Opinion

Across the U.S., politicians are running campaigns asserting that statewide school closures in 2020 were not only unnecessary but totally useless in stemming the spread of COVID-19. Medical research based on actual records of hospitalizations and deaths in the early months of the pandemic clearly shows that substantially more deaths would have occurred if the schools would have been kept open. This was clearly documented in “Association Between Statewide School Closure and COVID-19 Incidence and Mortality in the U.S.” published in the September 1, 2020 issue of the authoritative Journal of the American Medical Association. Authors Katherine A. Auger, MD and eleven other medical researchers analyzed the extensive data that were pouring in from across the country to answer the question: “Was statewide school closure associated with decreased incidence and mortality for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)?”

Key Words: gubernatorial election, parental involvement in education, transparency, parents’ rights. When asked about K12 education in the last gubernatorial debate between Democrat Governor Laura Kelly and Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the responses zeroed in on “parents’ rights.” Schmidt announced, if elected, he would support a parents’ rights bill. Kelly opposed, having vetoed comparable legislation. Both Schmidt and Kelly were following the lead of their national parties. Republicans made parental rights a talking point in the fall elections and introduced a Parents’ Bill of Rights in Congress. Democrats quickly voiced opposition.

Sooner or later, I suppose, someone is going to get wise to the hidden storyline of “Sweet Betsy from Pike” and demand the ballad be outlawed from the public schools. Generations of children have sung the story of the hardy traveling woman, Betsy, crossing the plains to California. The continental journey is the first obvious theme of the ballad. Children remain innocent of the second storyline, the love theme, of Sweet Betsy, which has a whiff of the illicit. To begin with, “Sweet Betsy” is a number from Put’s Golden Songster, first published in 1858. Details of the life of the author, Old Put, are sketchy, but he had crossed the plains in 1850 and made a career as an entertainer in California, where he would be buried in Greenwood. The audience for the song, however, is certain. “Sweet Betsy” is a music hall song. It was performed for entertainment in houses of amusement frequented by men in the roughand- ready goldfields.

Dear Doctors: I’m a 44-year-old man, and I’m a bit overweight. I’ve been having trouble with what I thought was heartburn, but my doctor says it’s actually something called GERD. How is that different from heartburn? She prescribed medication, but I wonder what else I can do that might help.

After decades as one of America’s most vicious and uncompromising drug warriors -- and three years of promising to become less vicious and more compromising -- US president Joe Biden finally took action.

After recently reading an opinion piece in the Kansan where an individual wrote about how some people should just choose not to vote, I’d like to express my thoughts once again about being an informed voter. Since writing my first opinion piece until today, I have always challenged anyone reading to take the time and study the issues and candidates before voting. Since running for office the first time and now hosting a program called Harvey County Digital Talk where I’ve interviewed various people and elected officials within the community, I’ve always tried my best to inform and encourage people to participate in the process, but also to invest the time it takes to be an informed voter.

Hello, dear readers, and welcome to our monthly letters column. With heat, humidity and wildfires, many of us have been dealing with a summer of extremes. We’re thinking of you, and we hope you are staying safe as we begin the autumn season. We’re very glad to know that recent columns about these issues have been helpful. And now, onward to your letters.