When I drove over to the Miami County Veterans Memorial site to cover the dedication of the new Miami Combat Veterans monument on Memorial Day, I kept wondering if I would find anyone representing Osawatomie’s home-grown heroes. As it was, three men who grew up in Osawatomie and had gone off to war – Ray [...]
I finished the last century by attending the 1999 Iowa Summer Writing Festival or at least spent a week there to, well … write. More importantly, I went seeking readers and reaction to my scribbling. And came home wanting to do the same thing locally. But first, a story: Four years before, I had taken [...]
By Kevin Gray How would you answer the following questions sent by the Kansas Association of School Boards to all the public school districts in Kansas? What do Kansas public schools currently offer that promotes intellectual, educational, vocational and scientific improvement? My answer: How about a wide ranging set of classes and programs taught by [...]
Last Friday, I noticed more semi-trucks loaded down with brand new cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks destined for dealerships and prospective buyers. I thought to myself, “Alright, things must be looking up in the economy,” but, then, a few hours later I read a February Kansas job-losses story in the Topeka Capital-Journal. The highest losses [...]
Kevin Gray The other day, my fortune cookie read, “Life is never more fun than when you’re the underdog competing against the giants.” How true. Growing up a Democrat in a Republican household taught me about being the underdog around giants. No matter what the topic, whether Nixon or Vietnam, I didn’t have a chance, [...]
By Kevin Gray Last week, I noted how Governor Brownback and Kevin Gray actually saw eye-to-eye on the need to develop a plan for working on job creation. He proposes forming economic summits across the state chaired by his cabinet members; I see a need for nonpartisan job creation councils but nixing his one-sided [...]
By Kevin Gray When I read the other day about how community colleges in Kansas are bursting at the seams, I realized what young people are facing. Seniors will graduate from Kansas high schools in May, community colleges will continue to swell and the state’s colleges and universities will release their hopeful grads to a [...]
Kevin Gray A few weeks ago, I posted my Philmont Scout Ranch group picture taken in 1967. Almost 15, I found myself in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northeastern New Mexico, along with ten other Boy Scouts, one leader – all of us from Virginia – and our guide, an Explorer Scout. In the [...]
By Kevin Gray I still can’t believe it, but the recycling program L&K Services started in Paola is a cinch! Before I go on, I need to say, it really helps if you already do a little recycling at home. You know: paper products, plastic, cans and glass. This, we’ve been doing at our house [...]
Kevin Gray “Spend the money on the lower grades, and we won’t have the problems we have to deal with in the upper grades,” I used to tell my colleagues and administrators over my 30 years as a high school English teacher. “The way we spend money is turned around,” I used to harp, meaning [...]