Archive By Author - Susan Thacker
Free tax help available
Once again, volunteers are available to help low- and moderate-income residents prepare their state and federal income tax returns, including the Kansas Homestead Claim for senior citizens who are homeowners. Kathy Ahlvers, who is volunteering as a trained AARP tax-aide, said she and three other volunteers will work in Room 101 of the Barton County Courthouse on Wednesdays through April 6, but appointments are required and the month of ...
Blizzard conditions hit statewide
They didn't exactly roll up the sidewalks, but even some of Great Bend's downtown stores closed Tuesday as snow whipped through the streets and temperatures plummeted. It's not as if no one saw this week's massive winter storm coming. Forecasters at the National Weather Service warned people last week, even as temperatures reached unprecedented highs, to expect highs in the teens and lows in single digits - along with ...
Rural community mourns Tanner Hlavaty
OTIS - Students and teachers at Otis-Bison Elementary School learned over the weekend that 7-year-old Tanner Hlavaty had died Saturday in a farm accident. Principal Mark Goodheart said Tanner will be remembered as a great kid who was always smiling. Families and staff received messages over the weekend, to make sure everyone was aware of the second-grade student's death. On Monday morning, the school district's service cooperative sent a crisis ...
Happy 150 Kansas: Residents celebrate state's sesquicentennial
Pioneers, cowgirls and basketball fans alike celebrated the 150th anniversary of Kansas becoming a state on Saturday, which was Kansas Day.
Miller returns to scene of the crime
Nearly 40 years after leading raids on gambling in Great Bend, former Kansas Attorney General Vern Miller was back in town Saturday. Miller, 82, spoke at the Great Bend Public Library, where he and author Mike Danford signed copies of the biography "Vern Miller: Legendary Kansas Lawman."
THE STUFF OF LEGENDS: Vern Miller returns to Great Bend
To some, Vern Miller was the "Super Cop," who, as Kansas Attorney General, raided night clubs - including the Great Bend Petroleum Club - and confiscated cases of liquor from Amtrak trains. Others had a less charitable view of Miller, and took to spray painting the name "Vern" under the word "Stop" on stop signs in the 1970s.
New K-9 officer learning the ropes
Members of the Great Bend Noon Kiwanis got to see K-9 officer Rocco in action Wednesday, during a demonstration presented by the Barto County Sheriff's Office. Rocco, like his predecessor Donna, is a Belgian malinois, a shepherd dog imported from Holland. Donna still ranks as one of the best law enforcement dogs of all time, in Sheriff Greg Armstrong's opinion, but at 11 ...
Community colleges support new funding model
Kansas community colleges are supporting a proposed cost model for technical education, but advising legislators not to fund vocational schools at their expense. Staff from the Kansas Association of Community College Trustees and four community college presidents met with freshman legislators in Topeka on Jan. 11. Barton Community College President Dr. Heilman shared the talking points and 2011 legislative agenda, which includes those issues, along with reinstituting a program ...
Longoria attorneys seek to strike death penalty
Attorneys for Adam Joseph Longoria have filed a motion seeking to have the Kansas death penalty declared unconstitutional. Longoria, 36, is awaiting trial on a capital murder charge for allegedly killing 14-year-old Alicia DeBolt of Great Bend last year. The motion filed earlier this month in Barton County District Court acknowledges that the constitutionality of the Kansas death penalty has already been upheld by the Kansas Supreme ...
ROLLING OUT THE DOUGH
Members of Boy Scout Troop and Pack 184 were up to their elbows in dough Saturday, making noodles for the upcoming fundraising dinner. Twelve-year-old Tristan Mitchell, a Scout First Class, fed pieces of rolled out dough into a cutter, as his younger sister Tori caught the emerging strips. Several Scouts were performing similar tasks at other tables, while older ...
Arts Commission state case against proposed cuts
Members of the Kansas Arts Commission say Gov. Sam Brownback's proposal to eliminate the agency will hurt the state's economy and cost people jobs. Brownback has promised to eliminate eight state agencies in all. He says eliminating the KAC would save the state $574,000 in the next fiscal year. He proposes giving the commission $200,000 in the next fiscal year as it transitions to a private, nonprofit corporation. Arts commission ...
Joiner named new head cheerleading coach at Barton
The Board of Trustees at Barton Community College on Thursday approved hiring Stephanie Joiner as the new head cheerleading coach, quickly replacing Debbie Warren. Trustee Don Learned praised the choice, commenting, "Her background's fantastic." Learned noted there have been several letters to the editor of the Great Bend Tribune protesting the decision to fire long-time coach Warren last month. "Some have said the program is dead in ...
BLACK ICE: Weather packs a punch
It didn't always look slick, but for anyone who tried to move around Wednesday there was no mistaking the treacherous winter conditions that hit the Golden Belt. Freezing drizzle and temperatures in the low 20s persisted throughout the day, causing vehicles to slide around corners and into ditches. One Great Bend man who was directing a semi-trailer in the alley behind Office Products Inc. in downtown Great Bend lost his footing ...
Monks Feast serves Twain with a twist
The writings of Mark Twain, with a twist, will be served with venison stew and coarse bread at the 2011 Monks Feast, Sunday at the Barton County Arts Center in Great Bend. A vegetarian stew will be available as an alternative to the venison, said George Martin. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. This fundraiser turns the Arts Center at 1401 Main into the refectory of ...
Stitches in time
Throughout the years, Kansas settlers marked their weddings or the birth of a child with one of the most functional works of art known - the quilt. Some are fabric masterpieces; others were made with scraps, flour sacks or whatever fabric was available, for the sole purpose of providing warmth.
Articles By Author - Susan Thacker
It's not persecution
The Military District of Washington issued a statement concerning Master Sgt. Nathan Sommers, a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Army Band.
Hot cars quickly become deadly for children, pets
It doesn't take triple-digit temperatures outside for unattended vehicles to reach oven temperatures inside. But as summer weather returns to the Golden Belt, safety experts remind people to never leave a child or pet alone in a vehicle. Lt. Bill Browne at the Great Bend Police Department said it isn't unusual for people to call 911 when they see an unattended vehicle with a child or pet inside. More often than not, the vehicle is ...
Summer reading off to magical start
The yellow hard hats seen Monday at Great Bend Public Library weren't for construction work. Staff wore the hats to celebrate the theme for this year's summer reading program: "Dig Into Reading."
SDS axes contract with Rec Commission
Last month the Great Bend Recreation Commission's board of directors approved a new contract to provide day services to Sunflower Diversified Services, but on Monday GBRC's Executive Director Diann Henderson said Sunflower won't approve a contract for the coming year.
Inmate in custody after walking away from Barton County Jail
This story has been updated. An inmate who walked away from the Barton County Jail sometime Sunday night was back in custody by 11:40 a.m. Monday. Lee W. Dean, 23, who was being held for probation violation, was located in the southeast part of Great Bend and 201 Plum St., Sheriff Brian Bellendir announced in a news release. "(Dean) was taken into custody without incident," Bellendir said. "A second subject at the location was taken ...
Summer reading programs start Monday
The Great Bend Public Library has a new look going into the summer reading programs. The front desk has moved and the Children's Department has been refurnished.
Tax Troubles: Deep Cuts Hurt Most of Us
Enjoy your tax cut, Kansans.
Cale sculpture going up at Historical Society
The history of Barton County, from unbroken grassland to modern wind turbines, is the latest subject for Great Bend artist Chet Cale. A series of bas relief panels by the sculptor is going up at the Barton County Historical Society. Bev Komarek, executive director of the historical society, said the artwork – 8 feet wide and 6 feet high – will be the focal point of the museum's new recognition wall. Names of significant donors ...
Nex-Tech Zoo Fest is Saturday
The annual Nex-Tech Zoo Fest runs from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, June 8, at the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo. There will be free food and live entertainment for the whole family.
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