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Cherryvale’s Claim: The forgotten author of the Pledge of Allegiance

For more than a century, Americans have said the Pledge of Allegiance, from the newest citizens, to presidents, to school children. But for one southeast Kansas community, it’s more than an oath. It’s part of the story of their town. “We claim that Frank Bellamy, who lived back at the turn of the century, as in 1890’s to 1900, we think that he wrote the Pledge of Allegiance,” said Mike Wood, Cherryvale Historical Museum. Frank Bellamy was born in 1876 in Indiana, the anniversary of our nation’s independence. His father, a prominent judge, moved the family first to Girard, and then to Cherryvale. The story of the Pledge of Allegiance begins with an 1890 writing competition in a magazine distributed in classrooms nationwide, called the Youth’s Companion.
“His teachers encouraged him to submit what he’d written as a Pledge of Allegiance to a competition, and he did that. He submitted it, and he didn’t hear anything back,” said Wood.
Source: KSNF/KODE

2024-07-08T13:57:49-05:00July 8, 2024|News|

City of Parsons fire truck that was ordered in 2022 arrives

A fire truck the city of Parsons ordered in 2022 has arrived last week. The city of Parsons ordered a Pierce Enforcer pump truck in 2022 at a purchase price of $684,032.62.
Brad Boss, Parsons fire chief, told city commissioners on Thursday that the department is in the process of switching equipment over to the new truck. He said the department is taking two trucks and putting equipment into one. The process will take a bit longer than normal, he said. But “we do have it,” Boss said the truck that is parked in the Washington Avenue station.
Source: Parsons Sun

2024-07-08T13:50:25-05:00July 8, 2024|News|

STAYCATION | Strong City, Cottonwood Falls provide small town surprises

Located 60 miles south of Manhattan, Strong City and Cottonwood Falls both may be small in size, but they make up for it with history and opportunities for exploration.
The hour-long drive down Kansas Highway 177 takes you into Strong City first, which is also accessible via U.S. Highway 50 west of Emporia. Continue down K-177, and then you’ve hit Cottonwood Falls. Toni Schneider, executive director of the Chase County Chamber of Commerce, said in an email that the unique thing about the twin-city area is “the feeling.”
“The feeling you get when you see the magnificent Flint Hills, not just the first time, but every time,” she said. “The feeling you get when you meet someone from the other side of the world on main street, the feeling you get when you see your neighbor helping a stranger and the feeling you get when someone tells you they are so glad they came to visit or live here.”
Source: themercury.com

2024-07-08T13:48:18-05:00July 8, 2024|News|

Chanute’s Santa Fe Park playground ribbon-cutting ceremony planned for Friday

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for the grand opening of the new Santa Fe Park playground at noon Friday, July 5. “We are very happy that we will get to cut the ribbon for the children of Chanute so they will have a safe place to play,” said Debbie Shields, chairperson of the Chanute Parks Advisory Board. The new playground equipment is inclusive and has something for every youth, Shields noted. The Chanute Community Foundation received $70,000 in match grant funding from the Patterson Family Foundation for the new playground equipment at Santa Fe Park in December. In November, the Sunderland Foundation awarded $100,000 to the Chanute Community Foundation for the new park playground equipment.
Source: www.chanute.com – RSS Results in news,news/* of type article

2024-07-08T13:44:57-05:00July 8, 2024|News|

As Kansas home values rise, major property tax relief will wait until at least next year

Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and top Republican lawmakers hailed the tax cuts package signed into law in June as significant relief for residents. But on property taxes, no one views the new law as a smashing success. The compromise reached by Kelly and GOP leaders contained only a modest property tax cut, even as lawmakers almost universally say high property tax bills are the biggest complaint of constituents. Instead, action in the statehouse focused largely on income tax reductions. Demonstrating the anger over property tax bills, the Wyandotte County-Kansas City, Kansas, Unified Government’s commissioners voted last week to not collect additional property tax revenue in the next budget year. The decision came after a contentious hours-long public hearing where residents voiced frustration with the size of their bills. Kansas lawmakers insist they will advance substantial property tax relief next year.
Source: Wichita Eagle

2024-07-08T13:42:46-05:00July 8, 2024|News|

Lawsuit over rejected Shawnee apartment plan could go to Kansas Supreme Court

A lawsuit between the city of Shawnee and a Johnson County-based development company may find its way to the Kansas Supreme Court. Attorneys for Austin Homes, a development company owned by Greg Prieb, are now appealing an April decision by the Kansas Court of Appeals that ruled in favor of the city after it denied developers’ application five years ago to build a multi-family project near Johnson Drive and K-7 Highway.
Source: Johnson County Post

2024-07-03T09:32:11-05:00July 3, 2024|News|

DOJ, Wichita schools reach settlement in race, disability discrimination investigation

Wichita Public Schools and the U.S. Department of Justice have reached a settlement after an investigation into Kansas’ largest school district uncovered race and disability discrimination in how discipline is dealt out. “The department’s investigation revealed, among other things, that the district’s Black students were disciplined more frequently and more severely than white students who engaged in similar conduct and had similar backgrounds and disciplinary histories,” a Tuesday DOJ release states.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle

2024-07-03T09:31:32-05:00July 3, 2024|News|

Riley County jail close to reaching capacity with more incarcerations

The Riley County Jail has been close to reaching capacity in recent month. Jail captain Mark French on Monday told county commissioners the 147-bed correctional facility has an average daily population of about 114 inmates, and sometimes, that number gets up to 120. “We’re pretty maxed out when it comes to the classification system,” French said.
Source: themercury.com

2024-07-03T09:31:09-05:00July 3, 2024|News|

Kansas Launches National Campaign to Attract and Retain Talent

Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland, alongside leaders from across the state, today unveiled Love, Kansas, a dynamic talent attraction campaign aimed at boosting Kansas’ population by inviting past residents to choose the Sunflower State as their future home. This national marketing initiative will highlight Kansas as an exceptional place to live, work and raise a family, with a special emphasis on “boomerangs” – individuals with previous ties to the state. The campaign was launched at the Flint Hills Discovery Center in Manhattan, where Lieutenant Governor Toland shared his personal journey back to Kansas that was inspired by a heartfelt phone call from a family friend about a job opportunity in his hometown of Iola. “It’s simple: We need more humans in Kansas to keep up with the phenomenal economic growth our state is experiencing,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “The best way to do that is to first approach Kansans who left the state for economic opportunities elsewhere and invite them to build a life in a place they know and have connections to, whether in their hometown or elsewhere in the state. And with the Love, Kansas campaign, we aren’t just extending an invitation to those who once called Kansas home to come back – we’re also inviting families from around the country to build their lives in the Sunflower State.”
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce

2024-07-02T10:02:01-05:00July 2, 2024|News|

Cuts looming for city staff as Manhattan looks to increase its cash balance

Manhattan city commissioners are talking about laying off as many as 70 city employees as they consider cost-cutting measures to avert what they say is a potential budget crisis. City officials during Tuesday’s meeting weighed options to increase the general fund. The fund’s cash balance is expected to drop from $11 million to $6 million by the end of 2024. Officials have said they like to keep the cash reserve above $10 million. Commissioners have initially targeted a combination of staff reductions and tax increases. Personnel currently makes up around 70% of the general funds’ expenses. Commissioners are looking at cutting 35-70 staff, with limits of 36-32 hours a week for remaining staff. This is predicted to save between $1 million-$4 million a year. City staff also suggested that putting a 1% sales tax increase on the November ballot to fund a proposed indoor aquatics project would free up money in the general fund. Another option is dipping into $4 million in city ARPA funds. The city also plans to halt replacing vehicles and equipment through the end of 2025. It may also halt capital improvements, filling vacancies and pay increases.
Source: 1350 KMAN

2024-07-02T10:00:19-05:00July 2, 2024|News|
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