Ed Boice
Kansas Press Association, Division V
2024
Third Place in Series – Flouride in Abilene's Water series
2023
Second Place in Investigative Reporting– “Herington Hospital employees: administration 'failed us’”
Second Place in Series – Herington Hospital closes series
2022
First Place in Series – Drought in Dickinson County series
First Place in Feature Story – “Paranormal investigators stake out Old Abilene Town”
Second Place in Sports Photo – Photo of Rodeo rider
Third Place in Series – Pioneering Kansas disc golf
Third Place in Photo Packages – Package in story "American Legion pays tribute with Memorial Day ceremonies at six locations"
2021
Third place in Series – Veteran David Vosburg
Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence, Region Four
2019
Finalist in In-Depth Reporting – "Drug disorder, by the numbers"
Raising spirits: Paranormal investigators stake out Old Abilene Town
2022 First Place Feature Story
Jon Dougherty, Gary Woodward and Adam Barkley stayed up the night of March 23-24 in Old Abilene Town to investigate the spirits lurking in the town. They are part of the investigation team Heartland Paranormal Investigations and production company Viel of Shadows Entertainment. Their full-time jobs are as investigators and location scouts for TV networks. The three’s investigation of Old Abilene is for promotional material for their upcoming series of haunted Kansas locations.
Dougherty started investigating the paranormal after a near-death experience in 2013. A drunk driver crashed into Dougherty’s car, and his heart at one point stopped beating. He was brought back by doctors. Now, he considers himself a psychic.
“After I died and was brought back, I started being able to hear and see spirits. I did a lot of research,” Dougherty said. “I started learning how to investigate in California and North Carolina because my dad’s on the East Coast and my mom’s on the West Coast. I constantly had mentors in the paranormal teaching me along the way.”
Woodward is a veteran of the Marine Corps. and a bounty hunter...
State drought continues to worsen as high fire danger warnings are issued
2022 First Place Drought in Dickinson County Series
Wednesday, three grass fires occurred along I-70 in Dickinson County — signs of how dry the county and Kansas are. While the state has seen some snowfall, that precipitation has not been enough to stop the spread of the drought.
Looking at the U.S. Drought Monitor’s March 3 map of Kansas, Dickinson County is now almost half in a D2 zone, moderate drought, and half in a D3 zone, severe drought. Two weeks ago, according to the monitor’s Feb. 17 map, a quarter of Dickinson County was in a D2 zone and the rest was in a D0 zone, abnormally dry.
Yesterday, the U.S. National Weather Service Forecast Office in Wichita, Kansas, released an infographic map titled “Dangerous Fire Conditions.” Showing the eastern half of the state, the map is split by an extreme fire danger zone and a very high fire danger zone. Dickinson County is in the extreme fire danger zone...
Herington Hospital employees: administration 'failed us;’ Emprise Bank denies having medical records
2023 Second Place Investigative Story
Two employees who formerly worked at Herington Hospital spoke with the Reflector-Chronicle about what they witnessed during their time at the hospital before it closed down suddenly. For their safety, the employees will remain anonymous. They will be referred to as Employee #1 and Employee #2. Employee #1 worked at the hospital until it closed, while Employee #2 resigned earlier this year.
“The board of directors completely failed us and left us to fend for ourselves,” Employee #1 said. “Many of my previous coworkers are still without jobs. We are all having to pull out of savings and run up our credit card just to pay our basic bills. I fully believe that the board of directors saw this coming and yet they allowed this to happen.”
“And those of us that were under their (administration's) leadership, had no idea,” Employee #2 said. “Bryan (Bryan Coffey, chief financial officer of the hospital until February 2022 when he resigned) was good at making things appear so good, but the board members, they failed the facility. They should have been far more diligent in their obligations to the citizens of Herington.”
Employee #1 said hospital administration announced to employees...
Barker stops calf in its tracks
2022 Second Place Sports Photo
Herington Hospital announces closure
2023 Second Place Investigative Series
After many rumors began circling over the weekend about Herington Hospital closing, the hospital officially announced Oct. 9 they and its clinics will be closing this week. They may close as soon as Oct. 11. According to a release sent Monday afternoon, the hospital attributed the closure to “lengthy financial struggles and low patient volumes,” without giving any specific examples. The release reads the hospital will be maintaining medical records, but with no specifics as to how to retrieve the records after the hospital closes. The hospital’s website is still down. It became unreachable Oct. 6. Reports about the hos pital’s closure from community members first began to surface Oct. 6. Based on comments and Facebook posts from the community, employees were sent home Friday after arriving for work. The hospital’s emergency room remained open over the weekend. Despite reaching out multiple times Oct. 6 and throughout the weekend, the hospital’s administration has not returned phone calls to the Reflector-Chronicle other than sending the release. Kayla Meyer, who used to be the hospital’s communication specialist, is currently the hospital’s interim CEO. Herington Hospital’s phone number is 785-272 6397.