Letters on county health funding, robbing poor schools, Alex Harden

Improving health an important role

It is deeply disappointing that the Sedgwick County Commission rejected funding for smoking prevention activities (March 12 Eagle). These were not “Obamacare” dollars nor even Kansas taxpayer dollars. The commission rejected funds from payments that tobacco companies make every year to compensate Kansans for the tremendous costs associated with cigarette smoking. The state redirects a portion of these payments to support local efforts to reduce smoking. I am dismayed three commissioners voted to turn down these dollars.

There are more cigarette smokers in Sedgwick County than any other county in Kansas. Many of these smokers are trying to quit. The Sedgwick County Health Department proposed activities that would help these smokers quit successfully.

Commissioners Richard Ranzau and Jim Howell apparently rejected this funding because they believe they know more about smoking prevention than the state officials who wanted to fund the county and the local health professionals who wrote the grant proposal.

The commission recently turned down a grant to help prevent obesity and diabetes. Now it has rejected funds to address smoking. These decisions undermine the health and economy of our county.

I hope the commission realizes that improving health is an important role for county government.

Robbing Hood

Let’s see now: 90 percent of Kansas’ richest school districts will gain money, and 80 percent of the state’s poorest school districts, which qualify for equalization worth more than half of their supplementary general funds, will lose money from Sheriff Sam’s new school-funding legislation.

Just more reverse Robin Hood from the Rottingham Castle in Topeka.

Harden legendary

The Wichita State University men’s and women’s basketball programs have several outstanding current players, but the many accomplishments of one of them separates her from the rest.

Alex Harden is arguably the best player in her program’s history. She’s been a member of three consecutive Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament championship teams and is nearing a third trip to the NCAA tournament, the only such appearances in the program’s history. This year’s total wins and conference wins are also all-time program records.

She also set the Shocker women’s career scoring record, and she leads this year’s team in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals. (She’s this year’s conference leader in steals.) Harden is a three-time first team all-conference pick, three-time all-defense team member, two-time conference defensive player of the year and this year’s MVC player of the year.

I’ll call her “Harden the Legend.”

This story was originally published March 16, 2015 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Letters on county health funding, robbing poor schools, Alex Harden."