After over 40 years serving the Ottawa community, first at People’s Bank and then at Kansas State Bank, Wayne Duderstadt will be retiring – at least partially – at the end of April. A native of Shawnee Mission, Duderstadt first came to Ottawa to study at Ottawa University.
While most people associate dolls with young children, they’re also capable of providing many therapeutic benefits to seniors, especially those dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia. Knowing this, Katie Aguirre of Rock Creek Nursing Home decided to submit an application for a donation from Pearl’s Memory Babies, a Kentucky-based nonprofit that creates lifelike baby dolls and stuffed dogs for seniors with memory loss.
Fire teams he’s talked with recently have told him the strategies they’ve used to suppress wildfires in past years aren’t working as well now. And even if they can get a blaze under control, the smoldering embers have been more likely to reignite.
Daylight Donuts owner Charity ??? and Betty Birzer of ReeceNichols Real Estate celebrated the one-year anniversary of their joint project, Donuts for Do-Gooders, on April 14. Photo: Marissa Ventrelli, The Ottawa Herald
TOPEKA — A Kansas bill signed into law Thursday spans the gamut of tax policy, packaging more than two dozen measures amending property, sales and income tax laws. The massive House Bill 2239, backed by the Legislature and Gov.
Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Rogers found over $1 million during an unclaimed property search event at the Ottawa Price Chopper on April 5. According to Rogers, he was able to help Ottawans locate $5,052 in unclaimed property.
Neosho County Community College hosted a welding competition at the Regional Rural Technology Center in La Harpe on April 8. Fifty-two welders participated in the competition, including three NCCC students and 49 high school students from schools like Baldwin High School, Ottawa High School, West Franklin High School and Crest High School. Students took a written and skills test to determine the placings in the competition and were also able to meet and network with representatives from companies within the welding industry.
TOPEKA — Attorney General Derek Schmidt plans to promptly submit redrawn House and Senate district maps for review by the Kansas Supreme Court and recommend the justices affirm constitutionality of the new boundaries.
Psychologist Shawna Wright said only four of the state’s 105 counties have enough behavioral health professionals to meet demands of the population, and that shortage contributes to looping of mentally ill people in and out of the criminal justice system. “We need quality behavioral health care in Kansas regardless of geography,” she said. “We’re still very underserved.”
Pomona Lake Marina is hosting its second annual Kevin Clark Memorial Race to bring walkers, runners and bikers out to the lake in celebration of one of its biggest advocates. Kevin Clark lived in Gardner and spent much of his time at the Marina, where he enjoyed barefoot skiing – it’s like water skiing, but with your bare feet, and from what I’ve been told, it hurts.