[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 109 (Thursday, September 7, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1668]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      TRIBUTE TO THE LATE B.D. KANAN, FORMER KANSAS STATE SENATOR

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                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 7, 2006

  Mr. MOORE of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to note the passing, 
on August 7, of former Kansas State Senator B.D. Kanan, of Kansas City, 
Kansas.
  Senator Kanan was born Nov. 26, 1924 to John Walter and Hattie Pearl 
(Evans) Kanan in Cameron, Missouri. He was a Kansas State Senator from 
1988 to 1992 and was the founder and owner of TRAFTEC in Kansas City, 
Kansas, since 1972. Previously, he had worked as a truck driver for 
Auto Transport for 19 years. Senator Kanan was a member of Christ the 
King Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus. He was a Teamster and 
a member of ATSSA for over 32 years. He was preceded in death by his 
parents, two brothers and one sister as well as a granddaughter, 
Heather Lorance.
  Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Betty Jo; their sons: 
Bernard, Jr., of Basehor, Kansas, and Walter of Kansas City, Kansas; 
and their daughters: Donna ``Pug'' Uzzell of Kansas City, Kansas, 
Elizabeth ``Suzie'' Lorance of Kansas City, Kansas, Mary Michelle 
Chapman of Seffner, Florida, Karen Martin of Kansas City, Kansas, Jamie 
Doolittle of Shawnee, Kansas, and Roseanne Smallwood of Fairmont, 
Kansas, as well as 17 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, B.D. Kanan was an active, concerned citizen who did much 
to improve conditions in his home community of Kansas City, Kansas, and 
Wyandotte County, particularly with regard to improving the local 
transportation infrastructure. He served his constituents with honor 
and integrity as a member of the Kansas State Senate, and I am pleased 
to have this opportunity to publicly note his passing and to honor his 
record of public service. I include in the Congressional Record an 
article about Senator Kanan's legacy that appeared in the Kansas City 
Kansan.

                     [From the Kansas City Kansan]

         Former State Senator, Businessman B.D. Kanan, 81, Dies

                            (By Adam Torres)

       Kansas City, Kan., lost a prominent citizen and former 
     state senator this week. Bernard ``B.D.'' Kanan, 81, passed 
     away at his KCK home Monday. Kanan had a heart condition that 
     had been troubling him in recent weeks, according to one of 
     his daughters, Donna ``Pug'' Uzzell.
       For 18 years, Kanan worked as a truck driver. When driving 
     once, he noticed how inconvenient the barricades and 
     construction signs were, Uzzell said. Kanan designed a 
     barricade that was easier to use.
       ``He got a patent for it and started his company, 
     TRAFFTEC,'' Uzzell said.
       In the 1980s, Kanan started to feel that KCK was not facing 
     certain issues that it should, Uzzell said. He decided to use 
     his own funds to represent the people of KCK and started a 
     ``Fight Back'' initiative. Through the initiative, Kanan 
     purchased advertising space in The Kansas City Kansan.
       ``Concerned citizens would write to him about certain 
     issues and he would address them in a `fight back' ad that he 
     would personally buy,'' Uzzell said. ``He lived his whole 
     life in KCK and he really cared about the community. It 
     seemed like no one was addressing the citizens.'' Thus began 
     Kanan's political career, although it wasn't his original 
     intention.
       ``He really didn't mean for it to get into politics,'' 
     Uzzell said. Kanan ran for state senate, with the help of his 
     wife of 62 years, Betty Jo, and eight children, and won the 
     election. He served for one term, from 1988 to 1992.
       ``That was enough for him,'' Uzzell said. Kanan, a 
     Democrat, ran for the seat against David Haley, who currently 
     holds the seat as a Democrat after losing to Kanan as a 
     Republican. Despite being on opposite sides of the political 
     aisle for a time, Haley said he had a great deal of respect 
     for Kanan.
       ``I was always impressed with how cordial he was to me,'' 
     Haley said, ``and that was a relationship we shared even 
     after I switched parties.'' Uzzell said her dad was fair 
     politician who was concerned about the citizens he 
     represented.
       ``He wasn't bought by lobbyists,'' Uzzell said. ``He didn't 
     go to their cocktail hours.''
       Former Kansas state representative and current 
     Edwardsville, Kan., City Administrator Doug Spangler said 
     Kanan worked on legislation that improved the highway system 
     throughout the county. ``B.D. was instrumental in the passage 
     of the original transportation bill that funded so many 
     improvements in Wyandotte County and the entire state of 
     Kansas,'' Spangler said.
       ``He's going to be remembered for his concern for highway 
     safety and for being an advocate for the Kansas highway 
     system,'' Haley said. ``Because of that, we have what is now 
     one of the finest highway systems in this part of the U.S.''
       Spangler also said Kanan cared about the disadvantaged in 
     Wyandotte County. ``Senator Kanan was a very caring and 
     wonderful person who always kept Wyandotte County residents 
     in mind when he voted in the Kansas Senate,'' Spangler said. 
     ``He was always for the underdog and would reach out to help 
     the less fortunate. He had a big heart and to know him was to 
     love him.''
       Kanan, a member of Christ the King Church and the Knights 
     of Columbus, once bought hundreds of fans to give to those 
     who needed them during a heat wave, Spangler said. He also 
     worked and supported homeless shelters and helped people 
     financially, Uzzell said. ``He was quite the person in the 
     community,'' Uzzell said.
       Kanan enjoyed seeing the development in western Wyandotte 
     County over the last few years. He was proud of is happening 
     in the community, Uzzell said. ``He really wanted to take our 
     mother (Kanan's wife of 62 years, Betty Jo) to the Legends 
     (at Village West). He wasn't able to but we promised to do it 
     for him.''

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