Clearwater student takes part in 50 Yard Challenge

By Michelle Leidy-Franklin TSnews mfranklin@tsnews.com

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CLEARWATER

Oct. 14, 2021, Clearwater High School senior Austin Layton donned his white Raising Men Lawn Care Services T-shirt and accepted the 50 Yard Challenge.

Layton has mowed 19 yards since October, completely free of charge, in order to help the elderly, disabled, veterans and single parents who need help managing their lawn care. He will also rake leaves and shovel snow from driveways.

Layton has a goal of finishing 30 lawns by the end of January and completing the program by the end of March.

“I decided to participate in the 50 Yard Challenge because I know my actions will take me a long way in life,” said Layton. “The more I grow up the more I realize I can do something to better someone else’s life, whether that’s mowing someone’s yard or doing something so small like a smile. I always knew I would be the giving kind.”

Layton is just 17 but he is already a busy person. Not only has he taken on the 50 Yard Challenge, he is the president of the high school Kay Club, a member of the C-Club and the SAFE/SADD club. He also plays football and baseball.

Layton plans to further his education after high school by getting a degree in turfgrass management. Prior to accepting the challenge through RMLCS, Layton has his own lawn care and landscape business. He has suspended his paid services until he completes the challenge and hopes to continue building his business after he is done. He plans to use his degree to further build his clientele list.

RMLCS is a non-profit organization founded by Rodney Smith Jr. in 2015. In conjunction with RMLCS, Smith also created a sister program for young ladies to participate called Raising Women Lawn Care Services. The idea began when Smith was walking home from school and observed an elderly neighbor struggling to mow his lawn. He stopped to help the man by finishing up his lawn.

“After giving it some thought later that night he made the decision to give back and mow for the elderly, disabled, single parents, and veterans yards completely free of charge so they didn’t have to,” said Layton. “After setting a goal of 40 free lawns by the end of winter 2015, he reached that goal so quickly he then pushed himself to 100 yards. After he reached 100 yards, he founded Raising Men and Women’s Lawn Care so other kids ages 7-17 could join along in helping their communities out with him across the nation.”

Kids begin with a white T-shirt and earn another colored shirt for every 10 yards they mow. An orange shirt is received after 10 complete lawns. After 20 yards, kids get a green shirt. Thirty yards earns the participant a blue shirt, and after 40 yards they receive a red shirt. When the challenge is complete and 50 yards have been cared for free of charge, Smith delivers the final black T-shirt

Hunter Vieth named to WSU hall of fame

CHENEY – The 2022 himself. Along with the T-shirt, Smith gives away a new lawn mower, weed eater, and leaf blower.

The popularity of the program has spread nationwide and overseas since its founding in 2015. The 50 Yard Challenge is now in all 50 states and in eight countries with more than 3,200 children participating.

Those interested in participating in the 50 Yard Challenge can find Rodney Smith Jr. on any social media platform or go to weareraisingmen.com.

Wichita State Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame awards were named on Dec. 10 including Cheney High School graduate Hunter Vieth.

Vieth attended WSU and participated in track and field from 2013-2018. He earned first team All-American honors for his participation in the indoor heptathlon in 2018 and for the outdoor decathlon in 2017. He received second team AllAmerican honors for the indoor heptathlon in 2017.

Vieth received second place overall in the 2018 NCAA indoor heptathlon in 2018 with 6,090 points and finished sixth overall in the 2017 outdoor decathlon with 7,866 points. In 2017 he also finished ninth overall in the NCAA indoor heptathlon with 5,760 points. He qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships three times, twice in 2017 for the heptathlon and long jump, and once in 2018 for the heptathlon. He qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the decathlon in both 2017 and 2018.

Vieth holds five Missouri Valley Conference titles including long jump, indoor long jump, outdoor decathlon and twice for indoor heptathlon. He was named all-conference eight times throughout his track and field career.

Vieth earned academic all-conference honors in 2018 and finished his career first in the Shocker record books in indoor heptathlon and outdoor decathlon. He was listed as second in indoor long jump, fourth in indoor 60m hurdles and fifth in outdoor long jump.

A dinner and ceremony for all inductees in the WSU Hall of Fame will be held at the Beggs Ballroom on the WSU campus on Feb. 4. The ceremony is scheduled for 5 p.m. and the dinner will begin at 5:30 p.m. Reservations for the event can be made online at goshockers.com, by calling the Shocker ticket office at 316-978-FANS or in person at the WSU ticket office located on the south side of Charles Koch Arena.

Casino donates to Sumner Co. schools

Staff Report expressed appreciation.

The Kansas Star Casino provided cold weather clothing items to kids in schools throughout Sumner County.

Haysville Police Officer Jessica Starnes was recently promoted to the rank of Master Police Officer. Her promotion was recognized in mid-December. She has previously served as a school resource officer at Haysville High School. She is pictured with Capt. Keith Luongo. Starnes began her career with the Haysville Police Department in May 2016, serving as an animal control officer. She became a police officer in 2017 and graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center. She was named Officer of the Year at the 2021 Haysville Fall Festival.

Contributed photo

“This is a program they started about five years ago,” said Conway Springs USD 356 Superintendent Clay Murphy. “It is offered to all Sumner County schools.”

Parents were contacted earlier in the school year to apply for the items online so that students could receive the correct sizing. Students received sweatpants, long sleeve shirts, shoes, coats, and undergarments. Parents were contacted in December after individualized packages were picked up by school staff for their students.

Families receiving items from the casino

“The obvious benefit is the availability of nice clothing for our students,” said Argonia USD 359 superintendent and elementary principal Rustin Clark. “The only parent comments I’ve heard are words of thanks when they picked the items up.”

Items were high quality and purchased from stores like Kohl’s.

“These were not just the cheapest items they could find,” said one parent. “My child received Nike tennis shoes and a nice winter coat from Kohl’s.”

The Kansas Star Casino provides other perks for Sumner County Students as part of the agreement to build in the county. Students receive gift cards during registration in August for school supplies and registration fees. Graduating seniors can also receive college scholarships through the Casino.