News
CES students earn pizza party with principal
Connie Woodard USD 413 public relations Chanute’s fourth and fifth graders have a new reason to get their homework done every day. Each month at a school assembly, Chanute Elementary Principal Jim Goracke draws the names of eight students who will get to eat pizza with him for lunch. To get their names placed in the fourth grade or fifth grade boxes, the students have to complete all their homework for school. The reward is more than sitting...
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Erie first graders adopt Afghanistan unit
An Erie Elementary first grade class has adopted a military unit in Afghanistan. First grade teacher Becky Oplotnik’s brother, Sergeant Tim Geier, is stationed in Afghanistan on his 3rd tour. Oplotnik’s students have been doing creative projects to let the troops in Geier’s unit know that they are thinking about them. They sent a Christmas care package with snacks and handmade decorations in December. Oplotnik said the soldiers decorated thei...
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Are you patient?
Road Rage is not pretty. You’ve been there. Four lanes of Interstate traffic at ground to a stop.¬†You’re late. You feel tempers radiating from the roof of adjacent cars. Suddenly a car races down the shoulder intent on passing everyone and then forcing his way into the line. Your slow burn gets hot.¬† Unholy pastoral wrath comes streaming from the mouth. Roadside rage is not pretty. Roadside rage is cured with patience. But patience is not n...
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Two businesses share Main Street storefront
Joshua Vail Tribune reporter Two very different businesses have opened under one roof on Main Street. Kristy’s Touch and Chanute Studios TV-5 Digital Media Services are now sharing 114 W. Main Street, the former home of Young America. Kristy’s Touch, owned by Kristy Ammons, carries jewelry, wallets, hairbows and tutus among other similar products. They will be adding dancewear in the future. Digital Media Services, owned by Chris Conklin, ...
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Contract approved for Royster project
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter At the Monday night meeting of the USD 413 school board, the board approved entering into a contract with Integrated Consulting Engineers to design an HVAC (heating, ventillation and air conditioning) system for Royster Middle School. Last month, representatives of the school board visited Uniontown. A system similar to the one that they are hoping to install in Royster has already been in place in Uniontown middl...
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Chanute native to be featured on Raccoon Nation on PBS
Travis Hendryx Tribune Reporter An internationally-recognized raccoon and coyote expert – who happens to be a Chanute native – is again part of a television documentary. Dr. Stanley Gehrt, Associate Professor and Wildlife Extension Specialist at The Ohio State University, will be featured on Raccoon Nation, a nature documentary produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation airing tonight at 7 p.m. on KTWU Channel 11. His studies on raccoon...
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RGB Men bring smiles to Pitt State students
Pitt State public relations Three anonymous students are bringing smiles to pedestrians on the Pittsburg State University campus. They call themselves the RGB Men for the red, green and blue “morph” suits they wear. They do not speak, but write positive messages on sticky notes that they give to the students they meet. In an e-mail (remember they don’t speak), they wrote that they came up with the idea by watching the faces of students as the...
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New storefront offers army surplus
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter There is now an army surplus store on Main Street in Chanute. Tough guys, located at 116 E Main St., was opened Jan. 26 by Shane Cox and his daughter Jolene. Cox said his store is specialized army surplus. “Instead of buying pallets at a time at government sales, it’s all handpicked,” he said, “stuff that I myself would be interested in.” Cox said they stocked cold weather gear since they opened in January, but...
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Improvements made at Santa Fe softball complex
Travis Hendryx Tribune Reporter Renovation work is under way at Diamond 6 of the Santa Fe softball complex in south Chanute. A backstop re-port, along with brand new dugouts and sections for portable bleachers, and new fencing around the diamond parameter are included in the renovation effort. A new drainage system and a new red clay infield have also been installed, said City Manager J.D. Lester. Around $45,000 is being put into the project,...
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NMRMC implements enhanced employee wellness program
Travis Hendryx Tribune Reporter Employees at Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center are witnessing some expansions to the hospital’s current wellness program. The program’s enhancement is an effort to keep employees’ insurance premiums at a minimum and improve utilization of information provided to hospital staff, according to NMRMC Communication Officer Patricia Morris. “As part of the wellness program, our hospital has offered employees fr...
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Seven people facing charges for regional crime spree
PARSONS — Earlier this week, detectives from the Parsons Police Department began following up on information which led to the discovery of suspects and evidence involved in a regional crime spree throughout Labette, Neosho, Crawford, Cherokee, Wilson and Allen counties. While names are not being released due to complexity of the multi-jurisdictional investigations, officers said that seven people, four from Chanute and three formerly of Parso...
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Inertia adds Kraze Boutique
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter Inertia Health and Fitness in Chanute is moving into new territory. Owners Flint and Kiley Allen opened Kraze Boutique, a clothing store, in the Inertia Fitness building at 2816 S. Santa Fe Avenue. Kiley Allen said that the name brand clothes that Kraze carries aren’t very accessible in Chanute. “We (Chanute) don’t have a lot of the higher end clothes that women are traveling to get,” she said. Kiley Allen sai...
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State presents county transition plan
At Friday’s meeting of the Neosho County Board of Commissioners, Road and Bridge Director Charles Morse presented the commissioners the State of Kansas’ transition plan for the Local Environmental Protection Program (LEPP). The State prepared the plan in the event no funding is provided for the program in SFY 2013. At this time, funding is absent for the LEPP in both the State Water Plan and the State General Fund. The intent of the Transitio...
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Earth Team presents two awards
The Earth Team is the volunteer workforce of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). “NRCS in Kansas is proud of the dedicated volunteers who have committed their time and talents to conserving and protecting soil, water, and wildlife in their communities across the state,” said State Conservationist Eric Banks. “Volunteers play a vital role in achieving our conservation goals. We have seen a significant increase in our conservati...
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Burress Banker Award winner
Burress Farms, Inc. is the recipient of the 2011 Neosho County Conservation Banker Award, sponsored by the Kansas Bankers Association. The 70th annual Neosho County Conservation District meeting is Monday night at the Erie American Legion, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The original farm is located southwest of K-47 Highway and U.S. 59 intersection. Tom Burress managed the farm properties from 1954 through 2008. Then Ginny (Burress) Wommack became th...
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Low boy trailer gets stuck on tracks; gas pipe break near Thayer
Travis Hendryx Tribune Reporter The Erie-Thayer area was a popular place for emergency vehicles on Thursday afternoon. A semi-tractor pulling a low boy trailer was stuck at a railroad crossing outside of Erie Thursday afternoon, according to Neosho County Sheriff Jim Keath. The county-owned rig bottomed out on the high level asphalt crossing on 80th Road, halfway between Queen and Pratt Roads. Sheriff’s office personnel were immediately sent...
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Search warrant leads to drug arrests The Chanute Police Department on Wednesday served a drug-related search warrant in the 200 block of South Ashby
Search warrant leads to drug arrests The Chanute Police Department on Wednesday served a drug-related search warrant in the 200 block of South Ashby. Detective Raymond Hale, public information officer, said during the search four adults were arrested and later transported to the Neosho County jail in Erie. Upon completion of reports they will be sent to the county attorney office for review and consideration of charges being filed. The inve...
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Williams announces plans to retire from House
Rep. Williams State’s plans are to dissolve 8th District Travis Hendryx Tribune Reporter Kansas State Representative Jerry Williams, D-Chanute, has announced that he will not be seeking re-election in 2012. Williams, who represents Kansas House District 8, stated that after 12 years as state representative, he is ready to retire from public service. Williams’ retirement announcement coincides with the state’s proposed restructuring of the Hou...
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JC Penney changes shopping experience
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter Big changes are coming to JC Penney in Chanute and across the nation.¬† Don Sheely, the new general manager of the JC Penney story in Chanute, said the main goal of the changes is to simplify and excite the shopping experience for customers.¬† “The customer that is loyal to Penney’s is good for business,” he said. “This excites me because all it does is try to build and foster good will.” Sheely started as manager ...
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2-2-22 birthday celebrated for 90th time
Travis Hendryx Tribune Reporter Pauline Warner has shuffled different jobs over four different states in her 90 years of life but her roots began in southeast Kansas. And she’s had an easy birthday to remember, 2-2-22. “I wished that I could have planned that, but it was all up to mother nature,” Warner said. She entered the world on that day just outside Chanute to her parents Aaron and Anna Kepley. Her father was a farmer and worked in const...
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