BY KATHY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

CANEY — The Christmas season will be ushered into Caney next week with special events held Dec. 4 through Dec 7.

The Caney Christmas Parade will take place Thursday night, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. in downtown Caney. As of press time there are between 40-45 entries in the parade and those who still wish to be a part of the event can do so even as late as Dec. 4. Call the Caney Chamber of Commerce, the organization sponsoring the parade, at 879-5131, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., to list your parade entry.

First and second place certificates will be awarded in the following categories: Commercial, Religious, Youth, Walking, Vintage/Classic Cars and Trucks, Tractors, Pets, Horses and Motorcycles or Bikes.

Santa Claus will make his debut that night arriving in Caney atop a Caney Fire Department fire truck. Following the parade he will meet with boys and girls in the Wanna Be a Christian Cowboy Church, 4th and State. This is a great time to bring a camera and take a picture of your child with Santa.

Prior to the parade on Dec. 4, the Caney Lions Club’s Chili Feed will be held in the basement of the First Christian Church, 100 E. 4th, from 5 to 7 p.m. A menu of chili, drink and dessert will be sold for a nominal price.

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On Saturday, Dec. 6, the Can-Kan Dreambuilders in conjunction with the Caney Masonic Lodge will sponsor “Breakfast With Santa, at the lodge hall, 302 N. McGee (hwy 75). Breakfast of sausage and pancakes, juice, milk or coffee will sell for $3 per person. A child’s 3×5 picture with Santa Claus will cost $2 per child. Proceeds from the event will go the Can-Kan Dreambuilders who are raising money for a new library facility in Caney.

The public is invited to attend the breakfast and picture taking project.

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The Caney Valley Historical Society’s Second Annual TREE-ific Christmas Event will occur on Sunday, Dec. 7, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Society’s museum complex in downtown Caney. The four buildings comprising the complex will each be decorated in an array of Christmas decor. The event is free to the public, a gift from the Society to the community.

A few of the activities include a variety of beautifully decorated Christmas trees provided by individuals or groups in the community; displays of antique toys and “favorite” toys of Lincoln Grade School students; an honorary Christmas tree in honor of deceased or living loved ones; live Nativity scene from 5 to 7 p.m.; live Christmas music; Santa will be on hand to talk to boys and girls and you’re invited to bring a camera for picture taking; free door prizes and free refreshments. Many other displays and activities will also be featured during the three hour event.

For questions, call the museum at 879-5131.

The public is urged to attend any or all of the Christmas happenings in Caney during Dec. 4 through Dec. 7.

CHERRYVALE — The Cherryvale High School men’s and women’s basketball teams will host their annual CHS/Alumni Sports Drink Scrimmage on Saturday, Nov. 29.

The women’s team will scrimmage at 6 p.m., while the men’s team will scrimmage at 7:30 p.m. Admission is a can or bottle of a sports beverage.

Two players from Caney Valley and Cherryvale high schools were named to the Tri-Valley All-League volleyball team for 2008.

Alyssa Whitman, a Caney Valley senior, and Sara Schwaninger, a Cherryvale senior, were the lone members of their teams to earn the all-league honors, which were announced earlier this week.

Also named to the all-league team were Jessica Watts and Erica Eddings, both of Burlington; Kathlene McKenzie and Taylyn Schwartz, both of Eureka; Christina Graves and Tianna Lazzers, both of Fredonia; Kelci Owens and Bailey Myers, both of Humboldt; and Belinda Rohling and Angela Jamison, both of Neodesha.

Named to the honorable mention team were Emily Lingenfelter and Jenny Guevel, both of Burlington; Teresa Siegele of Fredonia; Lenzie Boring of Humboldt; and Jessica Grisier of Yates Center.

BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

CHERRYVALE — The Cherryvale High School men’s basketball team will open its 2008-09 season with a strong corps of returning players who have high hopes of clinging to the top rung of the Tri-Valley League ladder.

Cherryvale opens the basketball campaign on Friday, Dec. 5, with a home bout against the Burlington Wildcats.

Leading the Chargers will be a trio of returning starters, all of whom are seniors. Guard Dennon Windsor will return to the lineup after averaging eight points per game during his junior campaign. Windsor, 5-foot-9, was sidelined for most of the football season due to injuries, however CHS head basketball coach Jim Blaes said Windsor appears to now be playing at 100 percent despite several months away from the athletic circuit.

Windsor was an all-league selection choice last year while classmate Brandon Blackburn, 6-foot-2, garnered honorable mention status at the guard position. Blackburn averaged eight points per game last year and canned 40 percent of his three-point attempts.

The third senior starter on the team is Chance Baker, a 6-foot-2 forward who averaged seven points and five rebounds per game last year.

Other returning lettermen to the Charger squad are seniors Ryan Studebaker, a 6-foot-0 guard, and Justin Lane, a 5-foot-9 guard. Dillon Blake, a 6-foot-0 junior, will be a dominant presence in the forward position.

Blaes will have about five underclassmen to get game time during the season. They include juniors Roman Lopez, Shane Hammer, Cory Blaes and Josh Doncouse as well as sophomore Micah Booe.

Blaes said the greatest strength of this year’s team was the balance exhibited by the varsity squad.

“We really don’t have one top player,” said Blaes, now in his 16th season at the Charger helm. “We should have about 10 players who can play at the varsity level. This could be nice for us in the fact that a team has to prepare for playing a bunch of players . . . and any of them on a given night could get hot. Playing a lot of players could provide exciting.”

One of the team’s obvious weaknesses is the lack of height. Cherryvale’s tallest players are Blackburn, Baker and Booe, who will have to stretch their 6-foot-2 frames to battle taller foes throughout the season.

“Because we’re not a big team, we’re going to need to develop better outside shooting to open up the inside game more,” said Blaes. “With little size, blocking out on the boards is important.”

BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

CANEY — Don’t tell Tom Nelson, the head coach of the Caney Valley High School women’s basketball team, that the 2008-09 edition of the Lady Bullpups are incapable of making waves this season.

He’ll tell you otherwise.

Granted, Nelson has the smallest roster of players he’s ever seen in his 16 years as the Bullpup skipper. And, he’ll also admit that the bulk of his roster is filled with freshmen and sophomores.

Yet, with a largely green team, Nelson says he believes the small-but-mighty Lady Bullpups can make a run with the big dogs of the Tri-Valley League.

“We never count our team out of the Tri-Valley League hunt,” said Nelson, whose team opens the 2008-09 campaign at Fredonia on Friday, Dec. 5. “We always believe we have a chance.”

That optimistic approach will be needed for the Lady Bullpups, who return only one starter from last season. However, that returning player is all-everything Morgan Rolls, a senior point guard who gained a bevy of all-league and all-state honors during her junior season. The scrappy Rolls, a 5-foot-3 point guard, averaged 18.8 points per game last year and had 4.4 assists and 3.9 steals in her third season as a Bullpup lettermen.

Joining Rolls on the senior list is a new face to the Caney Valley program. Lindsey Sims will wear red and blue threads after transferring to Caney Valley from the Sedan High School program. As a member of the Blue Devil team last year, Sims averaged 6.9 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per contest, and had 2.9 steals.

“Anytime you have a player like Morgan on the floor, you feel the chances of you being good are high,” said Nelson. “Lindsey Sims has transferred to Caney with a lot of varsity experience, so we are excited to have her here, and I feel she’ll be a solid player for our team.”

Only one junior is on the Lady Bullpup roster. Paige Chaffin, a 5-foot-7 guard, saw limited varsity time last year but could see ample minutes during the 2008-09 season.

Among a hefty crew of sophomores is Kati Hiner, a 5-foot-9 post who averaged 3.7 points per game but pulled down 4.1 rebounds in her rookie season. McKenzie Rolls is another sophomore who grabbed a few minutes in the varsity ranks during her freshmen year but could be among the scoring supporters this year.

Also listed on the roster from the sophomore class are Rachel Estes, Melanie Davis, and Laynee Davidson, all guards, and Paige Cunningham and Mercades Price, both of whom will play in the post positions.

On the freshmen list are five guards, including Taylor Crowe, Jessica Cowan, Madison Nunneley, Jessica Dressler and Kayla Clapp.

Nelson said losing six stellar players to graduation (Abby Walls, Jennifer Russell, Amber Long, Samantha Hooper, Nikki Clapp and Molly Robbins) put a crimp in the program. However, he also said the team was capable of being a solid squad as the season progresses.

“We have many young players who are unproven at the varsity level and will have to step up and contribute in many ways,” he said. “Our improvement gap is large right now, and as I always believe: if the girls are willing to work hard in every situation and in every minute of practice and game time as hard as they can, good things will happen. If they focus and really do that, we will improve with each game.”

BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

INDEPENDENCE — A high-volume of claims and lawsuits against Montgomery County in the past three years has forced the county’s liability insurance provider to drop a portion of its coverage, county commissioners learned on Monday.

Rob Gill of the Jim Gill Agency in Cherryvale and Dave Dennis and Doug Buckles of the Independence firm Newkirk, Dennis and Buckles informed commissioners that EMC Insurance Companies had decided to drop the county of its coverage of workers compensation and public officials liability. Buckles said that since Jan. 1, 2006, the county had amassed a three-year premium of $923,094 while incurring insurance coverage losses of $1,083,699.

According to a report of claims filed against Montgomery County since Jan. 1, 2006, commissioners learned that 77 separate claims had been filed against the county. Forty-one of those claims were filed against the county sheriff’s department while 24 were filed against the public works department. Five were filed against the rural fire department, four were filed against the county commission and county clerk, two were filed against the county health department, and one was filed against the county attorney’s office.

EMC Insurance Companies provide liability insurance coverage for most city and county governments in Kansas. The liability insurance coverage includes six areas: inland marine, business automobile, property, general liability, public officials liability and workers’ compensation.

Buckles will return to the commission next Monday, Dec. 1, to present proposals from other insurance carriers. A decision on naming a new insurance carrier will have to be made that day as the county’s current liability insurance package will expire on Dec. 1.

Following the news of EMS Insurance Companies’ decision to drop its insurance coverage, commissioner Tony Fowler suggested that county employees should have more training on workplace issues as a way to avoid more claims.

“Right now, the insurance is all out of our control,” he said, referring to workers’ compensation. “Some $671,000 in insurance losses came out of one department only. That’s just one place where there could be some more guidance.”

Fowler was referring to $671,000 in insurance losses coming from the county sheriff’s department since Jan. 1, 2006. The dollar amount in insurance losses in other departments over a three-year period include:

• County health department: $227,824.

• Public works department: $103,004.

• County attorney: $49,320.

• Rural fire department: $19,979.

• County commission/county clerk: $13,265.

Commissioner Gene Tucker said some of those issues involving workplace matters will be cleared up when several new county officials assume their offices in January.

“There’s a new sheriff in town,” said Tucker, referring to sheriff-elect Bobby Dierks, who was elected county sheriff in the Nov. 4 general election.

BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

INDEPENDENCE — Montgomery County commissioners Monday agreed to provide a letter of support for Watco, Inc., the parent company of the South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad, to seek federal government funds for relocation of the SKO’s switch yard in Cherryvale.

The request for the support letter came from Trey Cocking, Cherryvale city administrator, and Brad Eilts, director of the Montgomery County Action Council. Cocking said the City of Cherryvale and the USD 447 Board of Education also approved similar letters of support for the Watco project.

Cocking said Watco envisions relocating the switch yard, now located in the downtown business district, to an area northwest of Cherryvale and north of the U.S. 169 highway. By moving the switch yard, train traffic and blocked crossings in the downtown area would be held to a minimum.

“Right now, every train on the SKO Railroad has to cross the downtown business district,” said Cocking. “The SKO has about 11 trains in Cherryvale per day. And, they use the downtown area to assemble and disassemble trains. Sometimes, it takes 25 to 30 minutes, which means delays for motorists at the crossings.”

Watco is planning to seek a $3 million grant from the Federal Rail Administration for the project, and the rail company will provide $1 million of its own money for the project.

Eilts said Watco is not now planning to seek local government funds for the project. At some point, the rail company may have to address several road issues, including closing one of the lesser-traveled rail crossings in and around Cherryvale. However, those issues will have to be addressed at a later time, he said.

Eilts did say that he hoped the city and county could take advantage of the switch yard relocation by encouraging more storage and warehousing opportunities for the rail company.

Watco’s application to the Federal Rail Administration is due on Friday, Nov. 28. Announcement of the grant recipients will be announced in December.

In other business transacted at Monday’s meeting, commissioners:

• agreed to appoint Jenny L. Blaes of rural Cherryvale as Cherry Township trustee based upon the recommendation of the other township officers.

• agreed to spend no more than $3,000 for the purchase of a new
computer server for the courthouse. Jason Clubine, a technician with the county’s computer department, said the current server was almost 15 years old and was unable to contend with the amount of internet traffic that goes in and out of courthouse computers each day. Clubine said internet traffic on the night of the Nov. 4 general election far exceeded the capacity of the server.

• accepted the Community Action Champion award from the Southeast Kansas Community Action Planning organization (SEK-CAP). A framed certificate and glass vase will be placed in the commission chambers.

• heard a report from Robert Bever, public works director, about a recent Kansas Department of Transportation announcement calling for the suspension of state-funded road improvement projects due to declining revenues at the state level.

However, two of those state-funded projects in Montgomery County will be allowed to move ahead, he said. They include bridge replacement on the Cheyenne Creek bridge on county road 1200 northwest of Caney and a bridge near the Montgomery State Fishing Lake on county road 3200. Beachner Construction has already been approved as the contract for those bridge replacement projects.

• agreed to have commissioner Tony Fowler, county counselor Paul Kritz and county appraiser Leroy Burk serve as negotiators for Montgomery County in a mediation meeting with representatives of Coffeyville Resources LLC, regarding Coffeyville’s Resources appeal of its 2007 property taxes. A mediation meeting is scheduled for mid-December.

INDEPENDENCE — One week after voting to give 55-cent per hour pay increases to hourly employees in four county courthouse departments, Montgomery County commissioners Monday turned cold shoulder to a similar pay request for two other departments.

Commissioners failed to act on a motion presented by commission chairman Billie Lewark-Wood to grant the 55 cent per hour pay hike to hourly employees in the county’s computer department and appraiser’s department. Ken Collins, computer department director, and county appraiser Leroy Burk requested the pay increases, which came on the heels of last week’s pay hikes to employees in the county clerk, county treasurer, register of deeds and emergency preparedness director departments.

Commissioner Tony Fowler of Independence, who was the lone commissioner to cast a no vote against last week’s pay increase requests, said he advocated granting merit-based pay increases rather than pay hikes that encompass all hourly employees within a department.

However, commissioner Gene Tucker of Coffeyville was more pointed with his concerns, directing questions to Collins of the county’s computer department.

“I’ve been getting too many complaints that you’re not doing it,” said Tucker to Collins.

“What aren’t we doing, Gene,” Collins replied.

“Not doing your job. The biggest thing is with the rural fire department,” said Tucker, who is a retired coordinator of the Montgomery County Rural Fire Department.

Jason Clubine, a technician with the county’s computer department, said he knew the situation that Tucker was mentioning. Clubine said the computer issue involved a problem with the software provided to the rural fire department from the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office. Clubine said he contacted the fire marshal’s office about the glitch but has been unable to contact a person in that office.

“Then you should have made us aware of the problem,” retorted Tucker.

Clubine further explained that the county’s computer department handles those matters involving computer hardware in county offices. The computer department also handles software issues provided that the department has permission from the software’s creator to maintain that software, he said.

Admitting that he was not knowledgeable about computer issues, Tucker said he was “tired” of departments blaming each other or blaming computer glitches for not getting problems solved.

“It makes you guys look bad,” said commissioner Billie Lewark-Wood about the finger pointing among departments.

At the close of Monday’s meeting, two newspaper reporters pressed Tucker to expound on his concerns. He initially said he had no comment, but he later said, “My only comment is that I have 57 days left in this office.”

Tucker chose not to seek re-election to his term of office and will be replaced on Jan. 12 by commissioner-elect Fred Brown of Coffeyville.

Fowler said he continued to believe that merit-based salaries would be a better fit for county employees. He said he had heard through other sources — although he did not specifically mention the names of those sources — of “good employees and bad employees” in the courthouse. Fowler has said that awarding employees for stellar work performance would bring about stronger results among the employees.

Cherryvale and Caney Valley high school football players dominated the list of Tri-Valley All-League selections for the 2008 season.

At Caney Valley, senior runningback Jakob Price was a pick for first-team offense while senior lineman Brandon Stephens was also chosen for the first-team offense.

Brad Terry, a senior who battled a foot injury in the final two games of the season, earned honorable mention status at the tight end position.

The Bullpups had six players earn recognition on the defensive side of the ball. Kyle Howard, a senior defensive end, was a first-team defense player while Dustin Bayless, a sophomore lineman, picked up first-team recognition on defense.

Joel Nunneley, a senior defensive back, also was chosen for the first-team defense.

Caney Valley had two players make honorable mention defense status. They included juniors Gable LaForge, a defensive back, and Dustin Artherton, punter.

At Cherryvale High School, the league champion Chargers had five players on the first team offense. They included senior Robert Lane at running back, senior Brandon Blackburn at quarterback, senior Chance Baker at tight end, junior Dillon Blake on offensive line, and sophomore Micah Booe at center.

Roman Lopez, a junior wide receiver, was chosen for the honorable mention offense list.

Shane Hammer, a junior, was the top pick for all-league kicker.
On defense, Blackburn was a first-team player defensive back while Booe gained first team honors as a defenesive lineman.

Also earning first team honors were Ryan Studebaker, senior linebacker, Kenan Booe, senior lienbacker, and Michael Bolinger, junior defensive back.

The honorable mention defense list had Chance Baker gain honors as a defensive end.

Tri-Valley All-League

Offense first team

Jake Price, RB, Caney Valley; Robert Lane, RB, Cherryvale; Thad Wells, RB Humboldt; Brandon Blackburn, QB, Cherryvale; Andrew Whitaker, QB, Humboldt; Chase Kewley, WR, Burlington; Hayes Farwell, WR, Fredonia; Chance Baker, TE, Cherryvale; Micah Booe, C, Cheryvale ; Brandon Stephens, OL, Caney Valley; Dillon Blake, OL, Cherryvale; Evan Ratzlaff, OL, Fredonia; Micah Poovey, OL, Humboldt.

Offense honorable mention

Justin Davis, RB, Eureka; Corey Smith, QB, Burlington; Roman Lopez, WR, Cherryvale; Troy Davis, TE, Humboldt; Brad Terry, TE, Caney Valley; Ryan Louia, OL, Burlington; Cody Cramer, OL, Humboldt.

Defense first team

Kyle Howard, DE, Caney Valley; Ryan Louia, DL, Burlington; Dustin Bayless, DL, Caney Valley; Micah Booe, DL, Cherryvale; Buddy Rickerson, DL, Fredonia; Ryan Studebaker, LB, Cherryvale; Kenan Booe, LB, Cherryvale; Justin Davis, LB, Eureka; Mathew Fowler, LB, Fredonia; Andrew Whitaker, LB, Humboldt; Thad Wells, LB, Humboldt; Blake Higgins, DB, Burlington; Joel Nunneley, DB, Caney Valley; Mike Bolinger, DB, Cherryvale; Brandon Blackburn, DB, Cherryvale; Brent Matile, P, Yates Center; Shane Hammer, K, Cherryvale.

Defense honorable mention
Chance Baker, DE, Cherryvale; Jacob Manbeck, DL, Humboldt; Gable LaForge, DB, Caney Valley; Wyatt JuAire, DB, Fredonia; Brent Matile, DB, Yates Center; Dustin Artherton, P, Caney Valley; Thad Wells, K, Humboldt.