(KNZA)--One debate is already denied, and it remains to be seen which, if any of the others in the works, will be accepted by the local Republican Debate Committee. 

Committee Chairman Rick Wright, of Whiting, says representatives from the Nemaha, Jackson and Brown County Republican parties organized the committee to sort and prioritize the events, which uses a set of 10 guidelines to determine if candidates, including Senator Dennis Pyle and Representative Randy Garber, should attend. 

It was last week that a debate, being arranged by The Sabetha Herald newspaper was turned down because its publisher, not connected with arranging the debate forum, had provided a campaign  contribution to Pyle's opponent, Democrat Steve Lukert(Play Audio) 

When asked through email if he wished to respond to Lukert's accusation, Pyle, who says he prefers to answer questions only in writing, replied: 

“Before you let Mr. Lukert convince you I'm not willing to debate, you might want to let the committee finish this week's work, make recommendations, and see if I'm going to debate.” 

Pyle, in an article posted online today by the Sabetha Herald, is quoted as saying “Considering the open war that the public employee unions have declared against me and the limited amount of time I have to serve the public, take care of my family, farm and campaign, this was welcome help.”

Garber also maintains that the debate committee ensures fairness, telling The Sabetha Herald “Many candidates, including myself, have experienced debates in the past where the rules and settings didn’t seem to be fair."

Among the debates being considered is one being arranged, in part, by Jackson County area high school students.  The terms have been sent to instructor Mark Middlemist who, reviewed them and, in turn, responded to the debate committee which has not yet made a determination on whether or not to accept it.