Linn County News
Published May 10, 2017
Douglas Blaine Hazelbaker, age 51, a resident of rural Redfield, passed away early Monday, May 1, 2017, at the Mercy Hospital in Fort Scott. Doug was born May 31, 1965, to Alice and Norman Hazelbaker.
He and his wife, Jana, were married on Aug. 17, 2002, and are the parents of daughters Dylan and Dakota.
In 1983, he graduated from Uniontown High School. While in high school, he competed in the Kansas State High School Rodeo Assoc., and he was the state champion in both calf roping and steer wrestling, and the Reserve All-Around cowboy his senior year. While attending Allen County Community College and Northwestern Oklahoma State University, he competed in both calf roping and steer wrestling, and earned a bachelor’s degree in education.
Doug began his teaching career as a fourth-grade teacher and was teaching middle school math at Jayhawk-Linn in Mound City, where he touched the lives of many young people and worked with wonderful friends over the past 25 years.
His passion for calf roping extended well beyond college, and he logged many miles from rodeo to rodeo building great friendships over the years. Some of his accomplishments in calf roping include IPRA rookie of the year, Great Lakes PRCA circuit finals contestant, Cheyenne Frontier Days performance qualifier and IFR qualifier in 1991. In 2016, he qualified for the Interstates Rodeo Assoc. finals, and Dylan wears his jacket from that association. He also competed in the United Rodeo Association for many years, and in the year-end finals for 2016 finished fifth overall in the over 40 calf roping. Dakota is honored to wear his URA jacket, and Dylan proudly wears the belt buckle he won.
Survivors include his wife Jana and daughters Dylan and Dakota of the home; parents Norman and Alice Hazelbaker, Redfield, Kan.; a sister, Carol Camac and husband Joe, Augusta, Kan.; a brother, Mike Hazelbaker and wife Susan, Alma, Kan.; and nieces and nephews Cole, Travis and Lucas Camac, Cole Fowles, Cassidy Anderson, Quincy and Emma Charleston, and Cooper, Colton and Canyon Charleston.
Cowboy Preacher Marty Brock conducted memorial services Friday, May 5, at the Fort Scott Fairgrounds Arena.
In lieu of flowers, the family strongly suggested memorials to the Hazelbaker Girls’ Scholarship Fund, which may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, PO Box 347, 201 S. Main, Fort Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com. The family had asked for any special memory or story of Doug to be brought to the service or mailed to Jana Hazelbaker, 1311 Hwy. 54, Redfield, KS 66769. These memories will be used to compile a scrapbook for Dylan and Dakota.
OBITUARIES
Rick “Rockin Rick” Nash ~ 11-13-1958 to 02-23-2026
Linn County News Published March 11, 2026 Rick "Rockin' Rick" Nash, 67, of Lawrence, Kan., passed away on Feb. 23, 2026, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, Lawrence, Kan. Rick was born to parents Joe Victor Nash and Janice Maline Heitman on Nov. 13, 1958,... [More]
Bernard Thomas “Tom” Brownback ~ 10-06-1938 to 02-27-2026
Linn County News Published March 4, 2026 Bernard Thomas "Tom" Brownback was born on a farm in Centerville, Kan., the fifth child born to William Earl and Kezia Ellen (Reynolds) Brownback on Oct. 6, 1938. He passed away on his farm in rural Blue Mound,... [More]
Bernard E. “Gene” Post ~ 05-02-1934 to 12-15-2025
Linn County News Published March 4, 2026 Bernard E. “Gene” Post, 91, of Mound City, Kan., passed away peacefully on Dec. 15, 2025. Born on May 2, 1934, in Mound City, Kan., he lived a life marked by generosity, quiet strength, and unwavering... [More]
More Obituaries
- Joy Dean Young ~ 01-13-1939 to 02-16-2026
- Ramona June Holland ~ 04-19-1956 to 02-07-2026
- Rebecca Lowe ~ 01-04-1948 to 02-09-2026
- Rex McCulley ~ 11-27-1946 to 02-14-2026
- Beverly Ann (Kisinger) Griffin ~ 10-07-1942 to 02-03-2026
- Katherine Paulette Curry ~ 02-27-1945 to 01-31-2026
- Terry Dean Crump ~ 02-03-1942 to 01-27-2026
- Viola May “Budd” Ralston ~ 02-04-1933 to 01-21-2026
NEWS
Commissioners hear from appraiser on valuations report from KPI
During the meeting on March 2, the Linn County Commissioners heard from County Appraiser Lisa Kellstadt who stated that in response to the KPI (Kansas Policy Institute) report on valuations she had sent documents to each commissioner and would like to report on those. Kellstadt... [More]
2025 data is in: Four straight years of unaffordable assessed valuation hikes. Where’s the relief?
Assessed valuation changes for 2025, released this morning, reiterate the need for a constitutional amendment to limit the increases. The average increase for existing residential property (not counting new construction) of 5.9% is more than double the inflation rate, and that’s... [More]
USD 346 potential $10 million bond issue discussed
The USD 346 Board of Education held a special meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 25, to discuss options for renovating the science suite at Jayhawk Linn along with several other items. The meeting began with discussing a timeline, with HVAC and plumbing kicking things off and a pre-construction... [More]
More News
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- La Cygne Council approves property purchase
- Commissioners discuss future of economic development
- Linn County Planning Commission approves Thies motorcycle CUP
- Governor Kelly issues state of disaster emergency for wildland fires
- Parker City Council awards roofing bid
- Commissioners receive update on large-scale culvert project
SPORTS
Pleasanton boys advance in Sub-State tournament, girls end season
The Pleasanton boys’ and girls’ basketball teams began their Sub-State tournament action this past week. Pleasanton is in the Madison 1A Div. 1 Sub-State and the boys entered the tournament as the 1 seed with a 20-1 record while the girls were the 11 seed with an... [More]
Jayhawk wrestling has four wrestlers place in the top four at State
The Jayhawk boys’ and girls’ wrestling teams traveled to Hays on Feb. 27-28 to compete in the 3-1A State tournament. The Hawks brought a total of 11 wrestlers to the event, six girls and five boys. The boys’ team earned three State medals while the girls’... [More]
Prairie View boys’ wrestling sends two to State
The Prairie View boys’ wrestling team traveled to Paola on Feb. 21 to compete in a 4A Regional to determine who would make the 4A State tournament in Salina on Feb. 27-28. The Buffalos took eight wrestlers and two emerged as qualifiers for the State tournament, Bentlee... [More]
More Sports
- Jayhawk boys’ wrestling sends five to State and sets milestones
- Prairie View basketball ends regular season with wins in the final week
- Pleasanton boys’ basketball finishes regular season as Three Rivers champions
- Jayhawk girls’ wrestling taking six wrestlers to State
- Pleasanton basketball faces off against Southeast and Erie
- Prairie View girls’ wrestling qualify five for State
- Prairie View boys/girls’ wrestling hosts Jayhawk in a dual
- Pleasanton basketball travels to Northeast and hosts Yates Center during Courtwarming week
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Call Barbara at 913-352-6235 or e-mail linncountynewsreporter@gmail.com
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