Sales Tax Referendum
Posted on October 10, 2014 by Ching under Community, Events, Things to Do.
On Tuesday, November 4, Wichitans have a chance to make a difference for our community by voting in favor of the one-cent sales tax to fund plans for water, transit, jobs and streets.
The proposed ballot question is as follows: Shall the City of Wichita, Kansas, be authorized, pursuant to K.S.A. 12-187 et seq., to impose a one percent (1.0%) city-wide retailers’ sales tax to be effective April 1, 2015, and which will terminate no later than April 1, 2020, with an amount not to exceed $250 million dollars of such tax applied to pay the costs for the purchase, development, maintenance and operation of a long-term water supply, with an amount not to exceed $80 million dollars of such tax applied for job development and creation, with an amount not to exceed $39.8 million dollars of such tax applied to support Wichita Transit operations, and with an amount not to exceed $27.8 million dollars of such tax applied for street maintenance and repairs?
- Please visit the City of Wichita web site for more information about the sales tax referendum and also listen to what City Manager Bob Layton has to say about this important initiative.
- Register to vote.
- Vote in advance by mail.
- Vote in advance in person. Look up dates and times here.
- Locate your default polling place here.
- VOTE YES!
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Joyful Noise Twilight Concert
Posted on September 28, 2014 by Ching under Events.
Brian and I had the privilege of attending the Joyful Noise Twilight Concert at Camp Wood YMCA last night. There are few things in this world more breathtaking than the Flint Hills. It was the perfect setting for a concert. Here are some pictures.
Brian waiting for dinner to be served…
It was a beautiful day for an outdoor concert.
This one time at band camp…
The council ring is the perfect setting…
We scarfed up dinner quickly and went to the concert site to scope out a good spot.
Our vantage point.
The weather was perfect and the surrounding view is fantastic.
Have you ever seen a Flint Hills sunset?
Now you have.
Pictures don’t do it justice though.
Brian got some reading done as we waited for the concert to begin.
More people started showing up as dinner service concluded.
There’s nothing like an outdoor concert in one of the most beautiful settings.
Wow.
Fiddler Darol Anger, singer/songwrite Emy Phelps, cellist Eugene Friesen, mandolin player Kenny White, and concert master John Harrison were just a few of the amazing musicians who performed during the concert.
Check out our Facebook page for some of the videos. I highly recommend attending this event next year if you can because it’s simply amazing.
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What is AVID?
Posted on September 28, 2014 by Ching under Life.
I had the opportunity to learn about AVID at Adams Elementary this past Thursday. AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. It’s actually a really cool program. Their mission is close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college and other postsecondary opportunities. The idea is to prepare all students for college and not just some students.
AVID trains teachers to use proven practices in order to prepare students for success in high school, college, and a career, especially students traditionally underrepresented in higher education. It was really cool learning about the students’ planners, three-ring binder notebooks, dividers, pencil pouch. There’s a reason why the school requires all of these things.
The pencil pouch is important because it keeps all of your pencils, pens, erasers, and sticky notes all in one place and always with your notebook. I asked Kira why she didn’t have a pencil pouch in her notebook and she told me the zipper of her pencil pouch broke. We stopped by Walmart on the way home so she could get another one.
I think it’s really cool how they’re teaching students to be organized by using subject dividers, two and three column note taking techniques, and other things. I looked back at my own upbringing and marveled at how I managed when no one taught me these things. I guess I just picked up good habits from other people. When I saw classmates doing something that seemed to work, I would adopt those methods.
Some students may not have the initiative or interest to learn these techniques on their own. Specially if they have challenges at home. They may not have the time or energy to think about these things so it makes sense to teach them best practices. I think it’s great that the schools are taking an active part at teaching students good study habits at a young age so they can be successful in high school, college, and later in life.
I’m glad that my little sister’s school is part of the AVID program. I wish every school would be part of AVID. Click here to learn more or watch this video (or do both).
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What Happened This Week
Posted on September 27, 2014 by Ching under Life.
I got three strikes on the 10th frame on Sunday. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before. With the exception of the open frames, which kept me from bowling a 200-game, I actually did pretty well. I still haven’t bowled a 500 series. That is my main goal at bowling this year.
Apothic Red went on sale for $7.99 a bottle at Groves so Brian got a case. No, we’re not a couple of winos. Only Brian is. LOL.
Our alcohol budget far exceeds our food budget and it’s all because he gets a case at a time. There may not be food in the house but there’s always wine.
I had the opportunity to attend the memorial mass for Tita Sol at Saint Francis. I wasn’t going to attend at first because I had a meeting. However, my meeting got pushed to Thursday afternoon so I was able to attend after all.
There was a luncheon after the mass and I ran into Gina Ann who reminded me about the Party in Pink Zumbathon at Genesis East Central next week. I hadn’t bought my ticket yet because I really wasn’t sure if I could make it. My schedule has been pretty crazy lately and I’ve been super duper busy.
After some thought, I realized that I could squeeze in the Zumbathon before bowling. She was like, you can get your ticket before you go back to work. The church is next to Genesis West Central so it was really convenient. The universe has a way of making sure I’m right where I’m supposed to be sometimes.
On Thursday night I went to Kira’s school and learned about AVID. It’s a great program so I’m going to devote a whole blog entry on that later.
On Friday we had an outing (team building activity) at Color Me Mine. Since we were on that side of town, we had lunch at Bella Luna. I’d never been to the West side location before. Now I’ve eaten at all of them.
We had dinner at Sumo last night in honor of April’s birthday. There are at least a couple of videos on Facebook of Jay eating a huge dollop of wasabi. Dude is insane.
Oh, and Brian took a day of vacation from work to wait for my iPhone delivery. Apparently, they’ve been getting stolen so we had to make sure someone was home. Yes. I know. I sold out. I didn’t want to spend $300 on a new phone before so I spent $800. But, hey. It’s my birthday present. It just happened to arrive early.
Apple quoted us mid-October for the anticipated delivery date, but it actually came two weeks early. I’m not complaining. I’m glad because I’ve had the case for a couple of weeks. It shipped right away and arrived within a couple of days. I got the (RED) leather case because the proceeds benefit the global fund to fight AIDS.
Alright. It’s time for us to go to the Joyful Noise Twilight Concert at Camp Wood.
Until next time,
Ching
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When Life Hands You Lemons
Posted on September 21, 2014 by Ching under Leadership, Videos.
When life hands you lemons, do you make lemonade? Or do you whine and skulk and moan and groan and complain? It’s not about what happens to you. It’s about what you do with what happens to you. No matter what life throws at us, we need to learn to always make the best of the situation.
I had the privilege of seeing Chris Waddell speak at a leadership conference last week. He is an amazing person and his story is truly inspirational.
To me Chris Waddell embodies this John Wooden saying, “Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”
Next time something bad happens or things don’t work out according to plan, resist the urge to whine and complain. Don’t be that annoying, always negative person on Facebook who is always grousing about something. Focus on all the good things and make the best of it. Once you start focusing on the positive, your life will change. I guarantee it.
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