Community News
Wilma Solomon 1916-2011
Former resident Wilma Solomon, 95, Williamsburg, Va., died Sunday, July 17, 2011. She was born Jan. 27, 1916 in the Vilas community, the daughter of Arthur and Olga Carlson. She attended Wilson County schools and graduated from Buffalo High School in 1934. She received her teaching certificate from Pittsburg State Teacher’s College and taught six years in rural schools in Wilson County. On May 4, 1941, she married Arthur Solomon of Rose. Durin...
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One-vehicle accident occurred near Humboldt
An injury one-vehicle accident occurred at 1:50 p.m. Saturday in Allen County. The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Nissan driven by Jacquelyn Rogers, 23, Iola, was southbound on 1100th Road, approximately a mile north of Humboldt, when she crossed the center line, over corrected and entered the west ditch. The vehicle rolled one time and came to rest on its wheels, the report said. The driver, who was wearing a safety restraint, was take...
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Former YC funeral director charged with embezzlement
YATES CENTER — Rickey A. Furst, Jr., 36, former funeral director and manager of Campbell Funeral Home in Yates Center, has been arrested and charged with stealing more than $14,000. Yates Center P olice Chief Lyle Kee announced the charges against Furst in a press release. The Woodson County Attorney’s office charged Furst with one felony count of theft, alleging he stole $13,172.58 from the funeral home, and one count of misdemeanor theft, al...
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Grant takes local instructor on visit to Georgia Lowcountry
Kathleen Carney Tribune Reporter Neosho County Community College history instructor Mindy Ayers spent a week of her summer learning about a little known culture and bolstering her U.S. History I and II curriculum after being accepted into a National Endowment for the Humanities grant program. Ayers recently spent a week in Georgia through a grant called African-American History and Culture in the Georgia Lowcountry: Savannah and the Coastal Is...
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Two arrests made for child endangerment
Two Chanute residents were arrested for aggravated child endangerment on Friday, July 15. Friday morning the Neosho County Sheriff’s Office and a Chanute ambulance were dispatched to 16950 Jackson Rd. on a report that a child had fallen. A two-year-old female child was injured and upon further investigation Bradley A. Hermreck, 31, and Jamie J. Hermreck were arrested on charges of aggravated child endangerment. Both are being held without bon...
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Is that guy Dave LaBelle? Probably so
Stu Butcher Tribune editor If you’ve ever met Dave LaBelle, you wouldn’t forget him. Chanute area residents will get a chance at a glimpse into their past when the famed photographer visits. LaBelle is presenting the fourth edition of his Pictures With Purpose workshop in Chanute this week. During his 35-year career, LaBelle has worked for 20 newspapers and magazines in nine states, including the Anchorage Times, San Bernardino Sun-Telegram, O...
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Blackberry Festival variety of events
Marilynn Rutledge Tribune Reporter Local community members and out-of-towners alike joined Patsy Smeed, owner of Summit Hill Gardens at 2605 160th Road in Chanute, for the third annual Blackberry Festival on Saturday. During the day, guests were invited to pick their own blackberries from the thornless bushes Smeed grows in her garden, or buy a pre-made cobbler or pie while enjoying the rest of the festivities. “We had food, we had music, we ...
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Dianna Sue Shinn 1948-2011
Dianna Sue Ware Shinn, (Jinx), lost her battle with brain cancer on Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at her home in Fredonia. Jinx was born at St. Margaret’s Mercy Hospital in Independence on May 22, 1948, the daughter of Patsy M. Fischer and Merlin H. Ware. Jinx was reared in Altoona. She graduated from Altoona High School in 1966, the year she was football queen. Jinx was employed at the Matthew’s Airosol Plant in Neodesha. On Dec. 14, 1970, in Fr...
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Donald E. “Donnie” Carter 1939-2011
Donald E. “Donnie” Carter, 71, St. Paul, died Sunday, July 17, 2011, at Labette Health in Parsons.  He was born Dec. 2, 1939, on the Big Island in St. Paul, to Raymond A. and Agnes Thielan Carter. He was a 1957 graduate of St. Francis High School in St. Paul.  He served in the United States Army and, upon his honorable discharge, returned home as a fifth generation farmer of the Big Island, south of St. Paul, until his retirement in 2002.   D...
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Pat Stover 1935-2011
Pat Stover, 76, lifelong Parsons resident, died at Friday, July 15, 2011 at his home. Death followed a lengthy period of failing health. He was born Jan. 10, 1935 in Parsons to William Roy and Ella Mabel Weakley Stover. He graduated from Labette County Community High School at Altamont and also attended classes at Labette Community College. He served a two-year enlistment in the United States Army, stationed at Ottawa, Ill. He started the Sto...
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Old soldiers and sailors reunite at bean feed
Kathleen Carney Tribune Reporter ERIE —  The Friday night bean feed may be considered the highlight of the Old Soldiers and Sailors Reunion, and many former soldiers and sailors are a huge part of putting the event together year after year. Sixty-nine-year-old Jack McGowen, born and raised in Erie, began helping with the bean feed 46 years ago after he came home from the service. “An old veteran asked me to do it in 1965. I’ve been here every...
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Potter fever boils over at midnight
Marilynn Rutledge Tribune Reporter The midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was a time of mixed emotions for Potter fanatics on Friday morning. With a total $43.5 million grossed by nearly 4,000 theaters across North America, the final installment of the epic series became the largest midnight showing of all time. At the Roxy 4 in Chanute, doors to the 178-seat theater opened at 10 p.m., with fans crowding the lobby...
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Larry  E.  Harris,  O.D. 1939-2011
Larry Eugene Harris, O.D., 71, Topeka, died Tuesday, July 12, 2011, at Midland Hospice House, Topeka.  Dr. Harris was born July 13, 1939, in Chanute, the son of Paul and Velma Anderson Harris.  He attended Kansas University (1957-58), Neosho County Community College (1958-59), and graduated from Illinois College of Optometry (Doctor of Optometry, 1962).  Dr. Harris entered the U.S. Army as an optometry officer in 1962 and was honorably dischar...
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County issues burning ban
ERIE —  Byron Shultz, captain of the Emergency Operations Center, and St. Paul Fire District Fire Chief Roy Paisley were present requesting a burn ban throughout the county. The Neosho County Sheriff’s office has had numerous reporters of grass fires recently, said Shultz, which endangers not only the lives of the responding fire department personnel, but the general public and properties as well. Commissioners adopted Resolution No. R-11-L pr...
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Erma Jean Van Cleave
Erma Jean Beeney Van Cleave, 81, St. Louis, Mo., died Thursday, July 7, 2011. She was born Feb. 8, 1930 in Edler, Colo., the daughter of Boyd and Marian Bosley Beeney. She graduated from Erie High School and married Buford Van Cleave on Sept. 25, 1951. She was a longtime member of First United Methodist Church in Warrensburg. She received her Bachelor’s in Education from Central Missouri State College. She taught Home Economics. She is surviv...
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Arron Scott Schaffer 1981-2011
Arron Scott Schaffer, 30, Chanute, died Saturday, July 9, 2011 at his home. Arron was born on July 4, 1981 in Chanute, the son of Jimmy L. Schaffer and Jacqueline Dillow. He attended Chanute schools. He is survived by his parents, Jim Schaffer and his wife, Jane, Chanute, and Jackie Dillow, Redfield; brothers, David Schaffer, Ricky Schaffer, Jeff Culbertson, and James Helm; sisters, Staci Ford and Sherri Helm; and many nieces and nephews. He ...
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Dale A. Stemple 1925-2011
Dale Arthur Stemple, 86, Chanute, died Monday, July 11, 2011 at the Heritage Health Care Center in Chanute. Dale was born on April 28, 1925 in Parsons, the son of Ernest and Thelma Martha Vail Stemple. He graduated from Chanute High School in 1943 and attended Neosho County Community College. He served his country in the United States Navy during WWII. Dale was united in marriage to Roxana Reno on Jan. 3, 1947. She preceded him in death on Jul...
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Chanute resident with TB quarantined
Marilynn Rutledge Tribune Reporter A discovered case of Tuberculosis in Chanute currently has the Neosho County Health Department working with the Kansas Department of Health & Environment to identify and evaluate contacts of the TB patient. While the patient is currently being treated and within an in-house quarantine in Neosho County, the Health Department will continue to meet with individuals who have had prolonged close contact with the ...
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Hot temps call for cool pets
Kathleen Carney Tribune Reporter With temperatures reaching 100 degrees regularly in the month of July, animals are at an increased risk of suffering a heat stroke. Just like people, pets can suffer from heat exhaustion, but unlike humans they can’t regulate their body temperature as easily. “It doesn’t take very long for a dog to get too hot,” said Bill LaRue, M.D. at the Animal Medical Center in Chanute. “Once they start getting hot they jus...
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Legion Riders making strides for park veterans memorial
Marilynn Rutledge Tribune Reporter The Chanute American Legion Riders presented a Harley-Davidson motorcycle trailer to the winner of the donation drawing, John Frye, on Monday evening. The fundraiser was part of the efforts to raise money for a veterans memorial in Santa Fe Park. The memorial has been in the works since 2006 and the drawing was one of several fundraisers to help fund the project, which will cost the Riders more than $200,000 ...
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