Category: Opinions

Congressman concerned about refugees

by Murrel Bland

Compassionate, but very careful.

Simply stated, that is the view of U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-3rd Dist., when it comes to immigrants. That was among his remarks when he attended the monthly Congressional Forum at the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Kansas City, Kan., Friday, Nov. 20. The Kansas City, Kan., Area Chamber of Commerce sponsors the forum.

Yoder said it will be most important for federal government agencies to be vigilant when screening immigrants, particularly those coming here from Syria. At the same time, Yoder said it was important to remember that this country was and is a nation of immigrants.

Yoder joined a bipartisan majority in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, Nov. 19, in approving legislation that would hold up the Syrian resettlement effort until various federal agencies could certify that no refugee was a threat.

President Barack Obama has assured the American people that the screening process for immigrants is very extensive.

Yoder said he is hopeful that the new Speaker of the House, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, 45, of Wisconsin, will be able to accomplish important matters. He said it will be a very significant challenge as it is the job in Washington that no one wants.

The effort to help assure adequate funding for the National Institute of Health will continue to be a priority for Yoder. He said he has introduced legislation that would first increase the funding from $30 billion to $33 billion in the first year and then 10 percent a year for 10 years. He said that finding the cure for various diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s, would save considerable money long-term. He said without a cure for Alzheimer’s, the cost for such patients could be $1 trillion by 2050.

Yoder said Congress continues to develop a six-year transportation plan. He said that the present federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon is 98 percent adequate for road maintenance; however, the funds have been used for other transportation-related projects.

Yoder said the Third District Job Fair and Resource Expo will be held from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, at the Technical Education Center of the Kansas City Kansas Community College, 6565 State Ave. The first hour will be reserved for military veterans. The job fair will give area residents an opportunity to meet with business owners and managers seeking employees.

On a personal note, Yoder and his wife Brooke announced the birth of their second daughter Eloise Jane on Monday, Nov. 2.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is executive director of Business West.

Column: Shop local on small business Saturday

by Dan Murray
Kansas state director of the National Federation of Independent Business

Every year, Gallup asks people how much confidence they have in various institutions.

The results aren’t surprising. Only 8 percent had “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in Congress. Big business scored 21 percent. That’s no better than TV news.

Small business, on the other hand, came in second with 67 percent of respondents considering it trustworthy. Only the U.S. military scored higher.

While politicians bicker with each other and Wall Street focuses on the 1 percent, Main Street remains the lifeblood of our economy and our communities.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses account for most of the jobs in this country, and small businesses create most of America’s net new jobs.

You probably don’t know the owner of a big department store, but there’s a good chance you know a few small-business owners. They’re our friends and neighbors. They’re among the most generous supporters of civic groups, local charities, youth sports, schools and virtually every other form of community activity.

Small businesses do a lot to help our community, and, on Nov. 28, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we’ll have an opportunity to thank them.

That’s because Nov. 28 is Small Business Saturday, the Saturday after Black Friday.

Black Friday, of course, is when families to wake early, sit in traffic, compete with other drivers for decent parking spots, jostle with crowds and stand in line to buy things probably no one asked for or really wants.

Small Business Saturday is the opposite of that. Small Business Saturday is when you shop at small, locally owned businesses for things you simply can’t find at the mall, and instead of dealing with temporary workers who don’t know the merchandise, there’s a good chance you’ll be dealing directly with the owner who cares very much about making you happy so you’ll come back time and again throughout the year.

The campaign to “shop small” on the Saturday after Thanksgiving started in 2010 as an effort to give small businesses—many struggling to get out of the red after a long recession—a much needed shot in the arm.

Since then, it has become a powerful movement to give back to the brick-and-mortar establishments that line our Main Streets and keep our communities vibrant.

When you shop local and shop small, you’re supporting your community. When you shop at a chain store, most of the money goes back to some corporate office somewhere else, but when you shop on Main Street, most of that money stays here at home.

This year, make a difference in your community. Shop local on Small Business Saturday.

Dan Murray is the Kansas state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, the state’s leading small-business association. He can be reached at [email protected].

Saying goodbye to a family member

Window on the West
by Mary Rupert

On Monday we are saying goodbye to my father-in-law, Paul D. Rupert Sr., who died Nov. 19 at the age of 86.

He was the youngest son of eight children (plus one more who died in childhood) of the late Rev. Lynn H. Rupert Sr., and he lived in Kansas City, Kan., most of his adult life, except for the past several years, when he lived with his daughter in Olathe.

Paul was the last one of his siblings to pass away. His older sister, Mary, had passed away only about three months earlier in another state. Paul’s wife, Louise, died in the 1980s.

Growing up during the Depression, there were many hardships endured by him and his siblings. I recall him never eating onions, for example, because in some of the more difficult years, they had a lot of onion soup. But they all managed to get through those days, anyway.

I heard Paul tell some stories about how, as a child, he was a paperboy, throwing the Kansas City Kansan. He was a laborer all his adult life until retirement, but his main focus was raising his family of four kids in the Turner area.

A few months ago, he fell and broke his hip, and then complications ensued in the recovery process. He will be missed by his children and their families.

Paul’s survivors include his four children, Peggy Stephens, Steven Rupert, Larry Rupert and Paul D. Rupert Jr., and their families.

The services include a visitation at 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 23, followed by an 11 a.m. service Monday, Nov. 23, at the Amos Family Funeral Home, 10901 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, Kan. Burial is at Chapel Hill Cemetery, Kansas City, Kan.

To contact Mary Rupert, editor, email [email protected].