Opinion

GUEST COLUMN, David Trabert, Kansas Policy Institute

A recent claim about collective bargaining by a Virginia teacher reminds me of a lesson used by the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan to help fellow Democrats understand that there is no connection between school funding and student achievement.

Noting that northern states tended to have better outcomes, Moynihan, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, exclaimed, “If you want to improve your state’s math scores, move your state closer to the Canadian border!”

GUEST COLUMN, Glenn Brunkow, Kansas Farm Bureau

This past week I got to help with Pottawatomie County Farm Bureau’s Day on the Farm. Most of the schools in the county send their fourth-grade classes, and presenting at it is one of the highlights of my year. This year I got to talk about sheep, and I loved every minute of the day.

I was one of many volunteers including farmers, ranchers, law enforcement officers, extension agents, soil conservation representatives and many others who took time out of their day to share their slice of the agriculture pie with the students.

MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron

After last week’s message entitled "Love God and God Alone", it seemed appropriate to return to our study of New Testament books, by looking at writings of the Apostle John who had love as one of his main themes.

First, we'll review John's relationship to the Lord. Jesus chose twelve to follow Him in public ministry. Of those, three who were fishermen came to form an inner circle: Peter, and James and John whose father was Zebedee. It appears these three were the only ones to accompany Jesus at the resurrection of Jairus' daughter (Mark 5; Luke 8), on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17; Mark 9; Luke 9), and in the Garden of Gethsemane before His trial (Matthew 26:36; Mark 14:33).

THE POSTSCRIPT, Carrie Classon

Our cat, Felix, has a new home.

We adopted Felix in Mexico while we were staying there. The woman who fostered him, Marcela, thought he was a kitten because he was so small — except for his tail, which appears to be intended for a much larger cat.

But when I took him to the vet, they said he was two years old. I worried he was going through a lot of changes rather quickly for a two-year-old. He lived on the streets until he was picked up by Marcela, then he came to live with us in Mexico. Now Felix and Peter and I are returning to the U.S. together.