News
Bookmobile schedule set
The summer bookmobile will be making it rounds beginning next week to a neighborhood near you. The theme for the bookmobile this year is "Reading Rainbow Readers are Leaders," and it will be operating every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., June 11 through July 25. Youth are invited to visit the bookmobile to check out books, enjoy fun activities and have a chance to win prizes for the number of books read. Children ...
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Labette County Clerk Linda Schreppel will retire June 28.
Schreppel: No more hats to wear
By Ray Nolting rnolting@parsonssun.com OSWEGO — Labette County Clerk Linda Schreppel has worn many hats during her 30-plus year career in the clerk's office. She developed a skit to show how many hats a county clerk wears in the course of a day, a week or a year. The count is up to 20 now with law changes, Schreppel said. She's performed or narrated the skit many times over the years, adding hats as required by law changes. The last time she ...
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Juneteenth events start Friday
By Colleen Surridge csurridge@parsonssun.com The Brown Chapel AME and volunteer members of the community have coordinated and planned Parsons second annual Juneteenth celebration, June 14-16, at Glenwood Park. The event will kick off with an opening ceremony at 6 p.m. Friday and will include the history of Juneteenth. Referred to as "Freedom Day" or "Emancipation Day," Juneteenth commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery on Ju...
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Fire destroys detached garage
ALTAMONT — Fire destroyed a detached garage at a rural Altamont home Wednesday night. Altamont-Mount Pleasant Township firefighters were called at 8:34 p.m. Wednesday to the William Hefley home, 16012 S. U.S. 59. Altamont Fire Chief Keith Shaffer said Hefley and his sons were working on a pickup in the two-bay garage when a spark ignited gasoline, which spread quickly throughout the garage. The house, which is about 15 feet to the south of the...
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Judge wants to keep man out of jail
A Labette County judge said he didn't want to send a former Parsons man, who has been through four previous probation revocation actions, to prison. Rather, he may release the man to his uncle in Galena, where Dameek L. Harrison-Taylor, 21, can find a job and have a place to stay. He's been convicted of two cases in Labette County, two counts of possession of stolen property (misdemeanors) from 2011 and attempted aggravated robbery in 2010. In...
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North End Used Cars closes
By Jamie Willey jwilley@parsonssun.com Today will mark the end of a family operated business that has lasted for 35 years in Parsons. Gene and Pat Armitage will close North End Used Cars, 2111 N. 21st St., today to give them time to clean up the six acres of property so they can sell the land, machinery, house and shop buildings and retire after running the used car and metal recycling business since 1977. “She wanted to play with the grandki...
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Court of Appeals to hear cases in Pittsburg
A three-judge panel of the Kansas Court of Appeals will convene in Pittsburg, Tuesday and Wednesday, to hear oral arguments in eight cases and consider 19 other appeals that are being presented in briefs without oral argument. The hearing panel includes Judge David E. Bruns, who has been designated as presiding judge for the docket, and Judges Patrick D. McAnany and Kim R. Schroeder. The cases being argued include four criminal and four civil ...
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Longtime musician, mentor Saliba dies
By Jamie Willey jwilley@parsonssun.com A driving force of music in the Parsons community died Tuesday afternoon, leaving a legacy of countless musicians who she mentored over many years. Dana Saliba, 83, died at Brookdale Place in Overland Park. Longtime friend and fellow retired music teacher Kay Lawrence of Parsons said on Wednesday that Saliba had overcome several illnesses and had been getting better in recent days before she succumbed to...
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Fire damages business
A fire Tuesday morning caused an estimated $16,000 to an unoccupied Parsons business. Parsons firefighters were called at 10:06 a.m. Tuesday to 2701 Main on the report of a structure fire. When firefighters arrived, they found light smoke coming from the building. Once inside, crews quickly found the source of the smoke, Fire Chief Larry Steeby said in a prepared statement. The bathroom inside the business had sustained damage from what appear...
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Reserve officer injured
By Ray Nolting rnolting@parsonssun.com A Labette County Sheriff's Department reserve officer was injured while directing traffic at a two-vehicle accident Tuesday morning. The first accident occurred at 8:43 a.m. Tuesday on U.S. 400 about one-tenth of a mile west of the U.S. 400 and 24000 Road junction west of Parsons. A car driven by Jack C. Mann III, 22, Mission, was eastbound on U.S. 400 and a Renzenberger transport van driven by Douglas ...
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Center loses alcohol funds
By Jamie Willey jwilley@parsonssun.com The Parsons City Commission approved a distribution plan for special alcohol funds that included cutting out the Labette Center for Mental Health Services, but not without discussion. The commissioners on Monday approved divvying up $15,550 of the funds to four organizations, with LCMHS being the only one requesting funds to be left out. The distribution plan was recommended by a panel that included City...
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City wants quiet zones back
By Jamie Willey jwilley@parsonssun.com Parsons city commissioners decided on Monday evening to begin the procedure for re-establishing quiet zones at Union Pacific Railroad street crossings, but it may be a long time before train horns are silenced at the Appleton Avenue crossing. City Manager Fred Gress told commissioners that the U.P.’s signal division directed engineers to ignore quiet zones regulated by automated horns at the crossings. T...
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Six rescued at Lightning Creek
MCCUNE — Crawford County sheriff and other emergency units rescued six stranded people at Lightning Creek Saturday morning. The call came at 8:28 a.m. Saturday about a vehicle submerged in water and people stranded in Lightning Creek near 520 Avenue and 70th Street in rural McCune. Deputies reported seeing six people stranded, one clinging to a tree and the others were on or near a bridge. At least three vehicles were stranded or partially sub...
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112 youth participate in derby
ALTAMONT — Recent rains gave Idle Hour Lake south of Altamont more volume and submerged some features on Saturday. The ninth annual Kids Free Fishing Derby started as planned as the storm clouds broke early Saturday morning and allowed the sun to shine. The derby had 112 contestants competing in age categories from 3 to 12 years old. The derby brought moms, dads and grandparents with their eager fishermen. Prizes were available for the biggest...
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City does not restrict tethering
By Jamie Willey jwilley@parsonssun.com Despite a few last-minute, emotional appeals on the issue, the Parsons City Commission voted 4-1 against having City Attorney Ross Albertini preparing an ordinance outlawing or restricting the tethering of dogs. The commission had been discussing the issue primarily with members of Parsons BARC (Basic Animal Rights Committee), a local animal advocacy group that has been pushing for the ordinance. Monday ...
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Court denies appeal for child’s killer
A Parsons man, who was sentenced to life in prison for murdering and abusing a 19-month-old boy, has lost his most recent appeal to the Kansas Supreme Court. Mark Anthony Baker, 27, who is being held under special management custody at El Dorado Correctional Facility Central Unit, was convicted in 2011 of felony murder, abuse of a child, obstructing the official duty of an officer and two counts of felony possession of marijuana (one from a 20...
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Commission plans vote on dog tethering
The Parsons City Commission plans to vote on a proposal from a local pet advocacy group that would restrict the amount of time people could tether their dogs. The commission planned to vote during a May 20 meeting on whether or not to instruct City Attorney Ross Albertini to prepare an ordinance based a Chanute law that limits tethering time to one hour three times a day. The commission’s meeting that day was canceled because of a tornado warn...
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Neosho residents ask for upgrade of road
ERIE — More than 100 people want Neosho County to chip and seal a country road because of a high amount of traffic. During the Neosho County Commission meeting Friday morning, Brian Weaver and Cliff Lewis presented the commissioners a petition asking the county to chip and seal the six miles of Gray Road between 70th Road and Dennis. The petition contained 121 signatures. The petition stated, “Due to the amount of traffic generated by the lo...
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News & Notes
Library activities The Parsons Public Library summer reading program begins next week. It is not too late to sign up for the children, young adult and adult programs. Miss Willie will read “Jo MacDonald Had a Garden” by Mary Quattlebaum at 10 a.m. Monday and Wednesday for the library’s Story Hour for children ages 2 to 6. At 10 a.m. Tuesday, the library will offer a Family Morning Movie, “Antz,” for families with children up to 12 years old...
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Oswego inmates file suits
Eight inmates in the El Dorado Correctional Facility, Southeast Unit, in Oswego are seeking court intervention in their causes. The eight inmates at the prison in Oswego have filed 10 lawsuits in Labette County District Court since January. Most of the suits were filed in other counties where the inmates were housed and the inmates transferred the cases to Parsons after moving to Oswego this year. The inmates filed the habeas corpus petitions ...
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