Month: January 2019

Job fair planned today and Wednesday at Children’s Mercy Park

Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, is holding a job fair Tuesday and Wednesday to hire associates for the 2019 season.

The hours of the job fair are 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22, and 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23.

Job opportunities available include part-time roles and seasonal match day roles in multiple departments, including fan services, food and beverage, parking and ticket operations.

Parking is available at Nebraska Furniture Mart, across from Children’s Mercy Park, and guests may enter through the Budweiser Brew House on the northeast side of the stadium.

Children’s Mercy Park, where Sporting Kansas City plays its soccer games, is near State Avenue and Village West Parkway, in the Legends area near I-435 and I-70 in Kansas City, Kansas.

KCKCC to stream Jayhawk openers vs. Labette Wednesday

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

It all starts Wednesday – what shapes up as the most furiously fought, highly contested Jayhawk Conference races in years.

You need to go no farther than a look at the NJCAA Division II national women’s poll to get an idea of the quality of conference teams – three of the top four teams in the nation. Johnson County (18-0) is No. 1, Highland (15-1) is No. 3 and Kansas City Kansas Community College (18-2) No. 4 and Fort Scott (14-2) and Labette (12-7) can’t be overlooked.

While not as loaded at the top of the men’s race, Highland (18-0) is No. 2 nationally and Johnson County (17-3) No. 10 but Labette (12-8), Fort Scott (11-8) and Hesston (10-8) all have winning records and KCKCC (8-12) is on a three-game winning streak. Fittingly perhaps, the top two teams in both races collide Wednesday when Highland goes to JCCC.

“We’re all starting with a clean slate; we’re all 0-0,” KCKCC coach Kelley Newton said. Blue Devil teams will play host to Labette in their openers Wednesday, women at 5:30 and men at 7:30 p.m. Both KCKCC games will be streamed live on the college’s website at “www.kckcc.edu.

“Our attention goes straight to Labette,” Newton said. “The formula for conference play is win your home games and we have that opportunity against a very, very tough Labette team.”

On an eight-game winning streak, the Blue Devil women will be looking to make amends for last year’s 4-6 conference record.

“We’re playing really well and I like where we are it,” KCKCC women’s coach Joe McKinstry said. “I think we have just as good a chance (of winning). In the past I had to convince myself. Our sophomores have not beaten Johnson County, Highland or Labette yet – 0-7 last year. So we’ll find out if we’re as good as we think we are.

“One thing for sure. There will be no nights you can relax,” he said. “Our goal is to win a conference championship for the first time in more than 20 years. But regardless, whoever wins the conference will be as good as the national champion. Every year the last five years the conference has a team that finished in the top four of the national tournament – first (twice), second (twice) or third (once).”

Averaging 94.4 points a game, the Lady Blue Devils are the second highest scoring team in the nation. They are also third in the nation in assists per game (21.1), third in 3-point games (9.8) and ninth in rebounding (49.8).

With five players scoring in double figures and two more with 7½ points a game or better, balance has been KCKCC’s strength led by a front line trio of Nija Collier, Lillie Moore and Kisi Young, who combined are averaging 44 points and 28 rebounds a game and all three are shooting 57 percent or better from the field.

Collier leads with a double-double, 17.8 points and 11.0 rebounds. Moore is averaging 15.6 points and 8.3 rebounds; Young 10.7 points and 8.9 rebounds and is shooting a torrid 65.3 percent from the field.

Guards Camryn Swanson (12.2), Lenaejha Evans (11.8), Brodi Byrd (8.5) and Caroline Hoppock (7.8) have provided the perimeter scoring with Caitlyn Stewart (3.5 assists) and Lexi Watts (2.3) directing the offense. Swanson has 70 3-pointers this season, Byrd 41 and Hoppock 32.

Defense has been the strength of the KCKCC men. Allowing just 68.1 points a game, the Blue Devils are No. 8 in points given up nationally in Division II.

“With three wins in a row, I like our momentum going into the conference,” Newton said.

A pair of freshmen guards lead the Blue Devils. Jalen Davis is averaging 11.0 and Calvin Slaughter 9.8 followed by sophomore Arother Ratliff (8.2) and freshmen Daiyon Taylor (7.5), Taylor Turner (7.2) and Kelyn Bolton (6.4).

Taylor is coming off games of 26 and 32 points in a span of five days this past week. Bolton also leads in assists (3.5) while Taylor (4.5) and DuVonte’ Beard (4.4) lead rebounding.

Congresswoman makes initial appearance at forum

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Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

During the recent race for Congress in the 3rd District, the Congressional Forum offered a debate opportunity to the Republican incumbent, Kevin Yoder, and his Democratic challenger, Sharice Davids. Yoder accepted quickly. Davids declined, citing previous commitments.

The forum was established by supporters of U.S. Rep. Larry Winn in 1968 as a nonpartisan organization to help inform constituents about what goes on in Washington, D.C. Since its founding, Republicans and one Democrat cooperated by appearing regularly at the forum.

There was concern among forum regulars that Davids didn’t show at the debate and that she might not participate in the forum. However, that concern was quickly dismissed when she received a standing ovation, when first introduced, at the meeting of the forum Friday, Jan. 18, at Children’s Mercy Park.

Sharice Lynnette Davids is an interesting study in American politics for several reasons. She is the first of two American Indian women to be elected to Congress. The other is Deb Haaland, a Laguna Pueblo from New Mexico. Davids had a career in mixed martial arts and is openly gay. She was raised by a single mother who was a U.S. Army drill sergeant.

Davids defeated Yoder by a little more than 28,000 votes; she garnered more than 78,000 votes in traditionally Republican Johnson County. Yoder received only about 63,000 votes in Johnson County.

Davids told the forum members that her main concern now is getting federal employees back to work with pay.

Davids is a member of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, a fact that brought applause from the forum audience. She served as a lawyer for the U.S. Department of Transportation. She said she wants to make infrastructure a high priority.

She said she plans to open an office soon in the Brotherhood Building. She said she is anxious to help constituents with concerns, such as those involving the IRS, the Small Business Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Davids had high praise for her alma mater, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park. She said such schools, including Kansas City Kansas Community College, play a key role in providing an educated work force.

She received a degree in business from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and a law degree from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.

She said affordable health care is also one of her high priorities. She said she believes it is important that, as a Democrat, she can be a link from the majority party in the U.S. House with the rest of the Kansas delegation, which is Republican.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of the The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is the executive director of Business West.