Melissa Etheridge attended a celebration honoring her Saturday, May 27, for her philanthropy and community service. Continue reading Key to the City for Etheridge

LIFE OF SERVICE Anna Marguerite Varner-Egli Celebrates 102nd Birthday By Peggy Bair Anna Marguerite Varner-Egli celebrated her 102nd birthday Saturday, April 8, with family and friends at the C.W. Parker Museum. Frequently breaking out in song with her still-strong and angelic voice, she summarized her longevity to the younger well-wishers who attended. “I’ve believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and I’ve never drank or smoked. I’ve … Continue reading A Life of Service

Vigil For LHS Senior, Eric Miller Over 200 Attend to Celebrate the Life of Young Man “Who Loved Jesus” By Peggy Bair Over 200 family members, friends, community members and team mates gathered in the evening of Saturday, February 18, at David Brewer Park in Leavenworth for a candlelight vigil honoring Leavenworth High School senior Eric Miller. Miller passed away on February 7 from injuries … Continue reading Vigil For Eric Miller

The Unseen Suffering of the COVID Crisis Like a fire that ravages across a forest, COVID-19 sucked the oxygen out of the lives of millions of Americans in 2020 – some literally – others surviving the health crisis but tumbling down in a slow, insidious spiral of material and financial loss. It is below the din of the headlines touting the record-breaking GNP numbers and … Continue reading The Silence of Suffering Continues as Pressure Mounts for KS Workers

KDOL Collateral Damage KDOL Payment Delays Cast Misery on Out of State Unemployed Devin Nightengale and Jessica Meza are watching over their son Brennan, 4, this week as doctors monitor his recovery from a surgery at Children’s Mercy Hospital. He needs a kidney transplant but the timing isn’t quite right and a procedure was needed in the meantime. “He’s in pretty good spirits at the … Continue reading KDOL Collateral Damage

Texas and Missouri Workers Caught in KDOL Pandemic Snag Headaches are Greater for Out of State Kansas Workers Susan Thompson Campbell got shocking news in June, 2020, when her job at T-Mobile ended suddenly with a mass conference call. “Our entire department got dissolved – everybody I know lost their job,” said Campbell. “We were literally told on Friday – ‘No, no, the rumors you … Continue reading Texas and Missouri Workers Caught in KDOL Pandemic Snag

The pandemic created an uptick of need for food distribution as people became suspended from their jobs. With unemployed people in Kansas still having issues with returning to work in some sectors and a slow payment response time from the Kansas Department of Labor, the pressure on food banks continues to be strong. By Peggy Bair/HeartKC Continue reading Need Still Strong for Food Bank

Kansas Senate Considers HB2196 as Unemployed Kansas Workers Brace for Fewer Weeks of Benefits “If you give them more time…they are not going to be sharp,” – Rep. Sean Tarwater Unemployed Kansas workers – which include workers who live in other states but are employed in Kansas – will see a reduction of benefit weeks and tighter restrictions on back-to-work requirements beginning April 1, 2021 … Continue reading Kansas Senate Poised to Reduce Benefits Weeks for Unemployed Kansas Workers

Alec Osterhaus 8 mos., was brought with his family to attend a rally in front of Kansas Governor Laura Kelly’s mansion Saturday, March 13, 2021 in Topeka. HIs mother has been waiting 11 weeks without payment from KDOL. Continue reading The KDOL Stall