More bus routes

When I read The Capital-Journal, I was shocked that Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority adopted this new "loop" route for southwest and west Topeka. I have been trying for years to have Topeka Transit extend or develop routes into the south part of Topeka.

There are likely to be many people who would be thrilled to receive bus service in Montara, access to the Target Distribution Center or just get closer to Forbes Field and Pauline. It's a pain to walk from where the southern-most point of the South California No. 8 route is now next to the Ed Bozarth dealership.

All it would take would be for Topeka Transit to extend or run another line on Topeka Boulevard south of S.W. 38th to S.W. 57th. I would run a line to S.W. 77th for folks going to the races, Sports Car Club of America, Pauline or the Target Distribution Center.

My point is to quit looking at the west part of Topeka and concentrate on east and south Topeka as well for development and connecting outlying areas back to Topeka.

NATHANIEL JACKSON,

Topeka

Let Kansans decide

Kansans have worked hard to ensure that we have access to the best health care possible. This includes prompt payment of claims, controlled limits to premium increases and health care for everyone in a group --- even those with pre-existing conditions.

However, the legislation that has been proposed in Congress (S.406 and HR. 525) to exempt Association Health Plans (AHPs) from state regulation could change all this. These plans are intended to create health care options for small businesses by allowing them to band together and buy insurance in the same manner as a large corporation.

This sounds like a good idea until you start looking closely at the fine print. By allowing AHPs to form across state lines, they wouldn't be regulated by state laws. Kansas law says insurers must offer important benefits such as mental health services, mammography and cervical cancer screening, well-child care, diabetes education, supplies, testing and many others.

Kansas law also ensures that protections are made so that consumers and providers aren't left with unpaid claims, and that bills are paid in a timely manner. Premium increases are regulated, as are the terms by which individuals can be excluded from health insurance coverage. Most importantly, it allows you to fight claims that have been denied.

The AHP legislation proposes scaled-down benefits at a discounted cost, but the cost of excluding preventive services and protections afforded by Kansas law to consumers is of great concern to the Kansas State Nurses Association. We, along with more than 1,300 groups nationwide, believe that health insurance should be regulated at the state level so that the needs of Kansans are determined by Kansans and not ruled by federal legislation. Kansas Sens. Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback need to stand behind the needs of Kansans and oppose this legislation.

JANICE JONES, president,

Kansas State Nurses Association

Other changes

While everyone has been focused on the evolution debates, few noticed that microbiology, botany, zoology, human anatomy and developmental/reproductive biology have been dropped from the high school science standards.

With new emerging diseases, from SARS to bird flu, patient knowledge of disease agents is more critical than ever before. Current Kansas science standards highlight "the basic biology, diversity, ecology, and medical effects of microbiological agents, including prions, viruses, bacteria and protists."

In a state severely affected by the international fear of mad cow disease, Kansas has been one of the few states to include "prions," the agents of mad cow disease, in the science standards. The proposed new standards remove microbiology from high school biology.

As an agricultural state, plant biology is central to the livelihood of many rural Kansans.The new proposed standards have struck botany from the secondary biology curriculum. If adopted, our road signs may soon read, "One Kansas farmer feeds 129 people who neither understand how nor why?"

Coursework with animals is a major motivation for students to go into medical fields or veterinary science. But the new standards eliminate zoology from high school biology.

Kansans have a long-standing relationship with animals, from pets to parks to hunting to rodeos to our county fairs.

Most Kansas biology teachers take field trips and have students study plants, diseases and anatomy. All of that is ignored in the new standards. This isn't the time to downsize the biology standards, a serious mistake that may occur if we remain distracted by the evolution debate.

Concerned teachers and citizens should send comments to Diane DeBacker, Kansas State Department of Education, 120 S.E. 10th Ave., Topeka, KS 66612-1182

JOHN RICHARD SCHROCK,

Emporia

TV helping

Several years ago, someone referred to television as a "vast wasteland," a statement with which I heartily concur.

Lately, however, there has been a plethora of news about obesity and the debilitating effects on the folks who are plagued with the problem. In defense of TV, it should be said that they may be trying to help those people with the result that graphic pictures of obese people seem to fill the screen. It may be necessary to change what we say about TV, from a "vast wasteland" to a "vast waistland."

RONALD MARTIN GRAY,

Topeka

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