Lawrence High grad earns $1,000 grant

Ben Johnson, a May graduate of Lawrence High, has earned the $1,000 Steve Harper Scholarship managed by the Kansas Wildscape Foundation.

Johnson currently is serving as an intern for the Student Conservation Assn., and is working with a team of students in northern California to build a trail to a newly discovered waterfall. He plans to pursue an environmental science degree.

Harper was an outdoor writer and photographer for The Wichita Eagle. He died of cancer in 2000, and a scholarship was established in his name.

More than $10,000 was raised from assorted businesses, organizations and private individuals for the grant.

Tongie angler catches state-record grass carp

Andrew Miller was fishing for bass in a farm pond near Tonganoxie in early May when he received the surprise of his life.

Something hit his lure so hard he knew it couldn’t be a bass. After a battle that lasted more than 20 minutes, Miller finally landed a 67-pound white amur, also known as a grass carp.

Because grass carp are herbivores, Miller was even more surprised when he saw what he had.

“This fish was big enough to eat anything it wanted,” said Kirk Tjelmeland, a Wildlife and Parks fisheries biologist who confirmed the catch.

The huge grass carp topped the old record by 7 pounds. The fish also measured 491â4 inches long and 31 inches in girth.