Opinion

L&T OPINION

We applaud Seward County Treasurer Mary Rose for her efforts to serve the community by providing the proper paperwork to those who wanted to protest what they believe to be an illegal tax levy.

We concur that the tax levy was done improperly and is highly likely to be overturned by the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals, and it is the right of tax payers to protest those taxes.

As the treasure, Rose is charged with collecting the taxes. She doesn’t set the rates. That’s done by the Seward County Commission and must be done properly to exceed the previous year’s tax rate. If a property owner does not believe the process was done correctly, they have the right to protest, and there are documents available for that purpose.

GUEST COLUMN, Greg Doering, Kansas Farm Bureau

We didn’t have any strong tradition around trimming a Christmas tree when I was a child, at least not that I can remember. Obtaining the tree resembled a loose imitation of Clark Griswold as we ventured out to the corner of a pasture to find a red cedar that had managed to escape repeated fires.

Nearly all these adventures were rather uneventful and ended with an indoor evergreen adding a festive look and scent to our house. We’d drape lights over the boughs and hang an assortment of ornaments from the branches, carefully testing the heavier ones against the tree’s thin limbs.

Once erected and decorated, the tree was largely a stationary sentinel overseeing a growing pile of presents. It stood on duty until the packages were distributed on Christmas morning. Its mission completed after a few weeks, the tree was unceremoniously removed and disposed of before the New Year.

GUEST COLUMN, J. Basil Dannebohm

I have profound respect for good journalism, especially from small-town newspapers. I spent a good portion of my early career in the industry doing ad sales, then transitioned to writing, and eventually management. Today, my column is sent to publications in all fifty states. Many of them are so small they don’t even have websites. Some of them operate with a staff of one.

Having served as both an elected official and a member of the media, I echo the sentiments of Thomas Jefferson, who said, “Were it left to me to decide if we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

Recently, I received an email from the Virginia Local News Project (formerly the Virginia Press Foundation). The subject read: “When Social Media Becomes the News, Local Journalism Is at Risk.”

LETTER TO THE EDITOR, Christina Yearick, Liberal

Dear Seward County Residents of District 4:

I would like to invite a conversation by giving my phone number to the people of my district in Seward County.

If selected in the interim, I need to know your ideas, thoughts, questions, grievances, and hopes to represent your wishes and desires for our community. Please call (417) 239-5948.

I look forward to visiting with you.