River Renewal A Worthy Goal

Although I have been away from Salina for 19 years, I continue to keep informed about the many ways the community is advancing. I was particularly happy to see recognition by Business Week Magazine as the best place in Kansas to raise children.

Over the years the community has embraced amenities that are important to the high quality of life Salina residents enjoy and that attract businesses and new residents: the new Aquatic Park, Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure, Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts, the Salina Symphony, Salina Art Center, Smoky Hill Museum, the Bicentennial Center, Kansas Wesleyan University, K-State Salina, and the Smoky Hill River Festival, to name a few. None of these projects “just happened”. They all took vision, leadership, and support from the citizens of Salina.

In 1986, I was asked by the Chamber of Commerce and the City of Salina to co-chair a comprehensive community-wide goal-setting project that would involve a broad spectrum of people. It was called: “Goals for Salina” and covered every aspect of life found in a vibrant community. Several thousand people were involved in the process. The effort succeeded and helped Salina win an All America City award in 1989. There were many benefits to the process, including the completion of an amazing number of goals and a new cooperative spirit among varying interests. The final work product was 34 goals and 58 objectives to be undertaken in the next 5 years. Our motto was:

“Anything is possible for Salina, if we reach Consensus, and have a plan of Action”.

The Steering Committee felt one goal needed to be identified as the top priority. After deliberation, there was unanimous consensus that our #1 Goal was the beautification of the Smoky Hill River that runs through the heart of the City.

The committee called for more water flow, recreation opportunities, removal of silt and flow constrictions, enlarged mill gates and other improvements. The rationale was this: “The Smoky Hill River should be made an aesthetic and recreational asset for the City of Salina”. In ensuing years, several small scale efforts were undertaken to “beautify” the river and the bank, but nothing of substance was done to the river and the channel. Until now.

I recently became aware of the push to reclaim the Smoky Hill River and make it an asset to Salina - rather than an eyesore - with an aesthetically pleasing flow of water and opportunities for recreation. The plans are very exciting and would give Salina a focal point for recreation, development, and tourism for decades to come.

I hope Salina keeps up the momentum from past successes and turns this 23 year old goal into reality – finally! As Salina has done in the past; vision, leadership and a supportive citizenry will make this dream come true. A City that is not moving forward is not just standing still; it is moving backward.

As the nation prepares to observe the 150th anniversary of the Civil War starting in 2011, Kansas will be in the forefront as the beginning of the run-up to the conflict; a time referred to as “Bleeding Kansas”. National attention will be focused on Kansas and Missouri and the events that triggered the war.

Salinans will recall that Col. Phillips was assigned by Horace Greeley, Editor of the New York Tribune, to "go west" and cover the events leading up to the war. He apparently liked what he saw in Kansas and, together with Alexander Campbell and James Muir, decided to colonize a community in central Kansas. They walked west from Lawrence until they reached the banks of the Smoky Hill River, later the site of Western Star Mill and the Salina Community Theater; and drove the stake which would be the location of Salina. Restoration of the Smoky Hill River to the condition Colonel William A Phillips found it in 1858 would be a fitting way to observe Salina’s ties to its founders and continue to make Salina the City of Opportunity! May it continue to be that for present and future generations.


Karen M. Graves
Former resident

Dee Warren
President of MarketAide Services, Inc. and Chairman of the Public Relation Committee of Friends of the River