The Labette County Fair is fully underway and hundreds of participants and visitors are enjoying days and evenings at the fairgrounds in Oswego.

On tap for tonight (Wednesday) is the second performance of the IPRA/ACRA/Open Rodeo which will begin at 8 p.m. in the arena.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for children 6-12, 5 and under get in free.

The following events are still to come:
On Thursday, July 31, the 4-H Horse Show will include timed events and roping at 7 p.m. It will be held in the Grandstand Arena and the admission is free.

Josh Hucke and 4 Barrel will perform at 9:30 p.m. in the Larry Allen Family Pavilion with free admission.

On Friday, Aug. 1, the 4-H and FFA Livestock Premium Sale (beef, swine, lambs, and goats) will be at 5 p.m. Also on Friday night will be the Demo Derby, Team Derby at 8 p.m.

A pit pass will be $15, Adults $10 and Children $5. Dueces Wild will perform in the Larry Allen Pavilion at 10 p.m. Admission is free.

On Saturday, Aug. 2, the Demo Derby with 80 and newer cars and compact cars are on tap at 8 p.m.

The Wood Carver will have two shows daily on Thursday and Friday at noon and 8 p.m.

Cardinal Amusements Carnival has armbands every night for $15 from 7 to 10 p.m.

A special “Keepsake Edition” of Labette Avenue will be published two weeks after the fair has concluded, carrying all results and photos of the top two winners in each category.

Voters will go to the polls next Tuesday, Aug. 5, to pare down the candidates in numerous county, state and national elections.
The primary election polls will open at 7 a.m. and remain open until 7 p.m. Results will be posted on the taylornews.org website as soon as they are made available to Labette Avenue.    At the county level, incumbent commissioner Brian C. Kinzie is being challenged by fellow Republicans Pamela I. Oakley, Altamont, and Lowell Scott, Mound Valley. No Democrats have filed for this 2nd District position.
Republicans Rick Hizey and Jack W. Martin, both of Parsons, will compete for votes in the 3rd District county commissioner race. This is the seat formerly held by Jerry Carson who died July 19.
Running for county offices with no opposition are Linda Schreppel of Oswego (Republican) for county clerk; Crystal Addis of Oswego (Democrat) for county treasurer; Donna Strickland of Oswego (Democrat) for register of deeds; Hillary Haas of Erie (Republican) for county attorney; and Williams C. Blundell of Oswego (Republican) for county sheriff.
In state legislative races, incumbent senator Dwayne Umbarger of Thayer, a Republican, is being challenged by Iris M. VanMeter of Thayer, also a Republican, and David L. Miller of Parsons, a Democrat. This is for the Kansas State Senate 14th District.
Richard J. Proehl of Parsons, a Republican, is running unopposed for his incumbency as State Representative in the 7th House District.
Jerry D. Williams, Democrat, of Chanute, is running unopposed for the 8th District State Representative position which he currently holds.
U.S. Sen. Roberts of Dodge City, a Republican, is being challenged by two Democrates, Lee Jones of Overland Park and Jim Slattery of Topeka.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda of Topeka, a Democrat, is being challenged by two Republicans, Jim Ryun of Lawrence and Lynn Jenkins of Topeka. The winner of the Republican race will meet Boyda on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.
Numerous township officials will be listed on the ballot, as well.
Since Labette Avenue now goes to press on Tuesday evenings, election results will not be available before the newspaper’s deadline. Results will be posted at taylornews.org.

Part 2

BY ANDY TAYLOR
Labette Avenue

When Isaac “Ike” McCarty wounded one robber and killed another on the morning of July 14, 1933, the bank employee wasn’t merely trying to protect the assets of the Labette County State Bank in downtown Altamont.
He was standing up for justice.
Or, at least, that was what media reports wanted people to believe.
The real story of the failed robbery of the Labette County State Bank in 1933 was not the fact that two prison convicts tried to grab some quick cash and blaze a dusty trail to Mexico. The story placed its collective focus on “Ike” McCarty — the cool-and-calm cashier who bravely stopped the robbery by secretly perching himself in a crawl space above the bank vault and using government-issued weapons to kill robber Ken Conn and severely wounding counterpart Alvin Payton.
This was the first time when banks fought back against the cut-throat robbers and thieves who terrorized midwest banks in the early years of the Great Depression.
And, newspapers across the country had a heyday spilling the ink for that story.
“Altamont Bank Cashier Slays One Bandit, Wounds Aide” screamed the headline of the Parsons Sun on the afternoon of July 14. Being that the Parsons Sun was a member of the Associated Press, the story traveled across the world once it cleared the editor’s desk that day.
Soon, newspapers across the country printed the story of the brave Isaac “Ike” McCarty and his wife, Colene McCarty. Colene was the teller in the Labette County State Bank on that terror-filled morning in 1933. At one point during the robbery, Colene was used as a human shield while Conn tried to fend off a group of armed citizen defenders standing across the street from the bank.
Newspaper editorial pages soon descried the McCartys as modern-day heroes in an era when heroes were hard to find.
From the Tulsa Daily World, “Altamont has real reason for congratulation upon its cool-headed citizens. It will be recalled that in recent years, many bank robbers have been slain, and in almost every case, the killings have been in small-town banks. High-pressure, organized police methods and big town stuff do not get the results often brought on by nervy employees or level-headed citizens who happen in upon the scene. Small towns are the bandits’ picnic grounds — and very often their permanent stopping points.”
From the Denver Post, “People of Kansas and law-abiding citizens all over the country should be proud of Isaac McCarty, bank cashier at Altamont, Kan., who shot two robbers on Friday, killing one and seriously wounding the other. McCarty’s feat was a demonstration of extraordinary courage. One of the bandits who had invaded the bank had grabbed Mrs. McCarty and was holding her as a shield against the shotgun fire of her husband. McCarty dropped his shotgun, took a rifle and shot the robber once in the head and once in the body. A man must have not only implicit faith in his markmanship but superb nerve to shoot under such conditions.”
From the New York Evening Post, “We wish that society would protect its own as well as McCarty did. He evidently knew firearms and how to use them. He was 1,000 percent efficient in a sudden and brutal test. This seems to be the way in Kansas.”
“ . . . we admire the effectiveness of a man like McCarty and wish that more of us were like him.”
The Kansas City Star rushed its best photographer to Altamont to photograph Ike and Colene McCarty in the bank lobby, and those images of the young Altamont couple — Ike sporting rolled-up shirt sleeves and Colene wearing a sleeveless sun dress on the account of the sultry conditions in 1933 — soon were plastered in newspapers across the nation. The Kansas City Star even provided a two-page spread as to the whereabouts of the 11 Kansas prison escapees, which included Conn and Payton, and placed the photographs of the McCartys squarely at the center of the article.
* * * *
The McCartys’ mailbox also became filled with congratulatory letters. After the robbery, Colene McCarty maintained a scrapbook of the newspaper articles and letters that she and her husband had received.
Among those letters written to them were many notes from total strangers.
From Sherwood E. Tuthill of Riverhead, N.Y.: “If I had my way, Congress would issue you a gold medal and appropriate $5,000 for you and a pension for life. You have done one of the finest and most praiseworthy things a man has ever done. You are a real man. If there were more like you in this country, we would not be overrun with murdering thugs and robbers and kidnappers. May your life be long and happy.”
From Wirt Leake of Dallas, Texas: “Today’s Dallas News had a picture of you and your wife and the message about you taking a few fancies against those roughnecks, and I just want to felicitate you upon your markmanship and guts.”
Paul MacCaskill of the Fourth National Bank in Wichita wrote, “While your intelligent sizing up of the situation, and cold neves in handling it, is one of the finest exhibitions I have ever heard of, I maintain that it was the consciousness that you could hit what you were shooting at, and NOT hit what you were shooting at, that got yourself, your wife, and your institution out of a tough spot, and rid the country of two vicious brutes that were more of a menace than rabid dogs or rattlesnakes.”
“Ike” McCarty also was the beneficiary of several lucrative rewards — for 1930s standards — for his actions in stopping the robbery.
The Neosho Nurseries Company in Neosho, Mo., provided the McCartys with one dozen, two-year, field-grown rose bushes to add to their garden.
The William J. Burns International Detective Agency in Kansas City, Mo., offered “Ike”  a job (“Ike” would decline the opportunity to join the firm).
The Army Reference Club of America gave “Ike” a free membership, and the Northwestern University Law College offered the McCartys a free tour of its Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory in Chicago.
The Kansas Bankers Association also gave the McCartys a $500 check, and the State of Kansas, via a letter written by Gov. Alf Landon, also gave the couple a $500 reward.
“Your brave act in handling a very unpleasant and dangerous situation has been a real inspiration to the peace officers, and law abiding citizens of this state,” Landon wrote. “It is a real pleasure for me to extend to you this gratitude I feel for the splendid work you have done.”
* * * *
Perhaps the most colorful and vivid description of the Labette County State Bank robbery came not from the big-city  newspapers but from the hometown newspaper, the Altamont Journal which was one of the forerunners to today’s Labette Avenue. Editor and publisher Frank E. George had more than a newspaperman’s interest in the story; he was the father of Colene (George) McCarty and a charter member of the Labette County State Bank board of directors.
When Frank E. George wrote the story about the bank robbery for the Altamont Journal, he used his own pen and intense knowledge of Altamont to fill his weekly column, called “By George,” with the names of local people, where they were on that July morning, how they responded to the situation and what happened afterwards.
George began his column by mentioning “Ike” McCarty’s known skills with a gun. He and other Altamont natives had been members of a local gun club that competed at state tournaments.
“At least a dozen of the Altamont marksmen can hit the eagle in a silver dollar with a high-powered government rifle at a distance of fifty yards,” George wrote. “The other remaining eight will hit the dollar, and some of the Altamont sharp shooters have always scored high at the annual state tournament.”
Business owners along Huston Avenue served as a bankers’ vigilance committee — whereby they defended the bank in the event of a robbery. The U.S. government provided weapons and ammunition to smaller communities with limited police protection as a way to stall the growing menace of bank heists.
* * * *
Even though the McCarty scrapbook is filled with yellowing newspaper clippings containing banner headlines, there is one small note that Colene McCarty kept tucked away in an envelope to show the danger of the robbery. In a letter to “Ike” McCarty bearing a Coffeyville postmark, an unsigned letter writer typed the following message, “To a dirty yellow cowardly murderer: you better leave that town if you want to live. You would have been killed a few days ago, but you was always in a crowd. Mark our word. There are several in our gang that are after you. Remember the K.C. affair. Better leave there at once.”
The “K.C. affair” refers to the shooting that took place at Kansas City’s Union Station one month before the Altamont robbery. In the Union Station massacre, one of Conn’s and Payton’s prison friends and escapees, Wilbur Underhill, was believed to have been a conspirator in a bloody shootout that resulted in the murders of five people, including four law enforcement officers.
Various historians have claimed that Underhill lived in Coffeyville and Cherryvale for a brief time after his escape from prison (Underhill would die in 1934 after committing the “tri-state terror” through Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri). That would put him in the vicinity of Altamont at the time of the Labette County State Bank robbery. And, the Coffeyville postmark, combined with Underhill living in the region, could well be clues pointing to Underhill as a possible author of that terror-filled letter.
* * * *
Throughout their married lives, “Ike” and Colene McCarty never had children. So, the tale of their “15 minutes of fame” now rest with nieces and nephews who recall the story from their childhood.
Among the nieces is Joan (George) Paine, formerly of Oswego and Caney and now living in Sun City, Ariz. The Labette County State Bank robbery took place one week before her fourth birthday, but she remembers her grandfather, Frank E. George, calling H.K. “Skeet” George, Joan’s father, on the morning of the robbery to relay the shocking news.
H.K. “Skeet” George was the editor of the Mound Valley Times-Journal and worked part-time at the Coffeyville Daily Journal.
When “Skeet” George made the six-mile trek from Mound Valley to Altamont to see the carnage from that robbery, he was greeted by his father standing in the entrance of the Labette County State Bank.
A stalwart member of the Republican Party, the elder George, whose Altamont Journal’s carried the motto, “Republican: yesterday, today, tomorrow,” pointed to a photograph of President Franklin D. Roosevelt that had been placed in the bank lobby since Roosevelt’s inauguration in March 1933.
When “Ike” McCarty pulled the trigger of the double-barrel shotgun squarely at the face of robber Alvin Payton, the buckshot not only blinded Payton but also bounced off the bank’s tile floor and hit the photograph of the nation’s president.
The Roosevelt photograph never fell from its perch but rested crooked and cockeyed in the aftermath of the robbery — an image that delighted the Republican-proud publisher of the Altamont Journal.
Said Paine in her recollection from that morning in 1933, “Grandpa told my dad, ‘Well, looks like Ike not only got the robbers, but he also got Roosey, too.”
Paine also recalls that the reward money given to her aunt and uncle following the robbery was enough for a down payment to build a new home in Altamont.
“Ike always joked that it was blood money that helped build their home,” Paine said. “Other than that comment, Ike and Colene never said anything else to us about the robbery. It was never brought up at family gatherings. It wasn’t that the event was secretive. It was never a topic of mutual conversation among them, my parents, or others in the family. But, we were all aware of the story.”
* * * *
The body of Ken Conn, the prison escapee who was mortally wounded by “Ike” McCarty, would become somewhat of a regional oddity. As his dead body sat in a coffin in an Altamont funeral home, several thousand people would view his corpse — similar to the way the ventilated Dalton gang would become a tourist attraction in nearby Coffeyville some 41 years earlier.
And, Payton, blinded in one eye and much of his face disfigured, would return to the state penitentiary in Lansing, Kan. He was originally sentenced to the state prison after robbing the Edna State Bank in 1931.
* * * *
Ironically, there was one theft during and after the Labette County State Bank robbery on July 14, 1933.  In trying to collect their wits and find some time to be alone, “Ike” and Colene McCarty drove to Parsons on the evening of July 14 for a quiet dinner.
But, when Colene reached in her purse to pay for the meal tab, she noticed that her wallet had been stolen.
Recognizing the McCartys from the newspaper coverage of that day, the restaurant manager gladly obliged the couple with a free meal.
The only money taken on the morning of July 14?
About $9 in currency and loose change.

Editor’s note: Writer Andy Taylor maintains a close interest in this story since Ike and Colene McCarty were his great-aunt and uncle. His mother, Kathy Taylor, was a niece of the McCartys.

A key position in the Labette County courthouse is vacant following the resignation of County Appraiser LeRoy Burk, effective July 31.
Burk handed commissioners Lonie Addis and Brian Kinzie his letter of resignation at Monday’s county commission meeting. It was accepted without discussion.
Burk handed a detailed letter to a member of the press before he left the commission room. In the letter he said he was retiring “due to constructive termination.” That reason was not in the letter he gave commissioners.
Several conflicts between the appraiser and the commissioners were cited in the letter, mostly in regard to the scope of his duties and his pay.
Burk served the county as appraiser for 11 years. He accepted the position in July of 1997. This position is appointed for a term of four years and the  salary is fixed by the state.
The county appraiser’s office is operated under guidelines provided by the Property Valuation Department in Topeka, however the appraiser is still an appointment employee of the commission.
Burk gave no indication of his future career plans.
IN OTHER MATTERS at Monday’s meeting:
• Mac Young gave the commissioners an update on the County Community Corrections Department. They signed three documents pertaining to state budgeting funds.
• Parsons Police Chief John Keele was given a congratulations greeting from the commissioners on his recent chief’s position. Keele, Labette County Sheriff William Blundell and 911 Dispatch Supervisor Brandy Grassl, explained the need for a 911 radio console at the Parsons Police Department.
Approval was given to purchase a computer, equipment and software for the Parsons Police Dept., in the amount of $53,179.15. They will send out lease purchase bids from a county lending institution for a three-year loan for 80 percent of the cost.         The other 20 percent will be taken out of the 911 fund now. The end of the lease will be in 2011. Deadline for the bid quote is Aug.15 at 5 p.m., Clerk’s Office. Quotes will be opened Aug. 18.
“This purchase will enable both cities to have the exact equipment and training in dispatching situation and it will be an added back-up to each other,” Commissioner Kinzie said.
“We have a good working relations between the City of Parsons and Labette County,” Commissioner Addis said.
“We had all this established back in 1994, but didn’t do it,” Sheriff Blundell said. “It will be great to have a live back-up,” he said.
• Sandy Krider, Road and Bridge Supervisor was given a signed contract commitment of county funds in the amount of $43,300 on bridge project #50C-4256-01. The funds will be taken out of special bridge. The contractor is J&J Contractors, Inc. of Iola. The bridge is located at 10,000 and Clay.
• Brandy Grassl will bring back more information on the county adding an emergency notification system at Thursday’s end of the month meeting. The contract needed clarification.
• Labette County Fair Board members: Jeff Falkenstien, Rod Landrum, Everett Becker and Rick McKinzie expressed appreciation to the county. President Falkenstien gave the commission an update on what the fair board accomplished last year and the benefit the new construction has helped the county.
Last year they hosted the 4-H and Livestock Show for Montgomery County, since their fairgrounds were severely damaged by flooding. “We were able to host it free, due to our facility,” Falkenstien said. “It was a tremendous  benefit, serving over 300 families to show their animals.”
The City of Oswego is a great help and also the Labette Corrections Conservation Camp during fair week.
The livestock sale is the greatest scholarship presence netting over $92,185 last year. It is very significant being able to host that for the kids, Falkenstien said.
New bleachers have been purchased from the fair board and the Parsons Community Foundation at a cost of over $14,500. More have been ordered for next year.
“Our long term goal is to move the arena to north and south and add permanent bleachers to that area. That way more activities can be held there, and doors of opportunity will be there,” Falkenstien said.
The fair board has spent over $4,000 on the hog and beef barns getting them back in shape. They have over 81 beef animals registered this year at the fair.
They have spent $3,500 on the beef barn roof to preserve it and make it last longer.
Commissioners commented that the late Commissioner Jerry Carson was a big believer in the county  youth. He was a great supporter. Brian Kinzie said Jerry believed that this was the best bang for the buck in the county.
Commissioner Addis said we spend over $100,000 in juvenile detention in the county and the 4-H groups help families keep involved together and therefore keeps a lot of them out of trouble. “It’s the interaction between parent and children and the county can be a small part of it,” he said. “I will always be strong to have support for it,” Addis said.
Rod Landrum said they plan on getting a plaque in memory of Jerry Carson and his support to the Labette County Fair. He also added that the fair couldn’t be what it is without the support of the county.
Rod concluded in his enthusiastic cheer: “Ready or not - we’re having a fair!”
The commissioners were invited to tour the fairgrounds on Wednesday at 11 a.m.
• Laura Moore was given approval on a pay request in the amount of $12,176.40 to S&S Lumber of Edna for Osage Township Fire Station project and $5,000 for cash on hand.
Others attending were: Lowell Scott, Rick  Hizey and Jack Martin.
Commissioners will meet this Thursday, July 31 for the end of the month meeting.

The Fair has been a tradition for many families of Labette County. Labette Avenue has researched the attendance and participation of a few families who have spent much time and effort in making the Fair an on-going success.
One such family includes the Richardsons of Oswego. For many years Ruth Richardson entered quilts, food items, flower items and even became a judge for some years for the Fair. With her passing in 2007, her young, great granddaughters had already been involved at a young age in cooking and horticulture entries. This year Lauren Holinsworth, 10, and Paige Holinsworth, 7, came from St. Louis to enter their lap quilts in the Fair activities. Their grandmother, Brenda Richardson, and their mother, Laurie (Richardson) Phillips were teaching their young granddaughters and daughters how to quilt. They made lap quilts which they want to give to children in hospitals after their Fair judging.

For more information, see the July 30 edition of Labette Avenue. To locate previously listed death notices, type the decedent’s last name in the archive search box on Labette Avenue’s home page.

Gina LeAnn (Clayborn) Scroggins

PRYOR, Okla.–Gina LeAnn (Clayborn) Scroggins, 42, of Pryor, Okla., died Thursday, July 24, 2008, after a long battle with cancer. She grew up in Chetopa and graduated from Chetopa High School.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m., Monday, at the First Baptist Church, Salina, Okla. Interment will be at 2 p.m. at Oak Hill Cemetery, Chetopa, Kan. Stephens Memorial Chapel, 1525 NE First St., Pryor, Okla., 74362, is in charge of arrangements.

In lieu of other remembrances donations can be made to Mayes County Cancer Support. If you wish to send condolences to Gina’s family or to sign her “Memory Book” you may do so at www.stephensmemorialchapel.com.

Shirley George

OSWEGO—Shirley George, 64, of Oswego, Kan., passed away Wednesday, July 16, 2008. She is survived by her husband, Norman George, of the home.

Cremation has taken place. Graveside services were held Saturday, July 26, at Sherman City Cemetery, Sherman, Kan. Arrangements were under the direction of Murdock Funeral Home, Oswego.

Thomas Owen Landstad

PARSONS—Thomas Owen Landstad, 61, of Parsons, Kan., died Wednesday, July 23, 2008, at his home.

Complete obituary details will be announced by Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home in Parsons.

Carole Sue Terhune

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.—Carole Sue (Stoker) Terhune, 73, of Grand Junction, Colo., died Wednesday, July 23, 2008.

No services are planned.

Memorials may be made in her name to the Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado, 2754 Compass Drive, Suite 377, Grand Junction, Colo., 81506. Callahan Edfast Mortuary in Grand Junction was in charge of arrangements.

Earl T. Weikel

COLUMBUS—Earl T. Weikel, 79, of Columbus, Kan., passed away Thursday, July 24, 2008, at Landmark Hospital in Joplin, Mo.

Graveside Funeral Services will be 10 a.m., Tuesday, July 29, at Mt. Olive Cemetery in Pittsburg, under the direction of Murdock Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to “Columbus Meals on Wheels” with the Murdock Funeral Home, 132 East Pine, Columbus, KS 66725 acting as custodian.

Donald Eugene Vance

OSWEGO—Donald Eugene Vance, 66, of Oswego, Kan., passed away Friday, July 25, 2008.

Graveside services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Oswego Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of Murdock Funeral Home, Oswego.

Laurel W. “Larry” Pearson

PARSONS—Laurel W. “Larry” Pearson, 94, of Parsons, Kan., died Saturday, July 26, 2008, at his home. He had been in his usual health and death was not expected.

Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m., Tuesday, July 29, at St. Patrick’s Catholic School Gymnasium in Parsons. Burial will be in Mt. Olivet Cemetery. The Rosary will be held at 6:30 p.m., Monday, June 28, at Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home in Parsons.

Memorials are suggested to St. Patrick’s Church Renovation Fund or St. Patrick’s School Endowment Fund. These may be left at or mailed to Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home, P.O. Box 374, Parsons, KS 67357.

Ephner J. Bowin

PARSONS—Ephner J. Bowin, 93, of Parsons, Kan., died Monday, July 28, 2008, at Labette Health.

The service is tentatively scheduled for Friday. Further details will be announced by Carson-Wall Funeral Home.

The Labette County 11-12 year-old All Stars are Kansas state champions after defeating Independence in the championship finals 6-0. They won the Kansas Cal Ripken 12 and under (60’) State Tournament played at Columbus, Kansas, this weekend with the final game played on Monday evening. They were undefeated in the tournament winning over Cottonwood Valley, Gas Capital, and Columbus before winning the final game.
Team players represent the Altamont, Edna, and Mound Valley Little League baseball teams.  Players include Braden Anderson, Chase Dodsworth, Westin Myers, Will Owens, Blake Palmer, Joey Reeves, Austin Ryan, Jacob Saye, Bryce Thomas, Tucker Thompson, and Dylan Waugh.  They are coached by Robert Palmer, Jamie Owens, and Briar Palmer.
They will travel to the Regional Tournament in Dickinson, North Dakota.  There they will compete against other state champions from Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, and Colorad

Alexis, Mason and Ethan Carter, all children of David and Dale Carter of Chetopa, are all active in the Labette County Fair.
All three are participants in the Goat Show. Alexis, oldest and only sister, has two goats, Blondie, and Otis. Last year Alexis earned the title of Grand Champion Sr. Showman, Reserve Grand Champion overall, and Grand Goat.
Mason, middle brother, also has two goats, Daisy and Duke. He is really excited about showing them and hopes to achieve as high a prize as his sister has in the past.
Ethan, youngest, also has two goats, Blondie II, and Blackie. He is excited about showing and hopes to do well in all the classes.
All three are excited and have put in a lot of work.
David and Dale Carter are the owners of Riggs Drug Store in Chetopa.

Sarah Billingsly, a senior at Chetopa High School, is working as a photographer again this year at the Labette County Fair for Labette Avenue.

Billingsly will be seen taking lots of pictures of fair winners, which will be fetaured in the Annual Keepsake Edition on Aug. 13. She will also be taking general interest photos which will be put on the taylornews.org website under Clicks & Grins.

She is the daughter of Michael and Maria Billingsly of Chetopa.