TEG
TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2016
V V V
PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING
FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1895
V V V
Good Evening
VVV
Updated 911,
arrives just in time!
WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM
DECK FIRE EXTINGUISHED QUICKLY
EMPORIA POLICE
By Cathryne Scharton
DOG SHOT
AFTER
CHARGING
OFFICER
[email protected]
A
deck fire was reported
just before 12:30
p.m. Monday at Bluestem
Apartments, 1018 Mary
St.
The fire began on the second floor deck and spread
to the ground, causing
damage to bicycles on the
ground.
“We were in our kitchen
... I was looking out the
window and there was just
this huge cloud of smoke
that came down and then
went away,” said Jeana
Johnson, resident. “And
then we look out and our
bikes are on fire.”
Johnson said everyone got
out of the building quickly. There were no reported
injuries.
Bill West, fire captain,
confirmed the fire was
started by improper disposal of smoking
materials.
Special to The Gazette
CATHRYNE SCHARTON/GAZETTE
Firefighter documents the fire scene. Witnesses believe the fire was started by an improperly
extinguished cigarette.
Monday, Emporia Police responded to the 1400 block of
Walnut Street for a vicious animal call. Capt. David W. DeVries
stated a resident of the area reported she was walking and was
chased onto her front porch by
two dogs. She gave a description and a current location of
the dogs.
Upon his arrival in the 1400
block of Walnut, the officer located the dogs and approached
the residence they were at. As
he approached the house, one of
the dogs charged the officer. The
officer fired his sidearm at the
animal, striking and killing it.
The dogs had separate owners. Both have been located
and contacted by the police department.
HUELSKAMP HOLDS
TOWN HALL
By John Robinson
[email protected]
KENDRA JOHNSON/GAZETTE
Denise Neff works at the 911 dispatch center located in the Emporia Police Station March 24.
NEW SYSTEM ADDS GREATER
ACCURACY TO 911 CALLS
The 911
dispatch
center has
gotten new
technology
to help
them
locate
exactly
where
a call is
being
placed.
By John Robinson
[email protected]
After the Lyon County Emergency Communication Center
upgraded to a new system for
receiving 911 calls, Director Bill
Duggan said the center can now
pinpoint 911 calls with greater accuracy.
“The biggest change with this
system is the addition of the mapping feature,” Duggan said. “Now
we get locations with the call as
we’re getting it.”
“If you get a call from someone
who is on the turnpike, are you
on 35 or 335?” he said. “We have
highways that duplicate and are
different so the response time will
be faster. We’re also able to see if
we’re getting multiple calls from
the same location.”
According to 911.gov, the Next
Generation 911 System (NG911)
Please see 911 Calls, Page 5
VOL. 124, NO. 237
KENDRA JOHNSON/GAZETTE
United States Congressman
Tim Huelskamp held a town hall
meeting in Emporia on Monday.
The economy was a popular
topic during the meeting as Rep.
Huelskamp took questions from
the audience in his 350th town hall
meeting since his election in 2010.
“The economy has slowed
down in central and western Kansas,” Huelskamp said. “With difficulties in agriculture, low commodity prices, difficulties in the oil and
gas industry, folks are just trying to
survive.”
According to Huelskamp, an
“avalanche of regulations” are slowing down small business growth in
Kansas.
“It’s a tough economic climate
but what is making it even worse
are brand new regulations that are
making it difficult for small businesses to compete and survive,”
he said. “Some are doing very well,
but we could be doing so much
better particularly in this month of
April (with) a lot of concerns about
the IRS. So I’m going to spend a
lot of time in my small businesses
committee, hearings coming up
about the IRS and how we can
make sure they’re more small business friendly.”
Huelskamp fielded questions
from the audience about security
at the border, foreign affairs term
limits, the Clean Power Plan, his
voting record and the upcoming
2016 presidential election during
the town hall, while also highlighting the Veteran’s Choice Program
and accountability act.
“If you’re in an area where you
don’t have quick access to a VA facility you can go to a community
hospital to get your care,” he said.
One audience member asked
about holding members of congress responsible for representing
their constituents.
”If we, the conservative Republicans we send up there, aren’t going
to do their job, why should we have
faith in you?” the audience member
said.
”There’s a ‘we’ and there’s a
‘me,’” Huleskamp responded. “I
JOHN ROBINSON/GAZETTE
Rep. Tim Huelskamp held a
town hall meeting in Emporia
on Monday.
am just responsible for one vote ...
but remember what happened with
(John Boehner). He kicked me off
a committee and three others, and
why? Because we didn’t vote the
way he told me to vote.”
Harley and Viola Heskett, residents of Emporia, attended the
town hall and said they thought it
was a good event overall.
“It was a good town hall,” Harley Heskett said. “Everybody got
to ask the questions they wanted,
and, honestly, I liked the answers.”
“The national security is so important,” Viola Heskett said. “What
we wish is he had a magic-wand answer to say ‘this is what Congress
can do,’ but I felt he was upfront to
say these are the issues, he defined
the issues and said we have to go
back and get the rest of the congress on board.”
Huelskamp also held town hall
meetings in Cottonwood Falls and
Hillsborough on Monday and will
hold five more in the First Congressional District over the course of
the week.