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TEG MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016 V V V PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1895 V V V A SUNNY SUNDAY EARTH DAY The Emporia Gazette Emporians celebrated Earth Day with fun and educational activities at the David Traylor Zoo of Emporia Sunday afternoon. Various educational stations included composting, air quality, bird watching and information on lemurs and mountain lions. JAN BUCKMAN/SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE Mark Lee teaches children how to make seed bombs at Party for the Planet activities at the zoo on Sunday. Tanner Seidl and Diego, Daniel and Karen Guzman listen to Carolyn JAN BUCKMAN/SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE Turney talk about composting and what foods can be used to make compost. This was one of many activities to teach children about Kent Schnakenberg and his granddaughter Mia look for turtles at our planet at the zoo on Sunday. the Party for the Planet on Sunday.  EXPECTANT MOTHERS ATTEND COMMUNITY BABY SHOWER WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM FIRES TAKING TOLL ON GREENWOOD COUNTY FIRE TRUCK FLEET Greenwood County Commissioners reviewed an extensive list of repairs needed on county fire trucks at the meeting Monday morning due to the extreme amount of fires crews have fought in recent weeks. County Fire Chief Doug Williams had compiled the list for all county departments with repairs estimated at just under $30,000. The repairs ranged from many tires, to transmissions and engine issues. The excessively windy and dry conditions have contributed to a particularly dangerous fire season. Commissioners commented that a frustrating factor in this year’s out of control fires is the presence of an isolated calm day, when many farmers and ranchers burn, and then the day immediately following has extremely high winds, stirring up embers from burns that day before. Commissioner Cole Conard asked for clarification on where the majority of the fires have been called out recently. Commissioner Brian Hind said that by far the Severy, Piedmont and Fall River firemen have been called out the most. Sheriff Rusty Bitler agreed, adding that some of those firemen had been called out so much lately that they’ve only been able to go home for a couple hours at a time. Conard commented that he is frustrated with a situation in the south end of the county that he feels is contributing to the increased fire calls. He explained that there is a large presence of out-of-area owners who have bought smaller lots of acreage for hunting and vacations around the Severy area. He feels that a lot of Please see Fires, Page 3 TEACHER OF THE YEAR CANDIDATES VISIT EMPORIA CLASSROOMS By Cathryne Scharton [email protected] VOL. 124, NO. 254 We only get one Earth, take care of it. The Madison News JAN BUCKMAN/SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE The first-ever community baby shower in Emporia proved to be informative and well-received by expectant mothers and their guests. “We just decided to do some community education for new moms,” said Gail Barrett. “My husband and I have put together a fundraiser every year for the past six years, centered it around SIDS, sudden infant death syndrome, that we lost our son to over five years ago and we had some really good fundraising years the past couple of years so we decided to use the money and give back to the community and hold an event that they could learn some safe sleep and get to talk to some community partners.” The baby shower was brought to the community by the Wade Barrett Memorial Fund, Newman Regional Health and the Flint Hills Technical College Practical Nursing Program. The event was held at Flint Hills Technical College and within the first hour saw more than 75 expecting mothers; combined with fathers and other family members more than 150 people were in attendance. Every mom who listened to the Safe Sleep Presentation received a free Pack ‘n Play and a package of diapers. “Pack ‘n Play is a safe sleep portable crib that is perfect for newborns to sleep in the parents room and then it just folds up really nice and doesn’t take up a lot VVV By Tammy Seimears JAN BUCKMAN/SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE Kathleen Waters talks to children about the importance of air quality at the Party for the Planet on Sunday.  Good Evening Special to the Gazette CATHRYNE SCHARTON/GAZETTE Jenessa Peres of Emporia talks with Vanessa Apodaca of Child Care Aware.  of room,” said Barrett. “But it’s just a safe sleep environment to make sure they are not sharing beds with anyone and have their own place to sleep.” Trenton Miller-Mitts and Stacy Putthoff came to the event for the free information and a chance to win prizes. “I think it’s pretty good,” said Miller-Mitts. “It’s really good for all the moms ... there’s a little bit of information for the dads but not that much ... .” Miller-Mitts said he wished there was more information for the Please see Shower, Page 3 CATHRYNE SCHARTON/GAZETTE Observing the instructional strategies used for English language learners in Emporia classrooms left a lasting impression on visiting teachers.  Five members of the 2016 Kansas Teacher of the Year cadre spent the day in Emporia  schools, hosted by Emporia Middle School science teacher Julie Voelz.  “None of our districts have a lot of ELL students, so we don’t see a lot of this,” said Carol Denham, who teaches at Southeast USD 247 near Pittsburg. “I was so impressed to see how  the English speaking teachers were interacting with the ELL students.”  Ottawa elementary teacher Laura Jeannin agreed, and noted that all students benefit from the teaching strategies that include ELL students in the regular classroom.  “It was really enhancing the instruction for all students and did not slow it down. (By including English and Spanish inPleas