PrairieFest gets started

PrairieFest kicked off Thursday night with a city band concert in front of City Hall on Central Ave. The band is one of the oldest in the state, having been started by Buckskin Joe in the 1870s.
For many years the city band concerts have been held at Wilson Park, but when the band was playing about 100 years ago, playing in front of city hall was common.
PrairieFest continues through Sunday.
More pictures on the web site
www.arkcityrevived.com

Prairiefest and traffic

The traffic situation should be interesting this weekend.
There must not have been communication between the PrairieFest people and the KDOT, because both the bypass and Summit Street will be closed this weekend.
There will be a lot more traffic on a couple residential streets as a result.
It is a good opportunity for local merchants to reach out to people passing by, as well as to people coming for the arts festival.
I wonder what people are thinking about this.
Will you be going to the festival?
What do you think about them shutting down Summit Street for the festival?
Last year at Arkalalah, Police Chief Sean Wallace wanted to shut down Summit while the festivities were going on.
If it goes well this weekend, the idea might catch on next fall.

New Web Site

I have started a new web site. It is still in the process of getting started.
The site is at www.arkcityrevived.com
The blog will keep its name, but it will be easy to go back and forth between the two. One thing the site will do is have more information than the blog posts. For example, i might put background information about a city commission meeting on the site.
The live blogs will also be stored there.
Let me know what kinds of things you would like to see there.
Also, if you would like to contribute writings or pictures, send them to news@arkcityrevived.com
I cant afford to pay anyone, but it is a chance to be part of something new.

Obama health care

President Obama has revealed a new universal health plan.
This is one area where I will depart from the conservatives. Our health system is great, if you have the money. If you don't, its not so great.
Here is a link to the story.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_health_overhaul

Traffic rerouted for PrairieFest

PrairieFest is this weekend, and its moving downtown this year. It was held downtown many years ago when it started, so it is sort of a homecoming for the spring arts festival.
This means traffic will be blocked at Summit Street Thursday through Sunday evening.
Traffic is already blocked a the bypass and traffic is being re-routed, so there may be even more confusion this weekend.
For PrairieFest, Summit will be closed from Chestnut to Central. One block Central, from First to Summit, in front of city hall, will also be closed.
Traffic will be routed to first street, and to A street, to detour during the festival.
The detour for the closed bypass will also be in effect. That one mostly involves going down Kansas to F street, which is called the old truck route, and on down to Madison and to the end of the bypass.
Since the bypass has been closed, there has been more traffic going through downtown the last few days.
How is everyone doing with the traffic?
The only problem I have had, has been getting over to Greens Farm Road.

City commission meeting, 7 p.m. june 2

Clearing the air

Local Clean Air Coalition chief Jerry Campbell said some of the people who support a smoking ban were irritated by city commissioners, he doubts that any of them retaliated by reporting the possible violation of state open meeting laws.
At a meeting in early May, three commissioners attended a public forum on the potential smoking ban in Arkansas City.
Commissioner Mell Kuhn called the material presented "propaganda" and questioned whether second hand smoke was a real health hazard.
Commissioner Dotty Smith said she did not think the city commission should decide the issue, but she said she would prefer that the people of Arkansas City decide the issue at the ballot box.
"He (Kuhn) came in combative, and Dotty (Smith) didn't help matters," Campbell said today.
Later a citizen filed a complaint that the open meetings laws may have been violated because Smith appeared to speak for the commission. She later said she was not speaking for the commission.
Campbell said he and his group are trying to establish a working relationship with the city.
He said that while he and some members of the group were irritated, he does not think any of them reported the violation. he said he heard that there may have been a violation later.
"There was some grandstanding going on," he said.
The group may seek a referendum on a smoking ban in public places at some point in the future.

Open meetings violation possible, Commissoners say its politics, updated 12:30

City commissioners may have violated the Kansas Open Meetings Act recently. County attorney Chris Smith is investigating after a citizen filed a complaint.
The incident happened at a Cowley County Clean Air Coalition meeting on May 6 when three commissioners were in attendance.
Commissioners Mell Kuhn and Dotty Smith believe the complaint is driven by politics more than substance.
The three commissioners could legally be there together as long as they did not discuss city business or speak for the commission.
One of the commissioners said that the commission would not pass a smoking ban in Arkansas City.
Commissioner Patrick McDonald explained that this constitutes speaking for the commission and that was a violation.
"As soon as I heard that, I knew our goose was cooked," he said.
Commissioners Mell Kuhn and Dotty Smith were also at the meeting.
It was Smith that allegedly said the commission would not pass a smoking ban.
Today Smith said she never intended to speak for the commission.
"I told them that I believe this should go before a vote of the people and not be handled by the city commission," she said. She added that she did not remember saying the commission would not pass such a measure, but she said that even if she did, she was not intending to speak for the commission.
Kuhn said he did not recall the statement being made that the commission would or would not do anything, and he is angered that he and other commissioners are being accused of wrongdoing.
"This is absolutely ridiculous. This shows a lack of concern for the city as a whole by some people. It is just sensationalism," he said this morning. "It just shows the pettiness of some people."
Kuhn said the intent of KOMA regulations are to make sure government is transparent.
"They will be hard pressed to show we did that," he said.
Kuhn argued with the smoking ban supporters at the meeting. He and Smith were not supportive of the ban.
Kuhn said he believes the complaint may be retaliation by some people in the group because he opposed them.
"It could be them propagating this for their own gain," he said.
Smith agreed, saying that she thought there were people who were upset that commissioners were not agreeing with them.
Dotty Smith said she called County Attorney Chris Smith (not related) when she heard that there might have been a violation. She was told a citizen had filed a complaint.
Kuhn said he is not opposed to outlawing smoking in places like a courthouse, but he is opposed to telling private business owners what they may or may not do.
He said the complaint was driven by someone with an axe to grind.
"At the meeting no one else had the idea we were doing anything wrong," he said.
McDonald said it was "another commissioner" who said the commission would not pass a smoking ban.
McDonald said a citizen filed a complaint, so the county attorney has to investigate.
He said the incident should not have happened.
He said if all three spoke as individuals, there would not have been a violation, but once one of them spoke for the commission, it becomes a meeting.
County Attorney Chris Smith could not be reached this morning.
He was quoted in Newscow saying that often in this type situation, commissoners get a letter telling them to not do this again.

THIS story may be updated later today.

Here is a link to informaiton about Kansas Opem Meetings Act on the state attorney general's site.

http://www.ksag.org/content/page/id/140
here is a link to the clean air kansas group

http://www.cleanairkansas.org/

Pro-life response

This morning I talked with Tim Durham, director of Family Life Services. Here is a story based on that interview.

Tim Durham, of Family Life Services in Arkansas City, was shocked when he heard that George Tiller had been killed in Wichita Sunday.
"I was in a church when I heard about it. That was not something we wanted to hear," he said Monday.
As a pro-life group, he was opposed to the late-term abortions performed by Tiller. Even so, he was hoping there would be a different outcome.
Durham noted that some abortion providers have changed sides and stopped doing abortions. He said he hoped Tiller would see the light in that area, but he never wished that Tiller would be killed.
"We are in the business of preserving live," Durham said. He added that his organization is too busy helping people to get involved in any kind of violent protest.
Family Life Services is a pro-life organization, but Durham sees it more as a service organization than an activist group.
"We are a 5013-c organization. We are not allowed to be involved in politics," he said.
Family Life Services spends most of its time helping pregnant women with things like health care and prenatal care.
"We all want health babies," Durham said.
He said both he and his organization condemns any sort of violent protest.
He said he did not know what the thought process was of the man who shot Tiller, but he said his actions were clearly misguided.
Durham hopes the shooting will not result in a backlash against service organizations such as Family Life Services.
Durham said he hopes people will start talking more about abortion as a result of Sunday's shooting.
"Abortion is one of those issues people just do not want to talk about. It is uncomfortable, so they don't," he said.
His group does focus on helping women, but it is also opposed to abortion.
He said abortion is a complex issue, and he said he would rather er on the side of life, instead of having abortions.
His organization tries to find alternatives for pregnant women who may be considering an abortion.
Tiller was one of the few who provided late-term abortions. These are abortions where the baby could survive outside the womb.
Durham noted that in some states people can be charged with two counts of murder if they kill a pregnant woman. But that same woman could have the fetus killed and it would be called choice.
"We have that incongruency in our culture, and that is what no one wants to talk about," he said.
Durham said some people see abortion as a necessary evil, but "in my world view, I say, if it is evil, why is it necessary."

Tiller shooting

A suspect is in custody, Scott Roeder, 51, of Merriman, Kansas, in the shooting death of George Tiller.
Already there are political ramifications. Here is a link to a good story on Time.com about that.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090601/us_time/08599190207700

The shooting was a terrible thing. No sane person would support that.
Pro-life groups are denouncing the shooting.
Christian groups are as well.

Here is a story in the Eagle about the suspect.
http://www.kansas.com/news/local/story/834448.html

The suspect is being linked to anti-government and extreme right wing groups. He has not been linked to any religious pro-life movements or protests.