Community News
Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. May 30, 1973 Labette County commissioners approved a salary increase of about $45 monthly for the undersheriff and deputies. Carl Cloke, sheriff, requested that commissioners approve a $50 salary increase beginning June 1 plus another $50 increase to begin Jan. 1. The undersheriff and deputies would receive $500 monthly effective July 1, Wayne Gillette of Oswego, commissi...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. May 29, 1973 A “turnstile” had been installed at the new all-weather running track at Parsons High School, opening it for persons wanting to use it. In announcing the installation, Lewis Hevel, assistant superintendent of Parsons district schools, said the district welcomed the public to use the track. The six-lane, quarter-mile oval was a mixture of asphalt, cork and rub...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. May 28, 1973 A sister and brother, the children of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Seward, 216 N. 26th, would have lead roles in the Parsons summer musical production of “Hello Dolly” in Parsons. Carol Seward would play Dolly Gallagher Levi, the match-making female lead, and Dale Seward would be Horace Vandergelder, the object of her own match-making designs. Both of the Sewards were...
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Couple to celebrate 60th wedding anniversary
Mr. and Mrs. F.L. "Slick" Norris Mr. and Mrs. F.L. "Slick" Norris of rural Altamont will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary with a come and go reception from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 8, at the Labette County High School cafeteria, 601 S. High School, in Altamont. F.L. Norris and Louise Hughes were married June 7, 1953, at Galesburg Christian Church in Galesburg. Mr. Norris was a long-time administrator for Labette County High School...
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Koonce, Becks engagement
Shannon Koonce, Carleton Becks Matthew Koonce of Greenville, N.C., announces the engagement of his daughter, Shannon Koonce of Washington, D.C., to Carleton Wesley Becks. He is the son of Laprell and Heddie Becks of Tishomingo, Okla., formerly of Parsons. Shannon Koonce is the daughter of the late Mary Koonce. The bride-elect is a 2000 graduate of J.H. Rose High School in Greenville, N.C. She graduated in 2004 from North Carolina A&T State Un...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. May 25-26, 1973 A supplemental grant for a new community center in Parsons was approved by the Ozarks Regional Commission in Little Rock, Ark. The grant would not exceed $175,000. The projected community center would cost $670,000. Voters approved a bond issue of $182,250. The city also planned to use $261,000 from the purchase of the Parsons Public Library by the Parsons...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. May 24, 1973 City commissioners voted to authorize purchase of the Parsons Public Library, 115 S. 17th, by the Parsons Urban Renewal Agency at a replacement cost of $261,000. The option for purchase contained a stipulation that the city could lease the library for $1 monthly. Commissioners were considering several sites in the downtown urban renewal area for construction ...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. May 23, 1973 Parsons city commissioners approved a $3,600 allocation to the Katy-Parsons Golf Club, which was experiencing financial problems. Commissioners voted unanimously to contribute the money from federal revenue-sharing funds received by the city. The allocation was to assist with maintenance of the golf course during a six-month period and was to be reviewed the ...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. May 22, 1973 A recycling center opened north of Parsons, buying scrap iron and junked cars, with plans to expand to include other products. John Spillman was operator of the S.E.K. Recycling Plant on 9.1 acres leased from the Katy Railroad off Boyd Street in Orchard Park, just north of Parsons Grain Terminal Inc. Spillman said that in the two weeks since the plant opened,...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. May 21, 1973 Carol Davidson, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Gene Davidson, 1010 S. 32nd, was the valedictorian of the 1973 graduating class at Parsons High School. Alice Pontious, daughter of the Rev. and Mrs. Wayne Pontious of rural Erie, was the salutatorian. The two were scheduled to speak during a commencement ceremony in which 198 members of the senior class would receive ...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. May 17, 1973 A business offering western wear and equipment planned its formal opening for May 19 in Oswego. The Tack Room was owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. Jerald Reed of Oswego. Reed said the store would have a complete line of western apparel, plus saddles and other items of tack. The store was located at the U.S. 59/K-96 highway entrance to Oswego from the west. ...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. May 16, 1973 Construction of new quarters for Parsons Commercial Bank, on the site of its exiting building at Central and Main with the addition of 22,000 square feet of off-street parking space, was announced. The project would be one of the largest investments made in the downtown urban renewal area. R.E. Feess, president of the bank, said completion of the new building...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. May 15, 1973 A minimum base salary increase of 4.8 percent was included in a contract agreement ratified by Parsons public school teachers. The Parsons Education Association, which was the bargaining unit for the teachers, ratified the agreement after considerable debate by a vote of about three to one, A.L. Flanders, chief of the teachers’ bargaining team, said. Of about...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. May 14, 1973 The high winds that struck Southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri early on May 11 had the elements of both a cyclone and a tornado, the nation’s chief severe storm forecaster said, a “tornadic cyclone” in other words. Allen Pearson, director of the National Severe Storm Forecasting Center, said he and Theodore Fujita, an international authority on tornadoes ...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. May 11-12, 1973 A howling wind, accompanied by heavy rain and hail, ripped through Southeast Kansas early on May 11 and left a trail of destruction in Chanute, St. Paul and Parsons before wreaking greater havoc and human toll in Joplin. The storm struck in Parsons about 6 a.m. It may have been a tornado. Federal severe weather forecasters weren’t certain of that and would...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. May 10, 1973 Parsons Viking golfers captured the four-man title at the regional tournament to qualify for the school’s eighth state high school tournament trip in a row. Paced by John Daley, state champion in 1971, the Vikings totaled 323 strokes to win by 14 strokes over Eureka. Daley carded a 40-38—78 over the nine-hole, par 73 Eureka Country Club course to finish fourt...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. May 9, 1973 Sale of a 10.2-acre tract for development of a downtown shopping center was approved by the Parsons Urban Renewal Agency. The agency’s board accepted a proposal from M.K. Gentry, a Wichita developer, for purchase of the land at 42 cents per square foot. The total price would be $175,158.06 for the development that was expected to represent an investment of $1 ...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. May 7, 1973 A Labette County deputy sheriff from Chetopa quit to accept another job, Carl Cloke, sheriff, said. Glen Schofield, who had worked for the department since Feb. 8, was the third deputy to resign within two weeks. Cloke said at least two of the former deputies quit for better-paying jobs. He said the deputies worked 80 hours weekly, making their salaries averag...
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News & Notes
Property taxes due The second half of property taxes are due Friday at the Labette County Treasurer’s Office. Property taxes can be taken care of in two payments, one in December and the other by May 10. The county treasurer recommends that payments are mailed on or before that date. Butterfly plant fundraiser Service Valley Charter Academy will have its annual butterfly plant fundraiser from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at 21102 Wallace Road. The...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. May 4-5, 1973 Word was received from Washington that the Farmers Home Administration gave final approval to a $240,000 loan for a senior citizens housing project in Chetopa. The project included plans for 20 apartment units to be rented by the Chetopa Housing Corp., a community nonprofit organization. Ruth Elmore was president. Erection of a building for the Home State Ba...
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