Some top U.S., Mexican and Canadian trade officials are in Wichita for the 37th-annual World Trade Week. Thursday’s conference, organized by the World Trade Council of Wichita, focuses on the North American Free Trade Agreement, the largest free-trade agreement in the world. Mexico and Canada are also the top two export markets for Kansas. Panel discussions include legal and trade regulations, tax policies, transportation and trade strategies. The conference is a good opportunity to network with trade officials and companies.
Congratulations and thanks to the city of Wichita, Go Wichita, the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission and the Great Plains USBC Association for landing the 2019 United States Bowling Congress women’s tournament. It will bring more than 30,000 bowlers to Wichita during a three-month period and mean an $14 million economic impact for the city. As the community learned when it hosted their 2004 tournament, the women bowlers are hard to miss and a pleasure to have around – eager to have a good time and, not surprisingly, spend money while finding out what there is to do in Wichita. What’s more, the scheduling coup seems to signal that all is forgiven at the USBC over the 2011 men’s tournament, which Wichita won the right to host but later lost over a contract dispute. Let’s hope the 2019 women’s tournament leads to many more such events for Wichita.
Driving on snow-packed streets and highways Thursday was no one’s idea of fun, but the thunder that accompanied the storm won’t be soon forgotten and the sledding was great. All in all, the system for predicting and coping with more than a foot of snow worked as intended – meteorologists warned the public, crews treated and plowed the roadways, school districts and businesses closed, and many people stayed home and safe. Special thanks are due those who did the work that had to be done to clear streets, respond to emergencies, and tend to the sick and the frail elderly despite the storm.
Liberal activist Tom Hayden wrote up his recent visit to Wichita for the Huffington Post, observing that “in Kansas most people do not seem to accept the November election of Barack Obama” and that “as ‘bleeding Kansas’ was pivotal in launching the American Civil War over slavery, this Kansas will be central to the plans of the Christian right and tea party to stop the emerging new majority of people of color and women, which threatens their supremacist dreams.” Hayden concluded: “The activists of Wichita may not be isolated dissidents in a state mired forever in the past, but among the ‘first responders’ against the coming wave of right-wing extremism, in dire need of attention and support from national progressives.” Hayden spoke at the Peace and Social Justice Center of South Central Kansas’ 20th-anniversary meeting.
Congratulations to the United Way of the Plains and all those who helped push the fall campaign across the finish line Friday. The $15.6 million raised, which was $1,613 more than the goal, was an amazing display of generosity during a period of uncertainty about the economy. Last year United Way raised $15.2 million, surpassing the goal by more than $120,000. Let there be no doubt about the willingness of south-central Kansans to act on behalf of neighbors in need.
Kudos to the Warren Theatres at 21st and Tyler for offering a movie screening for children with autism or severe sensory disorders. The showing, which will be of “Wreck-It Ralph” at 11 a.m. Saturday, was the idea of Bob Nooe, a counselor at Greiffenstein Alternative Elementary in Wichita. “So many of these kids have never watched a movie on a big screen because their parents don’t feel comfortable taking them,” Nooe said. The theater will make some accommodations, such as turning up the lights more than usual and turning down the sound. Having a child with special needs can sometimes be isolating, both for families and the child. As Nooe noted, the screening will allow the children to get “out in public in an environment where they can feel comfortable and be around others.”
After 18 months of construction, the new Robert D. Love Downtown YMCA is nearly completed. And it is looking great. The facility, located on North Market between Third and Central, will have a series of pre-opening activities during the next month before its official opening Dec. 10. The new 110,000-square-foot, glass-filled building is designed to be a beacon to the neighborhood and is expected to serve 30,000 people in the area. It is already a welcome addition to downtown.
Though some people were disappointed when the Wichita Toy Run decided for safety reasons to no longer host a 15-mile motorcycle parade, it was great that so many bikers turned out for the rally Sunday in Delano. The reformatted event allowed people to park their bikes in a closed section of West Douglas, where they could visit with other bikers, listen to live music and eat chili. What didn’t change was the worthy cause. The bikers and others brought toys and donations that will be distributed by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program, the Salvation Army and the Kansas Food Bank. Kudos to area bikers for adapting to the change and recognizing what matters most – helping needy kids and families.
The Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce chose wisely for its Nov. 12 annual meeting, inviting former Defense Secretary Robert Gates to be the featured speaker. Besides his respected record of public service under eight presidents, Gates is a native Wichitan and a 1961 graduate of East High School. The event’s meaning will be all the greater because of its proximity to Veterans Day and theme of honoring the U.S. military. When he addressed East High’s commencement three years ago, Gates said, “I believe a Kansas upbringing imparts qualities that have been a source of strength for me over the years: an enduring optimism and idealism, a love of country, and dedication to citizenship and service.”
Congratulations to the volunteers who worked so hard and for so many years to achieve Saturday’s public dedication of the Vietnamese American Community Memorial along the Arkansas River. The project, a proud addition to the riverfront featuring lead artist Babs Mellor’s vision of an American soldier and a South Vietnamese soldier, had to overcome some hard feelings a few years ago related to its proximity to Veterans Memorial Park. It now stands nearby as a poignant and enduring tribute to the unique partnership of the South Vietnamese military and the U.S. military in fighting the communists during the Vietnam War. It also will stand as evidence of the generosity of the local South Vietnamese community, which has enriched Wichita in the decades since.
The next few days will prove whether Sedgwick County learned from last year’s Fourth of July, when so many people tied up 911 complaining about illegal fireworks that calls reporting a serious motorcycle accident couldn’t get through. In all, there were 1,101 complaint calls about fireworks use over that holiday period. As Randy Bargdill, the county’s director of emergency communications, told The Eagle: “We need to go back to calling 911 for emergency calls only. It’s not a convenience call, it’s a necessary call.” Most of the year, the county advises people to make nuisance complaints using local law enforcement nonemergency lines, such as those for police in small cities or the Wichita Police Department substations. But from 6 p.m. Wednesday until 3 a.m. Thursday, people are asked to make nonemergency calls to 316-290-1011. The county’s message wasn’t entirely out last week: 59 percent of Wichitans polled Wednesday by SurveyUSA for KWCH, Channel 12, said they didn’t know there was a fireworks hotline. In Wichita, it’s legal to shoot fireworks through Thursday. And be careful out there: Wichita can do better than last year’s four fireworks-related fire calls and 70 fireworks-related medical emergencies.
The 37-year commitment of KAKE, Channel 10, to give the community a big patriotic celebration and fireworks display has been laudable, and it did so again at the “Salute to America” event connected to Friday’s Wichita Wingnuts game. But that was five days before the Fourth of July. A city of Wichita’s size merits a big public fireworks show on the holiday itself. If not KAKE, is there some other business or perhaps a civic organization that can start working now toward that goal for 2013?
The intelligence complex at McConnell Air Force Base is scheduled to be named this morning in honor of Robert Gates, former defense secretary and CIA director. It’s fitting that a native Wichitan who has played such a crucial role in the nation’s defense and intelligence gathering for four decades will have a permanent tribute to his service in his hometown. It’s what goes on within the complex that will be the real tribute, of course – the handling by the Kansas Air National Guard’s 184th Intelligence Wing of intelligence collected by manned and unmanned aircraft around the globe.
The 90-year-old Orpheum Theatre received a wonderful gift last week – $1 million from the Willard and Jean Garvey Trust. The donation from a Wichita family renowned for its arts patronage should bolster further fundraising for the theater’s ongoing restoration, as it enables more planning and design. Meanwhile, even with the renovation unfinished, the Orpheum management is proving the venue’s value to the community and especially downtown, by booking big names and then drawing full houses.
It’s great news that the Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University was awarded two major federal grants totaling $250,000 for the conservation of its mural by modern artist Joan Miró. The grants will support the second year of the five-year project to repair and conserve the 26-by-52-foot glass-and-marble mosaic that was installed on the museum’s facade in 1978. The Ulrich is the only Kansas museum to receive grants from both the National Endowment for the Arts and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, both of which were for the maximum amounts.
Thomas Frank, author of the best-seller “What’s the Matter With Kansas?” will do a reading and book signing a 7 p.m. today at Watermark Books, 4701 E. Douglas. His latest book, “Pity the Billionaire,” explores how the GOP’s right wing has used the economic downturn to fuel a political comeback. In a commentary at Kansas.com, Frank argues that Mitt Romney may turn out to be the truest to the spirit of the tea party movement of all the GOP presidential candidates.
Whether or not it needed taxpayer subsidies to happen – and, in the end, it didn’t – the Save-A-Lot grocery is a great addition to the neighborhood at George Washington Boulevard and Pawnee. So are its 30 full- and part-time jobs. The owners’ and manager’s experience, including with the Save-a-Lot store at 13th and Grove, bode well for the new store’s long-term success. It’s great that an ill-fated incentives deal with another developer last year didn’t get in the way of providing the Planeview area with expanded access to fresh produce and affordable food.
Spanish surrealist artist Joan Miro, who died in 1983 at age 90, once said of his “Personnages Oiseaux” mural and its more than 1 million pieces of Venetian glass and marble: “They produce a beautiful sparkle, and the colors have a powerful light.” After 33 years, Wichita is going to miss seeing that sparkle and light on the face of Wichita State University’s Ulrich Museum of Art. But the vanishing act, which will begin with a kick-off ceremony at 12:15 p.m. today, is for the mural’s own good — a five-year, $3 million restoration. Members of the community should “be a Miro hero,” as the restoration campaign puts it, and help return this iconic campus artwork and its colorful birds to their rightful perch.
Regrettably, it proved too costly and logistically difficult to mark the state’s 150th birthday by returning a peace treaty to the site of its 1865 signing by the federal government and American Indian tribes. But the next best thing is worth cheering: A replica of the 15-page treaty will go on permanent display Friday at the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, 204 S. Main, along with an artistic depiction of the treaty signing and a video about the site, now 61st Street North and Seneca. The “perpetual peace” mentioned in the document proved elusive at the time, but the treaty and its signatures — including those of Cheyenne Chief Black Kettle, Kiowa Chief Satanta, Kit Carson, William Bent and Jesse Chisholm — can help tell the rich story of how Wichita came to be.
Good for Wichita State University for reinstalling a plaque honoring veterans. The Veterans Field plaque was originally dedicated on Nov. 25, 1948, but had been in a storeroom for years. It is being mounted on the west side of Cessna Stadium. As WSU president Donald Beggs said at Thursday’s rededication ceremony, it’s important “to honor our past, recognize our past and build on it.”
The Kansas African American Museum, 601 N. Water, is hosting a memorial service at 6 p.m. today for Wichita native Ron Walters, who died Sept. 10 at age 72. Walters was a nationally known political scholar and strategist, news commentator, author and activist. As a Wichita University freshman in 1958, he made history by organizing the first student-led sit-in at a segregated lunch counter at the Dockum Drugs store in Wichita. That successful sit-in later became a model for other groups throughout the country. “Wichitans all should be very proud of Ron Walters and the change he brought to this city,” said Gretchen Cassel Eick, a history professor at Friends University and author of the book “Dissent in Wichita: The Civil Rights Movement in the Midwest, 1954-72.” “His death from cancer took from us a brilliant man with a big heart who marched to a drumbeat that calls us all to finish the job.”
UPDATE: The memorial service was postponed so that members of the Walters family could attend.
As heartbreaking as it was that Spanish bicyclist Diego Ballesteros Cucurul was struck by a car near Benton and partially paralyzed last month during the Race Across America, it was heartening to see the response from the Wichita community and especially his fellow cyclists. Former Sedgwick County Commissioner Ben Sciortino and his wife, Mary, advanced Ballesteros more than $21,000 for his trip back to Spain, and local fundraising efforts continue on the bicyclist’s behalf (including at Carson Bank, 4641 E. Douglas, Wichita, KS 67218). In the end, as Ballesteros left over the weekend to continue his medical care in Barcelona, it was clear that the community’s generosity had left an impression. “I had the biggest crash of my life, but I found the biggest people, too,” he said.
Congratulations to the Special Olympics for its 40 years in Kansas, and welcome to the athletes and families who will be in Wichita this weekend for the 2010 summer games. State law enforcement officers have been carrying the Olympic torch through 28 counties on their way to the opening ceremonies tonight at Cessna Stadium at Wichita State University. According to its website, Special Olympics Kansas touches the lives of about 5,500 athletes, helping them improve their physical fitness, acquire new skills, develop friendships and experience the job of sharing their talents. Its “athlete oath” is one that could apply to many of life’s endeavors: “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”
Congratulations to Kansas for hosting its 100th state track and field championship this weekend. The past century has been filled with great athletes and performances, such as former Wichita East’s Jim Ryun (in photo) in 1965 becoming the first high school student to break the four-minute mile. The meet also has been great for Wichita, bringing several thousand visitors to town each spring. With all six Kansas high school classifications competing at Wichita State University’s Cessna Stadium, the track meet is one of the largest in the country. May it continue here for the next 100 years.
The deaths of 13-year-old Regan Wheeler, 9-year-old Seo Won Choi and 17-year-old Yuna Choi — Regan in a golf cart accident; the Choi siblings in a wrong-way Kansas Turnpike crash that also killed their mother and critically injured their sister — can’t help but deeply affect their classmates at Allison Traditional Magnet Middle School, Price-Harris Communications Magnet Elementary School and East High School. The impact on the Wichita district is magnified because Regan’s father is Rick Wheeler, athletic director and football coach at Heights High School. As Price-Harris students released 100 white balloons to remember their friend Seo Won, a fellow third-grader asked the questions that always attend such loss: Why did this have to happen? Why now?
Some top U.S., Mexican and Canadian trade officials are in Wichita for the 37th-annual World Trade Week. Thursday’s conference, organized by the World Trade Council of Wichita, focuses on the North American Free Trade Agreement, the largest free-trade agreement in the world. Mexico and Canada are also the top two export markets for Kansas. Panel discussions include legal and trade regulations, tax policies, transportation and trade strategies. The conference is a good opportunity to network with trade officials and companies.
