is one of our aces in the hole. We offer a street address and accept all sizes of packages on your behalf. The mailbox service is a great benefit for small businesses and businesspeople who work from home but don’t want to publish their home address which helps keep their personal and professional life apart,” she said.Henry’s business is already being well-received by the citizens of Basehor and the surrounding communities with many of them stopping by to offer their congratulations. Most recently, her store has provided invitations and picture posters for local high school graduation parties. She also offers design services to provide a higher level of service to her customers.A grand opening event is scheduled sometime later this month with the help of the Basehor Chamber of Commerce which will include a ribbon cutting ceremony, refreshments, games and great offers for customers and businesses. Henry’s UPS Store is already making an impact on the community as she has employed some local high school students and beginning this fall, she will have a work/study program that will help students earn high school credit as well as receive payment for their work. Her store is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Leavenworth city commissioners have approved a $3.145 million construction bid for Fourth Street improvements in the downtown area.

The Juneteenth Twilight Parade and Festival in Leavenworth begins at City Hall, 100 N. 5th St., at 6:45 p.m. Saturday. The parade will have 30 entries. The parade ends at Haymarket Square, 649 Cherokee St., where the festival will be held.“The parade will start at City Hall, at Seneca and Fifth, then west on Delaware to 7th to Haymarket Square,” said parade chair Joana Scholtz. “Our parade grand marshal is our own Daysia Reneau. Daysia is also going to be performing at the festival.”The Penny Black Band and Robin Gant will have musical entertainment. RAIN, a Christian comic, and 1st City Flawless, a Christian rapper, also will perform. The band Motion is the headliner and will play last in the lineup. There will be food trucks and free cotton candy and popcorn.“It’s three hours of entertainment,” Scholtz said. “Bring your lawn chairs.”Community civic groups, social clubs, sororities, fraternities and community agencies will have information booths. There will be face painting and craft activity booths for children.There will also be a program about Juneteenth, Scholtz added.“We’re going to have kids read (information about Juneteenth) throughout the night between acts,” Scholtz said.Juneteenth is a celebration that was founded on June 19, 1865, after Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, to enforce President Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation by freeing more than 250,000 still-enslaved Black people in Texas. They were freed by executive decree. Juneteenth is considered by many to be the country’s “second Independence Day” since it is a celebration of when all people were free. In 2021, June 19 was declared a federal holiday.Scholtz, president of NAACP Leavenworth, said Juneteenth is a chance for the community to gather in unity.“Our goal is for the festival to be about community togetherness,” Scholtz said. “We want people to come out, celebrate and have a good time together. That’s what creates alliances.”For more information, call 913-674-9612 or email leavenworthnaacp1941@gmail.com

A man has been found not guilty of murder and racketeering charges in Leavenworth County.

Testimony resumed Tuesday morning in Leavenworth County District Court in the trial of a man charged with murder and racketeering.