January

1 The year begins with a fatal car accident. Ashley Dawn Rolls, 21, dies shortly after midnight in an traffic accident on Highway 75 between New Strawn and BETO Junction. Three other people are injured.

Tom Andrews, Emporia’s new fire marshal, officially starts his new position.

2 Michael Allen Coleman, 29, is killed in a traffic accident on Road 330 and Road S5. His car struck an embankment, flipping his 1996 Mazda and landing upside-down in a nearby creek.

9 Emporia State University president Michael Lane gives his first “state of the campus address” to the ESU general assembly. Lane took the helm at ESU in Nov. 2006.

11

The United Way of the Flint Hills announces that the fundraising goal was met for the second year in a row. The drive raised $602,363.90. The goal was $600,000.

12

A decision awarding nearly $1 million to Newman Regional Health is overturned by the Kansas Court of Appeals. The original decision was handed down in September 2004 agreeing with the hospital that Everton Oglesby Askey Architects breached its contract and implied warranty with the hospital in its design of Newman Medical Plaza. Since the building opened in 1997, the hospital dealt with problems that include leaking windows and building shifts, according to Gazette files. The architect firm appealed that decision and won.

17

The United Way of the Flint Hills announces that donations pushed the 2006 United Way Fund drive to a record amount. Last-minute donations pushed the total up to $606,300.

The Emporia City Commission gives the go-ahead to study combining the police and sheriff’s departments.

18

A coroner’s report says that an active case of tuberculosis was a factor in the death of a Tyson worker on Jan. 4 at the Emporia plant. The news sparks public comment, education and scrutiny.

20

The Sunflower Nook, 1923 W. Sixth Ave., is to close after two decades in Emporia, Sharon Stewart, owner, announces.

23

An article runs in The Gazette stating that interviews and follow-ups are progressing well into the case of a Tyson worker who died Jan. 4 with an active case of tuberculosis. Flint Hills Community Health Center Director Lougene Marsh says that about 35 interviews have been completed.

The Flint Hills Technical College is accredited, President Dean Hollenbeck announces.

Residents of east Hartford are disappointed after a teleconference call among the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Kansas Division of Water Resources and officials in Lyon County. The town finds out they will not get provisional certification of the Hartford Levee. The ball is passed back into the Corps of Engineers’ court for certification of the levee. Without it, residents will have to buy flood insurance.

25

Emporia Animal Shelter Manager Rachel Parris resigns.

26

Safeway officials confirm that the company is selling its Emporia Pet Food plant to American Nutrition.

28

Kenneth D. Gray, 57, Versailles , Mo., dies in a one-vehicle accident about 11 a.m. Sunday one-half mile west of Neal in Greenwood County.

31

The new owner of Emporia’s Safeway pet food plant says there will be some layoffs while 27-year-old equipment at the plant is replaced.

February

1 No active cases of tuberculosis have been identified in an investigation that health officials conducted as the result of the death of a Tyson worker on Jan. 4.

2 Lorna Anderson Moore will be paroled from prison. The Kansas Parole Board decided today that she could be paroled to what is termed an “approved plan,” and then will be released. Her release date will be determined after the plan is approved. Her earliest release date for this parole period was Feb. 1.

6 Rescue workers recover the body of Billy J. Hamman, 66, a rural Lyon County resident, from a bin of soybeans in southeastern Lyon County. Hamman had been unloading beans from the bin and found that a crust had formed at the top of the bin. He climbed in to break the crust and fell into the bin.

9 Lorna Anderson Moore is released on parole.

Emporia hosts its first major gymnastics meet which included 225 competitors from four states. The meet was prepared and hosted by Sunflower Gymnastics.

12

The Lyon County Historical Society announces it is dropping its lawsuit to block demolition of Kenyon Hall on the former College of Emporia campus.

13

A federal jury returns verdicts of guilty on most charges against a former Emporia drug dealer, Tracy M. Smith. Smith was accused of multiple drug-related counts in a grand jury indictment issued in July 2005.

Fort Scott Community College puts the brakes on its truck-driving program at Flint Hills Technical College.

Lenze Corp. tells employees that it will shut down its Emporia plant and shift operations to the East Coast.

14

Two Short Stop convenience stores and a Godfather’s Pizza restaurant close in Emporia.

Judith L. Heasley is hired as the new executive director of University Advancement at Emporia State University and president of the ESU Foundation.

15

Marilyn McComber, Emporia High School science teacher, is named one of seven Kansas Master Teachers.

Peanut butter tainted with salmonella is found in Emporia. The Food and Drug Administration warns consumers not to eat certain jars of Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter because of the risk of contamination.

16

Robert William Richardson of Lawrence is ordered bound over for trial. Richardson, who was diagnosed as carrying HIV, appears in Lyon County District Court for a preliminary hearing on two separate counts of exposing two women to a life-threatening communicable disease.

22

Olpe schools are recognized for a prestigious honor — the Governor’s Achievement Award for one of the top performing schools in the state.

Kayla Oney is named the new director of Emporia Main Street.

26

Raul Manuel Magallanez Jr., 32, makes his first appearance in Lyon County District Court. He is accused in two separate cases of crimes against victims older than 14 but younger than 16.

27

Bobbie Agler and Jeff Longbine spend Tuesday night in a neck-and-neck race to the top of the Emporia City Commission primary results.

March

1 The Hornet Thrift Store opens downtown at 427 Merchant St.

5 Matt Zimmerman of Prospect Heights, Ill., is named the next city manager of Emporia.

Tickets go on sale for the Symphony of the Flint Hills. Only 5,000 tickets will be available for the concert. Emporians who called the Kansas City Symphony’s box office Tuesday morning learned that there were no tickets available for the event, planned for June 16 near Lake Wabaunsee.

7

Juan Ruiz, accused of shooting at two Emporia police officers in December 2006, is arraigned on charges in Lyon County District Court.

The Emporia City Commission chips in $2,500 to help rebuild The Little Train in Soden’s Grove.

8 The Hitchin’ Post in Matfield Green will be the site of the premiere of a film about the Kansas Prairie.

Americus is officially 150 years old and residents celebrate the birthday of their town.

10

W.J. “Wally” Evans, long-time Emporia businessman, dies at the age of 97 at Presbyterian Manor. Mr. Evans was owner of Emporia Wholesale Coffee Company, which later became Evco Wholesale Food Corp.

12

Ground is officially broken this morning for Emporia Energy Center, Westar Energy’s peaking power plant that will be built about six miles northeast of Emporia.

13

The Lyon County Planning and Appeals Board approves a request on a 3-0 vote to change zoning from agriculture to agriculture special use, rock quarry, on property near Road D and Road 80, west of Olpe.

18

Menu Foods has added a few brands to its pet food recall, bringing the total to 40 cat food labels and 48 dog food labels.

19

Emporia groceries pull Menu-made pet foods from the shelves in response to a national recall, and are encouraging customers to turn in any recalled food they have for full credit.

20

The Little Train at Soden’s Grove will have its engine transplant, a new roof for its depot, a new platform and more because of a fundraising drive that more than doubled its original $20,000 goal.

22

Menu Foods, dealing with the after-effects of a massive recall of pet food, says that it will shut down its Emporia plant for a few days but that no layoffs would be involved.

23

The Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas announces that it is trying to bring a $65 million biodiesel plant to Emporia.

30

Menu Pet Foods announces that its pet food is again safe for consumption.

Michael Lane is sworn in as Emporia State University’s 15th president.

April

2 Emporia’s Menu plant re-opens after being shut down for more than a week.

Emporia voters elect Bobbie Agler, Jeff Longbine and Kevin Nelson to the Emporia City Commission.

Voters elect Michael R. Hanks of Reading and Wayne Symmonds of Admire to the North Lyon County Board of Education.

5 Lyon County commissioners approve a rock quarry on land owned by Lyon County Commissioner Bob Davis at Road 80 and Road D.

7 Renovation work at Plumb Place begins.

8 A fire destroys a home at 1120 Cottonwood St.

9 The Emporia Recreation Center has gone from free to fee to some low-income children. The center will now charge an enrollment fee of $5 per child per activity to families who qualify for free school lunches.

10

A fire destroys an abandoned house trailer about a quarter-mile south of Road 210 on Highway 99.

11

Emporia City Commission hears an argument to ban Fido from riding in the back of trucks.

12

Jerry L. Williams, 52, of Emporia is killed in a head-on crash one mile southwest of Emporia.

13

It is announced that Renewable Energy Group, an Iowa company, will start building a biodiesel plant in Emporia in the summer.

Jeris Louise Wunderlich, 26, of Cottonwood Falls, is killed in an accident 10 miles east of Marion.

16

Tyson Foods, Inc. and ConocoPhillips form a “strategic alliance” to produce and market renewable diesel fuel, according to a joint announcement today from the companies.

18

A Gazette story states that the world’s largest Pizza Hut franchise will build a new Pizza Hut and Wing Street dine-in restaurant in northwest Emporia at 2920 West 18th Ave.

19

The house in rural Greenwood County at which Sheriff Matt Samuels was killed burns down. Arson is considered in the fire.

21

An anonymous Emporia donor has helped the Area Agency on Aging buy a new van for food transport.

24

The Metropolitan Area Planning Commission votes to allow a heavy industrial zone for a new biodiesel plant. The application now heads to the Emporia City Commission for final vote.

28

Harry Waters announces he is stepping down after 47 years serving as a recreation commissioner at the Emporia Recreation Commission.

Local apple growers are seeing the effect of the hard freeze in early April. Apple growers lose nearly 100 percent of their 2007 apple crop.

30

More than 25 people from Emporia and around the state show up for a public hearing Monday evening at Emporia State University in regards to Westar Energy’s application with the Kansas Corporation Commission.

May

4

Greensburg is devastated by a tornado that levels most of the town. Emporians and Lyon County residents rush to Greensburg’s aid.

5 After 30 years, Dr. Stephen Jones, a dentist, is leaving Emporia to go to Wichita and start his own practice.

6 Emporia is slammed with more than five inches of rain overnight prompting road closures around the city.

8

Fanestil Meats cancels its second shift today and tomorrow because of rising water around the plant.

12

Postal rates go up by two cents on Monday to a total of 41 cents.

14

Flint Hills Technical College has the green light to start a dental hygiene program.

16

The Emporia City Commission unanimously approves heavy industrial zoning for a new biodiesel plant.

22

Phi Delta Theta is free to build its new fraternity house at 1326 Highland Street after the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission approves a conditional use permit for the house.

23

Renewable Energy Group will get a 10-year-property tax break on its new biodiesel plant in Emporia, but will also pay the city $402,000 and help with the needed infrastructure.

Leonard T. “Tom” Marks of Manhattan is found not guilty of vehicular homicide and battery in an Aug. 1, 2005, accident that killed Kansas Department of Transportation worker Richard Cunningham, 46.

28

The Little Train in Soden’s Grove returns after being refurbished.

30

Lyon County residents with flood-damaged property can now apply for help from FEMA.

31

U.S. Cellular gets the green light to start construction on a new cell phone tower on Road C following an approval vote by Lyon County commissioners.

June

6 Miss Capital City, Erica Mahan of Neosho Rapids, is one of 21 contestants shooting for the Miss Kansas crown.

The Emporia City Commission gives its permission for fraternity to build its new home at 1326 Highland St. Phi Delta Theta used to be based in that area before moving to a Merchant Street house in 1984.

A fire at 528 S. Market St. sends one child to the hospital with possible smoke inhalation and burns. It also kills three pets.

7 Lyon County announces that Hartford’s levee has received provisional accreditation.

8 Edwin R. Hall, 26, who is accused of murdering an Overland Park teenager, is a former Emporian.

11

Flint Hills Technical College will repay $31,283 of federal grant money that the state said was improperly spent.

12

The U.S. Department of Education has surprised the Emporia school district with a bonus of more than $500,000 for a Foreign Language Assistance Program grant.

14

Janice DeBauge has fulfilled her terms on the Kansas Board of Regents and announces she is stepping down.

18

Vickie Hayes-Walworth has resigned as director of the Emporia Granada Theatre Alliance.

19

Russ Schoenberger steps down from the Board of Zoning Appeals after serving five years.

20

The city of Emporia announces it will be suing the owners of Heartland Mobile Home Park to get the site cleaned up.

21

Kelly E. Morris, 26, of Emporia, is found dead in Peter Pan Park.

25

Wheat State Pizza announces it will open Wheat State Grille in Emporia with an expanded menu inside of Lucky’s at 707 Commercial St.

26

Paul DeBauge announces that the assets of DeBauge Brothers distributing would be sold to two out-of-town companies. Most of its business, including the Coors distributorship, will be picked up by Crown Distributing of Salina. The Miller, Pabst and Anchor Steam lines will be taken over by Capital Distributing of Topeka.

Renewable Energy Group breaks ground on its new Emporia biodiesel plant in a ceremony.

29

Keshia Harris of Emporia receives third place in the Rose Queen Pageant held recently at Olathe.

July

3 Emporia-native singers Callie Agler Chambliss and Kelley Hunt come home to perform before a sellout crowd at Albert Taylor Hall to celebrate Emporia’s sesquicentennial.

5 The Gazette reports that Gwen Alexander was hired as dean of Emporia State’s School of Library and Information Management. Alexander previously served as Wichita State University’s associate dean of university libraries.

9 The Graphic Arts Road bridge over the Kansas Turnpike closed for a nine-month project to improve the turnpike’s Emporia entrance.

Flint Hills Technical College kicks off its first Kid’s College, which shows pre-high school kids the range of programs offered at FHTC. The Kid’s College runs through July 13.

11

The Emporia board of education re-elects president Grant Riles and vice president Mary Helmer. The board also approves the appointments of new board members Mike Helbert, Angie Schreiber and Glen Strickland.

13

The Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas announced that Renewable Energy Group, the Iowa company building a biodiesel plant in Emporia, was approved for a $300,000 grant from the Kansas Bioscience Authority.

14

The Gazette reports that Marvin L. Standley had been sentenced to 10 years in prison in for sodomizing a 12-year-old child in March 2005. Coffey County Attorney Doug Witteman said Standley had had abuse allegations leveled against him for years.

16

The Emporia Arts Council publicizes its fundraising campaign to build a new arts center just north of the under-renovation Granada Theatre. The arts council announces its goal is to raise $2.6 million; it has already raised $1.43 million.

19

Leon Lewis is named Emporia State’s new associate vice president for technology and computing services and its new chief information officer.

20

Kansas Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley announces that ESU president Mike Lane will serve on the 14-member Legislative Math and Science Education Advisory Committee.

23

The Emporia Arts Council announces that the Trusler Foundation has put $300,000 toward the Arts Council’s fundraising goal of $2.6 million to build a new arts center. With the deadline for raising the money at April 1, 2008, the gift brings the arts council’s total to $1.73 million.

25

City Manager Matt t proposes to the city commission $2.5 million in general fund budget cuts. The budget proposal is offered as a way to balance the budget without exceeding a 4-mill property tax increase.

27

Newman Regional Health announces the retirement of Cathy McCurdy, who served as director of the Women’s Life Center for 18 years.

30

Lyon County Attorney Marc Goodman calls an informal meeting of Somali leaders, law enforcement officials from the city and county, and the county attorney’s office. In a news release, Goodman said the meeting resulted in open discussion and dialogue, and “All present agreed to future meetings.”

August

1 The city commission votes 3-0 to support an application for tax credits to support renovation of Kenyon Hall and turn it into senior housing. In 2006, the commission had approved a demolition permit for the building.

Eighteen-month-old Jovany Ruiz is run over by an SUV backing out of a driveway. Jovany is taken to Newman Regional Health and later transferred to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., where he is in stable condition the next day.

2 The county commission drops the speed limit to 35 mph from 45 mph on sections of Road S, Road U and Road 200 near the under-construction Emporia Energy plant.

6 Liz Martell, director of Emporia’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, resigns effective Sept. 28 to pursue other interests.

7 Steve Samuelson, Lyon county zoning director and flood plain manager, resigns to take a job with the state.

9 Lyon County commissioners discuss the 2008 budget, which is projected to have a positive balance for all funds. General fund revenues are $329,000 above budget.

13

A Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway freight train derails in Osage County, sending about 20 cars off the track. No one was injured.

Flint Hills Technical College reports record enrollment with 493 students enrolled for the fall semester.

14

Raul Manuel Magallanez Jr.’s trial for alleged sexual activities with minors begins.

ESU president Michael Lane announces at the university’s general assembly that ESU has exceeded its scholarship fundraising goal of $15 million.

15

Russell Allen Dempsay is accused of the July 9 murder of LeRoy resident Richard Duane Freeman II. Authorities are hunting for Dempsay.

A new draft of the 2008 city budget is presented that would raise property taxes by 1.524 mills.

17

The Gazette reports that the average composite ACT score for Emporia High School students increased to 21.4, continuing a trend of higher scores that began in 1980. EHS scores are slightly higher than the national average of 21.2.

22

The city commission approves its 2008 budget, which includes the property tax increase of $1.24 mills. About $2.3 million is cut from the original draft of the ’08 general fund.

The Emporia board of education unanimously accepts its 2007-08 budget totaling about $31 million.

23

Emporia banking industry icon Charles W. Wayman dies at age 90.

30

County commissioners vote to approve the county’s final 2008 budget totaling more than $12.4 million in levied property taxes. The budget includes a mill levy increase of about 1.3 mills.

September

2 A 15-year-old girl is treated and released at Newman Regional Health after reporting that she was forced into a pickup truck by three men, driven to an unknown location and sodomized before being left in west Emporia.

4 Raul Manuel Magallanez Jr. is found guilty of nearly 50 sex-related crimes against teens.

David J. Lane of Emporia is one of three soldiers killed outside Rustamiyah, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device explodes near the Humvee in which they are patrolling.

7 The American Cancer Society Relay for Life at Emporia High raises $58,000, short of the society’s $80,000 goal. Fewer teams are involved in this year’s relay than last year, when the event raised more than $70,000.

12

City Manager Matt Zimmerman says a shooting range, proposed in July by Connie and Larry Lewis, could be safely built within city limits if the city commission approves it. The Lewises want to build the shooting range on 6th Avenue between Graphic Arts Road and Overlander Road.

13

Emporia Surgical Hospital closes after five years in operation. The hospital’s board made the decision the previous night because of insurance issues.

16

Matthew Brinkman, 20, is taken to Lyon County Jail after his vehicle becomes lodged between two sets of railroad tracks and is struck by a train. Brinkman, who ran from the vehicle before the crash, is charged with DUI.

18

Christopher Brackner, 18, is found dead between railroad tracks. His death appears to be a suicide with autopsy results pending.

20

The Gazette reports that Emporia Main Street is eligible for StartUp Kansas funding, which will be provided in matching grants or unsecured loans.

26

Clinton Peck is sentenced to 18 months in prison on charges stemming from an attempted robbery at the Ayan Restaurant in January.

27

The estate of librarian Martha Kruse Furbur gives Emporia State $1.875 million for scholarships, the school’s largest single gift ever.

29

Bob Ecklund, World War II prisoner of war and longtime member of the local Big Brothers Big Sisters agency, dies at age 90.

October

8 Flint Hills Technical College renames its auditorium the Reeble-Trusler Education Center in honor of the two foundations that funded the auditorium’s renovation.

10

The city commission gets its first look at a Human Relations Commission proposal to inspect and regulate rental housing.

11

County counselor/court trustee Michael Halleran’s resignation is read into record. Halleran later becomes court trustee/assistant county counselor.

The Emporia Rescue Mission announces that the Rev. Michael V. Paddy has been hired as its new executive director.

16

The Gazette reports that Emporia Main Street has been designated as an accredited National Main Street Program.

17

The David Traylor Zoo receives a $10,000 grant from U.S. Cellular.

More than 550 pounds of cocaine are seized in a drug bust on I-35 in Franklin County. Two suspects are taken into custody pending identification.

22

A forum for opinions on the Emporia Human Relations Commission’s proposed rental code housing standards draws more than 80 people.

24

A representative of the Buxton Group of Fort Worth, Texas, gives a presentation before the city commission to pitch the group’s pschographic retail development study.

28

Jennifer Jean Roblez, a former Gazette reporter, makes her first appearance in court on identity-theft charges.

30

Raul Manuel Magallanez Jr. is sentenced to more than 75 years in prison for teen sex crimes.

November

12

Human Relations Commission director Patty Gilligan delivers a report on the Somali refugee resettlement.

14

The Emporia school board votes to keep the name of its annual holiday event as the Seasonal Celebration, rather than revert to its longtime name, the Christmas Program.

19

Landlords and renters both offer their perspectives on the Human Relations Commission’s rental code housing proposal during a joint meeting of the city commission and the HRC.

20

Olathe police Capt. Clark Morrow accepts an offer to become Emporia’s new police chief.

26

Morrow withdraws his acceptance of the police chief job, citing family reasons. City Manager Matt Zimmerman says he is in contact with the other finalist for the job.

27

Hundreds of Emporians and the city commissioners attend a contentious forum to discuss the Somali resettlement in the Little Theater at the Civic Building.

30

John Schwenn, Emporia State vice president for dramatic affairs, accepts the job of president at Dalton State College in Dalton, Ga., effective March 1, 2008.

Gary G. Smith was in Emporia and the candidate for police chief could reach an agreement with the city to take the job early next week.

December

4 The Learning Connection of the Flint Hills receives a $10,000 grant from the Loretto A. Langley charitable trust on Tuesday, allowing The Learning Connection to continue its Emporia Farmers Market operations next year.

5 Reeble’s Country Mart locations and Price Chopper, will change hands on Feb. 1. The stores will be taken over by a corporation called Bob’s Super Saver. The corporation has stores in Coffeyville, Chanute and Garnett.

6 Gary G. Smith, chief of the Northfield, Minn., Police Department, has been hired as police chief for the City of Emporia.

Melissa Kay Thomas, 45, of Edwardsville, died in a car accident Interstate Highway 35 about eight miles east of Emporia.

7 Officials are still expecting the former Deer Trail building, near the Lyon County Fairgrounds, to be completed in a few weeks.

9 Two dogs died in a structure fire that destroyed a home at 526 S. Congress St., Lot No. 9.

13

An emergency fund for the family of Jose Luis Gonzalez opens at Lyon County State Bank after their mobile home was destroyed by fire earlier this week.

15

Beau Arndt, 18, of Americus is killed as he and a friend were hunting fowl on property in northwest Lyon County.

26

A fire breaks out at Emporia Pallets Plus and took about eight hours to contain.

28

The fire at Emporia Pallets Plus is said to be act of arson.

Lyon County announces that Marc Goodman will serve as county attorney and county counselor following an announcement earlier that County Counselor Michael Halleran will step down.

(Emporia Gazette ~ 29 Dec 2007)