By John Mesh The winning streak is now five in a row for the Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team. The Blue Dragons came from behind in the second half to defeat Pratt Community College 87-77 Saturday at the Dennis Lesh Sports Arena in Pratt. The Blue Dragons improved to
CAPTION: U.S. Senator Roger Marshall speaks to reporters in a Zoom press conference held Friday, Jan. 10. CREDIT SCREEN CAPTURE FROM ZOOM By Michael Glenn U.S. Senator Roger Marshall discussed the beginning of the 119th Congress in a press conference Friday afternoon. Marshall said he and Republican Senators
Graphic courtesy of Blue Dragon Sports Information By John Mesh The No. 1 Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team posted its 89th victory in 100 meetings with a 92-47 victory over Pratt Community College Saturday afternoon at Dennis Lesh Sports Arena in Pratt. The Hutchinson women now are
CAPTION: Creamy parmesan sausage ditalini soup is hearty and full of flavors that stick to your bones. From the sausage to the parmesan, this soup is sure to warm you up on a cold day. By Lindsey Young As soon as the weather forecast called for snow
By Michael Glenn
When I heard on the TV stations that Hutchinson was going to get a decent amount of snow right before Trinity began its second semester, I didn’t think too much about it.
Especially when it comes to winter weather, I always think Hutch will get the short end of the stick. Either the storm goes around us or we don’t get anything at all.
I am now glad to say that I was wrong about that.
With the ice and snow we received this past weekend and the additional snow we received Thursday and Friday, it’s safe to say that we did not miss out on a winter wonderland this year.
I’ve always enjoyed snow. When I was growing up, it was more common for schools to cancel the morning of the school day rather than the evening before. As so, I spent many winter days with my parents watching the little rotating hot bar on the news to see if we had canceled school.
As a student, snow is amazing. However, as a driver and reporter, snow can be a pain. While schools and other businesses may have the option to call of operations that day, some industries can’t.
We should be thankful for the first responders and city workers who worked tirelessly to ensure that Hutchinson didn’t come to a halt for winter weather. Especially with the hard ice we received over the weekend, it isn’t easy to get that off the ground in a timely manner.
While there are still some slick spots and not fun places to drive in Hutchinson, the City did a fine job salting and plowing the roads to cause the least amount of inconvenience possible.
I’d also like to discuss a shape-up in the Hutchinson City Council. The council elected Stacy Goss to serve as mayor at their last meeting, and I believe it’s a great thing for Hutchinson.
As we try to grow and incentivize new people to live here, we have to have public officials who are embedded in the community. Three out of the five council members own businesses that contribute to the business community in Hutchinson, and Goss works for Hutchinson Public Schools. I’m sure she has great goals in mind for our city to reach.
We need a young, diverse city council that can culminate ideas to attract young people and families who will establish roots and stay in Hutchinson, and we have the proper council to do that.
By Michael Glenn When I heard on the TV stations that Hutchinson was going to get a decent amount of snow right before Trinity began its second semester, I didn’t think too much about it. Especially when it comes to winter weather, I always think Hutch will
By Gina Long
The 2025 Kansas legislative session gavels in on Monday, January 13, and I have a few suggestions for Reno County’s new and incumbent representatives.
Best of luck during this year’s session. Make us proud and try to stay out of the bad headlines. Be worthy of the hallowed walls through which you walk. We will be watching.
CREDIT Visit Topeka By Gina Long The 2025 Kansas legislative session gavels in on Monday, January 13, and I have a few suggestions for Reno County's new and incumbent representatives. Property tax relief for working families and elderly homeowners is the top priority cited by voters. Reno County's
CAPTION: Hutchinson Trinity High School alumnus Kaleb Hammeke is now the all-time leading men’s scorer in Fort Hays State University history. CREDIT FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION By John Mesh The Fort Hays State University men’s basketball team improved to 10-4 overall and 3-2 in the MIAA with a
CAPTION: Donna Patton at her retirement party in the Reno County Courthouse Jan. 9. CREDIT SANDRA MILBURN/RENO COUNTY
By Emmie Boese
After 33 years of service to Reno County, Donna Patton is officially retiring from the Reno County Clerk’s Office.
Patton held the position of Reno County Clerk since Jan. 14, 2013. She started working in Reno County in 1991 in the tag office. She began working in the County Clerk’s office in April of 1998. Before becoming the county clerk, she held several positions in that office including secretary, payroll clerk and deputy county clerk.
“I just loved it all,” Patton said. “I felt so humbled to have that job and honored to have that job and I think just getting to know every aspect of the office and getting to meet new people forge new friendships.”
The County Clerk’s office handles all aspects of elections, accounts payable, board minutes for the Reno County Commission, balance to the treasurer’s books, provides RNR (Revenue Neutral Rate) notices and sends out budget information worksheets to all of the county’s taxing entities.
“We’ve got about 85 (taxing entities) of those I think,” Patton said. “So those all have to be sent out and then if anybody goes over their RNR levy then that’s when we have to send out the RNR notices. Then we have to notify other counties and get information from other counties to get the tax roll ready to go and then we send that to the printers who in return you know send it out and bring it back. We take the annual reports. We get those from all of the taxing entities.”
Patton said the work of the county clerk’s office is vital. Work that often goes behind the scenes.
You know especially that we handle all of the elections,” Patton said. “We have to get all the board workers. We have over 200 board workers and we have to get all of those trained and ready to go and that takes a lot of behind-the-scenes work. It takes hours behind the scenes to get the budget information worksheets to the taxing entities and everything we do just takes time.”
Patton said her favorite part about living and working in Hutchinson and the Reno County area for a little over three decades is the people. She also enjoys having close access to larger cities.
“You know it doesn’t take that long to get to Wichita really,” Patton said. “Even Kansas City or Oklahoma City or anything like that so it’s really centrally located and easy to get around everything and there’s a lot to do around here.”
Patton’s retirement plans include going to her grandkids’ games, traveling and spending some time at the bar she, her daughter and grandson bought in Nickerson.
“I just want to thank the citizens for electing me you know for 12 years which would have been three terms so I was really humbled to have my job and so proud to work for Reno County. I love working for the county and I love the administrators we had and the department heads are so good to work with. All the employees are really good and easy to work with. Not just the department heads, all the employees are easy to work with so I really appreciated that.”
Patton’s last day of work is on Monday, Jan. 13.
CAPTION: Donna Patton at her retirement party in the Reno County Courthouse Jan. 9. CREDIT SANDRA MILBURN/RENO COUNTY By Emmie Boese After 33 years of service to Reno County, Donna Patton is officially retiring from the Reno County Clerk’s Office. Patton held the position of Reno County Clerk
CAPTION: Rep.-elect Kyler Sweely. By Michael Glenn Rep.-elect Kyler Sweely outlined his priorities for the upcoming 2025 Kansas Legislative session beginning Monday, Jan. 13. In an email exchange with The Hutchinson Tribune, Sweely wrote he is looking forward to advancing policies that focus on fiscal responsibility and limit
CAPTION: An image of the armed robbery suspect at Selectel Wireless, located at 1500 East 11th Ave.
The Hutchinson Police Department arrested two suspects in connection to an armed robbery at Selectel Wireless, located at 1500 East 11th Ave., which occurred on Dec. 30, 2024.
HPD Detectives arrested Zayne M. Bruce, a 19-year-old from Hutchinson, for Armed Robbery and Theft. Also arrested was Kaidyn Emmerich, a 17-year-old male from Hutchinson, for Armed Robbery and Theft.
All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in court.
On Dec. 30, 2024, at approximately 4:55 p.m., officers with the Hutchinson Police Department were dispatched to an armed robbery at Selectel Wireless, located at 1500 E 11th Ave.
That’s according to an official press release issued by HPD Monday, which stated that an unknown male entered the store, brandished a dark-colored handgun and demanded money and various electronic items from the store clerk.
An undisclosed amount of cash was taken along with several electronic items. The suspect was last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with a black backpack, a dark face covering and sunglasses.
Information related to this case should be reported to the Hutchinson Police Department at 620-694-2816, Crimestoppers of Reno County at 800-222-TIPS, a local law enforcement agency, or use your P3Tips App on your smartphone. The reference case for the investigation is #2024-52398.
CAPTION: An image of the armed robbery suspect at Selectel Wireless, located at 1500 East 11th Ave. The Hutchinson Police Department arrested two suspects in connection to an armed robbery at Selectel Wireless, located at 1500 East 11th Ave., which occurred on Dec. 30, 2024. HPD
