4A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
IRAQ
MONDAY. NOVEMBER 21. 2005
In this photo provided by CBS, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld speaks outside the studio after appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation" in Washington on Sunday.
Karin Cooper/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
No withdrawal yet
Rumsfeld says troops still making progress
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Sunday made no promises for a significant withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq next year, sticking to the Pentagon's longheld assertion that field commanders will decide when to begin a military drawdown.
Citing the Dec. 15 elections in Iraq, Rumsfeld said troop levels would remain near 160,000. Depending upon conditions, troops then would return to pre-election levels of 138,000 as planned, he said.
Debate in Congress over when to bring troops home turned bitter last week after a decorated Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., called for troops to leave Iraq within six months. Republicans called Murtha's position one of abandonment and surrender.
Rumsfeld, appearing on Sunday news shows, suggested that talk of an early withdrawal encourages insurgents.
"The enemy hears a big debate in the United States, and they have to wonder maybe all we have to do is wait and we'll
win. We can't win militarily. They know that. The battle is here in the United States," he told "Fox News Sunday."
U. S. troops, the defense secretary said, believe they are making progress in a noble cause. Yet, he said, the debate over leaving immediately may make them wonder "whether what they're doing makes sense."
"We have to all have the willingness to have a free debate, but we also all have to have the willingness to understand what the effects of our words are," he said on ABC's "This Week."
BY JOHN HANNA
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOPEKA — The dust storm around the State Board of Education these days isn't really about evolution, sex education, a top administrator's credentials, the books assigned in classes or school vouchers.
Many topics ignite fights
BOARD OF EDUCATION
It's about trust, or a lack of it.
It's about Kansans who talk of "government schools" or worry over what an "education industry" is doing with their children.
Those Kansans now have a sympathetic majority on the board setting policy and running a department that consumes more than half the state's general tax revenues. A $3 billion-plus enterprise is in the hands of people who question whether educators pay enough attention to parents.
Many superintendents, principals and teachers could face a winter of discontent, but some Kansans who feel they've been treated like outsiders are satisfied.
"I'm thankful that we have school board members who respect the value of parental involvement and input," said Renee Herman, an Overland Park parent who pulled her two children out of Blue Valley schools amid an ongoing dispute regarding books on student reading lists.
Others see a board controlled by amateurs whose political ideology causes them to reject the advice of seasoned professionals.
"It's all about undermining professionalism," said board member Bill Wagnon, a Topeka Democrat who's on the short end of the board's 6-4 philosophical split. "It's all about attacking expertise. It's medieval."
Its evolution debate garnered international attention. Last week, the board adopted new science standards that treat evolution as a flawed theory.
For months, the board has been a headline-generating engine.
Another fight involves a proposal to require school districts to get a parent or guardian's written permission before enrolling a student in sex education courses. Most districts now assume a student will be enrolled unless a parent objects in writing.
Last month, the board voted 6-4 to hire Bob Corkins as education commissioner, although he's never had any experience as a teacher or school administrator. Beyond that, Corkins lobbied legislators against increases in education spending, and advocates school vouchers and other measures designed to spur competition.
Then there's board Chairman Steve Abrams' foray into the Blue Valley book battle. He was trying to make a larger point about parents not having enough control, but he said some schools were "promulgating pornography" as literature.
Hundreds of Blue Valley parents have signed petitions objecting to books on the reading list containing vulgar language or sexually explicit material, including "Black Boy," by Richard Wright, and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey.
"The real tragedy in all of this brouhaha at the State Board of Education is that very little of it has to do with providing a world-class education," said Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence.
Educators don't like being painted as unresponsive and note local school boards are elected, just as state board members are. If hundreds of Blue
Valley parents object to certain books, hundreds more have voted to retain board incumbents.
"Most school board members are parents of kids in school," said Mark Tallman, Kansas Association of School Boards lobbyist. "They are accountable in coffee shops on Main Street. They are accountable in church on Sunday. They are accountable at the Rotary Club."
Some Kansans still don't feel well-represented. They see an education system dominated by liberal teachers and administrators.
The Rev, Terry Fox, pastor of Wichita's Immanuel Baptist Church, said perhaps half of its 6,600 members appear to have given up on public schools. The other half, he said, want to fight for more influence.
"I think public education has really become a brainwashing from the far left," Fox said. "These superintendents better realize that they don't just work for the liberals. I think sometimes they've gotten the impression that they own the schools."
Herman said she spent hours volunteering at her children's schools but didn't feel there was a "give-and-take" when it came to their education.
"I believe in public education," she said. "At some point, I want to see the same respect I give the teachers."
There are a few ideas about why conservative Republicans control the board.
Conservatives tend to dominate GOP primaries. Too many Kansans, particularly moderate Republicans, were sleeping in recent board elections. Some say conservatives hide their true intent.
TRANSPORTATION
Helicopter accident under investigation
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOPEKA — An officer finishing his training for the police helicopter unit was injured when the craft he was piloting went down in rural Riley County, authorities said.
Conrad Unruh, 37, a six-year veteran of the force, was listed in stable condition at a Topeka hospital after the Friday afternoon crash, said police spokeswoman Kristi Pankratz.
Pankratz said Unruh, a certified pilot for fixed-wing aircraft, had been training to join the helicopter unit for several months.
The solo flight he was making would have concluded his testing for certification in rotor-wing aircraft.
The helicopter went down in a Flint Hills pasture within seven miles of his Manhattan destination.
The Kansas Highway Patrol said the "aircraft lost RPMs in the rotors, which led to engine malfunction."
The two remaining department helicopters will be grounded until the investigation of the crash is completed, Maj. John Sidwell said.
The police helicopter unit was established in 1971.
One officer died in a crash three years later, and two other officers were killed in a 2000 crash.
A fourth helicopter crash in Topeka, involving a LifeStar helicopter ambulance, occurred in 1998 at Forbes Field.
That crash happened during a routine training flight for LifeStar. The three people aboard that helicopter escaped with minor injuries.
The fatal crashes have raised questions about the unit's future, but authorities decided it was worthwhile.
The police helicopter unit became a subject of public scrutiny again in 2004 after a consultant found the helicopter program was too expensive and suggested an alternative program with potential savings of up to $761,000 annually.
Have you been a good boy this year?
Sam Stone, 4, discusses his Christmas wish-list with Santa and Mrs. Claus on Saturday in front of Martini's Steak & Chip House during the Festival of Lights in Salina. Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, begins the traditional Christmas shopping season.
Rodrick Reidsma/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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