Opinion
School superintendent acts as fireman
L. H. Petit, superintendent of the city schools, appeared in a dual role at the Junior college fire Tuesday, April 27, 1937. He was the hero and the only victim. First to go into action against the blaze, he was also first to quit the field after the victory had been won, fleeing from those who wished to commend him for his valiant services. It must be admitted, however, that this was not entirely because of innate modesty, but because he ...
full story
Education is the word in 2010
Main Street has been working hard since 1994 to build a better downtown. Our efforts have and are paying dividends, but our work is never done. We set goals each year at a board retreat in the late fall for the following year. Our main goal this year is to educate our downtown building owners and retailers how to do a better job to be successful and about the importance of maintaining our historic buildings. We have received a USDA Grant an...
full story
Spring cleaning: More than just a household chore
Spring has officially arrived. Hopefully the weatherman agrees. As spring arrives each year, a sense of new energy and hope awakens — the spreading of green across lawns and pastures, hearing the birds reappear with song and watching all the colors erupt through the blossoming flowers. Spring also brings the urge to rid our life of “stuff,” be it yard waste from last season or the closet packed full. People tend to get the urge to clean som...
full story
White House could force more tax burden onto families
On Tax Day, as Kansans wrote their check to Uncle Sam, most would agree they were paying their fair share and then some. Now consider this: the so-called Bush tax relief of 2001 that was passed with bipartisan support, is set to expire at the end of this year. This means Kansans will pay even more next year unless Congress acts to keep the current tax rates in place. More than 900,000 Kansans have benefitted from this tax relief. Today, 53...
full story
Spiritual pathways
How do you worship? What is the most natural way for you to connect with God? Often we think of worship as being music and or a sermon. But there are many ways to worship. Gary Thomas, in his book Sacred Pathways, describes different devotional ways people worship God. The pathways describe how we are most comfortable in our walk with God. Here are some ways that may be your worship language. Learning style. People with this worship styl...
full story
A tribute paid to Mr. Chanute
An eloquent tribute to Octave Chanute, for whom this city was named, was paid by Dr. Ford A. Carpenter of Washington, D.C., consulting meteorologist of the government, in his lecture in the Senior high school auditorium Saturday evening. “Mr. Chanute,” Dr. Carpenter said, “is everywhere recognized as the father of aviation.” He was the first to discover the principle of flight by heavier-than-air machines. Too far advanced in age to conduct t...
full story
Fire prevention talks
“I am not a gambling man and I have no money to spare,” said Fire Chief Jay W. Stevens of Portland, Ore., to his large luncheon audience on April 27, 1922, “but I am willing to wager $100 that I can go into any business, house or dwelling in this city and find from one to twenty hazards that are likely to cause a fire within twelve hours.” Mr. Stevens then went on to demonstrate common causes of fires, producing two actual fires and using ...
full story
Library shelves stocked with summer reading
April showers seem to include March winds so far this year, but spring has sprung none-the-less. With that in mind, I want to remind you that the library is a great resource as you are planning gardens, landscaping projects and other home improvements. We have new books on composting, garden bugs, greenhouses and gardening for profit. We also have a fantastic new book on making our homes more accessible as we age. For those who prefer their l...
full story
Eco-devo meeting gives residents a chance to offer input
J.D. Lester City Manager The Chanute Economic Development Committee was formed to create a strategic plan that identifies Chanute’s assets and uses those attributes as a basis for marketing strategies to attract families and businesses to Chanute. It is a “road map” of information about our town that can be built upon and used by future generations. From the beginning of the community economic development process, the sponsoring organization...
full story
River mystery is unsolved
While searchers, watched by hundreds of spectators, were dragging the river last night, June 3, 1922, for the body of George Cox of Macon, Mo., Mr. Cox himself was attending a picture show. When the workers quit shortly before midnight, they found Mr. Cox waiting for them at the fire department station. “You needn’t have taken all that trouble,” he said, “because I am here. I wish you had quit earlier, because you have been keeping me from ...
full story
Garden soil testing important
Whether you are new to gardening or have been gardening for years, all gardeners should think about their soil’s fertility levels. Just looking at your plants won’t provide the proper information. Soil fertility is something that cannot be seen, felt or guessed about. So as we get ready for planting time, consider having a soil analysis on your garden soil. A soil test reveals the base line nutritional values of soil. From this test, the t...
full story
What’s the right number?
What is the right number of commissioners to run a city? It will be interesting to find out on Wednesday what the city of Iola thinks. Iola last April voted to disband the existing city commission and voted Tuesday to choose either a five-, seven- or nine-member city commission. If voters endorse the nine-member commission, Iola will carry the distinction of having the largest city commission in the state. While several other communities ...
full story
Expo, Safari Days fast approaching
April is a big month for the Chamber. On Saturday, April 24, the Chamber will hold the 8th annual Business Expo, which is part of Safari Days. Also happening that weekend is the Safari Film Festival hosted by the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum and the Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center Health Fair along with activities for families and children. One of the things the Chamber wanted to do this year was to work with local business...
full story
Leadership Chanute 2010-2011
Communities that expect to move forward in the 21st century will need well- equipped leaders. Vision Chanute over the last year has focused on this need for leadership in our community. In partnership with Neosho County Community College and the Chanute Area Chamber of Commerce & Office of Tourism, Vision Chanute is please to announce the formation of a new LEADERSHIP CHANUTE Program. The program will help identify and educate local citizens ...
full story
Not all games are harmless fun
“There are whole sets of non-issues that are not raised for political debate in Japan, so they don’t filter into the consciousness of most Japanese people.” — Kyle Cleveland, associate professor of sociology at Temple University in Japan Those “non-issues” Cleveland is discussing in the above quote include rape. And it is “filtering into the consciousness of most Japanese people” now. The context in which Cleveland is quoted is a piece on ...
full story
CRSS: A regional success
“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” — John Donne In 1993, an organization called Coordinated Resource and Support Services (CRSS) was formed by Parsons State Hospital, area mental health centers and two programs that provided services to persons with developmental disabilities, one of which was Tri-Valley. The purpose of the organization was to assist persons who were dually dia...
full story
Identity theft: Deter, detect, defend
Identity theft is an issue that is regularly in the news. It is frightening to think that there are more than 8 million “new” victims each year in the U.S. I’d like to review the ways individuals get victimized, ways to minimize victimization, and what to do if identity theft happens to you. COMMON WAYS ID THEFT HAPPENS: 1. Dumpster Diving. They rummage through trash looking for paper with your personal information on it. 2. Skimming. T...
full story
J. C. Mohler on dairying industry
“Kansas has stood for years as the foremost bread state; now, let there be an ambition to cultivate the cow at least to the point where she will be capable of buttering the bread yielded by our wheat.” That was the advice of J. C. Mohler, secretary of the State Board of Agriculture, given to Wilson County on February 14, 1922, under auspices of the Neodesha Rotary Club. Secretary Mohler advocated diversified farming and dairying especially...
full story
Easter holiday provides special memories
With the sun shining and the birds singing and the temperatures warmer than they have been for some time, it is putting all of us in the “spring mood”... And boy, are we ready for it!! This week marks a special holiday for many people, the celebration of Easter with all of its meaning and traditions. Many families gather for that special family dinner. For some, it means ham, for others lamb as one of the more popular meats of choice. I thi...
full story
St. Patty’s Celebration spread out, but success
We had a great St. Patty’s Celebration is spite of the “Blizzard” on Saturday, March 20. Everyone survived the day and the volunteers were troupers to get out in the cold and drive in from the country when the roads were so bad. Those volunteers for Saturday who need a big Thank You are Sandy Williams, Wanda Parish, Martha McCoy, Shannon Urhmacher, Carol Olson, Andrea Evans, Jaime Fickle, Shanna Guiot, Yvonne Gilmore, Terri Orozco, Jennifer ...
full story