Opinion
M.K.&T. Depots
The first depot used by the Katy railroad was an old passenger car. It was placed on a side track sometime during the latter years of 1870, and served as an all purpose depot for both passengers and freight shipments, but before the year was out, the Katy staff was able to move into a more permanent building. It is not known what happened to the passenger car. No picture is available of the car. The second depot location was described as be...
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Overflow Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., impressive
A visit to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is the highlight for many who visit our nation’s capital. When asked what impressed a person most, among the Smithsonian Museums, usually the Air and Space Museum is among the most popular. What many may not be aware of is that there is a second Air and Space Museum. It is not located on the famous “National Mall.” Instead, it is located in Chantilly, Va., in the shadow of the famous Dulles Air...
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New automation system helps library
Almost exactly one year ago, the library migrated to our new automation system. While the next several months proved to be stressful for staff and patrons, one year later we are pleased with our choice. Sek-n-Find is a consortium of southeast Kansas libraries. It began last year with Chanute, Iola, Independence and Coffeyville and has now grown to include 14 public libraries. Six more will be joining in the coming months. This move has given ...
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Offices to 12 awarded soon
The biennial task of selecting 12 heads of municipal departments will come before the board of city commissioners on May 5, 1936. While there has been considerable speculation regarding possible changes in appointive offices, no indication has come from city hall that any drastic house cleaning is contemplated. A source of information very close to the commission as newly constituted, said: “There will be some minor changes but none of the...
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Shop Local drive in the works
In an effort to encourage residents to shop locally, the city of Chanute has been kicking around the idea of sinking some dollars into a campaign to provide incentives to keep tax dollars at home. At its last meeting, the city commission discussed putting aside $25,000 for the program. Main Street Chanute has teamed up with the local Chamber of Commerce and the city to hammer out the details. The program may be modeled after a similar driv...
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The future is the key
“People are afraid of the future, of the unknown. If a man faces up to it, and takes the dare of the future, he can have some control over his destiny. That’s an exciting idea to me, better than waiting with everybody else to see what’s going to happen.” — John H. Glenn 1995 was an important year in the field of developmental disabilities, for it was in this year that the Developmental Disabilities Reform act passed the Kansas Legislature a...
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School board to act on fees
A decision as to whether out-of-county students will be allowed to attend high school and junior college here without paying a tuition fee, is expected from the board of education at their regular May meeting to be held Monday night, according to the April 30, 1936 Chanute Tribune. Arguments for and against the proposal were heard at a special meeting of the board Wednesday night, held to receive a committee of seven men representing the Chan...
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Vision Chanute morphing, not disbanding
Vision Chanute still believes there is a place for citizen involvement in our community and we’re still working to promote that involvement! While the Vision Chanute steering committee had gotten caught up in our inability to raise the Public Square accreditation fee, we had never lost our desire to continue promoting the process of community involvement and the education of all four sides of the public square in the importance of that invol...
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Keep an eye out for PT Cruiser caravan
Here it is November already and those of you who are organized are probably already well into checking off items on your Christmas list. Chanute is fortunate to have quite a few outstanding retailers and we would strongly suggest everyone support these local businesses as you do your shopping — both during the holidays and every day. To that end, the Chamber has once again joined forces with Main Street Chanute and the City of Chanute along ...
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Bystanders should be accountable, too
A 15-year-old girl was gang-raped a week ago today outside her California school while a homecoming dance was going on inside. Police say up to 20 people were standing around watching the incident go on for more than two hours and no one lifted a finger to help this girl. Nothing was done until someone overheard two of the people who watched it happen discussing it later. Witnesses took photos. They laughed. No one called the police. Not o...
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NCCC Web site gets an overhaul
A new look is coming to the Neosho County Community College Web site. And we want all of you to have a say in how it will look. To review the eight different possible new “looks,” please log on to www.neosho.edu and under the “News” column, click on the Web site Redesign Survey link. There you will see examples of eight different designs. You are asked to indicate if you like or dislike a particular design and then you will have space to offe...
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Sen. Pat Roberts voted against both versions of health care reform bills
As Charlie Rich sang, “Oh, no-one knows what goes on behind closed doors.” This is certainly true regarding health care reform legislation in Congress. Despite all that you have heard about the two Senate proposals, these two health care reform bills are being merged together by the Majority, out of the public eye. Even some Democrats don’t know if their provisions will survive this process. I served on both committees drafting these so-cal...
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What’s in the museum’s future?
The Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum once more welcomes trick-or-treaters from 4-6 p.m. on Friday. Traditionally this is the museum’s busiest day. Exhibits will be open free-of-charge with our volunteers and staff handing out candy. As an added bonus the wooded giraffes in the depot lobby have again been creatively decorated by curator Jacque Borgeson. Please visit the library and museum for a frighteningly fun adventure! It’s hard for me...
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Christmas preparations began in July
Fall has come and is almost gone with Christmas just around the corner, but Main Street Chanute has been working on Christmas since July. Late last spring we acquired all the Christmas Card Lane decorations from Larry and Wilma Jean Nelson. Volunteers started restringing lights on the scenes so we could get them done for this holiday season. Well, the job has been accomplished. The designs are ready for display starting the middle of November...
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Kansas faces big hole in school aid
John Hanna Associated Press Writer TOPEKA (AP) — New students in Kansas’ public schools and declining property values have punched what could become a $70 million hole in the state’s already shaky budget, a top education official confirmed Friday. Deputy Education Commissioner Dale Dennis said Kansas faces being short in its ability to meet its legal obligations for providing aid to its 293 school districts during their current academic y...
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A sad wild rumpus
“Where the Wild Things Are” is a classic book. I grew up on it, like millions of others. So a trip to the theater to see the new film was something I had been looking forward to since seeing the trailers for it months ago. I wouldn’t say the film is disappointing. It was a good show. But it wasn’t the book. Little from the book was recognizable, other than the famous line, “Let the wild rumpus start!” For one thing, Max is dealing with the...
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Bulb use in the landscape
Bulbs are a good addition to any landscape or garden because they offer a variety of bloom color, flowering time, plant height and shape. Now, (October) is the time to plant spring flowering bulbs. Before you plant, spend some time thinking and planning about the location. Bulbs can be planted in a variety of locations including around house foundations, under deciduous shrubs and trees, along borders, in perennial beds and rock gardens, in c...
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There’s gold in them there pancakes
The Chris Cakes Pancake fundraiser raised $2,243 and change last week to benefit the Chanute Elementary PTO. Wow. That’s a lotta pancakes. My family, like many, many others in Chanute, went to the pancake feed. Chairs (and syrup) were at a premium. We arrived at around 5:30 p.m. and the crowd was already lined up down the hall about an hour into the event. The community support for the fund raiser, whether you went for the pancakes or to rais...
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Special meeting on tuition proposal
A decision as to whether out-of-county students will be allowed to attend high school and junior college here without paying a tuition fee, is expected from the board of education at their regular May meeting to be held Monday night, according to the April 30, 1936 Chanute Tribune. Arguments for and against the proposal were heard at a special meeting of the board Wednesday night, held to receive a committee of seven men representing the Ch...
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Change smoke alarm, carbon monoxide batteries along with clocks
Andy Moffitt CFD Battalion Chief As the time change approaches on Sunday, November 1, the Chanute Fire Department wants to remind residents to make another change that could save their lives — changing the batteries in their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Communities nationwide witness tragic home fire deaths each year, and Chanute is no exception. Approximately every 3 hours a home fire death occurs somewhere in the nation and ...
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