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WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM
TOP 10 STORIES OF 2015
By Brandy Nance
[email protected]
Editor’s note: The following
is the first of a two-part story
detailing the top 10 stories of
2015. These stories were generated
through through the number of
views on The Gazette’s website.
Each story listed had an average
of over 10,000 views. The second
part of this series will run in
Thursday’s paper.
1
9-year-old killed
in ATV accident
2
Ryan Lane loved to go fishing. On an afternoon in late August, he went fishing with his
friends. When they finished, the
boys hopped on a Polaris Ranger
ATV and headed home, but Ryan
didn’t make it.
According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, the ATV, driven by
an 11-year-old, lost control and
rolled over. The accident occurred at Road 360 and Road X,
three miles north of the city of
Miller. Ryan was transported to
the hospital but died as a result
of his injuries.
“It was an accident,” Tracy
Lane, Ryan’s mother, said at the
time. “He spent the day doing
what he wanted to do, fishing
with his friends. That morning
he did what he wanted to do with
his dad, hauling dirt and spreading it on the field with his dad.”
Ryan was much-loved by his
family — parents Tracy and Dallas Lane and his twin sister Callie. Ryan and Callie were preparing to celebrate their 10th birthday together. Tracy Lane said the
siblings were nearly inseparable.
Following the accident, some
of Ryan’s organs were able to be
donated to other pediatric patients in need. Tracy said that the
arteries and valves from his heart
were able to be donated as well
as his eyes.
“He had the most beautiful,
big blue eyes,” Tracy Lane said.
“His eyes and his corneas will
help someone else see the world
in the way he did.”
2
Police search for
suspect in Whispers
robbery
At 6:17 p.m. Nov. 16, a man
entered “Whispers,” a business
at 316 Commercial St. The man
pulled a firearm from his pants
and used it to threaten the store
clerk and customers in the store.
The man was wearing a hoodie with the hood up and a bandana over the lower part of his
face.
The suspect forced the clerk
and customers to the back of the
store and made the customers
kneel down. He then took the
clerk back to the register and
took cash.
He then returned the clerk to
the back of the store with the others. Seconds later he left through
the back door of the store.
The suspect is described as
a short, heavyset Hispanic male
approximately 5’06-5’08.
He was wearing a light gray
hoodie with writing on the front
and dark pants. The gun was described as a cut down or sawedoff rifle.
As of Monday, the suspect
had not been apprehended. The
investigation is ongoing. Anyone
with leads should contact the
Emporia Police Department at
343-4200. Crime Stoppers can
also be used. The number is 3422273. Reports left at Crime Stoppers remain anonymous.
VOL. 124, NO. 155
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Moving Kansas
A survey released in early 2015
revealed that more people are
moving out of Kansas than ever
before. United Van Lines’ 2014 National Movers Study lists Kansas
as number seven out of the top 10
outbound states for 2014.
“We’ve been tracking the number of inbound and outbound
domestic moves for nearly four
decades, and through our data
are able to identify the most and
least popular states for residential
relocation year after year. This
year we also surveyed customers
to determine why they were relocating,” said Melissa Sullivan,
director of marketing communications at United Van Lines. “As the
nation’s largest household goods
mover, United Van Lines shipment
and survey data paints an accurate
reflection of the overall U.S. stateto-state moving trends.”
United has tracked migration
patterns on a state-by-state basis
since 1977. This is the first year
that Kansas has made an appearance on the top outbound list.
United classifies states as “high
outbound” if 55 percent or more
moves were coming out of a state.
Jerid Thomas, president of
Thomas Transfer, who owns
United Van Lines agencies in Emporia and Wichita, said business
has picked up from the previous
years and attributes more moves
to the improving economy.
“With the down economy several years ago there was a cut
3
back in hiring which led to not
much moving going on,” Thomas
said. “But with companies hiring again and companies paying
for moves this is causing moving
numbers to increase.
Thomas said he was not familiar with the information that
goes into the study but feels that
people aren’t fleeing the state.
“We move a lot of military in
and out Fort Riley and with aviation industry in Wichita there are
always lots of people coming and
going from the state,” Thomas
said. “With the improving economy this study may not tell the
whole picture for Kansas and the Kansas Turnpike. The vehicle
Emporia.”
Clark was in hydroplaned and left
the road during flash flooding.
“Investigation revealed that
witnesses saw a car go off the road
and that a man was trying to get
out of the car as it went under water,” Rich Gould with the Emporia
One person killed
Fire Department said at the time.
The vehicle was submerged in
in flash flooding
water and traveled downstream. A
search and rescue operation was
on Turnpike
launched at mile post 118 on the
Flooding claimed one life on Ju- Kansas Turnpike. An ambulance
ly 10. Despite an extensive search and rescue unit arrived on scene
and rescue effort Zachary Clark,
Please see 2015, Page 3
21, lost his life due to flooding on
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