October 7, 2003
ssharp@ink.org
October 7, 2003
Greetings! I hope you all enjoyed the end of your summer, and a GORGEOUS beginning to the fall. For many of you, this is your first edition of The Sharp Record. Please stay tuned!
As many of you know, I turned 28 last week, and have decided that I
should always spend my birthday weekend doing the following
things:
* Lunch with friends at a great 17th District establishment,
Jalapeno’s, and topping it all off with fried ice cream with a tortilla
chip lit on fire instead of a candle!
* Dinner with friends at Joe’s Crab Shack. Yes, I was
properly embarrassed at this humorously tacky eatery.
* Surprised with a cake, cookies, and serenade by 2nd-12th
graders at Midland Academy.
* Having the 97.3 “The Planet” radio DJs wish me a Happy Birthday
and interview me on air at a race event on Friday.
* Eating great BBQ with Shawnee Chamber member Kevin Tubbesing
and his CIO Inc. gang at the Grills and Thrills tent at the American
Royal.
* Walking door-to-door at 70 homes in Lenexa on a beautiful
Saturday afternoon – how could you be inside on Saturday?
And last, but certainly not least,
********Watching the Chiefs beat the Broncos and go 5-0 to start the
season.
Think I can work that into the plans for every birthday?
Fundraiser
Town Hall Meetings
Legislative Miscellaneous
New additions to The Sharp Record
Fundraiser
The “Wine Tasting in the Hamptons” fundraiser went SPECTACULARLY!
Thanks to each of you who attended the event or sent
contributions. John Han, of Fritz Co. Grille in Topeka, was a
great tour guide for the trip through wine country, and innumerable
thanks go to him for making the trek to Shawnee for the evening.
I want to thank Jack Waters and the Hampton Inn, Boulevard Brewing
Company, and the hosts and sponsors of the event:
Hosts: KS Hospital Assn, Butler National Corp, KS Optometric
Assn, KS Beer Wholesalers
Sponsors: KS Medical Society, SBC, KS Home Builders Assn, KS NEA,
Sprint, Glaxo, American Family Insurance, KS Insurance Agents Assn, KS
Bankers Assn, KS Petroleum Marketers, Hein Law Firm
Volunteers: Ward Cook, Shawn Cowing, Britt Huelat
Check out all the new pictures on the website!
Town Hall Meetings
Post Oak Farm and Maplewood have
hosted Town Hall meetings. Lisa Shields and her
brother Ryan VanMeter hosted the Post Oak BBQ. Ryan and I met at
an honors academy in high school, and his sister happened to live in
the district! Small world…
Dr. Cran Cederlind and his wife Cheri
hosted the Maplewood event.
Both events were great grassroots efforts and gave constituents of the
17th District the opportunity to meet with me face-to-face and discuss
the issues. If you are interested in hosting a Town Hall meeting,
all it takes is a couple of cans of pop, some light snacks, and an
address list of your subdivision! Contact me for an easy, fun,
and informative event.
Legislative Miscellaneous
The school finance working group is meeting, but it is
my understanding they are mostly hearing testimony for the
meantime. Additionally, we are all waiting on pins and needles
for the outcome of school finance lawsuits currently pending that would
undoubtedly affect any efforts we make in Topeka. Obviously,
school finance will be the top issue of the session again this
year. Rest assured, it was, and will continue to be my number one
priority issue! My door-to-door this weekend certainly reinforced
the district’s support for full funding of education, and I was
encouraged that so many people were well-informed.
My Commerce and Labor Interim Committee hearings for
late last month were canceled. The next hearings will be November
6 and 7. If you are interested in upcoming interim topics, the
schedule for interim committees are available on this link:
http://www.kslegislature.org/committeeminutes/03-04/interim_joint/interim.pdf
Streamlined Sales Tax Project questions?
http://www.ksrevenue.org/streamline.htm
If you have ideas about bills that should be introduced, the
following is a schedule of dates for the 2004 legislative
session:
http://www.kslegislature.org/commsched/house/hdeadlines.pdf
These links are just a taste of what is to come in the new tools in The Sharp Record for next year:
** Links to upcoming hearings – so you can see what
issues are in committee and get involved!
** Upcoming votes – this will be somewhat sporadic,
many times we do not know about the subject of a vote until minutes
beforehand! But, if there are scheduled votes that are sure to
happen during the next week, I will include them in my newsletter so
you can weigh in personally!
** Activities – what did my Representative do
this week? This will include the legislative events I attend on
your behalf during the week.
5 meetings with constituents
3 Congressional delegation meetings (Brownback, Moran, Moore)
Shawnee Mission Northwest parent’s night
Hardhat tour of Children’s Mercy construction
Tour of Boeing in Wichita
Tour of Vintage Park, Lenexa
Kansas City Women’s Assembly
Johnson County Library Foundation reception
Johnson/Wyandotte County Medical Society legislative reception
Education Rally in Lawrence, Kansas
Kansas Prosperity Summit
Shawnee Mission Education Foundation breakfast
Blue Valley Education Foundation breakfast
Addressed the students at Midland Academy