Category: Opinions

Dear editor,

I was not born in Kansas, but have chosen to live here for more than a decade because of the good people and quality of life.

Unfortunately, I see some disturbing trends in my adopted state. Thanks largely to a misguided crusade against income taxes, the state now comes up millions of dollars short in revenue each month. Both Moody’s and Standard and Poor have downgraded the state’s credit rating.

However, my greatest concern is an erosion in the quality of education. School districts are financially strapped, leaning heavily on local property taxes and new fees to make ends meet. Parents I know say their children’s classroom sizes have grown considerably. And, school districts are now allowed to hire people without an education degree to teach certain subjects. This is not right.

Historically, education has been a high priority in Kansas, and that must never change. This shared value transcends our differences and makes our state stronger.

Kansas needs a new direction, and that is why I am voting for Paul Davis for governor. I ask Kansas voters to cast their ballot and choose candidates who will preserve and restore the quality of education our children deserve.

Sincerely,

Marge Gasnick
Kansas City, Kan.

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Window on the West

by Mary Rupert

Has the U.S. Senate race been highjacked by the national fight over control of the Senate?

Undoubtedly it has been, but whether this race is any more important than others throughout the country will only be proven with the results on election night.

At the national level, analysts have sensed a weakness in the U.S. Senate race in Kansas, a vulnerability of Sen. Pat Roberts, and a chance to break the long-standing Republican hold on the Senate seat in Kansas. Currently, Democrats hold 53 seats and Republicans, 45 seats, in the Senate, with independents holding two seats.

This week, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that Democrat Chad Taylor is allowed to drop out of the Senate race. A new fight is brewing over whether Democrats have to appoint a replacement. If not, some analysts think that Greg Orman, the independent candidate, has a better chance of beating Roberts.

What we are really witnessing are the struggles of the two parties to try to control this election from areas that are usually outside the normal election process.

Just as settlers from outside the state flooded into Kansas in the pre-Civil War days to make sure it was a free state or slave state, dollars from outside the state, from both sides of the political spectrum, are now flooding into Kansas to make sure it has either a Democrat or Republican in the Senate. In a campaign like this, the biggest winner is probably the television stations that run ads for the candidates.

And yes, there is something vaguely familiar about a vacant U.S. Senate Democratic slot on the ballot. It reminds me of the vacant Unified Government Commission seat that has gone unfilled for more than a year. The balance of power on the commission might have changed if that seat had been filled.

Kansas voters may be the losers this year, not so much because Taylor pulled out of the race, but because whatever interests our state’s voters have may be overshadowed by this national spotlight on how many Republicans and Democrats are in the Senate. Voters here need to put the spotlight back on the issues that they care about.

Don’t blame the messenger
On another topic, I do not believe in blaming the messenger for any of the events that occurred in Ferguson, Mo., or any other events.

There were recently a couple of fights at Washington High School in Kansas City, Kan., in which the posting of a cell phone video by a television news station was questioned. Some people may believe that posting the video causes further fights. I do not agree with that. It is a logical fallacy, “Post hoc, ergo propter hoc,” or “After this, because of this.”

People tend to blame anything and everything when something goes wrong, but really, the fights are caused by the people who are participating in them.

I believe the parents and people of the community need to know what is going on in their community, in order to better address it. Unless the person taking the cell phone video in some way was a participant in this disturbance, then I believe the video is not a cause of further disturbances.

If some students are reacting to what they see, that sends a message to the parents that they need to teach the students how to resist impulsive behavior, and perhaps even get some anger management training in place for them.

The students will be faced with reacting to other messages in their lives, such as ads for items they want but can’t afford, or pitches from politicians, and they should learn now how to deal with these, too.

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

by Murrel Bland

First the good news: The Kansas City, Kan., Board of Utilities doesn’t see a reason to increase its rates for water during 2015 and 2016.

Now the bad news: the utility plans to increase its electric rates 5 percent in 2015 and another 5 percent in 2016.

Half of that increase would be needed because of federal requirements that utilities reduce emissions. The other half would be because of the anticipated cost-of-living.

The Environmental Protection Agency has been monitoring all utilities with the same message—cut the emissions from coal-fired plants.

To resolve this problems, the BPU will shift its Quindaro power plant from coal to natural gas. The BPU owns 17 percent of Dogwood natural gas wells in Cass County, Mo.

The Nearman power plant, which was built in 1981, will be retrofitted so it doesn’t emit as many particles.

The BPU is subject to the Kansas City Ozone Maintenance Plan that requires lower nitric and sulfur oxide emissions at its Nearman plant. There is also a system at Nearman that removes mercury and other particulates from the air.

Don Gray, the general manager of the BPU, spoke recently at a breakfast meeting. Most of those who attended were major BPU ratepayers. Gray said that BPU employees have not received any salary increase for about the past two years.

The BPU is required to publish its intent to increase rates and hold hearings. The Black and Veatch engineering firm of Overland Park is conducting a rate study.

Gray said that BPU has 566 employees—92 less than what it had 10 years ago. Forty years ago, BPU had more than 1,200 employees. BPU’s annual budget is about $300 million.

Gray said that the United States is responsible for only about 1 percent of the world’s pollution; the big polluters are China and India. However, the EPA said the United States must set a good example.

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