Note: The Lawrence Times runs opinion columns and letters to the Times written by community members with varying perspectives on local issues. These pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Times staff.
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How sad to see a city like Lawrence, that we’ve always looked at as progressive and in touch with the needs of those who call Lawrence home, even consider such a move as to place the Prairie Park Nature Center on the chopping block.
We were there recently with an elementary-aged friend and had a very enjoyable time in the center and on the trails. In addition, a summer camp was in progress for elementary children. What fun it was to see how those kids were involved in so many outdoor activities. Yet, we read “least aligned with the City’s strategic plan” in the Times story. What?
We drove from Paola to Lawrence having heard good things about Prairie Park just to spend the morning at this nature center. And from there, we went to lunch in the city! “Least aligned?” To have a nature center and beautiful trails within the city limits? And want to give this all up? And with no real plan as an option — just possibilities? The City of Lawrence is far better than this!
Kevin and Diane Gray, Paola, Kansas
More Community Voices:
Letter to the Times: City should create oversight committee to guide pool renovation project, rebuild trust
”Our petition’s 1,764 signatures, our supporters’ 75 letters, and our research into the extensive flaws in the (pool renovation) community engagement process all indicate that the previously proposed plan did not reflect public opinion,” Holly Krebs writes in this letter to the Times.
Shawn Alexander: Say his name – Fred Harvey Smith (Column)
”Racial violence has been omnipresent in American history, and in far too many of the incidents, the perpetrators of the crime are acquitted or not even brought up on charges. When I think of such cases I am often haunted by the heinous murder of Fred Harvey Smith here in the land of John Brown in May 1936,” Shawn Alexander writes in this column.
Letter to the Times: Are veterans’ sacrifices for democracy worthless?
”My father (Navy), mother (Army), and many other family members served our country in World War II. … They gave of themselves, in countless ways, to stop the spread of authoritarianism, suppression of freedoms and tyranny of the many by the few,” Sandy Sanders writes in this letter to the Times.