Community

The ECKMEA Honor Band auditions were Saturday, November 5. The GEHS band members represented well and the following students were selected to perform in one of the ECKMEA Honor Bands on Dec.

Despite penalty and turnover woes that slowed their offensive attack in the 1st half, the Gardner Edgerton High School football team rebounded nicely in the 2nd half, flashing a multi-pronged onslaught that dominated host Olathe East and sent the Hawks to a 41-14 defeat at College Boulevard Activities Center on Friday night. The win was the second in a row for the Trailblazers and improved their overall record to 5-2 with one regular-season game to go. After the game, Blazer head coach Jesse Owen credited his offensive and defensive lines with taking control of the game after a lackluster 1st half.

It has been a busy five days for GEHS XC. On Saturday Oct. 1, all three teams traveled to the KCXC Classic at the Ray-Pec XC Course. 44 teams from Kansas and Missouri competed and the Blazers walked away from this meet with several medalists and outstanding team finishes. The Varsity girls finished 13th out of 27 teams lead by the trio of Senior Sarah Farrens, Junior Bella Meili, and Freshman Makayla Cox who all crossed the 5k finish line under 21:00 minutes with Sarah posting a Ray-Pec personal course record of 20:38. Incidentally last season the girls placed 25th at this meet. The Varsity boys ran one of their best races of the season so far, with a top 5 boys finish that will propelled them to a 3rd place team finish out of 30 teams. The Blazer Varsity squad lead by Junior Parker Walion who ran a 16:00 edged Regional competitor Olathe East for the first time this season, and also bumped XC powerhouse Saint Thomas Aquinas for a top 3 team finish. Both of our Varsity teams are young and a good balance of Junior/ Senior leadership and solid Freshman and Sophomores to contribute.

The GEHS Debate squad was at BVSW for their first tournament of the year. Two squads were in action. Ellie Parks with Lily Campbell and Kate Miller with novice Jace Blum. There were a lot of proud moments for this coach and some very close battles, but as the dust fell we left with Parks/Campbell with a 2/3 record and Miller/Blum with a 1/4 record. This being our first tournament there is no doubt this will be a competitive season and our team is only going to get stronger. If you see any of these students congratulate them on their hard work. The team will be traveling to Paola this weekend.

The Senior Lunch Chili Cook-off is Wednesday, Oct. 19. Who will be this year’s champion and take home the trophy? Will it be you? Seniors who would like to participate in the cook-off should contact City Hall at 913-893623. 1st place will receive $50 and 2nd place wins $25 thanks to Confluence, who is sponsoring lunch this month.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has released the results from the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS). “The BRFSS provides Kansas-specific data on the health status and health-related behaviors of Kansas adults.

Governor Laura Kelly today announced that in the single month that sports wagering has been legal, it has generated a total of $1.3 million in revenue, including nearly $130,000 for the State of Kansas. “These revenues reinforce what we already knew: Legal sports betting is a common-sense solution that keeps Kansans’ money in Kansas and supports Kansas businesses,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “While legal wagering is just in its infancy, these revenues will continue to grow and benefit the state over time.”