Letters on zoo agreement, liquor sales, fiscal mess, highway robbery, renewable energy

Let agreement on zoo stand

Regarding “Zoo’s funding agreement with Sedgwick County in jeopardy” (May 3 Eagle): Our local zoo is renowned for its varying displays. Have any of the Sedgwick County commissioners ever gone to the farm and petting zoo area and talked to the people working there? Have they listened as the zoo staff members speak with passion about these animals? Have they ever sat on one of the benches there and listened to the excitement in the children’s voices when a little goat or lamb nibbles grain from their hands?

Our zoo is fabulous, and we have the chance to enhance this with the new elephant exhibit, possibly bringing elephants into the world.

Commissioners should go to the zoo and look with their own eyes, listen to the words being spoken, observe the animals. We need the elephant addition to continue on the track it is on.

The zoo had a five-year funding agreement. Let it stand, and change it if necessary after that time. Commissioners would not do this city any harm by doing the right thing for a change.

Face competition

Retired Kroger CEO Dave Dillon incorrectly characterized liquor store owners, saying they have never had to worry about new competition, industry developments or changing customer demands (“Uncork Kansas, free market,” April 30 Opinion). Quite the contrary – competition is right down the street at the next liquor store.

Locally owned liquor stores are well-accustomed to stocking new items, and constantly cater to customer demands. Unlike the large grocery stores that Dillon oversaw, local liquor store employees are only a few feet away to answer questions and suggest products.

Dillon and his group are basically trying to bully the Legislature to transfer liquor sales from well-known local stores to out-of-state corporate entities. Rep. Ken Corbet, R-Topeka, said: “Each of those little stores has a family and a group of employees behind it…. They hire a lot of people, they support a lot of people, they sponsor ball teams.”

Rep. Jan Pauls, R-Hutchinson, said: “Liquor store owners know their business, know their customers, know enforcement agents, and know the rules…. This bill is simply big guy versus little guy. No one disputes that small, locally owned liquor stores would be run out of business.”

We hear from our customers. They don’t want stores like Dillons grabbing more small business. They don’t want exposure of alcohol to kids at the grocery store. They want Dillons to not be so greedy and to just continue selling groceries.

Turn off lights

How did the state get into this fiscal mess? We cut taxes on the bosses, thinking they would hire more people. Instead, they took the money and ran.

How are we going to make up the deficit? Do we need to put the taxes back on the rich? No, we solve it by increasing taxes that are hardest on the poor – sales tax, gasoline tax, alcohol, tobacco, etc.

Will the last person leaving Kansas please turn off the lights?

Highway robbery

If anyone else transferred more than $1 billion from the Kansas Department of Transportation, after the funds were already designated for highway expenses, it would be called embezzling.

Lucky you, state lawmakers. You get to play with someone else’s money. Now you want to take millions more. This is not right. You should be arrested. Reinstate taxes and make things fair for all of us.

Maintain RPS

Attacks by Kansas legislators on renewable energy come while farmers and rural communities are struggling with low commodity prices, catastrophic weather and low economic diversity.

More balanced legislators passed our renewable portfolio standard in 2009 to generate 20 percent of our energy from renewable sources by 2020. They granted property tax exemptions to stimulate developing renewables, because they understood the economic benefits of developing wind, solar and biofuels. Their foresight created $8 billion in wind farm investments and 13,000 jobs, plus annual payments of $16 million to landowners and $10 million to counties.

Now, legislators threaten these opportunities with proposals to phase out property tax exemptions and enact excise taxes on renewable energy, claiming that renewables raise rates. But the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities says a Rush County wind farm will save customers $900,000 annually.

Ask legislators to protect Kansas consumers and promote our economy by maintaining the RPS to expand renewable energy through 2020 and not imposing excise taxes.

Need the truth

Truth is the squaring of the mind with reality. It is the foundation and framework of all human activity.

Human beings need to tell the truth to one another in order to function and live properly. For example, when shopping for groceries, clothing or home supplies, people need to know the truth. When they purchase gas at the pump, they expect gas, not water.

Lies violate the function of the mind – which is to know the truth and square with reality. That is why lying is forbidden by one of God’s commandments.

This story was originally published May 5, 2015 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Letters on zoo agreement, liquor sales, fiscal mess, highway robbery, renewable energy."