Author: Brandon Peoples

Residents flocked to Wamego this weekend for the return of Tulip Festival. The annual festival draws in thousands to the city for two days filled with 120 vendors, live entertainment in the park and a beer, wine and cider tasting event. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jason Toll says they’re hoping this weekend prepares them for Wamego’s other large events. “All of last year, canceling all the events, we were real hesitant on how to come back and thought if we did it right, this could be a breakthrough and looking forward to 4th of July and paving the way,”…

Mercy Community Health Foundation surpassed its $90,000 goal in 10 days of fundraising during February’s No-Gala Gala. The online fundraiser was a temporary substitute for the in-person gala typically held annually in February. Proceeds funded critical patient care devices including high flow nasal cannulas equipment and BiPAP machines which reduce the likelihood of patients with severe respiratory conditions being placed on ventilators. It also helped purchase four ventilators for ICU patient rooms at Manhattan’s Ascension Via Christi Hospital. The Mercy Foundation has funded over $231,000 toward pandemic-related expenses at the hospital. A total of $41,000 in matching funds were provided…

The Kansas Board of Regents approved two measures this week that will require universities to be more transparent in considering firing tenured faculty due to COVID-19 financial challenges. The moves come after Regents came under intense scrutiny for its January ruling to allow university CEOs to unilaterally fire tenured faculty members if COVID-19 caused certain budgetary challenges. All state universities with the exception of the University of Kansas have ruled out using the controversial practice. The first policy change requires faculty, staff and student governance groups to provide input, comments and recommendations before a university CEO can get approval of…

Students at Wamego High School organized a walkout Friday in support of girls basketball coach Brian McIntosh. The district wouldn’t comment on the matter other than to say 148 students participated in the student-led event around 11:30 a.m., according to an email sent to parents Friday. The Wamego Times reports the coach was suspended recently while inquiries into complaints are being made. Details weren’t immediately clear but at least one source told KMAN a complaint was made into language the coach allegedly used. The Wamego School Board entered into a nearly hour long executive session April 12 for a “personnel…

A third candidate has announced his candidacy for the Manhattan City Commission in the upcoming election. Kaleb James, who ran two years ago for a seat on the commission, filed the necessary paperwork with the Riley County Clerk’s office Friday. James joins incumbent Aaron Estabrook and Monica Macfarlane as the others who have filed so far. In the 2019 election, James finished fifth in overall votes. The top two candidates in the election receive a four year term on the city commission. The third place candidate earns a two year term. Estabrook, Mayor Wynn Butler and Usha Reddi all have…

A Riley County judge has ruled there is enough evidence to try a Manhattan man for first-degree murder in the December 2020 death of a 2-year-old boy. The information was shared at a Tuesday preliminary hearing for 21-year-old Gage Anderson, charged in the death of his former girlfriend’s son Cyrus Matthew Miller. Anderson was arrested Dec. 17, a little more than two weeks after the alleged incident. Matthew Lockwood, an emergency room doctor at Ascension Via Christi, testified that the child came into the hospital extremely cold, unresponsive and limp, not breathing sufficiently enough to maintain life and had many…

A deadline is fast approaching for K-12 educators interested in a grant initiative through Western Governors University to help those forced to adapt to new teaching styles throughout the pandemic. Up to $125,000 has been pledged by WGU to those teachers needing help funding their innovative classroom projects as part of the nonprofit university’s “Fund My Classroom” Initiative. Teachers can submit proposals online at wgu.edu/fundmyclassroom for full or partial funding. Funding can be requested for books, supplies, equipment and technology as well as classroom experiences and field trips. Applications are being accepted through Sunday, April 18. Selected classroom projects will…

The Wamego Health Foundation is celebrating after a successful Diamonds and Denim virtual fundraiser that saw over $74,000 raised to support the health center’s 3D mammography upgrade. In a news release Wednesday, Wamego Hospital Foundation Development Director Tina Rockhold noted that event participants and the community “demonstrated phenomenal support” for the life-saving technology. Many call the technology the gold standard when it comes to diagnosing breast cancer. Studies show that 3D technology improves detection by 27 to 50 percent and in many cases, 3D mammograms are better at finding more invasive types of cancer, leading to earlier and better treatment…

Wamego School Board members have approved a new English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum which is being implemented at the elementary and middle school levels. Assistant Superintendent and Director of Instructional Services Scott Meitler says the process has been ongoing for a few years as teachers have re-examined the way kids learn to read. “Over the years in the research, we came to a product called CKLA, which is Core Knowledge Language Arts, by Amplify. We are so excited to have this curriculum resource adopted by our board Monday night and will adopt it in the fall,” Meitler said. The middle…

Arraignment for an Abilene man charged in a 2019 fatal attempted robbery in Manhattan is coming later this month. Jaylon Hitsman will appear in front of Judge Grant Bannister at 4 p.m. April 29. The case was continued at a Monday hearing. Hitsman is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated battery, aggravated assault and criminal discharge of a firearm. Hitsman is one of four men charged in the Nov. 1, 2019 shooting death of 24-year-old Tanner Zamecnik, during a foiled attempted robbery guised as a marijuana sale outside an apartment complex. Hitsman’s brother Dylan was sentenced March 31 to…