Letters on elephants, sales-tax referendum, expanding Medicaid, Umbehr, Orman, new park

Ensure zoo remains one of the best

The new elephant exhibit is the largest project the Sedgwick County Zoo has ever undertaken.

Fundraising in the private sector has gone well, with nearly $4.3 million raised from the private sector for the $10.5 million project. Now we need our wonderful partners at Sedgwick County to ensure their zoo remains one of the best in the world, and that we do what we can to ensure the home of Cinda and Stephanie and other elephants in the future.

This exhibit has been discussed, planned and studied by members of the Sedgwick County Zoological Society for years. The $10.5 million plan is the most efficient, most forward-thinking strategy for our zoo. We would have a facility that meets standards – keeping Cinda and Stephanie here – while also allowing room for growth in the future.

At $10.5 million, the price tag for this exhibit pales in comparison with the Denver exhibit at $52 million and the planned Omaha exhibit at $40 million. This is smart business thinking and prudent planning.

No elephants

The letter from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Foundation concerning the elephants is the first and only time I have agreed with anything that PETA has stated (“Retire elephants,” Sept. 6 Letters to the Editor).

Though every zoo desires to have elephants, no traditional zoo should ever have elephants. Elephants require space to wander in order to thrive and stay healthy. Keeping an elephant in the typical zoo is inhumane.

Yes, the zoo staff members look after the elephants, but are they really caring for the elephant or are they just maintaining minimal “life support” for the elephants? The Wichita elephants need to go to a wildlife park capable of housing large mammals in an environment as close as possible to what is “natural.” If the zoo really does care for the elephants, then it would begin the search and contact the facilities capable of giving the elephants what they need and deserve.

We’re voting ‘yes’

We love Wichita. The 1 percent sales tax plan was developed with local input from thousands of Wichitans who also love and believe in this community. The sales tax helps ensure that our next generation has a stronger economic base to build upon. We’re voting “yes,” and we urge Eagle readers to do the same.

Stop brain drain

We’ve seen too many of our friends relocate to other cities, not because they no longer love Wichita but because they want to be near their children and grandchildren who have already moved seeking better job opportunities. Revitalizing our community by growing jobs will help us retain the next generation. It’s an investment that repays us twice when it stops the brain drain and keeps families in Wichita.

Vote “yes” to move our community forward.

Expand Medicaid

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 182,000 Kansans – not 77,000, as is being reported – are being denied health care because Gov. Sam Brownback refuses to expand Medicaid, and 330 will die due to lack of care.

Also, Kansas will lose between $500 million to $800 million over the next three years to other states, in effect sending taxes Kansans have already paid to those states that are willing to expand Medicaid. And how about rural hospitals that may have to close, or the 4,000 health care job these funds would provide?

As a mental health and substance abuse provider in this community, I encounter too many of these people who cannot gain treatment because they are denied needed health care.

It is beyond frustrating, and closer to insane and inhumane.

Public deprived

I attended the gubernatorial debate at the Kansas State Fair. It was very interesting, well-attended and worth the time. Let me thank all who run for political office. Having worked in three political parties’ campaigns, I know the stress and strains the participants have to endure.

I also believe it is a great service that organizations perform in providing a venue for debates to take place and inform the public about the candidates. The people who attended are also commended for being present to learn about the candidates. The only error was limiting the number of candidates who could participate, which was a disservice to the public.

The debate would have been better if Libertarian candidate Keen Umbehr could have participated with Gov. Sam Brownback and House Minority Leader Paul Davis, D-Lawrence. Both Brownback and Davis spoke to the party lines and special-interest needs, as expected. Umbehr was not allowed to participate due to not having raised the qualifying funds to purchase a position in the debate. The public then was deprived of hearing an alternative to the normal political rhetoric at an important venue. Maybe this will change in the future.

Not independent

Greg Orman, an independent candidate for U.S. Senate, would have us believe that he has no political affiliation and would vote in the best interest of America if elected to the Senate. In his ads he claims that he will be able to help create jobs by being an independent.

The problem is that the government does not create real and lasting jobs in the private sector. We have witnessed how the government spent hundreds of billions of our tax dollars on stimulus programs while the welfare rolls increased dramatically. Aside from more implied hope and change, Orman offers few specifics regarding his position on important issues. It seems his biggest asset is not being a Democrat or a Republican.

Are we to believe that someone who once supported President Obama and Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., would ever vote with the Republicans on important issues? Doesn’t it seem odd that the Democrats would ask their candidate, Chad Taylor, to exit the race to help Orman? Now the Democrats are bringing in Marc Elias, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who represents Democratic candidates across the nation, to assist in getting Taylor’s name off the ballot.

Orman is not an independent; he is a Democrat in disguise.

Build new park

How great would it be to build a park (similar to Sedgwick County Park) and a dog park where the Joyland amusement park sits? We all know that Joyland is a thing of the past – and what a wonderful past it was – so why not create a place south Wichita residents and all of Wichita can use and enjoy?

Worked, saved

Regarding “Parents vindicated by estimates of costs to raise kids” (Sept. 4 WichiTalk): Yes, everything today is costly. But one has to ask: What are the “necessities” versus the “wants” in life?

We took umbrage at the writer’s statement that “our grandparents managed to” pay off their houses “with apparent ease.” We worked long, hard hours – sometimes working two or three jobs, plus many weekends and holidays, and being on call. If we did not have the cash to pay for it, we didn’t buy it.

We did without the latest gadgets. We got our first color TV years after they were first available. We didn’t eat out except for special occasions. We made do with one car, even with small children. There was no thought of “buy now and pay later.”

A lot of the problems with money that we have observed among a number of young people stem from wanting everything now and on credit. For us, it was a slow, steady progress.

Very simply, it’s called hard work, with both spouses working full time (except for ones with preschool children) and controlled spending. Guess what? It works – but it was not done with ease.

This story was originally published September 13, 2014 at 7:05 PM with the headline "Letters on elephants, sales-tax referendum, expanding Medicaid, Umbehr, Orman, new park."