October 2024

PAOLA – When Amanda Hambleton of Paola saw images of the devastation Hurricane Helene caused in Florida, Tennessee and North Carolina, she knew she had to find a way to help.She got connected with a fire department in North Carolina that was gathering supplies to be airlifted to small mountain communities devastated by flooding and storm damage.She started reaching out to friends and neighbors and collecting supplies right on her front porch.Paola community members were so generous that Amanda started to think, “what if we get the whole town involved?”That’s when she reached out to her friend Marcy Seaman, who owns Design 4 Sports in Paola.“Marcy took it to the next level,” Hambleton said.Seaman used social media to spread the word about the hurricane relief effort, and she opened up the Design 4 Sports showroom to store boxes of donated clothing, diapers, blankets, coats, medicine, food, water and other supplies.The items were all boxed and shipped to North Carolina, but shipping was not cheap.

OSAWATOMIE - Children perched themselves on the shoulders of parents, crowds of families lined the railroad tracks in Osawatomie, and eager viewers held up cellphones as they waited for the arrival of Union Pacific’s “Big Boy” steam locomotive.A distant whistle and puffs of steam rising above the horizon were the first clues that the historic steam locomotive No.

PAOLA – Roger Shipman was touring the new learning center inside Taylor Forge Engineered Systems during an open house Oct.