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Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Neighbors in Gardner come together to help displaced apartment residents
GARDNER, Kan. — Hundreds of volunteers gathered at Grace Baptist Church in Gardner, Kansas on Wednesday, helping the displaced residents of Aspen Place. The complex was condemned by the city on Tuesday, citing safety concerns. Since then, the community in Gardner has been pooling resources in preparation for Wednesday's meeting. $40,000 of original work missing from Missouri artist after trailer stolen Micah Norman lived at Aspen Place until December; she went to the office as soon as she could to help. 'I know I couldn't sit with a hot meal and a warm bed last night knowing I haven't done what I can,' she said. 'And there were probably a handful of us, just neighbors at the office looking at each other, like, 'how do we help?' And we just started knocking on doors and saying, 'how do we help?' She's organizing moving supplies and volunteers for the residents. She says the response from neighbors and local businesses has been amazing. 'In the past 24 hours, we built an insane little resource center just based on all of the donations from the community,' she said. 'Gardner has really pulled it together. We did not have to ask for anything, really.' Among the resources available was Kansas Legal Services, a nonprofit law firm helping low-income Kansans. 'It's our view that what happened here is a product of a city failing these families,' said Executive Director Matthew Keenan. 'It's a product of a landlord that's failing these families and let's hope that the legal system and the courts don't fail these families too.' Keenan says the 48-hour notice to vacate their homes wasn't enough. Kansas City Costco hit-and-run victim speaks out 'The failure to give adequate notice and warning that this was a potential is, in my mind, the biggest failure,' he added. The effort to get the resources together has all happened in two days, it's been a large undertaking. Brandon Champagne, pastor at Grace Baptist Church, said everyone, both residents and neighbors, was shocked. 'They didn't plan for this, you know, as of 24 hours ago, they didn't know this was going to happen,' Champagne said. 'But also, neither did our community. It's just people who said this could be me, it could be my family, and it's our community so we need to help.' Despite the circumstances, the sight of so many Gardners coming to help their neighbors was a powerful sight. 'In a world that's so full of conflict and arguments, it's great to see, I mean there's hundreds of people here,' Champagne said. 'And it's hard to tell who's the one here getting help and who's the one helping, because again, it could be any one of us.' Norman takes solace in the fact that the community rallied so quickly. 'It makes me feel better knowing that if I ever face anything like this again, then I have a whole community of people around me and I just applaud them,' she said. See the latest headlines in Kansas City and across Kansas, Missouri If there's one positive to take from the meeting, for her, it's that her and her neighbors won't be far from help. 'You're not alone. No matter what you face in life, you're not alone,' Norman saqid. 'Even if it feels like the things that are supposed to be there to support you aren't, the people next to you care.' The Hope Market is still organizing donations and volunteers for the Aspen Place residents here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Downtown KC business owners demand action; mayor pushes back over text message dispute
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One day after FOX4 highlighted rising safety concerns from downtown business owners – concerns they say have gone unanswered – Mayor Quinton Lucas is pushing back. Bradley Gilmore, chef and owner of Lula's Southern Cookhouse, was one of several business leaders who shared frustrations about crime, enforcement and what they described as a lack of meaningful response from the city. Kansas City Costco hit-and-run victim speaks out 'The post from last night and this morning has brought a lot of eyes,' Gilmore told FOX4. 'I've received messages from customers, vendors, even strangers. If you read the comments, it's the same story from the City Market to Waldo.' 'People don't feel protected in their own city right now.' While the issues aren't new, Gilmore and others allege the city's silence is. One day after FOX4's initial story aired, Lucas took to the comment section of FOX4's Facebook page to dispute the reporting. The mayor denied receiving a text message from Gilmore, despite Gilmore showing a read receipt on his end. 'It's been a frustrating couple of weeks,' Gilmore said. 'This past weekend, the ATVs were out again. I sent a message to the mayor—just like he asked me to.' Not only did Gilmore send the message, he sent it to the correct number, the same one Lucas has shared publicly. Both FOX4 and the Mayor have also verified the number is correct. Regardless, the mayor maintains that he never received the message. Recently burglarized KC business find stolen items on Facebook Marketplace When Lucas texted Gilmore during a visit to FOX4 studios on Tuesday afternoon, Gilmore replied instantly. Even with the back-and-forth over the text, business owners say the bigger concern is feeling ignored when it comes to crime and public safety. 'We've had employees and customers robbed in broad daylight,' Gilmore said. 'This goes back to a local chef being shot. Every day, there's broken glass from car break-ins. And the new parking regulations? Completely out of control.' Lucas did not address public safety during his visit to the FOX4 studios. He declined a full sit-down interview, saying he had previous engagement to attend. 'If we want to talk more about public safety, I've got Ketanji Brown Jackson to go see at 4 o'clock. I'd like to be there and get through security. We told you, I didn't see a message, you looked at my phone. Bring his device here, I'm a lawyer, like you're a reporter, bring his device, bring my device, call AT&T and we can figure it all out.' Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android The one positive to come out of this? Lucas and Bradley Gilmore are now directly connected via text. FOX4 will continue to follow this developing story. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
