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MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ROCK BLOCK PARTY
TARA BRYANT/KANSAN
Christine Chui, a junior from Overland Park, Sierra Franklin, a junior from Wichita, and Steve Hetro, a junior from Overland Park, work the Hawks Nest booth at the Kansas Union Friday night for the Hawk Week Block Party. Hawks Nest was one of dozens of campus organizations with a booth at the event.
TARA BRYANT/KANSAN
Hundreds of students filed into the Kansas Union Friday night to check out the poster sale, which runs through Friday.
TARA BRYANT/KANSAN
Cloud Dog, a local band, plays for students outside of the Kansas Union Friday night at the Hawk Week Block Party.
Avery Landes, a freshman from Denver, contemplates purchasing a poster from "The Big Lebowski" on Friday night at the poster sale at the Kansas Union.
TARA BRYANT/KANSAN
HIGHLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE PERRY CENTER
ACCESSIBLE Located within 15 miles of Lawrence in Perry, KS
AFFORDABLE Only $104 per credit hour for Kansas residents
TO VIEW OUR COURSE LIST GO TO
www.highlandcc.edu
under locations select Perry
Highland Community College Perry Center 203 West Bridge St. Perry, KS (785)597-0127
Highland Community College Campus
606 W. Main, Highland, KS
(785) 442-6000
Program pairs graduates with high-demand jobs
STATE
ELISE REUTER
reatere@kansan.com
"The most important part of our program is that we're trying to stop the drain of essential services," said Program Manager Denton Zeeman. "We're trying to promote growth. The ultimate goal is to create jobs."
It started when RedTire director Wally Meyer met with economic development advisers in Goodland. As they explained the issue of how closing small-town businesses eliminate important services for people who live in the area, Meyer began to think of a solution. He and his team developed the program in 2009, tweaking it to perfection before releasing it this year.
The School of Business launched a new program to keep Kansas businesses running after their owners retire. The Redefining Retirement program matches companies in need of new management with graduates of Kansas universities looking to run their own business.
The long-term goal of the program is to expand the Kansas economy as another way for the University to give back to the state.
The RedTire has garnered national buzz, being the first program of its kind; more than a dozen businesses inquired during the first month alone. However, not every inquiry is accepted as the program has specific guidelines businesses must meet.
Specifically, RedTire looks for small or medium-sized businesses with annual sales of at least $750,000. The program also focuses on jobs in pharmacy, medicine agriculture and business industries. The board of advisers supervising the program then match interested candidates with businesses. The idea will create a management team consisting of the graduate in the needed field of study with a business student to create a financially successful business.
"This is really geared toward people in high-demand positions that are hard to replace," said Austin Falley, the school's Business Communications Coordinator.
"If you've graduated from a Kansas region institution and you want to run a small or medium-sized business, this is the program for you," Falley said.
In an effort to reallocate funding for the Bold Aspirations strategic plan, the University offered early retirement buyouts to some employees.
Edited by Christy Khampilav
Early retirement buyout numbers:
Total eligible pool - 653 out of more than 5,000 total staff and faculty
Total applications - 149
Total amount of payments $4.9 million
Final awards-97
Faculty positions - 11
Total offers extended - 106
Source: Gavin Young, Office of Public Affairs
Luke Ranker
LOCAL
Coalition wants smoke-free casino
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City health advocates have started a new push to get smoking banned at area casinos, but it's not going to be an easy fight in a competitive industry with lots of financial clout.
Clean Air Metro KC, a loose coalition of groups that include the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association of Kansas City and county health departments, wants all of metropolitan Kansas City to be smoke free.
The Kansas City Star reported group members have been meeting with casino representatives and elected officials to urge them to support changes to state laws that allow smoking to continue on casino floors.
"I don't think people realize casinos still allow smoking. We want to get it on the radar," said Joyce Morrison, spokeswoman for Clean Air Metro KC. "Our message to casinos: Smoke-free casinos are inevitable. We want to be able to have a conversation with you instead of fighting it out in legislative hearings."
The casino companies, however have waged a furious fight to make their facilities one of the last bastions for public smoking in the Kansas City area.
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Local health advocates said some of the biggest victims of smoking in casinos are employees who are exposed to secondhand smokers every day.
Some casino workers have sued their employers, alleging that secondhand smoke was causing sore throats, dizziness, tightness in the chest and other symptoms.
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