By John Mesh Anthony Mazza belted a walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lead the No. 21 Hutchinson Community College baseball team to a 4-3 win over Des Moines Area in the nightcap of the Hutchinson Round Robin Tuesday afternoon at
CAPTION: From left: Board Members Gleysha Mendez-Rosario, Tad Dower, Cheryl Thompson, Darcie Canfield-Riggs, Valarie Gibson-Smith, Lance Patterson and President Laura Corey. CREDIT USD 308 By Kate Irelan In the regular USD 308 school board meeting on February 24, the board approved $1,155,930 in purchases for technology replacements
By Gina Long
The Reno County Commission will meet on Wednesday, February 26, to discuss and take action on extending the current solar power development moratorium and hear a presentation regarding the 2025 tax valuations.
Other agenda items include a proclamation declaring February 26 as HCC Football Team Appreciation Day, Prairie Dunes’ request to adopt a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding the 2029 U.S. Golf Association’s Senior Open at the course, and Strataca’s request for support in applying for affiliate status with the Smithsonian Institution.
Tracey Barton, Executive Director of Kansas Natural Resources Coalition, a private landowners’ rights organization, will give a presentation about federal and local laws.
The commission will then break into an executive session to discuss privileged matters regarding non-elected personnel.
The agenda packet is available to view and download here.
The Reno County Board of Commissioners meets the second, fourth and fifth Wednesdays of each month at 9 a.m. in the Veterans Room in the Reno County Courthouse.
By Gina Long The Reno County Commission will meet on Wednesday, February 26, to discuss and take action on extending the current solar power development moratorium and hear a presentation regarding the 2025 tax valuations. Other agenda items include a proclamation declaring February 26 as HCC Football
CAPTION: The Hutchinson Fire Department released video footage of the gas explosion that occurred Saturday morning at Steffen’s Auto Parts. There were no injuries or deaths to anyone involved. CREDIT SCREENSHOT OF HFD VIDEO
By Michael Glenn
The Hutchinson Fire Department released a video caught on an HFD dashcam that shows Steffen’s Auto Parts, located at the intersection of Ave. E and Main St.
The video shows HFD firefighters at the scene from a report of a gas odor. The video starts as fire crews were following HFD protocols and setting up operations, according to a press release issued alongside the video.
Dawn Tripp with Kansas Gas Service told The Hutchinson that Kansas Gas is assisting the National Transportation Safety Board as a party in investigating the incident.
“The NTSB will provide updates from this point on,” Tripp said.
Hutchinson City Manager Enrico Villegas and Mayor Stacy Goss discussed the incident on KWBW’s Morning Show on Monday. Villegas said Tyson’s is still inoperable and that the authority conducting the investigation will give clearance on when to reopen it.
The Hutchinson Tribune contacted Villegas for an update on the incident. Villegas declined to comment due to the active investigation “and to protect the integrity of what is to be accomplished.”
CAPTION: The Hutchinson Fire Department released video footage of the gas explosion that occurred Saturday morning at Steffen's Auto Parts. There were no injuries or deaths to anyone involved. CREDIT SCREENSHOT OF HFD VIDEO By Michael Glenn The Hutchinson Fire Department released a video caught on an
By John Mesh Six Buhler High School wrestlers will be competing at state meets Friday and Saturday — three boys and three girls. Three boys qualified for the Kansas Class 4A boys state wrestling by placing at the Abilene regional during the weekend. Cruz Hershberger (33-7) placed first
CAPTION: Hutchinson Fire Department crews have been working on a fire incident that occurred at Steffen’s Auto Parts Saturday morning. CREDIT HFD
The Hutchinson Fire Department and Kansas Gas Service both released updates on the gas fire and explosion that occurred Saturday morning at Steffen’s Auto Parts near Ave. E and Main Street.
The Hutchinson Fire Department had discussions with Kansas Gas and the evacuation area has been minimized to the following area: Main Street from D. Ave down to G Ave. one Block East and West of Main Street on E. Ave.
This includes all businesses on both sides of Main Street and one residential home at 11 East F Ave. As of 8:15 a.m. Sunday, there are 18 businesses and one residential home without gas service.
“If you live outside of the stated area, you may return to your home,” HFD’s release said.
Kansas Gas will continue to have a large presence in this area for the next couple of days. Kansas Gas issued a press release at 3 p.m. Sunday and thanked the community for their patience and cooperation throughout the repair process.
Those without gas can call 888-482-4950 for technicians to relight appliances and perform safety checks. An adult must be home for our technicians to enter each customer location and Kansas Gas urged residents to not attempt to turn the meter back on themselves.
“Our technicians continue to monitor the area as we work with the authorities on an investigation,” Kansas Gas wrote. “If you would like to submit a claim for issues related to the loss of gas service, please contact our Claims team at kgsclaims@onegas.com or 913-599-8934. As always, your safety is our top priority. If you smell natural gas, leave the area immediately and then call 911 and our emergency number at 888-482-4950.”
“We ask that you continue to avoid the area as work is being done to remedy the situation. Kansas Gas is continuing to monitor the area for gas and will continue throughout the next couple of days,” HFD’s release said.
HFD said fire crews made significant progress and all hands are working on fixing the situation.
If you feel you have a gas emergency, please contact 911 for HFD response.
CAPTION: Hutchinson Fire Department crews have been working on a fire incident that occurred at Steffen's Auto Parts Saturday morning. CREDIT HFD The Hutchinson Fire Department and Kansas Gas Service both released updates on the gas fire and explosion that occurred Saturday morning at Steffen's Auto
Thursday Feb 27 “There Will Be Blood,” part of the Fox Classic Film Series, 7 p.m. at the Fox Theatre, 18 E 1st Ave. Admission is $5. The Fox Film Series Passes are $45 and include 10 admissions and 5 small popcorns Friday Feb 28 Nature Education: Nature
By Gina Long
Hutchinson has seen its fair share of disasters, from wildfires to exploding grain elevators.
However, the most recent significant incidents display the community’s ability to unite, work together, and rebuild.
Today, an underground gas pipe leak led to an explosion and destroyed a storied downtown business.
Firefighters were dispatched around 9:30 a.m. to track down the leak’s source. At Steffen’s Auto Parts at Avenue E and Main Street, they had barely exited the building before it exploded, as Hutchinson Fire Department Chief Beer reported during a briefing, which can be seen here on the City of Hutchinson’s Facebook page.
Chief Beer and spokespeople from Kansas Gas and Evergy gave another briefing at 8 p.m., describing the events in as much detail as they could.
The chief’s remarks were peppered with praise for the cooperation between entities and the fact that despite everything that had transpired, miraculously, no one was injured in the incident. During the briefing, a displaced couple asked about returning to their house to retrieve medication and care for a pet. Chief Beer ended his remarks and immediately drew the couple aside to offer assistance.
The fire and police departments secured the evacuation area. Public Works and the Water Department had just come off a long stretch of bitterly cold winter weather preparation, snow removal and burst water pipes when they were again pressed into after-hours service.
The Salvation Army maintained warming centers during the week’s extreme cold snap and now offers food and shelter for the displaced.
Kansas Gas’s spokesperson, Lauren Clary, said the company would work throughout the night to prevent further leaks and discover the explosion’s cause.
Meanwhile, the City of Hutchinson’s Facebook page constantly posted updates about the explosion, the evacuation area, and numbers to call for support services. It may have been the weekend, but the city’s commitment to keeping its citizens informed did not take the day off. Getting correct information out in a timely manner helps dispel rumors and quell panic.
Several people I spoke with throughout the day were living in Hutchinson in 2001 when nearly 150 million cubic feet of gas leaked out of the Yaggy storage facility, migrated along unmapped brine wells, destroyed two downtown businesses and killed two residents in a mobile home park. They feared a repeat of the months-long gas venting plumes up to 30 feet in the air and the unshakeable feeling that another explosion was coming anytime and virtually anywhere.
In 2001, citizens did what they could to help the first responders and those displaced. They did so again during 2017’s massive wildfires north of Hutchinson, the 2022 Cottonwood Complex fire in eastern Reno County, and 2019’s record floods. Those citizens are a mix of emergency services and first responders, aid organizations and volunteers.
Next week, we will see more citizens and organizations step up to help because that is what we do.
How strong is Hutch?
Watch and see.
By Gina Long Hutchinson has seen its fair share of disasters, from wildfires to exploding grain elevators. However, the most recent significant incidents display the community's ability to unite, work together, and rebuild. Today, an underground gas pipe leak led to an explosion and destroyed a storied downtown
By John Mesh Seven Hutchinson High School wrestlers qualified for the Class 5A boys state tournament scheduled for next Friday and Saturday (Feb. 28-March 1) at Park City Arena. Hutchinson senior Kade Smith won the title at 165 pounds at the Class 5A West regional at Newton
Graphic courtesy of Blue Dragon Sports Information By John Mesh The Hutchinson Community College men’s and women’s basketball teams swept Butler Community College Saturday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. DJ Dudley got a game-winning tip-in at the final buzzer to give the Hutchinson Blue Dragon men a 64-63
