Lady Blue Devils stretch volleyball streak to six in a row

KCKCC sophomore Blair Russell (7) soared for a kill against Hesston Wednesday night while teammates Kimberly Martinez (2) and Lily Cullers ready for a possible block in the Lady Blue Devils 3-0 win. (KCKCC photo by Rodney Christensen)
KCKCC sophomore Blair Russell (7) soared for a kill against Hesston Wednesday night while teammates Kimberly Martinez (2) and Lily Cullers ready for a possible block in the Lady Blue Devils 3-0 win. (KCKCC photo by Rodney Christensen)

by Alan Hoskins

No. 12 ranked Kansas City Kansas Community College stretched its volleyball winning streak to six in a row Wednesday with a three-game sweep of Hesston.

After a narrow 26-24 opening win, the Lady Blue Devils pulled away 25-21 and 21-17 for the 3-0 win in the home opener.

The Blue Devils return to tournament action Friday and Saturday at Highland, Kan. KCKCC opens with Southwestern Community College at 3 p.m. Friday and then faces Cloud at 7 p.m. On Saturday, KCKCC plays Coffeyville at 9 a.m. and perennial power Indian Hills at 11 a.m.

Sophomores Lily Thornberg (11) and Peyton Pender (3) attempt to block an attempted Hesston kill in KCKCC’s 3-0 win in the home opener Wednesday. (KCKCC photo by Rodney Christensen)
Sophomores Lily Thornberg (11) and Peyton Pender (3) attempt to block an attempted Hesston kill in KCKCC’s 3-0 win in the home opener Wednesday. (KCKCC photo by Rodney Christensen)

KCKCC trip to Ireland, England and Scotland nearly full

by Alan Hoskins

Kansas City Kansas Community College’s 2015 spring trip to Ireland, England and Scotland is filling up fast.

“Just eight spaces remain and there may be less than that by the time this is read so anyone interested should act quickly because it’s only a matter of time when it is filled,” said Alan Hoskins, trip organizer. “The last thing we want is to have to turn someone down.”

A total of 25 persons from the Kansas City area have signed up for the trip, the largest number to go on a KCKCC trip in many years. While most of those signing up are from the KCK area, the trip is open to all interested persons.

Entitled “Rural Landscapes of Ireland & Britain,” it’s a 16-day adventure beginning May 22, 2015, and includes an optional 3-day extension in London. The first KCKCC trip to the British Isles in more than 10 years, travelers will spend six days in Ireland and four each in Scotland and England plus the 3-day London extension.

Highlights of the Ireland agenda which will begin in Shannon will include the spectacular scenery of the Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula, exploration of such charming areas as County Cork, Killarney and Kilkenny, the Blarney Castle and a tour of Dublin.

A ferry will take travelers across the Irish Sea to Wales and the landmark Conwy Castle before crossing into England and the largest Roman amphitheater in England, the magnificent Pennines known as “the backbone of England” and an optional excursion to Liverpool to explore the world of the Beatles.

Loch Lomond, the Eilean Donan Castle and Isle of Skye and the site of the notorious 1692 massacre of the MacDonald clan are among the stops in the Scottish Highlands before finishing in Edinburgh, one of Europe’s most striking cities, and St. Andrews where golf was founded centuries ago. The extension to London will include a sightseeing tour of Big Ben, Downing Street and Buckingham Palace and excursions to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Oxford.

The cost of the trip is $4,529 (double occupancy) and includes round trip airfare from Kansas City, daily breakfast buffets, eight 3-course dinners with wine or beer, lodging in hand-picked hotels, private deluxe motor coach and tour director. The 3-day London extension is $569 and single accommodations are available.

Brochures and full itineraries are available either by mail or email by contacting Alan Hoskins at [email protected] or 913-687-6426. A deposit of $300 will guarantee space and no price increase.

Big band benefit to support KCKCC Jazz Band

by Kelly Rogge

Kansas City’s own Kicks Band will be headlining a big band benefit later this month to support the Kansas City Kansas Community College Jazz Band.

The “Tea Dance” is from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14, in the ballroom of the Historic Lake of the Forest Club House, 100 Lake Forest in Bonner Springs. The club house is off of Highway 32, east of Bonner Springs and west of Interstate 435. Coffee, tea and cookies will be provided, and set ups will be available for a minimal charge. Tickets are $15 per person; $25 per couple or $100 for a table of eight. Special pricing is available for groups of 16 or more. The event is sponsored by the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Department at KCKCC.

In addition to the refreshments, there will be a silent auction as well as drawings. The Kicks Band will provide big band-era music reminiscent of Glen Miller, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and Count Basie.

Proceeds from the event will help with costs of the KCKCCC Jazz Band’s upcoming trip to the 30th-annual Havana Jazz Festival this December. The Havana International Jazz Festival started in 1978 when Bobby Carcasses and other Cuban jazz musicians had a concert at the Case de la Cultura de Plaza. The following year, Chucho Valdes, now president of the festival’s organizing committee, gave another concert. Those yearly concerts morphed into the festival as it is known today.

In addition to attending the festival, the jazz band will have the opportunity to explore Cuba’s many historical venues including taking a guided tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Havana Historical Centre as well as exploring Finca Vigia, where Ernest Hemingway lived for more than 20 years.

For more information or to make a reservation, contact M.M. Hoffman at 913-288-7266 or by email at [email protected].