Month: April 2019

Rosedale plans large cleanup on Saturday

More than 200 volunteers are expected to participate in the all-Rosedale Cleanup and Cookout from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 13.

Volunteers will meet at 8 a.m. in Fisher Park to get supplies and assignments, and then will fan out around the area to work on cleanup projects. They will meet back at Fisher Park, at Fisher and West 39th, for a catered picnic lunch at noon.

Erin Stryka, executive director of the Rosedale Development Association, which is coordinating the event, said the volunteers will clean up graffiti, pick up litter and remove brush.

“A really enthusiastic group is showing up this year, and will get a lot done,” Stryka said.

The theme of the RDA events, including this National Volunteer Week event, is residents building a people-powered neighborhood culture.

The volunteers include sorority and fraternity members, school employees, medical professionals, Scout den leaders, and Rotary Club members, as well as residents and neighbors.

One teacher at Noble Prentis School, who said Rosedale helps the school a lot, plans to help at the cleanup, and will bring her sorority sisters.

One neighbor who participates in the Rosedale activities said that she lives there because she feels connected to a community.

The event has received donations of supplies and equipment from businesses and governments, including a wood chipper truck from Green Solutions Tree Service, and gloves, snacks and bottled water from the University of Kansas Department of Otolaryngology, Stryka said.

Also donating to the event were the Unified Government Operation Brightside and the University of Kansas Office of Student Affairs. Litter bags, a dumpster, and the catered lunch were donated.

While the weather on Saturday may be cool, “we’ll be working hard and we’ll stay warm,” Stryka said.

Veteran infielder joins T-Bones

The Kansas City T-Bones have signed 10-year minor league veteran infielder Carlos Franco for the 2019 season.

Carlos Franco joins the T-Bones after blasting 36 home runs combined over the last two seasons in the Atlanta Braves organization.

The left-handed batting corner infielder spent the 2018 season with the AAA Gwinnett Stripers of the International League for Atlanta. In 119 games, he hit .249 (109-for-437) with 16 home runs and 76 RBIs—both totals led the club—all while playing 102 games at first base.

Franco finished fourth in the International League in RBIs while his home run total was good to tie him for eighth place in the circuit. Franco was third in the club with 22 doubles and third for the team with 52 runs while reaching a .311 on-base percentage. His 109 hits were tied for second on the Stripers roster.

Franco split time between AAA and AA in 2017. He would combine to hit .252 (116-for-461) with 18 doubles, 21 home runs, 53 runs and 77 RBIs in 134 games at both Gwinnett and Mississippi. His 21 long balls tied him with Ronald Acuna for tops in the Braves system in 2017, and Franco was named to the Braves Organizational All-Star Team by MiLB.com. In 93 games at AAA, his 77 runs knocked in also placed him second in the farm system to Acuna, who had 82.

Franco, 27, was born in Bani, Dominican Republic, and was signed by the Atlanta Braves as a non-drafted free agent on May 5, 2009. In his first six professional seasons, Franco played 444 games at third base and one at first. He has played 186 games at first base and another 122 at third base. He has not played third since 2017. Over his career, Franco is a .244 hitter with 70 home runs and 435 RBIs.

The 6-foot-2 Franco has spent parts of three spring trainings in Big League camp. In 17 games in the Grapefruit League, he has a .303 batting average with two home runs and seven RBIs. In 2018 Franco played in 14 games in the Braves spring training, going 8-for-30 with a pair of long balls and five runs knocked in.

Full and half-season 2019 ticket packages as well as mini plans are on sale online by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting the Saint Luke’s Box Office between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Group ticket sales are also on sale. Opening day for the T-Bones is set for Friday, May 17, at T-Bones Stadium when the T-Bones play host to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks to open the 2019 season.

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