An important opportunity for all elected officials is at hand. The Kansas Attorney General’s Office and Kansas Sunshine Coalition will present seminars on the Kansas Open Meetings Act and Kansas Open Records Act at five locations in the state.

The closest location to Marion County will be Emporia Civic Auditorium, 111 E. Sixth Avenue, Emporia. The session will be 9 a.m. to noon July 18.

The seminars will be free and open to the public, so anyone interested in knowing his or her rights to information is encouraged to attend. Space is limited, so registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.

This newspaper is willing to provide transportation to 11 officials who want to learn more about the law. There will be a story in this newspaper that week about the seminar.

To save a seat on the van, call the newspaper office at (620) 382-2165 during regular business hours. Priority will be given to elected officials and their designees but if there are any open seats, anyone may ride with us.

If there is an overwhelming response, we’ll see if we can’t locate another van.

The deadline for signing up will be 5 p.m. July 7.

— susan berg