News

Wed
22
Aug

END OF AN ERA

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Kaspers stage their final pageant

By Jennifer McDaniel

It’s Wednesday — just days before the Wilson After-Harvest Czech Festival — and Lynn Kasper and her husband, John, are working furiously, carefully smoking 200 pounds of meat as part of a barbecue planned on Friday evening.

It’s been a busy summer for Lynn, who, just the day before, finished her ninth year as director of the area’s summer lunch program. And in two days, the couple will oversee their final Miss Kansas Czech-Slovak Queen Pageant.

 

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Wed
22
Aug

Rains don’t wash away a dry 2018

By Jennifer McDaniel

Despite several recent drenching rains, Ellsworth County and much of central and eastern portions of Kansas continue to play catchup from a drought that has plagued the regions for months.

“Even if we would get normal rainfall, it will still take time to make up the deficit,” Mary Knapp, state climatologist, said.

 

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Wed
22
Aug

Grosscup plans to continue the tradition

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By Alan Rusch

WILSON — Cathy (Dowling) Grosscup of Kansas City, Mo., has been named the new director of the Miss Kansas Czech- Slovak Queen Pageant. She succeeds Lynn Kasper of Wilson, who has been coordinator of the Miss Kansas Czech-Slovak Queen Pageant for the past 30 years. Kasper and her husband, John, who is 100 percent Czech and was the pageant’s emcee, have announced their retirement.

Grosscup, who was the 2004 Miss Kansas Czech- Slovak Queen and first runner up for the 2005 Miss Czech-Slovak US, said she feels very honored to succeed Kasper.

 

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Wed
15
Aug

Solomon Avengers

By "The Cowboy" Jim Gray
THE WAY WEST

In early August, 1868, a band of 200 Cheyenne, Sioux, and Arapaho warriors left western Kansas to raid Pawnee villages north of the Kansas line.

They passed Fort Hays as they rode east. At the extreme frontier settlements along the Saline River in Lincoln County the warriors intended to turn north toward the Pawnee villages. However, a few rogue warriors carried out raids against the settlers.

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Wed
15
Aug

The Old Red Barn

John Schlageck
Insight

When I was a youngster, one of my favorite places to play was my Uncle Joe and Aunt Anna’s red barn. My Uncle Bernie’s farm sported a barn as well. Both were must stops when we visited our cousins.

The cluttered sanctuary of these wooden structures served up a smorgasbord of playing opportunities. Both barns offered a relaxing place, especially if it was raining or snowing outside and the weather was too bad to work.

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Wed
15
Aug

Scout Master

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By Jennifer McDaniel
For the Ellsworth County I-R

It’s a Tuesday afternoon, and there’s a brief lull at the Fort Harker Guardhouse Museum.

The phone hasn’t rang for about 45 minutes, giving Greg Heller, a local historian and interpretive guide at the museum, a much-needed break.

For nearly five years, Heller, an Ellsworth resident, has filled the role, sharing his knowledge of Ellsworth County history with visitors to the Kanopolis museum. It’s a passion for the past he hopes to impart to tourists who visit the historical site each year.

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Wed
15
Aug

Grand Marshal

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By LINDA MOWERY-DENNING
Ellsworth County I-R

As a boy, Alan Stefek spent many a happy summer day with his four brothers jumping off the bridge or swimming in the Smoky Hill River as it flowed through the west part of Ellsworth near the old Frisco Railroad tracks.

Times were different then, Stefek said.

“People were more laid back ... Everybody was comfortable with the times they were in.”

Now, Stefek said, everyone is so busy and they can be more demanding.

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Wed
15
Aug

Wilson first county town affected by new law

Editor’s Note — A story in the Aug. 9 edition of the Ellsworth County Independent gave an inaccurate account of Wilson’s proposed 2019 city budget. Here is the rest of the story.

By the I-R Staff

Later this month, Wilson will become the first Ellsworth County town to trigger a Kansas law that forces communities to send their budget requests to voters if they exceed the year before by an amount based on a statedesigned formula.

Mail-in ballots are expected to be mailed to Wilson voters Aug. 27. They are due back by 10 a.m. Sept. 15 in the office of the Ellsworth County clerk and election officer.

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Wed
15
Aug

Cowboys ready to ride into town

Tami McGreevy remembers summer weekends traveling around the state — sometimes as far as northeast Kansas — to perform as an Old West dance hall girl and promote Ellsworth’s annual Cowtown Festival. Her “partner in crime” was Stacie Schmidt. Together, the two, along with other local volunteers, offered 30 minutes or more of “magic, music and dancing.”

That was in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

More than two decades later, the music and dancing — minus the magic — continue on the streets of Ellsworth with the town’s annual Cowtown Festival. This year’s celebration will be Aug. 24-26 under the banner of “Throwback Thru Time.”

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Wed
08
Aug

Recovery of stolen vehicle

By the I-R Staff

WILSON - The Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the recovery of a stolen vehicle along with the report of suspicious persons in the Wilson vicinity.

According to Sheriff Murray Marston, deputies recovered a stolen vehicle at 8:45 p.m. Tuesday on the south end of Wilson just outside of the city limits.

“Somebody had dumped it there,” Marston said.

Marston did not confirm where the vehicle was found and declined to comment on the exact year and model of the vehicle because he had not seen the report.

At 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, the sheriff’s office received a report of suspicious persons (a male and female) in Wilson.

Marston didn’t know if the report of suspicious persons was related to the recovered stolen vehicle or not.

“There is just so much confusing information,” he said.

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