Archive By Author - Susan Thacker
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.
Opportunity quilt
Central Kansas Thread-Benders Quit Guild members Ronnie Drees, left, Iva Behrens and Susan Gray show the Opportunity Quilt, which was won by Behrens in a drawing in December. Each year members raffle one quilt, using the money donated for tickets to buy materials to make TLC quilts, which are provided to people after a fire, serious illness or other disaster. Drees and Behrens were co-chairwomen for the 2010 Opportunity Quilt promotion, and Gray ...
DOUBLE LOCKS OF LOVE
Melissa Hittle and her 5-year-old daughter Bailey started the new year by donating a combined 26 inches of hair to Locks of Love. The nonprofit organization will use their hair to make wigs for financially disadvantaged children in the United States or Canada who have lost their own hair. According to information from Locks of Love, most of the children it helps have lost their hair due ...
Search is on for best snow sculpture
With snow on the ground, Garet Fitzpatrick, leisure coordinator at the Great Bend Recreation Commission, reminds residents of the annual GBRC snow sculpture contest. Program coordinators reported on this and other events when the GBRC Board of Directors met Monday. Groups and individuals are invited to make a snow sculpture this winter and send a photo of it, along with information about the people who worked on it. Mail ...
Articles By Author - Susan Thacker
Two Barton coaching contracts 'pending'
Nine head coaching contracts were renewed Wednesday when the Barton Community College Board of Trustees met, but the contracts of two head coaches are "pending final review." The board discussed personnel matters behind closed doors for nearly an hour before voting on head coach contracts, administrative contracts and contracts for managerial staff. Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman said there were no changes in head coaches, but the board did not approve a contract for a ...
Two flee; child left in truck
A minor child was left in a truck with a loaded gun Monday night as two suspects fled from Barton County deputies.
Our zoo is famous and other local news
Tying up a few loose ends on stories that didn't make the front page:
Higher gas prices not likely to drop by weekend
Gasoline prices have risen dramatically in the past two weeks throughout much of the Midwest. While the price increases may ease off by June, but don't expect relief at the pump this Memorial Weekend, industry experts say. The American Automobile Association's online daily fuel gauge report and GasBuddy.com both showed the average price for a gallon of regular gas Monday in Kansas was $3.92. Just one week ago, the average price was $3.64, and it ...
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.
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