Celebrating then and now

At the Kansas State Fair in September, then Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson unveiled the artwork for a new postage stamp that celebrates the Kansas' sesquicentennial. The stamp features an traditional windmill in the foreground and a row of modern wind turbines in the background.

A CAUSE FOR ALARM

State health and safety officials want fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors in every home in Kansas and a grant recently received by the Great Bend Fire Department will help local firefighters do their part.

CONTINUING A LEGACY

Freshman Congressman Tim Huelskamp is billing it as the "Continuing the Tradition" tour.

Flu shots urged as season peaks

With the number of influenza cases increasing nationwide and the flu season beginning to peak, local, state and national health officials urge those who haven't had their flu shots to get vaccinated.

Two BOE members say no to another term

When the new Unified School District 428 School Board takes over July 1, there will be two familiar faces absent.

NO PLACE LIKE HOPE

Relay for Life of Barton County volunteers started down that yellow-brick road Saturday morning as they held their annual kick-off event.

Wolf set to start third term

As he sat back and relaxed late Thursday morning, state Rep. Bill Wolf realized it may be the last time in over three months he would have the chance to take it easy.

Boeckman part of historic judicial panel

TOPEKA – In light of reduced judicial resources statewide, a new "Blue Ribbon" commission has been named to take a thorough and critical look at the Kansas court system to find ways to improve it and make it more efficient, it was announced Wednesday.

INCREASED AWARENESS

The Great Bend Senior Center is one of 21 from across southwest Kansas designated as 2010 Focal Point facilities by the Dodge City-based Southwest Kansas Area Agency On Aging, said Dave Geist, SWKAAA executive director.

LOOK OUT JAWS

Jay Holloway loves to fish. That's why while he and his family was on vacation in Florida over Christmas and New Years, he begged to venture into the warm Atlantic waters aboard a chartered fishing boat. For a guy used to reeling in a channel cat, what he hooked into New Years Eve came as quite a shock. "It was a shark," he said Monday, not long after returning from his excursion. ...

CKMC to cease in-patient services

In response to changes in the health care landscape, in the near future, Central Kansas Medical Center will cease providing in-patient care to focus solely on out-patient services, hospital officials said Monday.

Let it snow, let it snow

Relay already

Relay for Life of Barton County organizers want folks to click their heels together three times and say "there's no place like hope, there's no place like hope."

MAKING THE GRADE

TOPEKA – Four area schools are among the 42 Kansas elementary, 12 middle/junior high schools and 20 high schools recently recognized as part of the fourth annual Governor's Achievement Awards, honoring top performing schools in the state.

Sex predator remains on the lam

LARNED - Local and state authorities Thursday continued their hunt for a man convicted of child sex crimes who remained on the lam after escaping from the Larned State Hospital Wednesday.

TOUTING TOURISM

It is fitting that Barton County celebrate Kansas Tourism Week this week, Great Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Cris Collier told the County Commission Monday morning.

OF RISK AND REWARD

Three weeks ago, a fertilizer storage facility in West, Texas, not all that different from plants in many, small, rural communities, exploded. It killed 14 people, leveled much of the tiny town and rocked the nation.

Come on guys, keep those doors open

Sunshine Week, the national initiative by journalists to assure that sunshine illuminates every crevasse in the halls of officialdom, runs March 10-16. During that week, newspapers traditionally run editorials and columns extolling the importance of open government as it relates to our freedoms as Americans.

A two-way trail

Saturday marked the opening of Travel and Tourism Week in Kansas, which runs through next Sunday. The Barton County Commission Monday morning is set to authorize a proclamation to recognize the importance this industry plays in our local, regional and state economies.