Midland Railway ready for Maple Leaf train rides

Baldwin Midland Railway will offer excursion train rides next weekend to coincide with the Maple Leaf Festival.

Daytime and nighttime rides will depart from Baldwin’s historic 1906 Santa Fe Depot, 1515 W. High St., and run to Norwood before returning. The 12-mile ride lasts about 50 minutes.

Daytime excursions give riders a chance to view fall foliage in southern Douglas and northern Franklin counties. Trains depart hourly between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Nighttime rides, “Terror Tracks 2002,” will depart at 6:30 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Tickets will be available at the depot window.

Special “haunted” trains for groups of 20 or more will be offered Sunday afternoon by advanced registration.

Above, Dylan Roberts, 15, McLouth, helped his cousin Hunter Landers, 4, Olathe, down from a passenger car after a ride recently at Midland Railway while conductor and railway general manager Ernie Griffin watched.

Memorial: Veterans photo display to stop in Lawrence

A new display showing photographs of eastern Kansas veterans who were killed or are missing in Vietnam will stop today in Lawrence.

The wall, developed by Franklin County military veterans, will be on display from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Wal-Mart, 3300 Iowa.

In recent months, veterans have been collecting photographs of those killed. There are about 45 photos on display from area counties.

Photographs are still sought of several people from Douglas County: Richard Boyd, William Dennis II, Donald Dillon, David Gibson, Delbert Ryan, James A. Cooper and Glen A. Nicholson.

Anyone with photos of those people can call Harvey Nicholson at 331-2654.

Health: Sixth human West Nile case reported in Kansas

Topeka A 75-year-old Johnson County resident is the sixth Kansan to have a confirmed case of West Nile virus, health officials said Friday.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said the person, whom the agency didn’t identify by gender, had the onset of symptoms on Sept. 16 and was recovering at home.

On Thursday, KDHE announced the first five human cases of West Nile had been confirmed in the state. They said cooler weather would reduce the risk of the mosquito-borne disease.

Three cases were in Rice County and one each in Wyandotte and Shawnee counties. The ages ranged from 28 to 72.

Event: Prairie art gallery opens

Sedan Kansas University alumnus Bill Kurtis will be host for today’s grand opening of Art in the Prairie Gallery. The museum plans an open house featuring work by Lawrence artist Stan Herd.

The museum opening is part of a day of festivities in Sedan.

The Chautauqua County Fall Festival, Sedan Ranch Rodeo and Totally Western Cowboy Trade Show begin at 9 a.m. in Sedan City Park.

A concert will begin at 12:30 p.m. at the museum, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1:30 p.m.

A 5 p.m. opening reception at the museum will feature jazz vocalist Kim Liggett. The evening will conclude with a downtown street dance with Lawrence band Swing Canyon.