Commissioners - Hear us Citizens!

[Army_of_One]

Another interesting not in our survey...Boot Hill is one of the least important but think about how much money (tax payer) they get.

I'm sure these issues pretty much mirror how the community feels. Isn't it funny though that we elect people that have almost the opposite agenda. The things you hear about now are "downtown revitalization", "boot hill" and all the crap that isn't on the top of people's list.

Are our city leaders THAT far out of touch?

[Army_of_One]

Originally Posted by Bubba

Looks like Illegal Immigration is the number one topic so far. If we take care of the Illegal Immigration problem, it will have a "trickle down" effect on a number of other issues.

I believe that also Bubba. Why revitalize downtown or promote tourism when the city is overrun with illegals. If you shut the vault door to the bank and force them to self deport to Texas or some other illegal friendly state (like OK did) THEN you can start on other projects like revitalizing downtown and promoting tourism. Hell, the schools might even be a little better in the long run.

People won't come and bring their family here when the crime is out of control, the taxes are high and the schools suck. No matter what you do to your downtown or whatever.

[Clueless]

Originally Posted by Army_of_One

We can take surveys, send emails, call, write letters but the bottom line is that if you are not illegal, who cares about you. We keep paying higher and higher taxes for less and less service's. The crime gets worse, the schools get worse, we get more illegals, we have more DUI's than any other city, lots of rapes etc...and what do we get for it....Commissioners that say it's a FEDERAL problem.

OK Army - I hate to be the one to advise you of this, but...you're getting too close to the truth and because of that you are a threat to this community. As a consequence, you are hereby reassigned to Wichita where there is little chance you'll ever do this again. Sorry, goodbye.

[ksgrainman]

Wichita will NEVER be the same, hope they are preparing for AOO arrivial !!!!!

[Made in the USA]

By the way AOO. Once you get to Wichita, your horizons will be expanded. Because in Wichita, you not only have "Mexican" illegal immigrants, you also have Vietnamese, Cubans, Somalians, Muslims, and all kinds of assorted leaches!!

[hoarsewhisperer]

~cool Poll Tee!~

[Wildcat12]

I am reading what members are writing about. The top issue being illegal immigration. When discussing this issue, members have stated that they (illegal immigrants) are overcrowding our schools. I am also reading that members have very little respect for teachers in our school system. When 76% of classrooms are hispanic & a good portion of those are illegal, how do the members of DB justify the lack of respect for teachers when they are dealing with this type of situation? The administrators put pressure on the teachers to teach to the test & those that buck that demand get into trouble. Teachers are not allowed to retain students unless the administrators give the okay. Then the parents have to give the okay. Most of the illegal parents don't show their faces in the school & don't support their child's education. I know that there are some bad teachers out there, but that doesn't mean that most of them are bad. My best friends are teachers & I listen to their frustrations with the system & the community's disrespect for them daily. Knowing this, please explain why DB members dislike the illegal immigration situation & still have little respect for the teachers of Dodge City. The teachers are dealing with it every day & are still trying to Leave No Child Behind. (I know it is NCLB.) And they are doing it with students who don't give a hoot.
Okay...I'm off my soap box. I am not trying to razzle anyone; just trying to gain an understanding.

[Detector]

Our schools have become nothing more than government funded daycare centers/Detention centers. I'm not buying the excuse that they're at the mercy of the Administration. They don't have a problem standing up to Administration when it comes to Creationism in the classroom. They didn't have a problem standing up to the Administration to protect the right for a student to ware a I hate Bush teeshirt.

I saw just this morning on the new about some student punished in school for drawing a picture of a cross. Don't tell me teachers have no power.

Every parent I know, not just a few, but EVERY parent I know would rather their kids went to school elsewhere. Mostly because of this really stupid No Child Left Behind idea, but some feel they're not getting the education their kids should be getting.

What I see happening here is the typical scenario of most organizations that are funded by the government. The government opens the publics wallet leaving it open to be taken advantage of. Our schools adopted the "more is better" or "production line education" gaining access to more public money, while putting good education on the back burner. Now, due to public outcry about the lack of good education, the government is closing the public wallet and the schools, like ours, that were taking advantage of the open public wallet are going to be in trouble.

Our schools have filled up with the kids of illegal immigrants who can barely speak any English slowing down the education of American kids all for a few dollars more. We just keep building more schools for production line education, and the time to pay the piper is coming.

It's all part of the clampdown on illegal immigration, and those who embraced it will suffer the most. Unfortunately, tax payers suffer for the schools systems lack of foresight. But it's not just the schools that stand to suffer

Cause & Effect

Greed has led to not only our schools drop in quality, but local businesses as well. As the immigrant population exploded so did local business, and in the process quality of life took backseat to $$$. Once the immigrant population reached and past critical mass, immigrants began to setup their own shops drawing the majority immigrant population to spend their Pesos there. As the money flowed out of the city and country, local businesses started to dry up. At this point quality of life becomes more important than the money, and those same people who embraced the new money, which has now dried up, become outraged and demand "Change."

I don't think it's coincidence that the locations suffering the most from the housing market are also the one who have adopted stricter immigration policies. You talk about people just walking away from homes, it's easy to do when you bought it under false documentation in the first place. Why pay high rent when you can buy a home and pay a much cheaper monthly mortgage and just walk away when you're ready to leave?

The Fat Lady is approaching the microphone. If Kansas passes stricter immigration laws like the other states, Dodge city is poised for economic destruction as a sanctuary city. If Kansas were to pass a bill like the one in Oklahoma we would be economically devastated, and thats why our city refuses to address the immigration issue. Our only salvation will be the casino.

[tlkelsay]

Illegal immigration is the number one concern of many in our area as shown by this poll. I personally have taken a much stronger position on illegal immigration since my brother was killed by an illegal this past September...he was killed by a 30 year old Hispanic female driving the wrong way on a divided highway...she struck my brother's small import car with a Dodge 3/4 ton PU and killed him instantly. Since this event I have personally discussed the issue of illegal immigration with Senator Roberts and have written Speaker Neufeld and Senator Huelskamp on more then one occasion concerning pending immigration reform. I also emailed every senate committee member in regards to SB458. All this has made me feel a little better but I ain't sure it has done much good...SB458 was watered down to nothing and the House bill was likewise diluted. And the beat goes on and more illegals pour in every day. Just this past week 3 Hispanics driving a SUV with Finney County tags ripped off a beer truck in broad daylight in downtown Cimarron. Happy ending to this little escapade...a local citizen called 911 and the KHP and Gray County SO captured the thieves a few miles west of Dodge. Their vehicle was impounded and I think two of the thieves ended up in jail. Heard one of the two males showed evidence of having been shot three times in the past...both of the males had been on probation in the past and the third party to the crime was a female...nine month PG and due any day! Strange folks we have in our midst these days isn't it? And would it have been nice if the arresting officers had the authority to question the thieves' immigration status and promptly put them on a southbound bus if they were illegal? I used to think that our little corner of the world was nice quiet place to live, but often wish I was far removed from it now. Yet the feds, state and local officials can't get off their collective asses and get meaningful immigration reform enacted! For shame!

[Tee]

A lot of people, especially other Mexicans will use the word "racist" to describe person who dislikes illegal immigration. We tend to blame illegals for all sorts of things; crime, lowering education stats, etc. Well I believe it's not about race- it's about the type of people that come to the United States.

When I was 13, I lived with a foster family, yes they were Mexican. I learned to speak Spanish. I've been to Mexico 7 times, one time was for nearly three months. I lived with a family of Mexicans near Monterey Mexico. I've seen and lived their way of life and their traditions. They are extremely similar to us. They wear suits, have nice houses and drive nice cars. The have good educations, have good jobs and eat out on a regular basis. The well-to-do ones stay in Mexico making a life for themselves and their family.

Now, there are the ones that come here- they are different. They are the uneducated, poverty stricken, lower class citizen that blames the system for their lack of prosperity. They are the criminal, the drug dealer, the lazy that are looking for a quick buck. They are the bottom of the barrel.

Mexicans (in Mexico) are laughing at the Americans for taking out their trash. I heard it many times while I was there. They credit us for cleaning the crap out of Mexico.

So you have to understand a few things. The picture we get of Mexicans is not accurate because we see only the lowest of the lower class. The issue is not a RACE ISSUE, it's a CLASS ISSUE.

The problem that is facing the U.S. is how to deal with an onslaught of uneducated, lower class, poor influx of people who care nothing about the rule of law, and come to milk the teat of the American entitlement program.

Yes, the illegal immigration issue is an important issue. And yes "they" cause a lot of problems here in the U.S. But not because they have brown skin. It's because they are the extreme lower class escaping another country with dreams of a "get rich quick" opportunity.