No. 40 July 6, 2005

"Renegade" super-cell thunderstorm hits area
Mother Nature celebrates early 4th of July
by V. Hopkins

Ken Bankson holds a piece of hail that fell during Thursday night's storm. The piece measured 3 inches in diameter. Three large pieces of hail lie on a car at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Mike Clyburn, 1014 Galena. The car windshield was shattered.
The LaTurner's car at 406 East 5th St. had its back windshield completely destroyed by hail.
In the early morning hours on July 4, 2004, local residents were awakened by a violent and unusual "bow echo" storm which moved through the area leaving widespread damage, almost 100% electrical outage which lasted up to three or four days, and a massive clean-up everywhere.

This year on June 30, 2005, Mother Nature "celebrated" again with another bow-echo storm (defined as a violent but straight wind covering a wide distance and appearing on radar as a curved shape) which blanketed much the same area as the 2004 storm.

Wind damage extended from Chanute southeast to Cherokee County and on into southwest Missouri. The most damage to structures,crops and injuries here was in the northwest part of the county and over into Crawford County.

But Galena was hit by super sized hail stones, two to three and one-half inches in diameter. This did a tremendous amount of damage to vehicles, roofs, siding, and vegetation, including trees. High winds and heavy rain with thunder and lightning accompanied the hail.

Bill Davis, chief meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Springfield, Mo., said that the speed of the straight winds had to be approximately 100 mph and at least one, and probably more, low level tornadoes also hit in the county.

Davis called the storm a "renegade" which broke off from the main front moving through the area and "did its own thing" which included making a swift bee-line for Cherokee County. The main front which came through three or four hours later contributed wind, lightning, and rain, but no hail and apparently did little further damage.
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School funding, Supreme Court issue,
still up in the air
by V. Hopkins

As reported by the Sentinel last week, the Kansas Supreme Court ordered the Kansas Legislature to appropriate $143 million by July 1 in additional school funds for the next fiscal year. Governor Sebelius called the law makers into special session, but anger at the court's directive, which many considered to exceed the court's constitutional authority, stymied an agreement on the school funding.

The upshot of the controversary is that no funding bill was passed by July 1, giving the Supreme Court the potential power to withhold all money for schools, thereby preventing the opening of classes in August. The court has scheduled a hearing for Friday, July 8, to consider whether it should withhold the money.

The legislators closed the session, going home Saturday for the holiday week end. They are expected to re-convene on Wednesday, July 6.

Speaker of the House Doug Mays, R-Topeka, said that he believes an agreement for funding will be passed soon. Mays and other conservative Republicans had opposed any funding until until a constitutional amendment to limit judicial power was passed. Moderate Republicans joined with Democrats in agreeing that such an amendment is desirable, but that the school funding is most important at this point in time and that action on the constitutional amendment can wait until the regular session begins in January 2006.

Search for two teens' bodies
yields no clues
by V. Hopkins

A Sheriff blocks traffic from crossing Dewey on 21st Street while law enforcement officers searched for two teenagers' bodies that were said to have been hidden in the area.

The search near Galena for the bodies of two Welch, Okla., girls, Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible, which was underway last week, came up empty after diligent effort by several agenciesover a period of three days. The girls have been missing since December, 1999, after the murder of the Freeman girl's parents in their trailer home near Welch.

Both Sheriff Steve Norman, Cherokee County, and the Sheriff Jimmie Sooter, Craig County, Okla., said that the search will not stop and that the case will continue to be a priority.

Sooter said that he had thought the Galena area, pinpointed by Jeremy Jones, who admitted to the killings, was promising and he was disappointed by the result. However, Sooter also stated that Jones said he was high on meth at the time of the incidents, so confusion as to the site of the disposal of the bodies could be any number of places around Galena or other old mining areas. Jones later reportedly said "I didn't kill anybody", during questioning by a newspaper reporter.

The search had begun Tuesday afternoon when a video camera was lowered into a flooded mine shaft. Cadaver-sniffing dogs also worked the scene on Wednesday and Thursday as well other searchers on foot. Sheriff Norman said that the effort was intense and thorough and he believes the bodies would have been found if they were there.

The area in question is a little less than a mile long and a half-mile wide along Schermerhorn Road between 11th and 21st Streets.

Flags of Freedom flying at City Hall



"Flags of Freedom" were flying proudly at the City Municipal Building on the 4th of July and will be flying again each Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, and Independence Day in the future.
The flags were given by various individuals: Wayne "Kink" Hatfield, the American Legion Flag; Jeff Donahue, the Merchant Marine and Pow/MIA flags; Commander Bobby Phillips, Coast Guard flag; Alan Wade, U.S. Air Force flag; Walter Bradshaw, U.S. Navy Flag; Corraine Morrison, U.S. Army Flag; and Don Bellamy, U.S. Marine Corps Flag.
The Kemlee Mfg. Co. and Dale Youngblood provided stainless steel holders for the flags and Roy and Linda Watkins and Mark Glades helped set up the display.

Robert D. Phillips, Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard, provided the Coast Guard flag and in the accompany note he said, "I am pleased that this flag will proudly fly over my home town in Honor of all the "Coasties" that serve our great nation."

This could be well said of each of the service flags which will be flying proudly. The city thanks those responsible for the display.

| Renegade Storm | School Funding | Search for Teens | Freedom Flags |