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SPECIAL TO TRACY'S BLOG

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:03:35 GMT

(from my workplace ~Tracy)

Keener shares his humor with young professionals

By Anna Fry

Parsons Sun

A sign on Walter Keener's office door says "Humor Resources." From Keener, that's what you get.

Keener spoke Thursday evening about the importance of humor in the workplace at the Labette Community College Cardinal Cafe, an event sponosored by Parsons Young Professionals. He has spoken nationally and is human resources director at Power Flame.

Keener told humorous personal anecdotes and used props to convey his message.

"We all have jobs that are stressful to varying degrees," he said. The important thing is how people handle that stress.

"Stress is very hazardous to us," Keener said.

Stress increases blood pressure, causes fatigue and releases adrenaline. It also saps creativity.

"If we can have humor, if we can tackle things with laughter, we can remain creative," Keener said.

Laughter helps the digestive and immune systems, decreases blood pressure and releases dopamine and endorphins.

"Those are two drugs that don't show up on the drug test," Keener said. "I like those."

Keener gave everyone clown noses to wear while they shared in small groups what stresses them. Most laughed.

"How in the world do you get through days without a clown nose?" Keener asked.

For his final analogy, Keener passed out little bottles of bubbles. After instructing everyone to blow bubbles, Keener told them to avoid the bubbles and not to let the bubbles touch the floor.

Like the bubbles, it is impossible to avoid troubles and stress in life, he said.

The second time people blew bubbles, Keener instructed them to pop them. Laughter followed.

"There are some things you just don't need to take seriously," he said.

While laughter is important, people should not relegate themselves to being class clowns or court jesters, Keener said. The bubbles that were out-of-reach represented the things people should strive for. Keener encouraged the crowd to find big things worth time and energy.

"That's what people will remember you for," he said.

The Sun and The Tribune to be sold

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 14:53:28 GMT

The Parsons Sun and The Chanute Tribune have been put up for sale by their owner.

The sale announcement was made to employees at both newspapers this morning. Hutchinson-based Harris Enterprises Inc. owns both newspapers, along with six other newspapers, two shopper publications and a marketing company.

"We have always been heavily invested in newspapers and will continue to be," said Bruce Buchanan, president of Harris. "However, we will use the proceeds of this sale to diversify our interests."

Harris has owned The Chanute Tribune since 1927. It was the second newspaper in the Harris group. The Tribune publishes Tuesday through Friday afternoons and Saturday morning. Harris bought the Parsons Sun in 1982 from the late Clyde Reed and other stockholders. The Sun publishes Monday through Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

Buchanan said he doesn't know how long it will take to find a buyer and to transfer ownership.

"These are great communities, and the two newspapers do a superb job of covering them," Buchanan said. "But, we know this will be unsettling for our employees, so we hope it will move quickly."

Darren Werth, who was named editor and publisher of both newspapers early this year, said he does not contemplate any changes in the two staffs other than through normal turnover.

"We still have to produce newspapers," he said. "We have good people in place. I have confidence they will not allow this announcement to distract them."

Buchanan said interested buyers should contact Dirks, Van Essen and Murray, a Santa Fe-based broker, which will handle the sale. Phone number is (505) 820-2700.

Oz to storm stage

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 18:39:36 GMT

By Colleen Surridge
Parsons Sun

The Parsons Municipal Auditorium came to life Thursday night, somewhere between Kansas and the land of Oz.

Munchkins bustled back and forth through the front rows of seats for costume adjustments. Trees made sure apples were clinging to their branches in preparation for throwing, and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, sat by the aisle, tapping Scarecrow's stuffing with her wand as they chatted before dress rehearsal.

The Great and Powerful Oz disappeared into the rafters above the set of a small farm in Kansas, as a pig-tailed Dorothy adjusted her cordless microphone at stage left.

"If you're a director in Kansas, at some time, sooner or later, you have to give in and walk the yellow brick road," said Parsons High School drama teacher/director Ruth Kindall of bringing the classic "The Wizard of Oz" to the stage.

Through all her years of showcasing Parsons' young talent on stage, when it comes to the "The Wizard of Oz," she candidly admits: "I have avoided it like the plague."

Her No. 1 reason may not be what people think.

"When MGM Grand released 'The Wizard of Oz' in 1939, the special effects then amazed everyone. On stage, the questions arise of, 'How do you do a tornado? How do you get people to fly?'

"It's so scary because everyone knows Oz and has expectations and I didn't want to disappoint them," Kindall said.

Attempting to meet the public's expectations of the Oscar-winning musical has been difficult.

"It has been a challenge, but an exciting challenge," Kindall said.

"We found out it would cost us $6,000 to fly a real student, so we're not doing it. If people think we are going to spend $6,000 to fly a student, they have another think coming," she said. "And the tornado took us four weeks to make in drama class, building and rebuilding it. It took more than 50 yards of fabric. Unbelievable.

"And on make-up, we could have spent a fortune alone. The teachers at the schools have been great about pitching in. I think we have cleaned out every make-up drawer in town. If there was a spare lipstick or blush in town, we've got it."

While the challenges to recreate the classic have been plentiful, Kindall said, "It has been such a beautiful effort. This show exemplifies the cooperative effort it takes. We even had parents step up and fix lunch for 100 kids, so the support has been unbelievable."

The cast was selected and rehearsals began the second week of school. Students have given up every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday to practice.

"We have a cast and crew of 100 and a dog," Kindall said. "We have 30 munchkins, and 23 of those are middle school and elementary school students. The cast goes all the way from kindergarten to 18. Considering the size of the cast, crew pit orchestra and a dog, over 150 costumes, and an uncountable number of set pieces and props, more stuff flying in and out than we've had in any production, and our first time for using computer-generated special effects, things are going great."

As in the original production, a number of students are playing multiple parts.

"We have some students making six costume changes," she said. "First they're a tree, then a poppy, then an Osian, then a jitterbug, then back to a poppy ... . You get the idea. It has definitely been a challenge."

Kindall said she believes the public will be pleased with the product of all the work.

"We're so excited to have a pit orchestra again," she said. "We've not had a pit orchestra for some time, but thanks to the new high school orchestra teacher, Mrs. Becky Grotts, and the new band teacher, Mr. Seth Roach, they have helped us put together an excellent pit orchestra. It is exciting again to use all the fine arts in a performance and give them another place to showcase their talents."

The orchestra, directed by Jim Kindall, will play the exact same musical scores from the original movie, she said.

Dorothy Gale will be played by Allison Brewer, Aunt Em by Shelby Cruz, Uncle Henry by Tyler Keal, Zeke by Jon Lenati, Hickory by Justyn McWilliams and Hunk by Nick Palmer.

Morgan Taylor has been cast as Miss Alimira Gultch, the Wicked Witch of the North, and Haley Dhooghe as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North.

Professor Chester Marvel, the Wizard of Oz, is played by Adam Small. The Scarecrow is played by Austin Clift, the Tin Woodsman by Charles Gross and the Cowardly Lion by Michael Walker.

And Toto, is played by Lola, owned by Doug and Vicky Rike.

Performances are scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9 and 10 at the Parsons Municipal Auditorium. Tickets are $3 for adults and $2 for students.

"It's the cheapest show in town," Kindall said.

SPECIAL TO TRACY'S BLOG

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 11:35:06 GMT

Daley authors another book on Katy Railroad history

By Colleen Surridge

Parsons Sun

John Daley has completed another book on the Katy Railroad and has another in the works.

Some might have assumed his writing about the Katy ended because he moved away three years ago, but such is not the case, he said.

He and his wife, Kitty, moved to Kansas City to be near family and for specialized care for Kitty, who has Alzheimer's.

Daley, 88, said he was unable to care for her himself. His son and daughter-in-law encouraged them to move to Kansas City, where she could get specialized care, and he would have them for assisted living support.

The move from lifelong friends was difficult, but seeing Kitty slip away from him was almost more than he could bear.

"I got very blue. Depressed," he said.

He stopped writing.

His daughter-in-law, Karen, helped him refocus on his passions of writing, the Katy Railroad and Parsons.

Daley began his career with the Katy in 1936 as a 16-year-old messenger boy carrying typed and handwritten messages from the noisy telegraph office out of the second story of the old Katy Depot. In 1939, he became a mud hop, keeping track of railroad cars in the yards, walking and writing their names and numbers on clipboards, sometimes in rain and snow. He later became a chief yard clerk, an assistant to the yardmaster, the person responsible for train traffic in and out of the Parsons' train yards.

In the late 1990s, with the help of his wife, Daley began to compile rosters of former Katy shop and roundhouse employees and pictures from the bustling days of the Katy Railroad. He compiled the information into a book he sold, the proceeds from which were donated to the Iron Horse Museum. Former employees, their children and grandchildren all responded so well that he wrote another, and another, and another.

He began working on a fifth book - a roster of all the employees who worked for the Katy, not just in the shops.

"It has about 8,000 or 9,000 names so far of all the folks that worked there," he said.

With Kitty ill, his work on the book ended.

Although Kitty no longer helped him with the new book, Karen stepped forward and encouraged Daley.

"She's computer-wise, so they got me set up with a computer here," he said.

"I am still working on it," he said of the fifth roster. "And I've written some other things besides the books, like a pamphlet about my days in the service. The kids love it."

With him writing again, Katy Days committee member Mary Hughes had another idea for him, which he was able to complete.

"The year 2008 will mark the 100th anniversary of the Katy shops opening in Parsons. Mary wanted to go with that theme for a book," he said.

Daley went to work, compiling the names of employees who worked in the mechanical department, which included the shops and the roundhouse.

In the finished book, "Katy Days '08 Special: 100th Anniversy Parsons Katy Shops," Daley writes: "The names were extracted from Katy Memorial Roster Number 5, which I never got to complete because of my wife Kitty's illness. The names from book number five were researched by C.J. Charley Forbes and myself."

He said he strayed a lot from the theme, including some pictures and information surrounding the history of the Katy.

"Of course, my generation is about gone, but the new generation still likes to see all this," he said.

So far, Daley said copies of the book have been sold at a recent Katy historical society meeting in Oklahoma City, and he made a dozen available to someone working in Union Station in Kansas City.

"It's really special. It lists the names of 2,000 or 3,000 people that worked in the shops and roundhouse, and it lists some of their crafts. Of course most of their crafts are long extinct. There is also a picture of the guys working in the shops the last day before they were shut down," he said.

Rather than the proceeds from this book's sales going to the Iron Horse Museum, the proceeds will go to Katy Days.

Daley has returned to Parsons each year for Katy Days, except for last year when he had to go to Texas to attend a grandson's graduation. He hopes to attend again this coming year and share with others the rich history of the Katy Railroad.

"I really miss Parsons," he said. "It's such a wonderful place."

For those interested in obtaining a copy of the book, Daley said he believes they are for sale at Bleacher Gear. The cost is $20.

Daley said he also hopes to finish one or two other books he is working on.

"I had a quadruple bypass in 1994, and a stroke a year or so ago. It has slowed me down, but I'm still hanging in there," Daley said.

"I'm fascinated with Union Station here in Kansas City," he said. "Ever since I was 8 or 10, I would go up to see the stage shows at 12th and Main."

Then when in the service, along with so many other servicemen in the 1940s and 1950s, he traveled through Union Station on troop trains headed in all directions.

"It was the crossroads to everywhere," he said. "I'm going to write about that. It's really historical, and a lot of us remember it. It was the last place we got to see before we headed out to war."

SPECIAL TO LONGHORN

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 18:58:52 GMT

Water rights office to open in Parsons

Office staffed by environmental scientist

By The Sun Staff

Water rights holders in the area can now save the gas money a trip to the Division of Water Resources field office in Topeka used to cost them.

An extension office will open Monday at 300 N. 17th in Parsons, according to a Kansas Department of Agriculture release.

Public information officer Lisa Taylor said water rights holders now have to conduct business in Topeka, by telephone, mail or Internet. Sometimes, a sit-down meeting is more efficient, she said.

"This satellite office will make our services more accessible to water right holders in this area," said David Barfield, acting chief engineer of the division of water resourcess.

The office will start with one environmental scientist. Ultimately, the division of water resources hopes to add an engineer from the water structures program, Taylor said. The water structures program regulates man-made structures and activities that change the flow of streams.

The satellite office will offer water right reviews, compliance checks, field inspections, well monitoring, water rights education and help with water rights applications and water use reporting.

Because the office will be staffed with one scientist, appointments are encouraged.

Call 421-2697 to schedule one.

SNOB HILL UPSETS SILO TECH PARENTS, VERSION 2.0

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 19:22:35 GMT

Parsons Sun

Questions continue to arise about school buses from other districts entering Parsons USD 503 to pick up and drop off students.

Last month, Parsons USD 503 Board of Education stopped an Altamont USD 506 bus from entering the district without permission to pick up students at various stops on the Parsons State Hospital and Training Center campus.

Parents reported that the bus has been making the stops for anywhere from 11 to 20 years, and that the district denying them access would place their children in situations where they would be waiting at other bus stops for up to 45 minutes without protection from the elements.

The Parsons board said it had never been made aware of the situation until recently, but USD 506 had never sought permission to enter the district for general pick ups and drop offs at those locations. Parsons gave Altamont a week to address the situation.

Since that meeting, calls have come into the district office and the Sun to report buses from other districts picking up and dropping off students in what appears to be USD 503 territory, or questioning if the district has a double standard by allowing some buses in and not others.

Superintendent Deborah Perbeck said a number of buses from other districts have permission to enter the district to pick up and drop off students from the two alternative schools at the PSHTC and Lincoln Elementary, which has a special program for students who are hearing impaired.

"That is really the only instance," Perbeck said of other schools being given permission to enter the territory. "Any type of special programs where schools are needing to transport kids in to attend is the only situation we are aware of."

Students come from as far away as Iola and Independence to attend the two schools on the PSHTC grounds and come from surrounding towns to attend Lincoln Elementary.

"Because so many districts do come through, unless we are made aware of other districts picking up or dropping off students at other locations in the district, we don't know about it. And we don't go out to look for people violating our statute."

With the district's boundaries zigzagging, there is confusion by many people about what is inside the district and outside.

For example, First Christian Church on Southern Avenue is in Altamont USD 506 district, while a block away on Southern sits the Parsons district office, inside USD 503 territory.

"It can be confusing," Perbeck said.

One of the most frequent reports coming in is of USD 506 buses dropping off students on the east side of 32nd Street, which is in the Parsons district, rather than the west side, which is USD 506 territory in most places. Last week, it was reported a USD 506 bus picked up students in the morning on the east side of 32nd Street at Appleton, which is USD 503 territory.

If someone has questions about where the district territory begins and ends, Perbeck said maps and written descriptions of the territory are available.

RIGHT TO WORK STATE

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 18:24:38 GMT

This is my place of employment. Since I'm not part of any of this, there's no need for my comments. I've been management and union both, so I'll just say I've been through all of this before. Votes, strikes, decertifications, local changes and even changing unions altogether. I quit the union(s) ten years ago and never went back. Since then, I've always negotiated my own wages, hours and conditions. I like it that way. ~ Tracy

By Colleen Surridge

Parsons Sun

Union membership in the United States continues to decline and at least some employees at Power Flame are considering the possibility of following that trend.

On Saturday, those working at Power Flame came out after their shift to find two papers attached to every vehicle.

One paper asked, "Do you wonder what it would be like without the Union? If Union free does not work we can vote it in again in one year. Signing this petition only allows for the decertification vote and Gives Power Flame the right to tell us how it would work in a union free environment. Don't you at least wonder?"

The second was a petition to the National Labor Relations Board to hold a decertification election to determine whether the majority of employees of Power Flame want to be represented by the Steelworkers Union.

Should Power Flame workers succeed in passing the decertification, they will join the ever-growing trend of those moving away from union representation.

In 2006, 12 percent of employed and salaried workers were union members, down from 12.5 percent a year earlier, the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics reported in January.

It is nearing contract renewal time between Power Flame and the union, and Power Flame human resource director Walter Keener said there are always some undercurrents of dissatisfaction with union representation among some of the employees and emotions tend to rise this time of year.

But, he said, "I didn't think they were unhappy enough to take action."

By law, Keener said, the management cannot tell employees what they would offer versus the union for pay, benefits, vacation days, etc.

"If I were to go in and say we will pay you better or our benefits would be better, it is a violation of the law. Š That's bribery," he said. "If the petition is signed, then we can answer those questions."

Keener said the petition method may reflect employees' fear of retaliation from union supporters. Keener said he understands the fear.

There is a chance the petition will not reach the NLRB in time, he said.

Pointing to a statement at the bottom of the distributed letter, Keener said employees seeking the decertification vote could face a major obstacle of their own creation.

"It says, ŒPlease sign this and give it to a supervisor or leave it at the front desk in care of management,' but management can't be involved. Š The employees probably don't know management can't be involved. If they hand the petitions in to management, then they will not go anywhere, and they will not have them to turn them in," Keener said.

"The second problem is they have to file the petition 60 days before the contract is renewed."

Dec. 2 is the contract renewal date, meaning those seeking the decertification vote would have to have the petitions in Overland Park by today.

In fact, the NLRB states on its Web site: "Generally, under these contract bar rules, a valid contract for a fixed period of three years or less will bar an election for the period covered by the contract. However, in such situations, a petition filed more than 60 days but not more than 90 days before the end of the contract will be accepted and may bring about an election."

So employees disgruntled with union representation may wait three more years to seek a decertification vote, unless a contract is not signed. Keener said negotiations usually move quickly, and the contract is usually signed before the set date.

Should the 36 signatures be acquired ‹ 30 percent of the employees ‹and the petitions be gathered back from management and filed in Overland Park today, the case would be assigned to an NLRB agent for processing. If the region determines that the petition should be processed further, the agent will attempt to secure an agreement of the parties regarding the appropriate unit and the eligibility of voters as well as the date, time and place of the election.

Union membership peaked in the 1950s, when nearly one third of U.S. workers belonged to a union. As unionized industries have closed, automated, or moved out of the country, union memberships have declined.

School District Boundries

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 13:46:12 GMT

Here in USD503, we are only a few short miles in any direction from rural schools who are bussing in most of the kids from farm areas. As long as I can remember, these other schools, mostly Altamont 506, have always had busses come to our town and haul Parsons kids to their schools.

I never have understood this. All this time I thought this was normal and customary everywhere. Apparently not.

I have never liked the fact that they come pick up our kids. It harms our own school system. Don't we get paid by the body count? We are in the process of a major (expensive) school renovation. We need the money!

Furthermore, what the real issue for many area parents is racism. Many of the middle and upper class white parents do not want their precious going to school with those awful black people. USD 506 has a policy that it does not accept "disciplined problemed" students from out of district. This is double-speak for: "We can't admit that we will take your white daughter to try to keep her away from black boys."

Now we are stopping this one pick-up spot, but there are at least 3 or 4 more spots that I know of. I want them stopped also. I commend Dr. Perbeck and the school board for finally taking on this issue!

Parsons school district closes USD 506 bus stop in town

By Colleen Surridge

Parsons Sun

Parents of Meadow View Grade School students who were dropping their children off and picking them up at bus stops on the grounds of the Parsons State Hospital and Training Center no longer have that option, and parents are not happy.

Parent Jeff Sexton, whose child catches a bus to Meadow View at the PSHTC, told the Parsons Board of Education Tuesday that the USD 506 buses have been running that route for anywhere from 11 to 20 years with no opposition from USD 503.

Without the PSHTC bus stops as an option, Sexton said, a number of young children will have to be left at bus stops elsewhere for 30 to 45 minutes, where they will be exposed to the elements, as well as other possible dangers, before their bus arrives.

Superintendent Deborah Perbeck said although it has apparently been going on for years, the district had no knowledge of USD 506 entering 503 territory without permission until the district office was notified last week.

Once notified, Perbeck said a letter was sent to USD 506 to tell it to stop picking up students in 503 territory. She said USD 506 officials asked for a week to find a solution, but no other correspondence has taken place.

Sexton said mature, level-headed adults could surely reach some agreement, until parents could come up with some sort of solution.

USD 503 board member Sam Blubaugh said since 1993 the USD 503 board has looked to the state law that pertains to one district entering another's territory to pick up children.

"Unfortunately, this has gone on without our knowledge," Blubaugh said.

While USD 503 could grant USD 506 permission to enter its territory, as the decision is up to each district, Perbeck said it has remained Parsons' policy for more than 14 years not to allow other districts to cross into its territory.

Perbeck recommended that Sexton, and the other concerned parents he represented, to approach the USD 506 Board of Education about adjusting its bus schedule to work out picking up students from their homes or an alternate site nearby.

THIS IS SCARY STUFF....KEEP THE KIDS INSIDE!

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:47:34 GMT

West Nile suspected as city woman stricken

Daniel Walker
Coffeyville Journal

COFFEYVILLE, Kan.— A Coffeyville woman is in critical condition suffering from what is believed to be the West Nile Virus.
According to family members, 44-year-old Mary Westmoreland began suffering spasms three weeks ago and was rushed to Coffeyville Regional Medical Center where she lapsed into a two-week-long coma. She was transferred to Freeman Hospital, in Joplin, Mo., where test results came back positive for West Nile on Monday.
A spokeswoman for Freeman Hospital confirmed that Westmoreland is in the hospital's ICU in critical condition. Westmoreland's sister, Michelle Bishop, said she remains on a ventilator, is paralyzed from the neck down, but has come out of her coma. "It really doesn't look very good," Bishop said. "It's worse than cancer, at least they can treat you for cancer. There's no medicine for West Nile."
Westmoreland lives in an apartment on Coffeyville's east side, a block from where flooding a month ago left large amounts of standing water in abandoned lots and homes. Center for Disease Control sponsored mosquito traps placed near there on July 25 at Fifth and Pine St. resulted in the capture of 18 mosquitoes that tested positive as West Nile virus carriers. Those mosquitoes– culex pipiens– breed in standing water, like water polluted with organic or waste material and are not good flyers- meaning that they stay close to where they originated. Three other mosquito monitoring stations in Coffeyville revealed no West Nile present.
Symptoms usually develop within 3 to 15 days but Bishop said that her sister's illness appeared to begin hours after a mosquito bite. "She was suffering spasms and her boyfriend took her to the hospital that night. That's where I showed up. I thought she was having a stroke, the way her hands were clenching up. They couldn't find out what was wrong, so they sent her to Joplin. It took them three weeks to test for West Nile. I don't know why they tested for West Nile last, but everyone needs to know that it's here and people are getting it."
Joe Blubaugh, spokesman with the Kansas Department of Health, said he could not confirm or deny the case was West Nile but stated that his department was aware of suspected cases in southeast Kansas. Citing privacy issues, he said he could not state which counties the cases were located. "I can't confirm if this particular person has the virus. There are suspect cases, but nothing confirmed," Blubaugh said. "There are times when it's diagnosed locally, or if it was just diagnosed, we wouldn't have that information. But it wouldn't be surprising."
Blubaugh said that West Nile prevention needs to be dealt with by everyone. "The best way to prevent it is on a personal level, it doesn't take much water for a large number of mosquitoes to reproduce. It's hard for the community as a whole to deal with things like a spare tire in a tree," he explained. "People need to take care of their own property- and help their neighbors, the elderly or infirmed that can't. If there's standing water, pour larvacide in it. Wear long sleeves, especially early in the morning and at dusk."
Symptoms may include skin rash, headache, fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, backache, muscle aches, lack of appetite and swollen glands. Anyone with severe symptoms should contact a doctor.

ANYBODY REMEMBER PAT'S MEMORY PILLS?

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 14:20:16 GMT

Still Waiting for Answers

Surely no one beyond a handful of the most self-deluded Republicans in Congress was surprised at the disclosure by George Tenet, the former intelligence director, that there was never a serious debate in the Bush administration about whether Iraq actually posed a threat to the United States.

It has long been evident that President Bush decided to invade Iraq first, and constructed his ramshackle case for the war after the fact. So why, after all this time, are Americans still in the dark about the details of that campaign?

For that matter, why don’t Americans know the full truth about Mr. Bush’s illegal domestic spying program or his decisions on how to handle prisoners of the war on terror? And now there are new questions begging for answers — about the purge of United States attorneys and about campaign pep rallies in executive branch agencies that might well have violated federal law.

For six years, the Republican majority in Congress ignored the administration’s power grabs, misdeeds and incompetence or, worse, pushed through laws that gave legislative cover to some of Mr. Bush’s most outrageous abuses of power. Now that the Democrats control Congress, they have opened the doors of government in welcome ways. But the list of questions just seems to grow.

We hope Representative Henry Waxman, chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, enforces the subpoena of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss prewar claims about Saddam Hussein’s long-gone weapons programs. Ms. Rice, who was national security adviser before the war, says she has answered every possible question. Actually, we don’t have room for all our questions.

Just a few: Did she vet the briefing Mr. Bush got from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s rogue intelligence shop on Iraq’s alleged efforts to acquire uranium? The Central Intelligence Agency and the State Department thought, correctly, that the report was false. So why did Ms. Rice permit the president to repeat it to the world? Or did Mr. Bush also know what he was claiming was wrong?

The same applies to other claims about Iraq, including a false report about the purchase of aluminum tubes for bomb building, talk of mushroom clouds and fairy tales about links between Iraq and Al Qaeda. When it became clear the intelligence was false, why didn’t Ms. Rice make sure the public found out? Before the war, Ms. Rice was not in a post requiring Senate confirmation, but she is now. If she refuses to testify, the House should hold her in contempt.

It is imperative for Senator John Rockefeller, chairman of the Intelligence Committee, to finish two remaining studies on prewar intelligence that his Republican predecessor, Senator Pat Roberts, had no intention of completing. The first, on the errors made by the intelligence agencies in predicting what would happen after the invasion of Iraq, is expected to be finished next month. The final piece of the report will compare what administration officials said about Iraq with the actual information they had. Both reports are essential for understanding how this country got into this mess. Mr. Rockefeller will have to make sure the White House does not drag out the declassification procedure.

And then there are the questions about the purge of federal prosecutors. There is mounting evidence that many of the eight fired United States attorneys were punished for refusing to prosecute Democrats on phony election-fraud charges. Who ran this purge? And is it true, as it now seems, that others were rewarded for bringing weak corruption cases timed to close races?

For the last six years, the White House has also conducted seminars in each election cycle that certainly seem like an effort to use government agencies to help G.O.P. candidates. Did they violate the law that forbids the use of federal offices for campaigning?

Karl Rove, Mr. Bush’s political “architect,” is at the center of both of these scandals. Congress needs to issue, and enforce, subpoenas to compel him and other top White House officials to testify.

Mr. Bush’s supporters are already arguing that Congress’s much-needed investigations are politically motivated and backward looking. Actually, the baldly political act was the Republicans’ refusing to do their constitutional duty of oversight for the last six years. Mr. Waxman said his panel issued four subpoenas to the Bush administration under Republican leadership. The same leadership issued more than 1,000 subpoenas to the Clinton administration.

As for looking back, Mr. Bush has hardly given up the habit of stonewalling Congress, or shown that he has learned the limits of his power. The war in Iraq not only continues, but Mr. Bush is escalating it and repeating many of the same myths about Saddam Hussein. The country does not need any more myths. It needs answers.