Letter to the editor
To the Editor:
The 2006 Chingawassa Days committee would like to thank the many people and organizations that worked so hard to make this year's event the most successful in our festival's history.
Since this was our 10th anniversary, we really hoped to "do it right" by bringing Marion an event that had a little something for everyone and ended with a great concert by a nationally-known act. While this has been the committee's goal for a number of years, we felt like if we were ever going to have everything click, the 10th year should be the time for it to happen. Thanks to the dedication and hard work of more people and organizations than we could ever name, the 2006 Chingawassa Days festival appears to have been a resounding success.
To start naming individuals would only guarantee someone would be left out. From the gate volunteers to the local man who made a flying trip to Wichita to pick up one of the band member's forgotten shoes, the Marion community embraced our event and made it possible. The City of Marion, school district, churches, service clubs, law enforcement officers, performers, and individuals, who stepped up to give Marion this signature event, all have our sincere gratitude.
The support the Chingawassa Days festival has received from the local business community is outstanding. We hope you took the time to notice the list of contributors on the back of the Chingawassa brochure and the names of the major donors on the banners in the park. If you didn't notice the donors, stop by the chamber office some time and ask to see a list. These businesses and individuals are the ones that allow us to bring in the many entertainment options that Chingawassa provides. We would like nothing better than to hear that some of the contributors have heard from members of the public, thanking them for their support of Chingawassa Days.
The committee will soon start planning Chinga '07. Watch the paper for announcements and an opportunity to make suggestions on what should be continued, dropped, or changed. If you already have ideas or suggestions, please mention them to any Chingawassa committee member or to Margo at the chamber office. For now, mark June 1-3, 2007, on your calendar. Save the date for Chingawassa '07, as we take the first step into our second decade of spring fun and entertainment for Marion and the surrounding community.
Chingawassa Days Committee
Jandee Moore, co-chairman
Mike Powers, co-chairman
Sheila Anderson Chris Costello
Dave Crofoot Marc Grout
Jan Helmer Davey Hett
Randy Kelsey Paige Schneider
Roger Schwab Gene Winkler
Margo Yates
To the Editor:
It has been a bit of time since I've written in from our new outpost in the metro — Lenexa. Trust me, it is a bit of a trip for a country/small town kid (even of 62 years) to be functioning in this setting after all these years. It has been a good year, and Connie and I are doing well. If you all are ever up this way for some big city R&R, stop in at Lenexa United Methodist Church. We're in Old Town Lenexa, kind of hard to find at first, but you will be welcomed.
I was taken back a few years when I saw the photo in last week's Marion County Record (June 21 edition), showing the work Lee Leiker and Jack Swain had completed on the hillside just below the Hill School.
When my generation called Hill Grade School home, we had spent some extended time on those hill sides, "mining" for what we called quartz. I'm not sure what the crystal rock forms were which we hammered and dug out of that limestone, but it became quite the rage for some weeks, maybe months, as we kids spent most of our recess time pounding and digging for those supposed treasures.
As I looked at the photo, I have to say I remember the undergrowth being so dense in and around the curve of the hill that you could hardly see the school building from the old church, now the museum. Thanks to these two men and any of their crew for cleaning out that area. It will make a difference to us as we visit home in the coming years.
The skates remind me of stories the brothers told of skating on just such contraptions down on Mud Creek in those winters we all remember when the creek would freeze over several inches thick. Chuck, Bing, and Fritz Hayen for sure spent some significant time in such pleasures, and I'm guessing Cal, Warren, and Don as well.
I can remember bonfires burning and dozens of older kids skating as I watched from the bridge. I came along a bit late, and never remember skating on the creek, just a lot of fishing and hanging out, mostly at Dogfish Dam, up river a bit.
Many of you will remember with me, the great flood of '51, when the old Baptist church, now museum, was the "dock" for the boats as they maneuvered through the raging floodwaters to bring people out to safety from the Valley.
I can still remember as a little kid of six years or so, standing there by the old church, watching those boats roar down through the park to the south, and then come back up against the current to get across onto Main Street in order to get to the next family needing rescuing. I don't remember how they got back across current with the people, but it had to be harrowing trip for everyone on board. It was dangerous business.
Enough for now from the city. Have a great summer. Hope to see some of you this fall at Old Settlers' Day. Jan Hayen
Lenexa
Data is revealing
To the Editor:
On June 27, Kansas Action for Children (KAC), Inc. released the 2006 Kansas Kids Count Data Book at www.kac.org and in media across the state. KAC is a non-profit child advocacy group that keeps tabs on the Kansas Legislature to encourage legislative and budgetary decisions to benefit the safety and well-being of children and their parents, and informs the public about legislation that affect children and families.
KAC would like Kansans to know that children under age 6 in our state are more likely to be impacted by issues of poverty, child care, and parent employment than older children. This is equally true for our youngest children in Marion County. Why is this important?
Children under age 6 are among the most vulnerable and dependent of all populations. We now know that while human brain development occurs through the teen years into the early 20s, the critical formation of receptors and brain growth occurs primarily in the first years of life. The foundation for all subsequent mental functioning takes place by age 5.
Unfortunately, in Marion County not all children are provided the safe, nurturing environments needed for maximum cognitive, social, and emotional growth. The truth is we are among a group of counties with the highest reported and substantiated child abuse and neglect rates in the state.
Not all families have the economic resources needed to maintain their household to an acceptable standard of living. Children under age 5 in Marion County are more likely to be poor, especially if they live with a single mother. More than 77 percent of these children in our communities live below the federal poverty level.
Many two-parent families also struggle. Marion County parents work hard to sustain a middle-class lifestyle — the standard that is considered the norm for an average all-American family. While 67 percent of Kansas children and 59 percent of children nationally live in families where all resident parents work, in Marion County 69.5 percent of children under age 6 have both parents in the work force.
There are many discussions about economic development in Marion County. Although early childhood is directly related to economics, the topics are not often included in the same conversation. Studies show that when more funding is provided on the front end of life, millions of dollars of public funds are saved from being spent later for financial support, social services, incarceration, law enforcement, mental health services, special education, and other services for those whose needs may not have been met as young children.
The good news is that two entities have identified quality child care as a primary focus. USD #410 will have an integrated preschool program in the 2006-07 school year as a model for future centers in the community. Also, the City of Marion is proceeding with plans for a child care center in town.
While this is in progress, we should not be satisfied until every child in Marion County has a great start in life and a safe, nurturing place to learn and grown. We should not be satisfied until Marion County truly is the best place to raise a child to productive adulthood. After all, every one of us is dependent upon their success.
Linda Ogden, Executive Director
Communities in Schools
