Abilene

Grant to refurbish railroad steam engine

And old steam engine is on a comeback here, thanks to $283,092 in grants.

The Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad received a $67,092 Kansas tourism grant and a $216,000 federal grant to refurbish its 1919 Baldwin steam engine.

The project will take about two years, said Mary Jane Oard, manager of the railroad. The railroad offers daily excursion train rides from Abilene to Enterprise from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and on weekends during May, September and October.

Oard said the steam engine was expected to increase spectator numbers.

In 2003, the excursion train drew nearly 10,000 riders from 44 states, 67 Kansas counties and six foreign countries.

LOUISBURG

KBI agents involved in fatality accident

A woman was killed Thursday when a truck carrying two Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents crossed the center lane and struck the woman’s car, the Kansas Highway Patrol said.

The accident happened about 9 a.m. on U.S. Highway 69, 12 miles south of Louisburg during a rainstorm.

The patrol said Denise M. Ivison, 40, of Fort Scott, was killed.

The KBI agents, Shawn M. Campiti, 31, of Pittsburg, and Stephen R. Rosebrough, 37, of Girard, were taken to a hospital. Campiti was in critical condition Thursday afternoon, while Rosebrough was treated and released.

The KBI said the agents were on their way to U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., where they were to testify before a grand jury.

PARSONS

Parsons radio station sale becomes official

KLKC Radio in Parsons was sold to a group of former high school classmates.

The sale from Community Broadcasting Co. Inc. to Acme Broadcasting LLC became official Monday.

Acme Broadcasting is owned by five classmates from the Parsons High School Class of 1973, along with some of their spouses.

The new owners are Lee and Diane Salyers of Parsons; Rod and Karen Landrum of Parsons; Gary Bandy and Doris Carlin of Joplin, Mo.; and Pat and Paula Haley of Topeka.

Lee Salyers, Karen Landrum, Bandy and the Haleys all were classmates. They saw the opportunity to buy the station as a chance to work together, Lee Salyers said Wednesday.

KLKC-AM was begun by a group of Parsons businessmen that included Clyde M. Reed Jr., publisher of the Parsons Sun.