Community News
Donald Earl Stanley
Graveside inurnment services for Donald Earl Stanley of Elsmore, whose obituary appeared earlier in The Chanute Tribune, will be 12:30 p.m. Sunday, May 29 at the Elsmore Cemetery.  All are invited to 502 N. Main in Elsmore following the service for a time of fellowship with the family.  Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Memorial Chapel of Iola is in charge of arrangements.
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Marvin Martin 1920-2011
Marvin Francis Martin, 90, a resident of Vintage Park in Fredonia, formerly a longtime resident of Lafontaine, died Saturday, May 21, 2001 at the Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice at Via Christi St. Francis Medical Center in Wichita. He was born Nov. 10, 1920 in Lamont, Mo.,, the son of Lewis Cecil and Pearl Mae Gowin Martin. Martin was a retired farmer. Martin served in the United States Army during World War II. He was a member of the Lafont...
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Gloria Faye Goff 1935-2011
Gloria Faye Goff, 76, St. Paul, died at Saturday, May 21, 2011 at Labette Health, Parsons. She was born Feb. 28, 1935, a daughter of Stanley Whitworth and Loretta June Whitworth Harding. She grew up and attended school in rural Neosho County. She met and married Virgil L. Goff on Dec. 23, 1952 at Huntsville, Ark. She worked 32 years at the Home Savings Bank at Chanute, retiring as secretary and treasurer. Gloria was a long-time member of t...
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Scott A. Coomes 1963-2011
Scott A. Coomes, 47, St. Paul, died Saturday, May 21, 2011, at his home. He had been in failing health the past two years.  He was born August 29, 1963, in Garden City, Mich., to Adrian Dale and Helen Schoenhofer Coomes. He moved with his family to St. Paul where he graduated from St. Paul High School in 1981.  Scott worked in construction for several years then later worked at Industrial Crating in St. Paul. Most recently he was employed with...
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Superintendent Parsons retires from Chanute Public Schools
Reception Wednesday at CES  Connie Woodard Special to the Tribune After 40 years in education in southeast Kansas, Superintendent Stephen Parsons is stepping down from a satisfying career with no regrets.  “Every step in my career has been positive and provided a great opportunity for me to grow and learn,” Parsons said. “You get to meet and work with some really great people. I have been blessed to have been given the chance to learn from...
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Uganda experience stimulates return trip
Kathleen Carney Tribune Reporter Chanute resident Hallea Geiger returned last week from her four-month mission in Tororo, Uganda where she worked at Smile, a school with around 450 children. Geiger and three other girls, including Chanute resident Kayla Ramsey, volunteered their time and worked with the children at Smile six days a week. Geiger and Ramsey spent the morning caring for the babies and in the afternoon the younger children woul...
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Questions answered about Murray Hill nomination
Stu Butcher Tribune editor When the announcement that Murray Hill School had been nominated for the National Register of Historic Places was made, questions have arisen. Rep. Jerry Williams, D-Chanute, approached Jennie Chinn, executive director of Kansas Historical Society. “A high degree of concern is now present in Chanute,” Williams said in an email to Chinn. “This decision comes at the same time the City of Chanute is moving to declare an...
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Clarence W. Barr 1927-2011
Clarence W. Barr, 83, Chanute died Wednesday, May 18, 2011 in Chanute. Born June 11, 1927, in Rose, Kansas, he was the son of Anna Elizabeth Goloby and James Chester Barr. They preceded him in death, along with his brothers; Harold and Richard Barr and a sister, Elizabeth Ann Barr. Clarence grew up on a farm and attended Maple Grove School. He knew the meaning of hard work. He was employed for many years at Mid America Refinery. He then retire...
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Velma Marie Grogan 1915-2011
Velma Marie Grogan, 95, Independence, formerly of Chanute, died Thursday, May 19, 2011 at Mercy Hospital in Independence. Velma was born in Chanute on Dec. 17, 1915, the daughter of Arthur Edwin and Edna C. Underhill Turner. She graduated from Chanute High School. She was a lifelong resident of Chanute where she lived at 1428 S. Highland for a majority of that time. In March 2010 she moved to Independence and lived at Regal Estate for the past...
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Italian cooking straight from Sicily kitchen
Marilynn Rutledge Tribune Reporter Luigi’s Italian restaurant made its debut in Chanute last week in the downstairs of the Mercantile building at 115 E. Main. The restaurant is owned by Vito Morina, but is a family run business all the way down to the recipes from which the dishes are derived. The Morina family, originally from Sicily, moved to Germany when they were young where their parents owned a restaurant. After learning the family recip...
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Oldest graduate prevailed over Physical Science requirement
Kathleen Carney Tribune Reporter Long time Chanute resident Elly McCoy proved this spring that it is never too late to receive a college degree. McCoy, who is in her early 80s though she did not wish to say her exact age, is the oldest graduate from Neosho County Community College ever. She beat out Violet Goff who was 81 years old when she earned her degree in 1993. “Her determination and efforts are an inspiration to anyone who wants to...
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Clifford Ernest Welch 1913-2011
Clifford Ernest Welch, 97, died Monday, May 16, 2011 at Valley Gardens Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center in Stockton, Calif., after a short illness. He was born in Havana on Sept. 9, 1913 to John William and Eva Louise Davey Welch. The family moved to Chanute when he was a small child. He attended Chanute schools and was a WWII veteran.  He was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters, Evelyn Marks and Louise Graham, two brothers John Jr...
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Cause of power outage uncertain
The City of Chanute is unclear about what caused a citywide power outage Thursday morning. Larry Gates, director of utilities, said engineers will be on site today to do more extensive investigation. “There are two or three issues we are looking into,” he said. “We were test running the turbine when the VAR control dropped out. It tripped the bus differential (should not have happened), which cleared the bus and locked everything out. Until...
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Pros and cons aired about outlining historic district
Kathleen Carney Tribune Reporter A public meeting was held Tuesday evening at Central Park Pavilion in order to allow the public to discuss a local ordinance proposed to create a certified local government and outline a historic district. This meeting came after the April 18 City Commission meeting where several citizens aired their concerns about the proposed ordinance. A panel of experts were on hand to answer questions about historic di...
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Bike safety check scheduled on Monday
Marilynn Rutledge Tribune Reporter During the month of May, the Neosho County Health Department has been promoting bicycle safety for younger children as part of Bicycle Safety Month. In the last month, Health Department Director Teresa Starr has passed out pamphlets, spoken during a daycare Parents Cafe, and worked with the trauma council on a commercial promoting trauma prevention and bicycle safety. To end Bicycle Safety Month, the Neosh...
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Wayne E. Dougherty 1927-2011
Wayne E. Dougherty, 84, Thayer, died Monday, May 16, 2011 at the Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center in Chanute. Wayne was born in rural Thayer on Feb. 28, 1927, the son of Paris Arthur and Louise Madison Dougherty. He attended schools in Thayer. He served his country in the United States Army during the Korean Conflict. Wayne was united in marriage to Georgeann “Ann” Reece on Dec. 21, 1953. She preceded him in death in September 1991. H...
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Mary Frances Thummel 1931-2011
Mary Frances Thummel, 80, Iola, died Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at the Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center in Chanute. Mary Frances was born Jan. 31, 1931 at Piqua, the daughter of Bernard and Julia Ulrich Konen. She grew up at Piqua where she attended St. Martin’s Catholic School through the 8th grade. She graduated from Iola High School. Mary Frances was married to Charles Thummel. They had four children and later divorced. Mary Frances has...
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Murray Hill School nominated for National Register of Historic Places
The nomination of the former Murray Hill School in Chanute has been forwarded to the office of the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C., to be evaluated by professional staff. If they concur with the Historic Sites Board of Review’s findings, the property will be included in the National Register. The Kansas Historical Society in Topeka held its regular quarterly meeting on Saturday, May 14. The board voted to...
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Technology students challenged at state competition
Connie Woodard Tribune Reporter Mix together a little bit of creativity, a dash of artistry, a generous helping of technology and the ability to work under pressure, and a teacher ends up with the kind of student who can perform well at the Technology Student Association’s state competition. After returning from the three-day TSA competition in Salina, CHS technology teacher Shannon Hill said her students are learning what it takes to compe...
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Merle Kelly Ford goes green with PPG waterborne paint
Merle Kelly Ford in Chanute has taken a proactive stand in protecting the environment by going “green” with its paint finishing system. The collision center recently switched to a low-VOC PPG waterborne basecoat from a conventional solvent-based system. “Our use of waterborne basecoat for refinishing our customers’ vehicles significantly reduces the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere,” said Dick Kelly, general m...
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