Letters on Maize bond vote, city subsidies, weak lawmakers, Middle East, WSU baseball

Keep improving Maize schools

In 1974, we moved our family into the Maize community to act on a vision we had to develop a Christmas tree farm, and to raise our three children. As former schoolteachers, we were enthusiastic supporters of quality education.

While attending a community meeting in the old high school, we heard the vision expressed by the leaders to build a new high school, and quickly became involved in its promotion. There were about 300 students in the entire system, and the tax base was about $10 million.

That vision, over the past 40 years, has changed the area from a primarily agricultural community to a wonderfully diverse and prosperous urban community. The tax base now is more than $372 million, and there are more than 7,000 students in one of the finest school systems in the state. We should all be very proud of the past leadership of the school board, the administration and the teaching staff.

They now find it necessary to build more space for our children and improve some of the facilities. To accomplish this, we are being asked to approve a new bond issue. Thank you to the visionary leaders who understand the importance and value of quality education.

We urge a “yes” vote for the Maize school bond issue now before us.

Taxpayer apology

The Wichita City Council voted Tuesday to approve a “letter of intent” with Foley Industries for industrial revenue bonds to finance a building expansion. Before the vote, some interesting facts were discovered.

First, Foley Industries was not primarily requesting the financial incentive as a means to bring more jobs to Wichita (12 new jobs). Instead, the IRBs are mainly to retain existing jobs. Second, Foley was requesting a sales tax exemption. Of note was its $5,000 contribution to Yes Wichita and the efforts to raise sales taxes last fall.

When a concerned citizen raised these issues, City Council member Pete Meitzner profusely apologized to the Foley officials that they had to sit through the questioning of the taxpayers in Wichita. He thought it was out of line that the citizen would voice his opinion as to how his tax dollars are being spent.

These incentives clearly do not work. Wichita needs a fair playing field for all businesses and people to thrive without government interference. Instead of apologizing to the company, perhaps Meitzner and his colleagues ought to apologize to the taxpayers in Wichita.

Grow backbone

So Gov. Sam Brownback is threatening to veto any budget proposal that would restore taxes on business owners to fix our budget crisis. Can’t legislators override a veto?

Come on, legislators. Grow a backbone and do the only logical, reasonable and moral thing: Vote to restore taxes on the wealthy, and if the governor vetoes it, override the veto. Just do it.

Can’t be done

Thomas Friedman’s commentary “U.S. can’t effectively intervene in Middle East” (May 29 Opinion) should be read carefully, understood and accepted by those in our government who repeatedly speak of defining and organizing U.S. intervention in the Near and Middle East.

It cannot and never will be done, as history has fully shown us over the past 100 years. Not by us or any other Occidental power. The results have not only been disastrous for the populations there, but often damaging to the economic, political and social results here at home.

Friedman is one of the most widely respected and knowledgeable scholars on the Near and Middle East. His personal and professional connections to the region give him far more experience and background than almost all politicians in making judgments about whether or not we should continue to meddle ineffectively in the area.

It is discouraging to hear most politicians and policymakers who have ignored the consequences of our attempts to right wrongs (often based on what turn out to be benefits for a few who happen to have financial interests in this area) still trying to make America the good guy by flooding the region with our very precious American lives and trillions of dollars.

Back WSU baseball

I’m a Wichita State University alumnus and a season ticket holder to both the men’s basketball and baseball games. I attended the Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Championship games held recently in Wichita.

The manager for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team has a son who is center fielder for the Missouri State team and a good ballplayer. I would rank the quality of competition in MVC baseball with that faced by the basketball team.

Our pitching was terrible at the start of this season but was vastly improved at the end. Our hitting was the same. That speaks to the good coaching our players received and the excellent student athletes we have on the team.

WSU’s baseball players are going to have to work hard and grind it out to have a winning season next year, and our returning players should bring us a good start.

We lost our football program from lack of fan support. The challenge is now is to you, Wichita: Are you going to let Springfield, Mo., win again?

This story was originally published June 4, 2015 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Letters on Maize bond vote, city subsidies, weak lawmakers, Middle East, WSU baseball."