Reader poll
Top sports stories
- ESU's cell phone game
- Clint Bowyer wins Nationwide title
- Olpe football team plays for state title
- Michelle Stueve becomes MIAA all-time leading scorer
- Emporia State hosts volleyball regional and makes regional final
- Emporia High boys basketball team makes state semis
- Emporia High girls win sub-state championship by one point in
- EHS track and field boys team win first-ever state title
- ESU baseball team's 35-game winning streak
- ESU softball team makes national title game
- Emporia State wins director's cup
- Charlie Wilks, a blind EMS student, plays football
- Emporia State men's basketball team makes MIAA championship as No. 8 seed
- Northern Heights boys make State basketball tournament for first time in school history; girls head to state for first time since 1999.
10 total votes.
As the year winds to a close, The Gazette's news and sports staffs are working on their end-of-the-year look at what made headlines.
We've compiled our lists of 10 to 15 top stories, but would like to see where you think they should rank.
Reader poll
Top news stories
- Emporia city commission approves smoking ban
- Westar’s Emporia Energy Center goes online
- Countywide sales tax is approved by voters but negated by the state
- A renovated Granada Theatre is unveiled
- Emporia city commission approves tax incentives for a retail development that reportedly will include a Lowe’s store
- Tyson Fresh Foods closes the slaughter division at the Emporia plant
- Volunteers build a new playground in Peter Pan Park
- Juveniles break in and kill two swans and a goose at the David Traylor Zoo of Emporia
- Jones Foundation offers $1,000 to all graduating seniors in Lyon, Osage and Coffey counties to attend Emporia State University or Flint Hills Technical College. Later expanded to be renewable for four years.
- A Topeka man is convicted of killing Americus teen Beau Arndt
- Emporian Dwight Swafford is charged with attempted murder after shooting an intruder in his girlfriend’s home; charge later changed to aggravated battery.
6 total votes.
Please take a minute to vote in the polls here. You can choose up to five stories in each of the polls. We'll publish your results with our stories in the Dec. 31 print edition.
And, if you think we've left off a story, please mention it in the comments below.
rbmorgan (anonymous) says...
How about KU national basketball championship? That's the top sports story for me.
December 29, 2008 at 4:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Kujiin (anonymous) says...
The vote is rigged!!! Mine wont work...
December 29, 2008 at 4:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Something is wrong; my vote won't work either. Hey Gwen, can you check this out? Thanks.
December 29, 2008 at 4:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oh4theluvof (anonymous) says...
Hey, why can't I find the story about the city sales tax increase being illegal? I remember reading it--was it never put online? I was interested in knowing who didn't do their homework on that one.
December 29, 2008 at 7:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
I voted for the one about sports. You know the one about sports.
December 29, 2008 at 7:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
LifeGoesOn (anonymous) says...
How about "Refugee resettlement" it got over a thousand online comments as well as many town meetings, I would say that should have been in the top five. JMO
December 29, 2008 at 8:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
When clicking to see the votes without voting, I see that only one person has voted. Clearly, as busy as this forum is, I can't believe that only one vote has been cast since this story came out this afternoon. Something is amiss.
December 29, 2008 at 8:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
josiesbar (anonymous) says...
"We didn't record your vote, because it wasn't valid."
Ohh, ok, I see how it is now...
Ok, Ok, you win! If I promise not to call CAE Nazi's again, will you let my vote count?
December 30, 2008 at 12:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
apsuz (anonymous) says...
"We didn't record your vote, because it wasn't valid."
Mine wasn't valid either, but I didn't call anyone a Nazi, lol. Wonder what I did wrong...
December 30, 2008 at 2:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
glarson (anonymous) says...
I promise I will check out the voting mechanism. This is the first time we've set up a poll allowing multiple choices.
Also, a note about the KU national championships. CJ and Joey did have that on their list of top stories. I took it off, however, because it is included in AP top 10 KANSAS sports stories. I was trying to limit this to stories specifically in The Gazette's readership area.
I will double-check the refugee resettlement issue; it began in 2007, but, you're right, it did wind up in 2008, I believe. We have other stories on the list, you'll notice, that began in 2007 and concluded in 2008.
Finally, here's a link to a sales-tax story. It was the county (not the city) that proposed the tax and didn't create the question correctly:
http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/20...
Gwen Larson
Managing Editor
December 30, 2008 at 7:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oh4theluvof (anonymous) says...
Thank you, Gwen
December 30, 2008 at 8:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
batbatly (anonymous) says...
Sorry ku lovers, but ku winning the national title wasn't the top LOCAL story. Was it the top story in the state of Kansas? Yes. But locally, I would think the Bowyer freaks would come out of the woodwork and vote for his Nationwide win. Me personally, I would vote for the ESU softball team making the national championship game again. They had a heck of a run.
December 30, 2008 at 8:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
RalphTebbetts (anonymous) says...
I'm voting for a story that made all of Emporia shine! My pick is for the Emporia Eagles #2587 "Care Package Fund Drive". Our community came together and made it happen with huge success.
THANKS EMPORIA !!!
December 30, 2008 at 9:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Hillbilly (anonymous) says...
"I would think the Bowyer freaks would come out of the woodwork and vote for his Nationwide win."
batbatly, if you want to get into calling people who watch NASCAR, freaks, and think you were being funny, I would think that you should retract your comment about freaks, you wanta call names then I damn sure can come up with some names for some of your girls who have chose a different life style on your softball teams, and you know what I am refering to.
December 30, 2008 at 11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
batbatly (anonymous) says...
Hillbilly,
No.
December 30, 2008 at 11:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justaflushaway (anonymous) says...
Gwen, If it aint going to work why not pull it down till it does, I have tried voting several times and none were counted thanks
December 30, 2008 at 1:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
admireed (anonymous) says...
It is George Bush's fault
December 30, 2008 at 3:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
admired
If you're refering to everything, then yes.
December 30, 2008 at 5:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
whoops
I forgot an e in your name admireed.
sorry about that.
Here it is.
e
December 30, 2008 at 5:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
admireed (anonymous) says...
Yes, I was refering to everything. Thanks for giving me back my "e".
NASCAR fan or not Clint is the top story!
December 30, 2008 at 9:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sherry (anonymous) says...
I vote for a group of 10 and 11 year old boys that play baseball and who call themselves "The Emporia All-Stars". At this very young age they managed to pull off what any young boys dream of.....they became STATE CHAMPIONS....they went on one week later to play in a tournament in Colorado representing the state of Kansas...one tournament away from advancing to the little league world series....congrats to those young boys!!!
December 30, 2008 at 9:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
I'm aware that many people think the last several years have been bad because of Bush but I have learned to use it to my advantage. Since people think everything is Bushes fault I have had to take no personal responsibility for my actions. If I'm late to work I just say "Bush" and what can my boss do but shake his head and say "O.K.". I was out of state and hit and ran someone in a cross walk. I was eventually pulled over after the spike strips punctured my tires and the officer looked at me as if I was crazy and asked what I thought I was doing. You can guess what I told that dude. That's right, "Bush". He said he would write a warning ticket and send it to the White House. I'm currently sueing the Bush family for new tires.
But sadly all good things must come to an end and on Jan. 20th my scapegoat and yours will leave the office and we will all have to dust off that mirror and look at our own faults as we will no longer have someone to blame for everything.
My favorite thing that people blamed Bush for was Katrina. What's yours?
December 30, 2008 at 10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Here you go...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/...
December 31, 2008 at 7:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
create
Yes it will be tragic that the Washington Post will go out of business because they will have nothing to write about with the scapegoat gone. I found it rather ironic also that there was a Viagra cartoon as that company will soon be out of business also since Bush caused the problem that those little blue pills take care of. I wonder if he did that to get kick backs from the pharmaceutical companies. Is there no end to his reign of terror?
December 31, 2008 at 9:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
I think we will continue to hear about the effects of the Bush years for some time to come.
December 31, 2008 at 12:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )