Baker Earns All-America Honors in Three Events at Outdoor Track Nationals

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – 14 members of the Baker University men’s and women’s outdoor track & field team competed in the 2016 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships this weekend at the Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

The Wildcats came away with All-America honors in three different events. Which included a fourth-place finish from senior Josh Peck in the men’s discus with a throw of 54.93m.

Brenda McCollum also earned All-America in the women’s 5,000m race walk, as she finished in seventh-place in a time of 27.00.14

The men’s 4x400m relay team of Birdsong Warren, DayShawn Berndt, Jesse Mathews and Tyler Randall ended the meet in the finals of the 4x400.

The group of ‘Cats finished in a time of 3:14.60 good for seventh-place and another All-America award.

Also competing in Gulf Shores for Baker include Joe Linder who opened Saturday’s competition in the marathon, he took home 31 in a time of 3:03.30.

Cory Peoples competed in the hammer throw and didn’t record a mark, as he fouled out on his throws, while Ashley Riniker finished 22^nd in the javelin.

Alexandra Garbarino-Herman also took 22^nd in the women’s 400m hurdles and Jesse Mathews finished 15^th in the 400m hurdles.

DayShawn Berndt competed in the men’s 200m race and Gloria Mares also competed in the 200 on the women’s side and took home 12^th. Kailani Killebrew placed 25^th in the women’s long jump as well. While Greg Henning finished 20^th in the men’s long jump.

The Baker men’s team finished 41^st in the standings, while the women finished 59^th.

Memorial Day Service American Legion Post 228

Baldwin City American Legion Post 228, will be holding a Memorial Day Service at 10:00 am at Oak Wood Cemetery.  In case of bad weather the service will be held inside at the post home 803 High St.  We will have the ringing of the memorial bell for the remembrance of loved ones that have passed.  

Obituary: Eula Margueritte Wright

EULA MARGUERITTE  (ADMIRE) WRIGHT, 95, of Baldwin City, Kansas passed away peacefully, Tuesday, May 24, 2016, at Wellsville Retirement Community, Wellsville, KS. 

Eula was born February 4, 1921 in Tuscumbia, Missouri, the daughter of Lewis Edward Admire and Rosa May (Roberts) Admire.  She graduated from Tuscumbia High School, Class of 1938.  Then, she completed one year of college at Missouri State Teacher's College in Warrensburg, Missouri. Eula taught one year in a one room school house in Aurora, MO in 1939.

Eula was united in marriage Chester "Chet" Wright on August 17, 1940 in Versailles, MO.  They shared over 75 years of marriage. He preceded her in death on March 23, 2016.

While Chet was serving our country in World War II, Eula worked at Sunflower Ammunition Plant in De Soto, KS. Later, after having moved to Baldwin City, KS, she provided childcare in her home from 1967 to 1987. During this time, she became the first licensed daycare provider in Douglas County, KS.

Eula was a devoted homemaker that cherished her family and children. During retirement, Eula and Chet loved to travel the western half of the United States in their R.V., especially the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Eula was also preceded in death by her parents; four siblings, Lawrence Admire, Clara Campbell, Orville Admire, and Doratha Small.

Eula was survived by three sons, Ronald H. Wright and wife, Brenda, of Cloudcroft, New Mexico, Larry Wright, of Alamorgordo, NM, and Gregory L. Wright and wife, Sheryl, of Wellsville, KS; four grandsons, Lance, Andy, Jon, and Chris Wright; two granddaughters, Rebecca Carlton and Monica Lemon; eleven great-grandchildren; two brothers, Coral Admire, Kerrville, Texas and Kenneth Admire, Columbia, South Carolina; and a sister, Marie Sawyer, Lawrence, KS.

Graveside services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at Oakwood Cemetery, Baldwin City, KS. A Celebration of Life will be held following the graveside services at The Lodge, 502 Ames St., Baldwin City. The family suggests memorial contributions to Wellsville Retirement Community c/o Lamb-Roberts Funeral Home, P.O. Box 64, Baldwin City, KS 66006. Condolences may be sent to family through www.lamb-roberts.com. 

Baker Track Coach Ryan Pitts Selected USTFCCA Regional Coach of the Year

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Baker University head track & field coach Ryan Pitts has been named to the 2016 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Men’s Outdoor Track & Field South Central Region Coach of the Year.

In just his first season as head coach, Pitts led Baker to a Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship in the men’s indoor and outdoor track & field championships, the fifth and sixth-straight team championships respectively.

He was also named the Heart men’s indoor and outdoor track & field coach of the year in 2016.

In the 2016 Heart men’s outdoor track & field championship, Baker posted 178.5 points for the league title and earned three individual conference champions and 19 All-Conference performers. Baker finished the regular season as the top-ranked team in the South Central.

Baker will now compete in Gulf Shores, Alabama in the 2016 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships with 14 total athletes.

Baldwin City American Legion Post 228 Honors Jardon

Commander Bob Russell of Post 228, presents Past State Commander Marvin Jardon his 60 year certificate.  Marvin is a Korean Veteran.  He was the State commander for 1971-1972 membership year.

Prairie View Teacher Arrested for Alleged Sex Acts with Student

La Cygne - A teacher at Prairie View High School in rural La Cygne was arrested on the last day of school this past Thursday (May 19, 2016). According to reports English teacher and girls head basketball coach Keaton M. Krell, 31 was arrested for alleged sex acts.  Though no charges had been filed as of this report, the sheriff, Paul Filla, said a judge had already signed off on the evidence presented as sufficient to hold Krell in custody pending charges. According to the sheriffs office, the crime cited is "unlawful sexual relations" A statute that refers to the victim being at least 16 and the offender having some kind of position of authority, when the act of sex, fondling and/or touching occurred.  At press time it was not clear, if it was one or several students.
The sheriff department notified the school of the situation, and school officials removed Krell from the classroom to the principals office, so that students didn't see the arrest. 

Bayless Family Home Build Moves Into Third Week

The Habitat for Humanity home being built at 11th and Freemont has moved into week number three. The walls are up as are the trusses and volunteers are busing laying the roofing's underlayment. Experienced volunteers work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. While general volunteers work on Saturday's between 8:30 to 3 P.M.  The Bayless family consists of Josh, Alicia and their three kids Cody, Alison and Jason.
On Saturday May 21, 2016 Alicia and her daughter Alison said that they were very eager to be able to get into their own home.  

Senate Bill Threatens Neurofibromatosis Research

Over the past few weeks, we here have the Gazette have been bringing you stories about a little known condition known as Neurofibromatosis (NF). A condition that currently has no known cure.  Today, we are looking at the possibility of Congress hindering research of finding a cure.
We were first made aware of this in emails and Facebook postings from Neurofibromatosis Networks that we are members of.

SENATE BILL THREATENS NEUROFIBROMATOSIS RESEARCH
The Senate will soon consider the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (S. 2943). The Senate bill includes language that, if passed, would severely restrict the types of medical research that could be funded by the Department of Defense and would serve a devastating blow to NF research. Contact your Senators and urge them to oppose Sections 756 and 898 of the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.

This got us thinking, so we began to explore these two sections to see what they said.

Sec. 756. Prohibition on conduct of certain medical research and development projects.
Sec. 898. Improved transparency and oversight over Department of Defense research, development, test, and evaluation efforts and procurement activities related to medical research.

- GovTrack 

However, some that do not suffer from any of the medical conditions affected by research by the Department of Defense, has a different view.  For them, like the Heritage Foundation  , it is just dollars and cents, not real lives.

The Defense Department has the largest research and development budget of the federal government, equaling roughly $70 billion a year. While the vast majority of this amount goes toward developing advanced military systems or technologies that have battlefield applications, each year, the DOD spends money on various projects that have no reason to be funded from the defense budget. In many cases, these projects are already being funded by other federal departments. Congress is unfortunately a significant part of the problem. Congress regularly adds hundreds of millions of dollars to research unrelated medical issues or popular agenda items, like alternative energy, that are not related to the combat mission of the military. Congress should preserve DOD research funds for efforts that directly impact the military mission.

- Heritage Foundation

In their eyes, it's not related to defense, so it has no need to be researched. At least not by the defense department. Their opinion posted online lacks the compassion that one should consider in an issue such as this.

It is the opinion of this paper and the owners that every avenue should be taken to find cures diseases currently being researched by the Medical Research arm of the Department of Defense, including NF.  We would like to encourage you to use the following link to send an email/letter to your senator. 

Senior Mix - "A Day at the Beach"

The Baldwin City Community Senior Mix will meet at noon on Wednesday, June 8 for their annual "picnic." Those attending are asked to bring a covered dish entree to share at the common table. The event will be held in Fellowship Hall of the Ives Chapel United Methodist Church, 1018 Miami, Baldwin City at 12 o'clock noon. The theme is "A Day at the Beach." Mixers may wear their clam diggers, Hawaiian shirts, sunglasses, straw hat, sandals or carry their sand-bucket, sunscreen and umbrella! (Or come as they wish and enjoy the meal and fellowship time together.) If desired, Mixers are asked to bring a seashell with a story or be prepared to share a funny incident from a family vacation. All seniors from "55 to 105" in the Baldwin community/area are welcome! 

Upcoming Events

Here are the events that we have been reported to the Gazette as of May 21, 2016.

4th Thursday of every month:

  Mobile Food Pantry 

  First come, First Serve

  10 - 11:00 a.m.

Baldwin City New Life Assembly of God 

118 5th Street  

Baldwin City, KS 66006

785-594-3045

May 26, 2016
Ribbon Cutting - Dance Cafe
housed within the Academy of Dance and Voice
711 High Street
4:30-6 P.M. 

 June 3, 2016
Citywide Garage Sale

June 8, 2016

The Baldwin City Community Senior Mix will meet at noon on Wednesday, June 8 for their annual "picnic." Those attending are asked to bring a covered dish entree to share at the common table. The event will be held in Fellowship Hall of the Ives Chapel United Methodist Church, 1018 Miami, Baldwin City at 12 o'clock noon. The theme is "A Day at the Beach." Mixers may wear their clam diggers, Hawaiian shirts, sunglasses, straw hat, sandals or carry their sand-bucket, sunscreen and umbrella! (Or come as they wish and enjoy the meal and fellowship time together.) If desired, Mixers are asked to bring a seashell with a story or be prepared to share a funny incident from a family vacation. All seniors from "55 to 105" in the Baldwin community/area are welcome!

 June 18th, 2016
Pistons 'N' Pin Ups Car Show

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 2016 Baldwin City Blues Home Schedule
 

Date	Opponent	Location	Game Times
Tuesday, June 07, 2016	Sabetha Lobos	Home	5 P. M. & 7 P.M. (Double Hitter)
Friday, June 10, 2016	Independence Veterans	Home	5 P. M. & 7 P.M. (Double Hitter)
Saturday, June 11, 2016	Independence Veterans	Home	7 P.M.
Tuesday, June 14, 2016	Junction City Brigade	Home	5 P. M. & 7 P.M. (Double Hitter)
Friday, June 17, 2016	Midwest A's	Home	5 P. M. & 7 P.M. (Double Hitter)
Saturday, June 18, 2016	Midwest A's	Home	7 P.M.
Tuesday, June 21, 2016	Rossville Rattlers	Home	5 P. M. & 7 P.M. (Double Hitter)
Tuesday, June 28, 2016	Topeka Golden Giants	Home	5 P. M. & 7 P.M. (Double Hitter)
Friday, July 08, 2016	Liberty Monarchs	Home	5 P. M. & 7 P.M. (Double Hitter)
Saturday, July 09, 2016	Liberty Monarchs	Home	7 P.M.

All home games will be played at the Baldwin City Parks and Recreation Fields at 100 Bullpup Drive.
 

WOMEN'S GOLF: Dillingham, Mateer Named NAIA Scholar-Athletes

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Two members of the Baker University women’s golf team earned the prestigious 2016 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete award, announced at the NAIA National Championship in Pooler, Georgia this week.

The two Wildcats are senior Lindsey Mateer and junior Kaci Dillingham. Mateer becomes a two-time Scholar-Athlete, as she earned the honor last year as well.

Mateer is a three-time Heart Conference Player of the Year and became the first-ever Baker golfer to be named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team. In her four years as a Baker golfer, she was named Heart of America Athletic Conference Golfer of the Week, 13 times.

Dillingham became the first Baker women’s golfer to hit a hole-on-one since 2013, when she knocked in the 11^th hole at the Table Creek Golf Course in Peru, Nebraska back in April.

Baseball/Softball Regional Tournaments Postponed

Baldwin City, KS - Due to the wet field conditions, yesterday's high school baseball and softball regional tournaments was postponed.

SOFTBALL will be played today, Wednesday May 18

Tournament will be played in Abilene as originally scheduled

4pm  Baldwin v. Wamego

5:30pm  Ottawa v. Abilene

7pm  Championship Game

BASEBALL has been moved to Thursday May 19

Tournament will be played in Baldwin as originally scheduled

2pm  Ottawa v. De Soto

4pm  Baldwin v. Eudora

6pm  Championship Game

Faces of Neurofibromatosis

Throughout the month of May we have been running a series of articles of Neurofibromatosis (NF), since this National NF Awareness Month. However, to is International NF Awareness Day, we are posting just a few of the Faces of NF. Today May 17th is World Neurofibromatosis Day.

Anna Hunter, Overland Park, KS

Anna Hunter, 18, has NF1. She does well in school and expects to finish college a year early with a degree in Psychology. Beside the Cafe-a-late spots and armpit freckling, NF affects her sense of direction among some other items.

Joyce Jeter, Independence, MO

Joyce Jeter was bullied on Facebook, when she joined a Facebook fan page.  However, the bullies were removed from the fan group and their comments were deleted. Other fans rallied around her started a GoFundMe™ campaign to raise money to buy her Royals Tickets. Enough cash was raised that they were able to give her a 2016 season pass. Plus $800 that was left over to buy herself a used car.

Nicole Servos, Fontana

Nicole Servos has NF 2 and lost her hearing because of the condition. Her story is part of the weekly series, appearing each Monday in May. Her story will be published in the Gazette next Monday.

Kevin Surbaugh, Baldwin City

Kevin Surbaugh, grew up in nearby La Cygne and is the editor and publisher of the Baldwin City Gazette. He has had NF tumors as long as he can remember. He also has scoliosis which is often related to NF, has several brain tumors and several nodules on his left eye.

NF Tumors

Rezoning and Security Updates Top Council Agenda

Mayor Marilyn Pearse called the May 16, 2016 City Council meeting to order. Councilwoman Kathy Gerstner was absent.
After approving the consent agenda, the council began discussion of it's second reading of ordinance 1342, the rezoning of 1708 High Street.  Councilman David Simmons reiterated his concern from the last meeting, in that he was opposed to rezoning the address in question. While one property is zoned industrial on one side, it is residential on three other sides. With one of those three sides being the school.  He felt it would encourage pocket industrial parks, which he did not want to see next to the school.  He also felt the zoning change would hurt property values.
Councilwoman Christi Darnell wondered if there was a better zoning. Perhaps a conditional use permit.  Mayor Pearse reminded the council that they can only consider the recommendation of the planning commission by either approving, denying or sending it back to the commission.
 Council members Tony Brown and Steve Bauer said that they were in support of it and the new business coming to town. Bauer then moved for approval, with Brown seconding. With Gerstner absent the council vote was tied so the mayor broke the tie by voting in favor of the rezoning, allowing the motion to pass 3-2.
The council also heard about proposed security updates at city hall, which would include a window being added so that someone couldn't jump over the counter. Councilman Brown moved that the council approve the bid of $32,697. The motion carried 4-0.
There was no need for an executive session resulting in the meeting to adjourn at 7:48 P.M.

Nichole Servos - Life with Neurofibromatosis Type 2

FONTANA KS - Nichole Servos, 40, was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis (NF) at the age of eight (8). According to Servos, she had a few skin tumors that required medical attention. Before her diagnosis, her parents had never heard of NF. She says no other family members were known to have had NF, and thus their family doctor told them it was a  non-threatening/non-life changing disorder.
Servos tells the Gazette,

Nicole Servos
Photographer Kevin Surbaugh

My childhood years were lived as any other normal childhood, with NF never in the forefront of our minds. At the age of 16 that world drastically changed, recovering from a severe case of pneumonia I lost hearing in my left ear which never returned upon full recovery. After a battery of tests it was discovered that I had several brain tumors (acoustic neuromas). One of which had already claimed it's price and would need to be removed with another needing action to keep it from staking its own claim. By the age of 18, NF had created a new chapter in my life leaving me completely Deaf to sound and looking for ways to fit into both the hearing and Deaf worlds. Despite what claims NF had taken I continued to live a leading and fulfilling life, living on my own attending college, as well as marring my high school sweetheart!

Servos said that for 13 years NF spared her and laid "dormant" in my life and then threw another curve-ball shortly after her 30th birthday. She said she began to have facial weakness on the left side, the cause, the brain tumor which had already been removed and staked its claim on her hearing had returned and claimed the left side of her face, with another waiting in the wings to claim the right side.  According to her, NF brought a rash of procedures and hospitalizations, six brain surgeries within a time span of one and half years that left her literally expressionless. However, NF didn't stop there. It's latest claim was her spine, with several tumors on and in her spinal column, which also needed extensive surgery and rehab that left her with a little hitch in her step.
In conclusion Servos said,

What claim NF has had on my face I've been fortunate enough and blessed to have been able to find the right doctors to bring my "smile" back. NF has claimed the sound from my life, put a hitch in my step, and has taken the smile from my face but will never take the smile from my heart as it looks it looks to the future in hopes that one day a cure can be found for me and others like me who live with NF.
Some people would say living with NF is a struggle. Sure there are days it may be hard but I've always thought of my life with NF as a journey. Never know what tomorrow will bring so live life to its fullest, I define me, who I am, what I can or can't do, not what NF limits me.

Note:  Why did we capitalize the word Deaf in our article above? There is a rule, but it is a rule in the Deaf Community, and most Hearing do not know about it. It is a rule that is not based on English grammar. It is an obscure nod to Deaf people.

Editor's Note:  Servos is currently the President of the NF Central Plains.