Women, children injured in head-on collision on K-156

Several people were hospitalized Friday after a car crossed the center line on K-156 in Ellsworth County, and struck an oncoming car. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol online crash logs, Janice A. Perkins, 53, of Ellsworth, was driving south at 2:50 p.m. when her car crossed the line and struck a car driven by Amy Nichole Rivera, 26, of Salina. Perkins was taken to Wesley Medical Center in ...

Library filled with songs of the season

In celebration of the Christmas season, the Great Bend Public Library will be filled with the sound of live music for the next two weeks.

Winter concerts feature GBHS orchestra, bands on Monday

An evening filled with holiday music is on tap beginning at 7 p.m. Monday at the Great Bend High School. Middle school and high school bands will be joined by the orchestras in presenting their combined winter concert in two different locations.

CPI presents check to United Way of Barton County

Employees of CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc. present a "big check" to Julie Bugner-Smith, the Executive Director of United Way of Barton County, employees and the company match raised $33,029.28 for United Way for next year, making CPI the top contributing company in the area for 2011. Presenting the check is Erika Brining, CPI's Director of Human Resources.

Sweet gift

Barton County High Schools compete in Quest

Teams from Ellinwood and Great Bend high schools were two of 58 teams that took part in Quest Super Saturday at Washburn University Dec. 4. The contest allows teams of high school students from across Kansas to compete against one another in answering questions on topics such as art, literature, history, math and science.

The Bittersweet Christmas Band playing at Back Room

The holidays are a mixed bag and so is the Bittersweet Christmas Band, says Karen Neuforth at the Barton County Arts Council. BCB will perform seasonal music ranging from the reverent to the ridiculous, starting at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Arts Council's Back Room in Great Bend. Admission is $10 and advance reservations or tickets are encouraged. Tickets may be purchased weekday afternoons at the Arts Center or reserved by ...

November Marriage/Divorce Filings

November Marriage Licenses Greg Alan Axman, Olmitz and Virginia Adele Lambert, Olmitz Justin Ray Langlois, Great Bend and Kassandra Sue Marie Mead, Great Bend Steven KennethGrooms, Cary, Ill. and Ashley Elizabeth Drescher, Great Bend Dexter James Doll, Great Bend and Chelsey Rebecca Clawson, Great Bend Levi James Hapes, Great Bend and Rachelle Dawn Hazlett, Great Bend Kenneth Lynn Ward, Ellinwood and Kary Marie Newkirk, Ellinwood James Edgar Rowe Jr., Great Bend and Wendy Elizabeth Emerick, ...

Golden Belt Community Foundation Grand Awards

The Golden Belt Community Foundation recently completed its competitive grant cycle and awarded $18,155.26 to charitable agencies and projects in Barton, Pawnee, Rush, and Stafford counties.

Delta Tau Sorority Annual Christmas Auction

This Monday, Dec. 6, marks the annual Christmas Auction of the Delta Tau Sorority. A variety of items and services including Christmas items, baked goods, crafts, gift baskets, dessert of the month, holiday gift wrapping and more will be featured in the live and silent auctions. A scarf designed for the queen of England is among the special pieces that will be auctioned off. The evening will also include a quilt raffle.

BCAC to hold drawing for Chet Cale carving

The Barton County Arts Council has enough Christmas art at its gallery to fill a sleigh, and one lucky art lover will win an original Chet Cale carving this holiday season, BCAC Director Karen Neuforth said. "Mr. Cale is Great Bend's own," Neuforth said. The piece to be given away is "Whooping Crane I," a marble relief carving depicting the profile of the ...

Honored musicians

FHSU Madrigal Feaste

Tickets for the Fort Hays State University Madrigal Feaste are still left, but they are selling quickly. The Madrigal Feaste will be at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday in the Memorial Union.

Sterling College annual Christmas Concert

Sterling College Music Department will be presenting "Candlelight," their annual Christmas concert, at 7 p.m. this Friday, Dec. 3 at the United Methodist Church in Sterling.

Zoo news: Brit Spaugh Zoo is on the move

The biggest news this week at Great Bend's Brit Spaugh Zoo was the arrival of a new animal on Wednesday. (See story on page 1.) Seems like the zoo is always adding new animals, especially if one counts the hundreds of migrating birds that visit every December. White domestic geese can be found at the zoo year-round, but flocks of Canada geese start their noisy southern migration in the fall, ...

Investing in Kids

Darin Johnson presents Connie Oetken, Sunflower Diversified Services director of development, a check for $1,030 for the non-profit agency's Invest in Kids membership club. These proceeds, which will be directed to children with developmental disabilities and delays, represent a portion of a month's invoices at Darin's Auto Repair, Great Bend.

Art on the Hill

Barton Community College's Shafer Gallery will host an opening reception for their annual faculty and staff exhibit from 1-3 p.m. today, which will include additional artwork from an array of local artists and three featured artists.

City Council to discuss pit bull ban

The Great Bend City Council will meet at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the City Office, 1209 Williams. On the agenda are a request to ban pit bulls and other vicious dogs, a lease request at the airport industrial area from National Co Operative Refinery Association and a cereal-malt beverage request for June Jaunt.

Knoblich and Jamieson Recognized by ElderCare, Inc.

Julie Knoblich, Director of Human Resources, Barton Community College and Bernie Jamieson, accountant with Benefits Managements Inc. were recognized for serving six years on the Board of Directors of ElderCare, Inc. Knoblich served as Board chair and Jamieson served as Board Secretary–Treasurer. Janet Splitter, Executive Director of ElderCare, Inc. presented each with a plaque in appreciation of their leadership and counsel guiding the service to older adults. Current members of the Board include: Julie Knoblich, ...

911 computers on commission agenda

The Barton County Commission will meet at 9 a.m. Monday at the Barton County Courthouse, 1400 Main in Great Bend. The agenda includes new computers for the Communications Department (911), dispatcher training and an overview of criminal victims' services.

Applicant's briefing scheduled for Barton County

On April 26, Barton County was declared eligible for Public Assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) due to a snowstorm that occurred Feb. 20-23, 2013. An Applicants' Briefing for township officials, cities, county, school districts and certain non-profits organizations within Barton County has been scheduled for 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14 at the Barton County Courthouse, Room 101, Great Bend. This meeting is for public officials and officers from these agencies and ...

GBHS Variety Show tickets on sale

Great Bend High School Variety Show tickets are still available in the high school vocal music room. Please use the east front doors of the school.

Keep Children and Pets Safe by Teaching Any Dog May Bite

Each year, 4.5 million people in this country are bitten by dogs and 885,000 of those require medical attention, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among children, the rate of dog bite–related injuries is highest for those ages 5 to 9 years, and children are more likely than adults to receive medical attention for dog bites than adults. Children, because of their inexperience and size, are particularly prone to serious injury from ...

Keep children and pets safe by teaching any dog may bite

TOPEKA - Each year, 4.5 million people in this country are bitten by dogs and 885,000 of those require medical attention, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among children, the rate of dog bite–related injuries is highest for those ages 5 to 9 years, and children are more likely than adults to receive medical attention for dog bites than adults. Children, because of their inexperience and size, are particularly prone to serious ...

Full entry takes 8th at State

On Saturday May 4th the Great Bend Forensics squad traveled to Emporia High School for the 5A State Championship Speech Tournament. They competed in 16 events, which gave them a full entry. Placing 8th out of 25 schools, the team had five events break into semifinals.

German Wedding Roast a family tradition

One way to keep Mom out of the kitchen this Mother's Day is by taking her to lunch. Jeannie Munsch will be cooking German Wedding Roast to serve this Sunday at the Great Bend American Legion Post 180, 1011 Kansas Ave., from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Student clean-up

From left: Chandra Gray, Holly Foster and Kole Stiner team up at St. Rose Ambulatory & Surgery Center for the community-wide clean-up day May 1. The Great Bend High School Student Council helped organize the event as a community-service project.

Girl Scout volunteers recognized for service

Wichita - Ninety-three volunteers across 80 counties were honored by Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland recently at the 2013 Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast and Annual Meeting.

North Frey bridge work to begin Friday

According to the Barton County Engineers Office, L&M Contractors of Great Bend will begin bridge repair work on NE 10 Ave. (or North Frey Street), north of the Club at StoneRidge on Friday. Barricades will be placed at the intersection North and South of the structure, allowing access to local traffic only for about three weeks.

GBHS Technology Challenge team wins FHSU Challenge