Each Friday, The Gazette salutes those who make Emporia and the surrounding area a better place to live and work. Give these folks a pat on the back ...
THE Emporia Police Department, which is revitalizing the Neighborhood Watch Program. The program encourages neighbors to watch out for each other and notify the police of suspicious activity.
• Area Girl Scouts, who will begin selling their famous Girl Scout cookies on Saturday. This year, there are eight varieties that sell for $3.50 a box.
• The Emporia State University men’s basketball team, which kept plugging away through four overtimes to beat Pittsburg State last weekend.
• Emporia school board member Angie Schreiber, who had perfect attendance at school board meetings in 2008.
• The Emporia High School wrestling team, which continues its winning season. The team is ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 5A.
• Dari Delight, which has opened in a new location at 3184 W. Highway 50. It was previously on the east side of town.
• Area donors who gave money to the United Way’s annual fund drive, which raised more than $553,000 for area social services agencies. Connie Cahoone coordinated the 2008 drive.
• The folks at the Prom Closet, who are making sure that the high school kids of Emporia can dress up for formal dances, no matter how much money their parents have.
• Janet Ayers, the new Chase County treasurer, who made her swearing-in this week do double duty. Ayers, who is a teacher, gave her second-grade class a civics lesson by inviting them to the ceremony in the courtroom of the Chase County Courthouse.
• Bertha Harrison, who celebrated her 100th birthday on Wednesday.
• Emporia USD 253, which will spend more than $1 million to expand Village Elementary School.
Chris Walker
Editor & Publisher
madpoet (anonymous) says...
I don't see Dari Delight moving way out west as "good news" to those of us who work on the east side. The only drive-thru left is Hardee's now. I hate to watch the east side of Emporia shrivel up and blow west. The people who live and work east of Commercial have been treated like 3rd class citizens since I moved here in 1990 and it only seems to get worse every year. I just pray Dillons doesn't fold!
January 16, 2009 at 3:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tbluma (anonymous) says...
What's good about the school district spending 1 M they probably don't have and if they do it could probably be spent better else where or saved for the tight timrs ahead. They already said that they were going to going to get their state money cut for the next to years.
January 17, 2009 at 9:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
I hope the Neighborhood Watch program is handled a lot differently than it was before when a phone call to report illegal drug trafficking went either unanswered or was given the ubiquitous, "Sorry, there has to be probable cause." I guess eye-witnesses don't count.
January 18, 2009 at 7:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
orlando (anonymous) says...
I agree with madpoet. As one person put it: the east side is going to become a bedroom town for the rest of the city. There are a lot of us living on the east side of town...plus a huge student population..... can no one see fit to open a business over here? We are major supporters of the downtown, as it gives a good variety of supplies needed, we sure don't need to run to Walmart for things
that are actually less expensive at Graves or the Dollar Store or Navrat's. Besides, going to Walmart usually ends up in purchasing many more things that one actually went to get.
I think that DariDelight made a big mistake. Warm weather will return, and it was great to go for a walk and end up there for ice cream. And they have moved to a location where several food businesses have been in and out in just a few short years. That location seems to be jinxed---even A&W couldn't make it.
January 18, 2009 at 1:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justthefacts (anonymous) says...
Create, are you telling us that you actually witnessed the passing of drugs for money and the police couldn't do anything or did you have "suspicion" of drug activity without any concrete proof? There's a difference when you use the term "eyewitness." It's been my experience that drug investigations can often take years before they reach fruition. Seems like the Neighborhood Watch program is supposed to prevent that activity from ever starting in neighborhoods.
IMHO.
January 18, 2009 at 8:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )