TEG
MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2016
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FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1895
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Happy birthday,
EAC!
WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM
BURLINGTON
BIRTHDAY BASH DRAWS CROWD
The Emporia
Arts Council
began its operation
in May 1976
By Cathryne Scharton
[email protected]
In celebration of 40 years in
Emporia, the Emporia Arts Center
held a birthday bash Saturday evening, as music and clapping filled
the theatre of the Emporia Arts
Center Saturday night as Emporia
natives The Skirts sang bluegrass
followed by a performance by The
Dewayn Brothers.
Mulready’s served patrons
drinks and Radius provided the
event with appetizers. According
to Dawn Young, executive director
of the arts center, about 100 tickets were sold for the event, which
served as a fundraiser for the Arts
Center. Kaila Mock, gallery manager and education outreach coordinator, said all of the VIP tickets
were sold, which offered guests a
seat at a table.
For some, seeing The Skirts
and The Dewayn Brothers was a
new experience.
“We just had friends that inPlease see EAC, Page 3
KENDRA JOHNSON/GAZETTE
Dawn Young, executive director of the Emporia Arts Council, talks to guests at the Emporia Arts
Center’s 40th birthday bash on Saturday.
KENDRA JOHNSON/GAZETTE
KENDRA JOHNSON/GAZETTE
People talk in the gallery of the Emporia Arts Center while waiting
for the next band to start playing at the center’s 40th anniversary
birthday bash on Saturday.
Jamie Briggeman, of the Dewayn Brothers, sings a song during the
Emporia Arts Center’s 40th birthday bash on Satuday. The Dewayn
Brothers along with The Skirts performed at the celebration.
TO CLOSE
By Jessie Wagoner
[email protected]
Approximately 35 individuals
in Burlington will be unemployed
come Jan. 28 when Wal-Mart Express officially closes to the public.
The store, which opened just over
a year ago, is one of 269 Wal-Mart
locations to be closed.
In a press release issued by WalMart, the company says it began
an active portfolio review in Oct.
2015 to ensure that assets were
aligned with strategy.
“Actively managing our portfolio of assets is essential to maintaining a healthy business,” said
Doug McMillon, president and
CEO, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. “Closing stores is never an easy decision, but it is necessary to keep the
company strong and positioned
for the future. It’s important to remember that we’ll open well more
than 300 stores around the world
next year. So we are committed to
growing, but we are being disciplined about it.”
Stacy Haines with Coffey
County Economic Development
also issued a statement regarding
the closure.
“The store will close officially
on January 28th and signs are posted in various locations throughout
the store,” Haines said. “Some employees may be offered positions
at other Wal-mart locations, but
nothing has been offered to employees at this point.”
Haines says that Coffey County
Economic Development will assist with the situation in three key
ways.
✦✦Provide resources to employees on job openings in Coffey
County and connect employees
with the KansasWorks program.
✦✦Contact Walmart Corporate
about their plans to sell or lease
building.
✦✦Contact other retailers and
businesses that would be a
good fit for that location and
our community.
“Losing a business in a community of our size is hard and it is challenging to recruit as well,” Haines
said. “But this doesn’t define us or
hinder our ability to bounce back
or even improve the economic stability in Coffey County.”
If local businesses have current
job openings, Haines asks that
they contact her so she can notify
Wal-Mart employees. She can be
reached by email at [email protected].
STUDENTS GET HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE LEARNING ABOUT POLLINATORS
Makenna
Delgado
(from left),
Abbie
Sull, Keira
Tucker, Lilly
Parks, Caleb
Enabnit
and Cooper
Hamlin
hold their
seed bags
as they wait
to go plant
wildflowers
on a trip to
the Melvern
Wildlife Area.
By John Robinson
[email protected]
To teach the importance of
pollinators and wildflowers, the
Americus Elementary School and
North Lyon County Junior School
decided to have groups of students
take a more hands-on approach
with a trip to the Melvern Wildlife
Area in Reading on Friday.
“This trip is a partnership between the local chapter of Quail
Forever and the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism,” said Corey Wiltz, principle of
Americus Elementary and NLC Jr.
High. “A group of our fourth, fifth
and seventh-grade students had
the opportunity to learn about the
importance of pollinators and the
environment. They’ve were getting special lessons on the subject
in class all week.”
Holly Shutt, senior farm bill
wildlife biologist with Quail Forever, led a station which taught
students about how pollinators,
like bees, affect the local population of quail allowing students to
meet and pet the bird.
“We emphasized how important is to have pollinators,” Shutt
JOHN ROBINSON/GAZETTE
Americus Elementary students pet a quail while learning about the bird.
The students participated in the first ever pollinating event at the
wildlife area.
JOHN ROBINSON/GAZETTE
said. “Every one out of three things
a person eats or drinks we have because of a pollinator and they are
also vital to the population of quail
and other upland game birds.”
The trip wasn’t just about
learning facts however, students
also had the opportunity to plant
wildflowers in a three-acre patch of
prepared land.
“We provided students with
a bag of sand and seed so they
could have the chance to plant
JOHN ROBINSON/GAZETTE
VOL. 124, NO. 170
Please see Students, Page 3
Fourth and fifth-grade students gather together at the end of their trip.