Tuesday, July 26, 2011

County cuts Reverfest funds

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

 

Sedgwick County Manager William Buchanan's budget proposal plans for the county is to eliminate its funding for the Wichita River Festival and the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open golf tournament, according to The Wichita Eagle. The Riverfest received $25,000 in 2011.
It was a general overall payment, not aimed at one event. Wichita now takes up most of Sedgwick County. It’s hard to imagine that paying for the festival is not in the county’s interest.
I’ve complained in the past about the festival being too commercial and the sponsors more interest in plugging their businesses than putting on something tourist can really enjoy. But now it will be even more commercial.
The festival has already suffered over the years. Many events, such as the bathtub races and the sandcastle contests have been eliminated. The festival also brings a large crowd of both locals and tourist to the City. Moving it to June this year turned out be a disaster. It was way to hot for a lot of people. Cutting the funding is just one more punch. How much can they cut from this festival before it becomes a complete fizzle?


Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Fussing over fireworks may cost other’s lives

From

 Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

 

The City of Wichita plans to put in another phone line for people who call 911 during the Fourth of July, because of calls by people complaining about fireworks being used near their homes. This will be only for the Fourth, according to the Wichita Eagle.
According to The Wichita Eagle, the emergency lines were fully staffed, yet many people got a busy signal. What really comes to mind is who really needed help and who just wanted the cops to harass some young person for LEAGALLY firing of firecrackers near some old fogy’s yard?
Sometimes fireworks might cause an emergency. There might be a serious injury, a fire on someone’s yard or house. There are also the usual calls that 911 gets such as heart attacks or strokes. But all of these were put on hold because a few stuffy adults simply didn’t like fireworks. Some people believe their piece and quite or the aesthetics of their neighborhood talk presidents over REAL emergencies. They are self-absorbed-egotist who have no respect for the traditional fireworks that were part of this country’s first Independence Day celebrations.
Here is a suggestion for their phone number next Fourth of July. They can call: IMA-JERK.

 

Friday, July 01, 2011

Fireworks on the Forth are a tradition

from

, Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner


For years Wichita has banned fireworks. The “over-safety crowd” decided they were too dangerous. People set them off for years and when the couldn’t by them legal, they went out of state or out of county.
Bottle Rockets have been illegal for decades in Kansas. But many people bring them in from Missouri. Some people make their own fireworks. They may use black or smokeless powder bought from a shop that sells gun loading equipment. Others use match stick heads. These aren’t the best explosives, but they do make a bang.
According to The Wichita Eagle the city could enact a firework ban sometime this week if the drought conditions continue. The fear is justified. It doesn’t take much to start a prairie fire. But people are already buying the fireworks now. Do they really believe no one will light them because of a last minute ban?
Fireworks have been a tradition of Independence Day for the last two centuries. Who is seriously going to try and stop than now?

According to Wikipedea,fireworks were used to celebrate the fourth as early as1777. On that day thirteen gunshotswere fired, once at morning and again as evening fell, on July 4 in Bristol, Rhode Island. Philadelphia celebrated the first anniversary in a manner a modern American would find quite familiar: an official dinner for the Continental Congress, toasts, 13-gun salutes, speeches, prayers, music, parades, troop reviews, and fireworks. Ships were decked with red, white, and blue bunting.