News
Lack of local support threatens Toys for Tots
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter Toys for Tots did not do well in Neosho County in 2011, according to organizer Dick Lisman. Lisman works with Toys for Tots throughout southeast Kansas. The toys collected from Neosho County were far less than those given away. From Neosho County, Toys for Tots collected 371 toys. Of those, 220 of those toys came from Erie. A total of 2,725 toys went out to 951 children in Neosho County, most of those in Chanute...
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Successful season for waterfowl harvest; deer running even
Travis Hendryx Tribune Reporter Neosho County waterfowl hunters bagged 5,575 ducks from Nov. 5 through Dec. 28, according to figures released by Kansas Parks and Wildlife. Figures show 3,294 hunters for the Neosho Wildlife Area through the period with an average of 1.7 birds per hunter for the overall season. Hunting and harvest slowed down slightly in the area during the last week in December with a BPH average of 1.1. Waterfowl at NWA showe...
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No date yet on re-opening of Taco John’s
Taco Tuesday is a ways off with the re-opening date of Taco John’s on South Santa Fe not yet known. It was closed Dec. 14 due to a grease fire. “No news yet, we’re still dealing with the insurance company,” said Owner Jacob Frese. “Uufortunately no time frame to give either, probably a few weeks yet. I’m learning that insurance companies don’t move very fast.” Monarch’s temporary shutdown planned to begin Jan. 22 HUMBOLDT — A production shu...
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Librarian sees technology changes over 25 years
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter Susan Willis has been head librarian at the Chanute Public Library for 25 years as of the start of 2012. Willis officially started Jan. 1, 1987. She has seen a lot of change in the services that libraries provide. “There’s constant change,” she said. “When I began we were of course in a different building and we had no computers. With the exception of a very small collection of music and books on cassette we were ...
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Former resident to become state chaplain
Chaplain (Lt. Col.) David Jenkins, former pastor of First Christian Church in Chanute, will become the state chaplain for the Kansas National Guard at a transfer of authority ceremony at 2 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 8 at Nickell Armory, Room 115, 2722 SW Topeka Blvd., Topeka. During the ceremony, Chaplain (Col.) Donald Davidson will hand over the Kansas National Guard’s Chaplain Corps to Jenkins. Davidson is retiring from the military, having served ...
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USD 413 Board hears cost of HVAC at Royster
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter At the USD 413 school board regular meeting on Tuesday, Dwayne Baughn of Integrated Consulting Engineers, Inc. presented his recommendations for upgrading the HVAC (heating and cooling systems) of Royster Middle School. Integrated Consulting Engineers was previously hired by the board to do an analysis of the HVAC systems at Royster Middle School. Baughn said that the HVAC systems that run most of the building a...
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Slane’s legacy includes giving to Chanute
Stu Butcher Tribune editor Bill Slane was 95 when he passed on Dec. 18, and he was an ambassador for the Chanute community many of those years. “I traveled with Bill and Dorothy to a large area of Kansas,” said friend Jim Whaley. “My take on Bill, first of all, he never met a stranger. He would talk to anybody about historical events and he would tell them about Chanute and what it had to offer.” Bill enjoyed eyeing the map to find places a f...
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KSAAP melt-pour tower comes down
PARSONS — Seventy years after the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant (KSAAP) was built in 1941, in the United States support of World War II effort in Europe, the first of the TNT melt-pour towers is down. The tower’s demolition is part of the remediation process that is preparing the site for a new life as a “mega-site” industrial park. Gator Demolition, Joplin, Mo., was the contractor bringing down the three-story tower of Building 905 on Monday....
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Ghost Hunt Jan. 13 at Safari Museum
Bag a ghost at the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum in Chanute during a special paranormal investigation Friday, Jan. 13 from 8 pm until 2 am. Ghost activity at the museum includes the entities of a woman and a train conductor as well as the sounds of ghostly music and footsteps. “Staff have seen a woman’s figure near the front entrance, and we actually photographed a ghostly woman’s face,” explains Museum Director Jacquelyn Borgeson, “...
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Vehicle rollover victim expected to make a full recovery, children released from hospital
A 27 year-old Chanute woman is expected to make a full recovery following injuries sustained in a one-vehicle rollover on Katy Road Thursday afternoon. Aaron Vanatta and her two children, six-year-old son Jaden and six-month-old daughter Aliah were injured when their southbound vehicle overturned near a ditch. Aaron was airlifted to Wesley Hospital in Wichita while Jaden and Aliah were taken by ambulance to Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Ce...
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Locals reveal 2012 resolutions
Travis Hendryx Tribune Reporter For most folks, New Year’s resolutions come and go. Some remain the same each year while other goals shift focus. According to Wikipedia, a New Year’s resolution is a commitment that an individual makes to one or more lasting goals, projects or the reforming of a habit. “You hit a goal, you achieve a goal. You keep a resolution,” says Gretchen Rubin, author of the best-seller The Happiness Project. A New Year’...
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County amends 2011 budget
ERIE — At Friday’s meeting of the Neosho County Board of Commissioners a public hearing was held on amending the county’s 2011 budget. The amendment would increase the Noxious Weed fund from $68,500 to $72,485, increase the Appraiser’s fund from $261,000 to $278,183, and increase the Special Alcohol Program fund from $4,840 to $7,602. The money for these additional amounts is already in these funds, but the budgets for the funds need increase...
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Emprise Bank’s annual Adopt a Child program another successful project
A total of 156 local children were reached during this year’s Adopt a Child program sponsored by Emprise Bank of Chanute. The annual holiday event involved signing up families and distributing Christmas gifts to children in need, according to event organizer Sheryl Dick. “Several classes from Royster Middle School¬†are involved as well. Royster students adopted a total of 40 children this year which is amazing,” Dick said.¬† “They put on man...
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Erie continues Westar contract negotiations
ERIE — The city of Erie continues to try to renegotiate a contract with Westar Energy for the Erie Energy Center. During a regular meeting on Monday evening, the Erie City Council approved payment of $2,637 to Rubenstein & Pitts for special legal counsel for contract negotiations with Westar. During a special meeting in August, Westar representatives told the council the company will continue honoring the terms of a contract with the city to ...
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CNB promotes Daniels to VP
Community National Bank & Trust has announced that Debby Daniels was promoted to Vice President. Daniels has been with Community National Bank & Trust for more than 14 years. Daniels manages an array of responsibilities as supervisor of all tellers and receptionist activities at the main bank, including deposit operations. “The bank greatly appreciates her talents, hard work and long-time dedication to the bank,” said Diane Myers, VP/BSA of...
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Firefighters give coats to kids
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter The Chanute Firefighters Association, Local 64, is making sure that kids have coats for the winter. Chad Small, a Chanute firefighter, did a photo shoot for a firefighter calendar for the Kansas Firefighter Museum in Wichita last year. There was a coat drive put on by the firefighters in Wichita and Small brought some of the surplus back to Chanute. “This year our union took it on as our pet project,” he said Wit...
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Parents of slain woman retire organization
Mother of victim in 1993 a Chanute native The Associated Press LEAWOOD — The parents of a Pittsburg State University to advocate for crime victims. Stephanie Schmidt was kidnapped and slain just before her 20th birthday in 1993 by Donald Ray Gideon, a convicted felon who worked with her at a restaurant. He was convicted of her murder and is serving a life sentence. KSHB-TV reports Gene and Peggy Schmidt are retiring the organization “Speak O...
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Erie teacher to help review science standards
Virginia Wolken, a physics teacher at Erie High School, has been selected to be part of the Kansas Committee to review the national Next Generation Science Standards. Kansas was selected to be one of 20 states taking part in the review this past July. The Kansas Committee has 62 members, including Wolken and other science teachers, Kansas politicians and industry leaders. The Framework for the Standards was released by the National Research ...
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Legislators eye ‘jobs first’ initiative
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter Democrats in the Kansas Legislature are proposing a set of bills to bring jobs to Kansas. Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley, Topeka, and House Democratic Leader Paul Davis, Lawrence, along with members of the House and Senate Democratic caucuses, announced Dec. 20 the “Kansas Jobs First” plan that includes 14 bills to be introduced during the 2012 Legislative session. Of particular interest to southeast K...
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Police respond to self-inflicted wound
The Chanute police reported at mid-day on Tuesday that the department sometime had responded to a self-inflicted wound. They said they were releasing this information to dispel rumors, however, no other information was released, pending an official statement that has not yet been received by The Tribune. Next hearing for Whittley on Jan. 24 Laura Whittley, the former Thayer City Clerk, did not have a status hearing on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. as ...
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