THE POSTSCRIPT, Carrie Classon

I have become the treat lady again.

Depending on where I’m walking, I either carry dog treats or I don’t. I used to carry them all the time, but when we moved to the city, I stopped carrying dog treats because I feared that the downtown dogs (or their owners) might not welcome my treats. Maybe they were on a diet (the dogs, I mean). Maybe they had allergies. Maybe they would be suspicious of a strange woman doling out treats. So I stopped carrying treats. My husband, Peter, thought this was a mistake. He is of the opinion that dogs (and cats) always need treats.

GUEST COLUMN, Vance Ginn, Kansas Policy Institute

Virtually every member of the Kansas Legislature says they support property tax relief, but there is a bipartisan effort behind the scenes to kill it. The reasons vary, and some are unspoken (allegiance to local government, the proposed legislation isn’t their idea, etc.), and the objections are mostly based on false or unproven claims.

The session began well, with the House and Senate leaders and the chairs of their tax committees coming together on an overall strategy: the House would work on a mill rate/revenue increase limit, and the Senate would focus on limiting the increase in assessed values. That continues to be the case, and it’s an efficient effort to pass both limits. Unfortunately, some Democrats and Republicans in both chambers are trying hard to kill one bill, hoping that that stops both from passing, and they aren’t letting facts and voter sentiment get in their way.

GUEST COLUMN, Kim Baldwin, Kansas Farm Bureau

My family recently celebrated the life of my husband’s grandmother. We were incredibly lucky to have Grandma Irene in our lives for so many years.

I don’t know a lot of people who knew a great-grandparent, but our son and daughter are old enough to remember her. While she lived three hours from us, she was very much aware of what we were all doing between our visits by keeping up with us on Facebook or through reading this column in her local paper.

She kept us up-to-date by writing letters that she’d put into cards and send to arrive just in time for birthdays and holidays. You always knew to be on the lookout for an envelope in the mailbox from her a few days before those special days.

MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron

This summer, we'll celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. As we explore events leading up to the signing, last week we talked about the pride, then disappointment, of English colonists after their shared victory over France. Then, in addition to governmental and economic changes, new ways of thinking began to impact the colonists' view of the world and their relationship to England.

First was the Enlightenment, that started in Europe and spread to the New World. A religious revival called the Great Awakening which followed was unique to the American experience. These two movements transformed American culture and united colonists through common beliefs and shared experiences.