Community News
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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Lavera J. Lyon 1921-2011
Lavera June Lyon, Neodesha, died Tuesday, August 23, 2011, at the Golden Living Center. She was 90. Funeral will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011, at the United Methodist Church under the direction of Penwell-Gabel Loran Fawcett Chapel. Interment will be in Neodesha Cemetery. Friends may call Friday from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. with the family receiving friends from 6-8 p.m. The daughter of Glenn L. and Laura M. Rohwer Worley, she was born June 15...
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Gary Howard Hockett 1965-2011
Gary Howard Hockett, 45, Hepler, died Sunday, August 21, 2011 at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo. He was born Oct. 19, 1965 in Iola, the son of Larry and Evelyn Shook Hockett. Gary was employed as a truck driver for Kunshek Chat and Coal, Inc., Pittsburg. On June 20, 1998 in Toronto, he married Pamela McCann. She survives, at the home. Survivors, in addition to his wife, Pamela, include his parents, Larry and Evelyn Hockett, Ya...
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Patrick A. Smith 1952-2011
Patrick A. Smith, 59, Watertown, S.D., died August 19, 2011, at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D., after a valiant battle with cancer. Funeral will be today, August 24 at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Name Catholic Church at Watertown, S.D. Burial will be at the Mount Hope Cemetery at Watertown. Pat was born in Miles City, Mon. He spent the majority of his early years in southeastern Kansas. He graduated from Altoona-Midway High School at B...
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County cuts $30,000 from final budget
ERIE — At Friday’s meeting of the Neosho County Board of Commissioners, $30,000 was cut before publishing the 2012 budget of $11,479,608 and an estimated mill levy of 52.875, .250 less than the 2011 levy. Auditor Rodney Burns, with Schlotterbeck & Burns, L.L.C. in Chanute, was present to finalize the county’s proposed 2012 budget. Commissioner Nicholas Galemore proposed cutting $287,000 from the budget and listed specific dollar amounts to cut...
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Chanute Blood Drive to honor Uden
The American Red Cross Blood Services - Central Plains Region will host a special blood drive on August 25 and August 26, in honor of longtime blood donor Glen Uden. In April 2011, Uden did what few people ever do — he made his 200th blood donation. These donations add up to 25 gallons, which may have helped save up to 600 lives. Amazing! Now, Uden is the highest donor in the Chanute area. “Glen is usually pretty busy farming, but he always ma...
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NCCC hosts party for 75th
Kathleen Carney Tribune Reporter Neosho County Community College will celebrate its 75th Anniversary this evening from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. with everything from inflatables to fireworks. The festivities are free and open to the public and there will be food, games, and activities for the whole family. Free pulled beef sandwiches will be provided, thanks to M&M Ranch for donating the beef, and the fireworks display is courtesy of Ash Grove. “Fre...
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Betty Colleen Ogden 1927-2011
Betty Ogden, 84, Chanute, died Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at her residence. Betty was born in Stapp, Okla., on Jan. 16, 1927, the daughter of Darrell Curtis and Delsa Marguerite Schofield Blakely. She graduated from Chanute High School in 1944. On August 12, 1944 she married Thomas Ogden in Fredonia. He preceded her in death on Dec. 9, 2009. She enjoyed gardening, dancing, music, and reading recipes and cooking. Her greatest joy was her kids a...
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Vicki Jo Chard 1954-2011
Vicki Jo Chard, 56, Chanute, died Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at Via Christi in Wichita. Vicki was born in Des Moines, Iowa on Sept. 13, 1954 the daughter of Elmer E. and Charlotte Ann Butler Hickman. She graduated from Olathe High School in 1972. She married Leroy Chard on April 30, 1990 in Las Vegas, Nev. She loved children and especially spending time with her grandson. Her love of children led her to volunteer with many local organization...
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Death notices
Vicki Chard, 56, Chanute, died Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at Via Christi Hospital in Wichita. Funeral will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, August 23, at the Penwell-Gabel Johnson Chapel. Burial will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery. The family will receive friends on Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home. A full obituary will follow tomorrow. Penwell-Gabel Gibson Johnson is in charge of arrangements. Betty Ogden, 84, Chanute, died Wednesday, Aug...
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Ione Fornelli 1913-2011
Ione Fornelli, Independence, Mo., died July 21, 2011. She was born June 2, 1913 in Frontenac to Valerio and Mary Brunetti. After graduating from Pittsburg State University with a B.S. degree she taught at Chanute High School from 1934 to 1938. From 1955-1975 she taught Latin, Spanish and English at Northeast Junior High School in Kansas City, Mo. She was a member of the Lyric Opera Guild of Kansas City, the Kansas City Federation of Teachers...
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Deer information night schedule includes Chanute
Kansas Wildlife and Parks PRATT — If you are a deer hunter, a farmer with crops in the field, a motorist, or a person who enjoys watching nature, the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) invites you to share your opinions on deer management with agency staff. To accommodate such input, the agency will conduct five public meetings across the state beginning Aug. 23 in Beloit and ending Sept. 8 in Lawrence. A meeting is plann...
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Yale Divinity next stop for CHS grad
Kathleen Carney Tribune Reporter Christian Watkins, a former Chanute High Comet (2006) and Kansas University Jayhawk (2010), will take the next step of her educational journey, and add a new mascot to her repertoire, as a Yale University Bulldog. Watkins heads to New Haven, Conn., this fall to study for her Master of Arts in Religion at Yale Divinity. Although she is thrilled that she will be attending the Ivy League University, she said it w...
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Chanute woman injured in truck rollover west of town
Donna Marie Thomas, 32, Chanute, was injured in a one-vehicle accident at 10 p.m. Tuesday .5 miles west of Wichita Road, or 4.5 miles west of Chanute on CR2000 in Wilson County. She was transported to Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center. The Kansas Highway Patrol reported Thomas was eastbound on CR2000 in a 2004 Ford pickup, left the roadway on the north side for unknown reason and traveled 300 feet before coming back on the roadway bac...
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Big Brothers Big Sisters program conducting school clothes drive
Kathleen Carney Tribune Reporter The Neosho County division of Big Brothers Big Sisters is hosting a charitable cocktail party Friday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. on the Quarry Stone front porch. Those wanting to help can purchase an item of clothing that one of eight “littles” needs for the school year. Drop it off on the Quarry Stone front porch and join the BBBS crew and others for a cocktail. Clothes can also be dropped off at the Chamber of C...
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Linda L. “Lynn” Beard 1943-2011
Linda L. “Lynn” Beard, 67, lifelong resident of the Galesburg and Parsons areas, died Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at Labette Health in Parsons. Death was unexpected. She was born Dec. 20, 1943 in Parsons to Ralph F. and Erma Lea Horn Carson. She attended school in Galesburg and graduated from the Galesburg High School in 1961. On March 13, 1961 she and John E. Beard were married at the Galesburg United Methodist Church. They celebrated their 50th...
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