Community News
Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Jan. 7-8, 1972 Purchase of a 10-acre site for a Parsons Presbyterian Manor was announced. The project at the start would be a 75-bed combined retirement and skilled nursing home. The Rev. Donald Parnell, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, said that land in the Prairie West addition at the northwest edge of Parsons had been acquired from its owners. Final plans for const...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Jan. 6, 1972 Major crimes in Parsons continued to decrease in 1971 while minor offenses such as vandalism and petty larceny showed a slight increase, according to an annual report released by Harry Tims, chief of police. The number of arrests showed a marked drop to the previous year’s total of 481, which was 80 fewer than the 561 recorded in 1970. Only 54 cases of grand ...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Jan. 5, 1972 A job training program would begin in Parsons in late February, covering 120 people for jobs in the new plant of Power-Flame Division Inc. The 76,600-square-foot plant was under construction. It was scheduled to begin production by April 15. Sixty individuals would be trained in fabrication procedures, 20 in electrical wiring and 40 in assembly production. Pa...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Jan. 4, 1972 A total of 164,749 people lived within a 40-mile radius of Parsons. The figure within a 30-mile radius was 103,342. Both figures included the population of Parsons itself. The Parsons Urban Renewal Agency compiled the figures for presentation to various firms interested in redevelopment in the downtown urban renewal area, Michael McDowell, executive director,...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Jan. 3, 1972 Leasing of industrial space and facilities at the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant east of Parsons was in prospect, Lt. Col. Hugh Rogers Jr., commanding officer, said. The president of one firm visited the plant to inspect possible space and would return during the week to look at two buildings, one of them believed suitable for its requirements. The firm would e...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Dec. 31, 1971 Consolidation of Brown-Davidson Corp., which had a manufacturing plant in Parsons, and Glas-Tec Inc. into a single corporation under the latter’s name was announced. There would be no change in operations in Parsons, Charlie Mowery of Altamont, Brown-Davidson plant manager, said. Only the name would be changed. Both companies were subsidiaries of Riblet Prod...
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Jacquinot, Stevenson
Steve and Penny Jacquinot of Parsons announce the engagement of their daughter, Molly Jacquinot of Lawrence, to Jeff Stevenson of Wichita, the son of Jan Stevenson of Coffeyville and the late Ron Stevenson. The bride-elect graduated from Parsons High School in 2007. She graduated from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, this year with a degree in elementary education. She is an intern at Pinckney Elementary School, Lawrence, and is working on ...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Dec. 30, 1971 Visiting restrictions were put into effect at Labette County Medical Center in Parsons as a precaution against a high incidence of viral-type illness in the area. Jerry Lilley, administrator of the medical center, said visiting would be limited to immediate families of patients until the situation improved. Billy Hutson, administrator of the Katy Employees’ ...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Dec. 29, 1971 The Katy Railroad planned to occupy a new office building in its Parsons yards by Jan. 17, B.R. Bishop of Dallas, vice president of operations, said. The structure was being completed near the Katy’s Crawford Avenue crossing. It was a one-story structure of metal construction. Offices of the railroad in Parsons would be centered in the new building. Those mo...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Dec. 28, 1971 A thief stole an 18-pound can of survival crackers from the Parsons civil defense storage area at the city water plant located at 1630 Lincoln. Citizens needn’t worry, however, because there were plenty more survival crackers among the civil defense supplies in case of a nuclear attack. Joe Lackey, water production supervisor, discovered the can missing and ...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Dec. 24, 1971 The Parsons High School basketball team, the third-place finisher in the state 3A tournament during 1970-71, held the No. position in its class in the Topeka Daily Capital’s first weekly rankings of the season with a record of five victories and no defeats. The holiday season became doubly nice for Parsons-area teams with the ranking of Cherryvale as No. 6 i...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Dec. 23, 1971 An investigation by the General Accounting Office, an independent federal agency, of the projected closing of the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant was asked by U.S. Sen. James Pearson, R-Kan. Pearson specifically asked the GAO, widely known as a watchdog of the government, to review ammunition production costs on which the Army claimed to have based its decision...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Dec. 22, 1971 A single, six-school super-community college district was under discussion in Southeast Kansas. Labette County would be part of the district, as well as those areas supporting two-year schools in Chanute, Iola, Coffeyville, Independence and Fort Scott. The single district, if formed, and special state legislation probably would be necessary to accomplish a c...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Dec. 21, 1971 Combination of the city park department and the Parsons Recreation Commission was approved by city commissioners during their regular meeting. Arvon Phillips, recreation commission director, would coordinate recreation programs and park maintenance as supervisor of the joint department. He would be responsible to the city manager, Will Tschudy. Phillips woul...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Dec. 20, 1971 About 300 people attended the open house and dedication ceremonies for West Side Homes in Oswego. The project, a 20-unit development for the elderly, was nearly completed, John Schmoker, secretary-treasurer of West Side Homes Inc. said. The development was financed by a loan of $210,000 from the Farmers Home Administration and $2,700 in local contributions. ...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Dec. 17-18, 1971 Labette County, threatened by a shortage and the age of its doctors, needed specialists plus general medical men, according to a year-long study published by the Parsons League of Women Voters. Because of the average age of the county’s physicians, its doctor-patient ratio and lack of specialty skills, the league recommended a community effort to attract ...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Dec. 16, 1971 Russell Morgan, superintendent of the Kansas Gas & Electric Co. generating plant east of Parsons, was the new president of the Parsons Chamber of Commerce. Morgan would succeed Jerry Carson, certified public accountant. James Scaletty, president of Peoples Savings & Loan Association, was elected first vice president; B.W. Hood, division manager of Kansas Pow...
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Dec. 15, 1971 The board of the Parsons Urban Renewal Agency voted unanimously to remove the Brown Chapel AME Church at 18th and Washington from property it had scheduled to buy. The action came after discussions with the district superintendent of the church, whose home was in Kansas City, Kan., and demanded that the agency increase sharply the price it offered for the ch...
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Public Mind
To The Sun: A big shout out for the new sheriff in town! A sincere thank you to Labette County Sheriff Robert Sims and all law enforcements officers who were involved in arresting the thugs in the recent home invasions in such a timely manner. I think as citizens of Labette county we all feel better about these guys being behind bars. Let’s hope our court system will keep them there. — TERRY SMITH, Cherryvale
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Our Past
These items were taken from the Sun’s editions 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Dec. 14, 1971 Faces were as bright as the dazzling lights in downtown Parsons the previous night when an eye-catching new Christmas decor was unveiled. The enthusiasm of youth was combined with glowing approval of their elders as hundreds of people thronged Parsons Plaza for the first night ceremonies launched by the arrival of Santa Claus and a concert by the Parsons Hig...
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