Letter: Concerns ignored

Thursday, August 5, 2004

To the Editor:

I'm writing this letter in regard to the article in the July 22 issue of the Chieftain entitled, "Council puts final touches on ‘05 budget."

I will be a sophomore at Bonner Springs High School. I was very displeased to hear that the City Council is going to take $15,000 set aside for state park equipment and instead use it on improvements to Kerry Roberts Park!

Now I know this may seem a little crazy, but I really don't think anybody pays much attention to what the kids of Bonner Springs want. If they do then they're certainly not on City Council, although there is one exception, John Helin. For instance, he stated in the article, "It was my opinion that a skateboard park would get more use than playground equipment." Council member Amber Sechrist, Ward III, said the parks and recreation commission does want a skate park, but she thought putting equipment in Kerry Roberts Park was higher on their priority list. She meant exactly what she said, higher on their priority list and no one else's (unless you're over the age of 65).

You know, when a friend calls me up from out of town and asks me what there is to do in Bonner, I get really confused and start pacing back and forth. After about 10 minutes of intense thinking, I say "Hey! We could go do some drugs, or if you don't like that we can do something destructive, because I seriously can't think of anything better." Heck, this town would be a blast if I was a senior citizen. I could wake up and go eat breakfast at the Dairy Dine and talk to all my friends (something I've been doing quite a bit lately out of extreme boredom). Then I could go and play some pool and talk to some more friends at the Senior Center, located in the community center. After that I could take a trip to the good ol' Dairy Queen and pick up a tasty desert right before I head out to hear the City Band play down at Kelly Murphy Park. Granted, a very fun evening, but not for the average 15 year old.

Don't get me wrong, I love senior citizens. I mow my great-grandma Barton's lawn every week and had another grandmother live in my house for roughly six months while suffering from Alzheimer's disease. I visit her often now at an Alzheimer's home. I just don't think it's fair that they have about two to three times more things to do than the youth in this town.

If this were any other city, such as Shawnee or Olathe with booming population increases, they would have taken the $15,000 set aside for the Kerry Roberts Park and put it in the skate park fund. Honestly though, I'm tired of riding for 45 minutes in the car to another city just to do something fun. This isn't just about the skate park though, take the proposals into consideration. On one side we have a $3.4 million pool, pretty nice facility, but nothing that would stand out from any other area city's "nice" pool. On the other side we have a $5.4 million facility that is quite superb. Pretty expensive, but it's a pool that would stand out from the rest. All I'm saying is why not build something that would make people want to stay in Bonner to have a good time without the use of drugs or alcohol. Just GO BIG OR GO HOME!

I understand the City Council has tried to get something for the youth to do, like the YMCA for instance. That was a step in the right direction. You have also applied for a grant from the Tony Hawk foundation for a skate park and got denied, but whatever happened to the saying "try, try again?" Look, I don't care if this town wants to stay a little hick town with nothing for the youth to do, but I'm packing my bags, leaving, and taking all my friends with me.

Zack Mackey

Bonner Springs High School Sophomore