Letters to the editor
To the Editor:
What is the deal with your sports editor, Mike Norris? Does he not realize he is in a community which has very strong roots with Kansas State University and their Wildcats?
Yes, we may have a great interstate rivalry, but neither team/school in Kansas is "hated."
Maybe he missed the articles in the same issue regarding two of the young Marion County residents currently enrolled at K-State and their great achievements.
With his self-proclaimed Kansas transplant statement, it is apparent he is none too familiar with the phrase "house divided" concerning K-State and KU.
I attended K-State as did my daughter, who currently is enrolled in the accelerated graduate program at KU. I have many family members that are KU fans that do not "hate" K-State.
Is "hate" the appropriate word that should be used when we are at the games? Are we as a society not in the process of ridding the world of hate and the crimes associated with it?
Steve Higgins
Alta Vista
EDITOR'S NOTE: You're right, "hate" is a strong word and one that we should avoid. Norris does understand the "house divided" phrase. His wife attended K-State.
To the Editor:
My mother and stepdad recently have achieved a dream my mom has had for years. They are the proud owners of Kingfisher Steakhouse & Lounge.
In this title, you see two things. A new, fine-dining eating establishment for Marion County that brings people in from surrounding areas and a lounge. Yes, we do serve liquor by the drink. I remind people the law was passed to do so. So we do this freely and all within the law.
My mother has tried her best to make this a place that is welcome to everyone. Welcome for the family and welcome for people to enjoy themselves in the lounge. She created a fine-dining experience for the whole family by dividing off the lounge from the rest of the restaurant for anyone who isn't comfortable with our liquor sales. Smoking is strictly in the lounge, and we provide smoke eaters throughout the whole building.
We have a lot of good support from all of Marion County and the surrounding areas. And that is just music to our family's ears. It makes us so proud to provide a good service.
Although, along with the support comes disapproval. It's completely understandable. Not everyone is going to be happy with the fact that we serve liquor after Marion County has been a dry county for all these years. But, this is a "steakhouse and lounge."
This is more than a business. This is our time, our hard work, and our life. I know there are people who don't like the fact that we are open or agree with what we do. But hear this — this is my mom's dream. Why stomp on it? Why do people just shut us out completely or judge us before they even see or understand what we are about? If it's just so horrible, ignore it. It just seems a little uncalled for to me.
I'm the one who sees my mom work so hard, stay up late, stress over getting things just right to make other people happy. When we signed the papers to buy this place, she was signing her life to the community. Our whole family is proud of what she created and I would like her to know that.
We love you, Tina. You are doing great!
Christa Marie Pretz
Tampa
