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Thursday, June 23, 2016
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WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM
County hears
appropriation
requests at
study session
Grant
provides
learning
opportunities
By John Robinson
[email protected]
By John Robinson
[email protected]
The Collaborative Improvement and Innovative Network
Grant may not have provided any
additional funds to Emporia Public
Schools, but representatives from
both CrossWinds Counseling and
Wellness and USD 253 addressed
the school board about the grant’s
benefits for mental health at a
board meeting Wednesday.
“(This grant brought) the opportunity to visit and have access
to experts in the field of mental
health,” Vicki Schweinler, executive director of elementary education, said. “And it increased the
partnership between (the district
and CrossWinds) and that’s been
incredibly beneficial.”
Emporia was one of 12 districts
in the nation to receive the grant
— along with districts in major cities such as Chicago, Minneapolis
and Baltimore — and it allowed
the districts to meet and discuss
strengths and weaknesses in regards to mental health. Emporia
specifically focused on elementary
students in K - 5.
“We’re learning more and more
of the research behind what is
needed for students,” Schweinler
said. “We are absolutely learning
more about screening tools, needs
assessments and how you can do
that in your district. And just the
various projects that people are
currently doing in those larger districts really helps us understand
what we need to be doing with our
own students.”
Superintendent Theresa Davidson said addressing the emotional
needs of students has been one of
her long-held goals.
“It’s been difficult with tight
finances; we haven’t been able
to afford some of the services,”
Davidson said. “So it’s a thrilling
Please see USD 253, Page 3
There will be something for
everyone at the David Traylor Zoo
open house, which will be held
Sunday.
The event takes place from 1 - 3
p.m. at 75 Soden Road.
Lisa Keith, director of the David
Traylor Zoo, said the event is free
and open to the public.
“For Sunday’s event, it will
be the one time during the year
that we let people go behind the
scenes,” Keith said. “We open up
the north area across the street and
people will be able to see Sandhill
cranes, alligator snapping turtles
that we have a breeding program
for, our king vultures and many
more. Then we will have all of our
exhibits within the zoo open as
well.”
The Emporia Friends of the Zoo
will also be on hand to greet the
visitors.
“They will be greeting the public,” Keith said. “They will be serving concessions and we will have
hot dogs, popcorn and pop. They
will also be helping with some of
our activities. They will also have
some merchandise for visitors to
purchase to help support the zoo.”
Zoo docents will also have fun
activities for the young and old
alike.
An Emporia Zoo Docent is a
member of the Emporia Friends
of the Zoo, trained as a volunteer
teacher for and dedicated to teach-
Both the Lyon County Fair
Board and Emporia Main Street
approached the Lyon County
Commission during a study session Wednesday to discuss budget appropriations.
For the Fair Board, the requested appropriation from the
county is the same as the previous year — with the board asking for $60,000.
Past projects
fo r t h e f a i rgrounds include
a new sound
system for the
grandstand and
center dividing
panels in the
goat barns. Fu- “The national
ture projects,
average is 26
pre se nte d b y
dollars for
Jason Birk and
every dollar
Ken Duft, ininvested. We
clude adding
take great
parking around
pride
in trying
the livestock area and building to give you the
fences around most bang for
the seating area
your buck.”
at the arena for
m o r e c r o w d Casey Woods,
Emporia Main Street
control.
executive director
“We’ll take
your appropriation under consideration,” Commissioner Rollie Martin said. “Looks like it’s
the same as last time, so we’ll
just go from there.”
Casey Woods, executive director of Emporia Main Street
approached the commission asking for $25,000. According to
commissioner Dan Slater, that
amount is double what they requested last year.
“We’ve had a pretty good
year,” Woods said. “(We’re) updating some of our activities to
encompass more of a countywide ethos.”
Woods pointed to the expanded impact of events, like the Dirty
Kanza 200 and the Glass Blown
Open, not only in Emporia but
the surrounding communities.
Please see Zoo, Page 3
Please see County, Page 3
Behind the scenes at the zoo
Open House at David
Traylor Zoo is Sunday
By Mary Ann Redeker
[email protected]
Courtesy photo
The David Traylor Zoo offers something for everyone. The
annual zoo open house will be held from 1 - 3 p.m. this Sunday.
Big Brothers Big Sisters win gold at Green Day
PH O T O S
B Y
J o h n
Rob i n s on
By John Robinson
[email protected]
Started as an annual celebration of the company for employees of Cargill, the workers at the
Emporia plant used their annual
“Green Day” to give back to the
community.
For the second year in a row,
they teamed up with Big Brothers
Big Sisters of the Flint Hills to make
it a special event for area children.
Please see Green Day, Page 3
VOL. 124, NO. 304
Left, Aviyon Moreno and Ajryan Scales hit the links for a putting face off. Right, Ajryan Scales receives some advice on the bubble gum
toss from a Cargill employee during Green Day.