USD 355 hires new principal

ELLINWOOD - The Ellinwood School District has named a new principal, Shawn Henderson, for the 2011-12 school year.

Reifs dedicated to service

HOISINGTON - Long-time Hoisington residents Duane and Debbie Reif have dedicated their lives to service, not only with the Kans for Kids Fighting Cancer Foundation, but in service to other charitable organizations.

Fun in the snow

Ellinwood,, USD 112 okay on snow days

BARTON COUNTY - Many of the schools in the state of Kansas are running out of snow days for the school year and may have to make up time. However, area schools are okay with the number of snow days so far this year.

Burglaries occur in Hoisington

HOISINGTON - Three businesses were burglarized in Hoisington sometime between Monday evening and Tuesday morning.

Ellinwood firefighters host area wide conference

The Ellinwood Fire Department hosted an area-wide firefighters conference on Rapid Intervention Techniques to rescue trapped firefighters on Monday night at St. Joseph Parish Hall in Ellinwood.

Hoisington Chamber of Commerce hosts annual banquet

HOISINGTION - The Hoisington Chamber of Commerce celebrated it's annual banquet on Saturday, announcing the Citizens of the Year, Duane and Debbie Reif, and recognizing them for their work with Kans for Kids. "Thank God for allowing us to be a part of 25 lives," said Debbie Reif, of the children with cancer. "This honor belongs to those kids. They will forever be our heroes. "We inherited Kans for Kids from ...

Homecoming candidates

St. Joes celebrates Catholic Schools Week

ELLINWOOD- In celebration of Catholic Schools Week, St. Joseph Catholic School in Ellinwood held a full week of activities. In addition, the school is celebrating 125 years of education.

HIV/AIDS numbers released by KDHE

Monday is HIV Awareness Day, and the Barton County Health Department would like everyone to know their HIV status.

CBH proceeds with winter weather exercise planning

HOISINGTON - On Wednesday morning, Clara Barton Hospital Director of Nursing Jane Schepmann facilitated a winter weather exercise for emergency service personnel from throughout Barton County.

Claflin Elementary School hosts KWEC

CLAFLIN - Studying the lives of bees, along with other creatures, Claflin Elementary School students learned all about Kansas state facts from the educators at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center on Thursday last week.

Learning about Kansas

The Individual Retirement Account Charitable Rollover, first enacted by Congress in 2006, expired in 2009. However, in the new tax bill signed by President Barack Obama, the IRA Charitable Rollover provision has been extended through 2011. This provision allows individuals 70 1/2 or older to make tax-free gifts of up to $100,000 to qualified charitable organizations, like Clara Barton Hospital Foundation, using funds transferred directly from their traditional IRAs or Roth IRAs. Beginning ...

Council holds meeting

HOISINGTON - At its meeting Monday night, the Hoisington City Council approved ordinances establishing guidelines for handling health nuisances in the city. It was the consensus of the council to hire a Public Officer for 5-10 hours a week at a wage of $10-$12 per hour.

Candidates file for area positions

Noon on Tuesday was the filing deadline for those interested in running for various school board, city council and hospital board positions in Barton County. The regular election is April 5.

City of Ellinwood to purchase property

ELLINWOOD - The Ellinwood City Council, at its regular meeting on Tuesday, agreed to purchase 11-12 acres of property from Alfred Pohlman for $3,600. The property is located north of 7th St. It is west of Kennedy and north of the water tower.

Hoisington to host annual ‘Mud Run’

HOISINGTON - Engines will once again roar as drivers try to drive through the mud at the fourth annual Mud Run at 1 p.m. on June 1 in Hoisington, south of the railroad track on the east side of U.S. 281. It will be held in conjunction with the Kansas Mud Racing Organization.

USD 355 board taking steps for iPad initiative

ELLINWOOD - The USD 355 School Board, at its regular meeting Monday night, agreed to take another step in the iPad initiate. Currently, about twenty percent of the certified staff have iPads. The board agreed to buy approximately 30 more so that the remaining staff would have an iPad.

Foreign tourism developing in Barton County

Travel writer Matt Bates of Scotland and Lisa Weigt, International Program director for Kansas/ Oklahoma Travel and Tourism recently toured Barton County.

Living a "Glass half-Full' Life

In the early 2000s, like so many up and coming children of the prairie, Ellinwood native J. Basil Dannebohm, had the bright lights of the city shining in his eyes.

School board makes appointments

ELLINWOOD - At its regular monthly meeting, the USD 355 school board made two appointments to the new Ellinwood Recreation Commission Board of Directors. They were Mel Waite for four years, and Rob Fisher for one year. The ERC will soon begin planning a budget, hiring a director, and making plans for 2014.

Soaring with Eagles

America's Promise and DARE contest essay winners soared to the highest height on Saturday when members of the Experimental Aircraft Club in Great Bend took them on a 15-20 minutes airplane ride over Great Bend.

Just swinging

School bell rings the last time for two retiring teachers

HOISINGTON - Touching the lives and improving the minds of over a 1,000 children after three decades of service, USD 431 teachers Darla Clark and Becky Andereck will close the last book bags of their careers this month. Both began and ended their service in Hoisington.

Logical flood insurance rules finally passed

At long last, Congress, yes that gridlocked legislative body in D.C., has made changes to the National Flood Insurance Program. Astoundingly, the new rules actually make sense.

"Lulu does the Hulu in Hawaii' is a super bad baby name. Really.

What's with baby names these days?

USD 431 considers adding FBLA

HOISINGTON - At its regular meeting last night, the USD 431 School Board heard a presentation from teacher Jennifer Steinert about adding a Future Business Leaders of America organization to the school next year.

USD 431 receives grant

HOISINGTON - Hoisington Middle School was notified that they have received a grant for $4,500 to promote and educate students about composting, and they plan to use waste from the lunchroom for that. Students will be trained in waste management with real life and career applications.