Board Games
Skate of mind: I loved the article C.J. Janovy wrote regarding Kay Barnes (“On a Roll,” October 10). It seems Barnes has a lot of free time on her hands.
I have a thirteen-year-old son who loves to skateboard, and four months ago I told him I would take him and a buddy downtown. I remember when I used to (roller) skate downtown on Friday nights. In fact, I was downtown the night of the skywalk collapse, but hearing all the sirens kept us away.
But now, I don’t know where to take him. He doesn’t like the skate parks. No lights, he says. And I certainly don’t want to have to bail him out of jail. In all of the mayor’s intelligence, I have not heard of an alternative to keeping the skaters out. Or did I miss something?
Tim Smith
Lee’s Summit
Roll with it: C.J. Janovy really nailed it! Love your writing and the magazine — the only local ‘zine in town worth a read.
Chris Broderick
Lee’s Summit
Red Blooded
True to NU: I can understand Greg Hall rejoicing in the Big Red demise (“Big Red Numbers,” October 10). There are very few of the standard Big 8/Big 12 schools that would not feel the same way. For example, MU has not beaten NU since 1978 and has had a dismal program for most of those years. Let me think about why talented players from Missouri would want to play at Nebraska. Is it that difficult to understand competition and winning? Have you ever asked Grant Wistrom why he went to NU? If Missouri or most of the other football programs in the country had anything close to this program, they would have no problem recruiting, especially out of their own states.
NU will make whatever changes are necessary to keep its program on top. (It may take some coaching changes as well as some diversification of its offense.) One thing is for sure: The Big Red fans will not give up on their team, and they will demand excellence. Unlike Mizzou, at Nebraska 9-4 or 8-5 is unacceptable, and even though there is patience among the fans, the NU football-program chiefs know that they will deliver results or they will be gone!
Husker Red Runs Deep!
Don Eichberger
Chesterfield, Missouri
Temple Ruins
Edifice wrecked: T.R. Witcher’s “Temple Tantrum” (September 26) missed several points regarding the resignation of Rabbi Taub and the pending demolition of the sanctuary at 69th and Holmes, considered by knowledgeable experts — including the Museum of Modern Art — as one of the two most important Kansas City landmarks built in the last fifty years.
The major issue is not leadership or staffing. These issues will be worked out over time. The real issue is money and migration.
Over the past fifty years, the Jewish community has migrated from urban Kansas City to suburban Johnson County. Families have departed the urban core to greener pastures, better public education and safer streets. They have relocated near their Jewish health care, senior living center, community center, school and religious institutions.
The most egregious loss is the sanctuary of Temple B’nai Jehudah. This architectural icon has been purchased for $5 million, three times the appraised value. The plan is to build a charter school for 1,000 students on a campus that covers over 170,000 square feet, leveling everything south of Baptist Hospital to 69th Street, including part of Rosehill Cemetery. The sanctuary, located on the southwest edge of the project, is only 6,000 square feet. Informed people, including A.I.A. architects, have looked at the plans and suggested the building can be saved and incorporated in the new plans as a library, auditorium or meeting space. The project architect is firmly against saving the building.
There are no winners here. B’nai Jehudah receives $5 million toward a new $10 million sanctuary in southern Johnson County, but the membership is declining, divided and in disarray. A significantly historic house of worship, which could be saved or sold to another religious group, will be destroyed — 132 years of involvement in the important issues in Kansas City gone without a trace.
John L. Hoffman
Kansas City, Missouri
Religious Studies
Pure prophet: I commend Deb Hipp for an evenhanded report on Mike Bickle, his former church and his present ministry (“Return of the Prophets,” October 10). The description of the controversy surrounding the Kansas City Prophets was also well done.
Until her report, I hadn’t read something as concise, nonjudgmental or critical about their work in Grandview. The Christian media covered it as complete heresy or cultlike or as the definitive move of God. Christian media never really let anyone make up their minds about Bickle. Secular media usually comes down way too heavy-handed against nonmainstream sects within Christianity — especially when they’re charismatic or Pentecostal. And most times, conservative Christians are almost always branded with the dreaded “fundamentalist” tag.
But Hipp’s report on the state of Bickle’s ministry was a real breath of fresh air. Never once did she use the words fundamentalist or ultraconservative to describe their work. She just let them speak for themselves with both the positive and negative encounters surrounding Bickle. This is a real rarity in news coverage on matters of faith, and I like to applaud it and encourage it when I see it.
On a side note, I’m not associated with Mike Bickle in any way. I am a charismatic Episcopal priest in Kansas City who has followed this matter of Mike Bickle very closely with some interest. Now if only the rest of the secular media and the Christian media would take your lead and let us think for ourselves, that would be a real triumph.
Jon Ignatius Lumanog
Prairie Village
