Arkansas City recently lost one of its champions. Karen Baird-Welch served the community of Arkansas City first through the Police Department as an emergency dispatcher for more than 28 years and then as a City Commissioner and Mayor. Thanks to some very generous donors and working in collaboration with Karen’s family, we were able to place two memorial plaques commemorating Karen’s service to this community. The plaques are placed in the lobby of the police department and in the lobby in the basement of City Hall. When Karen started with the department all those years ago, dispatch was located in the basement of City Hall.