When Paul Maneth got the word about a teleconference with Katherine Opie, “it was an answer to a prayer.” He was hoping for good news and he got it.

Maneth is president of the Barton County Historical Society (BCHS) Board of Directors and Opie is co-director of the Dorothy M. Morrison (DMM) Foundation along with Sandra Opie.

During the teleconference, Maneth learned the DMM Foundation would establish an endowment to benefit the BCHS. Specifically, it will fund the salary, benefits and continuing education for the director position. The endowment has been established at the Golden Belt Community Foundation.

“Special thanks go to Barry Bowers, the historical society treasurer,” Maneth said. “Barry brought the society to Katherine Opie’s attention.”

A new director has been chosen and the name will be announced later. Bev Komarek, long-time director, is retiring.

“This wonderful gift came at a really great time,” Maneth commented. “The leadership position is so important because the director supervises the day-to-day operations at the museum. This includes communicating with the public, implementing programs and tending to the exhibits.”

The board looked for qualities such as administrative skills; active involvement in community life; a genuine interest in the history of Barton County; a commitment to preserving that history; and fundraising.

“Since Bev Komarek has all these qualities, she was extremely difficult to replace,” Maneth said. “The historical society has grown because of her; she has had the pulse of the community for many years.”

Maneth is especially grateful to the DMM Foundation because smaller communities “cannot operate a historical society with only membership dues and small admission fees. You need an endowment to raise money. Private donations are the lifeblood of a non-profit entity.”

Co-director Opie noted that the DMM Foundation is excited to support the BCHS because Dorothy Mae Moses Morrison was a fourth generation Barton County native.

“She valued the preservation of the region’s history and admired the robust character of the settlers who developed farms and communities here,” Opie said.

The Moses family moved from New York to Kansas in 1871, homesteading two miles north of Great Bend. Dorothy was born in 1912 and married Wayne Morrison in 1932. The Morrison and Moses families were involved in cattle and grain, banking, and oil and gas exploration.

“Acquiring and protecting the artifacts and documents that tell the story of this region fall squarely within the Foundation’s mission,” Opie noted. “It is of paramount importance to educate local residents, future generations and newcomers about this area’s great heritage.

“The people and events that shaped Barton County inspire civic pride and a duty to continue building on the efforts of those who strived to make Barton County a great place to live, work and raise a family.”

The endowment ensures the BCHS will have quality leadership and management into the future, Opie said, noting it also frees up other funding for maintenance, acquisition, preservation and additional staffing.

The DMM Foundation was established in 1993. Since then, it has been involved in the Dorothy Moses Morrison Chapel at Barton Community College; Jack Kilby Square; Camp Hope; the USD 428 Foundation; Kansas Wetlands Education Center; and the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo.

Christy Tustin, executive director of the Golden Belt Community Foundation, expressed her appreciation for the endowed gift and noted that the BCHS is a worthy recipient.

“This endowment will help guarantee the future of the historical society. It is a wonderful community asset for all ages,” Tustin said.

An endowment is a permanent fund created for the benefit of an organization. While the principal grows over time, interest earnings are available to the organization annually.

“This is a strategy that works,” Tustin said. “These endowed funds increase annually to help guarantee the long life of the organizations.”

Agencies with endowments do not have to apply for the money or write a grant. A distribution is automatic each year.

Larned, KS – A one-day jury trial was conducted Wednesday in the Pawnee County District Court regarding a felony criminal complaint of Interference of Law Enforcement against Christina Warren, 59 of Larned, Kansas. The State’s case was presented by Pawnee County Attorney Doug McNett.

The charge stems from a missing teenager report from Garden City in December of 2017.

Warren’s grandson, Anthony Riojas, 22 of Garden City, had been reported by the teenager’s family as a suspect in the girl’s disappearance. As a follow-up to that report Larned Police Chief Charles Orth went to Warren’s Larned residence during the noon hour of January 22, 2018 to look for the missing teenager.

According to testimony presented at trial, Warren advised Chief Orth that Riojas and the teenage girl were not there and that she had not seen them in a month and a half. After some discussion, Larned Police Officers were allowed to search the residence except for a room that contained two large dogs. Detectives from the Garden City Police Department came back to the Warren residence later in the day and located Riojas and the teenage girl hiding in Warren’s residence.

Once in custody, the girl informed detectives she had been brought to Larned against her will and had been staying at the Warren residence. She also confirmed she was in the room with the dogs when Chief Orth tried to
locate her.

The jury made up of 9 women and 3 men deliberated for approximately 12 minutes before returning a guilty verdict for interference of law enforcement for knowingly providing false information. Following the verdict, Judge Bruce Gatterman advised Warren she has fourteen days to file a motion for new trial. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. Warren remains on supervised bond release.

In March, Riojas entered a no contest plea in the Pawnee County District Court to kidnapping, a severity level 3 person felony, and battery, a class B person misdemeanor. He was originally charged with a single count of aggravated kidnapping. He was sentenced to 24 months with the Department of Corrections. Riojas remains in the custody of the Finney County Sheriff on local charges.

Also charged in conjunction with the investigation was Jayden Warren, age 20 of Larned. He later entered into a felony criminal diversion for felony interference of law enforcement.

BUSINESS NEWS

Story by Brandon Steinert

All ages can get a dose of the holiday spirit at The Shafer Art Gallery’s Holiday Open House from 1-4 p.m.  Sunday, Dec. 2, which will feature a magic show by Mystic Works Comedic Magician Eric Vaughn at 1:30 p.m. and a puppet show from the Stonelion Puppet Theatre at 2:30 p.m. Admission is free.

The event is packed with the following attractions:

• Stonelion Puppet Theatre
• Santa will be on hand ready to take note of children’s wish lists
• Holiday music and catered refreshments
• Cookie decorating plus other crafts and art activities
• Felt art-board for children to create Christmas settings and scenes
• The Barton County Arts Council Friends and Acquaintances Community Art Exhibition, underwritten by the Bill J. McKown Memorial Endowment distributed by the Golden Belt Foundation, will be on display.

“The holidays are upon us again and the Shafer Gallery is expecting magical things, but I’m not pulling the strings; the Stone Lion Puppet Theater is, along with Magician Eric Vaughn and his magical rabbit Mr. Tinkle,” Shafer Gallery Director Dave Barnes said. “This is our opportunity to give a Christmas present to the whole community. There is magic in the air at the Shafer Gallery.”

Barnes said the event is perfect for all ages.

“The entire affair is designed to engage every member of the family on some level,” he said. “It’s a wonderful place to bring family and friends who will be visiting during the holidays and just a great way to get the season started. It’s really our opportunity to interact with the community, and I love the way so many different parts of our community come together to celebrate Christmas at the Shafer.”

Barton Planetarium to host “Season of Light” presentation Sunday

“Season of Light” is an elegant and sophisticated program in about the coldest and darkest of seasons, a time which holds some of the warmest and brightest celebrations of the year. The video will be shown in Barton’s Planetarium, featuring a 360-degree full-dome theatre. The program explores the reasons humans are so fascinated with lighting up our lives during the December holiday season. It’s an exploration of the astronomical meanings behind seasonal traditions, including the “Star over Bethlehem”. Shows will start at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m.

Last year the Grizzly Bears at the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo didn’t get a chance to sleep much over the winter as the warmer than normal temperatures kept the bears from hibernating as long as they normally do. But according to Zoo Curator and Supervisor Sara Hamlin, the colder than normal temperatures in November have the bears preparing to go “beddy bye”.

Sara Hamlin Audio

And how much activity does a bear have when they are in the hibernation phase? Not much according to Hamlin.

Sara Hamlin Audio

The Great Bend Zoo has four bears that live in the new Grizzly Bear exhibit that was officially opened last June. Max is by far the oldest followed by Winnie, Pooh and Piglet who were brought to the zoo a few years ago.

BUSINESS NEWS

Great Bend High School students, community volunteers and Great Bend Recreation Commission staff will be transforming the City Auditorium into Santa’s Workshop.  The 22^nd Annual Santa’s Workshop will be held from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Monday, December 3^rd, in the City Auditorium.  Please enter thru the doors located on the southwest corner of the auditorium.  This free Christmas event is designed for preschool through 6^th graders and their families and those young at heart.  Children can proceed to any or all the fun booths for food, craft activities and candy treats.  Santa will make an appearance.  Free popcorn, candy, prizes and balloons will await everyone.  There is no charge to enter the workshop.

Students from the Great Bend High School Presidents Club, Student Council, National Honor Society, World Language Club, Educators Rising Now, DECA, Kays, Kayettes, FBLA, FFA, JAG-K, Pep Club, Theatre Club, Art Club, BCC Sports Medicine Staff, Barton County Sheriff’s Department, Great Bend Fire/EMS Department, Great Bend Police Department, representatives from the GBHS Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior classes and the Great Bend Recreation Commission will be helping with this event.  The Middle School Jazz Band, Middle School String Rhaposdy and El Sol Mexican Folk Dancers will perform during the evening.  The Parents As Teachers, Parent Teacher Resource Center – PTRC, Sunflower Early Education Center, and Great Bend Public Library Children’s Department will be providing a mini Santa’s Workshop in the Burnside Room in the Recreation Center designed for preschoolers.  For this event, please enter thru the northeast door of the Burnside Room.  Business donations provided by:  Great Bend Recreation Commission, Wal-Mart, Dillons, CUNA Mutual Retirement Solutions, Nex-Tech / Rural Telephone Co. Inc., Cornerstone Automotive, LLC., City of Great Bend, Farmers Bank & Trust, Kiwanis Club, Optimist Club, BTI Great Bend, Pryor Automatic Fire Sprinkler, Inc., Spectrum CPA Partners, LLC., MyLawn! Turf & Tree, LLC., Wheatland Electric Cooperative, Inc., Eagle Communications, Silverado Electric, Inc., Dr. Marc Huslig, D.D.S. CHTD, Central Kansas Orthopedic Group, LLC, Office Products, Inc., American State Bank & Trust Company, Mark’s Custom Signs, Inc., Hammeke Electric, Inc., Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, Scott’s Welding Service, Inc., Great Bend Children’s Clinic, P.A. and Rana Luna Boutique.   For more information about this program and other programs the Great Bend Rec offers, please go to our web site at www.greatbendrec.com or call the Recreation Commission office at 793-3755 ext. 110.

MORAN, Kan. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) brought his 105-county Kansas Listening Tour this Congress to a close with an Allen County townhall meeting in Moran, Kan. on Monday, November 19, 2018. Since he was elected to the United States Senate in 2010, Sen. Moran’s Kansas Listening Tour has taken him to every county in Kansas every two years.

Click Here to Watch

Sen. Moran recapping his visits this Congress to all 105 Kansas counties.

“One of the highlights of visiting every county in our state is meeting people in every corner and getting to witness the beauty that is Kansas,” said Sen. Moran. “Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve experienced ‘Kansas Kindness.’ But in almost every meeting throughout this listening tour, Kansans have also acknowledged the contentious nature of politics today, and I felt this tension during many of my Listening Tour stops.”

“From nationally syndicated townhalls in Palco and Lenexa where Kansans were debating issues for a national audience, to smaller meetings all across the state, I met Kansans in every county who both agreed and disagreed with me about the issues most important to them,” continued Sen. Moran. “However, over these 105 townhall meetings – and the 1,312 townhall meetings I’ve held throughout my time in Congress – one thing always remains the same: the Kansans I meet with care deeply about our state and the future of our nation. I want to thank the thousands of Kansans who took the time to attend my Kansas Listening Tours and share their thoughts, concerns and ideas with me this Congress. These meetings and the conversations we have during these important meetings continue to shape the work I am privileged do in Washington, D.C.”

Circles of Central Kansas is a relatively new program in Barton County that is designed to give people a road map out of poverty. So far it has been a great success having graduated two classes with a third class forming. Sunday the local organization will hold a fundraiser that includes a pig roast at Heartland Community Church on west 10th street in Great Bend from noon until 2 pm. Jamie Baldwin is a Co-Coach in the Circles program.

Jamie Baldwin Audio

Baldwin is a graduate of the program herself. While undergoing recovery for substance abuse at the local Oxford House, she learned about the program from Central Kansas Community Corrections Director Amy Boxberger.

Jamie Baldwin Audio

Circles of Central Kansas is modeled after the circles program in McPherson County and is a joint effort between the Barton County Health Department, 20th Judicial District Community Corrections, the Essdack program at the Barton County Academy, and Kansas Kids @ Gear Up.

The Circles program connects people in relationships across income lines and helps develop clear goals for education and stable income. Circles also focuses on supporting families to help themselves get completely out of poverty.