Page 2 V V V THE GAZETTE , EMPORIA , KANSAS V V V Friday , August 5 , 2016

FoR THE RECORD : The information at right is from the National Weather Service .

WEATHER

Police & Sheriff

Incidents Reported Police Wednesday Lost property , 500 Mechanic

St ., 11:40 a . m . Disorderly conduct , 1500 W .

6th Ave ., 12:57 p . m . Agency assist , KTA , 4:35 p . m . Traffic stop , W . 6th Ave . and

State St ., 9:47 p . m . Dog to go , 1200 Hatcher St .,

10:14 p . m . Fight in progress , 1200 West

St ., 10:24 p . m . Thursday Traffic stop , 2900 W . Hwy . 50 ,

4:48 a . m . Sheriff Wednesday Agency assist , 500 Rural St .,

2:34 p . m . Search warrant served , 100 E .

9th Ave ., 3:05 p . m . Escape custody , 400 Mechanic

St ., 4:13 p . m . Family disturbance , 1800 Road

F5 , 11:19 p . m . Thursday Hit and run accident , 1700

Road 175 , 7:58 a . m . Thefts & Vandalism Police

Wednesday Burglary , 2000 W . 6th Ave .,

9:47 a . m . Burglary , 900 East St ., 12:17 p . m .

Animals

Pet Patrol

To report a lost or found pet , call the Humane Society at 342-4477 , 8:30 a . m . - 4:30 p . m ., Monday - Friday . Animal emergency For a nuisance animal or animal in need of care , call the Emporia Police Department , 343-4200 , or the Lyon County Sheriff ’ s Office , 342-5545 . Emporia Animal Shelter Arrangements to claim or adopt pets at the animal shelter , 1216 Hatcher St ., can be made by calling 340-6345 between 11 a . m . and 3 p . m . Saturday - Wednesday . Emporia Veterinary Hospital Pets may be up for adoption at the Emporia Veterinary Hospital : 342-6515 .

Disc golf clinic

Lottery

For the latest winning numbers : kslottery . com

First Baptist Church is holding an all-ages , all-abilities disc golf clinic from 6 - 7:30 p . m . Sunday at Jones Park ( look for the tents ). Five World and National Disc Golf champions will be on hand to show participants how to play with skill and there will be prizes and giveaways at the free event .

Rubber Ducky Races

Race rubber ducks in the lazy river Saturday at the Jones Aquatic Center and win a prize , including 2017 JAC Punch cards , swim toys , concession items and more . It ’ s $ 2 per duck and the fun begins at 1:45 p . m . Information : emporiarec . org , 340-6400 .

Library closed

The Emporia Public Library will be closed today , Saturday and Sunday for annual maintenance and carpet cleaning . The library will reopen 9 a . m . Monday .

No materials are due during this three-day period but patrons may return materials to one of the outside book returns located in the east parking lot . No donations please . For more information , contact Robin Newell at 340- 6464 .

Lyon County Fair

Friday ’ s fair events include swine weigh-in , 3 - 6 p . m .; Meat goats weigh-in , 7 - 8 p . m . and Sheep weigh-in , 8 - 8:30 p . m . The carnival opens at 6 p . m . and the ranch rodeo is at 7 p . m . in the main arena .

Saturday is beef weigh-in ( 7 - 8 a . m .), followed by 4-H animal shows at 8 a . m ., 9:30 a . m . and 6 p . m . Open class entries are due at 8 a . m .; the exhibits open at 5:30 p . m . Gates open at 6 p . m . for the Phil Vassar concert .

The fairgrounds are located at the corner of 12th Avenue and Industrial Road .

Recognize veterans

ABOUT Town

The Associated Press

A county official said Thursday that enough signatures were gathered to allow a grand jury to criminally investigate Secretary of State Kris Kobach ’ s handling of Kansas ’ online voter registration system . But even Kobach ’ s harshest critics say they have seen no evidence he committed a crime .

The petition seeks a grand jury investigation into whether the Republican ’ s office committed election fraud and voter registration suppression by deleting registration data or obstructing delivery of voter applications to county election officials . The petition was filed last month by Steven X . Davis , a Democrat who believes a grand jury is the only way to get credible evidence .

Kobach didn ’ t immediately return messages for comment .

Kansas is among six states that allow grand juries by citizen petition . Kansas ’ law has been rarely used in the last decade , and when it has , petition backers have targeted abortion clinics or sellers of alleged pornography .

Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew said Davis ’ petition had the required number of verified signatures . The next step is to send it to the county ’ s top judge for a standard review .

The American Civil Liberties Union and the League of Women Voters — both suing Kobach over voting rights issues — said they haven ’ t seen evidence of criminal conduct

The Emporia Area Visitors Bureau is collecting veteran ’ s profiles to recognize veterans during the All Veterans Tribute . The deadline is Oct . 1 for inclusion in print materials . For a Veteran ’ s Profile Form , contact the Chamber & Visitors Bureau at 800-279-3730 , 342-1803 or visitors @ emporiakschamber . org .

Board members sought

The Humane Society of the Flint Hills is currently seeking dedicated individuals to serve on the Board of Directors . The Board is responsible for the management of the Emporia Animal Shelter and the care of the animals . This is a working board . Board members are expected to attend monthly meetings as well as attend and participate in fundraising functions . Those who are interested and feel they can be of benefit are invited to call the office at 342-4477 .

Farmers Market Saturday

The Emporia Farmers Market opens at 8 a . m . Saturday in the parking lot at Seventh Avenue and Merchant Street . A variety of fresh , locally grown produce will be available , as well as plants , baked goods , crafts and more . Learn more at www . emporiafarmersmarket . org .

Chiefs tickets benefit ERC

The Lee Beran Recreation Center is selling tickets to Kansas City Chiefs games as a fundraiser . Seats are available for Aug . 13 ( Seahawks ), Sep . 1 ( Packers ), Sep . 11 ( Chargers ), Nov . 6 ( Jaguars ), Nov . 20 ( Buccaneers ) and Dec . 18 ( Titans ).

Tickets prices are $ 45 ; $ 10 will go to the Center . For an additional $ 30 , ride a chartered bus to the Sep . 11 game . Information : 340-6300 or emporiarec . org .

Road closing

at his office . The league contends that Kansas ’ proof of citizenship requirement is “ bad law ,” but co-president Marge Ahrens said the group hasn ’ t alleged that Kobach ’ s conduct is criminal .

Davis said he also hasn ’ t seen evidence of criminal wrongdoing , but was advised when he recently ran for the Kansas Legislature not to use the state ’ s online system for voter registration drives because submitted applications are often lost . The Kansas Democratic Party acknowledged that it discourages the use of the online form for registration drives .

Cheyenne Davis , the party ’ s field and political director , said it the party has had “ dozens ” of complaints from people who used the online system and later discovered their names weren ’ t added to voter rolls or to a list of incomplete applications . She said the online system may be faulty , but she doesn ’ t believe there was criminal intent .

The petition ’ s validation marks another headache for Kobach , whose office is already embroiled in at least four lawsuits over Kansas ’ voter registration laws , including two challenging the requirement that residents prove their U . S . citizenship when registering to vote at motor vehicle offices .

In Kansas , citizens can call a grand jury after collecting signatures equivalent to 2 percent of votes cast in a county in the last gubernatorial election , plus 100 . The petition had 925 valid signatures , more than the 860 required .

Lyon County Highway Department is closing Road F between U . S . Highway 56 and Road 370 ( this is for 2.5 miles going north of 56 ). It will be closed today through Aug . 19 . Workers are replacing a timber crossroad culvert with a precast concrete box .

obituaries

Karen Buckbee passed away August 1 , 2016 . She was born August 18 , 1945 .

Karen is survived by her husband , Harold Buckbee ; her daughter , Debbie Schlesner ; her grandchildren , Chad , Shila , Dakota , Rodney , Justin , and Tyler ; and several great grandchildren .

She is preceded in death by her children , Bill Cone , Scott Cone , and Brenda Urton .

Memorial services will be held Friday , August 5 at 2:00 in the Allen Recreation Center .

By John Robinson john @ emporia . com

The Lyon County Commission approved the 2017 Lyon County budget for publication during an action session Thursday .

“ As you can see with all the appropriations entered currently the mill levy is up 1.98 mills ,” County Controller Dan Williams said . “ From 58.619 to 60.599 .”

The mill levy arrived at that mark after commissioners agreed to buy into a 5 percent healthcare increase during the July 28 action session .

The appropriations given by the county total around $ 2 million in the budget . That figure is around $ 51,000 less than it was in 2016 .

According to Williams , a lot of the budget process was built around working around a tax lid which will be implemented in 2018 . When asked by Commissioner Dan Slater if , hypothetically , the 2017 budget would have been under the lid , Williams said he imagines it would be close .

“ Hypothetically , it is hard to tell ,” Williams said . “... We would have been right there . We would have had to trim some but I don ’ t think we ’ d have to trim a whole lot .”

John Robinson / Gazette

Dan Williams , county controller , presents the budget to the Lyon County Commission for publication approval .

Slater expressed frustration with creating a budget when there are financial uncertainties at the state level .

“ So we ’ re forced to — instead of doing our job the best we can — we ’ re forced to play the state ’ s games which aren ’ t working too well for the state ,” Slater said . “ They missed their revenue by a substantial amount .”

Williams said it was similar to trying to hit a “ rolling , moving target .”

“ By this plan and the way we have our cash set up ,” Williams said . “ We really shouldn ’ t have any issues unless something catastrophic happens .

“ We don ’ t have any major projects coming in next year , we don ’ t have electrical grid , we don ’ t have Anderson Building . I think we need to be cognizant of holding as much of that money back because that will be our saving grace .”

Commissioners approved the publication of the budget by a 3-0 vote .

“ I think you ’ ve ( Williams ) done a great job on this budget ,” Commissioner Scott Briggs said .

The commission meets for an action session at 8 a . m . Thursday with 9:45 a . m . being the time for public comment .

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