Commentary

THE WAY WEST
By "The Cowboy" Jim Gray

Missionary work among the native tribes of the west began almost as soon as the first bold adventurer ventured beyond civilization.

One of the most prominent organizations was the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) founded in 1810 by former graduates of Williams College at Williamstown, Mass.

In the spring of 1836, an ABCFM missionary party set out from New York bound for Oregon. At St. Louis the missionaries boarded the steamboat Chariton.

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Rep. Steven Johnson
Capitol View

The wrap up legislative session resumed April 26 to complete the 2018 legislative year. Education funding, budget and tax issues are at the top of the agenda.

Consensus revenue estimates were shared from the April 20 meeting and came in above those set last November. Revenues increased by just over $200 million for the current fiscal year. I estimate those numbers may be even larger as we move to the end of the fiscal year June 30.

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THE WAY WEST
By "The Cowboy" Jim Gray

They say that life begins at 40, but for 12-year-old Jennie Ball life was truly taking a turn that she would mark for the rest of her life as her beginning.

The year was 1879. Her father surprised Jennie and her brother with the announcement that they were leaving Warsaw, Ind, for the farm life in northwestern Kansas.

“Up to then a farm to me, meant going to an uncle’s and riding horses, morning to night, (and) petting the calves and lambs. So I had a wonderful vision of ‘life on our farm’ in Kansas.”

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Jerry Marsh
Political Bites

Most, if not all, readers know of the recent passage of a bill funding Kansas education to the tune of $500 million over the next five years. What interested me most about the passage was the effort to extract legislative approval of a constitutional amendment depriving the Kansas Supreme Court of jurisdiction regarding “suitable provision for finance of the educational interests of the state.” (Article 6, Section 6 of the Kansas constitution) Unfortunately, the effort failed. I support the amendment.

The anticipated effect of the amendment has been misrepresented, most recently in my reading by an opinion piece in the Salina Journal: “No districts or parents could sue for equitable and adequate funding, as the Kansas Constitution mandates.“ I have read the amendment, and to make sure I interpreted it correctly, I contacted Rep. Steven Johnson and he confirmed my interpretation.

Sen. Jerry Moran
Others Say

When people in rural Kansas talk to me about a farm crisis or economic depression, they unfortunately aren’t talking about the dust bowl of the 1930s or farm credit crisis of the 1980s — they’re talking about the ongoing crisis in farm country today where low commodity prices and severe drought have pushed many agricultural producers to the edge of an economic cliff.

America’s trade relationships are, now more than ever, tied to the success of rural America, and we must make certain we negotiate responsibly so that our farmers and ranchers can continue to make a living by feeding and clothing the world.

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John Schlageck
Insight

When it comes to protecting the land and improving the environment, farmers continue to lead the way and do their part. As this nation celebrates Earth Day, April 22, farmers and ranchers remain committed to protecting the environment using modern conservation and tillage practices.

Farmers and ranchers will tell you their fondest wish remains to pass their land on to their children. They work years, often a lifetime, to leave a legacy of good land stewardship. Most farmers learned about conservation and respect for the land from their parents.

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THE WAY WEST
By "The Cowboy" Jim Gray

At the close of the War with Mexico in 1848, California was ceded to the United States in an agreement known as the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Almost before the ink was dry a movement was begun to improve communications between east coast and the new Pacific coast acquisition.

In that year an overland mule-train express service was proposed for mail delivery across the western territories.

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