A Garnett High School graduate told a group of local business people last week that his roots and experiences from Garnett gave him the foundation to handle one of the most traumatic experiences of his life. Retired Kansas Air National Guard Brigadier General Jay Selanders, a 1976 Garnett High grad, was the keynote speaker at the Garnett Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet. Selanders, flying in a mission in Kuwait in 1990, successfully landed a KC-135 refueling tanker after the plane was shaken so hard in a jet wash from other planes that both the engines on one wing broke off. The landing has been widely reviewed by the Military. Selanders told the audience the ability to function under such crisis conditions was enhanced by a background in Garnett which formed a foundation of work ethic, solid education and growing up with the influence of Veterans of World War II.
At the Banquet, the Chamber honored the Dutch Country Cafe as Business of the Year, The Garnett Senior Center as Organization of the Year, and Troy and Donna Hart as the Volunteers of the Year.
