Archive By Section - News
Memorial park projects are on the move
County officials and volunteers have been working for years on a project that is finally coming to fulfilment.
OFFERING AN INSIGHT
A sparse crowd of curious Barton County voters gathered in Great Bend's Crest Theater Tuesday night. Attending the Great Bend League of Women Voters Forum, they hoped to gain insight into where various local candidates stood on issues facing the area.
State, county jobless rate climb
Kansas labor officials are pinning January's larger-than-anticipated rise in the state's unemployment rate on weather and the end of holiday hiring, not on the lingering impact of the recession. The January 2011 jobless rate was 7.4 percent, up from 6.4 in December 2010 but down from 7.1 percent in January 2010.
Courthouse project moves ahead
Barton County Commissioners accepted a bid from a local contracting firm to take on a project to remodel the Barton County Treasurer's Office in order to make room for state-mandated computer equipment changes.
Cohen Center offers free new-age archiving to public
Barton Community College's Cohen Center for Kansas History now has two resources that give the public the ability to study and preserve historical documents and other papers, making them available to future generations when otherwise those pieces of history would eventually be lost.
KU players coming to Great Bend
University of Kansas basketball players will meet the public and play a game with local all stars at the annual KU Barnstorming Tour, Sunday, April 17 in the gym of the Barton Community College Kirkman Center. Diann Henderson, executive director of the Great Bend Recreation Commission, discussed the upcoming fundraiser at Monday's GBRC Board of Directors meeting. Tickets for a suggested donation of $8 will go on sale soon, with proceeds ...
Great Bend supports affordable flying program
Local officials have signed off on a statewide program that is aimed at getting more people to be able to afford air transportation out of Wichita. The Great Bend City Council voted to support the Affordable Air Fares for Kansans program, that is aimed at encouraging use of the Mid-Continent Airport in Wichita. City Administrator Howard Partington noted the Wichita flights are already important to local businesses and will presumably become more so in the ...
Three flown to Wichita after head-on collision
Three people were seriously injured in a head-on collision Friday night in Barton County. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol Online Crash Logs, Michael S. Grauer, 38, Great Bend, was driving east on K-156, 14 miles northeast of Great Bend, at 9:22 p.m. His Chevy Impala went across the center line for an unknown reason and hit an approaching Jeep head-on. Grauer was flown to Via Christi's St. Francis Hospital ...
CASTING A 'SPELL'
Allen County spelling champion Clara Wicoff correctly spelled "geriatrician" Saturday to win the Great Bend Tribune's 2011 Sunflower Spelling Bee. Wicoff, a seventh grader from Iola, won the spell-down in 2009, and this year she outlasted 2010 winner Matthew Wegner from Parsons and 79 other contestants. Wegner and Barton County's Allison Regehr made it to the final nine, but by Round 7 there were only four remaining contestants: Wicoff, ...
LWV to hold candidate forum
Great Bend and Barton County voters will have the opportunity to hear the views of local candidates prior to the April 5 general election during a forum sponsored by the Great Bend League of Women Voters Tuesday night.
County valuations on schedule to mail soon
Postal Presort, Inc. will be sending out about 18,000 pieces of county mail soon as the Wichita firm sends property valuations to county residents.
Crime Stoppers seeks info on home invasion
Crime Stoppers is seeking information about an altercation that occurred Feb. 28 at 1305 MacArthur Road. Although they arrested Travis Myers, the adult son of Great Bend City Councilman Randy Myers, on suspicion of domestic battery of his brother Nathan, authorities said Thursday that they'd like to hear from anyone who may have seen people entering the house early that morning. In a Crime Stoppers announcement released this week, Police Chief ...
Meals on Wheels changes vendors
The vendor for Meals on Wheels in Great Bend, Hoisington and Ellinwood will change on Monday, but coordinators said the recipients can still count on the same home-delivered service. Central Kansas Medical Center has been the only vendor since the program started locally in February 1972. But because CKMC will change to St. Rose Ambulatory and Surgery Center May 1, it will no longer staff a complete kitchen, which is necessary ...
One more day until Tribune's Sunflower Spelling Bee
Saturday's Sunflower Spelling Bee will be a battle of champions, with the winners receiving medals, scholarships and other prizes, including the grand prize of a trip to the week-long national bee in Washington, D.C. Two former champions of the Great Bend Tribune's Sunflower Spelling Bee will be back - 2010 winner Matthew Wegner from Parsons and 2009 winner Clara Wicoff from Iola - but all 80 of the contestants registered for ...
Fire departments respond to vehicle fires
Fire departments from Ellinwood and Great Bend responded to two separate vehicle fires on Tuesday and early Wednesday. Both caused major damage but no serious injuries. A hazardous materials crew was called to U.S. 56 at SE 150 Ave. after a 2006 Newmar truck caught on fire around 1 a.m. Wednesday. The Barton County Sheriff's Office reports Hazmat cleared burnt vehicle parts from the road. Driver David Craddock of Great ...
Articles by Section - News
Spring and music in the air
The Panther Jazz Band pumped up the audience at the GBHS Panther Bands Spring Contest Concert Monday night with their opening rendition of Watermelon Man by Herbie Hancock. It was a night to celebrate the accomplishments of the high school music program and a select group of accomplished musicians who competed at the state level earlier this spring. Senior band members also recognized and thanked their parents for the support offered through the years of ...
More sleep time? USD 428 gives a nod
High schoolers may get a few extra zs next year thanks to a proposal approved at the USD 428 board meeting Monday night. But not for teachers. Board members approved a series of late starts for the high school during the 2013-2014 school year that would give teachers the time they need to collaborate, but take away two hours of student contact time a month
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.
Residents fear stray gunfire near river
It's only a matter of time before someone is hit by a stray bullet while enjoying the Arkansas River bed south of Ellinwood, local resident Tom Komarek told the Barton County Commission Monday morning.
County hopes to spark Vet Memorial donations
The Memorial Parks Advisory Committee was given the go-ahead by the Barton County Commission Monday morning to hold two much-needed fundraisers to build the Veterans Memorial at Golden Belt Memorial Park north of Great Bend.
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.
‘To parents, be the adults’
With high school and college graduations fast approaching, the Central Kansas Partnership is urging parents to keep the community safe by prohibiting underage drinking and not providing alcohol to underage youth at graduation celebrations.
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.
Salad days
With high hopes that the area has seen the end of frost for the year, a full-house turned out to learn the how-tos of container gardening at the Great Bend Rec activity center Thursday.
BCSO almost ready for digital fingerprinting
The new digital finger printing machine has arrived and it will soon be in use by the Barton County Sheriff's Office. Activation is pending approval from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Barton County Administrator Richard Boeckman said during the County Commission meeting Monday morning.
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