Unfettered Letters

Buffer zones for felons

Why are residential safe havens and buffer zone restrictions applied only to registered child sex offenders? (7/6, A-1, “Felons dodge buffer zones”) Aren’t convicted murderers, rapists, burglars, armed robbers, domestic violence perpetrators and other violent people also a threat to society? What about convicted drunken drivers and drug dealers and manufacturers?

Child sex crimes are physically, emotionally and mentally damaging to victims and families, but are they any more so than those affected by murder, rape and vehicular homicide?

Why discriminate? Let’s have all those convicted of a violent crime register with law enforcement before they move into a neighborhood. Let’s keep all violent convicted felons out of our neighborhoods, not just convicted child sex offenders. I would like to know if there is a person convicted of vehicular homicide or aggravated domestic battery living next door to me. Same with aggravated battery and rape.

We need to know who among us has a propensity or proclivity for violence in our everyday existence. You make the wrong neighbor mad, and there could be tragic consequences.

John Boyer
Leavenworth

Keeping track of kids in a crowd

A friend of mine recounted a Fourth of July story where her son wandered off at a large celebration. It made me think of a similar incident at Worlds of Fun when my son was about 10 years old. The two of us attended one of his friend’s birthday parties, and my son became separated from the group. I spent a frantic 20 minutes trying to locate him. With much relief, I found him and he told me how scared he had been walking around and trying to find us.

I have since learned of a great use for walkie-talkies. When taking kids to amusement parks, baseball games or anywhere that you might become separated from them, take along walkie-talkies to stay in touch.

This is especially useful for families where kids are not old enough to have cell phones. Walkie-talkies can keep everyone connected.

Janet Griffiths
Lenexa

Parents, careful what you blog

While blogs and community forums are a great way to mingle and share ideas with others, they’re also a great way to attract the attention of some pretty bad people.

One example is the Mom2Mom setup on The Star’s Web site. While it is a great thing to be able to chat with other mothers about recent family happenings, users tend to leave behind little personal facts about their kids in some of their posts like the child’s name, age, appearance, school, siblings, friends and the like. Even though these bits of info are often spread out like breadcrumbs one has accidentally spilt while eating, it can be enough to lead predator your way. If someone really wants to hunt a child, they’ll find a way.

While no parent wants harm to come to their children, they may be the one throwing bones to the very people they fear without even knowing it. But it’s not just limited to one site or one post. Everything you place in a public forum is almost instantly accessible.

Vigilance is the simplest answer. Users should take the time to screen their posts for telling information.

Joyce Todorovich
Independence

Take responsibility for kids

It doesn’t take a village to raise a child — it takes parents. Where was Kelli Roman (7/4, Letters) when her son was tearing up those flowers? Perhaps the woman should have scolded her for not sufficiently watching her kid. Someone needed to tell him “no.”

She either wasn’t there to do it or wasn’t willing to accept that responsibility, neither of which is good parenting.

Children learn best when corrected at the time of the action, especially at 2.

Kerry Strayer
Kansas City

At various times, it is not possible to always explain to children why their actions are inappropriate. What if your child is walking from the yard into the street, gets too close to a barbecue grill or wants to play with a stray animal?

I, as a parent, grandparent and teacher, will use a strong “no,” in a command tone of voice, to stop the child at that moment. I would rather stop any action that would be dangerous or harmful than let a child learn a hard lesson by being hit by a car or getting burned or bitten.

When dealing with our young people, they must be kept out of harm’s way. This often takes a strong “no,” then the explanation. Many flower beds at this time of the year have bees and other insects.

Maybe Kelli Roman should look at it from a different point of view.

Bill Lowe
Blue Springs

Light sentences for rape

I am outraged! (6/30, Local, “Judge’s sentencing practices called into question; For a second time, probation is given in child sex crimes”). A 32-year-old man who rapes a 5-year-old so violently that “multiple doctors and surgery were required to reconstruct and repair the physical damage” doesn’t deserve to ever “see light at the end of the tunnel,” as Dowd said.

Any judge who goes easy on him needs to be looked at for clues as to why he not only feels this way but, even if he’s a saint and not a closet child-hater, why he would let such sympathy take the place of justice.

Shawnee County District Court Judge Matthew Dowd also gave probation to the 75-year-old guy who raped a 6-year-old and 7-year-old, because of the man’s age and lack of previous criminal record.

Anyone who rapes or condones it by giving light sentences for the rapes of children should be locked in a dark, dark place for the rest of their lives. Even if I believed in capital punishment, for people like these it would be a release they don’t deserve.

Judge Dowd was on the bench 31 years. I have to ask, given his record, why?

Maggie Wagner
Kansas City

Help someone learn to read

Karen Uhlenhuth’s article (6/30, Local, “Project aims to end child abuse”) mentions a 20-year-old mother who cannot read or write, despite graduating high school. Most Kansas Citians are unaware of the extent of adult illiteracy in our community. Some 250,000 area adults, about 20 percent of the population, read below the fifth-grade level and are considered functionally illiterate.

But there is hope for adults who want to improve their reading skills. Since 1985, Literacy Kansas City has helped more than 4,000 are adults learn to read. Our phonics-based program centers on one-to-one tutoring. It is free, confidential and highly effective. Surprisingly, about half of the students enrolled in our program have high school diplomas.

You can help by becoming a volunteer tutor or a donor. As a not-for-profit, we are struggling in this weakened economy. By helping reduce adult illiteracy, you can make a personal contribution to improving our community, one new reader at a time.

Please call 816-333-9332 and sign up for the next Volunteer Orientation. And visit www. literacykc.org.

Mike Kreiter
Volunteer Tutor Literacy Kansas City
Overland Park

Child-abuse prevention bill

Bulletin: Last week the U.S. House of Representatives voted on HR 6358 and overwhelmingly approved spending $1 billion over five years for federal efforts to prevent and respond to child abuse.

Only two representatives from Missouri voted against the measure. Guess what party they are from?

Republicans Todd Akin and Roy Blunt believed this bill is a bad idea. The good news is they are up for re-election and need to be voted out of office.

Jim Lullie
Holt, Mo.

Why it’s called the boob tube ...

There was a picture in The Star (6/25, A-5, “Bring back my Spongebob”) of two young girls holding signs protesting high gas prices, prices so high that their mother had to cut off the cable television to pay for gasoline.

Yes, we are all feeling the pinch of higher energy costs. But every cloud has a silver lining. Perhaps the two girls will be able to use the time ordinarily spent watching cartoons on television to study their spelling lessons in school.

If you look closely at each sign, one has the word “money” misspelled (“monny”) while the other sign has “cable” spelled as “cabel.” Sheesh!

Timothy Earl Osburn
Parkville

Provocative dance demeans girls

Our family has been enjoying Theatre in the Park at Shawnee Mission Park for several years. We look forward to every musical, and it remains a favorite family activity. We attended the June 22 show, “Oklahoma,” and it was above and beyond our expectations.

What we didn’t expect was the pre-show entertainment by a local dance studio. Two of the numbers were tasteful and highlighted the dancers’ talent. But the remaining numbers, by adolescent girls in provocative costumes dancing to music-video style choreography, were a spectacle.

I imagine that most of those 8- to 12-year-old girls have been studying dance for several years and would have best been represented by a dance studio that highlighted more than their navels and swiveling hips. The lack of applause after these particular numbers was evident.

The studio may want to re-evaluate its direction in the art of dance, costuming and choreography, and the parents of these young dance students may want to re-evaluate their decision to allow their daughters to be displayed in such a demeaning manner.

Theresa Ebel
Lenexa

Parents, ask about guns

Eight children are killed with guns every day in America. Recently, in Missouri, tragic incidents with guns took the life of an 8-year-old and seriously injured a 4-year-old.

As a pediatrician, such events are heartbreaking. On June 21, parents and medical professionals throughout Missouri participated in National ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Day. ASK Day urges parents to ask if there is a gun in someone’s home before sending their children to play there.

Talking to your children about guns is not enough. If a gun is hidden, there is a good chance it will be found.

The journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that more than 80,000 children and teens in Missouri live in homes with loaded guns, and more than 35,000 live in homes with guns that are loaded and unlocked. Asking if there is a gun in the home is a simple question that could save your child’s life.

Kurt Metzl
Kansas City

Rape trial

If a woman who was sexually assaulted is not allowed to describe what happened to her as “rape,” why is someone like Ramone Ward (Voices, 6/16) allowed to call his child support obligation “rape?”

Also, I wonder how Mr. Ward’s children would feel if they knew he considered his financial obligation to them “rape.”

Next time, I hope he’ll wear a condom.

Elaine Hines
Kansas City, Kan.

Son’s disease changes dad’s life

On Feb. 3, 2006, my life as a father changed dramatically. This was the date that my son was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Duchenne is a fatal genetic disorder diagnosed in childhood. The Duchenne gene is found on the X chromosome, affecting approximately one in every 3,500 boys.

Boys with Duchenne typically lose the ability to walk by age 10, and young men with Duchenne typically live into their late 20s. There is no cure.

Being a father of a Duchenne boy changes your life perspective. You no longer have the same dreams for you son. You wonder if he will be able to drive, continue his education, or walk down the aisle at graduation. You wonder if he will get married, have children or even live long enough for these events.

You understand how important you are as a father knowing that you are needed, even more, for physical and emotional support. You learn to treasure every moment you have. You never know how much time you have left.

Life’s outlook has changed so much since that day.

Anthony Stoops
Independence

Obesity and bureaucracy

The CDC’s findings in a recent Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) fly in the face of almost a decade of threats by obesity activists (5/28, A-1, “Child obesity’s steady rate continues to give pause”). The agency’s research demonstrates that childhood obesity rates haven’t increased since 1999.

During that time, a handful of “experts” have likened weight gain to terrorist threats, global warming and other equally calamitous scenarios. But statistics of “skyrocketing” rates of obesity among our kids only serve as justification for the increasingly intrusive government regulations sought by activist groups and overeager health officials. This research quiets those shrill and unfounded claims.

Clearly parents, schools and businesses have all taken it upon themselves to make sure our children get enough physical activity and a balanced diet.

Though these findings demonstrate that it doesn’t take obtrusive government policies to curb children’s weight, longtime obesity activist David Ludwig, who wrote an editorial accompanying the JAMA study, is still arguing that these results prove the need for more bureaucratic intervention.

It seems that no matter the news, good or bad, there will always be opportunists willing to leverage our kids’ health as an excuse to meddle in our lives.

Trice Whitefield
Senior research analyst, Center for Consumer Freedom
Washington

Help feed hungry kids in KC

Laura Scott’s commentary regarding childhood obesity and hunger (6/2, Local, “Obese poor children need better nutrition”) was right on several points — anyone who’s ever been on the Atkins diet knows steak is more expensive than mac and cheese — but she missed the boat when referring to Harvesters as a food pantry.

Technically speaking, Harvesters is not a food pantry but a huge food bank that provides food to more than 500 member agencies throughout our region. It is true that, like small food pantries, Harvesters does collect food, but it also distributes nearly 2 million pounds of food each month, which requires a large warehouse, equipment, professional staff, hundreds of volunteers and complex distribution and inventory systems.

My recommendation would be to support the hungry (oops, the politically correct term is “food insecure”) in our city with monetary donations at www.harvesters.org.

Skip that latte every Friday and donate $20 a month to support feeding kids in Kansas City.

Shere Parker
Lee’s Summit

Praise for Children’s Mercy

Children’s Mercy Hospitals & Clinics are ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals” (5/30, Business, “Children’s Mercy draws magazine’s praise”).

Years ago, I witnessed a touching scene I’ll never forget when I wandered by mistake into a staff-only, surgical area of Children’s Mercy Hospital. I heard a woman in the hallway, just around the corner, softly reassuring a child with the most precious, tender words I’ve ever heard.

Even before I saw her, I was certain the woman was the child’s concerned mother, reassuring her child, who perhaps was old enough to understand the dangers of his or her condition. This would explain the outpouring of such heartfelt words.

But as the woman and child turned the corner (unaware that anyone had heard their private conversation), I saw that the woman was a nurse. And the child she spoke to was cradled in her arms: a little baby, peacefully asleep.

Margaret-Leigh Guthrie
Olathe

Jiggle Jam a huge hit

As a mother of a 2-year-old full of energy, I was very excited when I heard about Jiggle Jam at Crown Center over Memorial Day weekend. Finally, a festival just for her!

I really had no idea exactly how amazing the festival would be. The organizers went above and beyond to make this a spectacular event for families. The level of entertainment was unbelievable. Numerous award-winning musicians filled the air with fun, lively music, while kids splashed in the fountains and explored various art projects and activities.

My daughter has yet to stop talking about seeing her “rock stars” singing “her” songs, playing in the fountains, jumping, dancing, coloring and blowing big bubbles.

Thank you to organizers for all of their hard work. I can hardly wait for Jiggle Jam II, when we will be back with as many friends in tow as we can find — hopefully even a few from out of town.

Elizabeth Pedigo
Olathe

Matters of life and death

The astounding contradictions of human nature could not have been more graphically illustrated than on the front page of The Star’s Local section on May 25. The joyful dance of Kerry Magana and her brother, Nelson Ponce, contrasted dolefully with a heinous story announcing that an anesthesiologist has joined Missouri’s death row inmate execution squad.

Even the most skilled philosophers have never satisfactorily explained why joy and evil both rest in our hearts. As for me, I will remember the dance of Kerry and Nelson.

Robert Marrin
Kansas City

Praising pre-kindergarten

Valerie Bonham Moon (5/12, Letters, “Downside of preschool”) criticized new pre-kindergarten proposals. While she has a valid point about increased need for credentialed teachers, her suggestion about “coloring books” as an alternative method to educate children is sadly lacking.

As a center director for 22 years and a supervisor of early childhood student teachers, it seems that Ms. Moon has not researched current developmentally appropriate trends in early childhood education. Young children need concrete materials, diverse experiences, exploration and play with peers.

Yes, there are concerns about the new pre-kindergarten, such as assuring that the curriculum is not too scripted or stifling for our teachers and our children. But the benefits that would accrue to many young children who are not currently living in enriched environments are huge.

For those parents who cannot afford to purchase adequate materials to explore or who don’t know how to go about teaching their children to become lifelong learners, universal pre-kindergarten will provide a way for those parents and children to learn how to learn.

What better gift can we give our young families?

Maggie Holley
Kansas City

Plastic surgery book for kids

After reading about the children’s book about plastic surgery (5/12, FYI, “Nip and tuck hits kids lit; Plastic surgeon writes book to ease kids’ fears about their moms’ pending makeovers”), I find myself a little disturbed.

First of all, I am concerned about the fact that children are afraid of plastic surgery. Children are often described as the most honest human beings. If plastic surgery is frightening to them, then perhaps we should all take another look at the practice.

Secondly, I am very disturbed with the small glimpses I saw of the book. Lines such as “Not just different, my dear, prettier!” are particularly terrifying to me. What message is this book really sending? To me, this book sends the message that beauty is only skin deep and must be acquired by any means, even surgery.

My own mother complains of the saggy stomach she has acquired from bearing seven children. However, I still consider her a very beautiful woman. Instead of a book for children about plastic surgery, perhaps a book is needed for adults about true beauty.

Mary Clara Hutchison
Kansas City

Help for stuttering

As the parents of a child who stutters, my wife and I enjoyed your article “Sproles working to overcome stuttering” (5/8, Sports) about former Kansas state star and current San Diego Chargers star Darren Sproles and his courageous struggle with stuttering. So much about stuttering in movies is negative, so it was a breath of fresh air to read your positive article. I am sure that it will help both children and adults who stutter in terms of getting speech therapy.

I was happy to see that Sproles has given his name to the Stuttering Foundation of America (stutteringhelp.org). Their Web site has a national listing of qualified speech therapists in addition to offering countless DVDs and books on the speech disorder.

I am certain that virtually every parent of a child who stutters would agree that Darren Sproles is an excellent role model for young people who stutter.

Maurice T. Reardon
Grandview

Where’s the outrage?

I was really bothered by a story (5/7, Sports) stating that a former player for the Minnesota Vikings was charged with assault and accused of holding a plastic dry-cleaning bag over the head of his 2-year-old son.

Michael Vick had some dog fights, and he dominated the news. Meanwhile, this little-known football player’s actions received only a sentence on the bottom of the sports page. I wonder how all the readers who wanted to see Michael Vick hanged feel about this.

We will never know because it’s not about dogs, but instead about the 2-year-old child of a little-known player.

We all need God.

Carl Heggie
Kansas City, Kan.

Downside of preschool

The Star’s article “Preschool funding plan advances” (5/2, Local) did not take into consideration the various downsides of pre-kindergarten schooling. Not mentioned were the greater percentage of young children expelled from preschool than older children from school, the fading of academic gains in later grades, and the increase in antisocial behaviors of young children.

The expansion of institutional schooling of young children will increase the cost because of the need for credentialed teachers, will punch a hole in the private preschool business and will increase the spread of communicable diseases.

Alternative methods to benefit children could be to educate parents about at-home activities such as coloring books for fine-motor practice, simple board games to teach rules, sequences of activities and taking turns, and reading books aloud to children.

In the original German, kindergarten means “children’s garden.” Let’s keep it that way.

Valerie Bonham Moon
Belton

Execution for child rape

The current decision of the Louisiana legislature to allow for the execution of those convicted of child rape (5/7, Opinion, “Pro-con: Should the death penalty be expanded to include persons who rape children?”) could set a precedent that could be problematic as states such as Missouri consider similar measures.

What would be the treatment afforded to those convicted of incest? Is the crime any less damaging if the perpetrator is one’s own parent? If not, could this then lead to children offering testimony against their own parents, with the possible result being the state-sanctioned execution of their parents?

I have no answers, only questions — but questions well worth consideration.

Jeremy Deeken
Kansas City

Coyotes threaten people, too

Perhaps the loss of several family pets is not enough for Leawood city officials to do something about eradicating the coyote problem (4/23, Local, “Coyotes safe — for now”). Neither is the possibility they could eventually carry rabies. But recently a coyote attempted to carry off a small child from a park in Southern California.

Wake up, Leawood! Your residents pay high enough taxes to merit your concern.

Helen McDermott
Raytown

Preventing child abuse

Laura Scott told the story of how Liz Murray overcame amazing obstacles in her young life as a neglected child who saw firsthand the repercussions of parental drug abuse (4/21, Opinion, “Children suffer when parents are addicted”). April is national Child Abuse Prevention Month, and there is so much each one of us can do, not just during April but throughout the year to prevent abuse, neglect, and family violence.

As a treatment and prevention agency for young victims of abuse in the Kansas City area, The Children’s Place encourages all adults to help stop the epidemic of violence in the lives of young children.

Liz Murray may have lived in the Bronx, but the horrifying circumstances she described translate to our own Kansas City community.

Liz had a supportive educator in her life who cared about her and encouraged her. I hope each one of us will refuse to turn a blind eye to child abuse and strive to be the kind of families, friends, teachers and neighbors Laura Scott encourages us to be when it comes to making sure children who have suffered abuse, neglect or trauma in their lives get the help they need.

Debby Howland
Advocacy coordinator, The Children’s Place
Jefferson City

Protecting girls from sex abuse

It has been disturbing to read and hear about the sexual abuse of underage females by older men. The girls are afraid to place the blame and, of course, the men refuse to take the blame. Those in authority even have refused to provide names of the abused girls, their ages and the names of the men who abused them.

I am not referring to the polygamist sect in Texas. I am referring to the Kansas medical providers, abortionists and the legal system that ignores the child abuse and rapes that result in pregnancies and abortions.

What are the big differences between the Kansas and Texas sexual abuse concerns?

Everybody in Texas, including news media and law enforcement, are trying find out as much information as possible about the abused girls and the men who abused them.

In Kansas, it seems like only one person, Phill Kline, cares about these girls and who abused them, while the news media and others in authority castigate him.

Terribly hypocritical, wouldn’t you say?

Paul Hokanson
Odessa, Mo.

Spotting signs of autism

“The Mind of a Child” (4/9, FYI) failed to mention that the listed “early warning signs” of “social-emotional problems” in infants and toddlers aren’t always indications of parental neglect. They can also be symptoms of an autism spectrum disorder.

For many years, autism was blamed on “refrigerator mothers” who failed to bond with their children, but research has since proved that its symptoms are caused by neurological differences, not by a “lack of early nurturing,” as described in your article.

Even though the Centers for Disease Control have confirmed that at least one in 150 children has a form of autism, the early warning signs still are often missed or misinterpreted.

This is especially true in high-functioning children with Asperger’s syndrome or PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified), who may not manifest prototypical autism symptoms such as spinning, rocking or finger flicking.

Moreover, parenting a child on the spectrum can be extremely stressful and taxing, so it’s not unusual to see warm, nurturing moms become depressed, socially isolated or overwhelmed.

So while the “early warning signs” listed definitely signal a need to have a child evaluated, I’d urge readers to avoid blaming Mom unless you’ve seen real indications of abuse or neglect.

Lisa Barrett Mann
Owner, Asperger’s Interventions
Overland Park

Not all cats do well with kids

On behalf of Purrfect Pets, I have the following comments for Justin Amberson (4/9, Letters, “Family denied cat adoption”).

It is our mission at Purrfect Pets to find the best possible homes for each of our animals. The cat in question had come from a home in which he did not do well with a visiting 1-year old grandchild. Our first obligation is to our cats, and we try hard to place them appropriately.

Mr. Amberson failed to mention that the volunteer he spoke with directed his wife to another cat that had done beautifully with younger children. She refused to consider her.

Mr. Amberson feels that our adoption system is fundamentally flawed, but we have established these parameters to protect both owner and cat. We thrive on long-term partnerships between human and beast. We do not thrive on returns.

Jennifer Zaman
Volunteer, Purrfect Pets
Overland Park

Child Abuse Prevention Month

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. Even though preventing abuse is a year-round obligation, we focus our attention on community awareness each April to support National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

The statistics show that in Missouri there were 53,080 reports of child abuse or neglect statewide, involving 77,973 children. Of those 77,973 reports, 1,017 resulted in the death of a child. In the Kansas City metro area there were 8,259 reports of child abuse or neglect, and four of those were fatality referrals.

These shocking statistics provide a clear reason for our community to observe Child Abuse Prevention Month, not from the sidelines, but by taking collective responsibility for children in need in Kansas City.

The children who suffer abuse in Kansas City represent a clear challenge to all of us to take time out of our busy lives to learn the warning signs of abuse and report it; reach out to neighbors and families who may need help with their children. Take an active part in prevention efforts that are being highlighted this month and, most important, make a commitment to do more than we have in the past.

Susan Ball
Chair, board of directors
The Children’s Place
Kansas City

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. Although child abuse is not something most people want to think or talk about, we resist even more the reality of child sexual abuse. It is a tough topic but one we must acknowledge and understand to prevent it from happening.

Child sexual abuse is not limited to one socioeconomic group; it occurs in every community. As someone who works in the field of child sexual abuse, a common theme I hear from parents and caregivers is “I never thought this could happen to my child.”

I truly hope that parents, grandparents or anyone involved in the life of a child will take the opportunity to educate themselves on steps that can be taken to reduce the chances of a child experiencing sexual abuse.

Shelly Owens
Family support specialist
Child Protection Center
Kansas City

Spoiled it for kids

I would like to thank Wal-Mart for their commercial featuring a mom telling everyone that she “fills her kids’ Easter baskets for less!” My kids saw it during a family program. The discussion about this beloved Easter tradition that followed was unforgettable.
In addition, one daughter says all the kids in school are talking about this commercial. It seems to have helped many families.
Oh, wait. Since the advertising experts at Wal-Mart seem too stupid to realize that it is poor form to address such topics on television, and this message is especially for them, I will clarify. I am being sarcastic!
How many executive nincompoops in charge of commercials had to approve that ad? How could they all miss the fact that no matter what anyone thinks about beloved holiday traditions, it’s not up to Wal-Mart to spill the jellybeans? Wal-Mart, you smell like rotten Easter eggs.
Kristi Brigmann
Overland Park

Obscene materials

Kansas Senate Bill 492 with Section. 2 is about local school board review of potentially obscene materials, not the “prosecution of teachers” herd mentality trumpeted by lobbyists.
My child’s class assignment contained vulgar descriptions of sexual encounters. I ran the gauntlet of months of forms, meetings with teachers, principals and committees, resulting in no change. Concerned parents were cast as overly prudish, practicing censorship, violating the First Amendment and burning books. What parent has the stomach for this?
TV, movies, games and videos all have systems that restrict entertainment choices available to minors. When all other institutions have gone the extra mile to voluntarily or by regulation evaluate sexually explicit content, why have schools maintained a policy that places the burden on parents?
Some say that a review of sexualized materials by the local school board would be “chilling” to academic freedom. We are not talking about adults. We are talking about educating minor children. Support Senate Bill 492 with Section 2 intact.
Phillip Cosby
Overland Park

Where are your kids?

My granddaughter left her car on the side of South 59th Street in the Turner area because it quit running on her about 7 p.m. on a Friday night. My husband was not home at the time, so she was going to have it towed the next day.
The police tagged it on that evening at 10:10 p.m. When we went to pick it up on a Sunday morning, someone had broken all the windows out of it except the back window and broke the front doorknob.
What is the matter with these kids nowadays that they have no respect for other people’s things? All that was wrong with the car was it needed a battery.
Please, parents, find out what your kids are doing when they are out.
M. White
Kansas City, Kan.

Happy news, please

I was disappointed as I flipped through The Star recently and did not see a story about the March 8 opening of the children’s center at Oak Park Mall.
Instead I saw all the bad things that happened over the weekend. This included an article about a man sitting in his home with a child he had killed, a burning home where the parents had left a 2-year-old alone and many other awful stories. I think once in a while it would be enlightening for The Star to recognize and follow the bright sides of life.
A large crowd, many with small children, attended a free concert at Oak Park Mall to celebrate the opening of the new children’s play area. Mr. Stinky Feet played great music, and kids were singing along and dancing. The mall was decorated with balloon characters, vendors were giving free toys away, and other tables had crayons for the children to use to color. It was a happy time, a colorful time, a good time!
With all the hard times people are enduring these days, I would think The Star would report on the good things that go on in our city.
Carolyn Hanson
Overland Park
Editor’s note: The opening was mentioned briefly in Joyce Smith’s March 11 Cityscape column (Business).

We must do better

Opening The Star (3/14, A section), I read about an Indiana “father” who forced his 7-year-old daughter to stab the family kitten so she could “learn how to kill.” Then I turn the pages and read about the lenient sentence given to two women who tortured another woman by kidnapping, sexually assaulting and stabbing her.
I am reminded of the Hopi Indian inspirational line Maria Shriver quoted recently: “We are the ones we have been waiting for.”
The universal “we” need to stand up and speak out and make a difference now. We must show hard, just punishment for crimes such as these so they won’t be repeated. But more important, we must open our eyes to people who start to go wrong early in life and take a stand to help and intervene before they commit such atrocities.
We are the ones we have been waiting for.
Linda K. Paul
Prairie Village

Keep kids out of bars

Regarding kids in bars: No!

I’ve tended bar for more than 30 years. So I know what it’s like for the bartenders and waitresses. Moms come in with their kids and turn them loose. The kids are noisy and disruptive.

Most bars have pool tables, dart boards and video games. When people are playing pool, it’s not up to them to watch out for the kids. The little darlings walk right up to a pool table, pick up balls and throw them before anyone even knows they’re there. The kid could get hit in the head with a cue ball, cue stick, or steel-pointed darts. Does Mom care? No. She’s too busy talking to pay any attention to the babes. If the kid gets hurt, she blames the pool player, dart thrower, bartender or waitress for not watching out for her darling.

The kids whine and cry if they don’t get what they want: they want to play pool, throw darts, play a video game. How can anybody relax and enjoy themselves with all that noise going on?

So, Mom, if you want a day out, leave the kids at home with a sitter. Booze and babies don’t mix.

J. Browning
Kansas City

Time off for young moms

Usually I enjoy your “Weird News” feature in FYI. However, I see nothing funny in the Feb. 23 item about two counselors in the Denver schools who proposed maternity leave for student mothers. They quite right in their proposal, and The Star was dead wrong to make fun of them.

It is difficult enough to be a young, single mother, and they all need every bit of help that they can get. The proposed month off from school to take care of a new infant and to bond with him/her is a good idea. It will pay off down the road. There is less likelihood of the mother becoming abusive or inattentive or the child having problems in school and life.

Further, it is more likely that the mother will finish school and be a productive member of society rather than existing forever on welfare because she cannot get a job because she is not a high school graduate.

Her teachers are given time off after they have babies, and it is common practice in the business world to let a new mother have a month or so off.

It should be no different for high school girls.

Christopher Banner
Manhattan

Camp for sick kids

Thank you for your coverage of Kyle Petty and his proposed Kansas City-area Victory Junction Gang Camp (2/22, Sports Daily, “Camp coming to a Wyandotte site; Location for second Victory Junction Gang Camp down to five properties in county”).

I travel to the Victory Junction camp in North Carolina to volunteer. I started volunteering last year. I have been to camp five times so far and am scheduled to attend one more spring and one more summer session. As soon as the schedule is out for fall, I will be signing up for additional session.

The camp is life-changing, not only for the children and families, but also for the volunteers. You have a totally different view of your life and how you live it after being at camp as a volunteer.

There are so many children and families in this area who will benefit from this camp.

My wife and I were among the lucky few to attend the first meeting in Kansas City. After that, we made a commitment to do what ever we could to help achieve the goal of building a camp here.

Reading articles about this camp in The Star inspires us. It is refreshing to hear other individuals have the same dream as the Pettys to have a camp here.

We greatly appreciate your coverage. Thanks to motorsports writer Jim Pedley for taking the interest in this dream.

Tom Olsen
Overland Park

Kids in bars?

This is in response to "Look who just strolled into the bar; Tykes are tagging along as parents take time out for a toddy" (2/19, FYI).

Smoking is being banned in restaurants and bars. But should we now allow children in?

Bars are no place for children. There are fights, foul language, drunks, drugs and amateur drinkers in these establishments.

A quote from the article: "One woman breast fed her son and then ordered a martini." How many more did she consume? Did she then drive home?

This is a double-edged sword. We are protecting our children and adults from secondhand smoke, but we’re allowing kids in bars. Interesting.

C. Caldwell
Sedalia, Mo.

Mentors for black youth

I read with interest the editorial on developing father figures to combat urban violence (2/5, “A critical hurdle for many young men: lack of a father-figure”).

One of the organizations to which I belong, the 100 Black Men of Greater Kansas City (a local chapter of the 100 Black Men Inc.), strives to do just that: serve as mentors to young men, in order to provide them with an alternative to the violent reality that permeates our society at large, yet is particularly destructive within the black community.

U.S. black males make up a disproportionate percentage of homicides, high school dropouts and prisoners, and are a pitiful minority in the corporate world and on college campuses (save for the athletic dorms).

Instead of decrying our plight, our communities need to call upon the handful of African-American males who have defied the odds and “made it” to provide hope and inspiration to those who only see one path for their own futures.

Black men understand that we live in a society that is hostile towards us because of the color of our skin. Too many tend to adopt that hostile mentality, rather than choose to redirect it toward improving themselves and their neighbors.

Brian T. Foster
Olathe