'Mother' Bickerdyke Mary Ann “Mother" Bickerdyke, a Civil War nurse with connections to Ellsworth, is one of 24 finalists in the 8 Wonders of Kansas People, a project of the Inman-based Kansas Sampler Foundation. Saturday Sep. 11 Give It Up! 09:00 AM Ellsworth's United Methodist Church Donations of wheelchairs, bicycles, wood remnants and other items will be accepted for the benefit of the Spiritual Life Center at the Ellsworth Correctional Facility. Monday Sep. 13 Ellsworth County Medical Center Auxiliary 10:00 AM Center's administrative conference room Members will talk about plans for the organization's annual spaghetti supper. Tuesday Sep. 14 Public Hearing 5:30 PM Ellsworth City Hall The Ellsworth Planning Commission opens the draft proposal of the city's new comprehensive plan to the public for comment. Copies available for review before the meeting at Ellsworth City Hall. Saturday Sep. 18 Mosaic's 25th anniversary celebration 5:00 PM Mosaic parking lot, 124 W. Third St., Ellsworth Food, games, entertainment by Dave Pickering, the "one-man band"
			Speaker of the House turns his back on Kansas Last Updated: March 02, 2010 Much of the criticism a political party directs at someone on the other side should be taken for what it is — a public relations effort to bloody the opposition. Unfortunately, we can only wish that were the case with Mike O'Neal, a Reno County Republican who holds the powerful job of speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives. State Democrats have called for O'Neal's resignation and — motives aside — they're right. O'Neal has betrayed his constituents and the state of Kansas by setting a precedent which,  left unchallenged, could lead to even bigger abuses in our system of state government.    Some background: O'Neal is the lead attorney for a class action lawsuit filed against the state in January in Shawnee County District Court.  The suit stems from legislative action taken a year ago on an appropriations bill that transferred — or "swept" —$5 million from various state trust accounts into the state general fund. Those affected by the sweep, everyone from the Kansas Association of Realtors to Kansas Building Workers Compensation Fund, complained that the groups entrusted the money to the state for future use and it was not the Legislature's to spend. They may be right. The state may very well have errored when it tapped into reserves outside its authority. That is not the point. The issue is with O'Neal and his involvement in the suit. The Hutchinson Republican says he has done nothing wrong. Again, that may be true. According to stories in his hometown newspaper, the Hutchinson News, O'Neal voted no on the sweeps and filed a protest following their enactment. That's the black and white of the story. Here's the rest. Voters should not have to shift through ethics statutes to determine whether their elected representatives acted within the law. At best, O'Neal's actions look bad and perpetuate the stereotype of those in government thinking the rules apply to everyone but them. How is this any different than the governor suddenly deciding to sue the state or the attorney general? This whole affair smacks of a conflict of interest and O'Neal should have known that going in. That he didn't know — or didn't care — raises questions about his style as leader of the Kansas House. He is either dumb or arrogant and neither one plays well when public policy is at stake.     1 Comment   |   Add a comment     ditto Anonymous March 9, 2010 6:50 PM
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