Month: June 2022

Bike program helps at-risk youth in Wyandotte County

Martin Cervantes Sr. is making a difference in the lives of local at-risk youth with the Lowrider and Leadership Club. (Submitted photo)

by Mary Rupert

High-risk youth in Wyandotte County are being helped through a program that focuses on working on bicycles and attitudes.

Martin Cervantes Sr. said the program started about three months ago, and about 10 students are involved in it currently.

Some of the students in the program are involved with the court system, on probation or house arrest, he said.

The Lowrider and Leadership Club is the project of Cervantes, with assistance from the Olathe Lowrider Bicycle Chapter, and space provided through the KCK PAL (Police Athletic League) Program. The bike program is allowed to use space at the PAL location at the former St. Mary’s Church on 5th Street.

The program provides a basic bicycle kit to youths. For those youth who have failing grades, they will have to bring up their grades to get customized items for their bicycles, such as a seat, handlebars or paint, he said.

If they’re on probation or house arrest, they have to stay away from any violations, and follow rules and regulations, he said. When they do that, the program helps them customize the bicycles, he added.

When the youth graduate from high school or receive their GEDs (general education development certificate), they will take the bike home, he said.

“They earned the bike,” he said. “They’re more than welcome to stay in the program and help us mentor other youth.”

Cervantes said they also have other used bicycles that are donated to the program. The youth clean up the bikes, repair what needs repairing and then give them back to the community to kids in need, he said.

The group has gone to different activities in the community to show off their bikes, he added.

A youth who graduated from high school last month chose to keep his bicycle in the shop, come back and continue to work on it, and continue to help mentor youth in the program, he said.

Currently the group is working with youth who are 13 to 18 years old, in ninth to 12th grades, he said.

“Our main goal is to mentor them and help them graduate from high school,” Cervantes said. “The mentorship is the biggest part of the program. We bring in guest speakers to speak to them, learn from other people the things that can be done with their lives, by sharing or listening to others’ experiences.”

Besides being allowed to use space by PAL and receiving help from the Olathe Lowrider group, the Lowrider and Leadership Club here also has received some funding from the Drug Enforcement Agency, he said. The funding allows them to buy bikes and parts to customize them, he said.

While working on their bikes, the youth also have some other requirements that Cervantes has set, such as doing a good deed every day for someone in need, and making their bed in the morning, he said.

Cervantes is in touch with community corrections, court services, local police and judges. He has chosen to work with the at-risk youth to make a difference in the community.

“It’s a challenge, but I love it,” Cervantes said. “This is my passion.”

For more information about the program, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/1597040587301669/?ref=share.

Kansas Board of Regents extends deadline for university action on employee dismissal policy

Policy applies to all working at KU, KSU and four other public universities

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — The Kansas Board of Regents modified a controversial workforce-management policy to give public university officials additional time to submit a framework for justifying dismissal of employees, including tenured faculty, without adhering to standard campus procedures.

The original policy creating an alternative pathway to terminating employees was adopted by the Board of Regents in January 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, flat-to-lower enrollment trends, pressure to hold down tuition and fees, and historically marginal state funding. Under the two-year policy, a university wouldn’t be required to declare a financial emergency or adhere to certain personnel rules when downsizing its workforce.

Despite a large increase in state appropriations to Kansas higher education in 2022, the Board of Regents voted in May to move the deadline for universities to gain board approval of a framework for implementing the policy to Dec. 31. The board originally adopted a July 1, 2021, deadline for advancing those framework proposals, but none of the six universities in the system presented an action plan.

The policy was revised so campus administrators could propose operational frameworks and make use of the extraordinary process until the end of 2022. Individual appeals of personnel actions wouldn’t need to be completed by Dec. 31.

“The board wants to give presidents and the chancellor every tool they need to make sure they have a healthy budget,” said Blake Flanders, president and chief executive officer of the nine-member Board of Regents.

He said officials at Emporia State University were examining the possibility of implementing the policy to address operational challenges. On Wednesday, the Board of Regents appointed Ken Hush president of ESU.

“They’re going to look at every option,” Flanders said.

A memorandum circulated among ESU faculty indicated the university’s leaders were “considering this policy, among other options, to further the restructuring process.” Officials at ESU didn’t respond to a request for comment.

University of Kansas faculty protested development of the policy in February 2021 because they opposed lowering the bar for removal of tenured professors. Initially, KU officials said they couldn’t rule out reliance on the policy.

KU chancellor Doug Girod subsequently said in June 2021 and again last month that he wasn’t contemplating deployment of the policy to thin the university’s payroll.

“KU has not used the policy, and we will not use it before it expires,” Girod said in a message to university employees. “KU’s ability to manage the financial challenges of the pandemic without using the regents policy is due to the great work so many of you have done during the past two years.”

He said changes to university business practices, development of a transparent budget process that incentivized teaching and research, and stable student enrollment made it unnecessary to turn to the policy on workforce management set to expire at the end of 2022. It could be extended by the Board of Regents.

“KU still faces financial challenges, and we must continue making difficult decisions to ensure we are positioned for the future. The good news is we now have a clearer picture of these challenges — and opportunities — than we did two years ago,” Girod said.

Flanders said he didn’t believe Wichita State University or Kansas State University would rely on the Board of Regents’ employee policy. If enacted at Pittsburg State University or Fort Hays State University, he said, existing collective bargaining agreements would come into play.

In April 2021, the Board of Regents adjusted the policy to increase faculty, staff and student involvement in developing a university’s framework for applying the workforce policy.

Julene Miller, general counsel to the Board of Regents, said elected representatives from faculty, staff and student governance groups were guaranteed a “timely opportunity to provide input, comments and recommendations on the draft framework.”

The board also mandated university leaders communicate with employees a rationale for why it was necessary to adopt the policy rather than rely on standard suspension, dismissal or termination policies, she said.

Under the policy created by the Board of Regents, officials of a university could base employment decisions on performance evaluations, teaching and research productivity, student enrollment, operational costs or reductions in revenue for specific departments or schools.

A university employee must be provided a 30-day written notice of suspension or dismissal as well as written reasons for the personnel action. Appeals filed with the Board of Regents within 30 days would be handled by the Office of Administrative Hearings. The only grounds for reversing a university’s decision would be evidence the action was inconsistent with the university’s framework, based on unlawful bias or discrimination, or otherwise unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious.

The policy placed the burden of proof in appeals on the employee, who has no right in these proceedings to evidence discovery. Appeals under the policy don’t halt a suspension or termination. Employees who prevail on appeal under the policy would be entitled to reinstatement, back pay and restoration of benefits.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/06/23/kansas-board-of-regents-extends-deadline-for-university-action-on-employee-dismissal-policy/

Sporting wins quarterfinal U.S. Open Cup match, 6-0

Sporting Kansas City surged into the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals with a 6-0 quarterfinal thrashing of Union Omaha on Wednesday night at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, matching the largest margin of victory in club history.

Winger Daniel Salloi bagged a sensational brace to become Sporting’s all-time Open Cup scoring leader, center back Kortne Ford nodded home before halftime, Khiry Shelton added a goal and two assists and Felipe Hernandez rounded out the barrage with two sublime strikes in the second half.

By swiftly eliminating their third-division opponents, Sporting has sealed a semifinal date with USL Championship side Sacramento Republic FC in American soccer’s oldest and most prestigious domestic cup competition. Hosting rights for the fixture, set to be played on July 26 or 27, will be determined via Thursday’s draw during Futbol Americas on ESPN Plus at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday’s result pushed Sporting’s home unbeaten run in the U.S. Open Cup to 12 matches since 2015 as Union Omaha—a third-division club and the reigning USL League One champions—had its Cinderella run come to an end after upsets over Chicago Fire FC and Minnesota United FC earlier in the tournament.

Sporting has reached the Open Cup semifinals for the sixth time in team history, with each of the club’s last four appearances—in 2004, 2012, 2015 and 2017—serving as the penultimate step to a tournament title. In addition, Peter Vermes has now prevailed in 26 of 33 Open Cup matches as Sporting’s manager, posting a 23-7-3 record with the three draws accounting for shootout victories.

Just 72 hours after defeating Nashville SC for the club’s first road win of the season, Sporting rolled out a lineup that featured four defensive changes. Ford, goalkeeper John Pulskamp and full backs Kayden Pierre and Ben Sweat earned starts as Tim Melia, Nicolas Isimat-Mirin, Logan Ndenbe and Graham Zusi were rested ahead of Saturday’s visit to MLS heavyweights Seattle Sounders FC.

Hernandez, who scored a 38-yard free kick in Sunday’s triumph at Nashville, went agonizingly close to drawing first blood inside two minutes.

A quickfire Sporting attack down the left flank saw Cam Duke play forward to Salloi, who pulled back a cross for Hernandez near the top of the box. The 24-year-old midfielder met the pass with a first-time strike off the outside of his right boot at the top of the box, but Omaha goalkeeper Nuhu Rashid produced a reflex stop to keep his team level.

Omaha threatened at the opposite end three minutes later. Joe Brito’s delivery into the box skipped past a pair of Sporting defenders and fell to the feet of forward Kemal Malcolm, whose low drive was smothered by Pulskamp.

The visitors brought a contingent of 800 traveling fans for the 155-mile trip from Omaha, but they were drowned out by the roar of raucous Sporting supporters in the 10th minute when Vermes’ men landed the first punch.

A attacking move sparked by captain Johnny Russell’s buccaneering run through the middle was finished off with aplomb as Shelton squared low to Salloi for a simple finish into the gaping net.

Buzzing with momentum and buoyed by a fervent crowd, Sporting sought further damage in the 13th minute when Russell unleashed a 22-yard curler that Nuhu dove to palm. Not long later, Salloi kicked his marker along the left wing and forced another Nuhu stop at the near post before Russell’s bicycle kick carried over the crossbar.

Sporting’s assault on the Omaha goal continued in the 23rd minute. Remi Walter’s long-range blast was parried away by Nuhu, and Hernandez picked up the scraps, cannoning a shot high of the mark.

Nuhu’s heroics prevented Sporting from doubling its lead in the 28th minute. Russell outjumped his marker to meet a Hernandez corner kick and plant a strong header goalward, but the Omaha gloveman reacted by stretching out his right hand and pawing the ball away.

The upstart hosts would not be denied a second tally before halftime, however, as another Hernandez corner kick caused Omaha trouble. His out-swinging service in the 37th minute was cushioned home by the leaping Ford, who not only opened his Sporting Kansas City scoring account but bagged his first goal for an MLS club since scoring as a member of the Colorado Rapids against Sporting on May 27, 2017.

The lone Sporting setback of the first half came on the cusp of halftime. Ford suffered an injury in a collision following an Omaha set piece and was replaced by Isimat-Mirin, who had performed admirably three days earlier in the win versus Nashville.

The floodgates opened during a comprehensive second-half display as Sporting took the game into overdrive. Isolated on the left wing in the 53rd minute, Salloi outmatched a pair of defenders before slotting low past Nuhu for a solo strike that brought nearly 18,000 Sporting fans to their feet. Salloi now has seven career goals in the U.S. Open Cup, passing Dom Dwyer for the most in club history.

Shelton’s evening was punctuated three minutes later. The center forward settled Isimat-Mirin’s inch-perfect long ball over the top, muscle off a challenge from his defender and poke a low shot that beat Nuhu and caromed into the net off the right post. Isimat-Mirin notched his first Sporting assist on the play and Shelton recorded his second goal of the 2022 Open Cup campaign after scoring in extra time of a win over FC Dallas in the Round of 32.

Hernandez was another standout candidate for man of the match and built on his first-half assist by providing the final two goals of the contest. He smashed a first-time effort into the right corner off Marinos Tzionis’ cross in the 66th minute, then scored a strike 15 minutes later on a feed from Logan Ndenbe.

With a ticket punched to the Open Cup semifinals, Sporting will direct its gaze on the resumption of the MLS regular season and a marquee matchup against the Sounders on Saturday. Kickoff at Lumen Field is slated for 2 p.m. with national coverage on ABC, the ESPN app and ESPN Deportes as well as local radio calls on Sports Radio 810 WHB and LaGrande 1340 AM.

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