Dr. Victor Martin Column

As I write this, there is a forty percent chance of rain and if you are reading this on Easter Sunday, hopefully the chance of rain is falling outside your window. If not, it means the wheat crop is continuing to decline and prospects for dryland corn in the ground aren't great. And while we are examining all this "good" news, the first cutting of alfalfa is still being hammered in many locations by alfalfa weevil in spite of repeated sprays on many fields.

GBMS Above and Beyond Awards

Great Bend Middle School announces the February and March Above and Beyond Winners. Each of these students were nominated by their teachers because they have gone above and beyond the call of duty in becoming a good citizen of GBMS. The students receive a certificate and a pizza and pop luncheon with the school Administrators.

Progress Club

The Progress Club met on April 4. Hostess was Mary Dikeman with 15 members present. Mark Mingenback, director of Marketing and Public Relations for Central Kansas Medical Center gave the program. The Dominican Sisters started a hospital in Great Bend in 1903. A number of changes are occurring at CKMC when it becomes St. Rose Ambulatory and Surgery Center on May 1st. The hospital will no longer provide inpatient care, but if an overnight stay ...

USS Columbus CA-74/CG-12/SSN-762 reunion

USS Columbus CA-74/CG-12/SSN-762 reunion will be held Sept. 21 through Sept. 24, at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, Va. Contact Allen R. Hope, President, at 3828 Hobson Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46815-4505; phone (260) 486-2221 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern time; Fax: 260-492-9771; or email: Hope4391@ frontier.com

Otis Old Iron Days

Otis Old Iron Days will be held on April 28 through May 1 on Main Street in Otis. The show will feature: IHC/McCormick Deering Tractors, Engines, and all IHC products. All three days include tractors, engines, vendors and entertainment for the whole family.

Junior Honorary Chimes in with new members for 2011-2012 school year

Outstanding scholarship, leadership and service has earned 29 Kansas State University students membership in Chimes, the junior honorary, for the 2011-2012 school year.

Annual Car Show revs into Brit Spaugh Park

Rev the engines, the 23rd annual Mid-America Mopar Car Show roars to life May 1st at Brit Spaugh Park.

Betty Wondra 80th

Betty Wondra will celebrate her 80th birthday on April 29 with a card shower. A long-time resident of rural Great Bend, she was born on April 29, 1931 to Henry and Lena Maneth. On May 15, 1950 she married Robert J. Wondra. He died on Dec. 19, 2009. She has seven children; 22 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

Musgrove — Cuffe

James and Barbara Musgrove of Claflin, announce the engagement of their daughter, Bobbi Sue Musgrove, to John Thomas Cuffe Jr., son of John and Cynthia Cuffe of Burlington.

Penka — Calhoon

Kenneth and Rhonda Penka announce the engagement of their daughter, Gina Penka, to Kirk Calhoon, son of Brian and Terri Calhoon and Mike and Shelly Wilkison.

Schamaun 60th

Loren and Arlene Schamaun will celebrate their 60th anniversary on April 29 with a family dinner. The couple was married on April 29, 1951 at the Bazine Methodist Church. They have two children, Marsha Gerstner and Steve Schamaun and wife Sheryl; five grandchildren, Emily, Matthew and Adam Gerstner and Zac and Nic Schamaun.

Senior Activities

Tuesday Coffee and Doughnuts - 8:30 a.m., Senior Center Blood Pressure- 11 a.m., Senior Center Wednesday Fighting Cancer with a Knife and Fork - noon, Activity Center Pitch - 7 p.m., Senior Center Thursday Dominoes - 1 p.m., Senior Center Friday Bridge - 1 p.m., Recreation Center Bingo - 1:30 p.m., High Rise

Senior Menu

The following well-balanced and nutritious Friendship Meals will be served for lunch at the Great Bend Senior Center, 2005 Kansas Ave. Meals are served with milk; donations for coffee and tea are accepted.

Special Needs Calendar

Monday Lite and Lively - 6:30 p.m., Burnside Room Tuesday Bowling - 4 p.m., Walnut Bowl Wednesday Lite and Lively - 6:30 p.m., Burnside Room Thursday Wii Games - 7 p.m., Activity Center

School menu

USD 428, Holy Family, Central Kansas Christian Academy and HeadStart Schools The following meals will be served March 14 through March 18. The secondary schools also have available daily: Main dish second choices, chef's salad, combo lunches and choice of vegetables and dessert. The breakfast menu is offered only to students in USD 428. Menus are subject to change without notice. Milk served with all meals. All meals as offered meet USDA nutritional guidelines. Lunch ...

Guess who is Behind ‘Conservative’ Radio and TV Ads

You've seen them on television and heard them on the radio, those commercials boasting that "conservatives" like Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan are working to make sure we have a tough, enforceable immigration system that closes our borders and makes all those illegals go to the back of the line to await possible future citizenship. Well, here is my solemn pledge to you: if you believe that, then I want to sell you an iconic ...

Democrats OK With Obama Spying on You, not Bush

Liberals are slurping at a new yet familiar theme trough: Republicans are hypocrites because they're against NSA surveillance now but were all for it during the Bush administration.

Car Tech

Chamber Coffee

This week's Chamber of Commerce Coffee will be hosted by Roadway Inn and Suites, 57 W. Kansas Highway 4 and 281 in Hoisington at 9:30 a.m., Thursday. Ambassador in charge will be Shay Kasselman with greeters Marty Steinert and Matt Hiss. Coffee, refreshments and door prizes will be available.

Be Well Barton County receives grant from KHI’s Healthy Communities Initiative

Be Well Barton County, a advisory group dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyles countywide, has been awarded an implementation grant through the Kansas Health Foundation's Healthy Communities Initiative worth up to $75,000 over the next three years. Be Well, one of 12 grantees in the state to receive this funding, will use the funds in support Complete streets and Safe Routes to school, nationally recognized programs that encourage local governments to consider bicycle and pedestrian traffic ...

Pit bull committee meets tonight

The City of Great Bend Pit Bull Committee will meet at 6 p.m. tonight at the City Office, 1209 Williams. The purpose of meeting is to hear comments from the public.

Royals score on wild pitch in ninth inning for 2-1 win

CLEVELAND - Pinch-runner Elliot Johnson scored from third base on a wild pitch by reliever Matt Albers in the ninth inning, giving the Kansas City Royals a 2-1 win over the Cleveland Indians on Monday night.

Oregon State advances with 11-4 win over Louisville

OMAHA, Neb. - It's one down and three to go for Oregon State.

Golden Belt Swim Squad claim second place at Leoti swim meet

LEOTI - The Golden Belt Swim Squad finished second at a Leoti swim meet on Saturday.

George Veprus 1916 - 2013

George Veprus, 97, died June 16 at Cherry Village Nursing Home in Great Bend. He was born on Feb. 18, 1916, in Lithuania. He was a longtime resident of Great Bend.

Georgia J. Crosley 1938 - 2013

Georgia J. Crosley, 75, passed away on Saturday afternoon, June 15, at Cherry Village Residential Care in Great Bend. Georgia was born on June 1, 1938 at Mountain View, Ark. to Harvey Andrew and Tolva Leona (Finch) Chatman, and had been a resident of Great Bend since 1992. In addition to being a homemaker, she provided in-home caregiver services for the past ten years to a number of individuals.

Kay George 1946 - 2013

LA CYGNE - Kay George, 66, passed away June 12 at her home. Born on Dec. 4, 1946 in Parsons, she was the daughter of William and Ava Kinne George. Kay graduated from Emporia State Teachers College receiving her Masters in Mathematics. She taught briefly in Alma before moving to La Cygne where she taught for 32 years at the Prairie View High School, teaching math and computers. She was also a cheerleader sponsor, Senior ...

Ribbon cutting

Hoisington VFW Auxiliary meets

HOISINGTON - The Hoisington VFW Auxiliary met on June 12.

FINALS COUNTDOWN

MIAMI - The Miami Heat weren't supposed to be in this situation. Not now, anyway.