TEG
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2016
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PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING
FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1895
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Good Evening
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Have you thrown
a disc today?
WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM
ESU
PRESIDENT
MINGLES
WITH
LEGISLATORS
By Jessie Wagoner
[email protected]
SIGNS SPONSORSHIP
DEAL WITH PDGA
PROFESSIONAL
GOLFER DREW GIBSON
CHRIS WALKER/GAZETTE
Californian wants to
be more than just a
top-ranked player
By Chris Walker
[email protected]
Professional Disc Golfer Drew
Gibson was all smiles last week as
he sat in Dynamic Discs’ headquarters in Emporia for an interview. A
sponsorship offer was extended to
Gibson and agreed upon in early
January but not made official until
Tuesday the 18th, while Drew was
in town.
At only 19 years old, Gibson is
one of the top ranked players in the
world and is known for long drives,
sometimes in excess of 600 feet,
as well as pin-point accuracy in his
midrange game.
Gibson was first sponsored by
Innova Discs, the biggest disc golf
manufacturer, at 15 years old but
left that to join the Dynamic Discs
team. Gibson wanted to be part of
the Dynamic Discs due to company
owner Jeremy Rusco and the direction of his company.
“Jeremy Rusco, that is why I
wanted to be a part of his company.
His work ethic and what he has
done for the sport is amazing and
BOBBY BROWN/COURTESY PHOTO
The snow didn’t stop Drew Gibson from playing a few rounds of disc golf at Jones Park in Emporia last
week. Gibson, being from California, doesn’t play in snow very often.
I wanted to be part of that,” Gibson
said.
Gibson sees his new role as doing more than just winning tournaments for Dynamic Discs.
“Professional disc golfers all
have the same goals, to go out and
win the majors. We don’t go to
tournaments to win 5th place. But
I also want to grow the sport.” Gibson said “I want to go out and run
clinics for kids and teach parents
to play disc golf. I want people to
remember that I came and helped
people get better in the sport.”
Gibson spent the week in Emporia at the Dynamic Disc warehouse
getting to know the team that will
be supporting him. He spent time
Please see Gibson, Page 5
EMPORIA SENIOR CENTER PLANS FOR 2016
VOL. 124, NO. 178
By John Robinson
[email protected]
Please see Center, Page 5
Please see Contract, Page 5
KENDRA JOHNSON/GAZETTE
The Emporia Senior Center saw many improvements over the past year including a brand new
marquee, a refurbished parking lot, and some building maintenance improvements.
“It is just fantastic, we are so
excited to have it,” Lyman said. “It
is exciting for us to be able to do
things like that for other people,
too.”
Lyman says that the inside of
the center was repainted and the
DETAILS OF NEW
SUPERINTENDENT
CONTRACT
stripes in the parking lot were also
repainted in 2015. The park next
door to the center, where the yearly fireworks tent is placed, was in
desperate need of maintenance. So
[email protected]
the sign with upcoming events for
the center but she can also share
messages from other community
organizations. Since installing the
sign she has received calls from a
number of people wanting to put
messages on the sign.
Please see ESU, Page 5
The Emporia Board of Education voted to adopt a contract
for Kevin Case during a special
board meeting on Monday night,
making him the new superintendent of the Emporia School District.
The contract, which begins
on July 1 and runs through June
30, 2018, is for an annual salary
of $138,000 to be paid in at least
12 substantially equal installments. Case’s contract is similar
to the contract of current superintendent Theresa Davidson,
but for a larger annual salary and
less travel allowance.
According to Nancy Horst,
director of community relations
for Emporia Public Schools, Davidson’s salary for the 2015-2016
school year is $137,790. Her
travel allowance is $100 more
than Case’s at $450 per month.
Both contracts allow for the
same amount of vacation leave
— 20 days of paid vacation in a
calendar year — a $70 monthly
stipend for a cell phone along
with the board agreeing to pay
100 percent of the premium
for the superintendent’s single
membership in health, dental
and salary protection disability
insurance.
By Jessie Wagoner
The Emporia Senior Center
saw many improvements during 2015 — a trend that Director
Lannie Lyman plans to continue
throughout 2016.
Midway through 2015 the senior center received a surprise — a
$50,000 surprise donation — from
an anonymous donor. Lyman said
the generous donation allowed the
senior center to do some maintenance that had previously been put
off due to lack of funds. The donation also completed a long fundraising campaign for a new electronic sign to be placed in front of
the center.
“We got an anonymous donation of $50,000,” Lyman said.
“When that donation came it was
like a big flashing sign that we
should buy that sign. We got it installed just shortly before Thanksgiving and it is amazing.”
The sign displays multiple
messages and is easy for Lyman
to update from the comfort of her
computer. Not only can she update
The Statehouse was swarming with Hornets on Tuesday
— Emporia State University
Hornets.
Emporia State University
President Allison Garrett and a
number of other ESU representatives spent the day mingling
and visiting with lawmakers
at the capitol. Garrett says the
morning began with a legislative breakfast that was well attended.
“We started the day early
with a breakfast,” Garrett said.
“We invited people from all
over the state capitol to attend.
We probably had well over 200
people that came to the breakfast.”
Following the breakfast,
Garrett was introduced on the
House floor by Rep. Don Hill,
60th District. Joining them
were several other legislators
with ties to ESU. Garrett wa