Sometimes a job is just too easy and Gov. Sam Brownback has a chore this week that shouldn’t be much of a stretch.
He’d looking for places in western Kansas that illustrate the drought.
From the front yard at Cedar Crest, that might be tough.
From any location much west of Salina, not so much.
His staff announced he was going to tour Morton, Stevens and Seward counties.
That’s fine.
They are probably dry.
As long as the state staffers understand that the rest of the center of the state is withering, too.
The governor is taking Agriculture Secretary Dale Rodman and Water Office Executive Director Tracy Streeter along with him and that’s a good idea, too, because farmers who still have any crops to save are going to need their help — and soon. They need action while there are still crops that can be helped.
There are some things our state officials cannot do. They cannot make it rain.
But they can offer what help is available to everyone who is being hit hard, and a good start is to get an accurate idea of just how expansive this drought is.
That will take more than a three-county tour.
— Chuck Smith