Opinion > Letters to the Editor

Posted on Sun, Oct. 18, 2009

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Letters to the editor on Lord's Diner, Kellogg interchange, Roberts, Obama, Limbaugh, customer service, evolution, Internet

Lord's Diner good addition to 21st

I am disappointed that several individuals and groups are opposing the placement of a Lord's Diner on East 21st Street.

When Russ Meyer located Cessna Aircraft's training facility on 21st Street in 1990, the stretch of 21st from I-135 to Wichita State University consisted of fast-food restaurants, liquor stores, gas stations, beauty salons, car washes, convenience stores, abandoned buildings and run-down houses. Two people had been killed on the street in the nine months prior to the center's opening.

After Cessna opened its first training facility and then expanded into its 21st Street center, other responsible businesses followed, and the city invested in much-needed street and other infrastructure improvements.

Now, in addition to long-established businesses, the area has bank branches, a library, a senior citizens center, the Boys & Girls Club, the Opportunity Project school and the Gordon Parks Academy, with a health clinic.

To me, this part of 21st Street, since 1990, has symbolized providing hope to and helping adults and children. The street's story is among the most remarkable in our city.

There are people who need help having enough to eat. The Lord's Diner does an excellent job of meeting that most basic need.

Locating a satellite Lord's Diner on 21st Street would be another important statement made by this area.

JOHN E. MOORE

Former lieutenant governor

Wichita

Fix interchange

Each time I move, it seems as if orange cones follow me. My first apartment was just off Hillside and Douglas, where the road was torn up twice in two years. Then I moved to a house near West Street, and again the road construction has been disrupting my life for a year now.

I know it's for the better. That's the nature of public works. But why has the city begun construction on roads and intersections that are simply annoying, rather than focusing on bigger areas that are actually dangerous?

The interchange of I-235 and Kellogg will be a costly fix but is necessary ("Risky interchange has a fix, no funds," Sept. 13 Eagle). It has been a problem since it was built in the 1950s. I choke at the thought that $19 million in federal funds already have been put toward this project, and so far it's only been studied. And engineers won't even finish designing the new project for another six years.

How many people have to be injured or killed before it is deemed important enough to fix? I am willing to endure more orange cones because lives may depend upon it.

BONNIE McINTIRE

Wichita

Thank Roberts?

I received a mailer stating that Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., "helped defeat a plan that would have raised premiums for Medicare drug coverage by as much as 20 percent."

I just received my Medicare drug plan's annual notice of changes. It raised my monthly premium from $25.50 to $36.50. It also went from no deductible to a $100 deductible and increased co-pays from set amounts to various percentages of total cost.

And we are supposed to call and thank Roberts for this?

THOMAS SLOAN

Wichita

Obama promises

President Obama did not promise to bring all the troops home. But he promised to bring the troops home from Iraq, capture Osama bin Laden, ramp up the war in Afghanistan in order to assure victory, and listen to his generals in the field. He obviously has changed his mind on all fronts and intends to keep troops in Iraq and leave our brave troops in Afghanistan undermanned, overextended and demoralized.

BOBBIE COGSWELL

Wichita

Limbaugh's sword

Not to be dismissive, but sometimes what goes around comes around. It was interesting to see talk-show host Rush Limbaugh get Swift-boated by the NFL and Democrats alike during his attempt to buy into the Saint Louis Rams. He can scream foul at the top of his voice, but capitalism working at its very best tripped up Limbaugh.

The buyers and NFL decided to take the path of least resistance by excluding Limbaugh from their future plans. There was no government intervention or socialism at work here. It is hard to believe that Limbaugh can blame this on the Democrats or any political enemies inside Washington, D.C. He simply got a good taste of the same medicine he has dealt out so many times on his radio show. Live by sword and die by the sword.

Fairly or unfairly, previous statements and hate talk made Limbaugh unattractive to the NFL, its players and its fans. Take that, Limbaugh, and swallow hard.

LARRY STEPHENSON

Andover

Customer service?

There was a day when the customer was always right. Today, thanks to a few unscrupulous scoundrels, the customer is always a crook.

Having to leave an abundance of cash with the convenience store clerk in advance to pay for filling my tank, then having to return and stand in line again to finish my transaction and get my change, is not only unreasonable but downright rude. So now I write a check, for which I must in advance agree in writing to pay ridiculous fees and fines should it not clear. Then the funds transfer must clear before I am allowed to make my purchase.

OK, I understand how a few bad eggs have ruined it for all of us honest people, but we recently hit a new low. The clerk demanded that I remove my driver's license from my wallet so she could inspect it for authenticity. I was informed this was now policy and that — although I live at an upscale address only a few blocks from where I purchase gas several times a week for my numerous vehicles — I will have to prove each time that my ID is genuine.

I am a middle-aged grandfatherly business owner far from the typical profile of some unsavory character trying to pull a fast one for a few bucks worth of gas. Have we just been thrust into the realms of unreasonable?

After years of loyal service, I decided to take my business elsewhere. As law-abiding citizens, we should demand there be a better system that reminds businesses that we are doing them a favor by being loyal customers, not the other way around.

ROGER ATTEBURY

Wichita

Not 'just a theory'

"Evolution fairy tale" (Oct. 10 Letters to the Editor) misinterpreted the language used by scientists. And for that reason, the wrong conclusions were drawn as to what "scientific theory" means.

In layman's terms, if something is said to be "just a theory," it usually means that it is a mere guess or is unproved. It might even lack credibility. But in scientific terms, a theory implies that something has been proved and generally is accepted as being true — such as the theory of gravitation. We know it exists, but as new discoveries about gravitation (or evolution) are made, new knowledge added can alter the "theories" somewhat.

The letter also suggested that scientists are saying man evolved from apes or some new creature yet to be found. Scientists are not saying man evolved from apes but that human beings and apes are primates and evolved from a common ancestor.

Apparently with all the misunderstanding about scientific law, hypotheses, theory, etc., running amok in our society, schools need to spend more time teaching science.

PHYLLIS STANLEY

Augusta

Internet rift

Have you ever been in a situation in which a young person was interviewing for a job but didn't quite have the people skills to impress you? Or what about all those irritating spelling errors created as slang for e- mail, instant messaging and social-networking Web sites?

The way technology is used reflects the person using it. My generation is being corrupted by the Internet. This isn't to say the Internet is all bad — I use it almost every day. But it is creating a rift in society as in-person communication skills, spelling, grammar and privacy go out the window.

SABAA ANEES

Wichita