Bidness as Usual
Contract labor: This is to correct misinformation reported by Joe Miller in “Secret Warrick” (June 13). He infers that Newspaper Electronics Corporation was awarded a contract due to procedural errors by the low bidder, World Wide Technology. The procedural error was actually a response by that firm which did not comply with the technical specifications of the bid.
Of nine bid responses received, only three met the specifications as mandated by the district. Instead of eliminating the nonresponsive bids, the board of education rejected all bids, resulting in no contract award for the procurement.
Miller is wrong to infer that a contract award was made to Newspaper Electronics Corporation because of a friendship between Lee Barnes and myself. Minimal review of the public bid files by the reporter would have avoided this misstatement of facts.
Kelvin W. Perry
Newspaper Electronics Corporation
Kansas City, Missouri
Ratted Out
Come clean: Regarding Allie Johnson’s “Oh, Rats” (June 6): I am so sick and tired of these organizations that try to put blame on a computer or being lost in the cracks of whatever instead of admitting they just screwed up! Sometimes they’ll try to put a little of the blame on the person who’s being affected by this situation.
People go to these organizations for help, and this is what they get. There is no excuse of any kind for that living environment, especially when the person has been making some phone calls to get something resolved for her and her kids. HUD should be embarrassed.
I hope Kim Smith gets a nice place for her and her kids with no extra tenants involved. I really wish people would sometimes just admit straight out they were wrong.
Angela Ortiz
Kansas City, Missouri
Can’t fight the system: I just read Allie Johnson’s article regarding the rat-infested Section Eight unit. I thought that the article was good; however, I thought that I would point out some items regarding the “certification system” portion.
The system she refers to is properly called the Section Eight Management Assessment Program, or SEMAP for short. Although the certification submittal is generated internally by the Housing Authority of Kansas City staff, the certification is thoroughly reviewed and scrutinized by the HUD field office before it is officially approved and released to the public. The HAKC must be able to immediately produce backup data and furnish all documents regarding the validity of our submittal upon request from the federal government or from HUD.
Once the certification is approved, it is then reviewed by an accredited, well-established independent auditor hired by the HAKC. So, as you can see, this is not a “self-awarded seal,” as printed in the article; rather, it is awarded by HUD after all of the information has been carefully reviewed and approved by multiple parties.
Peter A. Reeves, Executive Assistant
Housing Authority of Kansas City, Missouri
Black Days
The kids are all right: Regarding Casey Logan’s “Oh My Goth” (May 30): I work at the Barnes and Noble where many of the goths referred to in Casey Logan’s article hang out, and there are some things to remember:
Point A: Most of the goths around here are under the age of twenty — i.e., they’re kids.
Point B: The goth subculture in this aspect is pretty much a rite of passage, a part of growing up, a phase. One that many of them will eventually grow out of. Goth is not only a means of expressing oneself but also a way of making sense of the world around you. Once a goth becomes comfortable enough in his or her own skin and no longer needs goth to define his or her own personality, is that person necessarily a goth any longer?
Point C: They’re not hurting anyone! For the most part, the goth contingent are decent people. Will conducting some kind of study serve any other purpose than to gawk, point and say, “They look scary and act different, therefore they must be bad”? Sounds like a waste of a large sum of money.
Name Withheld Upon Request
A Graves mistake: My mother brought me Casey Logan’s article, since I could be considered “gothic.” I read it with great intent to get pissed at someone, knowing that the entire “gothic” culture is highly misunderstood. But I want to thank him for executing such a great article and telling the truth about it.
I don’t go around cutting myself, wearing all black or frequenting cemeteries. My wardrobe consists of huge pants and a pair of boots with spikes in them. I’m not violent, although I am highly opinionated and will share my thoughts with anyone who wants to know. I feel that Representative Sam Graves is just asking for the “goth kids” who are still in high school to get their asses kicked a lot more than the usual, as well as being harassed, ridiculed and picked on. I see no politician targeting the jocks, who did more drugs than any other group in my high school, nor the preppy chicks for continually making themselves throw up. He’s targeting this particular culture on the sole belief that since most of us go against the “mold of society,” we should be made even more of an outcast.
It was made clear by the people you interviewed that not all of us are “satanic worshippers that are out to get your pretty Abercrombie kids.” It is very much appreciated on my end.
Keila DeSanto
Kansas City, Missouri
