Your Turn
— Comments may be sent to the Marion County Record, PO Box 278, Marion, e-mailed to news@marionrecord.com, or brought to the office at 117 S. Third St. Please keep comments brief.
What comes to mind when considering when one single institution has been more divisive and antagonistic within this community than any other organization? A decade ago it was an editor who couldn't let go of the landfill issue long after it was obvious it wasn't going to happen. The current editor claims that in regard to the mayor vs. city administrator debacle it's time "to overcome our differences of opinion and move forward together." That's like Caesar washing his hands of the whole mess knowing full well that there were others who would carry out his dirty work while he proclaimed innocence. The editor knows that with local issues the dirty work will be accomplished in the gossip column aka "Your Turn" where a misguided element are not willing to move on but would rather beat a horse long after it's dead.
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Marion: Remember outsiders watch you regularly through this paper and other means. We make decisions whether to invest in Marion and support your businesses and help your progress in various ways based on your stability. You have not looked very stable of late. It would appear that some of those most financially invested in your town are scorned and your new majority is not very progressive. At a minimum much tact is missing in your town. Do you have a class war raging? It would appear so. Who would invest in such instability? An investor might very well be more country club than not? Time will tell if you can convince the outside world that you are no longer backward. You had been making good strides until recently. We hope you can succeed because we care and want to see you grow and prosper.
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When I see the despair on the faces of our neighbors in Greensburg, I wonder why we are so unappreciative of what we have. Shame on us for using our energy in such negative efforts.
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Bitterness destroys the vessel in which it is stored.
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Thank you, Jerry, Gene, Stacey, and Mary for the courageous step forward. Your faith will be rewarded. Let's all work together and prosper!
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The coach says, "Pass the baton correctly, pass the football accurately, pass the basketball to the team member who is in position to score, help your team member and the whole team wins."
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I was happy to hear Governor Sebelius praise the city administrator from Greensburg and assure the country that Greensburg was in good hands. One of the reasons listed for his success in handling the situation is the fact that he is a retired highway patrolman. Marion is fortunate to have an administrator with the same qualifications.
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I read with interest the possibility of the county hospitals merging into one larger hospital. It would be more financially efficient to merge. Small town hospitals pay poor salaries and are desperate to hire anyone who walks in the door because health care workers are at a minimum. Sometimes they settle for less than the best workers just to survive in a small town. Maybe one larger hospital in the county would result in more comparable salaries to other hospitals in surrounding counties. Marion's hospital administrator seems to be on board with the merger. Is Hillsboro's?
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Thank you for not discontinuing the Your Turn column. We need free speech, and like it or not, some things should be brought to the forefront or exposed for public comment and consideration. This column may be the only venue to speak out safely. I can appreciate the clergy of this community wanting peace in our town, everyone to treat others as they want to be treated, but that is not reality. Sad but true.
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Thank you, Donna Bernhardt for having the courage to publicly confront the rich bullies in Marion. It's about time someone did. I'm disappointed the mayor caved in to their blackmail threats.
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It seems like Commissioner Holub was right when he said Hillsboro has one standard for themselves and another for the county. I've been waiting for the Free Press and Hillsboro businesses to start vocally opposing the proposed school additions for $6 million-plus for the same reason they opposed the new jail — because it would be financed by raising taxes and destroying the Marion County business community. An ad in the FP several weeks ago questioned the new jail proposal and was signed by approximately 30 businesses, mostly from Hillsboro. Were any of the other 450-plus businesses in Marion County invited to join and declined or were they invited to join at all?
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Noreen Weems will be missed. She did an excellent job. The people loved her. Never did she wield a big stick. She genuinely cared about the people. Thank you, Noreen for a job well done.
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Susan Cooper's article, "Qualifications spelled out for administrator position" was very informative. It let the public see what the towns of Hillsboro, Herington, and Marion expect of their administrators in the way of education and experience. In August 2002, the city spent almost $2,000 to hire the League of Kansas Municipalities to conduct a search for a city administrator. Did they come up with qualified candidates? We heard they did — several. Were any interviewed? How did our present administrator's qualifications stack up with any of those the league chose?
