Willard Bridge Progress

Photos by George Brown

Thad Hess Obituary

Thad M. Hess, 40, passed away from injuries he received in an auto accident on Monday, June 27, 2016 near Topeka.

Thad was born June 1, 1976 in Topeka and grew up in the Rossville community where he graduated from high school.  He also graduated from Washburn University in Topeka.

Thad was employed as a supervisor for Koch and Company in Topeka.   He was a true family man and dearly loved his wife, children, granddaughter and all of his family.  He was compassionate about the NFL and was a New England Patriot fan.  NFL attire is encouraged for both the funeral and visitation.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents William and Margaret Hill.

On February 18, 2002 he was united in marriage to Amy Osborne in Topeka.  She survives of the home.

Other survivors include his mother, Janice Deiter, Rossville; three daughters, Ashley Sheats, Osage Beach, MO., Briannah and Clarysta Hess both of the home; his granddaughter, Adylynn Hess, of the home; his brother, William Scott “Billy” Hess, Rossville; Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and many friends.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 A.M. Saturday, July 2, 2016 at the Rossville Christian Church.  Interment will be in the Rossville Cemetery.  Thad will lie in state at Piper Funeral Home in St. Marys from 2:00 until 8:00 P.M. Friday, July 1, 2016 where the family will receive friends from 6:00 until 8:00 P.M.  Memorial contributions may be made to the Thad M. Hess Memorial Fund and sent in care of the U.S. Bank, P.O. Box 611, Rossville, Kansas 66533.

Condolences may be left at:  http://piperfuneralhome.com/obituaries/thad-m-hess/

Rattlers Lose A Pair

    The Rattlers lost both games Tuesday evening by scores of  4-3 and 8-5. 
    Rossville now heads to St. Joseph, Missouri for a  Wednesday evening game against the defending MINK League Champion Mustangs at 7:00 pm.

Helping the Hess Family

    There is a Go Fund Me site for helping the Thad Hess family at:
https://www.gofundme.com/2bm8u24

Thad Hess Killed In Collision (updated)

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – The Kansas Highway Patrol have now identified the two people killed in a fatal crash Monday morning in Shawnee County.

KHP says just after 6:00 a.m. a 2001 Dodge pickup driven by 16-year-old Daniel Jordan Warner was traveling north on K-4 Oakland Expressway when it went left of the center striking a 2002 GMC pickup heading southbound driven by 40-year-old Thad H. Hess of Rossville.

The highway patrol says Hess was wearing a seat belt however Warner was not.

The crash closed the Oakland Expressway for about five hours.

From the Capital-Journal:

Two people — including a 16-year-old boy — were killed early Monday in a two-vehicle, head-on crash on the Oakland Expressway just northeast of Topeka, officials said at the scene.

The driver of each truck was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. The drivers were alone in their vehicles.

The crash occurred about 6:15 a.m. and involved two pickup trucks that collided head-on near the north end of the Oakland Expressway on K-4 highway, about a half-mile south of the US-24 highway interchange.

The crash occurred at a point where the expressway curved slightly.

Lt. Adam Winters, of the Kansas Highway Patrol, said a red 2001 Dodge pickup truck traveling north on K-4 crossed the center line “for an unknown reason” and crashed head-on into a maroon 2002 GMC pickup truck southbound on the road.

The driver of the Dodge truck was identified as Daniel Jordan Warner, 16, of Topeka. The patrol said he wasn’t wearing a seat belt.

The driver of the GMC truck was identifed as Thad H. Hess, 40, of Rossville. The patrol said Hess was wearing a seat belt.

Winters said investigators were looking into whether fog that blanketed the area may have contributed to the crash.

K-4 highway, which travels over the Oakland Expressway, was closed for several hours between N.E. Seward Avenue and US-24 highway after the crash.

Crews from the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office, KDOT and the Soldier Township Fire Department responded to the scene.

The Oakland Expressway uses both a surface road and a long bridge to take motorists on K-4 from Interstate 70 on the south about 5 miles to US-24 on the north.

The two-lane expressway has been the site of other fatal crashes, including one on July 14, 2015, in which a 50-year-old Topeka woman was killed.

Other fatality crashes were reported in March 2012, May 2008, December 2004 and September 2003.

■ View video from the scene here: http://cjon.co/2922CLo

■ See an interview with Winter here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq4cy59GYQc.

Rattlers Vs Midwest A's Under Way (Updated)

     Game one of Tonights double header --  Rattlers vs Midwest A's --  is underway.
     A homerun by Tyler Eckberg puts the Rattlers up 3-0 after 1 inning.
     The Rattlers eventually lost this game 16-8
     There is video of this game at:   http://ksnt.com/2016/06/27/mid-plains-league-recap-from-june-27-2016/
     In game two,  the Rattlers won 8-6.

Monday Night Double Header

    Rattlers double header starting at 5 PM tonight! 
    Rattlers Vs Midwest A's at Joe Campbell Stadium.
    Concessions open at 6PM! See you there!

Dorothy Boise Passes Away

      Dorothy Madeline (Johnson) Boise  passed away June 23, 2016, at Rossville, Kansas.
      Dorothy was born February 26, 1921 in Wilkinson County, Mississippi, to Kossuth and Catherine Johnson. As a youth and young adult, Dorothy enjoyed participating in a number of sports. She excelled at basketball, softball, and enjoyed bowling and golf. She was also an avid bridge player and enjoyed participating in all the activities with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Dorothy has lived in Wichita since moving here in 1942. She took a job at the aircraft plant during WWII, and then joined the Internal Revenue Service from which she retired after 30 years. She was very active in her church and social activities. Dorothy and her husband were charter members of the Metropolitan Baptist church where she held her membership until 2009 when she moved to Drexel, Missouri, to live with her grandson. She moved with them to Rossville in 2011.
      She is preceded in death by her parents; two sisters, Grace and Lottie; her husband, Norris L. Boise; and daughter, Dorothy Carolyn Good. She is survived by her son-in-law, Floyd Good; three grandchildren, Tad and Deb Good, Tara Good, and Troy and Melissa Good. Dorothy has eight grandchildren, Michael, Gavin, Kristen, Tamalei, Kyla, Dalton, Gabe and Jett, as well as nine great- grandchildren.
      A Memorial service is scheduled for Friday, July 1, 2016, at Old Mission Mortuary Chapel with burial following in Old Mission Cemetery. Donations can be made to AseraCare-Kansas, 3320 Clinton Parkway Court, Suite 120, Lawrence, KS 66047 or to Oakley Place of Rossville, LLC, P.O. Box 4047, Topeka, KS 66615

Town Teams DVD Now Available

    The documentary movie "Town Teams: Bigger Than Baseball" can be purchased as a DVD.   To order,  go to:

https://squareup.com/store/TownTeamsDVD

Rattlers Defeat Brigade Sat. Night

    The recently hot  Rattlers defeated the Junction City Brigade on Sat night 13-3 at Joe Campbell Stadium.

Town Teams' Film At Mulvane, KS Festival

'Town Teams' will play a total of three times at the Doc Sunback Film Festival in Mulvane Kansas this weekend. Okay, it's not Sundance but I think some folks will enjoy the story just as well. :) Here's the show times for Town Teams: Bigger than Baseball:

Friday June 24 at 1:45 – Heart theater (300 W. Main St)
Friday June 24 at 7:00 pm – Heart theater
Saturday June 25 at 3:15 – diamond theater (101 E Main St)

Brigade Gets 11-7 Win In JC

    The Rattlers were ahead 7-5 after five innings at Rathbert Stadium Friday night,  but the Junction City Brigade scored 6 runs in the final four innings to prevail 11-7.
    The Brigade and Rattlers have another go at it Saturday night at Joe Campbell Stadium at 7:00.

Horak Named Male Athlete Of Year

From the Capital-Journal:

Rossville’s Tucker Horak was named the overall male athlete of the year for Shawnee County and also garnered outstanding fall male athlete honors after his historic 2015-16 sports season.

Horak was an immediate contributor from the moment he hit high school. But after a relatively quiet freshman year, the Bulldawg standout became a force in all three of his sports — football, basketball and baseball — earning all-league honors each of his last three seasons.

But it was football where he left his mark. After a huge junior season saw him lead Rossville to its first-ever state title, Horak produced an encore senior season for the ages. He became the first player in state history to rush and throw for more than 2,000 yards in the same season, and in leading the Bulldawgs to a second straight state title he finished his career ranked in the top 10 nationally for total offense.

“I would hope I set a good example for the young guys and helped set the foundation for the future of Rossville sports,” said Horak, a two-time All-State Top 11 selection. “My two brothers are coming up and I hope I was a good role model and they can be even more successful than I was. I hope me and the rest of my teammates did a good job of showing them the ropes and did everything we could do to keep the ball rolling here.”

Here is video from the Banquet.  http://ksnt.com/2016/06/23/area-athletes-recognized-at-shawnee-co-sports-banquet/

Semi Accident West Of Rossville

From the Capital-Journal:

A semi-trailer that rolled onto its side early Thursday afternoon resulted in an approximate 100-gallon diesel spill and the closure of US-24 highway in northwest Shawnee County, authorities said.

The crash was reported about 12:05 p.m. near N.W. 54th and US-24 highway, about a mile west of Rossville.

Kansas Department of Transportation spokeswoman Kimberly Qualls said US-24 is closed to both east- and westbound traffic at Arn Road as crews respond to the scene.

One person was reported to have been transported by American Medical Ambulance to a local hospital with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening.