Boxing Program Will Get No Funding Meeting becomes spirited debate; council opts to offer no further funding to program BY JEFFREY GAUTREAUX, SUN STAFF WRITER Published on: September 7, 2006 CONTINUING COVERAGE Race became the focus of a debate about providing the Yuma County Youth Boxing Association with more money from the city’s coffers. In the end, the Yuma City Council decided not to provide any further funding to the after-school program. YCYBA president Fred Block and the council sparred for more than 45 minutes over the issue of whether the group deserved monies from the city’s general fund to supplement $10,000 that was received from the federal government’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Block said it got personal. "The kids were on the side. It got to be a war of them (the council) against Fred Block, and they forgot about what this was all about ... It got all about words and emotions," he said. Currently, the program teaches boxing to 95 youths age 18 and under. YCYBA is in the midst of working to relocate to another facility. Block said the organization would keep fighting because it was important to keep the program alive to keep at-risk children off the street. He said the YCYBA board will meet today, and the next step for the program will be discussed. YCYBA approached the city for more money after the Citizens Advisory Committee for CDBG recommended a reduction in funding this year from $20,000 to $10,000 and the council supported this change. Block said the program requires $32,000 to $35,000 to operate. The issue of race came up as a result of a quote in an Aug. 16 article in The Sun. In that article, Block said, "(Olympic-style boxing) is a minority sport. Look at the demographics of our gym and look at the city council. I don’t think this is a money issue with them." Councilman Scott Johnson said he was appalled by this comment because it made it labeled the council as racist. "I was totally offended when I read that in the newspaper," he said. Scott Johnson said he was also distressed by a letter Block sent to U.S. Sen. John McCain. He read one sentence of the letter, which said, "Unfortunately, our city council has not one member of a minority which can identify with our sport and this ignorance has marginalized our program and the youngsters we serve." Block said he meant that the council simply didn’t understand the sport of Olympic-style boxing because it was not very prevalent, and that race shouldn’t be injected into the issue. "We didn’t inject that. That was not injected by this council. That was injected by you," Mayor Larry Nelson said to Block. After the meeting, Block said he didn’t feel that the young boxers should be penalized for remarks he may have made. Councilman Paul Johnson said he had made it clear to Block that the city rescinded its $12,000 of funding in 2003 because of a budget crunch. He said DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) was also cut that year, which showed how serious the money problems were. Paul Johnson said YCYBA had not shown an ability to secure its own funding and survive on its own, so he said there was no reason to continue to give it money. "In my opinion, it’s a failed program. It will be a continuous drain on the city’s funds," he said. Block vigorously denied this, saying YCYBA would not be down for the count. He said the organization will continue to apply for CDBG funds in the future. He said they would also reach out to the community to survive. "They say this is a failed program. It’s not failed," he said. Councilmen Gerry Giss and Scott Johnson were the only members of council who voted against the motion to offer no further action on emergency funding for YCYBA. Giss said there had been intemperate comments made by both sides during the discussion. Jeffrey Gautreaux can be reached at jgautreaux@yumasun.com or 539-6858. © Copyright 2006 YumaSun.com