Mold Remediation in Shawnee, KS

The old white house at 11405 Johnson Drive, just west of the heart of downtown Shawnee, has hosted several occupants over the years: a law office, a chiropractor’s clinic, a gift shop called The Red Thread.

On Wednesday, Franklin General Store opened in the space. Owners Brooke and Dave Franklin have stocked it with a curated blend of the practical and the artisanal: organic strawberries from Happy Hollow Farm, bread from Overland Park’s Wooden Spoon KC, and small-batch cheeses from Hemme Brothers Creamery — all made without preservatives, artificial colors, or hard-to-pronounce chemicals.

“Besides farmers markets, there aren’t a lot of opportunities for local farmers to get their products out there,” said Brooke, who previously worked for the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service, an agency that helps farmers become more sustainable. “I wanted to create a place where you could go to get local, support local, and also know you’re getting clean ingredients.”

Franklin General Store carries goods from about 50 local farms or producers. The store was developed with help from a $55,000 SEED (Shawnee Entrepreneurial and Economic Development) loan, part of a city program that supports small business growth downtown. The loan is partially forgivable as jobs are created or other goals are met.

The store offers rotating baked goods (on opening day, it was a peach bar) and plans to roll out grab-and-go sandwiches soon, made with local bread, meats, and produce. On tap: kombucha. In the cooler: pies, chicken sausages, steaks and other local meats. And tucked in one aisle, a collection of lotions and balms that wouldn’t look out of place in a high-end apothecary — but come from nearby farms.

It’s not all edible. Franklin’s also stocks Valley Feed from Bonner Springs for backyard chickens, plus birdseed and native grass seeds to support pollinators and local wildlife.

Open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Franklin’s aims to serve the growing number of daytime strollers exploring downtown Shawnee.

“There’s more nightlife around here now, but we’re also seeing more people walking around during the day,” Brooke said. “So we’re trying to serve some of those people and take advantage of a little bit of that new foot traffic.”

But on June 20, the weekend of its anniversary, the brewery will also say goodbye.

Pathlight announced on its social media pages Wednesday that it would close.

“It’s with heavy hearts we announce the closing of Pathlight Brewing. This decision wasn’t made lightly, and we are overwhelmed with a mix of gratitude, pride, and loss as we reflect on the past five years,” the farewell post reads in part. “Thank you for not only walking this path with us, but for lighting the way.”

Fans of Pathlight bemoaned the news on the Facebook page.

“This is the worst news,” wrote one user.

“Noo! Best craft beer in JoCo,” said another.

The brewery could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday morning.

Pathlight isn’t the only Kansas City area brewery to close in the last few months.

In March, Double Shift closed its spot in the Crossroads at 412 E. 18th St.

That same month, Grains and Taps announced the closure of its downtown Lee’s Summit location at 10 SW Third St. Its other location, at 310 SW Blue Parkway in Lee’s Summit’s Pine Tree Plaza, is still open.

Shawnee still remains a hub for restaurants, bars and breweries, especially in its downtown corridor. Transport Brewery, Friction Beer Co., and Servaes Brewing Co. all have homes in the district.

Bar and grill Hank’s Garage recently opened in March at 5801 Nieman Road. Soon, tapas restaurant Gilda’s Bar de Tapas will open at 5815 Nieman Road. An updated opening date for Gilda’s was not readily available Thursday morning.

A failed stormwater pipe caused a sinkhole to form on the northeast corner of the Mill Valley High School campus. Now, the Shawnee Public Works Department is approaching the City Council to approve emergency repairs during the summer before school starts.

“There were two things going on: One is we were having separation of pipe segments, dirt getting into it, and rusting of the pipe invert — the bottom of the pipe,” Shawnee Public Works Director Kevin Manning said. “The bottom of the pipe most likely has water in it and experiences rusting and degradation more than other pipes.”

Mill Valley High School, located on Monticello Road, sits in the De Soto School District, but the city of Shawnee is responsible for the stormwater system underneath.

While there isn’t a gaping hole in the ground yet — like other areas of the metro have seen in the past — the surface is starting to sink down on the Northwest corner of the campus. Shawnee Public Works wants to take action in the major corridor before it gets worse.

The repair project, which will go before Shawnee City Council on Monday, is projected to cost $2 million and take four months to complete, according to the staff report. In order to complete the repair work before school starts in mid-August, the city must take action immediately.

The piping system underneath the school is made up of corrugated metal pipes — a common technique used in the 1990s and early 2000s that has since faded out of practice and been replaced by the use of sturdier, reinforced concrete pipes to help prevent the system’s erosion, Manning said.

Shawnee has a million linear feet of pipe in the city, which is close to 200 miles. Corrugated metal pipes make up about half of the city’s stormwater system, Manning estimated.

“We are in the process of slowly replacing that,” he said. “It’s a long process, it’s not something we are tackling in a few years. It’s a long term project.”

Manning said that sinkholes do form occasionally in areas still waiting for their stormwater pipes to be replaced but aren’t a major safety concern in the city.

“I would say sinkholes in general, this one is a little larger,” he said of the one at Mill Valley. “We probably have a few every year, but overall for our entire system with a million linear feet of pipe, they are not that common.”

Since the city is responsible for the stormwater system, the school district doesn’t have to take any action to make the necessary fixes, De Soto Schools Chief of Operations Brian Schwanz said in a statement.

However, the city has kept the district in the loop for its remedies to the situation and the district doesn’t have “any concerns with how the city plans to resolve the issue” he added.

“Based on the location on school district property, there has been no impact on students or the operation of Mill Valley High School,” Shwanz said in an email. “Also, there will be no impact on the remainder of the school year.”

The City Council will vote on Monday and the Public Works Department will take immediate action if the project receives approval.

SHAWNEE, Kan. —

The spotlight is shining on a young star in the making.

Bennett Dametz, 12, is taking center stage in the musical "Billy Elliot." The show is put on by the Music Theatre Kansas City in Shawnee, Kansas, and opens Friday night at B&B Theatres. It will run through April 20.

Dametz plays the title role of Billy Elliot, a boy with a passion for dance in a town that doesn't quite understand it. He's on stage nearly the entire time, singing, dancing and delivering a performance that's impressive for his young age.

The young star said the experience is a dream come true.

"I've never been, like, a lead role, and it's just helped me a lot develop as an actor because I'm doing a lot more things," he said. "And this is probably the most professional show I've ever done."

MTKC staff said they're trying to bring Broadway-level productions to Shawnee, and that means cultivating young talent.

"There's great theater on the Kansas side of Kansas City, like seeing a lot of people think about going downtown for the big professional pieces," said Julie Danielson, artistic director for MTKC. "But Johnson County is, you know, we're really working hard over here."

And to show just how serious they are, they flew in New York-based choreographer David Grindrod.

"I'm not going to treat you like a kid. This is a professional show," Grindrod said. "You have to hit your mark. You have to say your lines. You have to hit your dance steps. But also showing that this is the best place in the world. Being on a stage, being in a theater is my favorite place."