I've received a few e-mail forwards questioning whether students at Washington High School will be participating in a "Day of Silence" on Friday, April 25, organized by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network in Kansas, because Washington High School was among a list of schools in Kansas that are supposed to be part of the effort.
The answer is no.
The Washington High School in question is likely the Washington High School in Kansas City, Kansas, more commonly known as "KC-Washington." All of the other schools that are listed in the effort are KC Metro and Topeka schools.
Plus, our school is actually Washington "County" High School, but leaving the "County" out is still a common mistake.
WCHS Principal Phil Wilson said he heard of the e-mail rumor being connected to his school, but also agreed that he thought they meant KC-Washington.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Still no commissioner candidates
Why is it that nobody is filing for the open county commissioner seat formerly held by Marcia Funke? Marcia has already announced she will not be running for re-election, yet nobody has signed up. This area covers all of Washington and then the townships north to the state border and then west to Mahaska.
While we have nobody running for this spot (and Gene Helms is the only one to file for his current spot in his Linn/Clifton area district) our neighbors to the east have 11 people running for an open Marshall County Commissioner position and that position only lasts until November's election.
Won't anyone in Washington step up and try to help the county progress into the future?
While we have nobody running for this spot (and Gene Helms is the only one to file for his current spot in his Linn/Clifton area district) our neighbors to the east have 11 people running for an open Marshall County Commissioner position and that position only lasts until November's election.
Won't anyone in Washington step up and try to help the county progress into the future?
Cougar evidence in Kansas
An Associated Press story hit the news today about a mountain lion that was shot in Barber County, Kansas. It appears the landowner didn't know it was illegal to shoot a cougar and has been cooperating with law enforcement.
Here is a Wichita Eagle story:
http://www.kansas.com/news/story/352601.html
I'm just very pleased that this question of whether or not cougars live in Kansas can be put to rest. For years, Kansans have reported seeing the big cats (I've heard of several sightings in Washington County over the years), but the Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks plays coy on the topic by saying there has been no firm confirmation and the animals may be escaped pets (if that were the case, every town would have to have a family with pet cougars.)
Of course, many sightings seem to be bogus. I've had strange stories circulate through this office many times and often it is "a hunter who is a friend of a friend has video of one that he saw from his deer stand." Of course it is always hard... impossible... to get a copy of that video. But that doesn't stop me from believing they are here. And I'll pay $100 cash to anyone who can get me a picture of a cougar that can be confirmed to have been photographed in Washington County.
While we're on the topic, feel free to leave a comment on any of your cougar sighting stories.
Here is a Wichita Eagle story:
http://www.kansas.com/news/story/352601.html
I'm just very pleased that this question of whether or not cougars live in Kansas can be put to rest. For years, Kansans have reported seeing the big cats (I've heard of several sightings in Washington County over the years), but the Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks plays coy on the topic by saying there has been no firm confirmation and the animals may be escaped pets (if that were the case, every town would have to have a family with pet cougars.)
Of course, many sightings seem to be bogus. I've had strange stories circulate through this office many times and often it is "a hunter who is a friend of a friend has video of one that he saw from his deer stand." Of course it is always hard... impossible... to get a copy of that video. But that doesn't stop me from believing they are here. And I'll pay $100 cash to anyone who can get me a picture of a cougar that can be confirmed to have been photographed in Washington County.
While we're on the topic, feel free to leave a comment on any of your cougar sighting stories.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Clifton-Clyde Tribune for sale
The Clifton-Clyde Tribune, a reinvigorated small town newspaper, is for sale to someone who would like to help give a voice to the news and events in the communities of Clifton, Vining and Clyde. The newspaper has doubled in size over the last year and has drawn plenty of attention for its original news and school sports coverage, including winning several awards.
This would offer a great opportunity to an individual or group who would like to keep information flowing in the Clifton-Clyde area. The newspaper could be generated out of a home and the time commitment would work perfectly for a stay-at-hom mom or a retiree looking for something to do.
The newspaper has been profitable since its purchase on May 1 of last year, but the publisher’s time is stretched too thin to continue to be able to offer a proper local newspaper.
Financials are available for serious inquiries only.
Call publisher Dan Thalmann at 325-2219 days and 348-5768 evenings for more information.
This would offer a great opportunity to an individual or group who would like to keep information flowing in the Clifton-Clyde area. The newspaper could be generated out of a home and the time commitment would work perfectly for a stay-at-hom mom or a retiree looking for something to do.
The newspaper has been profitable since its purchase on May 1 of last year, but the publisher’s time is stretched too thin to continue to be able to offer a proper local newspaper.
Financials are available for serious inquiries only.
Call publisher Dan Thalmann at 325-2219 days and 348-5768 evenings for more information.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Who's your Final Four?
I would have accomplished a lot more at work yesterday if I weren't watching KU on the Internet. My brackets are filled out. I have Kansas, Tennessee, Texas and Duke in my Final Four and KU beating Duke for the national title. Of course I'd rather look like a bad prognosticator than have North Carolina go all the way. So who do you have making it to the Final Four?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
We need a new Washington County Hospital
County Commissioners urged the Washington County Hospital board on Monday to put the concept of a new hospital up for vote. The board hoped to go through the public building commission process, which was the same process used for the construction of the new jail.
While I fully support the construction of a new hospital, I probably agree with the commission that a vote should occur. Frankly, I believe a vote would be successful, but having it on the books would quiet some of the folks who enjoy complaining about such efforts. It would show them that they are in the minority with their opinion.
There are certain basic things I believe our county government should provide, including law enforcement, good roads and a proper medical facility among other necessities. While I appreciate the staff of the existing hospital, the physical structure of the hospital itself is dated and lacking in efficiency. Renovating the facility would only be a short-term answer to the problems. A new facility would also help the cause of recruiting doctors and nursing staff in the future. I’ve noticed hospitals to the west of Washington County can only seem to recruit foreign doctors for a short period of time. A new hospital facility might bring in someone who wants to spend their career here, much like Dr. Hodgson has (and we should thank him for that.)
Many of our county residents use hospitals in surrounding counties. That’s fine, but that doesn’t mean we should give up on ours. Having just had the experience a week and a half ago of having my daughter break her arm, I was so pleased that the trip to the emergency room was only a six minute trip since we switched our services to the Washington County Hospital last year, rather than a 25 minute trip like before. When a three-year-old daughter is in pain, every minute saved is worth a lot to a dad.
I hope Washington Countians support the construction of a new hospital. What do you think? What is the alternative? Leave a comment below.
While I fully support the construction of a new hospital, I probably agree with the commission that a vote should occur. Frankly, I believe a vote would be successful, but having it on the books would quiet some of the folks who enjoy complaining about such efforts. It would show them that they are in the minority with their opinion.
There are certain basic things I believe our county government should provide, including law enforcement, good roads and a proper medical facility among other necessities. While I appreciate the staff of the existing hospital, the physical structure of the hospital itself is dated and lacking in efficiency. Renovating the facility would only be a short-term answer to the problems. A new facility would also help the cause of recruiting doctors and nursing staff in the future. I’ve noticed hospitals to the west of Washington County can only seem to recruit foreign doctors for a short period of time. A new hospital facility might bring in someone who wants to spend their career here, much like Dr. Hodgson has (and we should thank him for that.)
Many of our county residents use hospitals in surrounding counties. That’s fine, but that doesn’t mean we should give up on ours. Having just had the experience a week and a half ago of having my daughter break her arm, I was so pleased that the trip to the emergency room was only a six minute trip since we switched our services to the Washington County Hospital last year, rather than a 25 minute trip like before. When a three-year-old daughter is in pain, every minute saved is worth a lot to a dad.
I hope Washington Countians support the construction of a new hospital. What do you think? What is the alternative? Leave a comment below.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Why waste more money on the airport?
As far as editorials go, I’ve never gotten such a positive response as I did when I wrote an editorial a few months ago questioning the wisdom of putting more county money into the further development of the county airport.
I think it was proper to upgrade the runway as they did a few years ago, but I do not think it would be proper now to go back and potentially lengthen the runway for jets. I live about 3/4 of a mile from the airport so I have a pretty good idea of the sort of use the facility gets… very little.
There are occasional airplanes that use the airport for landing training or for recreational stops, and I know there are a handful of business stops too, but I think the actual usage is limited to just a handful of pilots.
So I question why we need to pour more money into the airport when only a few people will actually receive benefit from it. The commissioners or economic development director cannot seem to come up with a huge outcry of demand for further development. In fact, I’m betting they’ve had an outcry of opposition to spending more money on the facility.
I also don’t buy the arguments that we need to do improvements in the name of homeland security… sounds like propaganda to me.
The county commission was recently awarded a $10,000 grant to do a development plan and now they’re deciding how much they want to add to that total. Evidently they didn’t take your advice earlier if you were opposed to spending more money on the airport, so it might be prudent to contact them again and repeat yourself.
This is not a project that is worthy of an “if you build it they will come” mentality. There are better ways to spend our county’s time and money than on upgrades to a rarely-used airport.
I think it was proper to upgrade the runway as they did a few years ago, but I do not think it would be proper now to go back and potentially lengthen the runway for jets. I live about 3/4 of a mile from the airport so I have a pretty good idea of the sort of use the facility gets… very little.
There are occasional airplanes that use the airport for landing training or for recreational stops, and I know there are a handful of business stops too, but I think the actual usage is limited to just a handful of pilots.
So I question why we need to pour more money into the airport when only a few people will actually receive benefit from it. The commissioners or economic development director cannot seem to come up with a huge outcry of demand for further development. In fact, I’m betting they’ve had an outcry of opposition to spending more money on the facility.
I also don’t buy the arguments that we need to do improvements in the name of homeland security… sounds like propaganda to me.
The county commission was recently awarded a $10,000 grant to do a development plan and now they’re deciding how much they want to add to that total. Evidently they didn’t take your advice earlier if you were opposed to spending more money on the airport, so it might be prudent to contact them again and repeat yourself.
This is not a project that is worthy of an “if you build it they will come” mentality. There are better ways to spend our county’s time and money than on upgrades to a rarely-used airport.
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