Archive By Section - News
Make sure the right toy goes to the right child
(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is one in a series of articles about winter safety preparations.) Many of us will be shopping for children during the Christmas season, and that can introduce special dangers - not just from the possibility of being trampled in the toy aisle, either. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, it's important for the child's safety to make sure that we are buying the right toy for the right child. Toys ...
Proposed Head Start regulations raising concerns in Kansas
TOPEKA - The 28 local Head Start programs in Kansas and others across the nation are facing changes considered the most significant since Head Start was launched 45 years ago as a cornerstone of President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. The chief goal of Head Start, which is federally funded, has been to better prepare low-income children for school. Studies show that those who do better at school tend to ...
BCC considers early-childhood ed certificate option
Barton Community College may have the answer to a federal mandate requiring Head Start employees to be better educated, said Cheryl Couch, coordinator of the college's Early Childhood Education program. Her department has spent the past year developing two certificate programs for child-care workers. Couch presented the idea to the BCC trustees at last week's study session. The college could meet an industry need by offering a Preschool Education & ...
Barton County Progressives hold first meeting
The elections of 2010 are history, but on Tuesday a new group, Barton County Progressives, held its first meeting. It was spearheaded by Marty Keenan and Christina Stein. In addition to being Democrats, one thing they have in common is that they've both run for state office and lost, Keenan said by way of introduction. "When the election ends and you're not successful, what do you do now?" Keenan ...
'reinvent my normal'
HOISINGTON - With a great ability to connect with teenagers, motivational speaker Mike Donahue spoke to Hoisington High School students on Monday and urged the students to stop self-medicating with alcohol, drugs and negative behavior, and to begin treating the pain underneath the mask.
Proper decorations make it a fun Christmas vacation
(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is one in a series of articles about winter safety preparations.) It may be funny in "Christmas Vacation" when Clark Griswold falls off a ladder, shorts out the neighborhood, or gets his tree on fire - but that is just a movie, believe it or not. In real life, any of the above would be a tragedy, and according to the experts at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, these sorts or ...
Edwards honored and Jones reappointed by commission
County personnel were the subject of a couple of agenda items when the Barton County Commission met Monday.
SANTA'S WORKSHOP
Just because Santa drops in from the North Pole doesn't mean it has to be freezing in Great Bend. Unlike recent years, this year's Santa's Workshop wasn't hampered by snow or ice. So, while it was a chilly 32 degrees outside, throngs of children, parents and volunteers made their way to the Municipal Auditorium Monday night to frolic with elves. "Where do you start?" a bewildered mom asked ...
Holiday cheer!!!
To spread the Christmas spirit throughout the library, Great Bend Children's Librarian Eric Coulbourne held the first ever tree trimming Christmas party on Saturday.
Kids bring light for other kids at Christmas
It's perennial - the concern that is expressed about how kids and teens are just out for what they can get at Christmas. Wish lists that run into the thousands of dollars are discussed and lamented, but not every young person out there is concerned only with what they can get at this season of the year. In fact, a group of young people are leading a traditional effort to make sure that other, less ...
Health officials warn of whooping cough
Brightly wrapped gifts may not be all we are giving each other this holiday season.
BCC tuition, fees may increase in 2011
The trustees at Barton Community College are looking at raising the rates for tuition, fees or both for the fall 2011 semester, but one scenario also has local students getting a price break. Fees were reviewed at a board study session last week. A $1 tuition increase for all students would create about $90,224 additional revenue, and $1 more in fees would generate about $99,673, according to estimates from ...
Santa's Workshop is Monday
For shoppers there was Black Friday - a crush of humanity in the holiday spirit. For elves at the North Pole, the biggest activity leading to Christmas takes place the first Monday in December, when hundreds of kids meet at the Great Bend Auditorium for Santa's Workshop. The 14th Annual Santa's Workshop will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Monday in the City Auditorium. This free Christmas event is designed ...
BCC's Camp Aldrich still a 'hidden gem'
An Ellinwood man who attended Thursday's study session of the Barton Community College Board of Trustees had questions after listening to discussion on the college's Camp Aldrich facility near Cheyenne Bottoms. "Does this board have a vision for Camp Aldrich?" Dennis Carson asked. If so, the former owner of C&V Home Improvement continued, what is it? If the board doesn't have a vision, why not? The question of what ...
Fish kill at Vets normal for time of year
The deaths of a handful of small fish at Veterans Memorial Lake are the result of the cold and not the recent toxic algae that plagued the popular recreational area, city and state officials said.
Articles by Section - News
Summer reading programs start Monday
The Great Bend Public Library has a new look going into the summer reading programs. The front desk has moved and the Children's Department has been refurnished.
June events at Great Bend Public Library
Great Bend Public Library, 1409 Williams St., will offer the following programs in June: • Summer Reading activities begin Monday, June 10. Registration for all ages will open that day. The children's department will have its kick-off party at 3:30 p.m. Dan Dan the Magic man will perform a magic show that fits in with the Dig Into Reading! Summer Reading Club theme. Students in grades 7-12 can register for the Beneath the Surface Teen ...
Historic Wolf Hotel reincarnated
ELLINWOOD - The historic Ellinwood Wolf Hotel has a new owner, and great plans are in place to renovate and reinvent the hotel. Christopher McCord, 26, of Ellinwood plans to return the building to its roots as a hotel.
Larned native Gene Keady present at street renaming
Gene Keady, born in Larned in 1936, was honored Saturday at Moffett Stadium on Third Street, where Keady was raised by his parents, Mary Helen and Lloyd Gibson Keady.
PEDAL POWER
In July 2011, Rhiannon Becker's 13-year-old cousin Mikal Bond was severely injured when a vehicle collided with her bicycle near Lawrence.
Butterflies
Monarch butterflies alight on wire mesh at the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo Butterfly Garden. Various species of butterflies in all stages of live can be found in the garden.
Cale sculpture going up at Historical Society
The history of Barton County, from unbroken grassland to modern wind turbines, is the latest subject for Great Bend artist Chet Cale. A series of bas relief panels by the sculptor is going up at the Barton County Historical Society. Bev Komarek, executive director of the historical society, said the artwork – 8 feet wide and 6 feet high – will be the focal point of the museum's new recognition wall. Names of significant donors ...
Study: Drought impacting fish populations
MANHATTAN – The Plains-parching drought gripping North American has caused dramatic changes in native fish communities, including those that call Arkansas River home, a Kansas State University researcher said. These changes could have a damaging impact on the health of the Ark as it trickles around Great Bend. "A couple of key species that we have been studying have virtually disappeared where they historically were abundant," said Keith Gido, a KSU biology professor who studies ...
Barton County doing well, for now
Three local lessons can be gleaned from a new Kansas State University report outlining the fiscal health of the 105 counties in the Sunflower State.
Great Bend sends two to Miss Kansas
PRATT - The next Miss America could come from Barton County. The next step toward the title is the Miss Kansas Pageant, which starts today at Pratt and concludes Saturday. Twenty-five women will compete, including two from Great Bend.
Keeping memories alive
The Memorial Parks Advisory Committee is on a mission.
Volleyball tournament honors Klug
Sixteen teams participated in the Rhonda Klug Memorial Volleyball Tournament held Sunday afternoon at Vets Park. It was only one of the activities planned for that day for the final day of the second June Jaunt festival in Great Bend that got residents out and about enjoying the attractions the city has to offer.
June Jaunt lives up to hype in Great Bend
Overwhelming success!
A SPECIAL RIDE
The American Legion Riders will once again lead the way in the opening ceremony as they have for several years. This year, the ride will have special meaning for J.P. Postlethwaite, who has been the lead rider. This year he will be the featured speaker for the opening ceremony.
Vets Lake looking good
The Great Bend Water Department has begun testing for nutrients at Veterans Memorial Lake which has, in the past, been plagued by toxic blue-green algae.
