Community News
Phylllis M. Smith 1929-2011
Mrs. Phyllis M. Smith, 81, of Independence, died Saturday afternoon at Bradford Place in Independence. Cremation has taken place.  Family conducted memorial services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday at the First United Methodist Church of Independence with the Reverend Delores Williamston, pastor, officiating.  Inurment will be at the Mt. Hope Cemetery. The family as suggested memorial remembrances to Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice and remembran...
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New China on Main has ‘new’ name
Tribune staff Lana Guan and her husband, Dong Quan Guan, purchased New China, 27 W. Main, when the previous owner, Karen Lau, retired. Lau said she might only be taking a break from the restaurant business. Lau ran the New China restaurant since October of 1988. This October, she would have been the owner for 24 years, she said. Guan said they don’t intend to change much about the restaurant. “We just changed the name,” she said. “Everythin...
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First Jungle Sprint Triathlon today
Today’s Journey through the Jungle Sprint Triathlon was set to get under way at 7:30 a.m. at the Chanute Recreation Center and the Maring Aquatic Center. Forty-six participants have pre-registered with a total head count of 75 expected, according to event organizer Tim Fairchild. The sprint triat hlon will consist of a 200-meter swim, 12.75-mile bike route, and a 5K (3.2 mile)-run. The participants wi ll start one after another in the pool, ...
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Donations being sought for 5000 Meals+ hunger project
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter In the Bible, Jesus is recorded as feeding more than 5,000 people with a small amount of bread and fish. The Chanute Ministerial Alliance hopes to do the same thing this week. 5000 Meals+, which derives its name from the miracle recorded in all four Gospels, is a pilot program of Church World Service, a national Christian charitable organization. The ministerial alliance, which includes several churches in Chanut...
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Herbert Matlock 1920-2011
Herbert Matlock, 90, Chanute, died Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011 at Heritage Health Care in Chanute. Herbert was born in Neosho County on Oct. 20, 1920 the son of Eliga Bert and Grace Stowell Matlock. He married J. Pauline Walker on May 25, 1940 in Erie. She preceded him in death on March 19, 2006. He retired from the Highway Department. Herbert is survived by his children, Barbara Sutton and husband, Clyde, Colony, and Herbert E. Matlock and wi...
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First Friday Movie tonight in Plaza
Help kick off football season by joining in for this movie that scored Sandra Bullock her first Oscar!  Bring chairs and blankets to enjoy the show in the Irene Neely Plaza, next to the Santa Fe Depot.  Film starts at dark,  around 9 p.m.  These free films are sponsored by The Chanute Regional Development Authority (CRDA), The Chanute Public Library and The Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum.  Refreshments will be available with proceeds goi...
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CHS guidance counselor earns Keys to Networking award
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter Chanute High School guidance counselor Tom Dolenz doesn’t feel that he won an Oscar alone, but that it belongs to the entire Chanute school district. The “Oscar” is an award given by Keys for Networking, a Topeka-based organization that helps connect Kansas families to resources to help students and their parents overcome problems that prevent them from succeeding in school and being members of their communities. K...
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Violet Pearl Whitmore 1930-2011
Violet Whitmore, 81, Chanute, died Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center in Chanute. Violet was born on June 23, 1930 in Chicago, Ill.,, the daughter of Richard and Gwendolyn Southard Seaton. She attended high school in Denver, Colo. On Dec. 10, 1983 she married Vince Whitmore in Derby. He survives her. Violet worked as a packer for the Coleman Company in Wichita for 15 years. Violet is survived by her husband, V...
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Betty Louise Scott 1925 – 2011
Betty Scott, 85, of Chanute, passed away Sunday, August 28, 2011 at Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center in Chanute, KS. Betty was born on September 28, 1925 in Chanute, KS, the daughter of Fred Earl Bartholomew and Katherine Louise (Rapp) Bartholomew. She attended Chanute High School. On January 9, 1946 she married Max A. Scott in Independence, KS. He preceded her in death on December 13, 1996. Betty was a homemaker. Betty is survived by...
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Alice Marie Barnhart 1940-2011
Alice Marie Barnhart, 71, Coffeyville, Kansas, died Saturday, August 27, 2011 at Coffeyville Regional Medical Center. Alice was born June 18, 1940 in her grandmother’s home in Neosho County, Kansas to Russell Dean and Mildred Lorene Maxwell Aikins. She grew up around Erie and received her education in the local schools. She married Howard Barnhart on August 4, 1956 at Coffeyville’s First Baptist Church. The couple lived on Table Rock Lake...
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Weapons shown to students headed to CRC bus stop
An incident “scared” USD 413 school children who were walking to a bus stop at the Chanute Recreation Center, 400 S. Highland. The Chanute Police Department is investigating a report of Aggravated Assualt to have taken place in the area of 4th and Central  around 7:50 am. Wednesday, said Raymond Hale, public information officer. The parties involved  reported to police that while they were walking to the bus stop, two cars showed them firearms...
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Mobile Pantry dishes out tons of food
Kathleen Carney Tribune Reporter The Kansas Food Bank Mobile Pantry was in town Wednesday morning from 8 to 10 a.m. Volunteers and Food Bank employees helped hand out groceries to around 500 families. It was open to anyone in Neosho County, and the Food Bank does not require any paperwork, just simply the family’s zipcode and number of people in the household. “The criteria is just to tell us you need food assistance. We try to break down all ...
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Family owned for 50 years
Merle Kelly Ford, Inc. Founded Sept. 1, 1961 Merle Kelly Ford has been a fixture in Chanute for 50 years. The dealership will celebrate with a lunch for employees today along with a birthday cake. Dick Kelly, president and general manager, provided a history of the business. The founder and president of the dealership was Merle T. Kelly. Kelly and his wife, Evelyn, and five children, Janet, Jim, Dick, Dan and Rita moved to Chanute in 1961 ...
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Malson Real Estate changes ownership
Kathleen Carney Tribune Reporter Malson Real Estate, 1817 W. Main, is in the hands of a new owner as of this week. Dee Bondan bought the business from Sheri Calhoon, but Calhoon will continue to take care of of her current listings before enjoying her retirement in full. "I started as a secretary and bought it 15 years ago," said Calhoon. "The Malson family started it in 1975 and I came to work here in 1988 as a secretary. In 1996 I bought it ...
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Combines getting fired up for Demo Derby
Travis Hendryx Tribune Reporter What are these colorful combines doing all over town? The second annual Mirza Shrine Demo Derby will be held Saturday, Sept. 10 at the Humboldt Speedway. Admission for this year's event is $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 6-13 and free for kids six and under. "We were just in awe of last year's attendance," said event organizer Jim Kepley. "We expected around 500 folks to show and ended up with between 4,...
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Earl Leon Simmons 1947-2011
Earl Leon Simmons, 63, Galesburg, died Monday, August 29, 2011 near Chanute. He had been in ill health but death was unexpected. He was born Nov. 3, 1947 to Thomas and Dorothy Hopeman Simmons near Kimball.  He moved with his family to a farm near Galesburg in December 1947.  He attended schools in Galesburg and was a 1965 graduate of Galesburg High School.  He served in the Kansas National Guard from 1964 to 1970.             Through the years...
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Surrilda A. Reese 1918-2011
Surrilda A. Reese, 93, Chanute, died Saturday, August 27, 2011 at Chanute Health Care. Surrilda was born in Picher, Okla., on Feb. 16, 1918, the daughter of Gordon and Myrtle Pruette Golden. She attended schools in Picher. She was united in marriage to David S. Reese on Dec. 24, 1934 in Pineville, Mo. They were married for 57 years until his death on Feb. 17, 1991. She moved to Chanute in 1992. Surrilda and her husband were Concessionaires an...
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Thayer celebrates 100th Homecoming Sept.1-4
THAYER -- September will mark the 100th celebration of Thayer's annual homecoming with the community-wide picnic, a car-truck show and baby contest highlighting four days of fun-filled activities. Thursday evening’s events at the bandshell begin at 6:30 p.m., and include crowning the Watermelon Queen, a free Watermelon Feed and a Watermelon Seed-Spitting Contest, followed by sales of food from the home economics competition. Six candidates wi...
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Christmas Lane on Main striving to be bigger and better
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter Twenty years ago, Chanute residents on Hillside Drive put together a display of decorations called Christmas Card Lane. Two years ago, Main Street Chanute and the community got together and revived the idea for a community display. "People still had the decorations," Martha McCoy said. "So what we did was redoing a lot of those designs that they had made." That was the first Christmas Lane on Main. "The second...
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Mobile pantry to hand out food
A Kansas Food Bank mobile pantry is planned to be in Chanute Wednesday from 8-10 a.m. At the Memorial Hall parking lot, red-shirted volunteers will be setting up tables of food for families in need to fill their own bags, baskets or boxes. Debi Kreutzman, the Community Relations Manager for Kansas Food Bank said the pantry is bringing enough for 500 families. "What that looks like is a semi filled with about 13,000 pounds of food," she sai...
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