| Today's Feature
Kellogg Lake Public Meeting.
The Kellogg Lake/Spring River
Development Board has scheduled a public meeting
this evening at 7 p.m. in City Hall. The Board is
seeking input from members of the community as
they develop an overall plan for the development
of the area into a nature conservation area open
to all.
Board member Jackie Boyer
reported to the City Council last week that the
group has obtained its not-for-profit status and
is exploring ways to improve the area.
The Council approved initial
plans for a lake side covered structure to be
built on the southwest shore of Kellogg lake. The
structure will protrude about four feet over the
water. Ed Grundy, who has been instrumental in
improving the condition of the lake area, told
the Council that no City funds would be needed to
complete the project.
The Council has also approved
the seeking of grants to develop two of the
lagoons just south of the lake into an outdoor
classroom. Various wetland grasses and plants
will be part of the project.
The Development Board has also
considered ways to improve the area know as
Walnut Bottoms.
Letter to the Editor
Opinions expressed reflect those of the writer
and not necessarily those of the Mornin' Mail.
Dear Editor,
I am writing this to bring to
the attention of many senior citizens a program
that the State of Missouri has set up to help
many low income seniors purchase their
medications. If you sign up for the program the
state will issue a prescription card that will
help pay for medications. The sign up date for
this program has a very small window of time. It
is from April 1st to May 30th. The program will
start July 1st, 2002.
Seniors over the age of 65 that
are single and the income does not exceed $17,000
per year or seniors married with an income not to
exceed $23,000 are eligible for the plan. I urge
all eligible seniors to fill out the necessary
forms to apply.
Please contact your local Area
Agency on Aging office, Senior Citizens Center or
call toll free 1-866-566-9316 for more
information. I will also be more happy to help
qualified individuals fill out the application.
Please take advantage of this
program. Too many seniors must make the choice
between eating properly or filling prescriptions.
Donna Harlan
Citizens Advocacy Council
(417) 246-9712
(417) 359-7848
Commentary
Martin
"Bubs" Hohulin
State Representative, District 126
This week we sent the last of
the budget bills over to the Senate. The last
measure we voted on was whether or not we needed
to take money out of the Budget Reserve Fund,
otherwise known as the Rainy Day Fund. This
measure required a two thirds vote and barely
received a majority, let alone two thirds. This
was an important victory for fiscal
responsibility. The Rainy Day Fund was
established to take care of real emergencies like
the floods of 1993 and 1995, not the runaway
spending policies of the Carnahan and Holden
administrations. If we had dipped into the Rainy
Day fund to pay for ongoing programs, we would
have had to get it repaid within 3 years with
interest. That would have put the state in the
hole to start with for the next 3 years.
One thing this budget year has
demonstrated is exactly how many people are at
the public trough. There was not a day that went
by where we didn’t get at least a dozen
emails, calls, or letters asking that we not cut
a particular program. I found out about programs
that I never knew existed this way.
I firmly believe there are core
functions of government. Roads, law enforcement,
care of the mentally retarded, public education,
and the penal system are functions that come to
mind as essential services. Over the years there
have been literally hundreds of programs added at
the state level. While there is usually little
question that these programs benefit someone, the
question does still remain as to whether these
should be functions of state government.
There are limited sources as to
where taxpayer money comes from. There are only
so many taxpayers and businesses in the state
that can have more and more tax dollars wrung
from them.
On the other hand, there seems
to be no end to the line of outstretched hands to
receive those tax dollars. What is particularly
frustrating is that when the providers of these
tax dollars finally balk at paying more and more
in taxes, they are labeled as the bad guys.
The time has arrived for the
revenue producers to have equal footing with the
revenue consumers. Hopefully this budget cycle
has weeded out a few of the revenue consumers.
As usual, I can be reached at
House Post Office, State Capitol, Jefferson City,
MO 65101, or 1-800-878-7126, or
mhohulin@services.state.mo.us for your questions,
comments, or advice.
CAPITOL REPORT
by Steve Hunter
State Representative
District 127
Is it raining? Is it pouring?
How long have we been snoring? The hot topic of
the week has been the defeat of the bill that
would have allowed the use of funds from the
Rainy Day Fund. If you watched the evening news,
chances are you witnessed several viewpoints on
this. Those of us who voted against this have
been labeled as mean-spirited and irresponsible.
We have been accused of denying funds to every
needy individual in this state. The rhetoric was
great as we debated this bill for two hours. When
the vote was over, I don’t think that it was
a surprise to anyone that it did not pass.
I guess that some people did
not want to believe that this bill would fail.
Since last year we have known that there was a
problem, and in simple terms, according to
revenue projections, there is more going out than
coming in. I could write forever about how we got
there, but we should step back and learn from the
past and not dwell on it. As the budget left the
House, it was $53 million short. Another problem
lies in the fact that over $100 million was spent
counting on new legislation that raised taxes,
and it looks like this legislation will not pass
out of the Senate. Now the budget will go to the
Senate. They will work it over, and in the end
there will be a balanced budget sent to the
Governor. There will be some cuts and there will
be new programs that will not get started. Not
everyone will get what they want. The pie is only
so big, and while everyone will get a piece, it
might not be as big as they would like. I have
said it before and I will say it again, we have
to live within our means. This state has had good
times and bad times and it will continue to
experience this. It is no different than our
households or our businesses. I think everyone
understands this.
My greatest fear with using the
Rainy Day Fund is that we will have a true
emergency and we will not have anything to fall
back on. I think it is very irresponsible to use
up our safety net. Some people will disagree with
me on this and probably criticize me for not
using this money. I truly believe that we have to
adjust our spending and get it in line with our
income. Using the Rainy Day Fund just puts off
our problem until next year and then makes it
worse, because we have to pay back what we have
borrowed within the next three years.
One option that no one brought
up was a general tax increase. Please don’t
think I am proposing this, because I am not. I
think everyone over here knows that the public is
not willing to pay more taxes; at least that is
what you tell me. I can’t remember the last
time I got a letter that said "please raise
my taxes so we can have more government
services."
State Law says that by May 10
the Legislature must present the budget to the
Governor. In the next 30 days there will be a lot
of shouting, but I believe we will meet our
obligation.
As usual, I can be reached at
(573) 751-5458 or at Room 103 BB, State Capitol,
Jefferson City, MO 65101, or by email at shunter@services.state.mo.us if you have any questions or comments
or ideas.
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