There have been several references to all terrain vehicles, utility vehicles, micro trucks and golf carts in the Labette Avenue. This writing is an attempt to define and explain each vehicle and the purposes for them to avoid confusion in future discussion. There are distinct differences, so Bill Miller offered to give pictures and definitions of each vehicle. Since this discussion could become quite lengthy, the newspaper will discuss one per week.
Micro/mini trucks along with UTVs are normally allowed on most country roads. The reason for this is, they are used by farmers, livestock producers, hunters and fishermen. They usually have the standard amenities of most street machines. They have two and four-wheel drives with engines of 300cc through 600cc which have top speeds of 40 to 60 mph. They are good work horses for limited heavy use. These trucks are not made for long distance over the road hauling.

Labette County High School will hold its annual Gatorade Football Scrimmage on Friday, Aug. 29, beginning at 6 p.m. on Lucas Field in Altamont.
Price of admission is one container of Gatorade per person.
Grizzly Football Fans may purchase season tickets, 2008 Discount Booster Club Memberships one night only and take advantage of the Booster Club Clearance Sale – shorts, shirts, sandals – all items $5 each.
For more information contact Athletic Director Jesse Ybarra at 620-784-5321.

Daniel Goddard, executive director of the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant Local Redevelopment Authority (KSAAP-LRPA) was honored recently at the Association of Defense Communities annual meeting in Monterey, Ca, for 10 years of service on the board of directors of the organization. ADC offers networking and assistance for communities dealing with the challenges of being a BRAC community.
Nearly 800 people attended the conference, representing community leaders, local staff members, military and private businesses specializing in the redevelopment and environmental efforts. Others attending from the local community were LRPA board members Brian Kinzie, Lonie Addis and deputy director Ann Charles.     A citation from ADC’s president Michael Houlemard, Jr. said Goddard was a successful Local Reuse Authority executive director at two BRAC sites, whose “insight has been invaluable, as had his commitment to share his knowledge of the complex base reuse process with leaders in other communities, especially those affected by the 2005 BRAC round.” Goddard was the executive director at Grissom Air Force Base prior to moving to Labette County.
In addressing Goddard’s decision to tackle a second base closure, Houlemard said, “In particular we admire your vision and dedication to take on KSAAP and the challenges that come with rural base redevelopment.”
During the conference Goddard participated in a panel discussing the differences in rural and urban redevelopment challenges, acted as moderator of another session and presented Defense Community Awards to the recipients.

By Ray Huff
Ever since I was a little boy I have been told that you couldn’t control Mother Nature. As a farmer I came to know this all too well. Now that I am in education Service Valley Charter Academy has found another entity that is uncontrollable … the government.
To start our summer off we all were hit hard with seven weeks of almost constant rain. This caused our timeline to lengthen considering the completion of our Charter project. Our foundation and stem wall could not be poured and it’s not a whole lot of fun to build fence in the pouring rain. Needless, to say we are still several weeks behind our “well-intended” plans.
Our second blow came only recently, when we found out that the state is well educated in the subject of procrastination. As most of you know by now we were awarded a grant by the state of Kansas, which was in the amount of a few hundred thousand dollars. As of today we still have no clue when we will be receiving that money. That in itself makes it very difficult to get things done.
Despite all of these setbacks, things are getting done … and done well. The state-of-the-art greenhouse is about 85% complete, the fence has been built and the chicken coop has been delivered. Teachers and students spirits have not diminished either. Theresa Farris, Kindergarten/First grade teacher, has built a mobile butterfly garden for her students and Karla Wimp, 2/3 teacher, has compiled a lengthy list of environmental vocabulary words for the entire school. Several students even brought gloves the first day of school in anticipation of working in the gardens.
Although our timeline has lengthened and our financial situation is still unknown we still hope to have the majority of the outside projects completed by the first of October. Even if this doesn’t happen one thing can be certain – Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night … or the government stays SVCA staff from the swift completion of their appointed task.
If you would like to make any donations or set up an appointment to tour the facilities or discuss the enrollment of your child please email or call Ray Huff: rhuff@usd504.org or 620 674-1624.

Two churches that have served the Chetopa community for many decades have closed in recent weeks, and at this point, it appears neither will be reopened.
The Sacred Heart Catholic Church sanctuary was torn down this month after it was deemed an unsafe building structure.
Even though the Parish Hall remains, diocese officials said the church will not be rebuilt. The Chetopa parish has been combined with the Catholic Church in Oswego.
Tentative plans call for a memorial to be built on the original church site and the Parish Hall building has been dedicated to the Knights of Columbus for their use.
Sacred Heart has occupied the northwest corner of Ninth and Maple since 1900.
Vance Cauthon, executive secretary for the Kansas Assemblies of God, said the Chetopa First Assembly of God has been closed, a decision that was made last Tuesday, Aug. 19.
There are no plans to re-establish the local congregation, and Cauthon said the building has not been sold at this point.
Cauthon said members of the congregation have been notified of the closing.
“It is always a sad day when a local church closes,” he said.
The Chetopa Assembly of God started in a store front in the downtown area. The congregation later purchased the building at Sixth and Locust Streets from the Presbyertian Church. The current sanctuary was built in the early 1970s and the old building was torn down.
The large stained glass window that was located behind the pulpit in the old building was used in the new sanctuary.
The west extension of classrooms and fellowship  hall were added a few years later.

Dr. Jack Martin, Parsons, was sworn in as a Labette County Commissioner during Monday’s regular meeting.
Martin was appointed by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius last week following a nomination by the Labette County Central Committee, to serve out the unexpired term of Jerry Carson who died in June.
Martin already had won the Republican primary for the position and no Democrats filed for the commission post.
In other business on Monday, commissioners went over details with Larry Reynolds from the state appraiser’s office about handling local administrative duties in the county appraiser’s office in the absence of a certified appraiser.
The 2009 budget was approved following a public hearing.
They also signed an agreement with Community National Bank for a $13,385 lease on 911 console equipment.
Laure Moore, grants specialist, submitted one bid for the removal of asbestos from the Osage Township fire building and community center in the amount of $940 from TriAd Environmental Services.