By RON WILSON
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

“Here’s your mail.” It is always good to check the mailbox and receive personal mail. Today we’ll learn about a remarkable rural town that has people working together to improve the community. They are also working to attract and retain youth in their community, using the mail – and an actual mailbox – as a reminder.

Cole Herder is city administrator in his hometown of Humboldt, Kansas. Cole grew up here and went to Wichita State where he studied electrical engineering technology. After a 29-year career in manufacturing, he gave local government a try and became city administrator.

Cole had already been involved in the civic affairs of his community as a volunteer. He was concerned about the future of the community in the early 2000s, as economic and government problems challenged the region.

In 2007, the community of Humboldt signed up for a program called Public Square Communities. As we have previously profiled, this program is intended to bring elements of the community together for progress. When the program came to Humboldt, a public meeting was held.

Cole Herder spotted a notice in the paper about Public Square having a public meeting about the future of the community. He was curious, but also tired of hearing negative comments from people at the time. He still remembers that night.

“There was a show coming on I wanted to watch,” he said. “I told my wife, `I’m going to this meeting. I’ll be back in a few minutes. As soon as people start complaining, I’m leaving.’” But a funny thing happened: Instead of a complaint session, this was a positive meeting about what could be done in the future. Cole never left. He decided to stay and help. Task forces were organized and progress was made. Eventually he became city administrator where he could give official leadership. After the Public Square process ended, Humboldt organized into a PRIDE community so as to continue the work.

Fast forward to 2015. When a statewide planning committee was designing the 2015 Rural Opportunities Conference, the planners were looking for a town with a success story to tell. The town which was selected was the rural community of Humboldt, population 1,927 people. Now, that’s rural.

At the conference, Cole Herder and others talked about Building Synergy to Grow Your Community. Cole was joined by Humboldt Chamber of Commerce President Chris Bauer, City Council President Sunny Shreeve, and school superintendent K.B. Criss who spoke about how the community is working together for progress.

For example, Sunny Shreeve described the collaborative work that was done at the park along the Neosho River. It was determined that an entrance sign was needed. A community service class from school cleared the land. A local business owner donated stone from his farm. His employees put up the sign. Westar donated the pillars from old power poles. The local monument company put on the letters. Youth grew and planted flowers from the school greenhouse. The result is an attractive riverside park to which many people have contributed time and effort.

Cole talked about another issue facing Humboldt and other rural communities: The outmigration of young people. Students tend to graduate and move away, perceiving a lack of opportunities or support locally. In response, Humboldt implemented a neat idea.

At high school graduation, the community gives a mailbox to each and every graduate. The mailbox is decorated with the graduate’s name and the town: Humboldt, Kansas. Inside each mailbox is a card congratulating the youth and inviting them to stay and live in Humboldt. It is a thoughtful, creative way of inviting youth to always remember their hometown and maybe even to continue to make their home and career there.

So, here’s your mail – and even a mailbox to receive it in. These are examples of building synergy to grow the community, with several entities working together. We salute Cole Herder, Chris Bauer, Sunny Shreeve, K.B. Criss, and the entire community of Humboldt for making a difference with their collaborative efforts and their outreach to youth. They are thinking outside the box – the mailbox.

The thwarted attack May 3 on a Prophet Muhammad “cartoon” competition in Texas aimed to put freedom of expression in the crosshairs.

Let’s examine the latest incident — which seems now to be an unsuccessful attempt to echo the Jan. 7 attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo — through a First Amendment lens.

The invitation to draw Muhammad cartoons at the Garland “art fair” may well be worthy of criticism by those who see respect for another faith’s beliefs as a guiding concern. But such drawings, which offend Muslims who see any imagery of Muhammad as blasphemous, are protected free speech.

Some say the cartoon exhibit was too provocative to be allowed, noting it was sponsored by the vehemently anti-Muslim group, American Freedom Defense Initiative, as an “in-your-face” response to the same civic center being used in January for an event denouncing Islamophobia.

But “provocative” must not mean prohibited. The First Amendment’s protection for free speech anticipates, invites and encourages blunt, emotional and sometimes shocking speech as part of the messy democratic process of exchanging views and vigorous public discussion.

Groups like the American Freedom Defense Initiative, and the better-known Westboro Baptist Church group and other groups outside the mainstream of American life, draw their life from testing our collective support for free speech. They attract attention by challenging the nation’s comfort zones, from politeness to political correctness to public safety.

But as Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in a 2011 decision involving the Westboro group, “Speech is powerful. … It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and … inflict great pain.” But, he said, “We cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker,” adding that the nation’s commitment to free and open debate means protecting “even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate.”

Yes, the Garland, Texas, event was more P.T. Barnum than Picasso, and more crass than class. But, as Roberts wrote about Westboro admittedly using its presence at military funerals to attract attention, we cannot punish speakers for finding an effective way of being heard.

I wish I could say that the nation’s commitment to Roberts’s views is — pardon the expression — “bulletproof.” After all, we’ve had the First Amendment on the books since 1791. But we live in an age of rising terrorist threats, and the record also shows that fear dramatically affects public support for unfettered freedom.

In its annual nationwide State of the First Amendment survey by the Newseum Institute’s First Amendment Center, 49 percent of Americans, fully eight months after the 9/11 attacks, said the First Amendment “goes too far in the rights it guarantees” — with a similar bump up in the weeks after the Boston Marathon bombing. In such crisis moments, many of our fellow citizens apparently would surrender liberty to gain what they think will be some measure of safety.

But threats to our core freedoms don’t only come during crises. First Amendment scholars also warn that the ongoing “war on terror” with its repetitive, persistent threats from groups like al-Qaida and ISIS, has the potential to alter the very legal equations by which we determine the line between protected and unprotected speech, and the extent of religious liberty and other core freedoms.

One of those measures in law is the degree to which speech is an “incitement” to violence, which can place it outside First Amendment protection. In a 2005 article in the Whittier Law Review, scholar Kenneth Lasson noted that “terrorism creates a kind of permanent imminence” that could criminalize speech seen as protected in calmer times.

But such a moving standard invites abuse and overreaction. First Amendment freedoms live at the fringes, even as they encourage dialogue and debate that creates middle ground. We’ve spent two centuries and more profiting from those freedoms and that standard.

Reasonable and proper steps to protect public safety are a common-sense response to true threats. But the “Home of the Brave” has an added responsibility — even in the face of terrorist threats — to defend and protect the right to push, provoke and proclaim nonmainstream views.

Gene Policinski is chief operating officer of the Washington-based Newseum Institute and senior vice president of the Institute’s First Amendment Center. [email protected]

TMP-M

By the grace of God, the generosity of our alumni and friends, and the devoted prayer and work of hundreds of volunteers, we are pleased to announce that this year’s Auction for Christian Education once again achieved record-breaking status.

The regular auction, along with our generous Penny Donors’ commitment to match one penny for each dollar raised by the regular auction, netted just over $396,000 to fund Catholic education in Hays. In addition, $325,017 has been committed to “Item 60,″ which will be used to make functional improvements to Al Billinger Field House. This includes more than $37,000 in matching funds from the Leo J. and Albina Dreiling Charitable Trust. The Trust will continue to match, dollar for dollar, further donations to Item 60 until the full amount of the $100,000 match can be utilized.

With the amount of the regular auction along with the Penny Donors’ contributions added to the amount already committed to Item 60, the auction total stands at more than $721,000 with the potential to reach well over $800,000 in the coming weeks with increased donations to Item 60 which will be matched by the Dreiling Trust.

We want to thank everyone for the generous donations and thousands of hours of service that made the event such a success. We owe a debt of sincerest gratitude to the night’s attendees who continue to make Catholic education in western Kansas a priority. To our alumni and friends who were with us through the live streaming online from around the globe, and to all who were with us in spirit, we offer our humble but sincere thanks with the assurance that our school and our traditions remain unparalleled because of you.

If you would like to contribute to Item 60 to take advantage of the Dreiling Trust match, contact the TMP-Marian Alumni Association at [email protected], by phone at (785) 625-9434, or simply by using the convenient and secure Paypal link below.

Dear Dave,
My wife and I go to a small church where we tithe. The church is continually asking for contributions to other charities and causes, and we don’t have the money to give to them all while we’re sticking to our budget and getting out of debt.

The worst part is that we get pretty aggressive pushback when we say no. What can we do?
Michael

Dear Michael,
I don’t react well to that kind of pushback. I would probably be nice a couple of times, but after that my response might sound something like, “Mind your own business.”

Seriously, I’d probably be a little gentler than that. But basically when it reaches that point, they’re saying, “I want your money.” And that’s really over the top. If it goes even further, and it becomes a question of you “digging deep” or not having enough faith, I might get un-gentle in a hurry.

Your first job is to provide for your family and take care of those kinds of responsibilities — which is a very scriptural stance. Once you’ve done that, then you’ll hopefully have the financial ability to move beyond tithes and into offerings, which are completely different concepts. Tithes are first fruits off the top, while offerings are from surplus — meaning that you and your family are doing well financially.

Another thing to consider is this: Does this church turn every impulse they have into pressure to donate or buy something, because they didn’t plan for this kind of stuff in the church budget? I’d start having a problem with the leadership if this turned out to be the case, because it’s a sign they’re not planning and leading well.

Hopefully, you can explain to these folks the reason why you can’t contribute to additional things at the moment and they’ll understand. If not, and it were me in your shoes, I think I’d have to find another church.
—Dave

Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He has authored five New York Times best-selling books. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 8.5 million listeners each week on more than 550 radio stations. Dave’s latest project, EveryDollar, provides a free online budget tool. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.

Community Foundation of Ellis

With the Community Foundation of Ellis’ “Giving Back to Ellis” campaign coming to a close, the Foundation would like to thank our entire community for your support. You’ve already given over $35,000 to make our community an even better place to live than it already is, and our town’s generosity is already making a difference in our community. Because of your overwhelming support, here are a few new and exciting things that are happening through the Community Foundation of Ellis.

This year, your support of the Foundation will have started two new programs that provide food for children in our community, one of which is being funded by donations you’ve given. For many students, school lunches provide steady meals through the week, but weekends and summer breaks lack the consistency of nutrition that kids need.

The Community Foundation of Ellis is striving to meet that need. One of the programs, Food4Kids Backpacks, has been helping our town beat hunger since February. Funded and run by the Kansas Food Bank, this program provides two meals each Friday for any grade-school student who needs a little food to help them through the weekend. Our second program kicks off this summer.

Starting June 1, Food4Kids: Summer will provide kids in Ellis with food that’s in when school is out. For many kids in Ellis, summer’s a time when the lack of school lunches creates a real need for help, so we’re aiming to provide 45 children ages 2-18 with six meals per week to meet the need. This initiative is being funded by the Foundation, and so it depends on our community’s support. All of this is in addition to the excellent work of the Ellis Food Box, which has provided food to 124 families this year to help beat hunger in Ellis. Through your continuing support, we’re going to make a difference in our community.

Beyond meeting our community’s need for food, your gifts to the Foundation are helping our community grow by supporting all kinds of established and budding organizations in our community. This year, we’ve been able to increase the number of grants awarded from 7 to 10, giving nearly $4,900 back to organizations in Ellis.

This year’s grant recipients include Ellis United Methodist Church’s 5th Quarter, the Nutrition Center, The Ellis Public Library, the Senior Advisory Board, St. Mary’s Preschool, Ellis Soccer Club, the Ellis Columbian Board, the Ellis Baptist Church Youth Group, the Polar Express Committee, and Ellis Girl Scout Troop #10020. Congratulations to all of this year’s grant winners!

Once again, the Community Foundation of Ellis would like to thank our entire community for your support. Our food programs and grants depend on your donations.

If you’d like to find out how you can make a difference in our community through the Foundation, visit our website at www.ellisfoundation.net or contact the Ellis Alliance office at (785) 726-2660.

As we approach graduation each spring, some of our seniors get a pit in their stomachs. They dread what is becoming an annual ritual.

A well-intentioned teacher or administrator calls all of the seniors to come forward.

–Perhaps on the ball field at pre-game or halftime, with ball players or band kids.

–Or on the stage with theater or orchestra kids.

Most often, they are asked to tell which colleges they will attend. Sometimes they are just asked to tell the audience of their plans after graduation. But it had better be college.

Suzie reports she has been accepted at an Ivy League.

Jim is next and he is going to a public university.

Down the line, several students squirm.

Fred wants to work on cars. He mutters about a tech school under his breath. Poor child! Only a tech school?

Another falteringly claims he is applying to college, but his voice betrays him.

George loves working on his farm after school. He will someday inherit that farm. He is bright and might take some courses in agriculture. But how can you talk about wanting to “turn over soil” in front of an audience that considers anyone not going to college full time to be a loser?

Or John, who is at the top of his class and wants to go to a university, but comes from a very economically poor family. They have a solid ethic about not borrowing. For him, this scene is the cruelest of all.

And how can a commonsense kid take the first year after graduation to see the world and just grow up some more? —Or take a year in the real world to work and build up some savings before deciding on a career?

The freshmen, sophomores and juniors witness all of this. They hunker down in their bleacher or theater seats. Someday they too will be seniors and will be expected to declare some lofty goal in higher education—or be labeled failures.

Students know that this expectation was coming. Their school hallways are draped with banners announcing how “all students will succeed” and “all students are college-bound.” That has become the simple-minded mantra of many school administrators. The only metric of school success is the number of graduates who attend college.

In turn, schools take their marching orders from politicians, from the U.S. President down to State Governors who proclaim arbitrary “goals” that are to be met. Otherwise, our schools are failures.

But good teachers who know their students’ true goals, abilities, dreams, and potential, know that this mandate to send everyone immediately on to higher education is not in the best interests of many students.

It sets students up for failure, pressuring some into a future they would not choose.

It pressures secondary teachers to deflate coursework and inflate grades in order to reach unrealistic goals, made easier by narrowly teaching to external assessments.

And finally, it loads a lot of students into colleges and universities who are not really college-ready or college-able. And many may have an inflated image of what they can do. Then the pressures felt in K-12 to increase retention and graduation are repeated at the university level.

The losers are the good students, who walk across the stage at graduation to receive a degree to be followed by several other students who receive the same degree for doing far less work.

We must learn to value all students regardless of their goal in life.

We must stop shaming those who do not choose to go to college.