Month: July 2014

Vaughan named honorary chairman for United Way campaign

Joe H. Vaughan is returning to his roots in Wyandotte County this fall as the honorary chairman of the United Way of Wyandotte County’s 2014 campaign.

Vaughan grew up in Wyandotte County and is a graduate of the Kansas City, Kan., Public School System and Kansas City Kansas Community College.

“We are happy to have Mr. Vaughan as our honorary campaign chairman,” said Wendell Maddox, president-CEO of the United Way of Wyandotte County. “He has a great history of service to his community and will bring a unique skill set and perspective to our upcoming campaign.”

Graduating with a degree in journalism from the University of Kansas, Vaughan was a broadcast journalist in the Midwest until 1990 when he founded Joe Vaughan Associates, a publishing services company.

Since then he has published “coffee table” books for the 50th anniversaries of several Johnson County municipalities as well as monthly newsletters and other publishing services. For more than a decade he has been a guest lecturer for KCKCC’s Regional History class. Invested in the communities that surround him, Vaughan received numerous community services awards for the work he has done on multiple boards and associations.

Vaughan is excited about United Way of Wyandotte County’s annual campaign coming up this fall which has recently announced its 2014 campaign theme “Live Heroic.”

“It’s an honor to be on the United Way of Wyandotte County team,” Vaughan said. “With all of the funding cutbacks at the state and federal level, it is more important in 2014 that folks support the campaign. Lots of folks in Wyandotte County need the United Way now more than ever!”

United Way of Wyandotte County will kick off its Live Heroic annual campaign with its annual kick-off luncheon set for 11:30 a.m. Sept. 11 at the KCKCC Technology Center. United Way encourages the community to support the Wyandotte community by attending this luncheon or by donating to the Live Heroic campaign. Further information can be found at the United Way of Wyandotte County website, www.unitedway-wyco.org or by calling 913-371-3674.

Champions League soccer match to be played in KCK

A Champions League soccer match will be coming to Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan., in September.

CONCACAF has announced the dates and times for the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League group stage. Sporting Kansas City is paired with Nicaraguan club Real Esteli and Costa Rican club Deportivo Saprissa in Group 2.

For the second consecutive year, Sporting Kansas City will open the tournament on the road, playing Real Esteli at 9 p.m. CT Tuesday, Aug. 19.

Sporting KC defeated Real Esteli 2-0 in their CCL opener in August 2013 and drew Esteli a month later 1-1 at Sporting Park.

Following Sporting KC’s road opener against Real Esteli, the defending MLS Cup champions will return home for back-to-back matches at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.

Sporting Kansas City will play host to Saprissa on Thursday, Sept. 18, and Esteli on Tuesday, Sept. 23. Both matches will kick off at 7 p.m.

Tickets for both group stage home matches are included in season ticket member packages. Tickets will go on sale to the public at a later date.

Sporting Kansas City will conclude the group stage of the tournament on Thursday, Oct. 23, against Saprissa at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Ayma. Saprissa won the 2014 Clausura in Costa Rica and are three-time CONCACAF Champions’ Cup winners.

The team with the most points at the conclusion of the CCL group stage will advance to the quarterfinal round. Sporting Kansas City advanced to the quarterfinals of last year’s tournament, finishing first in a group that included Real Esteli and Honduran club CD Olimpia. Sporting KC faced Mexican club Cruz Azul in the quarterfinals in March and lost 5-2 on aggregate.

– Story from Sporting KC

Kansas attorney general says federal agency has rejected Wyandotte Nation’s application for Park City tribal casino

The U.S. Department of the Interior has rejected a request by the Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma to take land owned by the tribe near Park City into a federal trust under a law that would have allowed casino gaming on the parcel, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced today.

For years, the tribe has sought federal approval for the project. In federal court litigation as well as before the Department of the Interior, Schmidt’s office has defended the state’s legal interests in not allowing the tribal casino in Park City, which is near the Wichita area. The Wyandotte Nation has another casino in Kansas, the 7th Street Casino near City Hall in downtown Kansas City, Kan.

In 2013, the federal district court ruled in favor of Kansas on the tribe’s request to have the court force the Department of Interior to rule in its favor, but did direct the Department of the Interior to make a decision, one way or the other, on the tribe’s pending land-into-trust application. With its new decision to deny the land-into-trust application, the department has done so.

“We think the Department of the Interior reached the correct legal conclusion in disallowing this land-into-trust application,” Schmidt said. “This decision is one more successful step in defending Kansas law, which does not allow a tribal casino in Sedgwick County. If there are later efforts by the tribe or others to contest the Department’s denial of the application, we will continue to vigorously defend our state’s legal interests.”