Any thoughts of events the same in your area?

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

Erm..

There on the rail issue. lucky your getting work done. Our rail line as been closed since the 60s. However in 2002 the government promised they would hve the new railway in operation by 2007. In 2007 work hadnt even started and for the new election we were promised by the same government 2012

__________________
"We will disobey your laws as long as they are unjust and they make a world shaped only for your profit"-G8 protestor Genoa 2001





NO PASERÁN!!

"We learned a long time ago that we should never subject ourselves to the schedules of the powerful. We had to follow our own calendar and impose it on those above.” - Subcommandante Marcos

Thanks, and if you would Bosco keep it coming with local news scanned in or from any on line news paper in your area.
That will sooner or later have the results I want to show. The reason for this thread, is stories like this and crime and sports areans etc., that any city undertakes.

But links to a local paper is the best as we have over 600 readers and they might just click the link and see the same crap that applies to their home town and then join in and share.
Again my thanks for what you have shared.

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

Crime is lik egovt. it just get worst.

Man slain in Highland Park: CJOnline - Man slain in Highland Park

Victim shot while in car
By Phil Anderson
The Capital-Journal
Published Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 5:45 p.m. CDT
A 25-year-old man who was shot in his car was pronounced dead at the scene Sunday afternoon in the city's Highland Park area.

Police were called to the 2800 block of S.E. Michigan at about 3 p.m. on a report of a shooting.

Officers found the victim in his car, which was parked at an angle in front of a house on the east side of the street.

Paramedics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the victim for nearly 30 minutes before he was pronounced dead.

Nearly 50 people -- including many family members and friends of the victim -- gathered at the scene.

A Topeka police chaplain and a Shawnee County sheriff's chaplain arrived at the scene at about 4:30 p.m. to meet with family members and friends, who left the scene a short time later in a group.

Police said an alternate meeting location had been arranged for the family members and friends.

The Shawnee County coroner arrived at the scene at about 5 p.m.

Several witnesses were taken to the Law Enforcement Center to be interviewed, said police Sgt. Russ Klumpp.

No description of the shooter was available early Sunday evening. The identity of the victim also wasn't being released, pending notification of relatives.

Police continued to hold the crime scene at 5:30 p.m.

Sunday's shooting marked the city's third homicide of 2008.

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call police detectives at (785) 368-9400 or leave an anonymous message by calling Crime Stoppers at (785) 234-0007.

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

How is this for power by parties. READER Comments included.

Big oil tax breaks divisive: CJOnline / The Topeka Capital-Journal - Big oil tax breaks divisive

Kansas delegation in Congress split along party lines
By Tim Carpenter
The Capital-Journal
Published Sunday, April 27, 2008
Mary Olsen spent more than $40 at a downtown Topeka gas station to fill up her car.

"Not long ago, it cost half as much," the retail clerk said. "Money that went for savings or to pay credit cards is going into the tank."

Olsen grapples at a personal level with escalation of transportation costs. Sticker shock at the pump is occurring amid a new round of profit reports from the country's largest oil companies. ConocoPhillips' profit was up 17 percent in the first quarter, a trend likely to be reflected this week when results surface from Exxon Mobile, Chevron, BP America and Royal Dutch Shell.

These five energy giants last year made more than $123 billion. Exxon Mobil pocketed $40 billion, the largest corporate profit in American history. At the same time, these titans of industry are counting on President Bush and Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate to retain lucrative federal tax breaks under attack by Democrats.

Olsen said the spreadsheet should fuel public debate as the 2008 elections draw near.

"I hope somebody notices what's going on out here," she said.

Opinion about whether elected representatives in Washington are properly responding to rising fuel costs depends on political perspective. The Kansas congressional delegation is split along party lines on legislation passed by the House to rescind tax breaks for big oil companies of $18 billion over a 10-year period. The House wanted to use that revenue to boost incentives for conservation and energy production from renewable sources, such as wind and solar.

Oil companies flexed their muscle in the Senate to block the move to exclude them from a federal tax break given to all U.S. manufacturers in 2004, said Dan Weiss, director of climate strategy at the Center for American Progress in Washington. The largest five oil companies spent $37.3 million lobbying last year and made $12.3 million in campaign contributions, he said.

"Big oil is better represented in halls of the Senate than average taxpayers," Weiss said. "There is no question about that."

He said senators who voted for oil company tax breaks received more campaign contributions from oil interests than senators who voted to shift incentives away from high-carbon energy. Renewable opponents received an average of $195,000 from 2002 to 2007, while renewable supporters received $67,000 in the period, he said.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., accepted $139,000 in campaign donations from the oil industry, and Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., took in $184,000 during the five-year span, Weiss said.

Molly Mueller, spokeswoman for Roberts, said the contribution patter makes sense because oil plays a key economic role in Kansas.

"It's no surprise that Sen. Roberts supports, and is supported by, an industry that represents nearly 30,000 jobs in the state and contributes more than $1 billion to the rural Kansas economy," Mueller said.

Currently, Roberts supports tax credits for renewable and alternative energy development. He also endorsed increases in vehicle gas-mileage standards.

A bill shifting tax incentives from oil to renewables passed the House in February with support from Democratic Reps. Nancy Boyda and Dennis Moore. Republican Reps. Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt voted against it. Brownback and Roberts helped prevent Senate Democrats from obtaining 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster and permit a vote on the House bill. Senate leadership subsequently jettisoned provisions closing $18 billion in oil tax breaks.

Boyda, who represents Topeka in Congress, said the time is right to repeal the federal tax subsidies because oil companies can afford to change.

"I don't understand what some members of Congress tell their constituents," Boyda said. "They send $18 billion to big oil when people are paying $3.45 for gas. Our farmers and business people are getting hurt badly. Working people are struggling."

Moore said federal tax policy shouldn't be bent to reward oil companies that banked $480 billion in profit during the past six years.

"It's clear there are better ways to use these resources," he said.

Kansas Republicans said imposing the punitive taxes on oil companies advocated by Boyda and Moore wouldn't help Olsen.

"Any tax increase that Congress imposes on the oil companies would only be paid for by consumers through boosted prices at the gas pump," Tiahrt said.

Tim Carpenter can be reached at (785) 295-1158 or timothy.carpenter@cjonline.com.

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Reader Comments
Posted by: SoOrCat at Apr 27, 2008 at 03:57:46 AM
Brief facts missed or minimized in this article:

Yes, Exxon made $40 billion last year. They also paid $30 billion in taxes, making their tax rate 42%.

For comparison purposes, Johnson & Johnson had a profit margin of 18% in 2004; Bank of America, 21.6%; The average 2004 operating margin of publicly owned newspapers, 20.5%. American oil companies typically have profit margins of 9.5-10%. Than means for a gallon of gas @ $3.50, they make 35 cents.

The Feds tax that gallon 18.4 cents, and Kansas takes another 43.4 cents per gallon. Yep...combined, state and Federal government suck in almost twice as much "profit" than Exxon - only the government has precious little investment into finding, drilling, refining, and marketing the product.

Lastly, although it was mentioned (in the last paragraph), it seems to be a mystery to many, so it should be repeated: Corporations - be they oil, tobacco, or baby powder - do NOT, have NOT, and never WILL pay taxes.

They are not humans, they are businesses. Like materials, labor, and transportation, taxes are just another part of doing business. If their taxes go up enough to affect their profits, they simply pass the tax on to the consumer (that would be you). Raising their taxes is just as effective of way of "teaching them a lesson" as trying to shoot someone with a gun that has a barrel bent around so that it shoots the shooter.

For the record, my only oil company "interest" is that I put it in my car - no stock, no family members in the biz, no connections to oil companies at all. Just a connection to common sense, and an aversion to demagoguery.

-2 Rating Posted by: RHAB at Apr 27, 2008 at 04:29:42 AM
Hey CAT, U speak wise. Like I tell them. If U think the gas is expensive, I will give you a shovel & U can go dig a well, In the artic where it is 50 below ZERO 'F' then refine it and maybe sell some. Or U can go to CANADA & squeeze some out of the oil sands. The truth is, U have not seen anything yet. It would be better if OIL was tagged to the EURO instead of the Dollar$. It would not seem so bad. I suggest that if U don't pay taxes you cannot vote. I also suggest that only VOTERS will pay taxes. I will bet things would change. This would elimate the WELFARE, ILLEGALS, & all people who take a 100% tax write off. REX

Posted by: windybon at Apr 27, 2008 at 06:54:01 AM
SoOrCat, you need to send this to the Editor so everyone can read it. If people think gas is high now, just go ahead and remove the tax breaks and see how high it goes. I don't know why this is so hard for people to understand.

+ 3 Rating Posted by: oshel at Apr 27, 2008 at 07:46:23 AM
Why isn't free market competition working to benefit the consumer? All the oil companies are making record profits. You would think that at least one of them would be interested in increasing its market share by lowering the price -- accepting a lower profit per gallon to sell more gallons. That happens with other products. Why not with gasoline? Maybe it is time for an anti-trust investigation.

+ 2 Rating Posted by: jasonc_22 at Apr 27, 2008 at 11:25:12 AM
any business making record profit that is still increasing prices doesn't deserve one thin dime of my tax dollars.

great job Boyda & Moore!

+ 2 Rating Posted by: taibojames at Apr 27, 2008 at 01:02:07 PM
Note to Senator Roberts - The "Oil Industry" employes about 6,000 in Kansas. Down from 15,000 in 1985. So, the number of Kansans employed by oil companies keeps getting smaller and smaller. It is obvious they are not using their tax breaks to create jobs and instead lining the pockets of the 15 shareholders that own majorities of the companies. Lame.

+ 2 Rating Posted by: dalemise at Apr 27, 2008 at 02:06:42 PM
In 1973, OPEC nations stopped oil exports to western nations to punish us for supporting Israel. I was sure that the "NO GAS" signs at most stations would inspire our future Presidents to get serious about alternative fuels. But the lines at gas stations soon went away when the embargo was lifted.
At that time, as I recall, most energy experts thought that if we built nuclear fueled electrical plants, we could stretch our U.S. crude oil supplies for a century, allowing us time to develope hydrodgen, or methane, alternatives. Sadly, it has yet to happen.

+ 4 Rating Posted by: weinkauf at Apr 27, 2008 at 02:58:36 PM
The democrats won't allow more drilling and refineries that drives up the cost. The republicans won't regulate the industry, which drives up the cost. We could be energy self-sufficent like Brazil and get out of the Middle East. And not have a dictator in S. America or Iran make a speech, or a bombing in Africa that cause us to pay more for gas!? When the economies of India and China are demanding more gas, our conservation and reduction efforts won't stop increasing gas cost. The price will go up to $4.25/gal, go back down to $3/gal by years end and still nobody is fixing the problem! Wait til the next Katrina? Or 9/11? and you'll be happy to pay only $4/gal. Lobby for action!

-3 Rating Posted by: EddieMoney at Apr 27, 2008 at 05:06:21 PM
"any business making record profit that is still increasing prices doesn't deserve one thin dime of my tax dollars."
-- A punchy, but tragically oversimplified and shortsighted view.

+ 1 Rating Posted by: snert2 at Apr 27, 2008 at 09:56:08 PM
The way I see it, we borrow money from China and then give some of it to the oil companies and they in turn give some of it to our lawmakers. Something is wrong here.

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

PARENTS of students of Colaiste na hInse in Laytown have this week been picketing the business of Jimmy Lyons, the man who has issued a High Court challenge to the planning permission for the school`s temporary accommodation.
Furious parents, whose children will have to travel by bus to Ratoath College in September, started picketing the premises on Friday and said they are determined to continue their action.
Parents were informed last week that the High Court challenge, which is set for June, would mean that the temporary accommodation for the new school would not be in place by September and that students would instead be bussed to Ratoath.
Monique Piper, one of those involved in the protest, said that parents were extremely angry at what was happening.
"This court challenge means that we won`t have the new school here in Laytown in September. Instead we have to put our children on buses. There is nothing wrong with the school in Ratoath but the road to Ratoath isn`t great and parents are very nervous about putting their children on buses," she said.
"This is a huge problem and we believe our children should be able to go to school in our own town, especially when the land is there," she said.
Ms Piper said that parents were determined to continue with the protest, although it was difficult with people working and looking after children.
"We feel very strongly about this and there is a lot of anger out there. We have been getting a lot of support from local people," she said.
"We are very hurt that this man should take such an action and deprive our children of their school. We don`t know how long the court action will take or how long it will be before we have our school.
"We want the school here in September and that is why we are standing here picketing. We all had been offered school places in schools in Drogheda or Balbriggan but turned them down in order to go to this new school," she said.
Mr Lyons is seeking a judicial review of the planning process and the hearing for these proceedings is set for 6th June. He refused to comment on the issue this week.
Public representatives in the area are believed to be in negotiations with Mr Lyons in a bid to solve the problem.
Meanwhile, Meath VEC has assured parents that the school will open on 28th August next, although this is most likely to be in a separate wing of the new Ratoath College, which is currently at 50 per cent capacity.
A special meeting with parents of students enrolled in Coláiste na hInse took place last Wednesday in the Bettystown Court Hotel, at which the VEC briefed parents on the alternative plans.
Parents and students will be taken to Ratoath College on Monday next to see the facilities. Buses will leave Scoil an Spoiread Naomh, Laytown, at 7.15pm and Hotel Europa at 7.25pm.

Parents picket business over High Court bid - Meath Chronicle

__________________
"We will disobey your laws as long as they are unjust and they make a world shaped only for your profit"-G8 protestor Genoa 2001





NO PASERÁN!!

"We learned a long time ago that we should never subject ourselves to the schedules of the powerful. We had to follow our own calendar and impose it on those above.” - Subcommandante Marcos

Good read. I looked into the your paper and saved it to My Favorites.
I found these to a good stories also. The paper is plesent on the eyes and well laid out. Thanks Bosco.. Seems even where you live we have some of the same problems.

Serious drugs den found by Kells property holder : `Serious drugs den` found by Kells property holder - Meath Chronicle

Judge warns `no one taking over streets of Kells: Judge warns `no one taking over streets of Kells` - Meath Chronicle

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

Reader comments included. Always nice to hear from the public on some of the issues.

Thornburgh applauds voter ID court ruling: CJOnline Page Not Found

The Capital-Journal
Published Monday, April 28, 2008 at 3:03 p.m. CDT
Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh today said a U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding Indiana’s voter identification law should serve as incentive to bolster security for Kansas elections.

“Voter identification is critical to the security of the electoral process and something I’ve fought for during my time as secretary of state,” said Thornburgh, the state’s chief election officer.

The Indiana law requires voters to produce a photo identification when submitting a ballot. The high court ruled the mandate didn’t violate constitutional rights of voters.

Voter identification is an issue important to Kansas Republican legislators, especially among lawmakers urging a crackdown on illegal immigration.

However, advocates have yet to produce conclusive evidence of widespread voting irregularities due to identity fraud.

Democrats and civil rights groups oppose voter ID laws, calling the statutes an effort to discourage voting by elderly, poor and minority voters who are most likely to lack proper identification.

In the past, Thornburgh asked the Legislature to require voters to present identification or a document, including a utility bill or bank statement, to verify residency status.

“The Indiana law goes much farther than many of our previous attempts at voter identification here in Kansas – all of which were vetoed by Governor Sebelius,” Thornburgh said.

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Reader Comments
Posted by: johnpadilla at Apr 28, 2008 at 04:35:45 PM
whats next - finger prints and mug shots, I know - next year they will want a DNA sample.

Voter fraud - how silly these people are, voter turn out for the avarage citizen is low - but I guess there are paranoid politicians who are afraid of the boogy man.

-1 Rating Posted by: topekacitizen at Apr 28, 2008 at 04:43:15 PM
You have to show ID to cash a check, withdraw money from your own bank account, etc. What's wrong with showing an ID to elect into office those who make decisions on our lives?

If you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't have a problem with it.

Posted by: councilcrooks at Apr 28, 2008 at 05:00:06 PM
Good point tc... No disrespect John, but WHY would you disagree with this?

Posted by: jdubyaks at Apr 28, 2008 at 05:06:14 PM
I have to have an id even when I use my credit card, or write a check at the local grocery store. What's the big deal? My grandmother who never drove a day in her life, had a driver's license until she died. They aren't difficult to get. I'm glad we are at least attempting to get some kind of control over voting.

-1 Rating Posted by: slash2k at Apr 28, 2008 at 05:34:50 PM
I can't remember the last time I had to show ID to use a credit card or debit card, and anymore a lot of stores don't ask when writing a check unless it is large. My paycheck is auto-deposited, the ATM doesn't ask for government ID, and I'm too old to get carded at the restaurant. I have a driver's license because I drive, but if I didn't own a vehicle, I could probably get along just fine without one.

According to one poll, eighteen percent of American citizens age 65 and above do not have current government-issued photo ID; neither do 25% of voting-age African-Americans. (Both groups are disproportionately likely to be poor.)

As for "attempting to get some kind of control over voting," where is the evidence that we don't now have control? When was the last time you heard about an illegal casting a vote? This is a solution in search of a problem, and is treading dangerously near a poll tax. (If you don't need ID except to vote, and you have to pay to get ID, then effectively you have to pay to vote.)

-1 Rating Posted by: urabus at Apr 28, 2008 at 05:50:26 PM
Slash - How would we know if an illegal cast a vote if no ID is requested?

-1 Rating Posted by: jdubyaks at Apr 28, 2008 at 06:08:17 PM
slash I work retail....we ask for ID all the time for writing a check. I think the question you have to ask if you claim those numbers is why there are that many without id's. They are NOT hard to get.

+ 1 Rating Posted by: slash2k at Apr 28, 2008 at 06:45:32 PM
jdubyaks: If you don't need an ID, why would you bother getting one? (They're not free, at least not in Kansas, and if you don't already have one, you'll need to get a copy of your birth certificate and some other form of ID, plus go to the examiner's station. [Jefferson Co., e.g., does not have any location in the county to obtain an ID--you have to be able to come to Topeka/Lawrence/Holton/etc.]) The numbers I quoted came from a 2006 telephone survey by New York University School of Law--see http://www.brennancenter.org/page/-/...file_39242.pdf )

urabus: Illegals, almost by definition, are living under the radar. To be registered to vote, you have to fill out paperwork and provide a copy of a government ID, government check, paycheck, or some other at least quasi-official document showing your name and address. Documenting yourself in that fashion would seem to be the antithesis of "undocumented worker." The voter registration rolls provide the basis for jury duty -- what illegal alien wants to sign up for something that might get him/her summoned to the courthouse?

-1 Rating Posted by: jdubyaks at Apr 28, 2008 at 06:59:32 PM
well obviously the requirement upheld by the court wasn't found to be excessively burdensome. In fact as pointed out, one major political party, (the Democrat party in Indiana), 2 veteran Indiana congressman, and 4 substantial special interest groups could not identify one person who had been harmed by the id requirement in Indiana. Obviously getting state issued Id's is not major hurdle, there or here.

Posted by: piltdownjack at Apr 28, 2008 at 07:00:47 PM
Doesn't anyone remember the lessons of Orwell's 1984? What has separated the United States from other fascist nations is the ability to move about without "papers". The driver's license is issued to show that the individual has passed the minimum requirements to operate a large piece of machinery in public, not to verify your identity in every facet of your existence. There is no state or federal law requiring an individual to carry an "I.D." and I believe that any such law would be violative of the 4th Amendment, guaranteeing your right to privacy. Anytime an I.D. is asked for constitutes a general misuse of the driver's license and an erosion of your freedom from unwarranted government intrusion. For those people that say "what's the big deal?", please review the abuses of Stalinist Russia, where papers had to be produced upon demand upon pain of imprisonment and in order to travel one had make an application to the state to do so. To those who say "I have to show I.D. to smoke or drink, why not to vote?" The answer to this is simple. Requiring an "I.D." to vote is not the same as requiring the same to obtain liquor or tobacco because voting is a basic right, the keystone to a free and prosperous democracy, whereas the former are luxury items. Whilst I don't believe in restrictions on liquor or tobacco nor do I believe in showing I.D. for these items, it is not as noxious to personal liberties as requiring the same to vote, but it is worth mentioning as this is where this sort of thing began. (Slippery slope anyone?) Finally to those who say "I.D.s are not hard to get" I say this, have you ever had your wallet stolen? The last time this happened to me it took me weeks to get things straightened out and it cost me around $50 or so to get a birth certificate sent out from Wisconsin and to pay the replacement fees on my license. This does not include the time I had to take off work to deal with this. I also had to mess around with the social security office. This isn't much for me as I have a job and my own car, but for those without, this would have been an arduous and expensive process, which effectively, with the Indiana decision, puts them outside of the political process. We don't need any more disenfranchised groups. Every voice counts, not just the well to. Please think about the bigger picture before spouting off the "no big deals" and "why not its easy to dos". It is your duty as an American to protect the rights that have been paid for in blood, no matter how small you perceive them to be.

Posted by: brittanicus at Apr 28, 2008 at 08:37:54 PM
Today's Supreme Court ruling that approves states' efforts to pass a voter identification law, now should be enacted within every state within the union. California should especially adopt a law requiring ID, because of a massive illegal immigration issue fermenting within it's borders. States with faint-hearted Governors, Mayor and city managers such as Los Angeles county who live under a overcast suspicion of voter fraud; specially when proposition 187 was resisted and dismissed without going to the upper courts. Millions of illegal aliens subsist in the border states and are sucking those states budgets dry, compliments of the parasite employers. It is all encompassing your Jobs and economic growth, energy independence, health care access, education and an overcrowded prison system. All these issues are impacted by the 12 to 30 million illegal immigration invasion.

Find out the unsuppressed truth at these websites: GRASSFIRE, NUMBERSUSA, JUDICIAL WATCH, LIBERTY POST, IMMIGRATION NEWS INDEXER, UNIPAC and VDARE.

Please copy and paste and distribute freely where you can!

This is the only source you need to contact your representative at outsourcecongress.org/outsource/congress/schstaffers.html

Posted by: mlurp at Apr 28, 2008 at 08:39:17 PM
I just moved from Indiana back to Kansas a year ago. My thoughts on this are simple, if they want no paper trail,
then why isn't a drivers license or KS. ID card enough. My drivers license is good, isn't it? But not good enough to vote? And todays paper mentions that our troops again won't get their votes. A lot of nonsense when there is a lot of work to be done to make the votes really count.And have no ballot fraud!
And just how many Republicans really are cracking down on
illegal immigration. I guess we shall see this WED. thru the overtime period. The GOP seems to be the party of the elite and bigger businesses. Just IMHO.

Posted by: mlurp at Apr 28, 2008 at 08:43:10 PM
But if I need to bring a energy bill and my drivers/Military ID so be it. I want my vote to help get the deadbeats out of office. I registered as Independent an found out I was a Non Affiliated and can't vote for even a decent Republican, their loss not mine.

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

Some Reader comments included. I enjoyed the first one, even in my local paper staying on topic can sway. lol

Emergency sirens fail to activate in test: CJOnline - Emergency sirens fail to activate in test

By Tim Hrenchir
The Capital-Journal
Published Monday, April 28, 2008 at 3:27 p.m. CDT
When officials tested Shawnee County’s 72 emergency sirens at noon today, 11 failed to operate and one was not very loud.

David Sterbenz, the county’s director of emergency management, said this afternoon that arrangements were being made to identify and fix whatever went wrong.

Today’s problems came one week after all county sirens failed to sound during a test at noon on April 21. Sterbenz said the county has addressed the cause of last week's malfunction, which he described as being due to a “programming issue with updated equipment.”

Sterbenz said today’s malfunctions didn’t appear linked to last week’s problem. He said he could find no pattern or similarities linking the sirens that failed to activate today.

Sterbenz said sirens failed to sound at S.W. 1st and Edgewood Avenue; N.E. Indian Creek and Edgewood Drive; 823 S.E. Quincy; 1124 N.W. Lyman Road; 1430 S.W. Woodhull; 2447 S.E. 29th; S.W. 37th and Topeka Boulevard; 2717 S.E. Indiana Ave.; 4403 S.E. Shawnee Heights Road; 4502 S.W. Gage Boulevard; and 5919 N.W. Glenwood Ave.

Sterbenz said another siren, at 2250 N.E. Strait, activated but was not very loud.

He asked anyone familiar with any other sirens that may have experienced problems today to notify his office at 233-8200, extension 4150.

Sterbenz said that soon after the sirens failed to activate he contacted Blue Valley Electric, the company that repairs problems with the county’s sirens and also does preventive maintenance.

Today’s malfunctions came at a time of year when severe weather is common in northeast Kansas. An outlook posted online by the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center forecasts a 30 percent or higher probability for severe thunderstorms Thursday or Friday within 25 miles of any point in the eastern third of the state of Kansas.

Sterbenz encouraged area residents to have weather radios with a battery backup and to monitor radio and television reports about potential severe weather.

Tim Hrenchir can be reached at (785) 295-1184 or tim.hrenchir@cjonline.com.

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Reader Comments
Posted by: malkerz at Apr 28, 2008 at 03:28:06 PM
Cost of Iraq war for US, $500,000,000,000, or $1,721 per person.

Cost of Privatized Health Care in the US, $2,260,000,000,000 Dollars (that's trillions, folks), or $7,439 per person.

Cost of fixing the Tornado Sirens in Topeka which might save your life, priceless.

Cost of voting to remove the gentry from office?

FREE!



Posted by: Coffeepeppy at Apr 28, 2008 at 03:32:20 PM
Why fix something that was not broken in the first place ? Now its broken ! Hopefully thing we may have enough time to fix it before a real emergency happens. The old system was more reliable than the "new one".

That salesman sure took us for a ride! Better system...yea right!

+ 1 Rating Posted by: TopekaIsBoring at Apr 28, 2008 at 03:58:27 PM
"Cost of Iraq war for US, $500,000,000,000, or $1,721 per person"

I don't know where you got those numbers for George Bush's War, but it's at least triple that number.

Posted by: InTheCounty at Apr 28, 2008 at 04:31:45 PM
Down here in Montara I didn't hear any sirens at noon. Wait, I never have before either. I also don't hear them around Lake Shawnee. Never have. I guess I'll just have to keep on relying the ol' a tornado sounds like a freight train coming straight for my house method. Then I'll get in the hall and close all doors. I'll continue to keep my windows closed at all times in which the tv says bad weather is possible within the foreseeable future. Yep, it's the method that always works, if'n the tv works.

Posted by: lhankey at Apr 28, 2008 at 04:40:38 PM
Funny, I was at Heartland Park a few years ago during a tornado warning and heard the sirens that night. I thought that was pretty close to Montara? I work not far from Lake Shawnee and have heard the sirens at work, on a Monday at noon. Yeah, funny.

+ 3 Rating Posted by: CrazyLarry at Apr 28, 2008 at 04:41:05 PM
I say take down all those noisy sirens and use the money to buy another helicopter. From what I understand, after reading these CJOnline.com blogs, the police in a helicopter will save us from everything.

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

With reader comments. A good read.

Slattery enters Senate race against Roberts: CJOnline Page Not Found

The Capital-Journal
Published Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 9:52 a.m. CDT
Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Slattery today kicked off his underdog campaign against U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, denouncing the Republican incumbent for endorsing wreckless federal spending and embracing flawed assumptions that carried the nation to war in Iraq.

Slattery, of Topeka, is on a statewide tour to launch his bid for the Democratic nomination and a general election showdown with Roberts.

"My mother and father taught me to accept personal responsibility, to think independently, and that each of us has the power to make our community better," Slattery said during a rally at Heritage Hall in Topeka. "It is in this spirit that I announce my candidacy for the United States Senate."

Slattery said he had decided to run because the U.S. Senate was "simply not getting the job done."

He said the nation's economy was unstable, reliance on foreign oil had created a national security crisis and the country was engaged in a "tragic and costly war" in Iraq.

"Like you," Slattery said, "I have been observing the federal government from the outside -- watching the breathtaking incompetence and indifference of our political leadership."

Ashley McManus, a campaign spokeswoman for Roberts, said today that voters had a clear choice between Roberts, "who has dedicated his life to helping Kansans, and Jim Slattery, who stopped working for Kansas years ago."

Roberts is seeking his third term in the U.S. Senate, and served in the U.S. House for many years.

Slattery, who represented the Second District of Kansas in the U.S. House for 12 years, has worked as a Washington lawyer and lobbyist since losing a race for Kansas governor to Bill Graves.

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Reader Comments
+ 2 Rating Posted by: lkj at Apr 29, 2008 at 12:11:31 PM
I look forward to Slattery forcing the cards to serious debate and questions for this US Senate seat.

To me, it is not just what a senator does for Kansas, I also care about where they took the country as a whole.

Should be a spirited, enlightened and at least contested race that Roberts has not had to contend with in the past.He should be at least a little nervous.

+ 1 Rating Posted by: reharkins at Apr 29, 2008 at 12:28:24 PM
If Slattery can't beat him at least he can make him promise to look into the problems. People aren't happy with the economy and a lot of things.

Posted by: T-TownTracker at Apr 29, 2008 at 12:30:08 PM
And the Libertarian yells "Yeah".



Posted by: TopekaIsBoring at Apr 29, 2008 at 12:30:46 PM
Exactly! It's about time that Roberts had a real challenger. The only time that Pat comes back to Kansas is for a football game or if there's a natural disaster where he can have a photo-op. Kansas needs Jim Slattery. The Democrats will add to their majority in the Senate this November, so Kansans will be much better off electing a Democratic Senator. Pat Roberts will have absolutely no power if reelected, so why waste your vote on him?

Posted by: 65impala at Apr 29, 2008 at 02:24:53 PM
TopekaIsBoring ??? "Pat Roberts will have absolutely no power if reelected, so why waste your vote on him?"
It sounds as if you want a one party rule; yeah, that'll really get things done!

Posted by: beachboy at Apr 29, 2008 at 02:26:40 PM
It didn't take long at all for the Pat Roberts campaign folks to come up with a hateful commercial. I heard one on KMAJ this morning labeling Slattery a "liberal" and other trash talk. Any respect I had for Roberts has totally gone down the drain. Is there no such thing as a clean campaign and sticking to the issues anymore?

-1 Rating Posted by: butthead at Apr 29, 2008 at 02:41:51 PM
Why is there no one new? Can Kansas only recycle politicians?

-2 Rating Posted by: jdubyaks at Apr 29, 2008 at 05:08:14 PM
Kansans voted loud and clear 14 years ago. We sent Slattery sulking away to lobby in DC. What has done in the interim? Certainly nothing for Kansas. Pat is the most honest hard working politician around. He has worked tirelessly for the people of the State of Kansas for years. I am proud to call him a friend. He will prevail once again.

+ 1 Rating Posted by: TopekaIsBoring at Apr 29, 2008 at 05:58:45 PM
"Hard working"?!? If by hard working you mean covering up for george bush's crimes, allowing warrantless wiretapping, lying to the public, allowing torture, and lying down on the job, then yes, I guess that ol' Pat is hard working.

Posted by: mlurp at Apr 29, 2008 at 08:35:11 PM
If my 2 cents counts I think it is time for this state to change its colors. The GOP hasn't had any Americans concern at heart unless they had a big company or were part of the blue bloods that are the real power in America

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”