News
Erie school receives grant for recycling
By Colleen Surridge csurridge@parsonssun.com ERIE — Having earned the title of being the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold-certified school, Erie High Charter School administration, staff and students feel an obligation to lead by example. “Our school has been designed as a green school and has received a lot of awards and recognition for the design of our school, but we realized we did not have a good opportunity for o...
full story
PSU student uses spark plugs to fund education
From Pittsburg State University PITTSBURG — Kelsey Trotnic spent many evenings in her dorm room this past year thinking about spark plugs. It’s not the sort of thing one expects of a college coed about to embark on a career as an elementary school teacher. Trotnic, an elementary education major from Parsons, will graduate from Pittsburg State University on Saturday and in the fall will teach fifth-grade social studies and communication arts a...
full story
News & Notes
Salvation Army camp The Salvation Army is reminding area residents that it will offer Service Extension Youth Camp again this year. The camp dates are June 11-14. The camp is offered to all children ages 8 to 12. There is no income restriction. The registration cost is $20 per child. The Salvation Army has scholarships available for those who cannot afford the registration cost. All camper applications are due by Friday and can be picked up at...
full story
Lab determines species of skull
A skull found in rural Labette County two months ago ended up being a partial calf skull. Labette County Sheriff Robert Sims recovered the skull in a wooded area on March 11 near 12000 and Meade roads. The skull was about one-eighth of a mile south of the road. A father and daughter were walking on the land looking for shed deer antlers and found what they thought was a partial human skull and notified the sheriff’s department. Sims didn’t kno...
full story
Candidate wants city to improve housing
By Jamie Willey jwilley@parsonssun.com A city commission candidate thinks Parsons needs to put more effort into improving the town’s housing stock. William Brown, a candidate in April’s election who has filed for the 2015 election, shared some of his ideas to encourage home owners to repair their houses with city commissioners during their Monday evening meeting. Brown said he went door to door recently surveying the public about homes and pr...
full story
News & Notes
Playful City USA Parsons was among the 217 cities that earned recognition from national nonprofit KaBOOM! as 2013 Playful City USA communities for their efforts to give children ample opportunities for play. Sponsored by the Humana Foundation, Playful City USA is a national program from KaBOOM! that celebrates and promotes local policies that increase play opportunities for children and is a key platform in combating the lack of play among chi...
full story
Judge rejects evidence in marijuana case
A Labette County judge ruled that evidence seized from a Parsons home — 58 pounds of marijuana — should be suppressed. District Judge Robert Fleming made this ruling in the case against Robert M. Tang, who is accused of distribution of marijuana, failing to affix a drug tax stamp to the marijuana and use of drug paraphernalia, all felonies. The charges followed a May 4, 2011, search of Tang’s home at 2507 Clark by the Labette County Sheriff’s ...
full story
EHS students help businesses with soical networking
By Colleen Surridge csurridge@parsonssun.com ERIE — While many schools can’t embrace the use of social media in education, Erie’s Personalized Learning Program students are using it daily, not only as an educational tool, but also to promote businesses in their community, including their own. Like many businesses, D’Angelo’s Pizzeria was listed on Facebook. The generic page, with a generic restaurant logo of a white fork and knife against a ...
full story
EMS chief lobbies in Washington, Topeka
Chris Way, director of emergency medical services for Labette Health, has an active role in lobbying for ambulance services and their employees statewide and in the nation’s capital. Way is vice president of Kansas EMS Association and formerly served as president of the organization. As a member of KEMSA, Way has made five trips to Washington to lobby for issues important to the emergency medical service. A story about his March trip to D.C. w...
full story
City to decide on tethering issue soon
By Jamie Willey jwilley@parsonssun.com The Parsons City Commission plans to vote on May 20 on whether or not the city should proceed with preparation of an anti-tethering ordinance. A local group, Basic Animal Rights Committee, has been pushing for a local ordinance and state statute to outlaw continuous tethering of dogs. The commission met with the group and the Kansas director of The Humane Society of the United States during a work sessio...
full story
New tire business opens
By Jamie Willey jwilley@parsonssun.com A new Parsons business offers tires and after-market products. Breck Gofourth opened AD After Market and Tire at 1320 Corporate Drive in Industrial Park No. 1 on May 1. His father, Scott Gofourth is a co-owner, and Dustin Kite is a partner in the new business. AD After Market and Tire is a Goodyear tire dealer but also offers many other tire brands. The business just received its pickup truck bed liner i...
full story
City approves Timber Creek incentives
By Jamie Willey jwilley@parsonssun.com The city of Parsons will help a local meat processor expand his business as he focuses more on retail sales. The Parsons City Commission voted unanimously Monday evening to approve an economic development incentive package for Timber Creek Meats, which is now located in Flynn Industrial Park with a retail outlet at 925 Main. Owner Cory Steves plans to construct a 40-by-50-foot building on an empty lot ju...
full story
County commission hears about concealed-carry law
OSWEGO — The Labette County Commission on Monday received a primer on the concealed carry law from an instructor and Labette County Sheriff Robert Sims. Oswego Police Chief George Elliott is a concealed-carry instructor and Sheriff Sims said one of his officers would get certified soon to teach the classes. The new law, which goes into effect July 1, will allow citizens with concealed-carry permits to bring firearms into many public buildings,...
full story
Erie USD 101 hires new superintendent
By Colleen Surridge csurridge@parsonssun.com CENTRAL PLAINS — Central Plains USD 112 superintendent Steven Woolf has been chosen by the Erie USD 101 Board of Education as the new superintendent of schools for the 2013-14 school year. Woolf will officially begin his duties July 1, replacing current superintendent John Wyrick, who has taken the position of superintendent at Altamont USD 506 beginning July 1. Woolf received bachelor’s and master...
full story
Mattox plans to renovate building for use by retailer
By Jamie Willey jwilley@parsonssun.com A Parsons businessman has invested further in the downtown area, buying a vacant building with plans to renovate it. Dave Mattox, owner of Bleacher Gear, 1730 Main, bought the building at 1719 Main that most recently housed a used book store. The building also was the home of a couple of pool halls, including Jim’s Plaza Pool in the 1980s and ’90s. Mattox, a member of Downtown Parsons Inc., participated ...
full story
Firefighters fight excess weight
By Colleen Surridge csurridge@parsonssun.com A comprehensive study released by the U.S. Fire Administration finds the No. 1 cause of death for on-duty firefighters is heart attack — a fact not lost on some Parsons firefighters. As firefighters pass the age of 30, their chance of a heart attack while on duty steadily increases, and 44 percent of firefighter deaths are directly related to heart attacks - not trauma. Nearing 50, the statistics w...
full story
Train engine catches fire in Chetopa
CHETOPA — A Union Pacific Railroad locomotive’s engine area caught fire briefly Thursday night in Chetopa near 12th and Hardin. According to U.P. spokesman Mark Davis, the fire happened about 9:30 p.m. on the 134-car train traveling from Wyoming to Louisiana. Chetopa emergency crews and firefighters responded to the scene, but the fire was out upon their arrival. The train crew had turned off the locomotive and the fire went out. There were no...
full story
Timber Creek plans to expand
The owner of Timber Creek Meats plans to erect a new building on North 16th Street near U.S. 400. Cory Steves bought the property and plans to construct a 40-foot by 50-foot building on an empty piece of land south of Stockyard Travel Plaza. Parsons city commissioners will consider an economic development incentive package during their regular Monday evening meeting that would include a $15,000 retail recruitment grant, a $50,000 loan with 4.2...
full story
News & Notes
Cherry Blossom canceled CHERRYVALE — Today’s Cherry Blossom Festival in Cherryvale has been canceled because of the weather. Most activities will be rescheduled for Sept. 7. The mini track meet will take place May 18. Call Jim Blaes, (620) 891-0072, for questions on the track meet. 80th birthday CHETOPA — There will be an open house honoring Mary Ann Prose’s 80th birthday from 2 to 4 p.m. May 11 at the Mae Lessley Community Center in Chetopa...
full story
Neosho to sell cars, other items in auction
ERIE — Neosho County plans to have a surplus auction soon. During their regular Friday morning meeting, county commissioners approved a bid from Buntin Auction Service, Erie, to conduct the auction. Buntin will receive a fee of 10 percent of the auction gross. No other bids were received. The sale, which is tentatively set for June 1, will include eight vehicles from the sheriff’s department as well as computers and desks from the courthouse, ...
full story