7/28/2019 Kansas Obit

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COLUMNISTS

TOPEKA TheGreatStateofKansaspassedaway on March31,2013, after a long anddifficultbat-tlewith extremismthat becamemarkedly moreaggressivein 2010.Thestruggle left thestateso weak-ened it could no longerfightagainst the relentless attacks bythe fataldisease.

Kansaswas born onJan. 29,1861.The state is preceded in death by

fair taxation,good highways,strong education,family farms,a

good publicparks andwildlife sys-tem,open government, neighborli-ness and belief inhelping eachother out, freelyelected publicser-vants, and political moderation.

Kansasis survived bywide-spreadpoverty, low-wage jobs,highproperty taxes, pollution,poorly ed-ucated children, outmigration andruraldepopulation, foreign landandfarm ownership, lobbyist-fund-ed legislators,chronic mistreat-ment of thedisabled,a maniacalhatredof governmentand childrenwhodreamof livinganywhere else.

During its early years, Kansasplayeda pivotal role in theCivilWar by staking outa strongpro-gressive standagainst slavery. De-

spite repeated raids from borderruffians, Kansasheld firmto thebelief of free men and free soil.

Throughout itslife,Kansas of-tenaligned with leading progres-sive causes. WilliamAllen White,oneof the states most notable res-idents, once wrotethat if its go-ingto happen, it happens first inKansas. That once wastrue.Kansaswas the first state to banthe Klu KluxKlan,and the first toelect womento publicoffice oneas mayor andanother as sheriff.

Itwas the birthplace of the pop-ulistmovement, risingas farmersandordinarypeople grew weary ofthe Gilded Age politicsof the late

1800s andearly 1900s that favoredinvestment interests over thoseoflandownersand laborers.

Kansaswas a leader in publiceducation,withone-roomschoolhouses dotting theplains. A full 12years beforeit wasa nationalcon-

cern, Kansas establishedchild la-bor laws thatrestrictedemployment of children in poten-tially dangerous industries.

In the1950s,Kansas laid thepathto civilrights forAfrican-Ameri-cans with thehistoric Brownvs.Board of Education case the firstinthe country toruleagainsta poli-cyof segregation in publicschools.

Despite its compassionate na-ture, Kansas provedto be a stateteeming with inventiveness, inge-nuity, determination and a savvysense of business.

Cessna, Beech andStearmanhelped establish Kansasas a cen-terof the aviation industry. Cole-manlaunched an international

company fromWichitathat be-came a household name. Pizza HutandWhite Castle two iconiceateries both gottheirstart inKansas, andthe man whohelpedestablish the American automo-bile industry called Kansas home.

Kansashistoryis filled withvi-brant, dynamicpeople.Settlers whoclaimedland oncedescribed asadesertand turnedit into theworldsgarden;immigrantswhocame bythetrain-loadandbroughtwiththemthe hardwinterwheatthatgerminatedthe statesprosperity.Throughout theyears,Kansansen-dureddrought,grasshopperplagues,depression andfierce

weather, yetits people workedtoholdtightto theirlandand thebeliefthat there wasgoodnessin Kansas.

Inspiteof thosehardships,the stateproducedworld-renowned artists,writers,inventors,businessleaders,astronauts,evena president.

Kansas wasa strong-willedstatewhose handswere callousedenoughtoturnup the hardestsodandten-derenough tocalm a cryingchild.

Despite its strength and vitality,Kansas couldntsurvive the influ-ences of outsidepolitical ma-chinesthat soughtto usethisfertile ground andits peopleas a

test plot foran ambitious politicalexperiment.Theelectionsof 2010 and 2012

broughtthe poisonedpillthat wouldbring aboutKansasuntimelyend.Thefirstelectionseated a governorwhotossed aside Kansasstoried his-toryandreplacedit with a vision ofhisown design.In 2012, recordset-tingcampaign contributionsfromout-of-statedonorsfinancedthe de-feat of thosemoderateRepublicanswho had spentthelastof theirpoliti-calcareerskeepingKansasalive.

Oneby one, thethings Kansashadspent a lifetime building weredismantled, until the state wasrendered as emptyand uninvitingasit had been inthose earlydays

when the first settlers eyed its end-less expanse.

Along theway, thestates de-fenders the farmer, the laborer,theproperty ownerand theshopkeeper stood mute andpassive,hopingfor a day whenthe statewould spark backto life, asit hadalwaysdone before.

They remained silenttoo long.In lieu of flowers, memorials

may besentto the KansasCham-berof Commerce, theKansas Poli-cy Institute, or Americans forProsperity allin care of Gov. SamBrownback, Office of theGover-nor, Capital 300 SW 10th Ave. Ste241S, Topeka,KS 66612-1590.

JasonProbst is news editoratTheHutchinsonNews. Email:jprobst@hutcinsonews.com.

Jonylah Watkins diedon a Tues-day.

Shewaswith herfather, whowassitting in a minivan in Chicagoonthe night of March 11 whensome-oneopenedfire.Doctorsworked 17hours tryingto repair whata bullethad doneto her body, but tonoavail. Shedied thenext morning.Herfuneral wasabouttwo weeksago.Shewas 6 monthsold.

Antonio Santiago was7 monthsolder when hismother puthim ina strollerand tookhim for a walkin theirBrunswick, Ga.,neighbor-hood. Sherry West says they were

accosted by two teenagers de-manding money. She told them shedidnt have any. West saystheyshot Antonio in theface andkilledhim. This happened two days afterJonylahs funeral.

An AssociatedPressreporterwas onhanda day later astheboys fathertried to comfort hischilds mother. Hes all rightLuis Santiago told her, smiling forherbenefit. Hes potty trainingupstairs in heaven.

Which is, of course, the veryfoundation of faith,the belief thateventragedy willwork ultimatelyfor the good, thatin the end,thebitterest tearstransmuteto thegreatest joy. Thatis, in essence,

what is commemorated this Easterweek. It marks the morning when,we Christiansbelieve,a carpenterturned itinerant rabbi overcamedeath itself, rolleda stone asideand walked out of his own tomb.

In the KingJames Bible,in the

book of Matthew, therabbi Jesus is quoted as saying, Sufferlittlechildren andforbid them not, tocomeuntome:forof suchis thekingdom of heaven.

WhenI was a kid, thatalwaysconfused me. I wonderedwhy chil-

drenwerecommandedto suffer.But,as latertranslations confirm,the wordwas used inits old Englishsense,meaning: topermit or allow.Letthechildren cometo me, Heissaying, forthey arethe essenceofgrace.Love the children.

Twothousand years later, asinger named Marvin Gaye turnedthat command into a starkplea:Save the children.

As a nation, asa people, wehavefailed at both.

Nearly 100,000 peoplewillbe shotthis year according totheBradyCampaigntoPreventGunViolence.Seventeenthousandwillbe youngerthan 19.So almost5,000kids havebeenshotsincethe Newtownmas-

sacrein December, theone that wassupposedmake usfinally getseri-ousabout gunviolence.

Thattollspeaks unflatteringvol-umesaboutourseriousness.As doesa Politico report thatsupportis soft-eningfor lawsthatwouldexpand

background checksandimpose oth-er common-sense restrictionsongunownership.A Floridastate leg-islative panel justvotedtosupport abillallowingteachersto bring gunstoschool.Once again,thenation en-dorses theOrwellianlogicwhichwouldsolve theproblemof toomanygunsbyaddingmoreguns.

How doyousuppose wewouldex-plain that toJonylah orAntonio?Which of the gun lobbys inaneplatitudeswouldwe usetojustifyourfailure tokeepthemsafe? Jony-lah, guns dont kill people;peoplekill people. Antonio, theonly thing

thatstops a bad guy witha gun ...Sigh.This year as every year, foes of

abortion publicly mournthe lossof babies who could have been.But they we remain silentonthe loss of babies who actuallywere, whodied because we couldnotget ouract together, becauseours is a nationthat does not sim-ply enable private gun ownership,butthat worships andfetishizesitto thepoint wheresensible restric-tion even sensible conversationseemsimpossible.

Asa result, weare a nationwherewhathappenedto Jonylahand An-toniohas become grimly, sadly ...routine.That factalone starklyil-

lustratesthe insanity towhichwehave devolved, andthechallengethat faces faiththis Easterweek.

We keep crying thebittertears.Weare still waiting forthe joy.EmailLeonardPittsat

lpitts@miamiherald.com.

EDITORIALS

OPINIONC8 Sunday, March 31, 2013 The Hutchinson News

Medicaid painExpansion, not rhetoric, shouldbe considered by state leaders

The decision to participate in afederal expansion of Medicaidshould be easy for members of theKansas Legislature.

Kansans tax dollars will be col-lected, and used, to pay for the fed-erally funded program.

Joining the majority of other

states who have opted for the ex-pansion would keep Kansas atleast on track with its neighborsand the country.

Accepting 100-percent federalfunding for the next three years,and 90 percent until 2020, to insureupwards of 200,000 Kansansmakes fiscal sense. It makes busi-ness sense to use that money topay for healthy care, while divert-ing people away from emergencyrooms as a source of primary care.

But this is Kansas the sameKansas that kicked moderate Re-publicans to the curb not be-cause they supported the dreadedObamaCare, but because they did-

nt protest it loudly enough.In this modern version of ourstate, all things federal are to befeared, and all government, by itsnature, is bad unless it is impos-ing through law its moral will ondeviants.

Beyond the rhetoric and fear,

however, lies a very simple truth:Rejecting the Medicaid expansionwill hurt Kansas residents, hospi-tals and ultimately our ability tocompete with other states for busi-ness and talented employees.

If the expansion is rejected, ru-ral hospitals will miss out onpayments for patients they treat instead, theyll continue totreat the uninsured at theiremergency rooms and write off

the expensive care. Eventually,they may not be able to operatein the face of continued cuts toMedicare and a state that refusedto accept a program to insuremore people. At some point,Kansas will be labeled as a statethat doesnt care for its residents,and a place where people dontwant to or wont live.

Our neighbors will get sicker,and their care will cost more thanit would have if the states leadershad possessed the courage to dowhat is right, instead of what ispopular.

A resolution waits for theHouse, which expresses opposi-

tion to the Medicaid expansionand instructs the governor to re-ject the federal governments offer.When the matter is discussed andvoted on, Kansans will learnwhether politics and spite meanmore than the general welfare ofits residents.

Hutch airportGambling trips one good thingas tower closure dulls prospects

There is little good to report, de-spite the shiny face the city ofHutchinson and airport officialsattempt to put on news that theairport tower will shut down afterMay 5.

The closure is a federally-man-dated budget-cutting move and af-fects six airports in Kansas,including Hutchinson.

Aside from controllers losingtheir jobs, companies potentiallywill lose contracts and others willsee financial losses.

A military contingent that fliesout of Enid, Okla., practices touch-and-gos and buys fuel from WellsAircraft no longer would use the air-

port because of the tower closing.Wells possibly will lose its Cir-rus student aircraft maintenanceprogram and Cirrus student fly-ing school. Thats quite a financialhit for Wells if any or all contractsare affected.

The Airport Steakhouse restau-rant likely will notice just a fewmonetary losses because it drawsa good local crowd, but it will see

some drops in revenue with theloss of students and military per-sonnel.

Officials repeatedly sayHutchinson residents likely willnotice activity at the airport afterthe May 5 tower closing. Therewill be activity people boardingplanes for gambling trips toLaughlin, Nev.

Airport manager Pieter Millerput a shiny face on that.

If Facebook is any indicator, Ithink we could easily fill 60 or 70seats alone, said Miller, who not-ed a company approached man-agement regarding the Laughlintrips.

Initially, only a handful of tripswould be planned annually.One hopes a Hutch resident

comes home armed with enoughslot machine winnings andbright shiny face to reopen theairport tower.

Editorial BoardJOHN D. MONTGOMERY / Editor-Publisher

MARYRINTOUL / Managing Editor

JASON PROBST / News Editor

PAT SANGIMINO / Sports Editor

Jason Probst

Leonard Pitts

Father, forgive us; for we know not what we do

Kansas 1861-2013

File photo

Budget cut moves have led to the scheduled May 5 closing of the Hutchinson

Municipal Airports tower.