The summer baseball and softball seasons have come and gone in Great Bend and now the Parks Department is already preparing the fields for next summer. Director of Public Lands Scott Keller says the number of games that were played and the hot weather took its toll on all the ball fields in Great Bend, but he says with the moisture and cooler weather they are coming back around nicely.

Keeler says that the Parks Department received some needed help this past weekend from American Legion baseball players who did some work at Harms Field that is located on the 281 By-pass.

Scott Keeler Audio

Keeler also had praise for the Great Bend Bat Cats who played their first season at Al Burns Field in Veterans Park. He says all the work the team did on the field during the regular season was much appreciated.

Scott Keeler Audio

Keeler says crews will spend the next few weeks fertilizing, aerating and over seeding the fields so they will be ready to go next spring.

Press release from United Way of Central Kansas…

The United Way of Central Kansas would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to all those who participated in our Stuff the Bus event last week. Thanks to your generous donations, hundreds of items were collected ranging from school supplies for Salvation Army and Central Kansas CASA to hygiene supplies for Catholic Charities of Southwest Kansas and Family Crisis Center.

We also collected food items for the Hoisington Food Bank, paper goods for the Ellinwood Senior Heritage Center and home improvement items for Habitat for Humanity. These are much needed items that each and every agency puts to good use within their organizations.

This event would not be possible without our amazing sponsors in Great Bend, Ellinwood, Larned, and Hoisington. All the local Dillons Stores including Dillons on 10th Street who hosted a live remote with Eagle Radio, Wal-Mart, Town & Country Supermarket, and Shopko. We also had fantastic support from more than three dozen volunteers from our Community Partners, RSVP/VIA volunteers, the Great Bend High School Volleyball team, and the Great Bend High School Football team.

This event is in it’s seventh year for Great Bend and has expanded to our other communities in Ellinwood, Larned and Hoisington in the years since. This event is coordinated by Dianne Call in Great Bend, with the help of Kay Wilbur, by Tama Hanson in Larned, Becca Maxwell with the help of Nancy Baird in Ellinwood, and Jan Morgenstern and Toni Schneweis in Hoisington. These individuals are the ones who make this event so successful each year and we are grateful for the hard work and dedication that they have for United Way and all our Community Partners.

Kevin Yoder represents the 3^rd Congressional District in Kansas, a district that includes the heavily populated Kansas City Metropolitan Area in Wyandotte and Johnson counties. Yoder’s district is over 90 percent urban, but the Congressman still understands the importance rural Kansas.

Yoder stopped in Great Bend Thursday morning for the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce Coffee Hour at The Reserves at Trail Ridge apartment complex. Yoder encouraged the use of tax credits, similar to what was used to build the apartment complex on Grant Street in Great Bend.

Kevin Yoder Audio

Yoder says rural housing is a challenge across the country. Along with other factors, the Congressman felt if cities in Kansas do not have affordable housing then people will not stay in our communities.

Kevin Yoder Audio

Yoder grew up on a farm just outside of Hutchinson.

The second phase of construction of 48 additional low-income apartments at The Reserves at Trail Ridge are scheduled to be complete by October. The new complex will consist of one, two, and three-bedroom apartments.

Barton County Sheriff’s Office Incident Log (8/23)

Burglary / Not in Progress

At 9:26 a.m. a burglary was reported at 88 SW 9 Road.

Great Bend Police Department Incident Log (8/23)

Non-Injury Accident

At 2:13 a.m. a dog being struck by a vehicle was reported in the 2100 block of Highway 281.

At 9:57 a.m. a vehicle was backing from a private drive at 1052 Warner Road and struck a legally parked vehicle.

Warrant Arrest

At 1:51 p.m. Brenda Brown was arrested for a Barton County warrant at 308 Pine Street.

Chest Pain

At 8:04 p.m. ambulance assistance was needed at 2608 Lakin Avenue.

BOOKED: Jonathan Panning of Great Bend on Barton County District Court warrant for failure to appear, bond set at $2,500 C/S.

BOOKED: Brenda Brown of Great Bend on Barton County District Court warrant for battery DV, bond set in lieu of $2,500 C/S.

BOOKED: Briana Lamb of Great Bend on Rush County District Court warrant for failure to appear, no bond.

RELEASED: Maxwell McAnnally of Wichita on Barton County District Court warrant for failure to appear after posting a $750 cash bond.

RELEASED: Jonathan Panning of Great Bend on Barton County District Court warrant for failure to appear after he posted a $2,500 surety bond.

RELEASED: Calvin Hinz of Lincolnville received a $1,000 OR bond on BTDC case for failure to appear.

RELEASED: Brenda Brown on Barton County District Court warrant by order of the court.