Duck hunting season begins on Saturday, October 7 for the Low Plains Early Zone, which includes Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area. Cheyenne Bottoms offers premier waterfowl hunting opportunities and the strong traditions that go with those hunts. The season also welcomes many out of town hunters into the local communities.

For the fifth year, duck hunters and friends are invited to stop by the Kansas Wetlands Education Center (located at the southeast corner of Cheyenne Bottoms along K-156 Highway) after their hunt from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. for a free Hunter Appreciation Breakfast. Biscuits and gravy, coffee, and juice will be served.

“Hunters and hunting is such an important part of the past, present, and future of Cheyenne Bottoms,” stated Curtis Wolf, KWEC director. “It is an honor to celebrate this tradition.”

The free breakfast is sponsored by the Great Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the event is organized by the Kansas Wetlands Education Center, Kansas Department of Wildlife Parks & Tourism, and Ducks Unlimited.

After filling up on a warm breakfast, hunters can explore Cheyenne Bottoms’s history through exhibits and displays at the education center, practice your marksmanship on the KDWPT Laser Shot game, as well as share your hunting stories with fellow hunters and KDWPT staff.

New at this year’s event will be a free dog retriever demo with a hunt test training scenario for all trainers and dogs to try.

For more information about the breakfast, call the KWEC at 877-243-9268.

Venture Corporation will begin work on NW 40 Avenue (Boyd Road) on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. They plan to do asphalt milling at various locations on Saturday and will begin the asphalt overlay around Monday, Sept. 25, 2017.

The project extends from NW 80 Rd to K-4 Intersection. The project should be completed within two weeks.

Traffic will be allowed through the work zone with a pilot car and flaggers.

Barton County Sheriff’s Office Incident Log (9/21)

Traumatic Injuries

At 7:49 a.m. assisted the EPD at E. 4th Street in Ellinwood.

Burglary / Not in Progress

At 10:35 a.m. a burglary was reported at 160 SE 1 Avenue.

Criminal Damage

At 7:26 p.m. criminal damage was reported at 20 SE 40 Avenue.

Great Bend Police Department Incident Log (9/21)

Convulsions / Seizures

At 2:19 a.m. ambulance assistance was needed at 206 Hubbard Street.

Breathing Problems

At 5:55 a.m. ambulance assistance was needed at 3206 25th Street.

Non-Injury Accident

At 7:50 a.m. an accident was reported at 2909 28th Street.

At 10:23 a.m. an accident was reported at 3929 10th Street.

Warrant Arrest

At 10:47 a.m. an officer arrested Alexis James for a warrant at 3929 10th Street.

Sick Person

At 11:09 a.m. ambulance assistance was needed at 2100 16th Street.

Battery

At 1:50 p.m. Melbra Orr was arrested for reportedly battering a staff member at 8823 4th Avenue.

Chest Pain

At 4:10 p.m. EMS assistance was needed at 925 Patton Road.

Criminal Damage

At 5:32 p.m. a report of someone cutting the lock on a storage unit was made at 2509 Washington Street.

Theft

At 6:31 p.m. theft of a tire was reported at Marshall’s Towing, 500 Morton Street.

Non-Injury Accident

At 7:05 p.m. an accident was reported on private property at 4107 10th Street.

Injury Accident

At 8:06 p.m. an accident was reported at 705 10th Street.

Traumatic Injuries

At 9:48 p.m ambulance assistance was needed at 5926 Eisenhower Avenue Apt. 9.

Burglary / Not in Progress

At 9:57 p.m. a theft was reported at Presto-Circle K, 2337 Washington Street.

Theft

At 11:42 p.m. Casey’s General Store, 2716 10th Street, reported a theft.

BOOKED: Jason Kober of Great Bend on a Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for contempt of court, bond set at $945 or 26 days in jail.

BOOKED: Alexis James of Great Bend on a Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for failure to appear, bond set at $500 C/S.

BOOKED: Nicholas Espinosa of Ellinwood on a Barton County District Court warrant for failure to appear, no bond.

BOOKED: Melbra Orr of Great Bend on GBPD case for battery, bond set in lieu of $1,500 C/S or 48 hour OR. GBMC warrants for contempt of court.

BOOKED: Annmari Lopez of Great Bend for GBPD case for battery DV and criminal restraint, bond set in lieu of $1,000 C/S.

RELEASED: Matthew Smith of Great Bend after being sentenced on all local charges and being sentenced to KDOC.

RELEASED: Jamie Ayala of Great Bend on a Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for contempt of court after receiving order of release from GBMC.

RELEASED: Alexis James of Great Bend on a Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for failure to appear after posting a $500 cash bond through the Great Bend Police Department.

RELEASED: Annabel Torres of Great Bend posted a $2,500 surety bond through Ace Bail Bonding on Barton County District Court case for possession of marijuana and defective headlight.

RELEASED: Annmari Lopez of Great Bend for GBMC case of battery DV and criminal restraint after posting a bond of $1,000 through Ace Bail Bonding.

The next Camp Hope will not take place until next June, but Camp Hope – Heartland will celebrate their 35^th Anniversary with a reunion Saturday, September 23. The camp was set up in 1983 to provide a summer camp for youth who have or have had cancer.

To help celebrate the reunion that will bring back former campers and volunteers, Kevin Brown decided to write a book about the history of the camp. Kevin is the son of Donna Brown, the founder of Camp Hope.

Kevin Brown Audio

The book, “Camp Hope: The ‘Ma Donna’ Years, 1983-2000” covers how the camp started, its purpose, and the stories and people that make the week-long camp special. Brown’s family suffered through two of his siblings passing away from cancer and the camp started as a way to make his siblings feel normal and experience a summer camp.

The reunion will take place Saturday from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. at Camp Aldrich, just northeast of Great Bend.

Kevin Brown Audio

Brown says he finished the book this summer and received roughly 200 copies three weeks ago. Copies of the book will be available for sale in hopes of raising money for the non-profit organization.

Brown intends on writing a second book to cover the year 2000 to the present.