By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

The overpopulation of deer in Shawnee Mission Park continues to vex Johnson County commissioners and parks officials.

They don't want to say the obvious:

It is time to kill some of the deer. Now.

Too politically incorrect? OK, how about "cull" the deer herd? That's better but, of course, it means the same thing.

It is time to kill some of the deer. Now.

Johnson County parks officials have failed for years to protect Shawnee Mission Park and its visitors from an overpopulation of deer. It’s time to cull the herd.

That's the best way to protect the humans who use the park from diseases spread by deer.

Beyond that, killing some deer would also protect other animals and birds as well as the park's vegetation.

Instead of killing deer, the county has created a longrange plan to ... well, study the problem.

This is absurd. Other governments throughout the country have studied the problem and come up with the best way to prevent overpopulation and the problems it causes.

That solution comes back to one clear fact in Johnson County:

It is time to kill some of the deer. Now.