Letters to the editor

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Feb 12, 2007

Free to hurt ourselves

On Jan. 31, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported on the death of a KU student east of Lawrence. He wasn't wearing a seat belt and was thrown from his vehicle. His passenger, who was wearing a belt, suffered only minor injuries.

The same day there was a report of the second of five teenagers who died following a collision in northeast Kansas. None of them were wearing seat belts.

I am afraid it is naive to think that our Legislature would join the many other states and countries which have passed a meaningful smoking ban when it won't even pass a seat belt law that has any teeth. Our "freedoms" are more important than our lives.

RONALD J. MEYERS,Lawrence

Consider employees

I'm sorry Bev Menninger feels slighted the state chose to not name a park after the Menninger family. I'm sorry she feels the community is angry over the departure of the Menninger Clinic.

I'm also sorry she fails to understand the anger and frustration people feel over the situation. I was an employee of the Menninger Clinic for many years, so maybe I can help shed some light.

It is true Menninger was losing millions of dollars every year. What many of us questioned was the cause for the loss. There were decisions made by the management team over those years that were astounding in their foolishness.

There is no doubt of the legacy of the Menninger Clinic. But the credit goes to more than just the Menninger family. It goes to the many fine clinicians who dedicated their careers to helping the sickest patients get well and mentoring and teaching the clinicians who would follow in their footsteps to do the same.

At the time of the move, some employees took early retirement at the invitation of Menninger with the promise of health insurance coverage until they were eligible to draw Medicare. That coverage has been ended. We found out in the past couple of months that the pension fund left for the former Topeka employees is underfunded to the point the federal government has intervened.

So Bev Menninger feels slighted because the perception of the Menninger family isn't so positive. Maybe she needs to consider how more than 1,000 people feel who had their lives turned upside down, who watched in disbelief as the Menninger Clinic packed up and moved, and who now have to wonder if their life's work ever held any value to the Menninger family.

RANDY BROWN,Topeka

Rails are way to go

I enjoyed Mike Hall's column "Amtrak worth the journey" (Jan. 30), and especially what a great trip you thought it was and the enjoyment and pleasure you got out of it. Of course, I am biased, having worked for the Santa Fe for 43 years (until 1984), and I always enjoy reading about the railroads.

Amtrak often gets short shrift in the news, especially when someone is doing his gripe about its being at the trough. The subsidy is certainly much smaller than what taxpayers pay to provide the interstates and the rest of the highway systems that trucks use and minuscule compared with what the air lines extract.

Be that as it may, I certainly hope that in the not too distant future "those in charge" will see the light and make way for a rail system in the United States for passengers on a level as is available in France, Britain, Germany, Japan and many other nations throughout the world where the citizens require a dependable and on- time service to attend to their daily tasks and for their intra- and inter-country movements.

Better get off my soapbox. Thanks again for remembering Amtrak and happy it was an enjoyable trip.

ED SCHWERDT,Topeka

Still a job to do

On Feb. 2, an Associated Press article reported that Sen. Sam Brownback "skipped 20 of the 39 roll call votes in January, or 51 percent, according to Senate voting records." Although nine of the missed votes can be attributed to a "fact-finding trip" overseas, it is clear that Brownback has more things on his mind than representing the citizens of Kansas who elected him to office.

In his quest for the presidency, I offer this suggestion to Sen. Brownback: Follow the lead of former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole. In June 1996, Dole resigned his Senate seat so he could focus on his presidential campaign, saying he was either heading for the "White House or home."

Sen. Brownback, please do the same.

ROGER T. MOORE,Topeka

Impact not lost

I read with some sadness Bev Menninger's recitation of our failure to recognize the major contributions the Menninger Clinic made to Topeka. When the history of Topeka's community is written, I suspect it will show the crucial influence on and participation in our community of many people associated with Menninger, both staff and patients.

Menninger people came from all over our country, even all over the world, and leavened our small town Midwest heritage and sensibilities with creative variety. Their ideas, energy and caring for our common community contributed greatly to the quality of life we enjoy today in Topeka.

We do and will sorely miss the Menninger contribution to Topeka, and we surely must be grateful that some of the Menninger family and community chose to remain with us, as we seek to fill the void left by those who had to leave.