Wichita Eagle, May 5
Ten years ago, an EF-5 tornado wiped out most of Greensburg. But it couldn’t destroy the town’s spirit.
Though its population is smaller now, Greensburg has rebuilt, and its residents are committed to each other and to their community.
The (April 30) Eagle recounted stories of heroism and loss from that awful evening. They were inspiring and sad.
Although the mile-and-a-half-wide tornado heavily damaged or destroyed 95 percent of the town, only 11 people died, which was remarkable. But those losses were tragic and personal.
Norman Volz lost his wife, Beverly, his father-in-law, Max McCall, and his employee, Larry Hoskins.
“It’s not the same and never will be the same,” he said.
There also are amazing stories, such as Dennis McKinney and others digging out his neighbor and her baby from the rubble. Neither had a scratch.
“We got to see a miracle,” he said.
Greensburg had 1,400 to 1,500 people before the tornado and 800 to 900 people now. That drop is unfortunate though understandable, as it was difficult for many people to stay after both their homes and their places of employment were destroyed.
But the town is a model of how to rebuild. It transformed itself into a community focused on sustainability, with energy-efficient buildings and wind turbines. It has a beautiful new school, hospital and state-of-the-art movie theater. And its biggest attraction, the Big Well, was rebuilt with a new museum.
Like most small towns, Greensburg has economic struggles, especially due to declines in the oil and gas and crop markets.
But after being knocked down, Greensburg and its residents got back up, and they are still moving forward.
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Topeka Capital-Journal, May 7
American children growing up in typical homes will hear 45 million words before the age of four. As infants and toddlers hear words, their brains develop most of the neural connections they rely upon for communication through their entire lives. When adults talk to young children, we usually use simple words, baby talk. Most of the 45 million words a toddler hears come from books, which offer much richer and more diverse vocabulary. The time-honored bedtime story is not just an important moment for bonding, it’s critical for brain development.
However, not all American children hear the same number of words.
Shamefully, in the land of opportunity, children growing up in poverty may only hear 13 million words - a 30 million word gap that can leave a child at an educational (and professional) disadvantage for the rest of his or her life. Researchers and educators have long held this early-word gap as a massive stumbling block on the road to educational equality.
It would be easy, but inaccurate, to say that poor parents are simply less interested in reading to their children.
Poor parents have the same hopes, dreams and educational goals for their children as wealthy ones. Parenting on a limited income - and the lack of predictability, limited access to quality child care, transient housing and transportation challenges that often come with it - poses countless barriers to regular reading time. The bedtime story is a luxury not afforded to many.
Researchers have also documented very real gaps in access to books. In 2001, a study published in the journal Reading Research Quarterly evaluated low- and middle income neighborhoods in the same city on access to reading material. The researchers found that each child in a high-income neighborhood had access to 13 age-appropriate books, via libraries and stores that sold books. In one low-income neighborhood, there was one book per 300 children, all of which were coloring books. Multiple studies have now demonstrated the existence of “book deserts” in which access to reading materials, particularly for the young children who need them most, is severely limited.
These realities lead us to commend the joint efforts of the United Way of Greater Topeka and the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library for making Shawnee County a Dolly Parton Imagination Library community. This program mails high quality, age-appropriate books directly to the homes of children under five. Shawnee County is the newest of 1,600 local communities offering the program, which mails books to more than a million children each month. Enrollment in the program has been shown to improve early childhood literacy, and it’s a reliable way for low-income families to increase reading time.
Parents may sign up for the program at www.tscpl.org/imagination. It is our hope that every family with a young child in the home signs up to receive books in the mail. More words for our children will help them, and our larger community, reach their full potential.
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Lawrence Journal-World, May 8
The Kansas Legislature, which began the 2017 session amid hope and promise, is back to floundering.
You could sense it slipping away in February, when lawmakers fell three votes shy of overriding Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto of a tax plan that would have gone a long way toward fixing Kansas’ increasingly calamitous budget woes. Up until that moment, the session had largely been a bipartisan affair, a coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans pushing the Legislature to the brink of repairing the tax cuts, implemented by Brownback and the far right in 2012 and 2013, that have proven disastrous for the state.
At the time, lawmakers said not to worry. There are other plans. There’s plenty of time. Sure.
So, one week into what is supposed to be the wrap-up session, the Legislature is nowhere near wrapping anything up. And on Friday, lawmakers knocked off early instead of working through the weekend. Why? Because legislators are back to their old ways. Not only do they not have a consensus on a new tax plan, they don’t have agreement on what to tackle first - taxes or spending.
Republican leaders in both chambers want to pass a tax package first in order to put limits around discussions of spending. Democrats and moderate Republicans want to address school finance first because of the Kansas Supreme Court’s threat to close public schools July 1 if lawmakers don’t pass a plan that meets constitutional muster.
Twice last week, lawmakers called off votes on a tax package after Democrats and moderate Republicans said they would not vote to pass a plan before they know the size of the school finance package.
Said Senate Democratic leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka, “We’re at a stalemate until somebody leads.” Hensley was referring to Senate President Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, and Majority Leader Jim Denning, R-Overland Park, but Hensley should also check a mirror. Digging in over whether the state tackles school funding or tax policy first isn’t helping.
Denning argued, “We need to structurally balance our budget so we get that variable off, and then get on to school finance.”
Denning’s position seems reasonable on the surface, but why was the Senate Tax Committee wasting time on a flat tax proposal last week? Didn’t the committee learn its lesson a few weeks ago when a flat tax proposal was laughed out of Senate chambers in a 37-3 vote? When the vote is 37-3, you don’t tweak, you move on.
The Legislature has separated again into partisan camps. The Legislature has moved away from compromise. The Legislature has forgotten the 2016 election, in which the state’s residents expressed thorough dissatisfaction with the governor and the policies of the past four years.
The Legislature is floundering again and there doesn’t appear to be anyone willing or able to get lawmakers back on task. What a shame.
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Salina Journal, May 6
Francis “Donnie” Nemechek belongs in prison, and there’s something each of us can do to make sure he remains there.
Nemechek, of WaKeeney, was sentenced to five life sentences for the murders of five people in western Kansas.
On the night of Dec. 13, 1974, he stood on an overpass west of Hays and shot out a tire on a car traveling on Interstate Highway 70. He then abducted at gunpoint two women and a boy from the car. He took Cheryl Young, 21, and her son, Guy, 2, both of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Diane Lovette, 19, of Fort Madison, Iowa, to an abandoned farmhouse southwest of Hill City. There, he raped Lovette and shot and killed both women. He left Guy outside to wander alone, without shoes or coat, until he froze to death.
On June 30, 1976, he abducted Carla Baker, 20, of Hays, while she was riding a bicycle, and killed her. Her body was found months later at Cedar Bluff Reservoir.
Paula Fabrizius, a 16-year-old Ellis cheerleader, was on duty as a rangerette at Cedar Bluff Reservoir on Aug. 21, 1976, when Nemechek abducted and raped her. He then repeatedly stabbed her and threw her body from a bluff in Gove County.
In June, Nemechek will make his fifth appearance before the Kansas Prisoner Review Board in an effort to try to obtain parole.
Fabrizius’ family members plan to attend one of the three comment sessions. They also are collecting signatures on petitions asking that Nemechek not be released.
People who wish to see Nemechek remain in prison may sign the petition online by going to change.org and searching for “Nemechek.”
Written comments regarding Nemechek’s possible parole may be directed to the Kansas Department of Corrections, Prisoner Review Board, 714 S.W. Jackson, Suite 300, Topeka 66603.
People also may attend the public comment sessions June 14 in Derby, June 23 in Topeka or June 26 in Kansas City, Kan. For times and exact locations, call (785) 296-3469.
The horrific crimes Nemechek committed still cause chills 40 years later. The thought of his possible release from prison is even more chilling.
Let’s reduce his chances of being released by signing the petition, writing a letter to the Prisoner Review Board or speaking at one of the comment sessions.
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