Class 2A sub-state tournament pairings can be found by clicking here:

http://www.kshsaa.org/BASKETBALL/Brackets/2AReg8.htm

Sedan Ministerial Alliance 2009 Wednesday Lenten Luncheons

The Sedan Ministerial Alliance would like to announce the schedule for the Lenten Luncheons that will be held each Wednesday at noon during the Lent Season. The luncheons are hosted by the listed churches.

A soup and sandwich lunch is served and attendees enjoy a devotional message. A free will offering is collected with all proceeds benefiting the Sedan Ministerial Alliance. The schedule for this year is as follows:

Feb. 25, Assembly of God; March 4, First Christian Church; March 11, Epiphany Episcopal; March 18, First United Methodist Church; March 25, First Baptist Church; April 1, First Christian Church; April 8, Seventh Day Adventist.

The Lenten Series will be culminated with a Community Good Friday Service on April 10 at 1 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Sedan the speaker will be Pastor Christopher Smilko of Lone Cherry Baptist Church.

The Sedan Ministerial Alliance with like to extend great appreciation for all the donations from the community to the food pantry in the extreme time of need.

The National Weather Service in Wichita will conduct its annual spotter training session and safety seminar, called “Storm Fury On the Plains” at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 3 at the Moline Community Building.

The event is open to all interested storm spotters in Elk County and persons seeking information about severe weather safety. Attendees are taught the basics of thunderstorm development, storm structure, the features to look for, and where to find them. What, when and how to report information as well as basic severe weather safety are also covered.

The session is a multi-media presentation, which includes detailed video. These spotter classes typically take about 1½ to 2 hours, and are open to the public. No prior experience is required, and there is no registration necessary to attend.

The American Legion Carter-Rader Post 149 and the American Legion Auxiliary will hold their Chili/Soup Supper Fundraiser this Saturday, Feb. 28 at 5 p.m. at the Cox Building in Howard. Homemade chili and soups will be complimented with over 20 pie selections.

The fundraiser will send at least two boys and two girls to Boys and Girls State respectively this year for education about our governmental processes. And in addition, four college scholarships of $250 each for local students is the goal.

Everyone is warmly invited to attend. Donations can be forwarded to the American Legion Auxiliary, PO Box 202, Howard, KS 67349 if you are unable to attend.

Elk County has a new truck to pull the recycling trailer from town to town. If all repairs and modifications are made, it will be in use this weekend, said Jim Lane. The Recycling Trailer is scheduled to be in Howard Friday and Saturday, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., on the corner of Washington and Wabash.

Lane said the “new” truck was purchased by Elk County during its Feb. 23 meeting. The truck will get some of the old one, in the form of the flat bed and tires. “The county should save a few dollars on gas while recycling, as the GMC has a higher speed rear end and should deliver the driver and cargo in a more economical fashion to the Elk County towns for pick up and to El Dorado to deliver even fuller loads,” said Lane.

All locales are increasing their contributions of recyclable materials (tin, aluminum, plastics, newspapers, magazines and cardboard). “Thanks, and keep on recycling,” Lane added.

For more information, contact Jim at 620-374-2867.

Submitted by the Chautauqua County Fair Board
The Chautauqua County Fair will be held from July 22-25 this year. The county fair and the 4-H fair are back together. We were unable to obtain a carnival this year, but we will have four inflatables, bungee run, fun house, obstacle course, and a slide.

We are looking for businesses, organizations, groups, or individuals to help man these inflatables. They will be in operation from Thursday, July 23 through Saturday, July 25 from 5-10 p.m. If you are interested, please contact Leota Casement at 725-5312 or Debbie Wall at 758-2850.

We are also looking for organizations to participate with games or activities during the fair. We already have a spinning wheel and duck pond signed up. We don’t want duplicate activities. Please contact Leota or Debbie as soon as possible if you are interested in participating. The only fee involved is if you require electricity.

4-H is sponsoring a youth dance on Friday night. However, we are looking for a group to sponsor the Saturday night dance.

We are still in the planning stages of organizing the fair. If you have ideas, please contact one of us. Your board members are Debbie Wall- President, Steve Warburton- Vice-President, Leota Casement- Secretary, Michael Clark- Treasurer, Edwin Bowman, Jo Mills, and Sonny Williams.

The Kansas Hometown Prosperity group from Chautauqua County met Thursday evening in the school at Cedar Vale to discuss various ways to pull residents of the county together.

Carla Palmer, who chairs the local committee, introduced several speakers who gave updates on the program which was started in 2008.

At the most recent meeting held in Sedan, the group reviewed findings based on dozens of local interviews, surveys and observations of the Hometown Prosperity project.

Chautauqua County is one of three communities chosen in 2008 as a part of the Kansas HomeTown Prosperity Initiative sponsored in part by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Kansas Farm Bureau and USDA Rural Development. The HomeTown Prosperity philosophy centers around four areas for community sustainability: youth retention, entrepreneurship, leadership, and wealth retention. Communities participating in the project receive assistance through independent analysis and coaching to help community leaders strengthen existing efforts in those four areas.

The group is making every effort to include each part of Chautauqua County in the project and several new faces were seen at Thursday night’ s meeting.

“We truly want to involve everyone from every part of the county,” said Palmer who introduced several speakers.

Lana Everett spoke on the importance of leadership and its role in keeping communities moving forward.

Cynthia Leniton who resides on a ranch between Cedar Vale and Grenola spoke on education and how communities need to work together to assure their children of a good education.

Jack Newcomb, business development coach for the QUAD organization, gave an overview of community development in a four-county area, noting that he loves living in Chautauqua County. “It’s gorgeous,” he said, which made a Cedar Vale resident comment, “… I think you’ve just come up with a new slogan: Chautauqua County: It’s gorgeous!”

Steve Clark brought up the “invisible wall” which has hurt communications and cooperation for more than a century. “I’ve lived in Cedar Vale and now I’ve lived on the eastern side of the county for many years. I’ve heard about the Cedar Vale and Sedan rivalry and that’s OK in sports, but I believe we need to work together to make sure we have a future,” he said.

Clark serves as president of the Sedan Area Foundation and it was suggested by several in the audience that a name change my promote better participation. Clark agreed and said he would bring that issue to the attention of the foundation’s board.

Lonnie Stieben from Southern Kansas Telephone Co., addressed the meeting regarding the corporate and foundation support which is being granted to the
Kansas Hometown Prosperity project. Stieben represents STC throughout south-central Kansas and is involved with five different programs similar to this one.

Palmer said the next step will be for the steering committee to meet and devise future goals and projects.

See a complete story in the Feb. 25 printed edition of Prairie Star.

If you stop by the Swinging Bridge Cafe at Moline for a cup of coffee, you’ll quickly notice that you’re also entering the Crooked Creek Lodge.

Take a few steps farther and you’ll be drawn into the quaint gift shop located near the lobby.

Annie Ruth’s Designs is owned by RuthAnn Lovelady who lives west of Moline and she labels her merchandise “gifts of love.”

And you may notice the Moline city clerk on her lunch hour, quickly checking messages in an office with the name “Lisa T’s Vinyl Shop” on the door.
So, is it a lodge, restaurant, gift shop or sign business?

Yes.
As in — all the above.

Barbara and Stub Durbin own the lodge and cafe and their daughter Lisa Townsley operates the vinyl sign shop. And if you’re lucky, you’ll encounter RuthAnn Lovelady as she places new merchandise on the shelves of her gift shop.

If Lovelady or Townsley aren’t in the building, then a waitress in the cafe will help you with a gift or sign. That’s the way it works. And, it surely is working!

“We call this a Holy Spirit place,” said Barbara. “We just all work together, and we try to add a touch of God’s love to everything we do.”

It all started nearly two years ago when the Elk Manor Nursing Home closed, leaving a facility available to the community. That’s when Barbara and Stub Durbin started thinking and praying about moving their downtown Moline business, The Swinging Bridge Cafe, to the site and remodeling the 14 rooms into lodge-type accommodations for hunters and visitors.

Then RuthAnn Lovelady came up with the idea to place a gift shop in the lobby. And, the Durbin’s daughter, Lisa, started her vinyl sign business in one of the rooms near the entrance.

Life is good at the Crook Creek Lodge, Swinging Bridge Cafe, Lisa T’s and Annie Ruth’s Designs.

The restaurant is open six days and evenings a week, closed each Sunday. They offer a full menu with daily specials, plus featured steaks, hamburgers and other specialities.

The lodge is quite different from the typical hunting lodge. The Durbins’ son-in-law, Mark Townsley, and grandson, David, remodeled the rooms to make sure each has a country look, and the rooms range in decor from French to country to anything else they can find to make each one different from the one across the hall.

Mark is a metal barn builder and provides lots of assistance to his in-laws as they continually work to make facility improvements.

Lisa painted murals in some of the rooms and made good use of deer heads and antlers for wall decor.

Some rooms are large enough to sleep an entire family, and others are strictly private rooms. Their clientele ranges from hunters to tourists to hometown folks who need overflow space for guests.

The Durbins’ granddaughter, Kailey Townsley, helped her mother with the painting and Lisa painted several “nature and hunting” murals on the walls.

“We’re international,” said Barbara. “We’ve had several guests stay here who come from foreign countries. We have construction crews and others who are working in this area and they don’t want to drive all the way to Wichita to spend the night.”

RuthAnn makes frequent stops at her gift shop, but doesn’t need to be there in person all the time. “Barbara just covers for me a lot,” she said.

She said opening the gift shop was done “with the grace of God” and lots of prayer. “I just try to keep items that don’t come from China,” she said. “If I know what you’re looking for, I can usually come up with something appropriate.”

She carries Gold Canyon candles, fine jewelry, sterling silver, a few books, framed messages and scripture, selected clothing items and lots more. And she makes silk flower arrangements, baskets and custom gifts for any occasion.

RuthAnn and her husband, Ellis, are recent move-ins to Elk County, although they live on property that has been in her family for many decades. They lived in the San Antonio area for most of their adult lives where he was in the insurance business and she was first a Registered Nurse then worked in real estate for 12 years, and another 25 years working in the marketing of senior citizen and assisted living complexes.

“We love it in Elk County,” she said. “God blesses you wherever you land, you know.”

Lisa is a woman of many talents, not only serving as the city clerk but also as a police officer and now, as a business owner at the Crooked Creek Lodge.

Even if you just want to stop and look over the place, it’s quite an experience. Then the aroma of home cooking will lure you in the dining room, and from there you’ll get a good view of RuthAnn Lovelady’s gift shop, and you’ll probably get acquainted with a few guests at the lodge. And if you want a great sign on your pickup truck, just hang a right as you enter the building.
The city clerk/cop/sign maker will be glad to help you as soon as she gets in from her downtown job.

And if you need a metal barn built, they’ll get in touch with Mark Townsley and he will be there by the time your meal is cooked.

It’s more than a lodge — no doubt about it.

The future of the Elk Valley USD 283 school district would have been jeopardized if two bills debated Tuesday in the Kansas House of Representatives had passed.

That was the view of Rep. Jeff King who represents Elk County in the House.
Fortunately for Elk Valley, both bills were defeated by the House of Representatives after an hour of debate led by King.

One bill, HB 2103, would have reduced low enrollment weighting for any district falling below 200 in district enrollment, and Elk Valley currently has an enrollment between 190 and 195.

King said the Elk Valley distrct could potentially see its state aid reduced by $50,000 per year under this bill, had it passed.

“We’re already seeing our state school budgets being hit awfully hard,” said King, “but I feel this bill is an effort to force consolidationa and I strongly oppose it.”

According to House Bill 2103: Any district falling below 200 would see its low enrollment weighting established to the low enrollment of a district with enrollment of 200. Under current law, the lower the enrollment, the greater the weighting totals in state aid.

HB 2103 was debated Tuesday along with an accompanying bill, HB 2102. King introduced an amendment to the latter one which failed, one which have softened the impact upon extremeley small districts.

But observers were surprised when HB 2102 bill failed, 73-45. That bill would have reduced transportation funding to small districts when students choose to be transported to an adjoining district.

This had specific potential impact upon Elk Valley since so many of its students from the Elk City area attend Elk Valley rather than Independence which is their home district.

Under the terms of this bill, districts would have received only the amount which would be paid to a pupil’s home district, and that could cost up to $100,00 annually for Elk Valley, according to King.

King said the State Department of Education is not using the word “consolidation” with respect to these bills, but that’s how he sees them — forced consolidation.

King commented, “There are two ways to make a school consolidate with another one — either put together a long-term consolidation plan, or do what they’re doing in Topeka this week and put a strangle-hold on schools like Elk Valley.”

King said there are six districts in Kansas which are under 200 in enrollment. Altoona-Midway also is finding itself in the same predicament.

“It’s a lose-lose situation,” said King. “Longton and the eastern part of Elk County need that school district. It would devastate Longton if its school district had to be consolidated with another one.”

He added, “If we want to consolidate school districts in Kansas, the stick is not the answer. Meaningful dialogue is the way to go, and I am seeing it happen in Elk County at this very time.”

King is supportive of the efforts being made by the Elk Konnected organization as it ponders various plans for the future of Elk County. That has included many discussions about the two school districts at West Elk and Elk Valley and how they might work interactively to keep campuses open in both locations.

HB 2103 and HB 2102 were brought to the floor by the House Committee on Education which recommended they be passed.

King expressed relief that both measures were killed, as they were in last year’s session.

Opposition also came from several other House members who represent small school districts.

Rep. Jeff King (R-12th District) and Sen. Derek Schmidt (R-15th District and Senate Majority Leader) will be attending a legislative coffee Saturday, Feb. 21, in Elk and Chautauqua counties. The public is invited to hear the legislators discuss the latest developments at the Kansas statehouse and ask questions regarding current governmental issues.

This annual event is hosted by the Farm Bureau associations of Chautauqua and Elk counties, and is always free to the public. This year’s coffees will be hosted at 8:30 a.m. at the Swinging Bridge Café in Moline, and at 10:30 a.m. at the Chautauqua County Farm Bureau office in Sedan.

For more information, call 620-374-2321 or 620-725-3191.

Everyone who is interested in the growth enhanced future of Chautauqua County is invited to attend the Hometown Prosperity meeting set for Thursday evening, Feb. 19, in the Cedar Vale School.

The meeting will get underway at 6:30 p.m., according to Carla Palmer who is planning the event.

“Come and find out for yourself. Receive an update on the projects which Hometown Prosperity will be adopting to support and enhance future opportunities for Chautauqua County,” she said.

Refreshments will be served and reports will be given by those who have been involved in Hometown Prosperity meetings over the past year.

The project is made possible by local volunteers with assistance from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Kansas Farm Bureau and the USDA Rural Development.

The HomeTown Prosperity Team will discuss the community findings from the 2008 Opportunity Retreat and target a direction for Chautauqua Community Projects at an area wide community meeting on Feb. 19 at 6:30 p.m. in the Cedar Vale School Cafeteria. Everyone is invited to attend.

In November 2008 HomeTown Prosperity hosted a community meeting where the audience participated in group discussions as to whether they agreed, or disagreed with the direction of the prior three months research findings and considerations. These findings ranged from the discussion of implementing a formal communitywide leadership program, implementing an endowment foundation, discussion on the future direction of youth in the community and attracting new business as well as growing existing ones.

The Feb. 19 meeting will review most of the information that has been accumulated over the last six months, and end with a summary of prioritized community projects.

Come and find out for yourself the direction the community has decided to go!

For further information contact Carla Palmer 620-725-4199.

Rick Chrisman, Sedan High School varsity football and baseball coach, will be honored by his coaching peers on Feb. 17 when he is presented with the Kansas Association of Baseball Coaches (KABC) Coach of the Year for Class 2A-1A. Chrisman will be given the award at the Feb. 17 basketball game between Sedan and West Elk in the SHS Gymnasium.

The 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln on Thursday brings to mind his cousin, Romulus Lysurges Hanks, a former postmaster of Elgin and now buried in the Elgin Cemetery.

There has been a recently flurry of interest in “Rome” Hanks because of a book which was written about him in 1944, right in the middle of the paper shortage caused by World War II.

“The History of Rome Hanks and Kindred Matters” was, indeed, published in 1944 but the printing and distribution were quite limited, therefore not financially successful. Yet it was known among New York magazine and publishing houses as a best seller.

An armed forces edition was published which made the rounds to military personnel who were much more interested in reading magazines from home and paperback books that were easy to carry in backpacks.

Written by Kansas author Joseph Stanley Pennell, “The History of Rome Hanks and Kindred Matters” was given high acclaim by Harpers Magazine and other magazines geared for literary and military history audiences. It was edited by famous editor Maxwell Perkins.Today it is a hot item on Ebay, Amazon.Com and other book distributors.

It has been acclaimed as one of the best books to chronicle the day-to-day events in the life of a Civil War soldier. And, Rome Hanks had four years of such days to offer, having received his first taste of combat during the Mexican War from 1846 to 1848. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, he joined the 117th Iowa Infantry as a captain. The first major battle he fought was April 1862 at Shiloh, where his brother, Remus, a lieutenant in the regiment, was mortally wounded.

To view more of this story, see this week’s edition of the Prairie Star.

The Sedan High School auditorium will be alive with the sounds of the 1950s and early 1960s as the SHS vocal music department presents a night of memories with “Rockin’ At The Hop” on Monday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m.

The choir students will be singing and dancing to many favorite songs from the most memorable era of all time. Conductor Rosie Sweaney said the 1950 gave us so many melodies that remain popular today. “You won’t want to miss this entertaining evening,” she said.

The concert choir will be singing “We Go Together,” “Rhythm Of The Rain,” “At The Hop,” “Rock Around The Clock” and “Splish Splash.”

Select Choir will perform “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You,” “Elvis Lives,” and “A Beach Boys Medley.”

The guys of the choir will be singing “A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Carnation)” while the girls will sing “The Shoop Shoop Song” and “For Women Only.”

There will also be many solos and small ensembles performing throughout the night singing songs including “Catch A Falling Star,” “Get A Job,” “My Special Angel,” “Let It Be Me,” “Unchained Melody,” “Please Mr. Postman,”“Mr. Sandman” and many others.

The evening will be full of songs from the past and maybe a little “dancing in the aisles.” The girls of the choir will be dressed in poodle skirts or Capri pants while the guys will have their letter jackets handy! Root beer floats will be served at intermission.

Tickets for the evening are $4 for adults and $3 for students and they may be purchased at the door. The concert will begin at 7 p.m.

The students are under the direction of Rosie Sweaney and Trish Roudybush.

Rep. Jeff King (R-12th District) and Sen. Derek Schmidt (R-15th District and Senate Majority Leader) will be attending a legislative coffee Saturday, Feb. 21, in Elk and Chautauqua counties. The public is invited to hear the legislators discuss the latest developments at the Kansas statehouse and ask questions regarding current governmental issues.

This annual event is hosted by the Farm Bureau associations of Chautauqua and Elk counties, and is always free to the public.

This year’s coffees will be hosted at 8:30 a.m. at the Swinging Bridge Café in Moline, and at 10:30 a.m. at the Chautauqua County Farm Bureau office in Sedan.

For more information, call 620-374-2321 or 620-725-3191.