Archive By Section - News
County moves ahead on landfill development
Development continues at the Barton County Landfill and now work is underway to prepare for the next phase.
Singers to serenade sweeties
The Great Bend High School Madrigal-Pops Singers will deliver singing Valentines from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 14 for a $25 donation. The recipient will be serenaded with a choice of a love song or a song more appropriate for friends or work-place relationships. The recipient will also receive a decorated cookie.
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 ...
County thanks Hayden for wetlands work
Barton County Commissioners have approved a message of thanks to former Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Secretary Mike Hayden for his efforts that brought improvements to Cheyenne Bottoms, South Hoisington and other areas in the county.
Great Bend man sentenced to life without parole
One day after a Topeka man was sentenced to life in federal prison for his role in a drug trafficking operation, his accomplice from Great Bend has also received a life sentence without parole, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said Tuesday. Adan Molina, 30, Great Bend, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. He entered the plea in November after three days of trial in U.S. District ...
Eisenhower students study 'how the body works'
Eisenhower Grade School third grade students are taking a trip through the human body and studying how the brain responds to stimuli.
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.
Meth case draws life sentence
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – One of the leaders of a drug trafficking operation that sold methamphetamine in Great Bend, Topeka and Kansas City has been sentenced to life in federal prison without parole, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said Monday. Alfonso Rubio-Ayala, 27, Topeka, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. He entered the plea in November after three days of trial in U.S. District Court in Topeka. In ...
Making the grade: Students take different paths in earning academic distinction
The three Barton Community College students named to this year's Phi Theta Kappa All-Kansas Academic Team will forever be linked together for earning their distinguished Phi Theta Kappa awards, but each has taken a different path to achieve success. The paragraphs below tell their stories. Morgan Cooper doesn't know what it's like to earn a "B" grade. She's aced every class since kindergarten. She's also a dynamo as a ...
Three Barton students selected for All-Kansas Academic Team
Three Barton Community College students will join other Kansas community college scholars on Feb. 17 in Topeka to be honored for their scholastic achievement. Barton sophomores Matthew Koch, Great Bend; Morgan Cooper, Wichita; and Angela Johnson, Junction City, are among 49 community college students named to the 2011 All-Kansas Academic Team, sponsored by the international headquarters of Phi Theta Kappa international honor society, the Kansas Association of ...
Seed money for senior projects
By a split decision, Barton County Commission took action Monday to help an agency that touches the lives of most area seniors.
Landfill has ground-moving year in 2010
This past year was a big one for the Barton County Landfill, as a variety of programs continued to grow, according to Solid Waste Manager Mark Witt. Witt notes that the landfill has been able to operate on its revenues, instead of on tax dollars, and 2010 was no exception. He noted that the estimated total for annual revenue, generated by disposal fees, was over a million dollars. In fact, he noted in a recent ...
HOI to add 22 units in 2011
A local program that has already proved its success in developing housing in Great Bend has received the support of city officials in an effort to locate another 22 units in the coming months.
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 ...
Articles by Section - News
First Steps: Aging out of foster care
This is part one of a three part series focusing on youth aging out of foster care.
Gov. Brownback addresses BCC graduates
Gov. Sam Brownback congratulated students on achieving a major milestone Friday, during Barton Community College's 43rd commencement ceremony. A crowd filled the Physical Education Building, where the governor offered several pieces of advice to the graduates, starting with, "Always, always, always listen to your mother." He also encouraged them to be lifelong learners, people of integrity and pursuers of dreams. "The why of a good dream is because somebody else benefits," he said, encouraging them ...
Important new addition to museum collection
SRCA board member Butch Fry made an important donation to the Barton County Historical Society Museum Saturday afternoon. He presented his SRCA 1964 Record Holder jacket.
The day the sculptures rolled in
Whether it was dragsters, street rods, Mopars, or vintage cars that struck their fancy, visitors and exhibitors alike were drawn to the Second Annual Barton Historical Society Museum Rolling Sculpture car show Saturday afternoon, May 18.
TLC Twisters bring comfort to shelter dogs
The TLC Twisters 4-H club at TLC Discoveries built eight dog beds which they presented to the Golden Belt Humane Society last week. The beds, made of donated PVC pipe and nylon material, will provide a place for puppies and smaller dogs to relax off the cement floor. They are easily hosed off, and are quick drying, making them ideal for a kennel environment.
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.
Great Bend escapes Defense Department furloughs
The Great Bend Kansas National Guard armory should escape unscathed the round of federally mandated National Guard furloughs announced Tuesday by U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, said Sharon Watson with the KNG Public Affairs Office.
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.
Game on
Out of the Morgue
Each week we'll take a step back into the history of Great Bend through the eyes of reporters past. We'll reacquaint you with what went into creating the Great Bend of today, and do our best to update you on what "the rest of the story" turned out to be.
Lyons man sentenced to 17½ years for rape, indecent liberties
LYONS – A Lyons man was sentenced Wednesday to 17½ years in prison after pleading no contest to charges of rape and aggravated indecent liberties, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.
Summer road work begins
Barton County Administrator Richard Boeckman offered his biweekly update on the activities of various county departments during the County Commission meeting Monday morning. Highlights included:
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.
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.
