Right , Brittnee Bailey , 19 , watches as Alan Russo , 19 , takes over the Beach Music Hall in “ Pokemon Go .” The building is designated as a gym in the game which players can attempt to control for their team . Below , Kaley Ernst , 22 , and Daniel Falk , 22 , play “ Pokemon Go .” The app allows users to catch virtual creatures known as Pokemon which are found in the real world .

P H O T O S B Y J o h n R o b i n s o n

Emily Cheever , 17 , ( left ) and Tatiana Palenske , 17 , sit at a bench near Wooster Lake as they attempt to catch Pokemon in “ Pokemon Go .”

By John Robinson john @ emporia . com

There are flocks of “ Pidgey ” flying the skies over Emporia . Schools of “ Magikarp ” can be found in lakes and ponds and there may even be a “ Pikachu ” or two in Jones Park .

On nearly every street in Emporia however , is someone on the quest to catch them all in the smartphone app “ Pokemon Go .”

From developer Niantic , the game , which is a week old , tasks users , dubbed “ trainers ” with catching the virtual creatures known as Pokemon through the lens of their smartphones .

Using a combination of GPS software and augmented reality , the game populates Pokemon in the real world . When one of the creatures is near , trainers need to look through their phones in order to see where to aim their Pokeballs

Tatiana Palenske , 17 , and Emily Cheever , 17 , sat on a bench near Wooster Lake at Emporia State University in hopes of collecting waterdwelling Pokemon Tuesday . The pair said they downloaded the game after seeing their friends playing .

“ Since a lot of our friends had it too , it was kind of the competitiveness in us ,” Palenske said . “ It ’ s like ‘ Oh , I have that Pokemon , what level is yours ?’”

Palenske said she wasn ’ t into Pokemon before downloading the app , but now has “ almost all the names memorized .”

“ Obsession to a new level ,” Cheever said .

The pair aren ’ t the only ones with a new obsession , according to data from the website SimilarWeb , as of July 8 “ Pokemon Go ” users were logging an average of 43 minutes and 23 seconds into the app each day . Higher numbers than Whatsapp , Instagram , Snapchat and Facebook Messenger .

Trainers aren ’ t just limited to area youth however . Brecklynn Williams , 16 , was hunting Pokemon in Jones Park with a group of friends and said her father also downloaded the app .

“ He ’ s really excited about it ,” Williams said “ He enjoys it .”

Learning the lay of the land

Besides catching Pokemon , trainers in “ Pokemon Go ” can explore local landmarks and memorials , which have been dubbed by the game as Pokestops and Gyms .

“ I ’ m ( Team Valor ) and ( Team Mystic ) had this gym ,” Alan Russo , 19 , said . Russo stood outside ESU ’ s Beach Music Hall , a “ Gym ” which he claimed for his team . “ I just attacked it ... and made it red .”

Pokestops allow players to refill in-game items and are made of area attractions like The Emporia Gazette

Please see Pokemon , Page 5

The Never Let Go Fund met a significant milestone on Tuesday that will provide help for more families who have children undergoing cancer treatments . The fund has met its goal of $ 50,000 .

“ It ’ s a big day ,” Sandy Knight , founder of the Never Let Go Fund said . “ We started out with $ 500 we raised from a garage sale and here we are today .”

Knight ’ s 13-year-old son , Adrian Lewis-Solano , lost his battle with brain cancer in 2011 . His battle and the financial struggles the family endured during his cancer treatments led her to establish the Never Let Go Fund in Adrian ’ s honor .

In February 2014 , the Never Let Go Fund joined the Emporia Community Foundation and began providing assistance to families in Lyon County in the fall of 2014 . The goal was to grow the fund to a level that assistance could expand to families not only in Lyon County , but also in

VOL . 125 , NO . 10

By Jessie Wagoner jessie @ emporia . com

Adrian Lewis-Solano

Please see Never Let Go , Page 5

By Tammy Seimears

The Madison News

Monday ’ s Greenwood County Commission meeting was spent largely on updating commissioners with status reports from last week ’ s tornado that hit Eureka .


Greenwood County Sheriff Heath Samuels told commissioners that the damage cleanup was progressing .


“ It looks a hundred times better , as far as tree debris — it ’ s almost gone ,” he said . “ The morale up there , stopping and talking to a lot of the citizens , is very high ,” he added .

Emergency Management Director Levi Vinson said at last count , 152 structures were affected by the storm . However , the Red Cross Damage Assessment Team had discovered two more that morning .

“ Every day that number has increased , but it should start to taper now ,” Vinson said . Samuels added there was another residence to the west of the flattened house at 220th Street and Road H , that was affected by the tornado that they hadn ’ t found prior .

Vinson reported they had received an exemption from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment , KDHE , regarding perished food disposal . KDHE ’ s requirements are that disposed food needed to be double- or triple-bagged before it could be placed in the landfill and buried at least four feet . The exemption allows for food to be placed in the rollaway dumpsters to be hauled off , which will save a lot of time , according to Vinson .

Vinson said there were 13 displaced addresses , meaning residents at those addresses could not live in their homes . He and Samuels reported where those

residents had relocated to , or where they were going .

Vinson said Greenwood County Fire Chief Doug Williams concluded life safety operations on Friday at noon . They were then able to move into recovery mode , which included tree and debris removal . Large equipment is moving in to handle the extra debris at the landfill . Greenwood County Road and Bridge Director Roger Lowe talked to commissioners about obtaining temporary compacting equipment to handle the extra loads . Vinson said the state is being helpful in relaxing some of the regulations at the landfill .

“ We could not have done what we have done without the support that we ’ ve received of not only our local community , but all of our neighbors ,” Vinson said . “ If it wasn ’ t for everybody showing up from our surrounding counties and the different municipalities , we ’ d still be all over the place .”

Samuels added that more than 20 dump trucks from surrounding counties and Kansas Department of Transportation came immediately , through the weekend , and are still working . Vinson said it was amazing the amount of agencies that responded within minutes and hours immediately following the tornado .

Samuels asked about the city ’ s trash service running , as dumpsters and polycarts are full . Vinson said

Tammy Seimears / Madison News

Residents of Eureka sift through the damage created when an EF2 tornado touched down within the city limits Thursday night .

the command post and the community building were both filling up with trash that needed to be disposed . He was extremely thankful of the volunteers and the massive amount of water , food and other needs that have been donated .

“ Was everything we did perfect ? No , but we did the best we could ,” Vinson said . “ We made mistakes and learned from it . But the thing I keep looking back is zero injuries , zero fatalities .”

Samuels said from his experience with the Reading tornado in 2011 , he felt things were done more quickly and more efficiently because Kansas Department of Emergency

Please see Tornado , Page 5