Friend,

Last week my colleague, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and I wrote a bipartisan op-ed entitled Working across the aisle to solve problems with our broken immigration system. We highlighted the importance of working together to fix our immigration system. It is our goal to ensure security while making keeping the promises made to those who have followed the laws and directives our country has asked of them.

I would also like to draw attention to the fact that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. The majority of us have been or will be touched by cancer at some time in our lives. With this in mind, I spoke from the floor last week to encourage women to talk with their doctors, and regularly get mammograms!

As always, if you have any questions, concerns or know of ways my office can be of assistance, don’t hesitate to contact us.

See the above video of Rev. Joshua Leu, First Christian Church of Great Bend, Kansas, lead the House’s morning prayer!

In the House

Helping the Puerto Rican recovery

Last week, I took a brief moment to express my best wishes to a true beacon of strength and determination in Congress, Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón of Puerto Rico. Her inspiring leadership and strength in the face of a horrendous natural disaster should be an inspiration to us all. That is why yesterday, the House approved additional funding to assist Puerto Rico in its recovery.

A chance to speak with you

It was a pleasure to host another great tele-town hall with so many of you. It was helpful to hear your thoughts on how things are going, and discuss your concerns and ideas! Staying in close touch with you, the people I am sent here to represent, is something I treat with the upmost importance,which is why I have held 56 town halls since taking office. Thank you to all who participated. If you didn’t get a chance to ask your question or let me know your idea, don’t hesitate to reach out to any of my offices!

Ft. Riley comes to town

It is always great to meet with Major General Joseph Martin of Ft. Riley. In our meeting, we discussed the General’s recent return from Iraq, and the successes U.S. forces have achieved in the battle against ISIS.

Ft. Riley is such an integral and beneficial resource for our district, and it is truly an honor to work with them!

 

It’s National Women’s Small Business Month!

Women bring unique and invaluable skills and experiences to the workplace. Across the country, there are over 9 million woman-owned small businesses, and they contribute over one trillion dollars to the national economy.

In Kansas, there are more than 73,000 businesses owned by women, representing industries such as accounting, veterinary medicine, and management consulting.

As I’ve toured Kansas, I’ve met with women entrepreneurs in towns like Ellsworth and Emporia, learning about how their businesses are growing local economies and the positive impact they are having on these communities. It’s inspiring to see what these women have achieved, and to hear their perspective on the challenges that small business owners face.

Big First community wins Neighborhood Assist Grant

I would also like to take the time to congratulate Arlington, KS,  on being awarded the State Farm Neighborhood Assist Grant earlier this year. Out of nearly 2,000 applicants across the country, Arlington was one of forty that won.

I am looking forward to seeing how the $25,000 they were awarded will benefit the community elementary school – our children come first!

By JOHN P. TRETBAR

Baker Hughes reported 928 rigs actively drilling coast to coast, down five oil rigs. The number of active horizontal rigs was down six on the week. Canada reported 212, an increase of three gas rigs. Independent Oil & Gas Service reports 38 active rigs across Kansas, 14 east of Wichita (unchanged) and 24 in the western half of the state (down one). In Stafford County, operators report drilling ahead at one site, they’re moving in rotary tools at another, and they’re moving in completion tools at two more.

Operators filed 19 permits to drill at new locations across the state last week, 12 in eastern Kansas and seven west of Wichita (including one in Barton County and one in Ellis County). So far this year, we’ve seen just 1,112 new drilling permits issued across Kansas, compared to 1,852 by mid October of 2015 and just 797 by this time a year ago.

Kansas operators filed 124 new drilling permits last month, for a year-to-date total of 1,078, compared to third quarter totals of 785 permits last year, and 1,802 in 2015. There were 69 permits filed in eastern Kansas during September, and 55 west of Wichita, including three in Barton County, five in Ellis County, one in Russell County and five in Stafford County.

Independent Oil & Gas Service reported 16 well completions across Kansas last week. There were ten completions east of Wichita, and six in western Kansas, including one in Ellis County. The year-to-date total is 1,006, compared to 3,160 two years ago at this time, and just 888 last year.

Through the third quarter of this year, about one in every four completed wells across Kansas has been a dry hole. Independent Oil & Gas Service reported 27 dry holes out of 87 completions last month, for a third-quarter total of 237 dry holes out of 952 completions. There were 36 completions reported east of Wichita and 51 in western Kansas last month. Ellis County reported one completion in September. Barton County reported two completions. There was one well completed in Russell County, and three in Stafford County.

The Kansas Geological Society recognized and named two new oil fields in Kansas at its September meeting, 40 so far this year. They also recognized new pay sources in nine existing fields including the Post Rock North field in Ellis County and three fields in Ness County.

Record-setting US crude exports are creating what Bloomberg termed an “increasingly disruptive force” on international markets, with North Sea producers suffering “collateral damage.” US exports reached 1.98 million barrels per day during the week ending September 29. That’s roughly equal to the amount shipped from the North Sea. More than half went of those exports went to East Asia and nearly a third was shipped to Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean region. All three are important North Sea markets.

The publication Texas Monthly offers reporting on just how the Administration’s new tax reform plan will impact the oil patch. One big plus for the patch is the expansion of deductions for investment expenses, which taxpayers could immediately write off the cost of new investments for at least five years, to incentivize domestic investment. Under the new plan, oil and gas companies will continue deducting Intangible Drilling Costs and will get to deduct other investment costs as well. Some deductions will go away under the new plan, including one for domestic manufacturing. These deductions cost the federal government about $152 billion per year overall, of which $1.25 billion comes from the fossil fuel sector. The tax plan would also exempt overseas profits, which would offer big benefits to companies with international oil and gas operations.

North Dakota’s oil production rose 3.5 percent in August, hitting the highest monthly mark in over a year. The state pumped 1.085 million barrels of crude per day in August, up nearly 40,000 barrels from the month before, according from the Department of Mineral Resources.

A new report says more and better inspections of freight railroad tracks and greater training for emergency workers are needed to address the continuing risk of fiery oil and ethanol train crashes. The report by the National Academies of Sciences says preventing derailments is imperative. Derailments are overwhelmingly caused by track wear and defects.

An economist this week warned CNBC that China will “compel” Saudi Arabia to trade oil based on the Chinese currency the yuan. With Chinese demand set to dwarf US demand, Carl Weinberg of High Frequency Economics says once this happens, the rest of the international market will follow suit, and abandon the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

China is the world’s largest importer of oil, due largely to purchases for its strategic petroleum reserves, now over 850 million barrel. Reuters reports China has spent $24 billion since 2015 for its reserves. IEA announced Chinese oil imports hit 9 million barrels per day in September. That , along with new tensions in the Middle East propped up prices Friday, with US crude posting a 2% weekly gain, and the international benchmark jumping 4% week over week.

A Miami businessman pleaded guilty in Houston to federal bribery charges in a corruption scheme involving Venezuela’s state-run energy company. He is the tenth person to be snared in a federal probe of foreign corrupt practices involving PDVSA according to a news release from the Acting U.S. Attorney. Fernando Ardila Rueda admitted to offering bribes to illegally secure contracts from the national oil company. He pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, with sentencing scheduled Feb. 8.

OPEC crude production hit the second highest monthly level this year in September, returning to growth after falling in August for the first time in five months. OPEC’s 14 members pumped 32.75 million barrels a day in September, up about 88,500 barrels, according to independent sources cited in the group’s monthly report. Nigeria and Libya, both exempt from the cartel’s production cuts, led the gains with monthly increases of about 50,000 bpd each. The cartel on Wednesday also raised its forecast for world oil consumption in 2017 and 2018 for a third-straight month. OPEC forecasts the world’s appetite for oil will grow by 1.5 million bpd this year and 1.4 million bpd in 2018. It cited higher-than-expected demand in China and other developed nations this year, and an improving economic outlook in Russia and China next year.

As the bond election approaches, I wanted to take this time to discuss the impact it will have on every student in USD 489, from preschool through high school. This bond issue will provide both new and renovated classrooms and schools.

Every building will be handicapped accessible, so parents will be able to send their children to the school of their choice. Every student will receive his or her education in classrooms that are large enough to accommodate the number of students in the room; all activities can take place in the classrooms and not in the hallways. Students and staff will be safe in school.

Entrances will be upgraded to be safe and secure; storm shelters will be built and serve a dual purpose. All shelters will be utilized daily as classrooms. This includes the proposed auditorium at Hays High School, which will allow for all-school or large group meetings and additional practice space for band, orchestra, and vocal during the day; and at times during the year, will serve as a gathering space for the community to watch our students perform.

This bond will impact not only the school district, but the entire community. Jobs will be created as these building projects are developed and constructed. It will have an impact on the economy of our community. The storm shelters will be opened and available to the community in times of severe weather.

The lasting impact of this comprehensive bond project will affect Hays for many years to come.

Sincerely,
Elaine Rohleder

Conspiracy theorists need to investigate Mother Nature’s actions against trees in Western Kansas. Yes, she’s conspiring to make this a treeless plain once again.

Western history buffs often read descriptions of the region called the Great American Desert. Explorers Zebulon Pike and Major Stephen Long documented journeys across this landscape, noting its aridity and incompatibility with agriculture. A lack of trees supported their conclusions.

Despite the region’s general absence of foliage, wayfarers noted groves along rivers and streams, naming several camp sites Big Timbers. Clearly, the soil wasn’t insufficient. More was involved. Those who came to stay observed fire’s role in eradicating trees and shrubs.

Great thunderheads built up on the horizon then as they do now. When lightning bolts arced and contacted dried prairie grasses, flames raced unimpeded across the landscape, searing emerging seedlings and delicate saplings.

To encourage buffalo migrations, some researchers explain that natives utilized fire to encourage tender grasses to sprout. Between lightning and manmade fire, trees struggled to survive.

That said, photos of western Kansas communities in the early and mid-1900s reveal flourishing stands of elm, ash, cottonwood, and hackberry. Towering trees shaded neighborhoods, hiding structures and yards from photographers. More recently, property owners have included pines in landscape designs.

If you compare images from earlier times to now, they’ve changed. What happened to the dense greenery shielding rooflines and sidewalks from camera lenses? Not fire, but dastardly, insects! That’s what. Mother Nature doesn’t want western Kansans to enjoy shady siestas or hear wind soughing through leafy branches.

After settlement, families planted trees and controlled fire. Combining these practices led to aerial shots of shady lanes and sheltered yards. That is until beetles invaded this continent to wipe out one tree after another.

Once hardy Dutch elms dominated neighborhoods across America. Now healthy ones are impossible to find. Walk through town and note tattered remnants of a once thriving population. It’s hard to think of small insects as assassins, but as their numbers multiplied elms withered.

While concerned about these striped beetles, western Kansans didn’t panic. Ash trees grew well, providing stunning fall foliage as well as hardwood to warm winter hearths. That is until the emerald ash borer, another Asian invader, arrived. In its native land, its populations didn’t grow out of control. As an uninvited guest, it’s multiplied until most American ash trees risk annihilation. Mother Nature clearly intends to vanquish prairie arbors.

Clever souls tried to outwit her by introducing Scotch and Austrian pines. Initially, it seemed a good strategy. Dense windbreaks protected yards, parks, and cemeteries while beautifying them. Then, (hear the Jaws theme in your mind) pine sawyer beetles arrived to alter the story. Traveling from tree to tree, this invasive species introduces a nematode that weakens trees. Needles turn from green to tan, signaling a tree’s impending death. It can take only 6 weeks for the disease to destroy a mature evergreen. This killer is very efficient.

As the region’s tree numbers dwindle, it’s clear Mother Nature’s killers labor unceasingly. Insects have assumed fire’s role as destroyer. Clearly, it’s going to take more than a desire for shady respite to outwit this gal and her team of wily assassins.

Native Kansan Karen Madorin is a local writer and retired teacher who loves sharing stories about places, people, critters, plants, food, and history of the High Plains.

I don’t have many pet peeves, but the few I do have occasionally jump the fence and run wild for a spell. One of those pet peeves involves a small group of outdoorsmen we kids used to call “slob hunters.”

You know, the ones that go afield each hunting season only for the bragging rights to having killed something. They shoot from their pickup; they shoot from the road; they hunt after hours without licenses (known as poaching) they shoot at any kind of sound and movement; they blaze away at targets much too far away to identify. They’ll empty a deer rifle at anything running through the brush in the same township.

They’ll empty an automatic 12 gauge at anything with wings. The safest place to be is often right in front of them as they swing wildly to fire at some blur streaking across the field, be it Whitetail, Appaloosa or Angus. Years ago I bird hunted ONE time with a coworker who would fire 2 shots, then aim.
Some years back Joyce and I had garnered permission to trap and hunt turkeys on a dynamite out-of-the-way piece of ground northwest of here along the Little Arkansas River.

Each time we were there, we either saw deer or were astounded at the amount of fresh deer sign. The land owner had tentatively given us permission to deer hunt also, so the weekend before deer season opened that year we drove there one evening at dusk intending to do some last minute scouting. The owner was there fixing fence, and said he had understood we would be bow hunting.

When he heard we would instead be rifle hunting, his reply was “Absolutely not; I don’t want any big rifles on this property, and I’ll tell you why!” He proceeded to tell us a disturbing story about how, some years back, he and his wife were cutting tree limbs and branches along the alfalfa field in front of us when a shot rang out and the bullet zipped through the trees mere inches from them both. “We had run the chain saw for 2 hours, so anyone should have known we were there” he added.

In my expert opinion, this was the work of a slob hunter who had obviously shot at sound and movement along the river, or missed their intended target very badly (I can’t remember the last time I saw a deer use a chainsaw!) The hunter safety course devotes an entire chapter to firearms handling and safety, which includes subjects like positive target identification and knowing exactly what lies beyond your target.

That same year I had asked permission to trap a stretch of the river bordering the same afore mentioned property but owned by someone else who also lives nearby. Shortly after harvesting my fall turkey just across the river, I pulled into the other landowners drive to introduce myself and was greeted with an icy stare. He had heard my shot and was very uneasy at my presence there. As our conversation progressed, and as I convinced him of my trustworthiness he became very cordial and friendly, and related to me the reason for his uneasiness; in the past few years, 2 of his horses have been inexplicably shot! It’s terribly far-fetched to think that both could have been from stray bullets, and I’m here to tell you that if a horse in any way resembles a whitetail deer through your rifle scope, you need eye surgery, a biology lesson or both!

Another major “pet peeve” of mine is trespassing and hunting without permission, and with the myriad of fall hunting seasons upon us, allow me to offer some pertinent information.

In Kansas, law requires hunters to gain land owner permission even on unmarked property, so no signs of any sort are required for that landowner to regulate hunting on their land. Let me also note the difference between “hunting with permission only” and “hunting with WRITTEN permission only.” “Hunting with permission only” allows for any form of permission, written, verbal or over the phone, and requires the land owner’s signature on any ticket or formal complaint issued by the conservation officer. “Hunting with WRITTEN permission only” is satisfied only by permission in writing, and gives law enforcement personnel free reign to issue citations, and /or make arrests with no further authorization.

By the way, land owners, the fish and game dept. furnishes both the signs and permission slips, at no cost, for this type of posting. I’m sure we hunters have all seen the bright purple paint on fence posts and old tires along property lines. These purple markers along property boundaries also mean “hunting with WRITTEN permission only,” and corresponding compliance is required.

Fellow sportsmen we don’t need to give hunting and trapping any more black eyes, so please be absolutely certain of your target when hunting and always error on the side of safety if you’re not sure. Get the required permission to be on someone else’s property and make sure that landowner understands exactly how you will be using their land. Be safe and take someone hunting or trapping this year as you continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!

Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at [email protected].

By Dr. TONY SUN
UnitedHealthcare of Kansas

Halloween can be scary. Ghosts, ghouls and goblins abound, but the most frightening part of Halloween might be how many calories our children bring home in their trick-or-treat bags.

The candy in an average trick-or-treat bag can contain as much as 7,000 calories, according to Dr. Donna Arnett at the University of Alabama-Birmingham’s school of public health, and all that candy can lead to tooth decay and a lot of extra pounds for the entire family.

What’s a health-conscious parent to do without ruining one of the most kid-friendly celebrations of the year?

Instead of candy, opt for healthier or non-food alternatives. Candy is fun, but healthy food can be as well. Making small oranges, popcorn balls or fruit cups with pumpkin faces drawn on them can encourage healthier eating while still getting into the Halloween spirit. Give trick-or-treaters dried fruit, fruit leathers, crackers or trail mix.

Or, if you want to avoid giving out candy or snack foods altogether, give small toys, stickers, temporary tattoos, pencils, Halloween erasers or glow-sticks. Kids receive plenty of candy on Halloween and will enjoy being surprised with the “extras” they gather while trick-or-treating.

Get out and exercise. Candy consumption certainly increases on and around Halloween, but so does walking. Fitbit recently analyzed its data and found the average user walked an additional 2,750 steps on Halloween. While those extra steps won’t cancel out all those candy bars you ate, the added walking and exercise can help you control your weight and improve your health.

Take family walks around the neighborhood before Halloween to plan your trick-or-treating route. The additional movement can benefit the whole family.

Fill your little goblins’ tummies with healthy food before they hit their candy stash. Eating a healthy dinner before trick-or-treating will help ensure your kids are properly fueled and less tempted to snack their way around the neighborhood. Plus, for safety you should save your candy until you get home to screen for anything potentially hazardous.

If you return home and your family has more candy than they should eat, search online at www.halloweencandybyback.com for a local buy back or candy donation program. Call first for each location’s program details.

This Halloween, have fun dressing up and eating a few treats, but balance the usual indulgence with making healthier choices.

Dr. Tony Sun is a Senior Medical Director for UnitedHealthcare of Kansas.

By RON WILSON
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

It’s the Ram National Circuit Finals of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in Guthrie, Oklahoma. The rodeo announcer is on horseback, in the arena. This nationally-recognized rodeo announcer hails from rural Kansas.

Scott Grover is this well-known rodeo announcer who does his announcing while on horseback in the arena. Scott grew up in north central Kansas near the Washington County town of Morrowville.

“When I was little, my folks took me to a rodeo,” Scott said. “I fell in love with the idea of the cowboy.”

The pastor of his dad’s Methodist church was also interested in rodeo and subscribed to the Pro Rodeo Sports News. When the pastor was done reading each issue, he would pass it along to Scott. Scott was just a kid but he read it with great interest.

“When I was in the third grade, I might not have been able to tell you about the history that we were supposed to be studying, but I could tell you who was in the top 15 standings in pro rodeo,” Scott said. In high school, he was active in FFA where he polished his public speaking skills.

Scott modestly downplayed his own abilities as a rodeo competitor, but he knew he wanted to continue to be involved. He attended a Nebraska community college which hosted a collegiate rodeo. He asked the rodeo manager for a job as an announcer. “She told me that they already had an announcer,” Scott said. “The next week, that announcer got sick on Saturday night and I was pressed into service. Sunday morning, I had a job.”

This was the break that Scott needed to get a start in the business. He did well and continued to announce rodeos while attending Kansas State where he got a degree in agricultural education. For four years, he taught high school agriculture during the school year and announced rodeos during the summers. Then the time had come to go out on his own to become a full-time rodeo announcer.

Today, Scott and his wife live near Camden Point, Missouri with a three-year old son and a 1-½ year old daughter. Their home is not far from the Kansas City airport, which is important. Scott travels and announces rodeos from New York to California and from Canada to Texas. He also hosts PBR Live (Professional Bull Riders) and other rodeo-related media and on-line communications.

Unlike most rodeo announcers who announce the rodeo from a viewing stand up high, Scott chooses to do his announcing on horseback inside the arena, using a wireless microphone. That puts him in a great position to describe the action, but it does require an agile mind and a well-trained horse.

“I saw a guy at Abilene announce the rodeo horseback and fell in love with the idea,” Scott said. “It gets you close to the crowd. I’m right in the middle of the action.”

Scott’s opening announcements also vary from location to location. “I’m not a great memorizer,” Scott said. “I find I do better if I can just come out and talk from the heart.” This also provides him the flexibility to tailor his comments to the location, the audience, and the events of the day.

His enthusiasm for the sport of rodeo comes naturally. “I’m just a fan of the sport,” Scott said. “I love rodeo and I love talking about it.”

Scott worked his way up through the ranks of announcers. In 2014, he was selected as an announcer for the PRCA Ram National Circuit Finals. That’s quite an accomplishment for a young man from the rural community of Morrowville, population 155 people. Now, that’s rural.

“I’m not curing cancer here,” Scott said with humility. “I just want to make somebody smile and love the sport half as much as I do.”

It’s time to leave the Ram National Circuit Finals where Scott Grover is announcing the rodeo on horseback. We salute Scott Grover for making a difference by advancing his way up through the profession. For Scott, we can literally say: this is not his first rodeo.

It’s anniversary time in my family. Monday was my parents’ wedding anniversary, and my husband and I celebrated our anniversary two weeks ago. My parents’ marriage is still going strong after 62 years together. On the other hand, Doug and I have been married for 9 years, equaling the 9 years I spent as a single parent after my first marriage ended.

In our society, most people want to get married– and there is considerable research evidence that marriage has a range of benefits. But too often the joy turns sour, and nearly half of marriages end in divorce.

Dr. Karl Pillemer, a professor of human development in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, interviewed 700 long-married older Americans for their advice about finding a life partner and staying married. You can read more about his research at http://legacyproject.human.cornell.edu/.
Here are three lessons Dr Pillemer learned from the elders for finding a spouse and staying together as reported in his online article at www.nextavenue.org:

1. Marry Someone a Lot Like You
Pillimer and his research team asked hundreds of elders what is most important for a long and happy marriage and their advice was just about unanimous: Opposites may attract, but they don’t make for great and lasting marriages.

Based on their long experiences, the elders’ first lesson is this: You are much more likely to have a satisfying marriage for a lifetime when you and your mate are fundamentally similar. And the most important thing to look for is similarity in your core values.

Take Emma Sylvester, who at 87 has been married for 58 years. She said: “I didn’t know it when I got married, but in retrospect I know it’s important to have the same basic values.”

Arguments emerge over apparently trivial issues, the elders told us, because they really reflect underlying values. Whether the wife purchases an expensive golf club or the husband a new electronic toy is not the core issue in a spat, but rather the deeper attitude toward what money means and whether the financial interests of the couple are more important than indulging individual wants.

The elders urge people in a serious relationship to ask the question: Do we believe the same things in life are important?

2. Never Expect Your Partner to Change After Marriage
What about taking a leap of faith on the assumption that you can change your partner after you’re married? The elders were as clear about this possibility as can be: Forget about it.

According to them, entering into a marriage with the goal of changing one’s partner is a fool’s errand.
Rosie Eberle, 80 and happily married for 56 years, had a blunt comment to make about entering into a marriage expecting to change one’s partner: “It’s just plain stupid.”

She went on: “Don’t marry someone and then think, ‘Oh, well he’ll change.’ Or ‘I’m going to change him.’ Believe me, it doesn’t happen. But people get real stubborn and believe a person will change later on, which never works.”

3. Friendship Is As Important As Love
When asked the question: “What’s the secret to a long, happy marriage such as yours?” a common answer from people in long marriages was: “I married my best friend.” Similarly, those whose marriages did not succeed often said: “Well, we were good at love, but we never learned how to be friends.”

This response sounds peculiar, given that in this society we see friends and spouses as two separate social categories that have different functions. In contrast, the elders say the special qualities of friendship are exactly what you want in your marriage.

We typically look forward to being with friends, we relish their company, we relax with them, we share common interests and we talk openly. What the elders suggest is that you look for the qualities of a friend — the capacity to comfortably “hang out” — in the person you choose to marry. As one 87-year-old said: “Think back to the playground when you were a child. Your spouse should be like the other kid you would most like to play with!”

According to the elders, all marriages undergo a transition from the initial thrill of romance to stages when other things become as or more significant. After being swept off one’s feet by true love, the elders caution you to ask “What’s next?” Will you wake up next to the same person for five or six decades and still find a person you like as well as love?

Marriage will probably never go out of style in our culture. But after the bouquet is thrown and the last grain of rice is swept up, these tips from those who have experienced decades of marriage can help us make our unions last.

Linda K. Beech is Cottonwood District Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.

There’s only one appropriate, spirit-of-freedom response to the “Trump tweet” on Wednesday asking when it’s “appropriate” for the government to punish NBC News for a story the president didn’t like:

Never. And yes, the repetition of “appropriate” and the use of italics are for emphasis.

Trump is disputing an NBC report earlier in the day — based on interviews with three officials in the room at the time — that during a July meeting Trump had proposed a massive increase in the country’s nuclear arsenal, which critics immediately pounced on as evidence he was naive and ignorant of the cost, policy and treaty barriers to such an increase.

“With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!” the president tweeted.

No — what’s bad for the country is for a president to threaten a news organization over a story that offended him — and about which it should be noted, the White House did not offer evidence or witnesses to discredit.

NBC, to its credit, also reported that no action was taken on Trump’s alleged proposal to increase by tenfold the aging U.S. nuclear arsenal of some 7,000 warheads. Trump supporters said it was likely he was only raising a “provocative” idea to prompt responses from his military advisers — which they said is in line with his combative management style.

True or disputed, style or substance, there’s no room in any president’s vocabulary for words that would try to put a news outlet out of business for a report. Criticize, call out or condemn — all fair game, and all tactics that Trump has used frequently to counter news accounts he does not like, even during his campaign and his previous careers in reality TV and real estate.

So far, Trump’s most heated attacks on journalists or news operations have been more hot air than real fire. But raising the idea of a direct challenge on news networks’ licenses crosses the line from complaint to a threat of government censorship.

It’s not that Trump has no effective means to get his version of things to the public. His tweets regularly reach millions of people, and he has the “bully pulpit” of his office, which means he can grab headlines by simply deciding to do so.

The tweet on challenging licenses is simply a step too far for the leader of a democratic nation, whether he or one of his surrogates takes on the task. Not that he is the first president to consider doing so: Richard Nixon, deep in the pit of the Watergate scandal, discussed going after the licenses of a station owned by the Washington Post Co. and Newsweek because of the Post’s aggressive reporting. Two challenges were later mounted by individuals close to Nixon, but not directly tied to the White House, according to the Post in a story published after Trump’s Wednesday tweet. But, that story noted, “The difference here is that Nixon talked about the scheme only privately.”

We’ve been down this road before, and rejected the idea of a subservient press beholden to government at any level. In 1798, eight years after adopting the Bill of Rights (which includes the First Amendment) Congress passed the Sedition Act, making it a crime to criticize the president or Congress. Some 20 editors were jailed, but the nation recoiled at the crackdown on free speech and the press, even reelecting one editor, Matthew Lyon of Vermont, to Congress while he was behind bars.

The law faded from the books in 1801, and some historians and First Amendment advocates say the experience “inoculated” the country from such overt attempts to muzzle what the nation’s founders protected as the “watchdog on government.”

George Washington is said to have decided against seeking another term because of harsh press criticism, and John Adams suffered from insults ranging from “balding head royalist” to words we hesitate to use publicly today. Lincoln briefly jailed so-called “Copperhead” editors whom he saw as Confederate sympathizers — but the action is considered a stain on the record of the Great Emancipator, even though he said at the time it was because the editors were encouraging riots and attacks on Union troops.

Going after the business and government licenses of news operations in order to silence critics would echo the strong-arm tactics of the worst dictatorial nations today, something that we see in nations such as Turkey and Eritrea. Joel Simon, head of the worldwide press freedom group Committee to Protect Journalists, coined a word several years ago to describe elected leaders who eschewed jailing or murdering journalists they disliked: a “Democrator.”

Trump has every right to respond to critics and stories he thinks are unfair, inaccurate or insulting. But the “licenses” tweet is not merely unpresidential, it’s undemocratic and unpatriotic. We’ve made it as a nation since 1776 without the official licensing of printers and publications that was in place under the English king, so let’s not start now.

A suggestion to Trump: Feeling frustrated and “demeaned?” Why not just tweet about it?

Gene Policinski is chief operating officer of the Newseum Institute and senior vice president of the Institute’s First Amendment Center. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @genefac

I am running for a seat on the USD 489 Board of Education. I ask for your consideration. I am a Hays resident, concerned citizen, and taxpayer. I am an advocate of public education, having attended public schools as a child and public universities while earning my undergraduate and graduate degrees.

I have 21 years of volunteer service to schools. A short list includes O’Loughlin Elementary Site Council, Hays High Site Council, and District Site Council. I have also served on numerous home & school associations, PTAs, and booster clubs since my youngest child began kindergarten, as well as a debate judge and music completion judge assistant. Finally, I have my share of blisters and scrapes from building HHS from musical sets at 12^h Street Auditorium. You may recognize me as the bald guy helping with the HHS Marching Band drink/snack table during football games and parades. I feel that whatever we can do, we should do; no matter how big or how small.

I currently serve as the director of FHSU’s Docking Institute of Public Affairs. The Institute provides research services (e.g., surveys, strategic planning, and economic impact studies) to communities. I meet with community groups, plan research, contract and budget projects, manage professional and student staff, maintain positive account balances, and assist with community planning. When teaching, my courses address rural development, community planning, and population change. Prior to coming to Hays, I served in the U.S. Army, US Congressional staffer, and worked as a journalist in Washington, D.C. I would like to bring these experience and talents to the board.

 My personal motto is “Engagement, Commitment and Temperament.”

Citizen engagement is of vital importance. It is better to engage and assist, than to withdraw and dismiss. In addition to volunteer service to the schools, I engage in the larger community through work as a member of the Hays Chamber of Commerce and the western Kansas Regional Economic Development Alliance. I would like to bring these networking skills and social capital to the board.

I have a record of commitment. I already attend board meetings, know the budget process, understand the Kansas Education Systems Accreditation process and Rose Capacities, and have attended a Kansas Association of School Board workshop. While I have much more to learn, I can start off running.

I believe I have the temperament for the position. My approach is to seek information, speak with experts, and make informed decisions in calm and collected ways. Perhaps military training has taught me to stay cool under pressure. I feel temperament and emotional intelligence are necessary for any leader, and I pledge to be a calm voice of reason on the board.

Thank you for your time. I ask for your vote on Nov. 7. If you would like to contact me, please email [email protected].

 Mike Walker

The Hays High School facility was built over 30 years ago, at a time when Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs were not as technically demanding and are now required for student skill development.

Hays High School has grown to eight pathways over time in the CTE department. For our current and future students, it is important to continue to grow and improve so our students have the appropriate technical and skill development for career success.

To help meet the demands of ensuring students are college and career ready for our local businesses and companies, the current CTE facility needs to be renovated to meet current career standards. The facility improvements for CTE will help address the need by reconfiguring the current space so that our Design and Construction, AgriScience, Audio Visual Communications, and Web and Digital Design programs can serve the Hays student population more appropriately and help ensure they are able to be successful for the next phase of their lives post-high school.

This renovation will create a learning environment that will allow for our students to become more competitive and skilled for the many different career pathways they may choose past high school which will open doors for employment for future local business needs.

Tom Albers, Dan Balman, Chris Dinkel, Nathan Howard, Heath Meder, and Curt Vajnar

From concealed-carry on Kansas campuses to the Las Vegas massacre, the issue of guns has returned with full force. The debate is highly emotional, but what does the research show: do more guns mean less crime, or does more gun control mean less crime? Unfortunately, the answer may be: neither.

Take the pro-gun argument, made famous by economics professor John Lott in his book More Guns, Less Crime. According to Lott, concealed-carry laws and the presence of more guns among non-felons lead to lower crime rates in the states. Gun rights advocates have zealously adopted Lott’s findings. Unfortunately, there are some major problems. Other researchers cannot replicate Lott’s findings. Some even find a reverse effect—higher rates of aggravated assaults when concealed-carry laws are enacted. Either way, the impact of concealed-carry pales compared to the big driver of street crime: the percentage of poor, unemployed young males in the population.

Gun control advocates are quick to point out the research contradicting Lott’s book. One point they make is certainly true– the U.S. is in a class by ourselves among developed countries. Our murder rate is more than two and a half times that of Canada, for example, and more than three times Australia’s. But, why is this?

Some other countries do have laws allowing wide latitude for gun ownership. For example, one researcher found Iceland to be “awash in guns,” yet their murder rate is much lower than even Canada or Australia. Iceland is not an isolated, rural country: much of their population lives in or around Reykjevik: a city with a population similar to Topeka, but a much lower crime rate. That researcher, a graduate student at the University of Missouri, concluded that poverty, not guns, tends to explain murder rates. Poverty is very rare in Iceland. However, it should be noted that the number of guns per person in Iceland is similar to Canada—less than one third the guns per person in the U.S. Here, there are more guns than people.

Finally, this: the shooting in Las Vegas horrified a nation, but this is not the best basis for gun-control debates. Mass shootings, like terrorist attacks and airplane crashes, are focusing events which haunt us and draw media attention, but all out of proportion to the actual risks involved. The act has been labeled domestic terrorism, and with good reason. On that point, a recent Washington Post op-ed pointed out that an American is more likely to be crushed to death by furniture than killed in a terrorist attack—to say nothing of the real killers like cancer, tobacco use, untreated diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Most Americans killed using guns are suicides, a fact which calls for an entirely different conversation. As for homicides, most are committed one at a time, by an assailant the victim already knew, with a handgun. If one does advocate for gun-control laws, they should be based on protecting the populations most at risk — young urban males, and women who are in or have just left abusive relationships.

Michael A. Smith is a Professor of Political Science at Emporia State University.

The weekend of October 13th through the 15th, area Knights of Columbus organizations from all across the area will be having their annual Tootsie Roll Drives for the benefit of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The people served by Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas have been many of the fortunate recipients from this fundraiser. For many years, the generosity of the Knights have allowed us to offer additional support to those we serve through a variety of ways.

One of those ways is DSNWK’s Consumer Medical Fund. This fund was established due to the contributions made through the K of C Tootsie Roll Drive. Thanks to the Knights, DSNWK has been able to assist people with the cost of medical items and care that are not covered by Medicaid such as dental expenses and adaptive equipment.

I hope that you will thank these great Knights members when you see them and support their efforts. DSNWK appreciates them making this a part of their mission.

Steve Keil
Director of Development
Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas