"That'll get me into Greensburg," he announced sarcastically.
The joke earned cautious laughter from the other members of Kansas Mutual Aid, an anarchist collective that organizes anti-war protests, tends community gardens and advocates on behalf of prisoners. The group was about to pull away from the Solidarity Revolutionary Center and Radical Bookstore to spend Memorial Day weekend in central Kansas, removing debris from the EF-5 tornado that chewed through Greensburg and spit out its contents across miles of surrounding fields. The week before Memorial Day, Strano and four others were escorted out of the ravaged city limits and told they'd be arrested if they returned.
Joe Carr, a member, says the group mobilized after the May 4 storm. Unlike countless church groups and individ- ual do-gooders, Kansas Mutual Aid approached the disaster from a political perspective. Its members were concerned about residents' human rights and civil liberties in a newly militarized city. They worried about the location of the prisoners in the county jail. And they predicted an inept state-run cleanup.
On May 12, four KMA members drove to Greensburg to survey the situation. Carr says the relief activities were incoherent, but the heavy police and National Guard presence reminded him of his trip to Fallujah, Iraq. As the four Lawrence residents walked the streets looking for work — one of the women with a shaved head and the men wearing long hair — a squad car from the Johnson County Sheriff's Department followed them.
Soon, they pitched in to help an elderly couple clear soaked furniture from their flooded and mildewed basement. "On our way out, they said, 'Thank you so much. Come back and bring 50 more,'" Carr says.
The next week, they returned to a less friendly reception. They rolled through the police checkpoint and headed to a makeshift government nerve center — a small area surrounding Greensburg's brick courthouse that was packed with police cars from around the state, Federal Emergency Management Agency campers and white trailers that housed the temporary City Hall and municipal services. That's where relief workers were supposed to coordinate with the disaster officials — and it's where the four were confronted by Ty Moeder, an officer with the Olathe Police Department.
KMA members claim that Moeder told them to take their hands out of their pockets and move to a side street to avoid making a scene. Moeder said they were a security threat because of their affiliation with anarchism. With a dozen law-enforcement officials backing him up, he told them that they were not welcome in the city and would be arrested if they came back. After Moeder took pictures of their vehicle, the group was escorted out of Greensburg by five squad cars with lights flashing.
Sgt. Mike Butaud, spokesman for the Olathe Police Department, didn't deny the interaction but declined to comment on the incident. He referred questions to the Kansas Attorney General's Office, saying the OPD was "taking a backseat to the state."
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It is just so sad that the people from the KMA feel the way they do about Bill Roenbaugh. I had the privilege to get to know him and his wife, and believe me you would not find kinder, nicer people anywhere! They might be the wealthiest farmers in the community, but have you ever thought that they might have worked, and worked hard, for everything that they have accomplished. It is also a known fact that he is always willing to help any of his neighbors in need. He is not just helping them, but helping them to be able to help themselves. Maybe this group of people should think twice before they start judging people! When a tragedy like the Greensburg-Tornado hit it affects everybody that was hit by its destruction. Does not matter if you are rich or poor. Think twice before you guys start judging!!
It is just so sad that the people from the KMA feel the way they do about Bill Roenbaugh. I had the privilege to get to know him and his wife, and believe me you would not find kinder, nicer people anywhere! They might be the wealthiest farmers in the community, but have you ever thought that they might have worked, and worked hard, for everything that they have accomplished. It is also a known fact that he is always willing to help any of his neighbors in need. He is not just helping them, but helping them to be able to help themselves. Maybe this group of people should think twice before they start judging people! When a tragedy like the Greensburg-Tornado hit it affects everybody that was hit by its destruction. Does not matter if you are rich or poor. Think twice before you guys start judging!!
I don't think anyone's saying the rich farmer shouldn't get help - just that he's at a better advantage to get help than smaller, poorer farmers. Also, keep in mind that AmeriCorps referred Kansas Mutual Aid to him, and who knows how many others they may have referred? Being a large-scale farmer, he's sure to be a large part of the local economy, and the local government may be particularly eager for him to get back up on his feet.
Small farmers are often forgotten in situations such as this - even though they're also integral to local economy.
I don't think anyone's saying the rich farmer shouldn't get help - just that he's at a better advantage to get help than smaller, poorer farmers. Also, keep in mind that AmeriCorps referred Kansas Mutual Aid to him, and who knows how many others they may have referred? Being a large-scale farmer, he's sure to be a large part of the local economy, and the local government may be particularly eager for him to get back up on his feet. Small farmers are often forgotten in situations such as this - even though they're also integral to local economy.
While I do not condone what the police did by rejecting help it did serve one purpose though. They wanted people to be leaving Greensburg residents included. The amount of rain they got after the tornado made nearly everything unsalvageable. So the longer Ma and Pa were there trying to save rainsoaked things the longer before the heavy equipment could come in and clean up. As for helping a rich farmer, yes 10k acres is a lot and a farmer can make good money at it. You also have to take into account that with advance in farming machinery 3 or 4 skilled farmers can take care of all that ground. So regardless of how much money they had how are they going to get that ground cleared? They were still part of the tragedy the storm still hit this guy's farm. To say he shouldn't have gotten help isn't right. Thing is people truly don't realize the expanse of land out there, and the fact that a ton of debris from the town was just deposited out in these fields. All farmers rich and poor need assistance.
While I do not condone what the police did by rejecting help it did serve one purpose though. They wanted people to be leaving Greensburg residents included. The amount of rain they got after the tornado made nearly everything unsalvageable. So the longer Ma and Pa were there trying to save rainsoaked things the longer before the heavy equipment could come in and clean up. As for helping a rich farmer, yes 10k acres is a lot and a farmer can make good money at it. You also have to take into account that with advance in farming machinery 3 or 4 skilled farmers can take care of all that ground. So regardless of how much money they had how are they going to get that ground cleared? They were still part of the tragedy the storm still hit this guy's farm. To say he shouldn't have gotten help isn't right. Thing is people truly don't realize the expanse of land out there, and the fact that a ton of debris from the town was just deposited out in these fields. All farmers rich and poor need assistance.
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