Letters

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Sep 3, 2005

Disillusionment growing

J. Kevin Murphy's letter to the editor stated that Cindy Sheehan was abusing her right to freedom and is in some way un-American because she doesn't agree with the war in Iraq.

According to every poll taken in the last couple of months, 62 percent of Americans agree with Cindy that we went to war for the wrong reasons, and the number is growing.

If, in fact, we are in a world war with radical Islamists, perhaps we should have gone to war with a country that is run by radical Islamists. I can think of several that don't allow women to vote or have basic human rights.

Last time I checked, we went to war with Iraq because they had weapons of mass destruction. Today in Iraq, they are forming a constitution based on Islamic rule where women's rights will be greatly diminished. It's no wonder more and more Americans are becoming disillusioned.

KYLE ROSS,

Topeka

Busy station

Recent callers to the Jim Cates radio talk show discussed Amtrak service in Topeka and the conditions and environment of the station at S.E. 5th and Holliday (owned by the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad) which Amtrak leases and uses.

For too many years, the city and chamber of commerce have focused their efforts to secure air service in and out of Topeka. The $5 million air terminal has for years sat practically empty.

While this has transpired, several thousand passengers per year (5,964 in FY 04) have used the Amtrak station near downtown Topeka. However, the station has deteriorated both inside and outside.

Several of the callers to the radio program asked what the city of Topeka might do to improve the situation. I suggested that additional lighting might be put up in the area so that security might be improved and the station would be easier to locate at night. Also, the streets and parking lot are in need of blacktop overlay.

Amtrak should replace the large signs on the depot that have been out of service for several years. Some interior improvements also need to be made, including new waiting room furniture and upgraded restrooms. Vending machines for many years were accessible in the lobby, but for some reason have been removed.

Repairs and cleaning of the exterior should also be made. The roof of the building has been replaced and repaired several times. However, during heavy rains, leaks are inevitable.

A few years ago, the BNSF sold or gave to the city of Garden City the train depot there. Garden City was able with nearly $1 million from various sources (including the U.S. government) to completely restore and remodel the building and streets around the area. Maybe the city of Topeka might look into this sort of solution to the Amtrak station

here.

JOHN A. MILLS,

Topeka

Sunday sales irrelevant

In his Aug. 27 letter, C.N. Cliff Cormier quoted the YWCA Battered Women Task Force as noting a 50 percent increase in alcohol- related sexual assaults on Sunday. We have not observed that increase.

The YWCA Battered Women Task Force has documented a 50 percent increase in the overall number of sexual assault clients we served in 2004. However, we have not linked this increase to Sundays or to alcohol use. Furthermore, the increase is only reflective of the number of clients seeking our services, not necessarily the number of sexual assaults actually occurring.

We understand sexual assault as a crime motivated by the perpetrator's desire to control and harm the victim, in which sex is used as a weapon.

Alcohol use is not considered a motivating factor for perpetrators of sexual assault, nor a justification to assault someone who has been drinking. However, we understand that there is a link between alcohol use and sexual assault, particularly among high school and college-aged populations.

Alcohol use can limit someone's ability to sense dangerous situations and react to them quickly. This fact is well understood by rapists, who may use alcohol to lower a victim's capacity to defend themselves.

The YWCA Battered Women Task Force believes the key to decreasing alcohol-facilitated sexual assault is a combination of education, strong penalties for sexual offenders and greater community awareness. We have no official position regarding Sunday sales of alcohol and do not predict Sunday sales would either increase or decrease the number of clients we serve.

LAURA BURTON and LISA F. HECHT,

YWCA Battered Women Task Force

Amused by folly

Some recent articles in the Topeka Capital-Journal have amused me.

I have read about the tax subsidies that keep the doors open at TPAC. I have also read Helen Hocker Theater needs more tax subsidies for a new theater. Apparently nobody can connect the dots between those two items.

Recently I read somebody can't raise enough private capital to build an ice rink, so we taxpayers are being asked to step in and help. In the meantime our Expocentre can't break even with its ice rink and now public skate time and hockey are gone from Topeka.

Now a bar owner in Pennsylvania wants to build a $12 million to $17 million baseball stadium with a retractable roof in downtown Topeka and guess what? The taxpaying Topekans are being asked to "help financially." I personally can't see 4,000 to 5,000 people flocking to downtown Topeka to watch teams like the Lincoln Saltdogs and the KC T-Bones play baseball all summer. Of course, I don't have a bar in Pennsylvania from which I can study Kansas demographics.