The Safety Net/Honoring racing legend resurrects part of Marshall history (07/06/07)
My education in local history continues this week. Now that Anita Wright's "Building the Vision" column has concluded, we turn our attention from aviation history to auto racing history. This weekend a local legend, Ken Taylor, will be honored at the LA Raceway in La Monte...

The Safety Net/DAR, historical society help keep county history alive (06/30/07)
Safety Net catch of the week: Members of the Patsy Gregg Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution on Saturday, May 12, presented to the Saline County Historical Society a plaque they had rescued from the dustbins of history. I was there to witness and photograph the event, but seven weeks is a long time to get the event its proper recognition in the paper. ...

The Safety Net/All history is local; let's not let it slip away (06/15/07)
Anita Wright has put her "Building the Vision" column to bed after 43 weeks of resurrecting tales from Marshall's aviation history. I've heard rumors that some people think it's been too much, that we've devoted too much space on our editorial page to the dusty old clippings Wright, with help from Catherine Kennedy, dredged up...

The Safety Net/Better dork than dead (05/18/07)
I look like a dork. I know it. I've accepted it. I'm 48 and going bald, which is an almost inherently uncool combination. But I also bring it on myself. Every morning I shove a ridiculous-looking bicycle helmet on my head and peddle right out in public, providing free entertainment to anyone who happens to get a kick from such a sight...

The Safety Net/Seeing school through immigrants' eyes helps teachers help students (05/04/07)
Late last fall I attended a professional development session hosted by the Marshall Public School District. The session was led by Kansas State University education professor Tonnie Martinez and was designed to help teachers better understand and respond to the challenges that result when an increasing number of their students speak little or no English. The title of the session was "Help! They don't speak English." When I arrived, I walked up to an Hispanic-looking woman and introduced myself...

The Safety Net/More, please! Democracy depends upon letters to editors (04/13/07)
I owe a big thanks to Dennis Gessling and Whitney Kerr. They are two of the key players in the fascinating controversy springing from what appears at a quick glance to be a conflict over how to manage the co-existence of pig stink and historic towns...