Young Woman Arrested In Rossville

From the Rossville Police Facebook Page:
      On October 17th, 2017 the Rossville Police Dept. received a phone call from a concerned City utility employee about a young lady that was not acting correctly. He stated that this person had entered a house that was being cleaned by the landlord’s employees. The young lady tried to enter the property without permission and was acting as if she was under the influence of an illegal narcotic. The landlord’s employees notified a close by City employee about the behavior of this young woman.
      Officers from the RPD and SLPD responded to the area of Main and Pottawatomie streets to locate the young lady. Officers located her in the 400 blk of Spruce St. From the way the young lady was acting it was clear that she was under the influence of a narcotic drug and was not being rational. She was arrested for pedestrian under the influence of drugs and transported the Shawnee County Jail where she was released to their custody.
      After the fact we started receiving complaints on this individual all throughout the community; one in particular is where this person made contact with a mother and her children while walking on Main St. This person picked up one of her children and started walking the other direction while the mother was taking care of one of her other children. The mother caught up with the young lady and took her child back. The mother of the children does not want to pursue any criminal charges at this time.
      The young lady that was arrested was not from the community and could not communicate to the officers why she was here.

Old Willard Bridge Gone

From the Capital-Journal:

ON THE KAW — The skeletal steel and concrete remnants of the half-century-old Willard Bridge stretched across the Kansas River for the last time Wednesday.

With a short series of flashes and an echoing bang, the bridge’s steel trestles tumbled into the river with little ceremony.

The demolition of the bridge, built in 1955, capped a more than $18 million project replacing the failing structure that carried Carlson Road across the river with a new bridge expected to last 100 years.

The explosion was a fitting end for the old bridge, Shawnee County commissioner Shelly Buhler said from a sandbar upstream from the blast. Since the early 2000s when she was mayor of nearby Rossville, Buhler has kept a file on the bridge’s condition and fought as a commissioner to secure funding for its replacement.

“I knew I needed to see it,” she said as she thought about the moment, calling the explosion “impressive.”

“I don’t know that I have any words. It’s weird,” she said. “It’s the final piece of the whole project.”

Tom Vlach, Shawnee County public works director, joined Buhler with a handful of construction employees. With the exception of notices sent to residents within the 1,500-foot blast zone, the demolition wasn’t made public so spectators wouldn’t crowd around the river banks, Vlach said.

“I didn’t even disclose when I went to the Rossville coffee shop,” Buhler said.

Though the old Willard Bridge was rehabbed in 1983, age failed it slowly.

The county first lowered the bridge’s weight limit in 2007 because of concerns it could collapse. A 2009 assessment found heavy corrosion on metal pins supporting the bridge that could cause them to fail. The bridge is the same type as the Interstate 35 bridge in Minneapolis that collapsed in August 2007, killing 13 people and injuring 145.

After a series of weight-limit reductions in 2015 the brought its maximum weight to 9 tons, the bridge that previously carried farm equipment and school buses between Willard and Rossville in rural Shawnee County could only hold passenger cars.

Just 25 or 30 pounds of RDX explosive, a compound NASA developed to separate rocket boosters, brought the metal frames down with a splash, Ryan Redyke with Tulsa-based Dykon said. The demolition company has collapsed dozens of bridges making Willard “pretty straight forward.”

“(RDX) cuts metal like a torch,” he said casually. “Not a lot of troubled need.”

On Thursday a crew from contractor A.W. Cohron and Son will remove the metal and cut the concrete support towers down.

Wednesday’s blast was no-frills, but Buhler and hundreds of others were excited to christen the new bridge in August. Nearly 300, including Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer attended an opening ceremony where Buhler was the first to drive across the new bridge.

With a hard concrete deck instead of a steal grate, wider shoulders, and a bike and walking path on the east side, the new bridge marks a major success for the county’s public works department. The project cost nearly $7 million less than expected and was completed ahead of a December deadline.

ROSSVILLE IN PRECARIOUS POSITION

From the Capital-Journal:

 As the three-time reigning Class 3A state champion, Rossville has shown it can get it done when it has to the most. Well, the Bulldawgs will have to do it once again on Thursday to keep its hopes of going after a fourth straight title alive.

Despite being 0-2 in District 4 play, Rossville (2-6) still somewhat holds its postseason destiny in its own hands. A 35-7 loss to St. Marys last week looked devastating, but when Council Grove beat Mission Valley 18-14 it kept the Bulldawgs alive. Very much alive.

Rossville, Council Grove (5-3) and Mission Valley (5-3) are all 1-1 in district play behind district unbeaten St. Marys (5-3), which only needs to beat Mission Valley to secure the district title. If that happens and Rossville beats Council Grove, the runner-up spot will come down to points. Rossville can move past Council Grove with a win by three or more points and can pass Mission Valley with a win by at least 10 points and Viking loss by at least 10.

A blowout win by the Bulldawgs and blowout loss by Mission Valley gets Rossville into the playoffs easily.

“After a year full of challenges, we are very fortunate to still have a chance to be a playoff football team,” Rossville coach Derick Hammes said. “The fact that we have this opportunity motivates me and I would imagine there is still motivation for the remaining teams alive in our district. Nothing would surprise me at this point.”

Justin Jordan Is Student Of Week

    Justin Jordan and his grandfather recently spent many hours reroofing and restoring the gazebo in downtown Mayetta. Justin's selfless actions are an amazing reflection on himself and the Rossville student body

Tucker Horak Sets Season High

. Tucker Horak  rushed 15 times for a season-high 89 yards as Pitt State compiled 360 rushing yards in their 27-10 victory over Emporia State on Sat.
http://www.pittstategorillas.com/news/2017/10/22/football-gorillas-complete-27-10-victory-over-hornets-sunday.aspx?path=football

Dawgfeed 3 for 2017-18

    This Dawgfeed features Art Instructor Mr. Larson,  and Homecoming candidates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVlmETUV00Q

3A Volleyball Sub-State

A3A Volleyball Sub-state at  Mission Valley  Oct. 21, 2017

Quarterfinals
Silver Lake def. Riley County, 25-10, 25-14;
Royal Valley def. Rossville, 25-22, 21-25, 25-20;
St. Marys def. Council Grove, 25-10, 25-14;
Osage City def. Mission Valley, 25-23, 25-18.

Semifinals —
Silver Lake def. Royal Valley, 25-18, 25-14;
St. Marys def. Osage City, 25-19, 25-8.

Championship
Silver Lake def. St. Marys, 25-12, 25-15.

James Whitehead Passes Away

James Lee "Jim" Whitehead, 88, Rossville, died Friday, October 20, 2017, at Oakley Place of Rossville. He was born in Topeka, on February 6, 1929, the son of Oren Raymond and Frances Magdalen (Hess) Whitehead.

Jim graduated from Topeka High School in 1947. He worked for the Topeka Fire Department, was a self-employed contractor, and in 1993 retired from the State of Kansas where he was a construction inspector for the State Architect Office.

He was married to Betty Ilene Woollard on July 15, 1947, in Topeka. She preceded him in death on November 15, 1994. 

Surviving are his children: Sue Badura of Rossville, Richard "Rick" Whitehead (Cathy) of Katy, TX, Dr. John Whitehead (Christine) of Wichita, Russell Whitehead (Holly) of Surprise, AZ, and LeAnn Whitehead-Palmisano (Greg) of Phoenix, AZ; thirteen grandchildren: Cathy Hammer (Scott), Daren Badura (Danelle), Chad Badura (Jody), Elizabeth Kimbley (Chris), Margaret Whitehead, Michael Whitehead, John Michael Whitehead (Michelle), Jennifer Alicata (Anthony), Matt Whitehead (Katie), Brett Whitehead (Jessica), Jesse Whitehead (Amanda), Darchelle Vajen (Nic), and Dylan Whitehead; and 21 great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be at 6:00 PM, Monday, October 23, 2017, at Penwell-Gabel Parker-Price Chapel, 245 NW Independence Avenue, Topeka, followed by the family receiving friends. Private interment of cremains will be in Mount Hope Cemetery and Mausoleum Chapel.

Jim will lie in state after 3:00 PM, Monday, at the funeral chapel.

Memorial contributions may be made to Midland Hospice, 200 SW Frazier Circle, Topeka, KS 66606-2800.

To leave a special message for the family online, visit www.PenwellGabelTopeka.com.

Mid-East League Football Standings

The MEL football standings as of 10-21-17 are below

                     League  Overall

Silver Lake    …5-0 … 8-0
Riley County … 4-1 … 7-1
St. Marys      … 2-2 … 5-3
Rock Creek  … 2-3 … 2-6
Rossville       … 1-4 … 2-6
Wabaunsee   … 0-4 …1-7

St. Marys Bears Wallop Dawgs

St. Marys (5-3)   7 14  14  0 — 35
Rossville (2-6)    7   0   0   0 — 7

St. Marys — Rieschick (2), 38 pass from Flanagan, 35 pass from Flanagan; Schoenfeld (2), 1 run, 37 pass from Flanagan; Schindler 23 pass from Flanagan. PAT — Rieschick 5 Kicks.

Rossville — Johnson 38 run. PAT — Johnson Kick.

Other Mid-East League Scores

Riley County 12, Beloit 0
Silver Lake 40, Perry-Lecompton 35
Wabaunsee 12, Washington County 9
Clay Center 44, Rock Creek 14

Sub-State Volleyball Pairings

    The pairings for the 3A sub-state at  Mission Valley on Saturday are below:

Silver Lake (1: 29-6) vs. Riley County (8: 12-23), 2 p.m.; 
St. Marys (2: 30-8) vs. Council Grove (7: 12-20), 2 p.m.; 
Royal Valley (4: 24-12) vs. Rossville (5: 19-16), TBA; 
Osage City (3: 26-9) vs. Mission Valley (6: 16-19), TBA. 
Semifinals — Silver Lake-Riley County winner vs. Royal Valley-Rossville winner, TBA; St. Marys-Council Grove winner vs. Osage City-Mission Valley winner, TBA. 
Championship, TBA.

Leading Dawgs In Football

    The leading rusher for the Dawgs is Sheldon Hulbert with 599 yards on 159 carries for a 85.6 per game average.
    Sheldon Hulbert is also the leading passer for the Dawgs with 88 completions on 150 attempts good for 1236 yards thus far for an average of  183.7 yards per game.
    The leading receiver is Elijah Daughty with 29 catches for 455 yards for an averal of 65.0 yards per game.

CJ Computer Football Predictions

For games Oct. 20
District play:

… 87.8 … Rossville                … 19.4 … ST. MARYS     … 68.4
… 65.9 … MISSION VALLEY … 16.6 … Council Grove … 49.3

Other MEL teams:

… 93.2   … RILEY COUNTY … 13.7 … Beloit … 79.5… 100.6 … Silver Lake          … 20.5 … PERRY-LECOMPTON … 80.1… 63.3 … Washington Co.      … 2.4 …  WABAUNSEE … 60.9… 85.9 … Clay Center           … 12.6 … ROCK CREEK … 73.3

RHS Vs Wabaunsee Volleyball

    The RHS volleyball team swept Wabaunsee on Oct, 17 by scores of 27-25, 25-23 and 25-19, 25-16.  The Dawgs are 6-4 in the MEL and 19-16 overall.