Labette County Election Officer Linda Schreppel said the Courthouse in Oswego will have late voting this Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 29 and 30, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Also on Saturday, Nov. 1, the Courthouse will be open to vote over the counter in advance from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Betty Harreld, Chetopa, has something special as a remembrance of her mother, Helen Simonson. A crocheted picture of the Lord’s Supper hangs in the Chetopa United Methodist Church. The picture is framed and is about two and one-half feet high by six feet long. Betty said her mother crocheted it by looking at a picture–not by a pattern or by counting stitches, but simply by looking at a picture to copy with her stitches.
Helen Simonson was born in 1900 and passed away at age 89 in 1989. She was born in Chicago and came from Peoria, Ill., to the Webb City, Mo., area where she worked for approximately 15 years. She later came to Chetopa to be near her daughter. She gave the “Last Supper” to the Methodist Church before she passed away. The crocheted piece disappeared for a time, but re-appeared and again became a prized possession of the Chetopa United Methodist Church.

The Third Annual Bluegrass on the Bluff is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 25, in the Oswego Community Center located adjacent to the fairgrounds.
The Coles will again host the event which is an outgrowth of “Bluegrass on the Creek” which was held at their farm for several years.
The show will begin at 4 p.m. and there will be music events starting at  noon when guitar and banjo workshops are held, continuing at 2 p.m. with jam sessions — and anyone may come and join in.
Corky Dow of Carthage, Mo., will serve as emcee.
RV and tent camping will be available by contacting the City of Oswego, 620 795-4433.
Being the host group, the Coles will be there not only to sing and pick for the crowd but also to enjoy the evening with their friends. The Coles are composed of Orin - guitar, Retha - banjo, Brad - fiddle, Travis - dobro, Kevin - bass, Lynette - mandolin, Madison - guitar and mandolin and Logan on guitar.
The Coles reside on farms located only a mile apart and they are two brothers who married two sisters.
They sing lots of a capella music but also add strings for a good part of their repertoire.
Spring Street will be making their local debut. They all reside in Tulsa and are composed of Mike Williams, Dan Nieto, Larry Todd, Randy Ramsey, Nick Alberty, Allen Irvin and Halston Williams.
The Park Family from Bartlesville (formerly of Caney) will be here again. The Coles say, “Our festival wouldn’t be complete without the Parks’ talent. They bring good ol’ bluegrass sound to every performance.”
Family members are Andy, Rose, Seth, Cole, Paige, Ava and Olivia.
Triple L Band from Portales, N.M. will also make their Labette County debut. Len and Amy Miller, along with their sons, Lance, Landon and Levi, have put together a family band that is sure to please.
Crosswired from Lebanon, Mo., will be bring country charm to the festival. The group consists of Kirk Parker, Tim Henson, Mike Henson, Evan Eden and Mark Layman.
The 2008 sponsors of Bluegrass on the Bluff are the City of Oswego, Bartlett Coop Association, Gary Schenck Insurance of Altamont and Labette Avenue.
The Coles invite everyone to come and enjoy this special event which, in the past, has drawn capacity crowds.

There were approximately 200 attending the Southeast Kansas County Officials District Fall Meeting hosted by Labette County on Thursday, Oct. 16. Pictured is Labette County Treasurer Crystal Addis (right) greeting  Juanita Hodgeson, Cherokee County Treasurer (middle).     Photo by Rena Russell

Kelly Karnes was crowned home queen at Chetopa High School last Friday night and Clint Black was crowned king.The Chetopa homecoming court included freshmen attendants Justice Riddle and Whitney Hillis; junior candidates Emily Moses and Andrew Porter; 2007 King Clint Black; 2008 King senior Cody Hillis; 2008 Queen junior Kelly Karnes; 2007 Queen Renae Bruning; junior candidates Judd Noble and Jenea Jackson, sophomore candidates Justin Orns and Lindsey Pease; Price Damon Wilkinson and Princess Braili Conard         (Photo by Juliana Kepner)

 * * *

Jade Lambkins was crowned homecoming queen during coronation ceremonies held last Friday, Oct. 17 at LCHS. Queen candidates include: Katie Gilpin, daughter of Mark and Rhonda Gilpin;  Lauren Journot, daughter of Mike and Diane Journot; Queen Jade Lambkins, daughter of Greg and Melissa Lambkins; Leigh Ann Omarkhail, daughter of Peter and Connie Omarkhail, and Jennifer Martin, daughter of Keith Martin and Brenda Martin. David Rohling was the crownbearer. He is the son of Jim and Rhonda Rohling. Kamri Saye, was the flower girl. She is the daughter of Aaron and Terri Saye.

Friday night area football games schedule will be the following:
Chetopa High School will be at Central Burden, game at 7 p.m.
Labette County High School will be at home with Girard for Senior Night, game at 7 p.m.
Oswego High School will be at Sedan at 7 p.m.

Upcoming other sports schedules include:
Saturday, Oct. 25 -
CHS Cross Country at Regionals
LC Volleyball at Sub-state
LC Cross Country at Regionals
Thursday, Oct. 30 -
CHS Football at home
LC Football at Parsons

By Marna Taylor
LABETTE AVENUE
Recently, the staff of Labette Avenue paid a visit to Brenda’s Berries. Much to our surprise, red raspberries were still hanging on the vines, and we were able to pick a pint each. Brenda Reid, the owner, mentioned that they had lived in the Chetopa area for 28 years, had been on the farm 12 years and had been in the fruit business for 8 years.
Brenda provided information freely about her knowledge and expertise in fruit production. She explained how she kept her berry patch chigger free by controlling weeds and removing the old canes that had fruited. “There is a lot of pruning necessary on blackberries,” said Brenda. Her oldest blackberry plants were planted in 2000. “The roots will grow indefinitely, but the canes are biannual,” she said.
Brenda and her husband, Bill Reid, have their doctorates in horticulture. She taught at K-State and has put into practice what she taught. Bill and Brenda wrote a book in 2007 entitled “Fruit and Nut Production”, Stipes Publishing of Champagne, Ill.
The Reids have been married for 31 years. They have three children––Cathy, 23 who is in Atlanta majoring in Theology at Emory University; Sarah is a senior at Missouri State in Springfield majoring in Electronic Arts; Michael is nearly 17 and is a junior at Columbus High School. He helps on the farm along with a friend, Lucas Epler, also a student at Columbus High School, who helps on a part-time basis. They do a lot of the pruning of the blackberries.
Right now, they have a second crop of red raspberries which will last a couple of more weeks. The fruit is ripe and beautiful right now. Anyone wanting them should call first to make sure they haven’t been recently picked and are not available for a couple of days.
Apples are also available now. Anyone wanting them should call ahead to get apples as Brenda does all of the picking on these. This is especially necessary if anyone wants larger quantities of 20 pounds or more.
There are two varieties to select from. Brenda uses root stock for some of the apples. The GoldRush apples are yellow and are particularly resistant to apple scab thus they need less pesticides. These apples are sweeter. The name GoldRush was selected because they give a rush of flavor when eaten. They are good storage apples and will keep seven to eight months in the refrigerator.
The Enterprise apples are a red apple which are sweet tart somewhat comparable to Jonathan but are crisper than Jonathan. They will keep six to seven months in the refrigerator.
The Reids have 15 different kinds of jams and jellies. Brenda produces the fruit but Bill makes the jams and jellies. He has a special recipe that requires less sugar.
Brenda produced 10,000 pounds of peaches on their one acre orchard this summer. Brenda said they had a great summer.
They will have Enterprise apples until Nov. 1 and GoldRush apples until Nov. 15.
The great thing about their lives as fruit and nut producers is that they particularly love what they are doing. The next fruit season will begin in early June 2009.
For more information, call (620) 597-2450. The farm is located 4.5 miles east of Chetopa on Highway 166, then 1/3 mile south on 95th Street.

Kylie Ludwig joined the staff of the K-State Research and Extension Labette County office as a family and consumer sciences agent on Oct. 6.
She worked previously as an assistant psychosocial coordinator at Labette County High School and as a case manager and psychosocial facilitator for the Community Mental Health Center of Crawford County, Kan.
Ludwig earned a bachelor’s degree in family studies and human services from Kansas State University.
Family and consumer sciences extension agents provide leadership in their communities by developing and delivering educational programming relative to family related issues including nutrition, food safety, parenting, financial management, health and safety.
Ludwig grew up in Edna, and went to high school at Labette County. He has been married to Jared Ludwig for four years. They have one son, Colton Ludwig born in March of this year.  They moved to Pittsburg when Jared got home from Iraq so he could finish school and they have been back in Parsons since August 2007.
Ludwig enjoys anything outdoors, sports, cooking, animals, and walking.
“I am looking forward to meeting the people of Labette County and finding out what their needs are for continuing education.  I am trying to get the entire county involved with K-State Research and Extension and I am planning on going to all the towns and getting my face out there.  I am hoping that it will make more people aware of the Extension Office and that we are available to help the citizens in the community by answering everyday questions,” Ludwig said.
Ludwig replaces Jean Rowland who has recently retired and has moved to McPherson, Kan.
Extension agents are jointly employed in a partnership between K-State Research and Extension, headquartered on the Kansas State University campus in Manhattan, and the local county extension council.
The role of K-State Research and Extension is to encourage the adoption of research-based information to improve the quality of life for Kansans. K-State Research and Extension is the short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service.
The telephone number for the Labette County office is 620-784-5337.Kylie Lud