Serving Kansas City (Wyandotte County) Kansas for over 50 years!
Eight Kansas City, Kansas, students have been named to the fall dean’s list at Lincoln University of Missouri in Jefferson City, Missouri.
The students on the dean’s list earned a minimum 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale, with a minimum of 12 credit hours in qualifying course work.
Students on the dean’s list from Kansas City, Kansas, included:
Deante Ambler
Mar’che Boggess
Ladarius Brooks
Keara Gaitan
Deshawn Haney
Reginald Hollinshed
Odyesse Kirkendoll
Brejai Washington
by Stephen Koranda, Kansas News Service
Kansas schools that want to offer gun training in the earliest grades would be required to use a program designed by the National Rifle Association, under a bill lawmakers studied on Tuesday.
That legislation would switch programs beyond the eighth grade to hunter education training designed by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.
The bill doesn’t insist on gun training for schoolchildren. Rather, it would dictate which programs public schools could use — first the NRA’s, later the state’s — if they decide to put gun training into their curriculum.
Students eighth grade or younger would receive Eddie Eagle GunSafe training provided by the NRA.
NRA training uses an animated video and worksheets to drive home the message that kids should not touch a gun if they see one and should tell an adult when they stumble on a firearm. (“STOP! … Don’t touch … Run away … Tell a grown-up.”)
Republican Rep. John Whitmer told the Federal and State Affairs Committee on Tuesday that the state should require the NRA curriculum for gun safety because it’s the largest and most common program.
“Guns aren’t going away,” Whitmer said. “Let’s arm kids with the knowledge of what to do if they encounter a firearm. This is such a simple program.”
The Eddie Eagle program has been both lauded and criticized over the years. The NRA, the most powerful gun rights lobby in the country, and other Second Amendment advocates say it’s played an important role in teaching children how to behave safely around firearms. They credit it partly for a dropping number of accidental gun deaths among children.
Critics contend the reduction in those deaths could just as easily be credited to improved emergency medical care techniques and a smaller number of homes with guns. (While the number of guns in the United States has increased in recent years, those firearms tend to be owned by fewer people with larger collections.)
Gun control groups such as the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, argue the NRA-sponsored program provides a false sense of security and has been “found to have no effect on participating children’s behavior around guns.”
One study found that children who went through the Eddie Eagle program learned the basics of gun safety more clearly than kids who didn’t go through the training. But it found that learning often didn’t translate to simulations where they encountered a gun. It also found that other behavioral skills training — being told how to act around guns, watching a trainer model that behavior, and then practicing — was more effective than the NRA program.
No guns are used in the NRA training, but they are shown in the animated video.
Republican Rep. Stephanie Clayton said she was torn over the bill. On one hand, she likes the message of the curriculum. Yet Clayton said she has concerns about mandating that gun training in schools must use these programs.
“Is it my place,” she said, “to tell local of boards of education what they can and cannot teach?”
Rob Gilligan, with the Kansas Association of School Boards, said the group opposes the bill for the same reason.
“It is taking away that right of the districts to set what their curriculum could be,” Gilligan said.
Schools can currently teach gun safety training if they choose, said Gilligan. He said the NRA and state hunting programs are already used in some Kansas schools.
Whitmer said he is opposed to mandating training.
“I want to leave the discretion up to the districts,” Whitmer said. “I felt that leaving it as an optional program was probably the best way to go.”
Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio, a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to the original post.
See more at http://kcur.org/post/kansas-schools-teach-kids-about-guns-bill-proposes-must-start-nra-program.
Procter and Gamble today announced it would close its manufacturing plant in Kansas City, Kansas, in late 2020.
The plant at 1900 Kansas Ave., which manufactures dish soap, employs about 280 full-time workers, according to a spokesman for P&G. It has a 113-year history in Kansas City, Kansas. Products made here include Dawn, Gain, Ivory and Joy hand dish-washing detergents.
According to the company statement, the plant is being moved from its 1905 building in Kansas City, Kansas, to a new facility at Tabler Station, West Virginia. A study started in 2013 was the basis for this decision, according to the company.
“Decisions like this are never easy, but we are communicating this decision more than two years in advance to help our employees plan for the future. We are committed to supporting P&G people through the transition in a manner consistent with our values and principles,” the P&G statement read.
P&G will negotiate with the local labor union for support in helping employees make the transition to other P&G sites or to jobs outside P&G, according to the announcement.
“Over the next three years, P&G leadership is committed to working with every individual to determine the best opportunity for them in accordance with their personal situation, business needs, and our principles and values,” Rotha Penn Brauntz, communications manager for P&G, stated. “We are working hard so that we can find another position for everyone within P&G if they are willing to re-locate. There are no guarantees and we can make no promises, but this is the goal we have. P&G will work with every individual on a plan that best fits their needs, including transfers to other P&G U.S. locations such as Tabler Station. P&G will discuss options with the union at Kansas City regarding the specifics of the transition as it relates to employees, relocation and separation packages.”
Brauntz stated that the Kansas City, Kansas, plant has operated for 113 years.
“The employees are well known for their strong performance, culture and contributions to the community,” she stated. “This decision was not easy, and is not a reflection on the employees, their work or the communities. P&G is proud of its employees and is hopeful that many of them will re-locate to other P&G manufacturing sites in the U.S. as P&G continues its supply network transformation and investment in American manufacturing.”
According to Brauntz, the P&G study’s purpose during the past four years has been about transforming the way P&G goes to market in North America.
“The critical determining factor in our Supply Chain re-design is the importance to deliver an integrated supply chain solution that is closer to the largest North American populations of our customers and consumers and which enables P&G to co-locate with suppliers and leverage our scale, enabling production of multiple brand categories at one location,” Brauntz stated. “In this sense, being able to have a production site that can respond within 24 hours, with low logistic costs, plays a critical factor when deciding where to install additional capacity. When building the new facility, the Tabler Station location was strategically selected to best meet this need. “
Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor David Alvey has made a statement released by the UG’s public information officer on Wednesday about the P&G plant closing:
“The Unified Government received notice from Procter and Gamble on Tuesday evening that they will be ending production at their Kansas City, Kansas plant in mid-2020. They stated that this decision was based upon an internal study at Proctor and Gamble that sought to identify ways to align their production with their supply chain partners.
“The Unified Government and the Wyandotte Economic Development Council were not invited, during any part of the Proctor and Gamble study, to assist them in developing solutions in Kansas City, Kansas. The plant has been in operation for 113 years and has provided quality employment to thousands.
“We work diligently with our KCK businesses to make certain that we are a great place to do business. We would have done the same for Procter and Gamble if they would have contacted us. We are encouraged by the fact that this plant is in an excellent location and there is strong demand for manufacturing space in KCK. Unemployment is at an all-time low, and we are a national destination for business growth and attraction.
“Finally, we are committed to assisting every one of the 280 employees to find new quality jobs.”