News
Fixture rate bill passes committee
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter A bill that could reduce Neosho County property tax revenues by an estimated 23 percent awaits a vote by state representatives after it passed out of committee Wednesday. Following testimony from Ash Grove Cement Plant Manager Randy Pryor, the Kansas Committee on Taxation, who sponsored and introduced the legislation, recommended state representatives put to a vote House Bill 2285, which the Kansas Association of ...
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Skywatch tour lands in Chanute, NCCC lands distinction
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter With severe weather season just around the corner, many Chanute residents received a timely education as part of the KOAM-Fox 14’s SkyWatch Tour Tuesday night at Neosho County Community College. Before the informative presentation, the SkyWatch Weather Tour took a moment to honor NCCC for becoming the first StormReady community college in Kansas — a distinction handed out by the National Weather Service (NWS) to s...
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District Judge: Drug court thriving in first few months
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter During the Chanute Area Chamber of Commerce & Office of Tourism’s Ambassador Luncheon Tuesday, 31st Judicial District Chief Judge Dan Creitz said the district’s new drug court is already seeing success in rehabilitating area drug addicts. As part of the Drug Court program, those convicted of drug related offenses can avoid jail or prison by joining a program that requires making twice-monthly court appearances for...
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Newman retires from DCF after 39 years
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter Joan Newman, program manager for the vocational rehabilitation program in the southeast Kansas region of the Department for Children and Families, is retiring after almost 39 years of service. Newman is a Chanute native. She started at the Social and Rehabilitation Services office in Chanute June 1, 1974, just after graduating high school. “That seems a little crazy these days,” she said. Newman said she liked the ...
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Chanute City Commission bans pseudoephedrine
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter The Chanute City Commission Monday night approved an ordinance that forces city residents to obtain a prescription before they can purchase a drug that is an ingredient in many cold and allergy medicines. The ordinance banning pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in the production of methamphetamine, passed by a vote of 3-1 with Commissioner Tim Egner the lone dissenting vote. Despite the issue having been discusse...
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Gaps needed to be filled in Royster history
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter Royster Middle School Librarian Nancy Brooks is looking to fill gaps in the history of the school. A display of some memorabilia is currently up in the student commons area, which includes old student papers, old photos, a diploma, grade cards and even a letter jacket. A few aerial photos of the school at various stages are on the wall outside the library. But most of the information is incomplete. The school is s...
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Chanute man arrested after chase
A multi-county police pursuit Monday afternoon ended with the arrest of a 26-year-old Chanute man. Kansas Highway Patrol officers attempted to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation around 2:52 p.m. Monday. A pursuit ensued when the driver, Curtis Casper, refused to stop. KHP Lieutenant Chuck Yokley said the driver was seen throwing drug contraband out of the vehicle during the chase, which went through the western part of Neosho County and ...
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USD 101 teams place high in state chess
Two of USD 101’s chess teams came home from the Kansas State Chess Championship with high placings in multiple divisions. The teams are from Erie High School and Galesburg Middle School. They practiced for Saturday’s competition for about seven months. The coaches for the teams are April Semrad, a teacher at Erie Elementary, and her husband, David. “These chess kids have a long season of seven months preparing for State and have worked very...
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Art Gallery dedicates wing to founder
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter The Chanute Art Gallery named its north wing after founder and former chairperson Elly McCoy during its grand reopening Sunday. The dedication comes at the heels of the gallery’s 40th anniversary and attracted numerous Chanute and Neosho County residents including Chanute Mayor Jim Chappell, who shared his experience working with McCoy. “We are honoring a young lady that has done a lot of work, spent lots of hours ...
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Bideau speaks on legislative issues
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter Ed Bideau, Kansas Representative for the 9th district, spoke at the New Chicago Room on Saturday to give citizens of Chanute an update on Topeka and the Legislature. Bideau said one of the main reasons to hold the event Saturday is that the Legislature is in turnaround: all bills that started in the House must pass out of the House or lay dormant until the next session, and the House must deal with bills that sta...
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Humboldt wins Regional Journalism competition, Chanute places second
Humboldt High School journalism students earned first place in the Kansas Scholastic Press Association’s 3A/4A Regional competition Feb. 20 at Pittsburg State University. Humboldt earned a total of 84 sweepstakes team points. Coming in second was Chanute with 55 points while Pittsburg and Girard tied for third with 42 points each. Aubrey Maxton earned two firsts, in Advertising Design and Yearbook Layout. Sheri Middleton took firsts in Sports...
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Humboldt team takes Michelle’s Angels dodgeball tournament
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter After coming up short two years in a row, the Bonnie’s Angels Dodgeball team has the right to wear the coveted Michelle’s Angels tournament champion T-shirts. Although reeling from the state tournament loss by its high school basketball team, the city of Humboldt can salvage a bit of pride with Bonnie’s Angels, named for a Humboldt woman who died of breast cancer, bringing home a championship with a narrow victory...
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Federal judge blocks injunction of water restrictions
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter The City of Chanute’s restriction on water usage remains in effect after a district court judge rejected a petition for injunction filed by representatives of the South Town Car Wash. U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten denied a motion by Attorney Molly M. Gordon, who represents the car wash owner Cody Mummert, for an injunction to allow the car wash to operate during normal business hours while Mummert and the C...
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Mr. Morse goes to Topeka: County Road and Bridge Director questions governor
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter ERIE — Neosho County Road and Bridge Director Charlie Morse got his chance to finally discuss his displeasure of recently proposed legislation directly to Gov. Sam Brownback. Morse approached Brownback to voice his opinion of House Bill 2285, which seeks to redefine what constitutes real and personal property. “I cornered him about the machinery and equipment bill,” Morse said. “He played really stupid and acted l...
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City to vote on pseudoephedrine ban
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter Chanute City Commissioners will vote Monday on an ordinance that would force residents to obtain a prescription for common cold medicines. Commissioners will hear a presentation by Parsons Police Department officials Monday regarding a similar ordinance passed by the Parsons City Commission and the effects Chanute’s unregulated pseudoephedrine has on Parsons. Commissioners planned to vote on the ordinance during t...
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Insurance, state legislation on minds of historic committee members
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter Establishment of an historical district in downtown Chanute hit another snag with area businesses worried whether creating the district would increase insurance costs. The Historic Downtown Revitalization Committee sought to discover if that would be the case, but found themselves with more questions than answers after Ross T. Hendrickson and Dave Robinson of MRH Insurance Group could not attend a question-and-ans...
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Chanute man sentenced 30 months for selling meth
Charles Garber, 57, Chanute, who was convicted in December 2012 of the sale of methamphetamine, was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months in prison. Garber’s court appointed defense attorney, Steven Staker, unsuccessfully presented motions for acquittal and a new trial on the grounds of insufficient evidence. The charge of sale of methamphetamine arose from a controlled buy that was made by a confidential informant, Danny Fox, on Nov. 22, 2010. Th...
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Sequestration impacts loom over mass transit
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter Neosho County residents reliant on mass transit may have trouble ahead with possible cuts to Southeast Kansas Community Action Program (SEK-CAP) due to federal sequestration. For disabled residents such as Bob Erickson of Chanute, whose diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy left him wheelchair-bound and unable to drive due to weakened nerves in his back and hands, SEK-CAP’s transportation program enables him to attend ...
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Erie High School hosts famous play about Holocaust rescuer
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter Erie High School’s personalized learning program will be hosting a famous performance next week. Life in a Jar, a play based on the life of Irena Sendler, a catholic polish woman who rescued Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942-43, will be performed 7 p.m. March 14 at the Erie High School auditorium. According to the project’s website, the title comes from the fact that Sendler rescued children from the ...
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SkyWatch Weather Tour stops in Chanute
The first stop of the KOAM-TV and FOX 14 SkyWatch Weather Tour is Tuesday, March 12 at NCCC Gymnasium on the campus of Neosho County Community College. The tour is hosted by the stations’ chief meteorologist, Doug Heady, and features severe weather video and safety precautions. A weather expo featuring services, vendors and products to help keep people safe during severe weather begins at 5 p.m. The weather show begins at 7 p.m. with repre...
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