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Author: Hutch Post Staff

USD 308 School Board to hear continuous improvement report for HMS-7

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson USD 308 School Board will visit HMS-7 as part of its continued policy to hold agenda session at the school presenting its continuous improvement report.

Along with the report from Principal Nate Henry, the board will give consideration to several class additions to the high school curriculum. Some of the classes offered include applied math, psychology and study of the Vietnam era, and a class entitled The Civil War.

Also, the board will consider the purchase of new security cameras for the Mid-Town building, which is the former Town Club. The cost of the system from C and C is $46,865. Finally, the board will take action on the refinancing of bonds from the $78.8 million facilities improvement bond issue passed in 2007. The 20-year bonds are scheduled to be repaid in 2027.

Monday’s meeting of the Hutchinson USD 308 School Board begins at 6 p.m. at Hutchinson Middle School 7 at 210 E. Avenue A.

Buhler school board will consider adding swimming to athletic program

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BUHLER, Kan. — The Buhler USD 313 School Board will hear a proposal that could add another sport to its athletic program.

The high school has expressed interest in starting a boys and girls swim team for next year. The program would join Central Christian and Hutchinson High School with swimming teams in the area.

The board will get the proposal and a rundown of costs, estimated at $11,000 per year, for the two programs.

Also Monday, the board will consider healthier diet options for the district’s concession stands. The menu is necessary if the district wants to take advantage of certain grants for concession equipment and related items. The district will still have the usual goodies that are a part of sporting events.

Monday’s meeting of the Buhler USD 313 School Board begins at 6 p.m. in the Buhler district offices.

Aaron’s closes Hutchinson store

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A rent-to-own business has closed its doors in Hutchinson.

Aaron’s recently shut its doors and has moved all of its Hutchinson business to a location in Wichita. The Wichita store will handle all of the current Hutchinson accounts. A sign on the door said that the store closed. The sign told customers that all business was being handled by the Wichita store.

Attempts to contact Aaron’s corporate offices in Atlanta were not answered or returned.

 

 

Half of Aaron’s storefront sign rests on the concrete in front of an empty building.

Five teens raise $10K for domestic violence victims

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — It started at First Presbyterian Church in Hutchinson. Five Buhler High School students set out to raise awareness and help victims of domestic violence. The students have helped a Hutchinson agency make a difficult situation better.

In February, Maggie McLean, Libby Schultz, Lacie Branscom, Maggie Epp and Bailey Harner were assigned a student passion project. They chose the BrightHouse shelter, which is the safe house for domestic violence victims. With the help of their church and others, the five were able to raise $10,000. That money is being used to make improvements at the shelter.

BrightHouse Director Donna Davis said, “At first they were looking to raise $500.” That changed quickly when the group surpassed that goal. “After that, they thought they might do better. They were hoping to raise $3,000,” Davis said.

The total quickly grew to $10,000. Davis says the money is being used for new carpeting, ceiling fans in the bedrooms, new paint, new window treatment and new bedding, along with other renovations. Davis says it has been amazing. “These girls are phenomenal. Their leadership and their passion and their forward thinking. They’re going to change things for people in the community.”

At Buhler High School, English teacher Greg Froese is equally impressed with the girls’ efforts. “I’ve been so happy with the outpouring of support,” Froese said. “These girls have poured their heart and soul into this.” The student passion project is a requirement of all juniors and seniors at Buhler High School, according to Froese.

BrightHouse, formally known as the Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Center, began in 1976 as the Rape Center. In 2017, the organization served 415 victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking. Additionally, BrightHouse sheltered 81 people from abusers — including 33 children — and helped coordinate safe child/parent visitation for 120 children through its Child Visitation and Exchange Center program.

Two Hutchinson residents killed in Arkansas accident

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HARRISON, Ark. — Two rural Hutchinson residents have been confirmed as the ones killed in a three-vehicle accident in Arkansas Tuesday afternoon.

Seventy-two-year-old Fred Dugger and his wife, 70-year-old Diane Dugger, were confirmed as the victims using dental records at the Arkansas State Crime Lab.

Arkansas state police report that 51-year-old Trevor McGehee of Mountain Home, Arkansas, was eastbound on Highway 62. He stopped to wait for a vehicle in front of him to turn left onto Keeter Loop.

The driver of a third car, a minor who was not identified, hit McGehee’s vehicle from behind, forcing it into the path of Dugger’s westbound motorhome.

The motorhome hit the car, then left the roadway before it hit a mobile home and burst into flames. The Duggers were unable to escape from the vehicle. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

The accident happened around 4:20 p.m., five miles east of Harrison, or about 40 miles south of Branson, Missouri.

Five officers sworn into Hutchinson Police Department

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A special ceremony was held today to swear in five new officers at the Hutchinson Police Department.

The new officers are Airen Maxwell, Sandra Hernandez, Edward Gibson, Brayden Wells and James Vieyra.

The department also swore in two new 911 dispatchers: Alicia Trussell and Caylyn Hobbs. Nine others were sworn in as service officers. These officers will perform non-enforcement duties, such as filling out reports and other volunteer work.

The sworn officers have undergone three weeks of training at the department and will now head to the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center for 14 more weeks of training.

Following graduation, the officers will go through two weeks of in-house training then 14 weeks of field training.

Reffner’s opening again in Hutchinson with a different twist

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — There are some new stores opening up in the downtown area and one of them has a very familiar name.

Reffner’s will open in the old Sport Shack building. According to Chelsey Dawson from the Chamber of Commerce, the store is expected to open May 1.

The store will be operated by Brian Reffner. He is the son of Denny Reffner, the original owner of what was Reffner’s Sporting Goods located at 2nd and Main. While the store carries the Reffner name, it will have a different look. “We won’t be selling any shoes or such,” Reffner said. Instead, the store will offer licensed college and pro sports apparel, along with apparel for area high schools.

“We just felt it was something in the area that needed to be filled,” Reffner said. The store will also offer corporate embroidery and screen printing for companies and events.

The original Reffner’s closed in 1996 after 31 years in business.

 

McPherson refinery work boosts area economy

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HUTCHINSON — They are using hotel rooms, buying products and filling up the state fair campground.

Photo courtesy of McPherson CVB.

The four-year turnaround is underway at the CHS Refinery in McPherson and the city of Hutchinson is benefiting. The turnaround is a complete retrofitting and maintenance project that brings hundreds of workers to the area. Some local retailers are seeing an increase in business with the project.

“We are working to get guys clothing and boots,” William Long of Long’s said. “It has been a nice boost to the economy.”

He says the increase in business caught them by surprise.

“I wish we had known about it earlier, we would have been ready,” Long added.

The turnaround is also bringing a lot of business to the Kansas State Fair RV Park. Non-fair events Manager Nathan McClanahan says they have just 60 full-service RV sites left out of 211. With the Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale approaching, it will make for a very busy time. McClanahan says they will use the overflow camping on the grounds.

“We’re going to get creative, but we’ll make it work,” McClanahan said.

A one-month stay at the RV park is $510.

At Giant Laundry, 5th and Adams, piles of clothing are filling up the area as workers try to keep up with the extra business. They report doing as much as 500 pounds of laundry in a single day. Hutchinson City Manager John Deardoff says it will be a month or two before the city knows the amount of extra revenue being generated, but says you can see the increase in activity around the area. Hotels, restaurants and other businesses are all benefiting from the large increase in workers at the refinery.

New phone scam going around

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County Sheriff’s Department says there is a new twist on one of the more frequently-attempted phone scams in the area.

The caller claims to be from a sister company of “Microsoft and Apple.” The scammer says the company is going out of business and tells the potential victim they are due a refund. In a call reported to the sheriff’s office, the scammer mentioned recent computer work and told the woman who took the call a refund was coming her way. The scammer told the woman she would be fined $250 if she didn’t respond with the necessary contact information to send the refund. The woman told the scammer to mail the refund, but the caller insisted he needed a bank account number.

This is obviously a scam. The sheriff’s department wants Reno County citizens to be aware this is not a legitimate offer.

Microsoft and Apple don’t share a sister company. A refund would be sent through the mail. Be wary of callers asking for your bank account number. No one that is owed a refund would be penalized monetarily if they failed to collect that refund.

Grandstand tickets presale Thursday

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — It seems hard to believe, but the Kansas State Fair will begin the presale of tickets for grandstand entertainment starting Thursday.

The fair kicks off Sept. 6 with Bobby Bones and the Raging Idiots. The fair sent out an email to ticket buyers who previously purchased tickets through Etix. Previous buyers with that email can follow the link provided by the fair and begin purchasing tickets Tuesday, April 2.

Fairgoers can snag tickets early by signing up for an early bird promo. Click here to sign up now. The deadline for early registration is Wednesday, April 3, at 8 a.m. Tickets will then be available for presale on Thursday, April 4, from 8 a.m. to 11:59 a.m.

For those purchasing tickets with Etix for the first time, tickets will be available Friday through the fair’s website.

For more information, contact the state fair ticket office at 620-669-3618 or go to kansasstatefair.com.

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Presale tickets will be available Thursday. Tickets will be made available to the general public on Friday. However, fairgoers who used Etix last year received a special email from the fair and can use that link to buy tickets Tuesday, April 2.

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