Archive By Author - Susan Thacker
BCAC to hold drawing for Chet Cale carving
The Barton County Arts Council has enough Christmas art at its gallery to fill a sleigh, and one lucky art lover will win an original Chet Cale carving this holiday season, BCAC Director Karen Neuforth said. "Mr. Cale is Great Bend's own," Neuforth said. The piece to be given away is "Whooping Crane I," a marble relief carving depicting the profile of the ...
Santa's Workshop is Monday
For shoppers there was Black Friday - a crush of humanity in the holiday spirit. For elves at the North Pole, the biggest activity leading to Christmas takes place the first Monday in December, when hundreds of kids meet at the Great Bend Auditorium for Santa's Workshop. The 14th Annual Santa's Workshop will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Monday in the City Auditorium. This free Christmas event is designed ...
BCC's Camp Aldrich still a 'hidden gem'
An Ellinwood man who attended Thursday's study session of the Barton Community College Board of Trustees had questions after listening to discussion on the college's Camp Aldrich facility near Cheyenne Bottoms. "Does this board have a vision for Camp Aldrich?" Dennis Carson asked. If so, the former owner of C&V Home Improvement continued, what is it? If the board doesn't have a vision, why not? The question of what ...
Zoo news: Brit Spaugh Zoo is on the move
The biggest news this week at Great Bend's Brit Spaugh Zoo was the arrival of a new animal on Wednesday. (See story on page 1.) Seems like the zoo is always adding new animals, especially if one counts the hundreds of migrating birds that visit every December. White domestic geese can be found at the zoo year-round, but flocks of Canada geese start their noisy southern migration in the fall, ...
Binturong arrives at Brit Spaugh Zoo
What has the head of a cat, the body of a bear - and smells like freshly popped popcorn? That would be a binturong (BIN-tu-rong), commonly known as an Asian bearcat, and it's the newest animal at Great Bend's Brit Spaugh Zoo. The binturong arrived Wednesday afternoon from Dakota Zoo in Bismarck, N.D. Great Bend Zoo Director Scott Gregory said the animal has a clean bill of heath, but ...
Mystery couple gives ride to boy
Police were asked to conduct extra patrols near one Great Bend school after two strangers in a car gave a boy a ride home Tuesday afternoon. Lt. Bill Browne at the Great Bend Police Department said officers wrote up a "miscellaneous case" report to document the incident, but their investigation did not show any crime was committed. The man and woman may have been two Good Samaritans, concerned to see ...
Woman injured in van-deer collision
A Pawnee Rock woman was injured Sunday after the van she was a passenger in struck a deer in Barton County. Dora Jeanne Hayward, 61, was taken to Great Bend Regional Hospital with undetermined injuries. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol online crashlogs, Howard Myron Hayward Jr., 61, was driving the Ford van at 6:14 p.m. and was 1.2 miles west of Albert on K-96 when a deer entered the ...
Stitches required after brawl
A woman received 40 stitches to her face Sunday after being cut in a fight, officials report. Great Bend Police were dispatched to investigate the alleged aggravated battery at 2:28 a.m. Sunday. According to Lt. William Browne, officers were first dispatched to Central Kansas Medical Center, where they learned that "a very large fight" involving several people had occurred a short time earlier at a residence at 12th and ...
Shop 'til you drop
Frigid weather mixed with cheerful madness - that was the scene late Thursday and into the early morning hours Friday. Bargain hunters turned out early for sales that marked the unofficial opening of the holiday shopping season. It may not appear on any calendar, but for serious shoppers, Black Friday - the day after Thanksgiving - is as exciting as the first day of pheasant season is ...
Website helps college-bound students
Comparing Barton Community College to area peers using the institution's own data is one thing, but an independent, apples-to-apples survey is even better, says Charles Perkins, Barton's dean of information services. A website allows prospective college students and their parents to compare schools online, checking everything from enrollment and graduation rates to costs, Perkins said. The Integrated Postsecondary Education DataSystem (IPEDS) collects data from nearly 6,700 post-secondary institutions across ...
Thomas, Williams scheduled for parole hearings
A man serving sentences for rape and aggravated burglary committed in Stafford County will be eligible for a parole hearing in February, the Kansas Parole Board reports. Ronald Lee Thomas, 50, committed his crimes on Oct. 15, 1988. He is incarcerated in the Hutchinson Correctional Facility at a low-medium security level. Thomas is also serving time for an aggravated assault that occurred in Wabaunsee County in 1984. Willie ...
CHRISTMAS MIRACLE
When Rita Vredenburg moved from Texas to Kansas last year to be closer to her sister, she brought her village with her. The Christmas Miracle Village, that is. Vredenburg has a collection of holiday lights, Nativity scenes and animated displays that light up the night in rural Stafford County. The scene on north U.S. 281 - about a mile south ...
Tiede ready for a change of heart
This Thanksgiving season, Brent Tiede won't get to toss a football around with his kids, go hunting or even go to work, but he is counting his blessings - among them the promise of a new, healthy heart. The call could come any day from St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., where the former Great Bend man is at the top of the B waiting list - those needing ...
Taking a 'bough': New Mayor's Christmas Tree planted
Great Bend's schedule of holiday events will move into Official Christmas Mode at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, with a parade down Main Street. A 13-foot Serbian spruce was planted in the courthouse square last week, so that the annual lighting of the Mayor's Christmas Tree can take place at 6:45 p.m., said Scott Keeler, superintendent of the city's parks.
Talking Turkey: Kids learn more about Thanksgiving's top bird
With Thanksgiving just days away, children flocked to the Kansas Wetlands Education Center on Saturday to talk turkey. Pam Martin and other staff explained the peculiarities of our favorite holiday bird, from head to toe - or snood to spur.
Articles By Author - Susan Thacker
Cool/Not Cool
The Imagination Playground is coming to Great Bend and will make its public debut during June Jaunt. The portable playground is a set of oversized blocks, lightweight but sturdy enough to build with. They were designed by award-winning architect David Rockwell, who was inspired by watching his own children play.
These masterpieces have wheels
Barton County Historic Society is celebrating the 60th anniversary of organized drag racing in the Golden Belt with a new exhibit and a car show during its open house this Saturday.
GBRC shares Blue Ribbon Award to promote health
Several people working to make Barton County a healthier place received some recognition and financial assistance Monday during the Great Bend Recreation Commission Board meeting. Doug Vance, executive director of the Kansas Recreation & Park Association, visited the meeting along with representatives from BlueCross BlueShield of Kansas, to present a $2,500 facsimile check and a banner in honor of Great Bend winning the Blue Chip award.
Trash talk
The senior class president of Heights High School in Wichita was suspended for the rest of the school year after posting a bit of trash talk about the school football team on Twitter.
BCC may opt out of conceal carry law
Barton Community College trustees may request an exemption to a new gun law taking effect July 1.
German Wedding Roast a family tradition
One way to keep Mom out of the kitchen this Mother's Day is by taking her to lunch. Jeannie Munsch will be cooking German Wedding Roast to serve this Sunday at the Great Bend American Legion Post 180, 1011 Kansas Ave., from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
GBFD roundup: Fire marshal investigates basement fire
An investigator from the Kansas State Fire Marshal's office was in Great Bend Monday to determine the cause of a fire Sunday afternoon at 2011 Jackson St. It was one of several fire calls over the weekend, Great Bend Fire Chief Mike Napolitano said. Firefighters received the report of a basement fire at 4:37 p.m., at the house owned by James and Krissy Jackson. The first truck arrived to find heavy smoke and fire coming ...
Job Olympics celebrates abilities
Students from 13 schools demonstrated their life skills and vocational abilities Friday during the Job Olympics at Great Bend High School's Panther Activity Center. This competition, open to any special education student in Kansas, is sponsored by the Barton County Transition Council and the Special Services Cooperative. Events at tables throughout the arena mimicked real job situations and life skills, such as food preparation, office work or automotive checking. There was event a contest for ...
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