Wyandotte County has been awarded federal funds under the National Emergency Food and Shelter Program to assist the homeless and near homeless in 2014-2015.
Funding for Phase 32 EFSP funding has been announced and applications are now being accepted.
EFSP is chaired by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and consists of representatives from The Salvation Army; American Red Cross; United Jewish Communities; Catholic Charities, USA; National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.; and United Way of America.
The national board is distributing funds appropriated by Congress to help expand the capacity of food and shelter programs in high need areas around the country. Locally, the distribution of funding is administered by United Way of Wyandotte County, which distributes to agencies that have programs providing food pantries, food kitchens, food vouchers, rent and mortgage assistance, and shelter.
Agencies may receive an application by contacting Todd Jordan at the United Way of Wyandotte County at tjordan@unitedway-wyco.org or 913-371-3674 ext. 1322. Applications are due by 5 p.m. March 24. Agencies applying must have, or be willing to obtain, electronic fund transfer capabilities. After the applications are received, a committee representing community members and local agencies will determine which agencies will be eligible to receive funding.
Agencies receiving funds from the program in 2012 were Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas, Cross-Lines Community Outreach, Economic Opportunity Foundation, Love Outreach International Ministries, Friends of Yates, Metro Lutheran Ministry, Mt. Carmel Community Outreach, Salvation Army, and Grandview Community Center.
Matt Casas, left, and Anthony Joseph of Kansas City Kansas Community College recently won a national parliamentary debate tournament. (KCKCC photo) by Kelly Rogge
Parliamentary debate is not the usual event for Matt Casas and Anthony Joseph. They are not normally even debate partners. In fact, they have only debated together once in the last year – the Phi Rho Pi Community College National Tournament in 2014. They won gold in the Parliamentary Debate Division at that tournament.
So when they entered the 2015 National Parliamentary Debate Association National Tournament, held by KCKCC, they had no expectations that they would even make it into the elimination rounds, let alone win the whole tournament. They were wrong.
Casas and Anthony not only became the first team from a community college to make it to the final round of the NPDA National Tournament, they won in a close 5-4 decision against Southern Illinois University, whose team won the tournament in 2014.
“We were not sure we could adapt our style of speaking as much as this tournament was going to require,” Casas said. “This was our first parliamentary debate tournament this season and only our second ever. We had to believe in ourselves to be successful.”
More than 155 teams from 51 colleges and universities attended the NPDA National Tournament, which started March 14. Those schools included William Jewell, Washburn University, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Central Missouri, Missouri Western State University, Lewis and Clark College, Northwest College, Abilene Christian, University of Utah, Lower Columbia College, University of Oregon, University of Washington and Texas Tech, among others.
Parliamentary debate is an extemporaneous, policy-orientated debate. Teams consist of two people – one team represents the government or affirms the resolution while the second team represents the opposition. While students are presenting arguments supporting their position, they must also refute the argument of the other team. Teams are only given 15 minutes to prepare before the round begins.
In addition to Casas and Joseph, the KCKCC team of Alex Glanzman and John Williams made it to the elimination rounds. However, they lost to Oregon before making it to the top 16. KCKCC placed first among all community colleges in the tournament and eighth overall. Joseph placed 14th and Casas 15th in the Top Speaker Awards.
“I think it was our ability to listen and adapt our ways quickly that helped us,” Joseph said of their tournament success. “The final round was really competitive. Both teams really showed why we were in the finals.”
Darren Elliott, KCKCC debate coach, said having a team in the finals was exciting, especially since KCKCC was the host. He said it was not something he ever thought about because there were so many rounds of debates to get through before finals became a realization.
“This team works really hard,” he said. “They have the desire to prove themselves and to make people take them seriously.”
Elliott said the tournament would not have been successful without the cooperation from the entire KCKCC campus. He said from KCKCC President Doris Givens and other administrators, faculty and staff to campus police, information services and buildings and grounds, everyone came together to make this an enjoyable experience.
“It was amazing how everyone came together and were behind us to pull this off,” he said. “It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. I think it went very well.”
Next up for Casas and Joseph is the CEDA National Tournament, which starts Thursday at Wichita State University. The tournament is open to any two or four year school. KCKCC has won the national title in the community college division nine times in the last 11 years.
Kelly Rogge is the public information supervisor for Kansas City Kansas Community College.
Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan., will be the host for the Group A finales of the CONCACAF Gold Cup doubleheader on July 13.
The international doubleheader will feature two match-ups:
Game 1: Honduras/French Guiana vs. Haiti at 6 p.m.
Game 2: United States of America vs. Panama at 8:30 p.m.
The 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup will be held in the United States and Canada from July 7-26 with the top 12 national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
All tickets will provide entry to both matches with prices starting at $35 for general admission seating in the South Stand or Members Stand at Sporting Park.
Sporting KC could feature players on three of the teams competing at Sporting Park that evening — Matt Besler and Graham Zusi on the U.S. Men’s Team; Haitian midfielder Soni Mustivar and Honduran midfielder Roger Espinoza.
The Gold Cup is the region’s marquee national team tournament and the headline competition for the U.S. Men’s National Team in 2015.
This year’s tournament carries additional significance as it will determine CONCACAF’s representatives at the Centennial Cup America in 2016 and the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017.
Tickets for the Gold Cup doubleheader July 13 at Sporting Park go on sale at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 19, via Ticketmaster.com.
Honduras and French Guiana are in a playoff March 25 and 29 to determine who will advance in the Gold Cup competition.
Honduras: Los Catrachos – ranked No. 77 by FIFA — represented CONCACAF at the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups and has reached the semifinal round in four of the past five Gold Cup tournaments. Led by head coach Jorge Luis Pinto, the Honduran roster may feature Sporting KC midfielder Roger Espinoza.
French Guiana: Aiming for its first Gold Cup berth, French Guiana was the top scoring team at the 2014 Caribbean Cup where it earned a 1-1 draw against Cuba and a 4-1 victory over Curacao to advance to this month’s playoff series.
Haiti: Making its sixth Gold Cup appearance, Les Grenadiers is No. 78 in the FIFA rankings and could have a third straight group stage meeting with Honduras on the horizon. Haiti’s roster may feature midfielder Soni Mustivar, who joined Sporting KC last month after playing professionally in France and Romania.
United States: The U.S. Men’s National Team – ranked No. 31 by FIFA – is a five-time Gold Cup champion and reached the knockout round at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the country’s 10th appearance at a FIFA World Cup. Led by Jurgen Klinsmann, the U.S. roster may feature Sporting KC defender Matt Besler and midfielder Graham Zusi.
Panama: Third-place finishers at the 2011 Gold Cup and runners-up in 2013, Los Canaleros is ranked No. 61 by FIFA. Panama featured two of the top players at the 2013 Gold Cup in LA Galaxy goalkeeper Jaime Penedo (Golden Glove winner) and Colorado Rapids forward Gabriel Torres (Golden Boot winner).
– Information from Sporting KC
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