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A blog by Managing Editor James Jordan about the newspaper. So far it's mostly about city commission, but I hope to delve into other local issues.
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2009
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March
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- city commission candidate Bob Mathews
- new patrick
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- Picture from last friday
- Disposing of yard trash
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March
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About Me
- Traveler Editor
- I have been at the Traveler for 4 years. I have been in the newspaper business longer than that. I came here from South Carolina. Apart from that, I am an unapologetic Jesus Freak. I am not, however, Republican.
38 comments:
The question of high cancer rates made me sit up and take notice. Are there any studies, or is this just hearsay? Anyone know anything about this? Please post if you do.
Ive heard that since I have been here. Not seen any studies that would back it up.
Check with the County Health Department. I think they were part of the group with the stats.
James, sorry but it looks like your poll has Kasha winnning on the drug testing argument. I wonder how the rest of the state feels about it?
James, sorry but it looks like your poll has Kasha winnning on the drug testing argument. I wonder how the rest of the state feels about it?
>>
Yea,. Im willing to take an unpopular stand :)
If the majority wants it, then i guess it will happen.
Doesn't make it right.
I'm sorry, but I don't agree with the drug testing either. I may like Kasha on a personal level, but I feel that she seems to have a personal agenda against lower income people. Doesn't anyone else notice that she is voting against anything that benefits the lower income people, such as the extended health insurance benefits for children, the minimum wage law and drug testing welfare recipients?
Do you have any idea what the state minimum wage law will do. Take a local business,
Currently state minimum is I think $2.65 per hour if it goes to $7.25 per hour.
That's a difference of $4.60 per hour per employee.
Let's say that each of the 7 employee works 35 hours per week.
Each employee gets an additional $161 per week, (Sounds great so far) and together the 7 of them get a total of an addtional $1127 per week. That's an additional $4508 in wages per month and doesn't include the matching taxes that the owner has to pay.
So to keep things the way his business is now and to keep everyone employed at the same number of hours he would have to now charge double to triple the menu prices in order to maintain. Are you going to pay that to eat out? Do you have that much extra cash that you could afford that?
A small business owner is not getting rich off their employees they are in fact mostly just mainataining. This minimum wage law sounds great and looks like the other side really cares. About the what did you call us 'lower income people.'
In the late 70's when minimum wage increased to $5.35 an hour it took the working poor 7 years to get back up to where they were before the increase.
Everything will go up around ALL of us including the working poor. We will find that the shinny new apple that has a bow with a big increase in mimimum wage will infact burst before we get a taste it will put us out of jobs, as small businesses shut down, reduce hours and reduce labor force.
One has to be able to see the full impact to everyone concerned.
Most of these business that will be affected are food establishments and their employees make tips.
Exactly! Their tips are taxed and lets not forget how high everything is now compared to last year.
Everything went up when gas went up, business owners raise prices all the time. So I don't see any difference this time by raising the minimum wage. Its a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation.
I don't know of any business in town that only pays the $2.65 minimum.
The question of high cancer rates made me sit up and take notice. Are there any studies, or is this just hearsay? Anyone know anything about this?
----
I imagine this is actually true, but not due to reasons you might expect. AC has a large population of senior citizens and our poverty rate is higher than average. Most young people (20-50) move away from AC due to wanting better employment opportunities. That leaves us with mostly older folks who used to be farmers or work at Total or Rodeo, etc. Older folks are more likely to get cancer.
Also, poor folks don't go to the doctor for check ups like they should and often put off going to the doctor until something is an emergency. Thus, they wait to long for cancer detection, leading to cancers that are less treatable and long lasting. People in places with less poverty go to the doctor more, take better care of themselves, have there minor cancers detected earlier and treated.
That is likely why we have high cancer rates.
That is likely why we have high cancer rates.
You mean its not the vast right wing conspiracy?
Its not always age that keeps folks from getting the health care they need...some just don't have health insurance, so they don't go to the dr for any reason until its an emergency.
Well, the person I lost to cancer was not old, or lacking in health insurance. She was misdiagnosed by a local doctor though, but there's no way to know if that contributed to her death. If anyone has any real information, please post.
I would be interested into looking into the issue and try to keep pressing forward to get some answers.
Trouble is I won't have time to pursue it personally other than to interact with those who are digging in.
We need a champion(s) citizen activist(s) or group to coordinate the research efforts of a number of people.
City/County Health might have some stats that would provide a starting point.
As one writer above pointed out, age could have a lot to do with skewing the statistics but we won't really know until we really know. Kanyone might know where that question came from and can follow it upstream to see if someone really knows of actual studies performed.
The real question to me is about the specific types of cancers and the number of instances and track that across age/race/sex. I have known too many people locally who have suffered from some rare cancers (that were of the same type) to not have this at least raise some questions that need asked.
By the way, having health insurance might help with treatment after diagnosis but it isn't going to be a panacea or prevention. For those interested in prevention and alternative treatment, I refer everyone I know to this site: http://www.healthquarters.org/ It is non-traditional medicine, but I know of a number of people for whom it has worked.
So, just fyi. If you know of someone who wants to step up and get a group together to see if we can find out if we should have cause for legitimate concern, please let me know or even just start it on your own.
I know we raise a lot of funds here locally and ship those funds out of town for cancer research at a national level and I won't knock that as it has its place, but we have an opportunity to do something very specific here and now (or at least have some peace of mind).
Thanks.
Scott Margolius
Patrick McDonald's signs say..."It's time for change..." I think he has been on the commission so why hasn't he made those changes... I say "It IS time for change...elect someone NEW!"
@March 31, 2009 8:34 AM
"Most of these business that will be affected are food establishments and their employees make tips."
"I don't know of any business in town that only pays the $2.65 minimum."
@March 31, 2009 10:03 AM
Not exactly common knowledge, but, most restaurants don't pay the waiters (waitresses) but about $2.65 per hr. (not sure how they get away with it)I mean what if you get a cad at your table that decides not to tip you? It's a crime. (writer's opinion only)
"...some just don't have health insurance, so they don't go to the dr for any reason until its an emergency."
haha (not funny) some people who DO have insurance don't go to the dr. unless it's an emergency. (deductible eats you alive)
waiters (waitresses) but about $2.65 per hr. (not sure how they get away with it)I mean what if you get a cad at your table that decides not to tip you? It's a crime. (writer's opinion only) >>>
Now that I think about it.
The restaurants are getting customers to pay their employees for them.
what a deal eh :)
I talked to a waitress in Winfield and asked her about this very issue. She is paid about 3 something by the establishment. She averages about $12 an hour because of the tips on top of that. She is pretty good looking though.
Sounds like she may be a good waitress, if they give me good service, I tip. If the service is crappy I don't. Its their call, so to me it isn't being a cad, it is paying them for their work preformance.
I have a couple of friends that live in Wichita that work at at Applebees and TGIFs. They say during the weekends, with tips, they routinely pull about $30-40 an hour. That is offset by some hours during the week when they hardly make anything.
That's been the problem for years, this is nothing new. Waitresses and waiters are underpaid and they depend on receiving tips. The sad deal is that many times they've done an excellent job, but don't get the tip they deserve because folks think they are actually being paid a good wage.
But understand that raising minumum wage will force the price at each of the restaurants to rise at levels we have never seem before.
They will be forced to lay people off. So they will not only lose their hourly wage but their tips as well. From 'I don't make enough to nothing.' Is that what they were intending when the lawmakers decided to HELP.
Some will be forced to close their doors. Same results but more people hurt, the dishwashers, the cooks.
I wish that no one ever had any money worries. That would be a great world. But I too have talked to tip employees and they say with tips most average aboce federal minimum wage now.
The IRS when they audit a resturants staff they complie the list of tickets that persons name or number that was enetered into a computer they take the days you worked complie all that data every credit card receipt to every customer that you served and they do their own tally they set a % I think it is 8% and they will take the total tickets that each employee did for that year decide how much that you should have reported in tips and tax you on that.
Raising the minimum right now sounds great but it will be very costly to small communities and towns all around our state.
Kansas is made up of small town, and communities, and this will hurt very deep for a very long time.
Keep this in mind the food industry is really the largest employer in Kansas. This is where our youth get beginning skills, this is where management is learned.
65% of the population of Kansas at one time or another worked in the food industry.
Cities depend on the sales tax rev. for income, as well as the state. This I think will cost much more than it gains.
^^^^
coming from a person who runs an eatery and would have to pay their help more. It's not like you don't make enough profit on your outrageously overpriced sandwiches already.
We have always paid federal minimum wage. So the state minimum wage law doesn't apply to us.
Good for you Kanyon. Not many places actually only pay the bare minimum, but they do exist here. Mostly only wait staff. I think they should get Federal minimum plus tips, and that tips should not be taxed. IMHO
@April 1, 2009 7:29 AM
Thanks Kanyon for bringing some sane thinking to the issue.
And yes, if you refuse to tip a person for running back & forth bringing you hot food & cold drinks (& keeping your drink full)
....you are a cad, or better yet CAD.
Trouble is, most folk don't know that wait staff is paid so low. Thanks to those of you who do tip. :)
@ April 1, 2009 12:21 AM
In response to your depends on their service to me remark:
Are you always the only 1 in the place that is being served? Perhaps someone else has treated them badly, or maybe they just had a hard day. Be kind and tip....anyway!
No way. I agree with the service being the deciding factor on a tip. If the service is good, I tip well. If the service is poor, I tip poorly. What the wait person's personal problems may be are their problems, not mine, and they should not bring it to work with them if they want to make good tips.
ok, let them wait on you hand and foot. (easier said...smile-grin-and serve me, than it is to do it)
I've always said that people should work retail, or in food service...perhaps that would change many peoples attitude.
(easier said...smile-grin-and serve me, than it is to do it)
But, good luck to you sir, or ma'am
whichever it may be. I choose to follow the golden rule, even when eating out...
Jean Snell, friend?
This is probably not the first you have heard any of this, lest we soon forget:
When Jean first arrived, his former employer Colby, KS called to thank us for taking him, they had all the friendship they could handle. Now as the teachers of USD 470 come out with all of their tails of friendship no one can believe that he came in last for his first bid for a commissionership, what were we thinking?
Yes it’s true he sometimes fails to tell the truth but that’s because the truth is not always right. He had to exaggerate by over 1000 about how many times the internet had been viewed, otherwise he could not get his friend a job, the 100K plus spent by the school was for friendship, therefore worth it.
The episode of the sexual harassment against the maintenance supervisor cost USD 470 way over 100 grand. He was Jean’s pal and being his pal will be an expense to someone. When he failed to inform the school board of his spending a substantial amount on a consultant, it was in the name of friendship. He saved his friends on the board from the embarrassment for not understanding.
The most endearing and lasting impact of Jean is in technology! Our friend eliminated most all forms of technical training thank goodness. The shop class doesn’t build a house any more, or chairs or cabinets in fact we don’t have woodworking, or welding, or machine shop, that’s because its best to send all of the kids to college, just like him, working is for suckers. We did get a new Tec Lab that was never used and sold at auction for pennies on the dollar.
These are just a few of the acts of friendship we have endured I mean were blessed with. Jean should continued to be the BFF of the Burford and not so much the rest of us, we don’t have that kind of money.
If there are any doubts, check it out, Google in ‘USD 470 lawsuit’ for a start.
Educationalists in the Ark City Tea Party
Man...are you someone with a personal vendetta or what? Perhaps, you were a member of an old school board that just wants to get even now that you have moved on. You have an awful lot of half truths and twisted facts. Perhaps you should have run for the city commission and we could have roasted you with the same type of lies.
You forget he was an employee of the school board and acted for them. He did not act on his own and who pray tell was the "friend" that made so much money?
The Burford has been saved. Imagine downtown with an empty gaping hole where it once stood and it has not cost the taxpayers. The effort was led by the evil Snell that ripped the town off or so you want us to believe. What have you done to save the taxpayers money on a city or county level?
You forget that the district was receiving educational awards when he was superintendent, you forget that we had a surplus budget and that we completed a building project. You also forget that we would have had a stadium built at a fraction of the cost but people screamed we didn't need it...the same people that screamed last year that we did. Yeah, there are no personal grudges out there...you Mr. or Miss Anonymous should sign your name to such accusations which you seem to want to spin so maliciously and falsely.
I like how the other posts for Commission candidates say "City Commission candidate Jean Snell", or City Commission candidate Bob Mathews", but this one is called "new patrick" (you couldn't even be bothered to Capitalize his name?).
Pull your pants up JJ, your bias is showing.
but this one is called "new patrick" (you couldn't even be bothered to Capitalize his name?).
Well dont read too much into that.
There was a technical problem and i had to create a new one at the last second.
I could have just given up at the first sign of a problem and not done Patrick's.
How would that have been?
Anyone who knows me at all, knows that I am a fan of patrick.
:)
I know that the claim of bias against Patrick is false and that you like him. What I can't figure out is why would a libertarian like a fellow who doesn't pay property tax and has no original thoughts of his own?
Is it a crime to live in your mom's basement?
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