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Kansas City News Today Kansas City Front Page is a weekly news publication, with daily updates, spotlighting attractions, events, business and hospitality in Kansas City. |
KANSAS CITY NEWS TODAY - Sunday, December 2, 2007
KANSAS CITY, (SLFP.com), December 2, 2007 - The White House has selected Hallmark Cards, Inc., for the seventh year in a row, to produce the official 2007 presidential holiday card. The cards will be mailed to friends and family of President and Mrs. George W. Bush as well as to foreign dignitaries. The card image is an exclusive design of Sylvia Shaw Judson's statue "Gardner" welcoming winter to the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden at the White House. Artist David Drummond was selected by Mrs. Bush to create the original artwork for the card. Drummond is a well-known watercolorist specializing in landscapes. Drummond's painting is reproduced on the card as a tip-on on elegant stock with a deckle edge. An embossed gold foil presidential seal highlights the insert page. Hallmark's presidential card project leader Dan Stifter was thrilled to work on the card. "I am honored that Hallmark was once again chosen by the Bush family to help continue the important annual tradition of sending holiday cards," Stifter said. "Card-sending is a great way to stay in touch with family and friends, which is especially important during the holiday season." Work began on the holiday card in June when a team from Hallmark began collaborating with Mrs. Bush's office. Hallmark also made the 2007 holiday cards for Vice President and Mrs. Cheney. Hallmark began making Christmas cards for presidents in 1953, when Dwight D. Eisenhower sent the first White House Christmas card and started what has become a White House tradition. The company has created at least one card for each administration with exception of the Clinton Administration. The 2007 card is the 40th official card created by Hallmark for the White House. In 1982, Hallmark donated its Presidential Christmas Card Collection to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. The Hallmark Visitors Center adjacent to the Kansas City headquarters of Hallmark Cards, Inc., also displays the Presidential Christmas Card Collection. Ameristar Workplace Giving Campaign Yields Over $3 Million for Local Communities KANSAS CITY, (SLFP.com), December 2, 2007 - Team Members from Ameristar Casinos, Inc. nationwide, with company and foundation matches, will contribute more than $3 million to local Ameristar communities through Ameristar's 2007 Workplace Giving Campaign. The 2007 contributions surpass 2006 contributions by 23 percent. All donations made during the Workplace Giving Campaign are matched dollar for dollar by the company. In addition, the foundation created by Ameristar's late Chairman and CEO Craig H. Neilsen provides an additional match to contributions directed to designated spinal cord injury centers. Individual Team Member donations before company and foundation matches totaled $1,346,572. Including the matching funds from the Company and Foundation, community organizations will receive a total of $3,061,967, an average of more than $500 per participating Team Member. Ray and I are really pleased to see this level of philanthropy demonstrated by our Ameristar Team Members, said Gordon Kanofsky, Ameristar's Co-Chairman and EVP and Co-Trustee of the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation. The Foundation is proud to continue to match Ameristar Team Member contributions to local organizations that assist people living with spinal cord injury. A major part of Craig's legacy is the Foundation's mission to improve the quality of life for people living with spinal cord injury and to ultimately find a cure. Charities and community organizations to which Team Members could direct their contributions were: The Ameristar Cares Sunshine Fund, a Team Member hardship fund, as well as local chapters of the United Way, Community Health Charities, the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society. Team Members at each property were also offered additional local choices, including an organization assisting those living with spinal cord injuries and another local charity determined by community needs and Team Member input. Ameristar's Workplace Giving campaign was established in 2004 as a way for Team Members to join with the company to demonstrate the passion, dedication and caring felt for the communities where Ameristar has locations. Since inception, the campaigns have raised a total of $9,660,003. Harrah's Entertainment and Sumner Gaming and Resorts Announce a $500 Million Destination Casino Proposal for Sumner County, Kansas KANSAS CITY, (SLFP.com), December 2, 2007 - Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. and Sumner Gaming and Resorts have announced their proposal for a destination resort to be located in Sumner County, Kansas, which was submitted to the Sumner County Commission today for its consideration. Subject to certain customary conditions and receipt of corporate approvals, the proposal was also submitted earlier this month to the Kansas State Lottery for their review. The proposed site is approximately 500 acres and is conveniently located off of I-35 at Highway 53 in an unincorporated area of Belle Plaine Township in Sumner County. "Our plan calls for an exciting, high-quality destination where guests can immerse themselves from dawn to dark without ever exhausting the resort's near-limitless range of offerings," said Charles Atwood, vice chairman of the board. "With our extensive network into the world's most powerful brands -- Country Music Television (CMT), Toby Keith, Paula Deen, Butch Harmon, Bobby Weed and many more -- only Harrah's can deliver this unique destination resort for Kansas." The Harrah's Kansas plan calls for a wide variety of world-class amenities that will aid in driving tourism to Sumner County, Kansas. The anticipated amenities will include: - A Las Vegas-style gaming floor, including a World Series of Poker Room. - A wide variety of restaurants to suit every taste and budget; from a premium steakhouse to a fine-dining restaurant helmed by TV personality and restaurateur, Paula Deen, to a Toby Keith-branded bar and grill to a casual cafe and multiple fast food outlets. - A 1,600 seat amphitheater for outdoor concerts. o A championship golf course, contemplated to be designed by Bobby Weed, in collaboration with Butch Harmon, complete with a Butch Harmon School of Golf. - A 30,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art conference facility. - High-energy nightclubs and lounges. - 275 beautifully appointed hotel rooms, including 30 luxury suites and five private pool villas. "Harrah's is a world premier destination resort developer and operator, which is precisely why we chose them as our partner for this casino development," said Nancy Seitz of Sumner Gaming. "Harrah's is the most successful company in the industry and they have a solid track record of being a good neighbor in the communities where they conduct business. Katy Trail Connection to Kansas City Announced KANSAS CITY, MO (SLFP.com), November 29, 2007 - Today the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the Attorney General, and Ameren, announced a settlement in the Taum Sauk case. The settlement includes a Trail Agreement allowing the state to build a trail connecting Windsor, on the Katy Trail, and Pleasant Hill, on the edge of the Kansas City metro area. "We couldn't be more pleased by the agreement to 'Complete the Katy Trail' by connecting it to the Kansas City metro area," says Brent Hugh, Executive Director of the Missouri Bicycle Federation. Together with bicycling, walking, running, and trails groups across the state, the Missouri Bicycle Federation has been working for the Katy Trail connection to Kansas City for over a decade. When the Taum Sauk dam broke, and it become clear that Ameren would be responsible for millions in reparations to the state, the Federation's efforts moved into high gear. Cities and agencies have made plans for the connecting links, passed resolutions of support, and even built portions of the connecting links that will be needed. From Pleasant Hill, plans are already underway to connect the trail through Lee's Summit and eventually to downtown Kansas City and, via the planned metro area trails system, throughout the entire Kansas City metro area. The portion of the Rock Island corridor that will be used for the trail is about 42 miles. The trail will be built in the railroad right-of-way alongside the railroad tracks so that railroads can still use the corridor in the future. Building the Katy Trail Connection alongside the existing track will be relatively expensive compared with building a trail on the railbed, as the rest of the Katy Trail and most rail-trails are. Much grading and foundation work must be done, and bridges and underpasses built alongside existing railroad bridges and underpasses. However, the agreement includes $18 million from Ameren to assist in construction expenses. Apparently this is not enough to completely construct the 42-mile segment and additional funds will be needed. The state also receives first right of refusal for purchase of the railroad corridor if Ameren ever decides to sell it. "Over 5000 citizens have email, mailed, or called the Department of Natural Resources, the Attorney General, and Ameren since December 2005," says Hugh. "The outpouring of support for the Complete Katy Trail has just been amazing."   The Kansas City Front Page is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Kansas City area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 2007 Moore Design Group. |
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