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.

One primary election will be required in Chautauqua County before city and school board positions are filled in a general election scheduled for Tuesday, April 7.

The positions forcing a primary will be for Cedar Vale City Council and candidates are: Jean Smith, Jack E. Zimmerman Sr., Cecil Shore, Nellie L. McGathy, Bryan H. Satterlee, Larry Robinette and Molly Crossland.

No other primary elections will be required in Chautauqua County.

For Cedar Vale Mayor, three candidates have filed and they are Dwight O. Mattocks, Richard Cox and Barry W. Speer.
All registered voters residing in Cedar Vale may vote in the primary election and the voting place will be the Long Shed in Cedar Vale from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3. The top six vote-getters will advance to the Cedar Vale City general ballot.

County Clerk Cammie Farner said the following candidates filed for other city offices in Chautauqua County:
Sedan City: Five candidates filed for three open positions on the Sedan City Council: Melodi C. Jones, Larry S. Powell, Terry Ricketts, Jessica Copeland and Judy Tolbert.
This will not require a primary election.

No candidates for filed for the office of mayor in the City of Chautauqua and no candidates for any of the five council seats.

In the City of Elgin, no candidates have filed for mayor or any of the three council positions.

In the City of Niotaze, David Deal Jr. was the only candidate to file for mayor and the following candidates filed for the five seats on the city council: LaDonna Hempel, John Rosson, Patsy C. Clark, J.P Clark and Kirk D. Clinkscales.

In the City of Peru, Jimmy Wolfe Sr. filed for mayor while Greg Joslin, Paul W. Marshall, Harold D. Reed Sr. and Leo Walker filed for the five seats on the city council.
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In USD 286 - Sedan Board of Education races, the following candidates filed for office:

Member Dist. No. 1, Pos. 4: John C. Brown and Cynthia Leniton, both of Sedan.

Member Dist. No. 2, Pos. 5: Wesley Copeland Sr., Jack Warren and Sara Koontz-Smith, all of Sedan.

Member Dist. 3, Pos. 6: Sherry Howard, Peru.

In USD 285 - Cedar Vale, the following persons filed for school board positions:

Todd Massey, Miqueline J. Haden and Tom Everett, all of Cedar Vale, and each of the three seats is an at-large position.

For information about elections in Chautauqua County, contact County Clerk Cammie Farner.