Shawnee - Lenexa Dumb

Whoops, my bad. The title should be Shawnee-Lenexa Sun. Yes, that local newspaper.

Check out this editorial:
http://www.kccommunitynews.com/articles/2007/06/28/shawnee_-_lenexa_sun/opinion/c-all-opi-second.editorial.txt

Well, since the writer of that editorial/opinion piece called the City Councils of Shawnee and Lenexa timid, I'll bounce it back to the paper. The writer of that piece is a gutless coward. The council members are known individuals. Even this blog says who I am. The writer of that piece hides behind a cloak of anonymity. That's OK.

I'll keep my comments brief:

1. This constant reliance on the Surgeon Gebneral's various reports and studies. Mos t of those are theoretical in nature. Give me facts. Give me 3 death cetificates of the supposed 50,000 who died from secondhand smoke, and verify that that was the cause?

2. But what is amazing is how the writer of that editorial, and various other "champions of health" fail to take on other issues. Such as how many people have developed cardiovascular problems and died because of vehicle emissions? How many people who supposedly suffer because of secondhand smoke really suffer because of vehicle emissions? Vehicle emissions that we are all exposed to.

3. If these "me too" hypocrites really cared about health they would embrace a proposal I tossed out at a Shawnee City Council meeting. A special city use permit for high emission belching vehicles like SUVs, trucks etc etc. This permit would increase in cost as the vehicle got older.

Quiet.........maybe

Last night's Shawnee City Council meeting was basically uneventful.

No yelling, no ranting, no raving.....................a peaceful meeting.

But, I can always count on Dan Pflumm to provide something interesting to write about.

This is wild.

Various commission members were up for reappointment. Now it is my understanding that ALL of them have served in these non-paying positions faithfully and with the best interests of the city high on their priority lists.

Now, keep in mind that in a small community like Shawnee there will be friends and family involved in various aspects of city business. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

What happened? Apparently one of the reappoinments is an individual related to Dan Pflumm.
Nothing wrong with that. Normally, in most cities though, when something like this occurs, the councilperson would usually abstain from any discussion and/or vote on a reappointment that involved a family member.

What did Dan do? He actually was the council member who made the motion to approve the reappoinment. Just not cool................oh well, such is life.

It was nice to hear that the City's finance department received high marks on a recent annual audit. Good job.

Nanny Government Getting Closer

Well, looky here.........the Kansas Supreme Court has upheld the City of Lawrence's smoking ban.

See the article by Laura Bauer in the KC Star or on line at http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/161923.html

I do have a problem with Ms Bauer's article. In it she refers to the Shawnee City Council's recent defeat of a smoking ban by a vote of 5-2. What she is probably referring to is Dan Pflumm's recent attempt (supported by Kevin Straub) to jam Overland Park's ordinance down Shawnee's throat. She fails to mention that. And she fails to mention that the mayor of Shawnee had appointed a task force to review and gather info on this subject. The task force was set up prior to Mr Pflumm's "jamming" attempt.

Also, it is interesting to note that of all the Shawnee City Councilpersons she quotes only Kevin Straub (one of the "2" in the 5-2 vote). Why doesn't she quote any of the other councilpersons?
Does it have anything to do with the fact that the Star has published editorials in favor of smoking bans?

For the record..............I am personally not happy with the State Supreme Court's decision.

False Alarms

In my opinion one of the lowest things a person can do is turn in a false fire alarm.

This was unfortunately brought out again this past Sunday evening.

At approximately 9:20 PM my fellow tenants and I were greeted by members of the Shawnee FD evacuating our building. After a thorough search of the premises it was determined that a false alarm had been transmitted by someone activating one of the pull boxes.

These men are like firefighters everywhere. Willing to put their lives on the line for us (witness what just happened in South Carolina). To send them on a wild goose chase when someone else might need their expertise is disgusting.

Now, please follow what happened next. Just as the firefighters were preparing to leave, a large volume of smoke was observed coming from one of the apartments. Fortunately it was street side, and readily visible. They got out of their vehicle and went back into the building.

Apparently, one of the tenants in their haste to evacuate left something cooking on the stove. Fortunately, it just belched smoke (lots of it) and was stopped before it flamed up.

This false alarm almost turned into a real tragedy, and the tragedy would have been because of the false alarm.

I sincerely hope that the perpetrator is found and made to suffer the maximum penalty allowed by law for their criminal action.

The thanks and gratitude of myself and my neighbors to the Shawnee FD.

Counter

Just decided a few minutes ago to add a counter to the blog.
So, the "hits" are as of now.

Wonder how many there were before now?

A Quiet Evening

Last night's city council meeting was basically a quiet one.

The only "hot" item was the final plat for the Grey Oaks Commercial 2nd Plat. An attorney representing some of the homeowners in the Grey Oaks sub-division spoke and advised the council that earlier yesterday a lawsuit had been filed.

For what it's worth, I personally did not find that attorney's presentation impressive. But then, what do I know?

BTW, I realize that most meetings of the council are "casual" in attire, but personally I wish that Dan Pflumm would save that California beach boy outfit for Malibu. Shorts and loafers with no socks..................what next? Speedos?