Letters on dog racing, Kasich, parade parking, VA hospital, kind people

Don’t use slots to subsidize dog racing

I am the president of Kansas City Retired Greyhounds as Pets, and I am opposed to House Bill 2537.

This bill is intended to make it easier and more profitable to place electronic gaming – i.e., slots – in the old dog-racing tracks. The profits from the casino gambling would be used to subsidize greyhound racing.

This is literally a dying industry. The total amount bet on greyhound racing in Kansas dropped by more than 50 percent from 2001 to 2007, leading up to the closure of Wichita Greyhound Park, followed by the 2008 closure of the Woodlands in Kansas City, Kan.

The policy of subsidizing dog racing with gambling profits has failed in the four other states where it was adopted – Rhode Island, West Virginia, Florida and Iowa.

Subsidizing a failing and dying industry in an already economically challenged state is a poor business model and an affront to taxpayers and state residents like myself.

Please don’t support a bill that not only proposes a failed business model for our state but also supports a cruel and dying industry.

Kasich should bow out

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has dropped out of the GOP presidential race. I’m asking Ohio Gov. John Kasich to also bow out. By doing so, he would help pave the way for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to dump Donald Trump.

Parking a problem

The 2016 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the Delano district was fantastic. Parking was a problem – as always.

Wichita police officers did a great job directing traffic. But because of the large amount of traffic, they were overwhelmed.

The Lawrence-Dumont Stadium parking lot was restricted to the nearly 100 parade entries and couldn’t be used by the general public. Obviously, the general public did not know that, and additional people were needed to help direct floats into the parking lot and help those wanting to watch the parade find alternative parking.

I witnessed two Old Cowtown Museum volunteers dressed in their 1865-80 attire stand in the middle of Sycamore to help all motorists. I quickly realized that they were not just Cowtown volunteers but also volunteers willing to do what needs to be done for our great city of Wichita. Cheers to them.

Thanks, VA staff

I recently felt like I was having heart problems, so I went to the Robert J. Dole Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The emergency room staff got me into an examination room, and the nurses and physician assistant began checking me out. They treated me like a VIP.

After about two hours, all the test results were in. They told me the results showed the problem was related to stress (my wife had a triple bypass in January and is still in intensive care at Via Christi Hospital St. Francis).

They also found some other issues that needed to be taken care of, and they made an appointment to do that.

I want to express my great thanks and appreciation for the VA staff and hospital. You hear bad stuff about the VA, but I’m sure there is a lot more good.

Kind people

I would like to thank the two ladies and the gentleman who came to my aid recently when a terrific gust of wind sent my garden bin and me flying out of the rock bed in my sloping front yard in the Westlink neighborhood. They were driving by and saw it happen. Both cars pulled over and rushed to my rescue.

There are kind people out there.

This story was originally published March 18, 2016 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Letters on dog racing, Kasich, parade parking, VA hospital, kind people."