News
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Bowyer makes her day
Stu Butcher Tribune Editor Excuse Jan Shipley for incessant talking. She was bubbling over because she had gotten to meet a distant cousin and her favorite NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer. Bowyer, an Emporia native, on April 18 was opening the new Clint Bowyer Autoplex on Sixth Street in his hometown, across the street from the $1.5 million Clint Bowyer Community Building, which opened last year with a concert by country artist Blake Shelton. Shipl...
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County considers city’s fiber optic agreement
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter ERIE — The City of Chanute could have another internet service customer after County Appraiser David Thornton presented on Friday the Neosho County Commission with a master service agreement proposal. In return for approving the agreement, Neosho County would receive three-times faster internet service at a cheaper rate than what they currently receive from CableONE. County Attorney Linus Thuston said the three-fo...
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Iola health worker defends grant pursuits
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter Southeast Kansas Multi County Health Department (SEKMCHD) Chief Nursing Officer DeeDee Martin rebuffed accusations of sniping grant funds from neighboring counties. Martin’s rebuttal comes at the heels of accusations made by Neosho County Health Department Administrator Teresa Starr after the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) selected the SEKMCHD to receive a childcare-licensing grant over Neosho ...
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Hearing for Voorhees moved to May 28
The preliminary hearing for Michelle Voorhees scheduled for today has been rescheduled for 10 a.m. May 28 in Neosho County District Court in Chanute. On Feb. 13, both Brian Shields and Voorhees were charged with felony murder and aggravated burglary.Voorhees was apprehended on Feb. 14. Police arrested Shields April 16 after a car chase in St. Joseph, Mo. Optometrists attend annual convention TOPEKA – More than 450 people attended the 2013 Ka...
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California pilot visiting local family, friends
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter Chanute native and pilot Dana Pontious is taking advantage of her love for flying. She landed in Chanute on Wednesday to visit family and friends. Pontious moved away from Chanute in 1976 and currently resides in Riverside, Calif. She has been back to Chanute several times over the years, the last time was about two years ago. Pontious got into flying for a couple reasons. As a child she would visit the Martin and ...
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Local candidate in running for Recreation Commission director
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter The Chanute Recreation Commission (CRC) inched closer to hiring a director after the CRC and city officials interviewed the final candidates, which include a local resident. During City Manager J.D. Lester’s report to the Chanute City Commission Monday, he confirmed the CRC and city officials interviewed the final four candidates last week. “Dan [McMillan, Chanute Parks Director] and I have been pretty active in t...
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Answer the call of patients by donating at blood drive
Be a hometown hero and donate blood. American Red Cross heroes come in all shapes and sizes. They don’t wear capes or special suits. Their badge of honor is the bandage that shows they gave the “gift of life.” Be a hometown hero and answer the call of patients in need by donating blood. “Donating blood is one of the simplest things you can do to help save a patient’s life,” said Terri Dunaway, CEO of the Red Cross Central Plains Blood Service...
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CRDA talks possible new big business
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter Chanute could receive a 70-unit motel and travel center after the Chanute Regional Development Authority (CRDA) agreed to an addendum to rectify previous concerns. The CRDA unanimously approved the signing of the addendum by Executive Director Murray McGee to an option between the CRDA, an unspecified landowner and an unspecified developer that would rectify concerns that centered around signage and the ability of...
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County Health Dept. move, grant funds hit snags
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter The Neosho County Health Department suffered a few setbacks with grant funding and its upcoming move. Lease negotiations between Neosho County and Chanute building owner Jim Allen hit a snag along with an effort to preserve childcare-licensing grant funds the county has received for the last 15 years. With its lease set to expire in May, the Health Department ramped up its effort to find a new location in past mon...
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Romance, adventure featured at weekend Safari Film Festival
The Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum in Chanute will present its 11th annual Safari Film Festival, a weekend of romance and adventure, on Friday, April 26, and Saturday, April 27. Friday’s events will feature an evening showing of the film “The King’s Speech,” which is based on a true story of England’s King George VI. The King and his wife, Elizabeth, when they were known as the Duke and Duchess of York, visited Martin and Osa Johnson a...
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Container gardening has its advantages
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter Southwind Extension District agent Krista Harding provided information on container gardening at the Chanute Public Library on Tuesday. The meeting room was packed with people interested in the topic. “I feel like in the last few years container gardening has really taken off,” Harding said. Harding said that container gardening brings advantages like smaller space requirements and mobility. Containers can be moved...
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Ogle’s whodunit ‘Mind Readers’ coming to Claremore
A real whodunit is coming to Claremore, Okla. And the audience will get the chance to solve it. Will either Sheriff K.W. Guantey and his soon to deliver wife Barbara or funeral home director Chester Smithson and his much younger wife Bubbles be the lucky couple to win the grand prize as they compete in the new game show “Mind Readers”?¬†The game show where couples use their intuitive powers and see how well they know what their spouses are th...
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New city commissioner makes first meeting notable
Claims threats of violence from city official Erickson also asked that City Manager J.D. Lester remove editorial comments from the signature of Lester’s city e-mails. Erickson said the signatures come off as a veiled insult. The comments Erickson referenced come from Henry Ford, who said most people spend more time and energy going around problems than trying to solve them, and Dale Carnegie, who said any fool can criticize, condemn and compla...
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Southwind Extension District hires youth development agent
Jennifer Murphy is the new K-State Research and Extension 4-H youth development agent for Southwind Extension in Erie. Murphy earned her Bachelor’s degre in family and consumer sciences from Pittsburg State University. While in college, she worked as a children’s aid for two different mental health centers. Within the past year, worked as a 4-H program assistant in Kansas State University’s Wildcat Extension District in Girard. Murphy replaced...
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Status hearing set for Shields
Brian Shields had his first appearance in Neosho County District Court on Tuesday, facing a felony murder charge among others. Linus Thuston, Neosho County attorney, reported Shields appeared by video before magistrate judge Leo Gensweider shortly after arriving at the Neosho County Jail at about 2:30 p.m. Shields appeared on the first degree (felony) murder and aggravated burglary charge as well as separate cases of possession with intent to ...
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CCA excels at arts festival
Alex Clover CCA sophomore On Friday, April 12, the Chanute Christian Academy Junior High and High School traveled to Kansas City, Mo., to participate in the Blue Ridge Fine Arts and Crafts Festival. Two students, junior Amanda Hancock and 8th grader Alicia Boan, performed vocal solos where Hancock received a I rating and Boan received a II rating. Seventh grader Rayanne McKinsey sent in a craft that received a I rating, along with 7th grader...
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Luther to exhibit senior art show at Bethany College
LINDSBORG — Bethany College senior artist Grace Luther from Buffalo will exhibit her senior art show, “Inside Out,” at Mingenback Art Center on campus from April 25 to 30. A reception will be held on Sunday, April 28, from 2 to 4 p.m. with a gallery talk by the artist at 2:30 p.m. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public This exhibition consists of drawings made with primarily soft pastel to create vibrant images. Through ...
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Mother celebrates arrest, daughter’s 37th birthday
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter Throughout the weekend, flowers and stuffed animals accumulated at the makeshift memorial of Cristy Thomas-Wiles, who would have celebrated her 37th birthday Saturday. Instead of celebrating her daughter’s birthday, Sandra Smedley Barker spent much of Saturday with Wiles’ son, Zebadiah Campbell, who competed at the Pittsburg State University ratings competition playing solo in a piano recital and playing percussio...
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County audit reveals $27,000 accounting error
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter ERIE — Friday morning’s Neosho County Commission meeting included a disappointing audit report. Auditor Rodney Burns of Shlotterbeck & Burns requested that Neosho County immediately hire a full-time payroll clerk after he discovered numerous accounting errors. Burns recommended the county hire a well-trained, full-time payroll clerk and not rely so much on the online payroll accounting system, Paychex, after sever...
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Iola man, 59, diesin fatality accident A fatality accident killing an Iola man occurred at about 3:42 p
Iola man, 59, diesin fatality accident A fatality accident killing an Iola man occurred at about 3:42 p.m. Saturday at K-7 and 590th Avenue, about three miles south of Girard. Richard Sigg, Jr., 59, of Iola was westbound on 590th Avenue, driving a 1963 Studebaker and approaching K-7. Shawn Adam Garbin, 39, of Girard was northbound on K-7 driving a 1999 Dodge Dakota and approaching 590th Avenue. Sigg failed to stop at the sign and his vehicle ...
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