News
Rotary to collect money for storm victims
The Parsons Rotary Club on Thursday finalized plans to collect money in Parsons and donate it to benefit the victims of the EF5 tornado in Moore, Okla. A request from Rotary District 6110 (headquartered in Tulsa), which Parsons is a part of, went out to members to collect money for tornado relief for Moore. All of the money collected will go toward the people victimized by Monday’s tornado. The half-mile-wide tornado killed 24 people and injur...
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USD 503 gets new food provider
By Colleen Surridge csurridge@parsonssun.com Society’s move away from an “eat to live” mentality to one of “live to eat,” along with families’ reliance on ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat foods, combined with less physical activity, has resulted in the growing trend of obesity in the U.S. The goal of the U.S. school lunch program for decades has been to feed children, helping ensure they are not going hungry. However, to address rising concerns ...
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City workers volunteer to help in Moore
By Jamie Willey jwilley@parsonssun.com The city of Parsons didn’t receive a request for help in the tornado recovery effort in Moore, Okla., but three city workers are volunteering to go on their own. Anthony Camus, Jason Edwards and Matt George plan to arrive in Moore Saturday evening and work until Monday during their three-day weekend. Camus, who is from Lawton, Okla., and has friends in the Oklahoma City area, said he wanted to help Moore...
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Music in Park offers wide variety of genres
No matter what one’s favorite type of music might be, the lineup of talented entertainers for the 2013 Music in the Park concert series is sure to please. The city of Parsons will present the free weekly concert series at the Seaton Family Pavilion in Forest Park at 13th and Broadway. The 2013 Music in the Park series begins on May 30 and runs until July 25. The concerts are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. every Thursday, with concessions available be...
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Suspicious fire destroys home
A fire Tuesday night may have been intentionally set, a fire official said. Parsons firefighters and other emergency crews were called at 9:23 p.m. Tuesday to 1414 Appleton, a home occupied by Ashley Guymon and her three children. The property’s owner is Marcel Nash, according to the Labette County Register of Deeds records. No one was home when the fire broke out, Fire Chief Larry Steeby said. No injuries were reported. Steeby said when firef...
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News & Notes
Katy Days train rides Katy Days organizers will sell a limited amount of tickets for Union Pacific Railroad passenger train rides. The tickets will be sold at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the northeast corner of Forest Park. The rides will begin at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday. Boarding will be next to the display locomotives at 20th and Crawford. Medallion hunt Katy Days organizers reported Tuesday morning that the Spike It Rich medallion has ...
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Planners OK rezoning of skating rink
By Jamie Willey jwilley@parsonssun.com The Parsons Planning Commission gave the green light for the family that owns the former Silver Wheels Skating Rink to reopen the business. The planners voted 8-0, with one planner absent, to recommend to the Parsons City Commission that the skating rink property at 225 N. 10th be rezoned from single-family residential (R-1) to service commercial (C-3) during a Tuesday evening meeting. The planners also ...
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USD 503 board turns down soccer
By Colleen Surridge csurridge@parsonssun.com The USD 503 Board of Education decided against implementing a soccer team this coming year, but left the door open to the possibility in the future. Parsons High School assistant principal Trevor Addis told the board that soccer is offered at high schools in Fort Scott, Pittsburg, Independence and Coffeyville. Only boys soccer is offered in the fall, so girls would have to participate with them if ...
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KDOC transfers prisoners
OSWEGO — About 28 minimum security inmates have been moved into the medium security building at El Dorado Correctional Facility, Southeast Unit, at Oswego. The transfer happened last week, according to Jeremy Barclay, communications director for the Kansas Department of Corrections. Barclay said the move will allow the DOC to avoid spending additional budget on employee salaries before it needs to. The prisoners at Oswego were housed in separa...
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Man gets probation in Medicaid fraud case
An Independence man received probation and an underlying prison term for defrauding the Kansas Medicaid program. Richard Dennany, 43, Independence, pleaded no contest in Labette County District Court to conspiracy to make a false claim to the Medicaid program, making a false claim to the Medicaid program and two counts of unlawful acts relating to the Medicaid program. The charges against Dennany and two others stemmed from an investigation in...
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Sheriff investigates fire
The Labette County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a fire late Friday night and early Saturday morning that destroyed golf carts at J.P.’s Golf east of Parsons. Jerry Purcell, the business owner, said he had eight used gas-powered carts parked along 24000 Road on his property for a couple days. The business is at 1755 24000 Road, which is Main Street in Parsons. Purcell said he’d checked on the carts Thursday and Friday morning and had w...
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City of Erie appoints superintendent
ERIE — The Erie City Council promoted a longtime city worker to city superintendent during a special meeting Monday evening. The council voted 3-2 during its May 13 meeting to not reappoint City Superintendent Bruce Vogts to his position. The council must appoint a person to the superintendent position, along with several other positions, each year. Vogts was the only city employee not reappointed to his position. On Monday, the council voted ...
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City decides not to reschedule Monday meeting
The Parsons City Commission meeting scheduled for Monday was canceled because of the threat of severe weather. Kari West, public information officer for the city, said on Tuesday morning the meeting will not be rescheduled. The commission will meet again during the regularly scheduled work session at 4:30 p.m. May 30. The commission had planned to vote on whether the city should proceed with a proposed anti-tethering ordinance that would restr...
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Scavenger hunt returns to Katy Days
By Colleen Surridge csurridge@parsonssun.com This year’s Katy Days History Zone is bringing to the public two new treats and a favorite activity from last year, brought back by popular demand. This year the annual display created by the Parsons Historical Museum will be “Mapping Memories: Where It Was in Parsons.” It will feature maps of Parsons — including a large map of downtown created especially for this year’s Katy Days, which will run F...
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Unemployment drops in Labette
The unemployment rate in Kansas fell slightly last month, while the rate in Labette County fell by more than half of a percent. The Kansas Department of Labor reported recently the unemployment rate for April declined from 5.8 percent in March to 5.3 percent in April, while the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate saw a slight decline from 5.6 to 5.5 percent. The unemployment rate in April 2012 was 5.4 percent. In Labette, the jobless rate fe...
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Local group plans Boys & Girls Club
A steering committee is making plans to establish a Boys & Girls Club in Parsons. The committee was organized in February to assess the need and the possibility of establishing the club. The committee is made up of individuals who have a genuine concern about the issues that face the community’s youth and includes staff from USD 503, Parsons Housing Authority, Downtown Parsons Inc., Labette Community College, Public Health of Labette County, Y...
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Library plans lots of activities for summer
By Colleen Surridge csurridge@parsonssun.com Boredom is considered by some an unwarranted state of existence if one knows how to read because even when a person doesn’t have the means or opportunity to physically travel someplace, books allow the imagination to travel anywhere. The Parsons Public Library’s summer reading program offers area residents not only the opportunity to read great books to feed their imaginations, but also to particip...
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Republicans choose clerk’s replacement
OSWEGO — The Labette County Republican Central Committee on Friday nominated Deputy Clerk Peggy Minor to take over as county clerk when Linda Schreppel retires at the end of June. Schreppel announced that she would retire recently and was re-elected to her eighth term in November. She has been county clerk since December 1981. Minor has been with the clerk’s office since August 1986. She has performed many of the different functions of the off...
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News & Notes
Union Avenue closure The city of Parsons plans to keep Union Avenue from North 16th (U.S. 59) to North 21st (Ottawa Road) closed to through traffic until 5 p.m. June 21 for a street reconstruction project. A temporary access road will be provided to Aaron’s, 2826 N. 16th. All traffic to and from Flynn Industrial Park should use the north drive off of 16th. 90th birthdays The public is invited to a 90th birthday celebration for Ruby Redmond fr...
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Floor of judicial center needs work
OSWEGO — Labette County commissioners on Monday received an update on a recent visit to the Labette County Judicial Center in Parsons by an engineer. Kenny Blair of Cook, Flatt and Strobel Engineers, Topeka, toured the judicial center last week and told Commission Chairman Lonie Addis and County Counselor Fred Johnson of some of his concerns about the building. Staff have reported problems with the floor settling on the north side of the build...
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