Hornets ready for regionals PAGE 9
TE G
THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2016
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PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING
FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1895
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WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM
MOVEMENT GOING SLOW
By Cathryne Scharton
[email protected]
Many Gazette readers
have inquired about the status
of Amtrak returning to Emporia,
but according to several individuals involved with Amtrak, the process
is still a long way down the line.
According to Marc Magliari, spokesperson for Amtrak, Emporia was eliminated as a
stop by trains three and four via the Southwest
Chief May 11, 1997. The Amtrak stop at the time
was much like a bus shelter and was not sufficient
to continue serving as the stop. When the city showed
little interest in building a new station, service was ended.
Aug. 9, 1999, the Amtrak station built in the 1880s burned
and was eventually torn down. The building was in disrepair at
the time of the fire and was not in suitable condition to serve as
the station.
Rev. Andrew McHenry, who heads the Amtrak task force, said his
next move will be to go before the city commission. Some feel the Amtrak
task force should join forces with the Multi-use Pathway Planning board to
gain steam, but others feel MUPP has its own purpose and the Amtrak force
does not have a place within MUPP. One of the problems the task force is facing
is communication with BNSF.
“BNSF will not typically engage in conversations with ad hoc groups of citizens.
They need to confer with official entities,” McHenry said.
McHenry said during the last two years the task force has found there is sizable interest in bringing passenger rail service back to Emporia and Amtrak is interested in stopping
Please see Amtrak, Page 3
EMPORIA
STATE TAKES
A HIT TO
BALANCE
THE BUDGET
By Jessie Wagoner
[email protected]
SEMI DRIVER IN STABLE CONDITION
AFTER WEDNESDAY ROLLOVER
By John Robinson
[email protected]
The driver of a semi-tractor
trailer is in stable condition after a
Wednesday injury accident on the
Kansas Turnpike at Emporia.
The accident occurred around
4:20 p.m. on the Exit 127 southbound ramp. The vehicle — which
was said to have been carrying
43,000 pounds of organic green
tea — tipped into the west ditch.
The driver of the semi was
responsive and was transported
to Newman Regional Health by
ambulance. The Emporia Police
Department, Emporia Fire Department, Lyon County Sheriff’s
Office, Kansas Highway Patrol and
the Kansas Turnpike Authority assisted at the scene.
Master Sgt. Sage Hill with the
Kansas Highway Patrol said the
driver of the semi sped around the
curve at Exit 127, causing the vehicle to roll into the ditch.
Hill said the vehicle will still
be in the ditch on Thursday, but
crews will be working to remove it.
—Gazette News Editor Zach
Hacker contributed to this report.
VOL. 124, NO. 275
JOHN ROBINSON/GAZETTE
A 2006 Freightliner tipped over on the southbound ramp to the KTA from the Emporia terminal at
about 4:20 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. The driver of the semi was transported to Newman Regional
Health via Emporia Ambulance and was in stable condition.
Governor Sam Brownback
balanced the budget on Wednesday — announcing allotments of
$97 million to make the balance
happen. Medicaid and higher
education — including Emporia
State University — saw the largest cuts. K-12 funding was spared
in this round of allotments.
The 4-percent allotment to
higher education translates into
$30.6 million that the state’s 32
public postsecondary institutions will not receive. Emporia
State University will see a reduction of $855,204.
“State General Fund appropriations in (fiscal year) 2017 will
be 8.6 percent less than what
was allocated in FY2008, meaning state funding for higher education has decreased by nearly
$100 million since 2007-2008 levels,” Breeze Richardson with the
Kansas Board of Regents said.
Senator Jeff Longbine said the
allotments weren’t surprising as
the legislature left a budget gap
that Brownback would be required to fill by making cuts.
“When the legislature passed
the budget it was going to require that the governor do somewhere around $90 million worth
of cuts,” Longbine said. “The legislature designed it that way because the governor actually has
a better feel for what is going on
in the agencies and where those
cuts can be made.”
Rep. Don Hill was also unsurprised by the cuts, saying there
are very few places left to make
cuts since K-12 funding consists
of more than half the state budget.
“It wasn’t unexpected to me,”
Hill said. “There are precious
few areas left where the budget
can be cut and they are precious,
all of them.”
Please see Budget, Page 3