Flags to half-staff
In honor of Spc. David J. Lane of Emporia, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has directed flags throughout Kansas to be flown at half-staff from sunrise until sunset on Thursday, the day of his funeral.
Lane was killed in Iraq on Sept. 4, near Camp Rustamiyah in eastern Baghdad.
“We join Spc. Lane ’s family, friends and neighbors in mourning their loss, and we honor the sacrifice, service and bravery of David Joseph Lane.” Sebelius said in a news release today.
Since April 2003, the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have claimed the lives of nine members of the Kansas National Guard and nine Kansas residents.
In July, Sebelius signed an executive order allowing for the flags of the United States and State of Kansas to be displayed at half-staff throughout the state when a member of the Kansas National Guard or Kansas Air National Guard is killed in the line of duty, or when a Kansas resident serving as a member of the United States Armed Forces is killed in the line of duty.
Emma Chase concert
Folk musician Randy Sparks, the founder of the New Christy Minstrels, will perform in Cottonwood Falls on Saturday as part of a musical tour aimed at celebrating Kansas.
The concert, called “Randy Sparks’ One-Man Show (with two people),” features Sparks and band member Becky Jo Benson in a performance at the Emma Chase Cafe. The two recently completed a 6,000 mile tour of the western United States and are now spending September crisscrossing Kansas, where Sparks was born.
Tickets for the show at the Emma Chase are $10 with dinner costing another $10. Dinner starts at 6 p.m. with the show beginning at 7:30 p.m. Reservations must be made in advance.
For more information, call the Emma Chase Cafe at (620) 273-6020.