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Dodge City econ dev = casino.
Greg Mann Manhattan, KS
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the most successful sports program in ks state history is smith center, football, are they private? no, same coach, same hard working kids.. Challange HEADUP's statement above. Just not so!! A review of football championships since 1969 reveals the following: Smith Cen: 7, Olathe N.: 8, Lawrence: 10, Salina S. 8, Hutch: 6 Boys soccer since 1986: Aquinas: 12 VB since 1977: Miege 18, Lawrence 15, Concordia 11 Baseball since 1967: B. Colgan: 14, Silver Lake: 11, B. Ward: 9 Also, I do not see much of a Smith Center championship history in other spors. NOTE: I think all numbers are correct within a plus or minus one. Its hard to do an accurate count by hand. The KSHSAA volleyball page includes a page of statistics of how many state champion ships have been won by a school. MSHSAA has a spreadsheet showing by year and then totals the number of state championships won by schools. Be nice if KSHSAA could do the same for all KS sports.
Last edited by Contrarian; 04/27/10 05:13 PM.
Bill Mason Lansing
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Donald Clark, a representative from DeSoto High, asked Carroll athletic director Larry Dostert and Kapaun president Mike Burrus to provide the board with alternative solutions.
"I would challenge the non-public institutions to bring back to this board a proposal," Clark said. "One that takes the form of your institutions taking a leadership role in bringing a positive change, a positive alternative to some of the proposals we've come up with." Don, Why is the onus on the privately funded schools? I wouldn’t call them non-public institutions when ANYONE from the public is permitted to apply and attend. I don’t see the negative in the existing format. The message is that publicly funded schools are failing to put a competitive product together. DeSoto has NEVER been in a winner in any sports. In the history of the school there has been ONE state champion in wrestling a only a handful of placers. None of the other sports can boast much, if any success. There is NO way that can be blamed on privately funded schools. I only bring this up because your proposal utilizes the successes of privately funded schools as he primary data for creating change. To me, success nor lack there of, should be the reason for changes. Shouldn't we be teaching our kids that EVERYONE has a chance to win state but not everyone will instead of creating more state championships? I don't think we are sending the right message when we say "It isn't fair!" Life is full of things that aren't fair as fair is a term only meaningful to the beholder. The message should be work as hard and smart as you can. Sometimes you win but you have to learn how to deal with the losing too as it will make you better. Not, if you don't win it must not have been fair. What gives the privately funded schools an advantage? If you say outside of the district student population base, my rebuttal is what are you going to do about a multiplier for those publicly funded schools with open enrollment or kids who attend who live outside of their district borders? Wouldn’t you be obligated to apply the multiplier to them as well? If you put 10,000 kids and parents in a gym and told them that they could go to Saint Thomas Aquinas they would all sit there and listen. If you told them that they would have to pay nearly $9,000 in tuition and fees most of them would get up and leave. Further, if you told them that they would have to buy into the Catholic Education program you would lose some more of your audience. Then if you told them that there was no busing and that you would have to be involved in extensive fund raising efforts to keep the school in the black and to permit your student to have extracurricular opportunities you would lose a bunch more. What would you have left? A tremendously smaller part of the population than any public school has to draw from. There is no advantage! The most motivated parents put their kids in the best situation for their kids to excel. The most motivated parents have the most motivated kids. There is no per se advantage! The results you see are due to the dedication, effort and more efficient mechanisms. Here is a great example. If I would have gone to the AD at DeSoto HS the summer between Ryne’s 8th grade and freshman year and told you that your wrestling program needed to be overhauled what kind of response would I have gotten? If I would have asked to have some input in the schedule making and use of the facilities to promote youth, spring and summer wrestling, and involvement in fundraising, what kind of answers would I have gotten? I will let you decide how I would have been treated and what answers I would have gotten. The red tape, politics, and endless levels of administrative overhead in the public schools have made it nearly impossible to make immediate, significant changes. I did not encounter ANY resistance, my suggestions and involvement were embraced by the school he chose to attend. The bigger question is why, as a voting member of KSHSAA, are you being quoted in a public forum speaking from an obvious bias stance? Are you going to be allowed to vote on this issue? It appears to me that since you are on the school board for the district that authored the proposal that you shouldn’t be allowed to vote as it is an obvious conflict of interest. I just hate seeing my usd232 tax dollars being wasted on efforts like this. Will Cokeley (785) 842-7546 Office (509) 267-7060 Fax (708) 267-6615 Cell PS: Would Jack Welch have hired a new employee to be President for GE if he would have had to stick around for a extra year and train him? Heck no! He wouldn’t hire a guy who wasn’t ready to do the job. That is a waste of money.
Will Cokeley (708)267-6615 willcokeley@gmail.com
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Are you saying, Will, that elected representatives of governing bodies who make proposals for changes in the functioning of the governing body and then debate/defend the merits of that proposal both in the chamber of representation and out in the places where public gather should not be allowed to vote on the proposal?
I do not see where the "conflict of interest resides." If so, no member of congress, school board, county commission, etc. should be allowed to vote on legislation they introduce or debate.
Greg Mann Manhattan, KS
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Ford County Deemed Least Stressed County in Nation An article written by John Green with the Hutchinson News As much of the nation continues to struggle with worsening economic conditions, Dodge City and Ford County are facing their own unique challenges. The primary one, said Joann Knight, executive director of the Dodge City/Ford County Development Corp., is finding sufficient housing to enable people to come into the community to fill dozens of available jobs. A close second, she said, is finding the people to fill the jobs. Ford County, a largely agricultural community that is widely recognized for its “Wild West” heritage, meatpacking operations and the site of the first state-run casino, also drew the distinction this week of being named the least economically stressed county in the nation. Coming in fifth in the nationwide assessment of counties with more than 25,000 population was neighboring Finney County. The Economic Stress Index, developed by The Associated Press to analyze conditions around the nation, develops a score based on a county’s unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates. A higher score indicates more stress. A county is considered stressed, according to the study’s authors, when its score exceeds 11. More than 55 percent of counties in the country fell into the category in January. Ford County, in contrast, with an ongoing unemployment rate under 3.5 percent, had a score of 4.17. Finney County, with an unemployment rate estimated at 4 percent, had an economic stress score of 4.86. Also in the rankings were Ellis County at No. 2, with a score of 4.31, and Riley County, which was ranked 12th with a score of 5.53. Destination Ford County “I think finally somebody is picking up on what we’ve been telling everybody all along,” said Ford County Commission Chairman Kim Goodnight. “We’ve got a lot of projects going on in our community. We’re really trying to create a place where everyone wants to live.” The health of the community, Knight said, goes back to its strong agricultural ties and conservative nature. That’s been boosted by continuing efforts – several dating back more than a decade – to make Dodge City a destination. “People have to eat, so that’s a big part of it,” Knight said. “Also, we have a lot of the things going on now that have been in the planning for many, many years. We just finished the casino, which was in the works for almost a decade, and our special events center is now under construction. That dates to 1997, when we passed a vote on it. “We also have highway projects that we’re able to finish. We just built a jail and we’re building a water reclamation facility,” she continued. When the recession hit, most of the projects were ready or nearly ready to start, Knight said, providing jobs for hundreds of construction workers. Now, with the casino complete and the events center on the way, it has meant hundreds of permanent jobs. The city and county are also working hard to bring a multimillion-dollar cheese factory to the region that would employ 130 to 160 more people. The difficulty, Goodnight said, will be finding people to fill the jobs. “We have to be attractive enough for someone to want to move here, to get out of the inner city and come out where opportunity is,” she said. “Our biggest issues are recruitment and housing,” Knight said. “It’s nothing for people to drive 50 miles to come to work. We can find people to work, but we can’t find the housing. So that’s really been a recent economic development focus.” Her agency has developed regional Web sites to list free job postings and free posts of available housing, she said. “We have started incentive programs to build new and rehab homes south of Comanche (Street), which is half the community. We’re really trying to encourage that growth.” Four months ago the city agreed to offer incentives in helping develop infrastructure for new housing and two months ago adopted a Neighborhood Revitalization Program that offers tax breaks for remodeling. “We’re working with several developers right now, but it’s still not enough to meet our needs,” Knight said. The focus is on building apartments after a May 2008 housing assessment showed the greatest need was in the rental market. Housing projects in the works include the 48-unit Beeson Court six-plexes and nine low-income qualifying duplexes being built by Interfaith Housing Services. “We’ve got 350 units in the works with different developers, but not all are at the point they are announceable,” Knight said. Other important factors to its success and attractiveness, Goodnight said, are the region’s natural resources. “Water is our number one resource,” he said. “The second thing we have is land and space. And then there are the people. We think all of those are important factors.” And, of course, wind. “I have my great-great-grandmother’s diary, and on the first day it says, ‘My oh my, the wind sure does blow,’ ” Goodnight said. “The county has two conditional permits that have been issued for wind farms. We could easily see another 200-or-so-megawatt wind farms spring up on top of the 100 we have in Spearville.” Low unemployment big plus for Ford County One of the lowest unemployment figures not only in the state of Kansas, but the nation, spell a big plus for the Dodge City and Ford County job markets. With a rate of 3.9% for the month of May, Ford County still has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state of Kansas. The state rate has risen to 6.9%. Low unemployment means that many jobs in the area continue to go unfilled. Also, low unemployment usually signals stable, long-term employment with competition for those folks who may be searching for a job. This high employment rate also means stable, significant tax collections for the county and the city, helping to boost quality of life. Dodge City has had a consistent rate of low unemployment throughout the last few years, including the recent recession, making it a good place to hold a job for the long term. Boot Hill Casino & Resort Hosts Grand Opening New jobs and new opportunities are coming to Kansas with the opening of a new first-class tourist attraction, the Dodge City Boot Hill Casino & Resort. “Even with today’s economic challenges, Kansas has much to be proud of and much to look forward to,” said Governor Mark Parkinson. ”This world-class facility will bring business to Kansas while creating much needed jobs and resources for the state. The Dodge City Boot Hill Casino & Resort will be a destination not just for our own citizens, but for visitors from across the country.” “I have been looking forward to the grand opening day for quite some time and appreciate the dedication and efforts of the design and construction teams that have completed the first phase of the development project. I am proud of our “Day 1″ employees who have been working so hard over the past months to be sure all facets of the property were operational and ready for the grand opening,” said Clark Stewart, President and CEO of Butler National Corporation. ”We are excited about the growth and opportunity that this project represents to the residents of Southwest Kansas, and believe that we are creating a world-class destination resort that will bring renewed life to the captivating history of Dodge City. Upon completion of Phase II, we will have a full resort destination that offers a unique yet traditional experience for both the tourism and business communities alike.” Grand Opening festivities and a Ribbon Cutting ceremony took place on December 16th, officially opening the first phase of the two phase project. Officials attending the event included Governor Mark Parkinson; Senate President Stephen Morris; Ed Van Petten, Executive Director of the Kansas Lottery; Carol Sader, Chairman of the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission; Clark Stewart, President and CEO of Butler National Corporation; Kim Goodnight, Chairman, 2nd District Commissioner; Rick Sowers, Mayor of Dodge City, KS and Michael Weece, Chairman of the Board, Dodge City Chamber of Commerce. Upon successful completion of the control play day and the approval to open the casino by the Kansas Lottery and the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, the casino officially opened to the public on December 15, 2009. Featured attractions of Phase I includes 584 electronic gaming machines, 12 tables games, a 150 seat casual dining restaurant known as Firesides at Boot Hill, The Saloon for casual cocktails and a variety of imported and domestic draft beers, a snack bar for light fare on the go and a retail gift shop. Bringing the intrigue and excitement of the 1880’s Old West tradition to life, the project will mean significant economic growth for the region. Phase II of the Boot Hill Casino & Resort project, scheduled for completion in February 2012, will see the addition of a 124 guest room hotel, indoor pool, 3,000 square foot salon and spa facility, a 20,000 square foot conference and entertainment facility, 15,000 square feet of additional gaming space and additional dining. For more information about the new Boot Hill Casino & Resort, or information about careers, please visit www.boothillcasino.com or call 1-800-906-0777. Boot Hill Casino & Resort supports responsible gambling initiatives. Guest must be 21 to enter the facility. About Boot Hill Casino & Resort: Boot Hill Casino & Resort, located on Highway 50 in Dodge City, is the first state run gaming facility in Kansas. A tribute to the legendary fame of the Old West, the property offers gaming, dining and entertainment in a setting reminiscent of the Wild West era. Phase I of the $90 million project opened in December 2009, with Phase II targeted for completion in February 2012. The Boot Hill Casino & Resort is managed by BHCMC, LLC, a subsidiary of BNSC, a Kansas corporation. The lottery facility games at Boot Hill Casino & Resort are owned and operated by the Kansas Lottery. The Kansas Racing Commission provided regulatory oversight for the casino.
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When you have three boys in DeSoto schools, you are on the schoolboard of the school that authored the proposal and you are on the KSHSAA board it seems like too much of a one sided stance even though his voter group is made up of a wider group. It appears to be HIS interest not his constituency's.
What is even funnier is that he was there Friday night to run his mouth but didn't attend on Saturday to vote on the issues to be voted on. I would like to see his KSHSAA attendance and voting record.
He was not elected to the KSHSAA.
His constituency includes many who have kids attending privately funded schools. He is an at large member but he speaks only behalf of one high school in his voting area. It will be my goal to make sure all of hia voters know where he stands.
I would like to think that those who vote on proposals before KSHSAA would be unbiased. Of course, this has been one of the many problems I have with KSHSAA. There is NO outside reprensation on the voting board. All members of schools, schoolboards, or administrators. I really believe we have much bigger fish to fry than trying to stick it to the privately funded schools.
Last edited by Cokeley; 04/27/10 11:27 PM.
Will Cokeley (708)267-6615 willcokeley@gmail.com
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As a wrestling coach.... I could care less... If we are not beating private schools... then we should get better! I like the competition without a doubt! Does it sometimes suck that a kid that lives in my area can go to a private school... maybe a little. Actually it used to bother me a lot. Then I realized that every second I fight private school rules, I am losing coaching my own kids who want to be around me! So, go to private school if you wish!
However, I am not going to put my head in the sand and tap out to the private school athletic programs. Instead, I'll just try and make my "public school kids" better and beat them. I have lost quite a few times to private schools over my career as a coach... but my teams have also gotten better and have won the last 4 duals against them as well.
6 in one hand, half a dozen in the other!
Do I believe private schools recruit... YUP! Do I believe public schools recruit... YUP! Don't throw stones from a glass house! My personal philosophy... "if you don't want to be a part of my program... then there are plenty around that will probably take you and good luck to you and be ready"
Last edited by FalconCoach; 04/27/10 09:46 PM.
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Falcon Coach.
I don't think the status quo or any of the proposed changes will effect wrestling. Wrestling is an individual sport, wrestler on wrestler. Teams accumulate points only on the success of their individua wrestler. No competitive wrestlers, no points. In wrestling private schools are fight a numbers game, 14 wrestlers against the field, or in a state tournament bracket one wrestler against 115 wrestlers from possibly as many as 64 schools.
What you have not addressed is that 6 of the 7 Wichita City Public HS do not have to compete agains private schools in state level competition in field sports (nor do the other 6A schools surrounding Wichita have to compete against the private schools in state competition). Yes, there are 2 private schools in your league, Carrol and KMC. But, what is important, league play or qualifying and getting to represent your school in a state tournament. Both are important, but I think the athletes will longer remember getting to state than winng league. How far and how many times has Wichita West (5A) advanced in 5A state competition in field sports (FB, baseball, basketball, boys and girls soccer, VB, SB). when facing Carrol or KMC?
Bill Mason Lansing
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Will, for a man of the world you certainly have a pollyanna view of politics.
Greg Mann Manhattan, KS
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Contrarian,
Well, in two years, Wichita Heights will most likely be a 5A school. A brand new school is going to be built about 2 miles away and we will probably lose quite a few to those facilities! So I guess I am going to have to figure out how to beat 5A private schools and do some old fashion off season work and coaching to get them ready for the in season coaching and work! Like I said, I used to get fired up about STA, BC, KMC etc. But then I realized, kids are kids... Coach em up and quit complaining about what you don't have and win with what you do have!
And Wichita West is not a fair comparison...They are not competing for titles in any sport in any classification (1A-6A) for a long time. They have a lot more challenges in front of them than private schools!
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"There can be NO improvement without change." That is my line! I am all for change that improves. I have yet to see what is improved by any of the proposals that were put before the KSHSAA by the NCKL and Frontier League. What I have seen is some whiners that want a shortcut to a state champioship or even just to make the playoffs. The trend, in Kansas, is to create more playoffs and championships wihtout any increase in total enrollment. The trend is to spend more on administration and overhead and not put our dollars into education and extracurricular activities. The trend is to hang onto OLD buildings and pay high maintenance costs for a fewer and fewer number of students. Change for the sake of change and change that will cost the taxpayers more dollars out of an ever shrinking pool are not the kind of changes we need. Change for opportunities to choose and to improve should be embraced. Smokey hit on the head. When "we the people" only work for tax dollar paid for salaries where are we headed? The percentage of taxpayers is shrinking and he percentage of those getting paid from the tax pool is increasing, DAILY! 17,000 new IRS jobs to administer the healthcare plan, a second superintendent to hold he hand of he firs in the DeSoto School district, a roof inspector in Miami County to make sure there is only one layer of shingles and that everyone has a permit to put on new shingles, etc. Are you kidding me??? We have to make products to sell and grow commodities to sell. Folks, read your history books! What made our country great and powerful is now making China great and powerful. We need to pull our collective heads out of our collective butts and realize that CHANGE needs to mean REAL jobs that creat GNP and bring dollars into our country and communities not jobs that leach from the few left paying taxes.
Last edited by Cokeley; 04/28/10 11:36 AM.
Will Cokeley (708)267-6615 willcokeley@gmail.com
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Interesting to crunch some numbers on just 6A State Champioships. Looked at 20 years history in most sports-1990 to 2010, or all the history of the sports that started state tournament play after 1990.
Football 1990-2009: 20 years, 6 different schools/champions. Olathe N. 8, Lawrence 5 (no FB state champs since Lawrence Free State into existence in/about 1996), Hutch 4 (5A since 2008), Derby 1, JC 1, Garden City 1
Baseball: 20 years, 13 different schools/champions.
Boys basketball: 20 years, 14 different schools/champions.
Girls basketball: 20 years, 11 different schools/champions.
Volleyball: 20 years, 10 different schools/champions.
Softball: 20 years, 7 different schools/champions.
Boys Soccer: 20 years, 11 different schools/champions, including 2 Aquinas when 6A in 03 and 04.
Girls Soccer; 16 years history, 7 different schools/champions, including 1 Aquinas when 6A in 05, plus 4 Aquinas 93 to 96 when only one class (ALL) in girls soccer.
Cross Country-boys and girls: almost total dominatoion by SM NW.
Boys Track: 10 years history, 9 different schools /champions.
Girls Track: 10 years, 4 different schools/champions (Leavenworth 5 plus a tie championships==55 percent).
Gymnastics: 20 years in only one Class (ALL), 8 schools/champions---appears to be all 6A schools.
In only one sport was one school dominate over the whole 20 year history: Shawnee Mission NW in boys and girls Cross Country (26 of 40 championships==65 percent-----boys 16 of 20==80%).
Why can not KSHSAA put all this on a spreadsheet showing all sports and schools that have won state championshion--perhaps also separate spreadsheets showing state championships in each classification. MSHSAA has such a spreadsheet--at least an all inclusive spreadsheet.
When discussing something as important as public and private school state championships a comprehensive data base would be helpful. GOT's TO HAVE A PROGRAM TO FIGURE OUT THE PLAYERS.
Last edited by Contrarian; 04/28/10 04:31 PM.
Bill Mason Lansing
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Honestly, how many state championships private schools have won might be the MOST ridiculous criteria to use to justify change. Has the Big 12 South won a disproportionate number of Big 12 championships? Dang right but I don't hear the north whining!
If publicly funded schools are concerned that they have too many kids in special education programs then discount their enrollment by that number.
Seriously, name the true advantage that privately funded schools have over publicly funded schools? It really boils down to a choice and income. So this drills right down to a socioeconomic argument, not anything more than that.
Last edited by Cokeley; 04/29/10 02:44 AM.
Will Cokeley (708)267-6615 willcokeley@gmail.com
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There are advantages to public/private and home education.
When it comes to education of our children we made decisions that seemed right for us. -Two years in public grade school-Olathe -six years home educating our 5 kids. Amazing time! -Our oldest attended Christ Prep Academy as a freshman He wanted to wrestle. great school and great coach in Greg Thomas. -When we moved to Gardner it was a decision to public school. -One of my children has petitioned the school board to graduate early.
The key is we choose to do what we felt was right.
People thrive when they are given freedom.
We were not rich, just committed to help our kids.
Mark
The older I get the better I was!
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