The Elk Konnected Community Wellness Action Team will begin a “Largest Loser” competition in January for Elk County residents. The team, as part of Elk Konnected, was developed to promote health and wellness in the Elk County area.

The “Largest Loser” program is a weight loss competition designed for teams of four people. For those who do not have a team, weigh in individually and a team will be found for you. Complete rules and details may be found in their ad on page 2 of this week’s Prairie Star newspaper.

On Dec. 23, Marlin Baumgartel was named 2008 Citizen of the Year by the Howard Chamber of Commerce. Marlin kept busy this year working on the Jackson Memorial Park project. From setting up forms for the sidewalk and doing dirt work, to landscaping and decorating, Marlin played a major role in getting that project completed.

Marlin is also on the Benson Museum board. He is currently working on renovating the old Elk County Furniture Store. When the renovation is complete, the building will be a doll museum, housing the dolls of Bertha Baumgartel.

The Chamber would like to thank Marlin for all his hard work and generosity.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Black or Dr. Bob Black as he is known by most people in this area, has returned to Elk County after a year-long deployment to Afghanistan.

Dr. Black, a U.S. Army reservist, was activated to deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He took command of the 445th Medical Detachment in December of 2006 and the unit was called upon to provide veterinary support to both U.S. and Coalition troops serving in Afghanistan. He was stationed at Bagram Air Field which served as the command headquarters.

His two children, Katie, who is 8 and Tyler, who is 6, are so glad to have their dad back home, as is his wife, Shirley. The family has stayed busy with schoolwork at Moline Grade School and Shirley has a part-time job as a nurse practitioner in the Moline Rural Health Clinic and the Tallgrass Rural Health Clinic at Sedan.

Dr. Black’s complete story is printed in the Dec. 31 edition of Prairie Star.