News
CCT takes on ‘Godspell’ this weekend
Melissa Smith Assistant Managing Editor The Memorial Auditorium will be filled with music based on the gospel of Matthew this weekend as Chanute Community Theatre launches its production of “Godspell.” The show — scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday — will be directed by Rick Bushnell, Chanute High School art teacher. Bushnell has been away from CCT for nine years after working with the group for about 20 years. He de...
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Ag/business news
Grain commodity growers elect commissioners TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Agriculture Tuesday announced the names of farmers from the eastern third of the state who were elected to the state’s five commodity commissions — corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers and wheat. District nine includes Allen, Bourbon, Butler, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Greenwood, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson and Woodson counties. Ba...
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KU to honor seniors from Neosho and Wilson counties
LAWRENCE — Students from six Kansas high schools will be honored Wednesday, April 7, by the University of Kansas Alumni Association and KU Endowment. A total of 38 seniors from high schools in Neosho and Wilson counties will be recognized for their academic achievements and named Kansas Honor Scholars at a 6:30 p.m. dinner and program at Neodesha High School, 1000 N. Eighth St. The Kansas Honors Program began in 1971 and has honored more than...
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Parsons business seized for unpaid taxes
PARSONS — State and local law officers on Monday afternoon closed a Parsons mechanic shop and seized the assets of the business to pay toward $571,419 in delinquent withholding and sales taxes the business failed to pay since 2001. Marty’s Automotive, 1831 Appleton, was closed for business at 1 p.m. Monday by agents of the Kansas Department of Revenue, ABC Law Enforcement and officers from the Labette County Sheriff’s Department and Parsons P...
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Erie tables decision on propane tanks
Tribune Staff ERIE — A decision about enforcement of an ordinance regarding propane storage tanks was tabled Monday night by the Erie City Council. Jeff Gard, Beachner Grain manager, asked the council to reconsider enforcement of an ordinance prohibiting use of storage tanks of more than 100 pounds. The council tabled a decision until it could obtain more information. The council also awarded a low bid of $23,900 to Jim Walters Mowing for...
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Legion’s Operation Comfort Warriors first in PepsiCo contest
Tribune staff WASHINGTON — The people voted and the troops won. PepsiCo has officially announced that The American Legion’s Operation Comfort Warriors will be awarded a $250,000 grant from the soft drink giant after finishing first in voting during February’s Refresh Everything Project. Internet voters were able to choose which of 729 competing charities would receive grants of $5,000, $25,000, $50,000 or $250,000. The top three finishers i...
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Thousands in state face delays in gov’t health care
TOPEKA (AP) — The sour economy has pushed a growing number of families into government health programs but in cash-strapped states like Kansas, thousands face delays in actually getting the coverage. Kansas has a backlog of nearly 25,000 applications for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and about 17,000 of those are more than 30 days old, up from only 10,000 about a month ago. State officials blame such delays on multip...
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Parsons Movie Gallery to close; Chanute store moot
Tribune staff The reorganization of a company under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code means that a Parsons video store will close soon. Movie Gallery, 1306 Main, announced last week that it is selling its DVDs in anticipation of the store closing. The Movie Gallery manager told the Parsons Sun on Monday that she doesn’t know when the store will close and is not allowed to answer questions about the closure. The Tribune was also told empl...
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City commission briefs
Meeting on hazardous materials on April 1 A discussion of hazardous materials storage and transportation in Chanute will be the focus of a meeting at 6:30 p.m. April 1 at the Memorial Building auditorium, City Manager J.D. Lester said Monday. The meeting will feature representatives from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad and Ash Grove Cement Co. Volunteers sought for committee on cable ...
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Patrol steps up seat belt enforcement
Tribune Staff Neosho County will be part of a 10-county enhanced seat belt enforcement effort in southeast Kansas, the Kansas Highway Patrol said Monday. State and local law enforcement are utilizing a special federal grant to step up enforcement of Kansas seat belt and child passenger safety laws in the area The enforcement campaign is designed to promote a higher level of seat belt usage and compliance with seatbelt laws in rural areas ...
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USD 413 outlines effect of funding crisis
Melissa Smith Assistant Managing Editor Only a handful of citizens showed up at Monday night’s community meeting to explain the effect the state funding crisis is having on school districts. A lively discussion followed the informational meeting and a variety of ideas were presented to bridge a possible $900,000 gap in Chanute school’s 2010-11 budget. The meeting started with Superintendent Steve Parsons explaining to the audience how the...
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City considers pool management plan
Costs thousands higher than originally anticipated Harold Campbell Tribune Reporter City staff has been asked to whittle down costs on a proposed management plan for the new aquatic center under construction as well as schedule a special meeting with the Chanute Recreation Commission to finalize operations plans for the center. With slightly more than two months remaining before the center’s opening, Chanute city commissioners ins...
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Humboldt selects contractor for city hall renovation
Tribune Staff HUMBOLDT -- Hofer and Hofer of Humboldt has been selected as contractor for the new city hall renovation project. The Humboldt City Council voted at a special meeting Tuesday afternoon to select the local firm at a cost of $139,990. Work will include addition of an elevator, improvements to the city clerk and police area and a corridor in the basement leading from the elevator to the Community Room. The council also approved...
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Health campaign leads to happy ending
Kansas State Extension GARDEN CITY -- What some might consider old advice -- “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”-- proved to be a winner for a Garden City, man who is a repeat participant in Finney County’s Corporate Meltdown. Here’s what happened: In 2009, a middle-aged gentleman signed up to participate in Corporate Meltdown, an eight-week community-based health promotion, said Linda Beech, Kansas State University Research ...
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Snow, ice causes several accidents in rural Chanute
Tribune Staff While kids on Spring Break were busy playing in the snow Saturday, adults were left trying to keep their vehicles on the road. Most were successful; others were not. Neosho County Sheriff’s Office reports attribute five accidents to the six to seven inches of snow on the road Saturday. Erie resident Joshua Head hit an icy spot on Highway 39 near Grady Road around 4 a.m. Saturday and slid off the roadway as he was traveling east. ...
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Obama may sign health care bill today
Kansas Rep. Lynn Jenkins says the American people ‘deserve better’ Staff and Wire Reports WASHINGTON (AP) — A transformative health care bill is headed to President Barack Obama for his signature as Congress takes the final steps in Democrats’ improbable and history-making push for near-universal medical coverage. On the cusp of succeeding where numerous past congresses and administrations have failed, jubilant House Democrats voted...
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— SEK Pioneers quarterly luncheon, 11 a
Today, March 23 — SEK Pioneers quarterly luncheon, 11 a.m., Opie’s Pizza, 122 E. Main. — Just Another Tuesday meal, 5 to 6 p.m., Otterbein United Methodist Church, 7th and Kansas. Everyone welcome. Thursday, March 25 — Birthday dinner at Senior Citizen Center, noon, 1717 W. Main. — TOPS KS 779, weigh-in 5 p.m., meeting, 5:30, 521 W. 14th, Hampton Apartments community room. Call 431-1196 for information. — The Green Parade rescheduled, ...
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Holy Week services announced
The 2010 Community ACCL Holy Week Services will be held at First Christian Church, 102 N. Grant, beginning Sunday night. Janet Hampton, a member of First Christian Church, will be the organist for the prelude and postlude. Herb Correll, First Baptist Church, will serve as song leader. Tom Eastman, pastor of First Christian Church, will preside over the service at 7 p.m. Sunday, March 28. The anthem will be provided by the First United Methodi...
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Exemptions severely erode Kansas tax bases, audit finds
Gene Meyer KansasReporter TOPEKA — Kansas property tax exemptions for machinery and equipment created in 2006 have significantly eroded local tax bases across the state, state auditors reported Wednesday. In its latest study examining impacts of tax policy changes in the Sunflower State, the Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit calculated that the exemptions will cost local county governments more than $400 million in the first five ...
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Call out for volunteers, projects for Mission Blitz
Idea came in 2003 from similar program in Memphis, Tenn. Tribune staff Chanute’s Mission Blitz will be moved up this year to May 1-8, and the deadline for filing project request forms is April 12. Charlotte Clum of First United Methodist Church said the Blitz began as a church project in 2003. The idea for the event came from a youth group from the church. While on a trip to Memphis, Tenn., they saw a Mission Blitz being done by the Chri...
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