DETROIT (AP) — Gordie Howe, the hockey great who set scoring records that stood for decades, has died. He was 88.
Son Murray Howe confirmed the death Friday, texting to The Associated Press: “Mr Hockey left peacefully, beautifully, and w no regrets.”
Howe set NHL marks with 801 goals and 1,850 points that held up until Wayne Gretzky surpassed his idol in the record books.
Howe was also so famously fierce, using elbows and fists to rough up opponents, that a “Gordie Howe Hat Trick,” became synonymous with the combination of having a goal, an assist and a fight in one game.
HODGEMAN COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities in Hodgeman County have wrapped up a case involving a suspect hunting from the cab of a vehicle.
On December 1 of 2015, a Hodgeman County Game Warden received a call from an observant landowner who had witnessed a vehicle stop and shoot a deer from the cab, according to a social media report from the Kansas Wildlife and Parks and Tourism.
The landowner was able to give a detailed description of the vehicle.
The Game Warden was able to locate the vehicle and catch the individuals responsible.
On Thursday, KDWPT reported the defendant agreed to pay $3872 in restitution and forfeit the rifle seized as evidence in connection with these crimes.
Rowena Frances (Thompson) Keener, age 83, of Great Bend, Kansas, passed away on Wednesday morning, June 8, 2016 at her home in Great Bend after a long battle with cancer.
She was born on September 16, 1932 at Lincoln, Nebraska to George Ellis and Freida Madeline (Hackstadt) Thompson. Rowena was a Great Bend Resident since the early 1950s, and she worked in the laundry at Central Kansas Medical Center in Great Bend for many years.
Rowena loved to sew, making clothing for her family for many years leading to sewing and alterations for friends and neighbors. She enjoyed quilting, tole painting, and crocheting – creating beautiful rugs from rags and yarn. She once crocheted a 12 by 16 foot rug from black and white yarn…such a huge endeavor done with so much love. In later years, reading (something she had enjoyed her whole life) became even more important, taking her to places she could only dream of. Word puzzles and challenges for her brain became her passion as she was determined to keep her spirits high and her mind sharp.
Rowena is survived by two daughters: Freda F. Chapman of Great Bend, Kansas and Paula S. Keener of La Crosse, Kansas; three sons: John W. Keener of Great Bend, Kansas, William L. (and his wife, Brenda) Keener of La Crosse, Kansas and Dalton L. (and his wife, Barbara) Keener of Pawnee Rock, Kansas; 15 grandchildren, 44 great-grandchildren, 6 great-great-grandchildren and one on the way; one brother, Keith M. Thompson of Otis, Kansas; many nieces and nephews too numerous to count. She was preceded in death by her parents, a younger brother Gordon E. Thompson, and a tiny precious great-grandson, Ethan Gentry Riley Keener.
According to Rowena’s wishes, cremation has been chosen. There will be no viewing or visitation. Memorial Graveside Services will be held at 10:00 AM on Saturday, June 18, 2016 at the Pawnee Rock Cemetery, Pawnee Rock, Kansas with a Celebration of Life beginning mid-afternoon the same day at Paula’s home in La Crosse, Kansas.
Memorials may be made in care of the Heartland Cancer Center, Great Bend, Kansas.
Kansas Health Foundation board member Junetta Everett, Health Advocate Tonya Lewis Lee, Representative Melody McCray-Miller, Foundation President and CEO Steve Coen, and Dockum Sit-In participants Galyn Vesey and Joan Williams. -photo Kansas Health Foundation
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The site of an important civil rights sit-in in 1958 in Wichita will be getting a memorial for the first time.
Young black protesters sat at the lunch counter in the Dockum Drug Store in 1958. The Wichita Eagle reports after three weeks of sit-ins, the drug store agreed to serve the black students at the counter. It is considered one of the first successful lunch counter sit-ins in the nation that eventually helped lead to desegregation.
On Thursday, two participants in the sit-ins, Joan Williams and Galyn Vesey, attended a ceremony where the Kansas Health Foundation presented a $50,000 grant to the Kansas African American Museum and Ambassador Hotel for the memorial project.
Organizers have not determined what form the memorial will take, or what it will include.
(Photos courtesy HPD)DUI check lane in Hays June 5, 2016
On Sunday, Hays Police Department officers , with assistance from the Kansas Highway Patrol, conducted a sobriety checkpoint in the 2800 block of Vine. The checkpoint ran from approximately 12:30 to 2:30 a.m.
The purpose of the checkpoint was to improve the safety of our community by identifying impaired drivers and removing them from the roadway. As a result of the checkpoint, 119 vehicles were stopped and nine drivers were given on-site sobriety tests, resulting in one driving under the influence arrest. In addition to the DUI arrest, one arrest was made for battery on a law enforcement officer and interference with a law enforcement officer, and one individual was arrested for driving on a suspended license. Five individuals were cited for transporting open containers of alcohol.
This event was conducted in accordance with the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Impaired Driving Deterrence Program.
As part of the annual Great Planes on the Great Plains Fly In, national treasure dating back to World War II landed at the Hays Regional Airport on Monday. Maid in the Shade — a B-25 bomber — touched down in front of a crowd of eager onlookers just after noon as part of the Arizona Airbase Aviation Museum’s 2016 Flying Legends of Victory tour.
The goal of the Flying Legends of Victory tour is to celebrate the legacy of the men and women who flew these aircraft, and provide the public the opportunity to experience the aircraft up close.
The bomber’s volunteer crew includes Jim Swanke, Don Rader, Tom Earl, Roland Smith and Rich Petty.
Victory marks denoting number of completed missions.
Manufactured in early 1944, Maid in the Shade is a rare warbird — one of only 34 flying B-25s left in existence. It flew 15 total missions, 13 over Italy and two over Yugoslavia. According to the crew, its main role was to bomb enemy oil fields, which crippled the enemy’s ability to manufacture planes, tanks, and other mechanized vehicles.
B-25s are classified as medium bombers and have a range of 1,350 miles.
Daily tours are taking place through Sunday, June 12, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Flight times are 9, 10 and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday and 9, 10 and 11 a.m. and noon Sunday.
Flight times are subject to change in order to fill space.
For more information or to reserve flights, contact (602) 448-2350 or [email protected]. Rides are being scheduled now.
Flight deck area seats are $650 each, and waist gunner seats are $395 each.
To check out more information on Saturday’s Great Planes on the Great Plains Fly In events, click HERE.
Celebration Community Church’s radio station 98.5 The TRUTH presents the movie “Risen” at 7:05 p.m. Friday.
“Risen” is the epic Biblical story of the Resurrection, as told through the eyes of a non-believer.
The PG-13 movie, starring Joseph Fiennes, is a part of the monthly Free Friday Family Film series offered each month at the church.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka call center plans to add about 200 jobs as part of expansion plans by its owner.
Alorica Inc. announced last week that it would acquire Expert Global Solutions and expand its national and international business. Spokesman Ken Muche says the Topeka call center, which currently employs about 395 people, will have about 600 workers by August.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the company’s current location has enough room for the increased number of employees. Currently, about 3 percent of Alorica’s Topeka employees are part-time. Muche says about 10 percent of the new jobs will be part-time.
The Irvine, California-based company offers a variety of customer service solutions to businesses.
On Thursday morning, members of the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce and Eagle Communications employees gathered at the new home of the company’s Customer Care Center at 1007 W. 27th for a ribbon-cutting celebrating the opening of the new space.
“On behalf all 290 Eagle Employee-Owners, we appreciate you coming out here to join us today,” said Travis Kohlrus, general manager of Eagle’s broadband division.
There were two main reasons for the move, Kohlrus told a large crowd – customer access and company expansion.
“We needed better access to our customers,” he said, noting the new location is more accessible with direct access to a major thoroughfare in Hays.
The location also gives the company the ability to showcase products and services.
“You can really enhance the experience,” Kohlrus said, by providing product demonstrations now available in the new location.
The new location also will allow Eagle to accommodate a growing number of services and a larger company footprint.
“When you have more products and a larger footprint, you got to have more employees,” Kohlrus said.
The location will be home to the company’s customer service and marketing departments.
“Those two groups work together immensely to communicate with our customers,” Kohlrus said.
There are currently 17 people that will work in the facility, with additional space for 10 more.
The location – in the Eagle Business Plaza near to the previous Customer Care Center, corporate office and Network Operations Center – was also a feature Kohlrus noted during the celebration.
“The other thing we liked about this building that was unique is that it is part of the Eagle campus,” he said.
Now that the location is open, he invited customers to take advantage of the new space.
“We invite you to come in, consult with us, if you have questions about your current packages or products that we offer, come in and see us. We’re happy to sit down and help.”
The Humane Society of the High Plains will host a garage sale from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday in the former Fashion Bug location at Big Creek Crossing, 2918 Vine.
Items for sale include a wide variety of furniture and electronics, as well as homemade cookies made by Humane Society members. Proceeds from the sale go toward the spay and neuter fund and other medical costs.
Donations for the sale may be dropped off at Humane Society, 2050 East Hwy. 40 or the former Fashion Bug location in Big Creek Crossing from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday. The Humane Society asks that no clothes, shoes, baby items or tires be donated.
For more information or to have items picked up, contact the Humane Society of the High Plains at (785) 625-5252.
DETROIT (AP) — Gordie Howe, the hockey great who set scoring records that stood for decades, has died. He was 88.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka call center plans to add about 200 jobs as part of expansion plans by its owner.
