Lawrence Central Rotary

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Greetings from Bangalore, India

“Namaskara!” Ranjith Madhana Gopal said hello to Rotarians in Kannada, his native language. He told club members about his home in Bangalore, India.

Bangalore, a city of 8 ½ million people, is the capital of India’s southern Karnataka state. It is considered the Silicon Valley of India, according to Ranjith, the location for many international technology firms. The city is also known for its parks and lakes. Ecological diversity and virgin forest can be found nearby. Multiple languages are spoken in the city. Ranjith commented that the city’s metros are notoriously and purposely slow, constructed to accommodate uneven terrain and sharp turns in established neighborhoods. Religious processions in the streets are colorful and common, stimulating a strong sense of community and history. Hindu temples are found throughout the city as they have served as economic centers as well as places of worship.

Ranjith first visited the United States in 2012 to participate in an Unmanned Air Vehicle Systems competition in Maryland. His experience there made him decide that he wanted to return to do his advanced degree. Now a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Kansas, Ranjith is pursuing his Masters’ degree in Mechanical Engineering. He says that the friendliness and the value that the Midwest places on extended family makes him feel very much at home. He aspires to be a technological entrepreneur in the field of medical devices. He enjoys swimming, playing cricket, and exploring cultures.

April 19, 2017
Kendra Kuhlman Inducted into Lawrence Central Rotary

President Jim Peters inducted Kendra Kuhlman (right) into Lawrence Central Rotary on Wednesday, March 29. Kendra’s sponsor was Kate Campbell. Kendra works at Kansas Public Radio in sales and business underwriting.

April 8, 2017
Southwest Middle School Students Envision the Future

Over two dozen eighth graders from Southwest Middle School told Lawrence Central Rotarians their ideas about how to make the world a better place. The students are all members of the Future City team that placed first in regional competition and then took home the fifth-place prize at the national Future City competition in Washington, D.C. In May, members of the team will give their presentation once again at the annual meeting of Underwriters Laboratories, a Future City sponsor. They are one of two teams who have been invited to attend the meeting.

The Future City competition encourages middle schoolers nationwide to “imagine, research, design and build cities of the future.” This year the challenge for the competition was “The Power of Public Space.” The Southwest team selected Jakarta, Indonesia, to re-imagine 150 years in the future. They called their new city “Teratai,” a word that means lotus in Indonesian, symbolizing “the peace and serenity that is part of the rebuilt city.”

In the process of their work, the students learned and followed engineering methods: identify the problem; learn the specifications; brainstorm solutions; design it; build it; then test, improve, and re-design. The program requires each team to develop a project plan, create the city virtually, compose a 300-word essay to describe their solution, build a working model out of recycled materials, and present their concept in a seven-minute talk. Co-coaches Danielle Lotton-Barker and Jamie Shaw guided the team in their work.

When asked what they had learned from their experience, the students repeatedly exclaimed about the power of teamwork. They came together last fall as individuals with diverse talents, interests, and expertise, and they learned to work together to create not only a prize-winning product but also to develop respect for each other’s contributions and strong friendships. Several said that they intend to pursue careers in engineering and related professions because they enjoyed working on the project so much.

April 8, 2017
Mail Ballot Supports Student Centered Learning

USD 497 Superintendent Kyle Hayden brought a message to Lawrence Central Rotarians focusing on an upcoming mail-in ballot election.

Kyle Hayden grew up in Sabetha, Kansas, and attended college at Tabor, later earning an advanced degree at Emporia State University. He worked at several teaching assignments in the state before serving five years as Assistant Superintendent for USD 497. He has been on the job for one year, presiding over the seventh largest district in the state, including 1,850 employees and 11,700 students. The District is experiencing steady growth with a ½% to 1% growth increase a year. Kyle Hayden has three children, and his wife is a teacher at Free State High School.

The District strives to achieve a creative engagement of teachers, parents, and community in order to provide and excellent education. Toward that end the May 2, 2017 Mail Ballot Election is intended to address long standing building deficiencies, primarily for the middle schools and high schools. These schools are all in need of more flexible spaces, energy efficiencies and more secure entrances. Due to its age Lawrence High School is a particular focus of the plan. The development of this proposal was the charge of a Facilities Planning Committee, focus groups, administrators, staff and students. The result is an 87 million dollar bond proposal with 58,000 dollars identified for Lawrence High School. A 2.4 mill tax on local property will be required to fund the plan.

The election time line provides for voter registration to be completed by April 11. Ballots will be mailed April 12 and must be marked and returned to the County Clerk’s Office by noon May 2. Work could start as soon as next summer if the Bond is approved. More information on the Facilities Master Plan and the Mail Ballot measure may be viewed at the District web site.

April 2, 2017
Maximizing Independence for People with Disabilities

Independence, Inc. in Lawrence serves both people with disabilities and the communities where they live. Organized in 1978, the agency was the first Center for Independent Living (CIL) in the area, according to Bob Mikesic, co-director for the agency. Currently, it is one of about 400 CILs across the nation. Douglas, Franklin, and Jefferson counties benefit from its programs and services.

Cooking is one of the most popular classes that the agency offers among its training programs. In addition to teaching such independent living skills, classes create friendships and good times among peers who use the agency. In addition, Independence, Inc. provides advocacy, peer counseling, information and referral, and transition services of various types. It can also help to locate assistive technology, telecommunications access, and medical equipment for the disabled. Disabled people can find a ride to a medical appointment, learn to manage their finances, and get a document transcribed into Braille at Independence, Inc. The youth employment program provides jobs for young people with disabilities aged 15 to 21. The Haskell Avenue location houses a computer learning center and accessible meeting rooms as well as agency offices.

By promoting self-reliance and advocating personal rights and choices, Centers for Independence work to make individuals productive and to stay interconnected with their communities. There were no laws requiring accessibility or reasonable accommodation when CIL initiatives began in the 1960s, and employment options for the disabled were limited. After years of advocacy, CILs saw Congress pass the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, a law that provided rules and regulations to open the door for disabled people to manage a job and their own lives. More recently, one-third of the people who benefited from the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid were the disabled.

March 23, 2017