by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Five Cueball thoughts for Aug. 31, 2013…

1. Casino afterthoughts…

I didn’t cover the Sumner County casino issue as a news reporter so many of the specific details involving the decision of where to place the casino is a bit hazy.

But I do know the county commissioners of the late 2000s and the Wellington city leadership are getting a bum rap on this site’s comment section (see story here). How’s that saying go… hindsight is always 20/20? 

It would have been political suicide for the commissioners at the time to endorse any other location than the one at Exit 19 during the first round of lottery votes.

Remember, the commissioners made that recommendation based on a public resolution passed by Sumner County voters a few years earlier. To do anything differently would be in conflict of the wishes of their constituents.

Also, at that point in time, Wellington was very much in the mix of landing the casino and was putting its best foot forward with a promotional package to the state. Had the commissioners made an endorsement including the Mulvane site, holy cow, they would have had hell to pay from the locals.

When the commissioners made their vote, there was also no indication at the time the state lottery commission was going to turn its back on the Wellington contingency.

It was apparent the lottery commission never intended to place the casino at Exit 19. Had the commissioners voted for a Mulvane site as well as Wellington’s, they would forever be blamed. A recall election would have been imminent.

As far as the Wellington leadership is concerned, let’s get this straight: Had they not taken the initiative to bring a casino here, Wellington nor Sumner County would have ever been in the mix in the first place. And had Sedgwick County voters turned down a proposal to build a casino there, that thing would be sitting in downtown Wichita today — and we wouldn’t be having this discussion here in Sumner.

How the casino came to be at Exit 33 is a fascinating tale. So many players were involved, so many different scenarios played out, so many twists and turns. Anything could have happened.

Someone should write a book.

2. My article…

I knew this week’s Mulvane story would generate interest and reopen some wounds.

But the story was relevant in that it completed a story that has been in play for more than a decade.  Today is payday. The Kansas Star is now in full operation and both the Mulvane and Wellington municipalities are adjusting their budgets accordingly. The 2014 budget was made this month and it will be the first year to reflect the full financial ramification of the casino. That fight for the casino resulted in $3 million to the city of Mulvane coffers, provided the casino continues generating its current state of revenue.

The whole gambling culture perplexes me. I don’t understand why people throw good hard-earned dollars into slots and poker chips unless its for the entertainment purposes only. I’d rather watch a football game on TV. But each to their own.

Still, I don’t bemoan Sumner County’s fight to bring a casino to the area in hopes of providing a little more development, providing a few jobs, and helping with our tax base. Perhaps, it was best the casino ended up in Mulvane. Wellington might have been a different town with the casino in our front yard — a town I would not have wanted to raise my children.

It’s time to focus our attention on attracting other kinds of industry. If we aren’t growing, we’re dying.

3. Collegiate…

I read the Wichita Collegiate football preview in the bird paper, and immediately took my remote control nearby and chucked it against the wall.

How is Wichita Collegiate allowed to do what it does? The Spartans got a couple of transfers from Rose Hill, and an all-leaguer from Circle. Heck, they even stole from another private school. This year’s Spartan quarterback used to play for Kapaun Mount Carmel.

Collegiate bullied its way into the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League, and I’ve heard the school has been actively recruiting a couple of athletes in Wellington.

Collegiate also doesn’t have to worry about transfer rules. If an athlete transfers from say Winfield to Wellington, he has to sit out for a semester because of district boundaries. But you don’t have to at Collegiate because the school has no boundaries. The world is its boundary. So thus, there is no penalty moving from one school district to Collegiate.

I have heard Wichita Trinity, another independent school, is getting pretty aggressive with their recruiting as well.

So who is to blame? Is it the private schools for their aggressive recruiting or the public schools who are such wimps that they let it happen?

4. Facebook page…

The last thing I want to do is encourage people to log onto that godforsaken time-zapping, self-esteem reducing, ignorance-promoting social network website called Facebook – which I tend to be on quite frequently.

But Sumner Newscow has a Facebook business page, and I encourage you to “like” it.

Why? Because if this website is down for whatever reason, you can get an explanation on our Facebook page. Also, it’s a good way to get alerts of the newest stories on our site.

Just log onto https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sumner-Newscow/269583703053013 and give us a like. Stay away from the other stuff though.

5. Shout out of the week…

I’m giving it to that North Dakota State team which came down and beat K-State in its own yard, much to my chagrin.

Craig Bohl

That’s a gutsy, well-oiled machine. If I’m a BCS school looking for a coach, I’d take a hard look at Craig Bohl, the NDSU head coach. He is proof that bald people are the smartest people on this planet.