HOLYROOD — A dozen protesters with signs stood outside the Holyrood City Hall on Wednesday, waiting for the anticipated arrival of Sen. Roger Marshall, M.D., (R-KS). About 30 minutes after the scheduled arrival, the mayor told protesters that Marshall’s office had contacted them and canceled the visit.
It was supposed to be a private meeting, and the meeting was going to be disrupted by protesters. I didn’t see any reason to oblige them.Sen. Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS)
The protesters came from Barton and Ellsworth counties. Their signs carried messages aimed at the Trump administration and Marshall, such as “Thank Marshall for screwworms,” “Defund Oligarchs; Fund the People” and “Prison without due process is a concentration camp.” A colorful poster declared, “The only orange Monarch is a butterfly.”
Another urged, “Protect Kansas. Listen to Kansas, not Trump. Vote him out.”
Disappointed to learn the senator would not be there, a protester told the group, “Cancelled. He didn’t show up. Once again.”
“Rodger the Dodger,” another woman said.
‘A private meeting’
Marshall arrived on schedule at Clara Barton Hospital in Hoisington at 4 p.m., where he toured the facility. (See story on this page.) When asked if there was a reason he didn’t visit Holyrood, he answered, “It was supposed to be a private meeting, and the meeting was going to be disrupted by protesters. I didn’t see any reason to oblige them.”
The Hoisington meeting was also private, with no public notice. The Great Bend Tribune was invited to attend that meeting and its sister publication, the Ellsworth Independent/Reporter, was notified of the Holyrood meeting.
Marshall said the reason he planned to visit Holyrood was to look at housing improvements. The community received a $300,000 Community Development Block Grant for housing renovations and demolition to make way for new homes.
“The housing issue is certainly a challenge for every community,” he said. “Again, I try to design solutions so each community fixes it their way. Every year the federal government helps build about 2,000 houses, believe it or not, in the state of Kansas. These grants are centered on local control to figure out the best way to do it.”
