Towanda News

Butler County authorities are assessing the damage this afternoon after a severe thunderstorm toppled 20 power poles west of El Dorado.

Residents of Chapman, Kan. look over damaged houses on Thursday June 12, 2008 in Chapman, Kan.

The Kansas Turnpike Authority and the Kansas Highway Patrol will be hosting a "safety break" for holiday travelers Friday at the Towanda service area.

Updated: Residents living along Pine Bay Golf Course say they witnessed animal abuse with a mower killed baby geese.

Government stimulus checks are still going out - now a Kansas town has its own version of the plan.

REO Speedwagon, the rock group that hit national charts in the 1970s and '80s, will perform live Friday morning on Greensburg's Main Street during CBS's "The Early Show." The concert is free and open to the ... via Kansas.com

The Butler County sheriff's office is investigating an accident just east of Towanda that left a motorcyclist dead tonight. via The Wichita Eagle

“He would have either been in the curve, going into the curve or coming out of a curve”

A Butler County man was killed when his motorcycle crashed near Towanda late Wednesday night, authorities said. via The Wichita Eagle

Travel Headlines A Kansas man is dead after losing control of his motorcycle just east of Towanda last night. via WIBW-TV Topeka

“We're still talking to the company. This is obviously not something that happens overnight. We're talking millions and millions of dollars. We've been talking about six months now, and we're still in the discussion phase.”

David Alfaro, executive director of Butler County's economic development agency, has an uneasy relationship with the Goliath to his west. via Kansas.com

“This commission helps to build relationships throughout the state with groups who share the goal of preserving, restoring and celebrating Kansas' treasures.”

Governor Kathleen Sebelius has appointed two Kansans to the Partnership Historic Site Commission to serve two-year terms. via Kansas City InfoZine

“There were factors like increased pressure on credit quality. (And) you're fighting for a finite piece of business here”

Fewer than half of the banks doing business in the Wichita metro area were able to improve on two key financial measures in 2007.

That's according to financial reports filed with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for the fourth quarter of calendar year 2007.

From those reports, The Eagle analyzed two key measures of bank performance: pre-tax return on assets and return on equity.

The analysis showed that only 27 of 59 banks based in or operating branches in the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area -- Butler, Harvey, Sedgwick and Sumner counties --improved on those measures between fourth quarter 2006 and fourth quarter 2007. Read more

When I asked readers for their favorite food memories recently, the name of one fantastic home cook immediately occurred to Shirley Bump of Wichita and Iris Worthington of Towanda:

Viola Riggs.

OK, so maybe it isn't such a big coincidence. Riggs was their mother. But I thought it was sweet that both women automatically and independently thought of Riggs, who died in 1980.

And what they told me about her made me nostalgic for a certain kind of cook.

Riggs, working out of her home, made money by baking pies, cakes and cookies for townsfolk and Towanda's few restaurants, the sisters said. The money was needed. Their father's job as a mechanic didn't pay much. Read more

“You see, it sometimes takes time, but Christmas stories always have a happy ending.”

Every year, Lynne Smith thinks about entering The Eagle's holiday story writing contest. She thinks about it, and thinks about it, and thinks about it -- right past the entry deadline. This year, Smith, a Towanda kindergarten teacher, decided to stop thinking and start writing.

Her resolve paid off. Smith is the adult winner of The Eagle's ninth annual story writing contest.

'I always think of endings for the story, but I never do it, and I always regret not trying,' said Smith, 40.

The contest asked readers to provide the ending of a holiday tale. About 425 people entered this year, and their endings were judged in three age categories --12 and under, 13 to 19, and 20 and over. Read more

Alfaro, Norman E. and Lepore, Dilliana, both of Wichita. Alvarez, David and Chavarria, Soledad A., both of Wichita. via The Wichita Eagle

A 50-year-old WaKeeney woman was seriously injured Monday morning when she rear-ended a semitrailer that was entering the road in a construction zone on Interstate Highway 70 just west of Chapman, the Kansas ... via Salina Journal

“I've been going to Circle all my life”

Circle board: boundary deal would block housing, school BY RON SYLVESTER The Wichita Eagle TOWANDA - Ritchie & Associates will stop plans to build a housing development and to donate land for an elementary ... via The Wichita Eagle

“We'll be out in the open and all different nationalities will be there, and we'll dance together and enjoy each other”

Wichitans on hand to help launch Towanda powwow BY CHRISTINA M. WOODS The Wichita Eagle Wichita's American Indian community is helping Melton Youngbird Hamilton pull off Butler County's first American Indian ... via Kansas.com

“I drove in front of them so the dirt would get in their face and they'd slow down. Then, they slowed down for a second, sped up, and got behind me and then made me tail spin.”

Now, he wants the Butler County Sheriff's Office to investigate. AJ Misaki says he and some other Butler Community College students went to a party in Towanda earlier this month. via KBSL 10

A woman accused in a hit-and-run accident that killed two highway workers in Douglas County this month has been charged with second-degree murder. via KansasCity.com