There’s a whole lot to like about the City of Shawnee! The vitality of any city is directly tied to the willingness of its citizens to recognize and act in behalf of present and future needs. The fruits of this vitality can be seen all around us in our Convention Center, new “state of the art” mid school, coming Kickapoo road project, and the new business starts and expansions seen around town. While we can find justifiable pride in our notable accomplishments, we still have some long standing problems that must now be addressed, or which can become more serious and costly.
Repair, preservation, and replacement of worn out high school equipment (roof, lockers, etc.) has become a critical and immediate need. The coming bond issue will address those issues plus provide separate concession and restroom facilities to replace the pitifully inadequate stadium based units built in 1930. The bond issue to be voted on Nov. 10 will run near concurrently with the previous Mid School issue, with both ending in 6 years. The average homeowner will notice just over a $2 per month increase in ad valorem taxes once the issue is approved.
We have an opportunity to add the pride and learning experience of our students this Nov.10, providing facilities that are safe, healthful and functional. Our students represent the future of our city, state and country, and have shown they are worthy of our concern and assistance. This bond proposal, in my opinion, represents conservative action toward badly needed issues, and should be approved.
Ron Gillham
Shawnee
