Putting youth athletes on the field in this Kansas City heat wave was irresponsible | Opinion

Soccer hazard

I corresponded with the league director of the Heartland Soccer Association before last weekend’s games asking about heat standards for league play. There were none. I was told that they let parents and coaches decide whether to play or not. My response to this was less than polite.

Sporting KC follows U.S. Soccer guidelines, and many other similar standards exist. It was patently ridiculous for Heartland administrators (as well as parents and coaches) to allow play to continue Saturday and Sunday.

I hope Tuesday’s front-page story “Parents worry as youth sports play on during KC heat wave” brings some changes, and, most important, some sense of responsibility to these league administrators.

- Jeffrey Roitman, Overland Park

Editor’s note: The Heartland Soccer Association sent out email in the evening of Aug. 23 outlining newly-adopted heat guidelines for game play, modeled after U.S. Soccer’s and effective immediately.

Work appreciated

The city workers who remove trees that have fallen since the July storm are our heroes. A big, damaged tree fell across the street a few days ago, and they were here within three hours and hauled it away. There was not even a twig left on the street or the grass.

These crews have been working 12-hour days without a day off for weeks. We owe them a big thanks for their service to Kansas City.

- Jeanette Evans-Hamilton, Kansas City

Big questions

If an all-powerful God fashioned human beings in his image, how come we find such a specimen as Donald J. Trump? And why do about half of voting Americans favor him to be the president of our nation?

Some questions evidently lead to no sensible answers.

- Donald Hoffmann, Kansas City

Words, actions

Has anyone pointed out to Missouri Gov. Mike Parson his hypocrisy? It’s blatant, so I can’t believe it hasn’t been pointed out, but maybe he’s immune to it.

You know, the times he says an inmate — such as a poor person or person of color — has been convicted by a jury of his peers and the punishment is right and proper and should be meted out.

But when it comes to convicted (yes, by a jury of his peers) former Kansas City police officer officer Eric DeValkenaere — well, it appears the good governor doesn’t quite believe the same thing.

For that matter, neither does Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. Bailey, in fact, is doing exactly the opposite, by asking a state appeals court to reverse DeValkenaere’s conviction — a prosecutor asking for a duly delivered conviction to be overturned.

It’s also beyond the pale for Parson to accuse Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker of using the case for political purposes. Yet Parson doesn’t hesitate to do the same thing when it benefits him.

Someone should tap the ol’ guv on the shoulder and let him know not everyone’s as stupid as he hopes most of his constituents and their neighbors are. Some of us are pretty adept at calling malarkey when we see it.

- Lane Sekavec, De Soto

Heat is on

Have you noticed? It’s hot! We just saw the hottest July globally on record. Hawaii is burning; Canada is burning; Greece is burning. Sea ice in Antarctica will not refreeze this winter. Coral is dying off the Florida coast. The southern U.S. is in a sweltering summerlong heat wave.

If you drop a live frog in boiling water, it will jump out. Instead, start it in a pan of soothing cool water. Then slowly turn up the burner until it’s cooked. That’s us, cooked frogs.

We were first warned about climate change in 1896. Congress was told in 1988, and Exxon in 1970. Still, the water feels good while political will is paid for by the fossil fuel industry. Are we frogs ready to jump?

It’s past time to pick low hanging fruit. Turn off some lights, for Pete’s sake. Does every public place have to be as cold as a meat locker? Insist that vehicles used over short distances be electric — mail delivery, golf carts, lawnmowers, forklifts and so on. Replace your lawn with a garden or pollinators. Get local government on board.

We did it, and now we should fix it. Not ready to pitch in? I guess go with “thoughts and prayers.”

- Ron Platt, Overland Park