Community award for Burns
Another Marion County community got impressive recognition this past week. Kansas Congressman Jerry Moran recognized Burns as a community fully responsible for its own success. He was in Burns Aug. 15 to present Mayor Mary Glenn and the community with an award. He said he had previously told about Burns from the floor of the U.S. House "and to all the people in the world watching C-Span." Not too shabby, huh?
He told them, "Burns knows how to do it right." Moran recognized individuals in the community, but reserved his highest praise for the community as whole, which has continually come together to provide for itself the things it needs. Moran's award, "Building Better Communities" is something he established several years ago in an effort to recognize small towns that are successful at saving themselves from extinction.
"My colleagues in Congress are often surprised when I say that in some of our small Kansas towns economic development can come from something as simple as recruiting or saving a grocery store," said Moran. "Burns has done better than that with the community center in 2003 and more recently the renovation of the former post office into a city office and community library."
Moran's press release even mentioned the community playing host to international students during the holidays. This tradition has been ongoing since the mid-1950s. Hundreds of college students have been guests of the community during the past five decades.
Certainly volunteerism has a long history in Burns. And it doesn't look as though it is going to end any time soon.
The "Building Better Communities" award from Congressman Moran is well deserved.
— SUSAN MARSHALL
