[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 124 (Thursday, September 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1878]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TRIBUTE TO THE LATE DON DENNEY OF THE UNIFIED GOVERNMENT OF WYANDOTTE 
                                 COUNTY

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                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 27, 2006

  Mr. MOORE of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Don 
Denney, the long-time media relations specialist for the Unified 
Government of Wyandotte County, and Kansas City, KS, who died 
unexpectedly of a heart attack while at work on September 15.
  I wholeheartedly echo the sentiments that Kansas City, KS, Mayor/CEO 
Joe Reardon shared with the Kansas City Kansan upon learning of Don 
Denney's death, ``Don Denney was a wonderful and talented individual 
who gave 100 percent of himself to the community with his job at the 
Unified Government. We shall always remember Don Denney as a man who 
gave unselfishly as a public servant and citizen to a community that he 
deeply loved.''
  A graduate of Kansas City's Ward High School in 1970, Denney had 
owned a Dairy Queen restaurant and worked previously at the Kansas City 
Kansan, before beginning his tenure with the city of Kansas City in 
1994. He remained with the Unified Government after the city and county 
consolidated governments in 1997. As former Kansan publisher William 
Epperheimer noted: ``Of all his attributes, loyalty and hard work stood 
out. Don was a Kansas City Kansan advocate to the end and he worked his 
tail off for the paper and its readers, just as he was dedicated to the 
Unified Government and represented it to the metropolitan news media 
with so much honesty and dedication in his `second career'.''
  Don Denney was also well known locally as the athletics announcer for 
Bishop Ward High School and Kansas City Kansas Community College 
athletic events, and was planning on announcing the Bishop Ward 
football game on the evening of the day of his death.
  Mr. Speaker, I join with the Unified Government and the citizens of 
Kansas City, KS, in mourning the untimely death of a dedicated, honest 
public servant and I include with these remarks a moving tribute to Don 
Denney that was published in the Kansas City Star.

              [From the Kansas City Star, Sept. 16, 2006]

                  KCK Loses a Friend, Spokesman Denney

                            (By Mark Wiebe)

       Don Denney, the face and voice of Wyandotte County and 
     Kansas City, Kan., died Friday morning after collapsing at 
     City Hall.
       Denney, 54, began working for the city in 1994 after 
     leaving his job as a reporter for The Kansas City Kansan. He 
     was named spokesman for the Unified Government when the city 
     and county merged in 1997.
       But as many at a grief-stricken City Hall said, Denney was 
     much more than the Unified Government's ``media specialist,'' 
     the man who answered reporters' inquiries or showed up at 
     early morning fires. He was a well-connected public figure, a 
     person who effortlessly made friends, who loved his community 
     and worked hard on its behalf. He considered the employees at 
     City Hall his family.
       ``It's a great loss for the city,'' said Hal Walker, the 
     Unified Government's chief counsel and a good friend. ``He 
     was nearly as visible as any of the mayors he served.''
       Mayor Joe Reardon called Denney a ``wonderful and 
     talented'' man: ``His love and enthusiasm for our community 
     was infectious.''
       A Kansas City, Kan., native and graduate of Bishop Ward 
     High School, Denney also was a longtime public address system 
     announcer at the school's athletic games. Known to many as 
     ``the voice of the Cyclones,'' he devoted much of his free 
     time to the school.
       Unified Government Commissioner Tom Cooley was with Denney 
     during a meeting Friday morning. He said Denney appeared to 
     be in good spirits. ``We were laughing and joking, cutting 
     up,'' he said. ``There was no indication that he was even 
     uncomfortable.''
       But earlier this week, Denney, a diabetic who suffered a 
     heart attack several years ago, complained of dizziness and 
     said he had experienced a brief blackout. Wyandotte County 
     Coroner Alan Hancock said Denney died of cardiac arrhythmia.
       As news spread about Denney's death, reporters were quick 
     to sing his praises. Steve Nicely, a former Kansas City Star 
     reporter, recalled Denney as an honest reporter and 
     spokesman.
       ``He was a conscientious guy, and I think really had a 
     dedication to the truth,'' Nicely said. ``Sometimes he'd get 
     into trouble because he'd say something that was a little too 
     true. I always thought that was a virtue.''
       Bob Werly, a former reporter for KMBC-TV, called him one of 
     the best public information officials he'd ever worked with. 
     His deep ties to the community didn't hurt.
       ``I would stand out in the street with him talking,'' Werly 
     said. ``It just seemed like every other car that came by 
     either honked or waved.''
       Denney is survived by a brother, Fred Denney, and a sister, 
     Mary Anne Denney. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at 
     Cathedral of St. Peter, 431 N. 15th St.

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