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TEG TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 V V V PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1895 V V V Good Evening VVV Play on, disc golfers! WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM GBO PLAYERS READY FOR LARGEST DISC GOLF EVENT IN HISTORY GBO Schedule of Events The Emporia Gazette TUESDAY, APRIL 26 7 a.m. - 3 p.m. Flex Start C-Tier at Jones West Park 7 p.m. - 12 a.m. **Free Bowling Night at Flinthills Lanes 9 p.m. - Midnight Mini Disc Golf at the Bourbon Cowboy This week Emporia will host the largest disc golf event in history and the world’s best disc golfers are here to compete in the Glass Blown Open. Here are some interesting statistics on the event and activities the participants and community can take part in. The community is encouraged to come out and watch the action as well as take part in some of the events. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27 7 a.m. - 3 p.m. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Flex Start C-Tier at Peter Pan **Hot Stamping at Dynamic Distribution **Putting Championships Prelims at the Granada Theatre 6:30 - 7 p.m. **Meet the owners of Dynamic Discs, Latitude 64º and Westside Discs 7 - 8 p.m. **Q&A with Top Touring Professionals at the Granada Theatre, Players TBA 9 p.m. - Midnight Mini Disc Golf at the Bourbon Cowboy GBO by the numbers: ✦✦The largest tournament in Disc Golf history was the 2012 Combined Amateur and Professional PDGA World Championships held in Charlotte, North Carolina. This event had 1,095 registered players. The 2016 Glass Blown Open has 1,200 players registered to play this year. ✦✦Eleven of the top 12 men in the world will be competing in the 2016 GBO. ✦✦Four of the top 5 women in the world will be competing in the 2016 GBO. THURSDAY, APRIL 28 8 a.m. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 12 - 5 p.m. 7 - 11 p.m. FRIDAY, APRIL 29 Please see GBO, Page 3 8 a.m. 7 p.m. 8 p.m. 10 p.m. - Close Tee times start for Round 1 **Putting Championships Prelims at the Granada Theatre **Hot Stamping at Dynamic Distribution **Swedish Bonfire **Nite Chains Glow Golf Tee times start for Round 2 **Poker Party at the Emporia Country Club **Putting Championships Semi-Finals at the Granada Theatre Live Music with Rusty Lafoon at the Bourbon Cowboy SATURDAY, APRIL 30 Tee times start for Round 3 2016 Dynamic Discs Glass Blown Open Junior’s Challenge presented by The Emporia Gazette 6 - 11 p.m. Block Party in front of Dynamic Discs 7 p.m.* Awards in front of the Dynamic Discs Retail Store, 912 Commercial St. *Awards will start no more than one hour after the last card has been turned in. BRIAN HENSLEY/COURTESY PHOTO 7:30 a.m. 8 a.m. IMMEDIATELY AFTER AWARDS: Ring of Fire in front of the Dynamic Discs Retail Store, 912 Commercial St. IMMEDIATELY AFTER RING OF FIRE: Putting Championships Finals in front of the Dynamic Discs Retail Store, 912 Commercial St. Stu Mullenberg of Portland Oregon putts at Peter Pan Park. Mullenberg is a world famous disc golf photographer who came to document the Glass Blown Open. T O R N A D O **Indicates activities for players only S E A S O N F-5 TORNADO STRUCK THE WICHITA METRO AREA 25 YEARS AGO By Beccy Tanner & Stan Finger The Wichita Eagle The air was so muggy that day. April 26, 1991. It wore a person down, the humidity drenching clothes after a few moments in the outdoors. That humidity helped fuel storms that would produce killer tornadoes. One would strike Haysville, then south Wichita and McConnell Air Force Base, then Andover, just as people were running errands after work or sitting down to dinner, The Wichita Eagle reports. On that Friday, 55 tornadoes touched down — from Texas to Minnesota. The strongest formed at 5:57 p.m. and began its march through the Wichita metro area. It ended at 7:10 p.m. five miles north of El Dorado. It was on the ground for 69 miles and grew to be 500 yards wide — or about a third of mile in width. east of Wichita and 13 in the Golden Spur mobile home park in Andover. ‘Andover tornado’ Hundreds more were injured. Andover’s only tornado siren The tornado was so strong it didn’t work so a police officer drove scoured the ground and swept away through the city streets urging peo- entire neighborhoods in Andover. ple to take shelter as the tornado ap- Thousands were left homeless proached. and officials estimated at least 350 Many found it; others did not. homes were destroyed. The tornado measuring F-5 on “When you look at the totality of the Fujita Scale with winds esti- that event, it’s a miracle that there mated at 260 mph killed 17 people weren’t more lives lost,” said Chance — four in a rural subdivision south- Hayes, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather VOL. 124, NO. 255 Service in Wichita. Those who survived the tornado WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THIS EVENING The Emporia Gazette FILE PHOTO/THE WICHITA EAGLE picked up the pieces and moved on, carrying with them random bits of life and a sense of gratitude. All of them talk about having a greater awareness of Kansas weather and how lives can change or stop in a heartbeat. Although the tornado rampaged through several communities and changed the course of many lives, it became known as the Andover tornado because the city took the brunt of the storm. But in the storm’s aftermath, Andover became a boom town. Rebuilding streets, sewers and water lines and updating codes helped open doors to development. The city’s population has nearly tripled since the storm, and Andover is full of high-end homes and diverse businesses. Twenty-five years after the fact, there is a sense of moving on. Some will mark Tuesday’s anniversary, others won’t. Haysville Chief Administrator Officer Will Black said his city has no plans to observe the 25th anniverPlease see Andover, Page 5 N ational Weather Service