On July 25, 2008, the Dodge City Area Women's Chamber of Commerce prepared and served the lunch meal to 32 volunteers at the Habitat for Humanity home being sponsored by Koch Nitrogen in Greensburg.

I am lucky in many ways. One way I'm lucky is my children don't listen to music I hate. Oh, sure, there was a time I was forced to listen to insipid children's music when we went on car rides to Grandma's house. There was a Barney tape (remember the purple dinosaur) I would have paid to have ground into barely visible dust by an 18-wheeler on the turnpike during one trip to Missouri. But since they outgrew that stage, it has surprised me what they choose.

    "It is common sense you do not put a cesspool in an area around five churches, medical facilities, businesses, homes and our brand-new largest school. This will discourage any growth in north Dodge City. Wake up, commissioners, and put the water treatment facility elsewhere."

    "This is as to the headline Aug. 20 'City votes to buy land': Why do our commissioners always want to buy first and decide later? $1.55 million is one hell of a chip to pay for if there's a better place to put it. The only thing more despicable is calling $1.55 million 'a starting point.' What's more, the city didn't vote, didn't get to vote."

True Dodge City values, where are yours?
    I realize the actual process of the casino is in true effect of becoming a reality and that my words are probably past due time, but I still have an opinion and concern for our city and our townspeople.
    As a family beginning our journey on raising our children in a city we do love, I question all of you where the values are when approving a casino for the sake of tourism or the so-called “pleasure” of gambling, or for those that can justify putting hard-earned money down a machine for a quick thrill.
    Many concerns have been brought over time about the safety of our children in the school district or during the summer. Well, for one thing, these children need outlets, and where are they? Where are the activities for the family in gambling? Not mine.

In selecting Sen. Joseph Biden as his running mate, Barack Obama gains some needed foreign policy expertise but loses some credibility. If Washington is as bad as these two say it is, was Biden a contributor or an enabler during his six Senate terms? If 36 years in the Senate doesn't make you an "insider" and part of the problem, what does?

It's a common happening to read the instructions on a box, a can or a guide. Some are as difficult as flying a kite with no wind, but many are as easy as making instant coffee. On a lot of cans, it says, “Just add water.” That sounds as easy as opening a faucet. However, manufacturers don't trust us, the customers, since they have to make the can the size of the water you are to add.

 Last year we sent a company of 120 SpecOps Marines to Afghanistan, where their patrol was hit by a suicide bomber and ambushed. Twenty minutes after the attack, the media-savvy enemy began broadcasting false stories that the Marines had killed 10 civilians, contrary to the testimony of the Marines.

The Kansas Preservation Alliance is the statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the heritage of Kansas. We would like to respond to the Aug. 12 article regarding the reuse of Hennessy Hall.
    We certainly applaud the community for seeing the value of reusing this historic building. Reusing this building will keep tons of debris out of the landfill; the cost of demolition can be applied to renovation; historic buildings can be retrofitted for energy conservation; the craftsman’s skills that were part of the building of Hennessy Hall could not be replicated today; the energy used to manufacture and transport materials for a new building will be saved.

If you’re already concerned about the level of civil discourse in American today, you shouldn’t watch a video now circulating on YouTube of two debate coaches “discussing” an issue earlier this year in Wichita.
    The heated and profanity-laden argument was between two debate coaches, one from the University of Pittsburgh and the other from Fort Hays State University. (Note to Kansas legislators: Kansas University isn’t the only state institution that occasionally has a faculty-related controversy.)
    The Fort Hays coach drew special attention because during the course of the argument, he chose to emphasize one of his points by dropping his shorts and exposing his underwear-clad behind to the Pittsburgh coach. It is a jaw-dropping moment but hardly the most offensive part of this video.

Could the power of the people do more to snuff out smoking in public places?
    One leader of a Kansas community that was out in front on the issue thinks so.
    Speaking at a recent Kansas Health Institute forum, former Salina city manager Dennis Kissinger said a citizen-initiated referendum process could be used to force public votes in cities without the restrictions. State law allows citizens to petition governing bodies to adopt an ordinance or put the issue to a public vote.
    The tactic hasn’t emerged as a way to enact smoking restrictions in Kansas, although a petition drive by opponents of the smoking ban in Garden City failed to gain steam.