Letters to the Editor (Nov. 1)

Don’t let Tyson come to Sedgwick County

When I saw that Hutchinson was considering taking in a Tyson Foods plant, I shuddered. Now there is talk of it being considered here in Sedgwick County.

I like chicken as much as the next person, but has no one seen or been near one of these processing plants? Emporia's plants have ruined that city with the smells. The facilities that have mass production of chickens or beef squeeze thousands of both into one area; droppings of these feces filtrate through the sewer and ground, infiltrating ground water as well.

The smell reaches for miles and miles, and with our Kansas winds the smell will blow in many different directions and affect even the priciest of neighborhoods. Besides the frequent smells, home values will drop. Who wants to live with this smell?

What are county and city representatives thinking other than jobs, although mostly low-paying jobs? They are only thinking that this will bring their reports of higher numbers for job growth. But what about the quality of life and being in a community that out-of-towners would want to consider for living? I say an adamant no to Tyson anywhere close to Wichita, Sedgwick County or any surrounding area.

2018 Braille calendars available

In cooperation with the Wichita Downtown Lions club, The Information Access Association — sponsor of the Air Capital Telephone Reader service — is offering 2018 pocket-size Braille calendars to Kansas residents at no charge. The calendars are produced on a plastic material, making them durable and popular. To request one if you are not already on our mailing list, please call 316-337-7701. These calendars were designed and first distributed by the former Braille Association of Kansas in 1966.

Look at board’s seating arrangement

Now that an election of new school board members is nearing, this is an excellent time to consider changing the present seating arrangement of board members and superintendent to reflect the board’s level of authority and the constituency they represent.

As of now, the superintendent sits in the middle with the board members seated on either side. This seating arrangement reflects a subversion of school board authority, which can impact transparency. In other words, one can interpret this seating arrangement as the school board working for the superintendent, rather than the superintendent working for the school board. Seating arrangements send an underlying powerful message, unconsciously deflating board members’ sense of authority, while the public may view the school board as an entity with negligible authority.

I suggest the superintendent sit at the far right or left end of the table next to a school board member, or at a separate table near either end of the conference table. This seating arrangement would reflect the significance of the school board’s authority and the superintendent’s accountability to the school board. Look to the Wichita City Council seating arrangement or any other major elected governing authority — the hired employee sits to one side.

Former board members endorse slate

The eight of us have served as Board of Education members for the Wichita district for a combined 88 years of volunteer service. We are diverse in our political parties, beliefs and backgrounds. Seven of us are former board volunteers and one a current board member not running for re-election.

We’ve served in different decades under different superintendents. What we share in common is caring about the district’s 50,000 students, employees and taxpayers.

We’ve all sat at that board table having difficult conversations and decisions. We’ve also seen the good outcomes that come when we work together on a student-focused agenda rather than a political agenda.

Please remember that all voters in the district vote for every candidate.

We considered conversations with candidates, their answers to a questionnaire, their previous experience and community involvement. Based on that, we recommend these candidates: District 2, Julie Hedrick; District 5, Mike Rodee (incumbent); District 6, Ron Rosales.

This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 4:37 AM with the headline "Letters to the Editor (Nov. 1)."