Thursday,
June 21
It
Takes a Village…
It
has been discovered Topeka is home to an undisclosed number of immigrantchildren who have been removed from their parents. They are being housed at The
Villages, and this may likely be the only location housing these children in
Kansas, Missouri or even the entire Central States area. It is believed the children are between 6 and 14 years of age.
This
post is not about the policy of removing these children from their parents. However,
I will note, even the toughest of immigration border control people I know acknowledge
you can still deal with immigrants without tearing families apart.
Any
area home to these holding centers should be aware of it, and citizens need to know.
It should not be kept a secret. Citizens have a right to know what their
community is being used for.
I
am interested to know if any of our elected officials in the City or County, or
any local officials, had been notified these children were being kept in
Topeka. If so, I am disappointed they kept it a secret. If not, then I haveconcerns about the secrecy of this act by the Federal Government.
The
Villages is accepting donations of items to help with these children. If you
are interested, you can contact The Villages at: 785-267-5900
Friday June 8, 2018
It’s
Time for A City Pass…
It
was announced this week there is a pilot program in which Topeka Metro andShawnee County Parks and Recreation are providing free rides and free admission
to the Midwest Health Aquatic Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays, courtesy of
some sponsors. Topeka Metro is also providing a “Kids Ride Free” program this
summer, the sixth year it has done so.
Ensuring
our youth have ways to be productive during Summer months is essential to their
development and the best way to keep them out of trouble, short and long-term.
City agencies and numerous organizations dedicate resources to Topeka youth every
day.
The
City of Topeka, Shawnee County and our youth and civic centered organizations
need to come together to develop a City Pass. For one affordable price, this pass
would allow those 18-and-under to access numerous services and locations during
the Summer (it could be all year but beginning with Summer would be a good
start).
For
example, for one affordable price this pass would allow someone 18-and-under to
ride the bus, access swimming pools, get into the zoo, use the Discovery Center,
connect to a library card and services, access museums and connect to programs Topeka
youth can use productively during the Summer. This would ensure that many youths
who cannot afford to do many of these things al a carte could do so each Summer
with a City Pass.
This
is not a new idea. Other cities have it and use it successfully.
And
yes, it takes intense coordination between the City, County and services and locations
in Topeka to make it happen. Each will have to make some concessions for it to
become reality.
But
a City Pass is a great way to help guide youth to productive uses of their time
when they otherwise might not have the resources to do so.
