The traditional Independence Day fireworks show will be held at the Howard City Lake on Saturday night, July 2, starting at dusk.

Bring your lawn chairs, blankets and your own picnic items to make it a fun family night.

To make donations to the fireworks fund, send them to Teresa Heilevang, P.O. Box 543, Howard, KS 67349, or to the Howard city office.

* * *

The Moline Rodeo will be held Sunday and Monday, July 3-4, at the Moline rodeo grounds. The rodeo performances will start at 8 p.m. each night with the mutton bustin’ at 7:30. David Oakleaft will be playing an outside dance on the grounds on Sunday night (when the rodeo is over).

Moline’s fireworks show will be held Monday night, July 4, after the rodeo.

* * *

The Piedmont Rodeo will be held on the Piedmont rodeo grounds on Sunday and Monday, and they plan a spectaular fireworks show on the 4th starting at dark.

* * *

Longton’s fireworks display will be held Saturday night, July 2, at dusk. The are planning one of the best displays they’ve ever had, which will be under the supervision of the Longton Fire Department at Richard Claytor’s place at the southeast edge of Longton. Donations are being accepted by the firefighters.

———–
J Waller, president of the Sedan Chamber of Commerce, reports some great news for the community — a fireworks show will be held after all.

The Sedan Lions Club had announced two weeks ago it could not sponsor a fireworks program this year due to all the permits required by the State of Kansas. Besides, funding for such a show would be difficult this year.

Waller got out and raised money this week to hold a fireworks show and she is pleased to announce it will be held Sunday night, July 3, at dusk at the old Sedan City Lake.

“Everyone is welcome to come out, give a donation and spend some quality time with families, friends and neighbors,” Waller said.

There will be safety crews, and she invites everyone to bring their own fireworks, too, and share with the crowd.

“Celebrating our nation’s birthday and our freedom is very important and the fireworks tradition should be continued in Sedan,” Waller said.

Bits and Pieces is a feature of the Prairie Star website that is a reflection of our printed “Notes from the Prairie” published each week.  Upcoming meetings and notices are published here each week.  These are updated on the website each week, just after publication. Read more

For only the second time in school history, the Sedan Blue Devils baseball team claimed a state championship on Saturday in the Class 2-1A tournament held in Emporia.

Head coach Rick Chrisman said the first title was earned in 1973 when Les Davis was coach of the team.

The 2011 Blue Devils completed a perfect season at 26-0, pulling off some exciting victories in come-from-behind situations.

Adding sweet topping to winning the state title, the Sedan boys beat Pittsburg Colgan, 11-10, in the finals — a feat in itselt.

The Blue Devils battled their way through the semi-finals to gain the top spot, first defeating Flinthills, 7-6, then in a championship game that started an hour early because of weather concerns, they kept their magic going by going four runs in the bottom of the eighth, slamming thelid on the Panthers’ seven-year reign as 2-1A champions.

Chrisman credited the Blue Devil’s never-quit attitude for going all the way this year.

Pitcher Brady McCoy won both games from the mound for Sedan.

Six players were involved in Sedan’s game-winning rally. Jacob Chrisman got it going with a single, Shon Pinard walked, Casey Holt loaded the bases with a single and McCoy tied the game with a double to the left-field fence.

More details will be printed in this week’s Prairie Star.

“The Good Old Days in Niotaze” will arrive on May 21, as citizens of the  Niotaze community and the surrounding area come together for a fundraising event to benefit the Niotaze Community Storm Shelter. A brisket dinner will be served from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. There will be hot dogs for the kiddies.

Additional eats/drinks include: potato salad, cole slaw, baked beans, dessert, tea, coffee and Kool-Aid.  Following the dinner, Corky Davis & The Cowboy Swing Band will play from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the shelter, three blocks south and three blocks west of the Niotaze Post Office.

Tickets for the evening are a minimum donation of $6 for adults and $3 for children 5 and under. Each ticket purchased is also a ticket that could win a door prize.

Additional donation tickets may be purchased for a painting by Niotaze resident artist, Marion Bryant. A $200 dollar bundle of meat will also be given away.

A goal for the storm shelter volunteers is to transform the shelter into a space available for larger family gatherings, wedding receptions, business meetings, etc.

The Niotaze Community Storm Shelter is a designated Red Cross emergency shelter in the event of a disaster.

Boil Water Advisory Issued for the City of Elgin

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has issued a boil water advisory for the city of Elgin, which is located in Chautauqua County.

The city has experienced a water main break that has caused the water system to lose pressure. When such a loss of pressure occurs, it is possible for contaminants to enter the system. Also, chlorine residuals may drop to levels that are inadequate to protect against bacterial contamination. Citizens are encouraged to begin conserving water, and repair crews are on the scene to repair the leak. Read more

Holy Week in the Sedan community will begin on Palm Sunday with morning services at area churches and the presentation of the cantata “The King Is Coming,” by the Sedan Community Choir. The performance will be at 6:30 p.m. at the First Christian Church in Sedan. There will be refreshments and a time for fellowship following the cantata.

The King Is Coming is a rousing and inspiring piece of music based on songs by Bill and Gloria Gaither and others. There will be some familiar hymns as well as new music. The piece is arranged and orchestrated by Russell Mauldin.

There are more than 20 singers in the choir who have been working for weeks to give this presentation a professional quality. The choir is under the direction of Kathy Chamberland.

Please plan on attending this celebration of the final days of Christ, His death and resurrection, and His promise to return again.

A group of Elk Valley High School students went to the surface of the moon recently.
However their journey didn’t take them into outer space.

Instead, the students in Rick Bruce’s physics class built a moonbuggy vehicle that competed in the 18th Annual Great Moonbuggy race held at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., on April 1-2.

The event marked the fourth consecutive year for Elk Valley to compete in the contest, which pits students’ engineering knowledge and vehicle handling  with the replicated terrain of the lunar surface.

And, although the Elk Valley-made moonbuggy did not win the contest, it did make a valiant attempt at completing the track in two separate races. Read more

In Elk County balloting on Tuesday, the following results were listed by County Clerk Donna Kaminska:
Elk Falls City Council winners (5): Dick Scott 36, Gene Corle 26, Glen Kaufman 22, Kelly Weakley 14 and Paul Eck 14.

Richard Adams was elected mayor of Elk Falls on a write-in vote.

In Grenola, (5): Winners were Terry Kill 39, Leon Wells 39, Donald Miller 39, Bill  Huffman 38 and Joe Hill 33.

Marion Fullhart was elected mayor Grenola with 38 votes.

For Howard City Council (3): Gary Harrold 91, Robert Winn 85 and there was a tie for the third seat between Roland Meisch and Martin Hunter with 4 votes each.

For Longton City Council (3): Justin Corle 83, Richard W. Claytor 82, Sharon Ferguson 62 votes.
Moline City Council (3): John Rose 40, Elmer Ward 43 and Nick Laney 37 votes.

USD 282 West Elk Board of Education Po. 1: Steve Walker won with 58 votes over L.W. Ross with 6 and David Evans with 23 votes.

For Pos. 2, no one filed.

For Post. 3, Matthew Hilton’s 18 votes.

Member at large, David Whetstone 269 votes.

USD 283 Elk Valley Dist. 1, Pos. 1: Mark Ashenfelter won with 90 votes to Randall Cannon’s 58.

Dist. II, Pos. II: Mitchell Dowell with 117 votes.

Dist. III, Pos. II: Justin Corle won with 82 votes to Marlene Cook’s 39 and Ken Coatney’s 32 votes.

Tim Hills will continue to be mayor of Sedan, following Tuesday’s election when he pulled 120 votes compared to 112 for Judy Tolbert and 40 for Clarence Bailey. County Clerk Cammie Farner said there will be eight provisional ballots considered on Friday during canvassing.

Brett Dickens and Theresa Wilson both won re-election to the Sedan City Council — Dickens with 153 and Wilson with 167 votes.

In USD 286 Sedan, Jack Rutledge won the at-large seat on the board of education with 264 votes, outlasting Jennifer Monday who pulled 209 votes.

In USD 286. Dist. 2, Pos 2, it was Jill Adcock-Mills with 378 votes compared to 84 votes for Wesley G. Copeland Jr. with pulled 84 votes.

Patrick Steward won re-election to the USD 286 Board of Education with 247 votes to Jack Warren’s 214.

In Cedar Vale, Dwight Mattocks was elect to the city council with 102 votes, along with Ralene Davis with 92 and David Ferguson who pulled 81 votes

The four elected members of the Cedar Vale USD 285 Board of Education were Carl O. Clapp with 179 votes, Jessica Bliss 136, Rob Lackey 132, and James Rainbolt 126 votes. Eliminated in the balloting were Linda Robinette with 79 votes, Monica Thompson with 59 and Gloria Rose with 39.

Other races across Chautauqua County will be listed later on Wednesday when the become available.

The following questions were received at the March 22 Wind Conversation for the Elk County Commissioners to answer.  The commissioners have answered the following questions. Not all questions have been answered that were asked at the wind conversation.  In the following weeks the commissioners will be answering the additional questions they received. Read more