Kan. Mayor Calls Birthday Card 'Offensive'
Do you think that people from West Virginia were offended by Mayor Bunten's remarks?iWon News
Oct 1, 7:21 AM (ET)
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Don't send Mayor Bill Bunten this birthday card. He won't be amused.
The birthday card produced by Hallmark bears the title "CSI: Topeka" and features a cartoon of two people standing over a corpse, with one saying, "Looks like he was bored to death."
Inside the card is the message, "Hope your birthday is anything but dull."
Though a company spokeswoman says Hallmark didn't intend to offend anyone, the mayor wasn't laughing when he learned about it.
"I find it offensive," Bunten told The Topeka Capital-Journal. "It's probably drawn up by somebody from West Virginia who hasn't been here."
Hallmark spokeswoman Kristi Ernsting said the author, whom she declined to identify, grew up in Kansas. The card refers to popular television dramas about forensics experts who investigate crimes, set in Las Vegas, Miami and New York.
"We hope that the people of Topeka can take it in good humor," she said. "That's how it was intended."
Richard Forester, president of the Topeka Convention and Visitors Bureau, expressed disappointment with the Kansas City, Mo.-based Hallmark, noting that it has a plant in Topeka.
But he added, "It's not the first time we've been poked fun at," he said, "and I'm sure it won't be the last."
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On the Net:
City of Topeka: http://www.topeka.org
posted by Brian @ 4:54 PM
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