2009 was a successful year for Pratt Community College (PCC) despite the economic downturn and what seemed to be countless periods of uncertainty.
Last week the House Appropriations committee heard from several State agencies about the effects of budgets cuts. There were, of course, no surprises. There are a lot of painful cuts that are the result of the global economy.
Over my years as a teacher I learned first hand not to judge a student based on first impressions. Just as a first impression of a student was once proven wrong, I find I am in the wrong again about my impression of our current city commission and Mrs. Detwiler. From articles in the Pratt Tribune, I judged her to be a pest. Karen Detwiler is instead, a whistleblower.
We would like to say thank you to everyone who has been supportive of Cheyenne the past few weeks. She injured her right knee the day after Thanksgiving, diving after a basketball. On Dec 11, she had a hamstring graft to replace her ACL and repair two tears in her meniscus. She is now going through physical therapy at PRMC.
The Kansas state budget and the fiscal crisis continue to be a concern for many Kansans. The drastic impact of past and most recent budget cuts / allotments in the past two years, has affected our families, friends, and neighbors.
Pratt Community College’s (PCC) economic impact and growth are well beyond expectations and lessens the impact of the effects of the economic downturn. Over the last two years, PCC’s positive economic impact on Pratt County has grown almost 20 percent. The direct economic contributions in real dollars include the following:
Do a majority of Pratt residents really oppose extending Maple Street from Parkway Drive to K-61 as Karen Detwiler and her supporters claim, or is the former city commissioner merely the apparent head of a small but vocal group of ceaseless dissenters?
Do Prattans overwhelmingly favor the $900,000 street extension as Mayor Jeff Taylor says, or is the majority of the Commission supported only by the banks, builders, suppliers and realtors who stand to gain from the extension and the residential development that might follow?
Where is our nation headed when children are “entertained” by shooting guns in school at a Fun Night? I thought we had laws preventing weapons from being brought onto school grounds. Are we training home-grown terrorists?
After reading the editorial dated October 2, 2009 in the Hutchinson News I had to stop and make sure I was not reading some gossip newspaper. Your editorial did not even have our City Attorney correct.
In a journal article I had published several years ago, I defined leadership as an art of getting things accomplished through people. What I said then and still believe is that leadership is situational and a person can rise to the occasion when the right situation presents itself. But, before we can lead, we must first learn to follow. Followership is an art in itself; it’s difficult to define, but it is essential in getting things accomplished. Followers get things done; leaders put them together to make something happen.
Recently, as I read the newspaper and was going through the delinquent tax notices I was rather shocked to see one of our city commissioners, Willy Peltier and his business Deer Run Properties, LLC, posted repeatedly. Close to $40,000 worth of deliquent taxes?
As a REALTOR and tax-payer in Pratt, I would like to express my “THANKS” to the City Commissioners of Pratt for voting “FOR” the Maple Street project.
More seniors take advantage of Part D
