The Times-Sentinel 20th anniversary

Working toward the same future: A Better Community

Our Future Looks Bright!

THEN

NOW

With our renovation work at Citizens State Bank we’re providing state-of-the-art banking services in our up-to-date facility. Congratulations on your recent renovation of The Times-Sentinel building as well!

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Enjoy this walk back through history I hope it’s not a bad thing that this past 20 years has gone by quickly for me.

The old cliché boasts that time flies when you're having fun. If that's true, I've had a ball owning and operating TimesSentinel Newspapers for the past two decades.

And yes, it should have been fun.

From my perspective, I’ve got one of the greatest jobs in the world. I get to help document for posterity the human drama that makes up the communities we are fortunate enough to serve, and it’s a challenge that I genuinely relish.

So when we hit the 20-year mark with my ownership of The Times-Sentinel, our staff and I decided it was time to publish some kind of keepsake edition. Little did we know what an undertaking that would become.

We started this process at the start of this year. We contacted our advertisers, many of whom were excited to be a part of this project. With the advertising base to fund such a venture, we started the job of sifting back through 20 years’ worth

From the Editor’s Files By Paul Rhodes Editor and Publisher

of Times-Sentinels. That’s 1,040 issues of the newspaper, for those of you who enjoy numbers.

Yikes.

The first thing we did was hire an intern this past summer to help us with the undertaking. From there, we identified dozens of stories we wanted to re-run in their entirety, and hundreds of news briefs that we wanted to distill down from other stories of interest.

The result is this special keepsake section, which truly was a labor of love.

We better have loved it…it was too much work to be something we disliked!

Next, we settled on distribution for this keepsake edition. Of course we wanted all of our Times-Sentinel readers to receive it.

But we also decided to send it out with the Conway Springs Star and Argonia Argosy, where many readers have connections with The Times-Sentinel coverage area. And, we received strong advertising support from the Star-Argosy coverage area, for which we are grateful.

Finally, it was time to decide when to give this gift to our readers. We chose the Thanksgiving issue of the paper because it would hit the streets at the start of a long holiday weekend.

At 64 total pages, I guessed it would take someone the better part of two days to read this edition from cover to cover.

So Happy Holiday, and happy reading!

Just know that with the growth we’ve experienced in the past three years and the recent renovation of our headquarters office in Cheney, I’m here to stay.

Another 20 years at the helm of this operation would not be a bad thing.

And besides, it’ll go by really fast.

S TA F F

D I R E C TO R Y

Publisher......................................... Paul Rhodes Managing Editor....................... Travis Mounts Ad Production....................... Tiffany Struthers Research/Production.........Amanda Martin,

Danny Davis and Lisa Friesen Proofreading.................................Anne Tjaden Billing/Circulation..................... Diane Neises Sales............................................... Valorie Castor

and Tori Vinciguerra ©2013 Times-Sentinel Newspapers LLC 125 N. Main • Cheney, KS 67025 316-540-0500 • www.tsnews.com Thank you to the many writers, photographers and contributors whose work is featured in these pages. We appreciate everyone who grants us interviews and lets us take their pictures. And thank you to everyone who has read The Times-Sentinel for the past two decades.

Fisher Lumber agrees to purchase Andale Lumber

By Travis Mounts

Andale Lumber of Andale will be sold to Fisher Lumber of Garden Plain, the owners of both businesses announced this week.

The sale is expected to close on May 20.

“We here at Andale Lumber are excited to become part of Fisher Lumber,” said Andale Lumber owner Pat Reichenberger.

Reichenberger and Fisher Lumber co-owner Joe Fisher had talked about meeting over coffee sometime to discuss politics. But by the time they met last October, Reichenberger had a different agenda. He brought up the idea of a sale or a merger.

At 71, Reichenberger said it was time to decide what would happen to the business after he retires. He said Fisher Lumber was the only buyer he would consider.

Reichenberger will remain manager of Andale Lumber. He said he’d like to continue working until he turns 80.

Joe Fisher and his brother and coowner, Jack Fisher, said having Reichenberger stay on board was a key part of the sale agreement. They said the impact on employees will be minimal.

“Pat has wonderful employees and we do, too, and that’s important,” Joe Fisher said.

Two of Pat’s sons work for him, and he said they’re very excited about the sale.

The Fishers and Reichenberger said their businesses have very similar cultures that include a small-town atmosphere and strong customer service.

They said the businesses have different strengths that will help both locations. For example, Fisher Lumber has a broader line of customer products, such as direct relationships with five different cabinet manufacturers. That will help bring more product availability to shoppers at Andale Lumber.

Meanwhile, Andale Lumber has a strong sales force that folks at Fisher Lumber can learn from, said Joe Fisher.

As with any deal, there will be a few changes. This summer, all invoices will begin coming out of Fisher Lumber in Garden Plain. There will be one website for Andale Lumber, Fisher Lumber and Fisher Lumber’s west Wichita building and remodeling showroom, Gallery Expressions.

However, customers of Andale Lumber will continue to hear that name when they call. “Andale Lumber” will

continue to be on the front of the building. And Pat and the rest of his staff will still be working in Andale.

Jack Fisher said there’s something about the business that keep people like him, his brother and Reichenberger in the business.

“It’s making that sale and seing customers come back again and again,” he said.

Andale Lumber recently marked 40 years in business. The business goes back to the early days of Andale. It was located closer to Andale Co-op, but eventually moved when the co-op needed more space.

When Reichenberger bought the business 40 years ago, he originally renamed it Pat Reichenberger Lumber. He quickly learned, however, that too many people could not spell it and could not pronounced his last name. (It’s “RICHen-ber-ger,” by the way). That’s when he renamed it Andale Lumber.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time the two businesses have had the same owner. Both Andale Lumber and Fisher Lumber used to be owned by Hank Comley, who owned about 20 lumberyards in a variety of towns in the area, including Cheney.

Reichenber bought the Andale location 40 years ago. The Fishers’ parents bought the Garden Plain lumberyard in 1955.

Both businesses have seen their industry change over the years as competitors in towns like Haven, Colwich, Cheney, Goddard, Mount Hope and west Wichita have closed. Today they rely on a higher percentage of contractor sales to builders and remodelers than they used to. There are fewer full-time farmers than there were a few decades ago.

Joe Fisher said the real benefits will come in having more purchasing power and saving on expenses like delivery. He said he recently saw an Andale Lumber truck with less than a full load on a Wichita street. Less than a minute later, he saw a Fisher Lumber truck with a similar load going in the same direction. In the future, that will be one truck making those deliveries.

And it won’t matter which name is on the truck, he said.

Reichenberger said that the more time that passes, the more he’s getting used to the idea of the sale. And by staying on with Fisher Lumber, he’ll continue getting to do what he’s loved the past 40 years.

ABOVE: Pat Reichenberger, center, has agreed to sell Andale Lumber to Jack Fisher, left, and Joe Fisher, the owners of Fisher Lumber in Garden Plain.

Staff photo/Travis Mounts

LEFT: Reichenberger talks with a customer in the store he’s owned for 40 years.

Clarion photo/Fred Solis

“Now we’re seeing a third generation of customers. It’s nice to see that,” he said. “It all fit together.”

Legacy Bank of Wichita – which got its start in nearby Colwich – is financing

the deal. Legacy Bank also has helped finance many of the developments in western Sedgwick County that were built with materials from Andale Lumber and Fisher Lumber.

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1993

The Year In Review

Emil Lentz with his 1928 Model A Ford Roadster

June 17, 1993

A car for a lifetime

By Paul Rhodes

Emil Lentz likes his 1988 Ford Taurus just fine, but when you ask him about his favorite car, he’ll point you to a different garage.

There in a small, flat-roofed shed in the middle of the Lentz farmyard north of Cheney sits Emil Lentz’s favorite car – a 1928 Model A Ford Roadster. It was Lentz’s first car, and if he has anything to say about it, it will also be his last.

“Sure we can take it for a spin,” said Lentz, an ear-to-ear grin crossing his weathered face. He celebrated his 83rd birthday last month, and his car’s 65th birthday. To mark the occasion, Lentz got out his favorite car for a drive and some pictures.

The two hadn’t been out together much since.

But that didn’t seem to matter much to Lentz’s Roadster, which fired right up and chugged out of the garage, and up the winding driveway. From there, Lentz turned the Roadster north toward Cheney Lake and the open road.

Out on the highway, the Roadster carried Lentz back in time as he surveyed the familiar countryside.

Up there, Lentz said, pointing to the hills on the eastern horizon, was the Zerener farm where he was born.

“This was all wheat stubble where Dad built our house in 1914,” Lentz said as the Model A rolled north toward the lake.

“Things sure have changed.”

Indeed they have. When 18-year-old Emil Lentz set out to buy his first car in 1928, the price tag was $507.

“It was hard to make that $507 as it would be to make $10,000 today,” said Lentz. The first tag for the Roadster set Lentz back another $4.

“I’ve been offered $100 for the tag, but I won’t sell,” said Lentz. He’s also turned down an offer of $20,000 for the entire car.

In the early 1930s, Lentz and two friends toured much of the Midwest from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada in the Roadster. In 1934, the Model A served as Emil and Edna Lentz’s wedding and honeymoon car.

By the 1940s, the Roadster became the workhorse of the farm, and in the 1950s, Lentz turned the car over to his two sons to drive to school. There were many times, he said, when the car could be seen around Cheney loaded down with teenagers.

In the 1960s, Lentz’s son Gary restored the Model A to its original condition. For a while, Gary Lentz kept the car in the Kansas City area, but eventually the Roadster found its way back home to the Lentz farm.

When Lentz bought a new Dodge car in 1940, he had a chance to trade in the Model A for $50. For that, Lentz decided he should just keep the Roadster and “drive it dirty.”

“There never was another car made that you could get so much good out of,” said Lentz as he stopped the Roadster below the Cheney Lake and turned it around for the drive home. “All you need is a screwContinued on Page 6

In January, the city of Cheney agreed to change its natural gas supplier. A price hike was implemented by People’s Natural Gas late in 1992, and along with other problems, the city decided to change its natural gas contract. The change resulted in Cheney contracting with Kansas Gas Supply.

After nearly 20 years as a librarian at Cheney Public Library, and almost another decade on the library’s board of directors before that, Mary Roembach retired in January as head librarian.

Gambino’s restaurant (now D’Mario’s) north of Cheney was broken into in February when burglars knocked holes in the restaurant’s walls and took money from game machines. Only about $100 was stolen, but more than $1,500 damage was caused to the building.

Doris Hageman was installed as Cheney’s postmaster in February. She had spent several years as a mail carrier in Wichita, and also worked there as a supervisor, superintendent of stations and acting station manager. She became officer in charge at the Cheney Post Officer in 1992 following the retirement of Leonard Dewitt.

The architecture firm of Schaefer Cox, Johnson and Frey of Wichita was selected in February to complete a facilities study for the Cheney School district. A member of the firm, Shannon Bohm, was a graduate of Cheney High School.

A new Lions Club was chartered in Cheney in March. The new club was chartered with 23 members.

A Clearwater couple was recognized for their efforts to help with disaster relief work around the country. Al and Wilda Coleman had recently returned from Red Cross work in Florida and Louisiana following Hurricane Andrew.

In March, Times-Sentinel Newspapers began surveying its readers about the possibility of combining its three different editions-Cheney, Clearwater and Goddardinto one larger area newspaper. After receiving overwhelming support from readers about a combined newspaper, the move to consolidate was announced in April.

A 17-year-old Cheney High School student,

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Brandon Noll, was killed in a one-vehicle accident southwest of Cheney. Also in the vehicle at the time of the accident was Noll’s girlfriend, Jaime Bollinger, who did not receive serious injuries. Since then, a Brandon Noll scholarship fund has been established with Cheney High School, and recipients are awarded each year.

The city of Clearwater in February approved annexing 78 acres of land on the east edge of the city. The annexation cleared the way for engineering and design work to begin on a new housing development on the site. The Park Glen development was planned for 190 new homes and celebrated its grand opening in 1995.

A Clearwater man, Larry Wortham, was invited to attend the inaguration of President Bill Clinton. Wortham had gotten to know Clinton during Clinton’s campaign to become governor of Arkansas.

The Goddard High School debate team won the 5A State Championship in January. In addition to winning the state title in the four- speaker format. GHS also also placed second in an experimental twospeaker format.

In February, federal drug agents seized equipment and chemicals for manufacturing the high -powered drug fentanyl during a raid at a Goddard business. The raid was made at Prairielabs in the Goddard Industrial Park. Two Wichita men were arrested, and more than 40 pounds of fentanyl was seized in Boston.

A major expansion of Universal Products in Goddard was announced in February. The city of Goddard approved annexation of nearly nine acres of land for the project., and also approved the issuance of up to $8 million in industrial revenue bonds for the project. The expansion at the plant, which manufactures vinyl striping and graphics for vehicles, as well as other products, was expected to boost employment at the business from 180 to nearly 270 employees.

Goddard wrestler David Bupp won the class 5A wrestling championship. Bupp wrestled in the heavyweight division.

At their first Kansas Press Association convention since launching the new newspaper, staff members of the TimesSentinel won numerous writing, design and photography awards. The newspaper also won the Sweepstakes Award. the most prestigious award given by the press association.

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The Year In Review The new Duckwall’s variety store in Clearwater was moving on track in April.

Remodeling had started, and plans were on schedule. The new store had its grand opening in June, and continues to operate as a major retailer in Clearwater.

On April 28, the Sedgwick County Extension Service broke ground on a new facility at the corner of Ridge Road and 21st Street in west Wichita. The efforts to build a new extension office for Sedgwick County included selling the former site at Central and Tyler, and combining the annual 4-H Fair with the annual Sedgwick County Fair in Cheney.

In April, there were several big winners in the Cheney Lake Association Fishing Tournament. Winners included Tom Conrad, James McClain, Kenny Baurer, Harold Gorges and Jim Smith. The top winner was Chuck Shepard, who caught a striper weighing more than six pounds.

Clearwater High wrestling coach Drew Harris was chosen as the 4A Wrestling Coach of the Year. Harris was in his eighth year. Harris was in his eighth year as a coach and math teacher at Clearwater High School.

In May, State Representative Rick Bowden announced he would resign his seat in the Kansas Legislature. Bowden had served nine years as representative of the 93rd District, and later moved to Topeka and took a top position with the Kansas State High School Activities Association.

and Clint Panek made history at the State Track Meet as they both set records in the discuss throw. In addition to winning their events in the 2A division, they each set new state discus records.

In early June, Cheney Methodist Church sustained extensive damage in a fire that apparently was started by a 10-year-old who was playing with matches.

In June, a new exhibit hall was completed at the Sedgwick County Fairgrounds. The facility was named for For Farm Bureau, which was a major contributor to the project.

The city of Cheney received word in June that it had been awarded a $317,000 Community Development Block Grant for construction of a new water tower. The water tower was built on the east edge of the city.

In late July, Leseley Wells of Cheney won the 5K Run to Cheney championship. The Cheney High graduate won the race right after finishing as runner-up in the Miss Cheney Lake Pageant the night before.

School officials in Clearwater agreed in July to put $2.85 million in bond issue improvements on the ballot. The bond issue included several school additions around the district. A month later, Cheney school officials agreed to put $6.6 million in school improvements on the ballot, including construction of a new high school and improvements to the elementary school. Both bond issues were approved by voters later in the year.

Goddard High student Jill Hahn was killed in an accident in late July on MacArthur Road. She was an honors student and was active in athletics and debate.

Despite objections, the Cheney City Council in May approved a variance to allow a sports bar and grill to be located in downtown Cheney. The project was proposed

by Gary Voth, and later opened as Champs Sports Bar and Grill at 213 N. Main.

As officials at the huge AT&T distribution center west of Goddard geared up for the plant’s final shutdown in early September, it was announced that Rubbermaid was interested in the facility as a production center.

New housing construction within the Goddard School District caused district officials to predict that enrollment would jump by about 250 students in the coming year.

In September, ground was broken for a new golf course in Cheney. The new Cherry Oaks Golf Course resulted from private donations and a Federal Parks and Wildlife grant.

A huge baseball card collection that was stolen from a Goddard warehouse was recovered in May. Police recovered more than 20,000 baseball cards owned by Pat Regan, who had stored the cards in the warehouse. Regan said the stolen cards were not part of his more valuable collection.

Clearwater school teacher Joy Peterson was honored at the end of the school year for her service to the district. She taught two different stints in the Clearwater district beginning in 1956.

Garden Plain athletes and siblings Katie

Goddard Police Chief Jim Nelson died in early November, the result of an apparent heart attack.

The Renwick Board of Education announced in December that it was planning for a bond issue to accommodate future growth Although extensive discussions resulted on the possibility of a consolidated high school between Garden Plain and Andale, the district later constructed a new high school in Andale and made major improvements to Garden Plain High School.

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August 12, 1993

Alum making music in Jacksonville

By Gale Fleming

People who lived in Clearwater in the early 1980s would not be surprised to learn that Noel Freidline, a 1985 CHS Graduate, is now a professional musician. During his high school years, Noel delighted local audiences with his talent. Last year, he was named Best Local Entertainer of the Year in Jacksonville, Fla., where he now lives.

After graduation, he attended WSU for two years, and then transferred to the University of North Florida where he graduated magna cum laude in 1991 with a BA in music. Noel started working as a musician while he was still in school. He says that he worked any type of “gig” that came along “paying his dues,” playing wedding receptions, private parties, cocktail piano jobs and even debutante balls. Actually, Noel says he didn’t know what a debutante was until he moved to the south and, in fact, he’s still a little unclear on the actual definition.

Today, he has his own group, the Noel Freidline Trio. He started in the group when a jazz club opened in Jacksonville the summer of 1989. Noel was supposed to work on a cruise ship that summer but got chicken pox the day before he was supposed to leave. As it happened, that was a stroke of good luck because he then began working in clubs.

The jazz trio consists of a bass player and drummer, as well as Noel on the piano.

He sings with the group and also has a female singer who sounds like a combination of Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin, according to Noel. They do mostly club work as well as wedding receptions and private parties. The trio plays at four different clubs in the Jacksonville area and are the top paid band at each club.

But, the Trio is not Noel’s only activity. He also has an eight-piece band called Uptown Express, which is the trio with a guitarist and three horn players. This group plays rhythm and blues and rock and roll. And, Noel does free-lance work, such as playing in the pit orchestra for “a Chorus Line” when the road show passed through town. He’s also worked with the Peter Duchin Orchestra and the Guy Lombardo Orchestra when they were in Jacksonville.

Noel finally did get to perform on cruise ships. In fact, he went to Nassau 22 times, and a 50-day circumnavigation of South America gave him the opportunity to see a number of places. He also toured Central America for 21 days with a Dixieland band sponsored by the State Department as part of a cultural exchange program.

As if he isn’t busy enough, Noel hopes to get his Trio to Europe to perform next year and is trying to break into the recording business. And, he says he gets together once a week with an a cappella doo wop group to sing tunes like “Blue Moon,” “Book of Love,” and “In the Still of the Night.” He says there are five guys in this group – all are 20 years older than he is, all are Italian from New York or New Jersey. They call Noel “the Kansas Flash!”

Noel’s activities leave him little time for anything else – in fact, he says he seldom gets to see his girlfriend. And, he has wonderful praise for those who made it possible for him to make a living doing what he enjoyed the most – making music. He says his parents, Bill and Marie Freidline, and his piano teacher, Kayla Vulgamore, deserve a lot of credit for his success.

He says his parents made a deal that, if he would take piano lessons for one year, he could decide if he wanted to continue. After the year, he decided piano was too hard, but Kayla told his parents not to let him quit because he had too much potential. Noel credits the solid foundation in music he got from his early lessons from Kayla with making music come easy to him.

Noel says his parents have always been supportive and were never reluctant with praise.

Continued from Page 5 driver, a pair of pliers and some baling wire and you could drive this car across the country.”

On the way back home from Cheney Lake, Lentz listed off the other cars in his life – the Dodge, a 1953 Super Buick, a 1962 Ford Fairlane, a 1972 Ford (which he traded for a 1972 Chrysler) a 1982

Mercury Lynx and a 1988 Ford Taurus.

As he pulled the Roadster back in the familiar driveway to his farm, he nodded at the 1988 Ford Taurus and smiled.

“I’m hoping that’s the last car I’ll ever have to buy,” Lentz said.

Even if it isn’t, any new addition to the roster of Lentz cars will have to take its place behind the 1928 Model A Ford Roadster at the top of the list.

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1994

The Year In Review In January, the final specifications for a new water tower in Cheney were approved by the City Council during its first meeting of the year. Bids for the project were scheduled to be opened in February. The water tower was built on schedule, and is a focal point of the community near new housing developments on the east side of the community.

March 3, 1994

Roembach turns over reigns

By Paul Rhodes

It was Saturday morning, and Ed Roembach was in his standard attire for a morning at the bank.

Forget the starched white shirt. Forget the tie.

And forget that his past Saturday was Roembach’s retirement party as he steps down as president of Cheney’s Citizen State Bank.

In their decades as owners and operators of Citizens State Bank, members of the Roembach family have used consistency as a benchmark against which you can measure service and success. And Ed Roembach wasn’t about to act like last Saturday was any different, even if it really was different than any other in his long banking career.

The morning flew by as Roembach greeted and visited with bank customers, many of whom he’d done business with since he joined his father’s banking operation more than four decades ago.

When a young Ed Roembach finished his stint in the service during the Korean War, he settled on a plan to go back to college to train for a career that would pay better than the teaching profession he had started out in. On the way there, his father made him a “good offer,” and he took it.

“I was half obligated and half interested,” said Roembach, looking back on a decision that set the course

for the rest of his life. His wife Mary had a teaching job in Kingman, and the couple took up residency in an apartment above a garage there as Roembach started his training at Citizens State Bank in downtown Cheney.

What Roembach had going for him was all the best a new career could offer: a friendly, supportive community in which to work, people he knew and a good teacher.

“Along with all the other things, my dad and I were good friends,” said Roembach.

That friendship had a solid start, and grew even stronger in the years ahead as Roembach’s younger brother died unexpectedly of leukemia and his older brother was killed in a car accident.

Those were tragic losses for the family, and Leon Roembach quickly found himself leaning on the best pillar of support he had left; his son Ed. Leon had started his banking career with First National Bank in Wichita, and served stints running small banks for the company in Gray, Okla., and Perrington, Texas. He’d grown up in Garden Plain, where his father and uncles ran a hardware store, and when a chance came up to join with local bankers and buy the hometown bank, he jumped at it.

Thirteen years later in 1940, Leon Continued on Page 9

Students in Clearwater got a taste of what it would be like to be homeless when a church club sponsored an event in January that involved sleeping outside overnight. As a result of the church club project, more than $700 was raised to help a local family in need and a homeless shelter in Wichita.

Final recommendations on the expansion of the Goddard School district were made in late January by an advisory committee.

The largest part of the proposal included plans to build a new high school, which later was approved by the school district and voters in a close mail-in ballot. The $19.8 million package of improvements also included work at other school buildings in the district.

The Clearwater Lions Club celebrated its 40th anniversary in late January with its annual pancake feed. The feed raised more than $2,000, and included the butchering of 17 hogs for the feed and accompanying meat sale. More than 700 people attended the pancake feed.

The Silver Crek FCE of Clearwater celebrated its 60th anniversary in January.

The club had 28 members when it was chartered in 1934, and members were all from the Silver Creek school area south of Clearwater.

In early February, the Renwick Board of Education voted to move ahead with plans to consolidate high schools in Garden Plain and Andale, during a heated meeting attended by hundreds of school patrons. The biggest confrontations during the meeting were between members of the board, who openly argued about the consolidation issue.

Opposing consolidation were board members Gil Bergkamp and Neil Youngers, who represented the Garden Plain area. The proposal was later defeated by voters during a ballot in April.

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A man wielding a hatchet forced his way into the Little Indians Child Care Center in Clearwater in early February. There were no injuries in the incident, which involved a Wichita man who obviously was disturbed and sat down in a chair just inside a side door to the center after entering the building.

After months of hard work, the Garden Plain Library officially opened its doors in midFebruary. Several local officials were on hand for the grand opening, which was the result of hard work by a number of volunteers.

The library continues to operate today, and receives support from the city of Garden Plain and volunteer groups and individuals.

Clearwater resident Larry Whitcomb set a state record when he bagged an eightpoint deer near his family’s farm outside of Toronto, Kan. The deer had an official rack of 166 and five-eighths, and set a new state record. The deer also produced 139 pounds of processed meat that was enjoyed by the Whitcomb family.

The Cheney School District in April was named as one of the top school systems in the country by SchoolMatch, a nationwide advocacy and consulting group. The recognition for the local district included its academic excellence, involvement with parents and availability of programs.

In May, a group of area grocery stores was sold to Scrivner of Kansas. The sale included the Kombo store in Goddard, which was operated by Bob and Kathy McCreary. McCrearys Inc., headed by Bob’s father Bill, also had grocery stores in Wellington and Anthony. The stores were sold so that Bill McCreary, 62, could retire from the grocery business. He later was elected to the Kansas Legislature. Bob and Kathy McCreary now operate a group of scrapbook stores in Wichita.

A Clearwater man was found guilty in May on murder charges. Mike Mattson was charged with the deaths of Dale Pavey and Julie Voyles at a rural Clearwater home. Authorities said Mattson entered Pavey’s home and shot him over a crack cocaine debt. He then shot Voyles, who was in the house at the time.

The Cheney boys track team won the State 3A track title in a thrilling finish in late May at Cessna Stadium in Wichita. It was the first time the Cheney boys squad had won the State title, according to coach Vernon Ferguson. Key wins at the State meet included Chad Zogleman in high jump, Jeff Henning in the 800 and the 4X400 relay team.

County’s educational arm serves rural and city residents Extension work mentary about the garden in Sedgwick County on her blog, http://thedebegan in 1918. As the mogarden.org. educational arm of McMahon is responKansas State Universisible for programming in ty, the state’s land-grant the areas of fruits, veguniversity, Sedgwick etables and herbs for both County Extension home and commercial Education Center has audiences as well as turf been providing classes grass/lawn care for the same groups. Since Extenand workshops for sion works hard not to county families and induplicate classes offered dividuals, farming and in the county, McMahon gardening assistance, recently partnered with 4-H involvement opthe City of Wichita Water portunities, and much Center to hold a series of more. classes looking at lawn Horticulture Agent care and irrigation issues.

Rebecca McMahon The Sedgwick County Ex McMahon’s love of is excited about the tension Office offers many gardening is infectious. increase she has seen in classes that are open to the public.

“I love everything both home and comrelating to growing food munity gardens. crops, especially trying new things,” she “When I started about four years ago there were six or seven community gardens admitted. “I like to encourage both home gardeners and commercial growers to in Wichita,” she said. “Now my list has think outside the box and try new things. grown to over 25 gardens, and people are I’m also very passionate about encouraginterested in starting gardens every year. I ing the growth of our local food system do what I can to provide help and guidand providing people with the option to ance during the planning and organizapurchase more locally grown fruits and tional process for each garden.”

Recently the17-year-old Demonstration vegetables, which helps encourage local economic growth.”

Garden received a much-needed facelift.

Jodi Used as a Besthorn, resource 4-H Youth and teaching Programs tool, money Agent, noted for the gara 15 percent den renovaincrease in the tion came number of from Master communityGardener based 4-H fundraisclubs due ing efforts to parents and some believing in generous the positive donations. developmental McMahon keeps a run- Wheat Science classes allows students to expe- value of 4-H. rience products from beginning to end.

“Parents ning com-

approach to guidance in parent-child are willing to make it happen,” she said.

“They are committed to organizing meet- relationships. The Family Board Game Event also is offered. These games are ings, recruiting helpers, handling paperwork, and all the while having in mind the used as a tool to help families bond while strengthening communication aspects of positive youth development skills. and helping young people develop into “The family is the first circle we caring, capable, competent, compassionexperience in healthy social-emotional ate citizens.” development,” Brunscheen-Cartagena School enrichment programs come from 4-H, which brings information right said. “Attachment and bonding comes from there.” into the classroom. Wheat Science starts with planting and ends with a fresh-baked Also offered is Internet 101 for Parloaf of bread made by the students. Frac- ents, a hands-on workshop to undertion Power discusses this mathematical stand the Internet’s history and how to concept by using a cookie mix. investigate information and communica The 4-H program also is found at tions received by youth.

McConnell Air Force Base. County 4-H Dunning is adamant about Extension’s Agent Beth value in the Drescher trains community. the staff on a “Extension variety of learnwill always ing projects, and have a vithen they work able future with the youth for we teach at their afterresearch-based school program. educational Family and information Consumer Scithat helps the ences continues family, teaches to help families children and with parenting The 4-H program offers positive development youth, shows and financial the producer for young people. planning classes. what the Elizabeth (Liz) research says Brunscheen-Cartagena, Family Life and will enhance his crop or animal producResource Management Agent for over six tion, teaches youth and adults environyears, is sensitive to the needs of Sedgmental stewardship to preserve our land, wick County families. develops growers’ production of fruits “We bring Parenting Education classes, and vegetables, and strengthens the Financial Classes such as Budgeting and family unit with budget management, the Women Investment Education Prochild development, parenting and nutrigram and Family Board Game events,” tion education, just to name a few,” she Brunscheen-Cartagena noted. “Other said. “Many, many people are using our topics that can help families with issues services. These services are needed when are added during the year as I see a need.” people are unemployed, have a limited Parenting classes include Great Beincome, are single parents, or want to ginnings, where participants learn how improve their quality of life.” children grow and develop from infancy To find out more about Sedgwick to five years old, and Responsive DisciCounty Extension, go to their Website at pline, which provides a decision-making www.sedgwick.ksu.edu.

Thanks for our news partnership over the years!

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Continued from Page 7 Roembach took advantage of another opportunity when Tom Northcutt decided to sell Citizens State Bank in Cheney. It meant closing the State Bank of Garden Plain, but it was a step Leon Roembach felt he had to take.

“It was simply a chance for a larger bank in a larger community,” said Roembach of his father’s decision.

“The people of Garden Plain were disappointed to see the bank move, but we only lost a couple of customers.”

With the move, the bank continued to grow, and a few years later Leon Roembach was able to merge with Cheney’s other bank, the State Bank of Cheney. By then, Ed Roembach was in college, where his thoughts seldom settled on the prospects of working in his father’s bank back home.

For Roembach, those early years at Citizens State Bank were the best years.

He was put in charge of selling insurance to area farmers, and spent many of his days driving around to their farms.

“I had an enormous advantage – I knew everyone,” said Roembach. “It was quite an enjoyable learning experience.

Those are the things you miss when you’re stuck behind a desk as president of the bank,” he said.

Roembach loved to visit with area residents, a trait that made him good at his job. He was a good listener, and he watched and learned from other members of his father’s generation.

At the same time, he was earning a reputation that fit into the Roembach family mold.

“Customers came to us with all their problems,” he said. “We counseled people on their family matters as well as their money matters.”

“As bankers, we were put up on a pedestal that we didn’t deserve.”

But Roembach handled the position well, reflecting the quiet, conservative, trustworthy approach his father had brought to the banking business. And from the people he counseled, Roembach learned life’s most valuable lessons. That commitment to his customers helped pull Roembach through a dark time in the 1980s, when tightening regulations forced the bank to lose nearly $1 million on loans that examiners saw as potentially dangerous. Although some of the losses were later recouped, the disaster took a heavy toll on Roembach, who by then had taken over as president of the bank.

“I physically collapsed for about three weeks,” said Roembach, remembering the nightmare. “But I had an obligation

to stay in the buggy and make it work.”

Through the disaster, Roembach learned that the bank had to diversify its loan portfolio. He credited dedicated bank directors and employees who stayed with him through the tough times.

And now, even though Roembach knows he’s never too old to learn, he’s ready to turn the bank over to others who he believes are better suited for the road ahead.

Roembach said he is pleased with the deal that has come through to purchase Citizens State Bank. The buyout involved current bank officers Roger Brown and John Mies, with financial backing from Cheney native Dan Taylor, who at one time had extensive Pizza Hut holdings.

Most importantly for Roembach – and many of the bank’s customers – the bank will remain in local hands.

Roembach described his father’s banking philosophy as “ultraconservative” and said that he has continued to run the bank from a conservative point of view. But Roembach also noted that the banking industry has changed so much, “if you want to see your community grow, you do some things you might not otherwise do,” in terms of loans.

“We wanted to leave the bank in local hands and with people who will run the bank as we have,” said Roembach.

He said he was close to signing a contract with another party when Brown and Mies indicated they had some potential investors they wanted to talk to. Those discussions, Roembach said, “Started and stopped with Dan Taylor.”

“The group of people working at the bank is the most compatible group of people possible,” said Roembach. “That leaves me feeling very good.

While the bank sale is waiting to be approved by federal regulators, those connected with the sale expect it to be approved within the next month to two months. In the meantime, Roembach was ready to retire.

He said he had been gradually pulling back from loan work at the bank, concentrating on regulatory issues.

“That’s why it’s not fun anymore,” he said. But with some odds and ends to catch up on until the sale is final, Roembach said he probably would continue putting in a few hours a week at the bank.

And with his new-found spare time, Romebach will likely take a hint from the bank employees who have meant so much to him over the years.

“They gave me a set of golf clubs for my retirement,” he said. “I think I’ll try to take some lessons.”

1993-2012

February 17, 1994

Herrman makes television debut

By Melany Ethridge

Garden Plain resident Patricia Herrman made her live television debut when she appeared on KAKE channel 10’s “Someone’s in the Kitchen with Todd,” during the noon news broadcast.

Herrman said that she is a big fan of the show and watches it every day. So when host Todd Johnson recently asked for pasta recipes, she sent in one for Tangy Rice Casserole, which she got from the “Sunflower Sampler” cookbook put out by Dillon's.

“It was an exciting experience,” Herrman said of her appearance on the show.

Herrman sent in her recipe a couple weeks before the show, and was notified about a week afterwards. This gave her a week to prepare.

Once she was notified, she began practicing putting the dish together because she knew she would only have a about a minute on the air to demonstrate the recipe. She also had to bring a prepared dish to the show with her, as well as ingredients ready to mix to make the dish on the air.

Despite all of her preparation, Herrman was still a little nervous before the show went on the air. “My knees were knocking,” she said. But Johnson and the other newscasters were really friendly and made her feel right at home, Herrman added.

A former café owner and operator, Herrman now runs a catering business out of her home, doing events such as weddings and anniversary or birthday parties. In addition, Herrman prepares food for Meals on Wheels. "I just do enough to keep me busy," she said.

With six children, a five-year-old and twenty-one-year-old still at home, and eight grandchildren, Herrman is kept quite busy simply preparing meals for her family. She enjoys cooking for her family, she said, and getting everyone involved in the meal preparation. “I like to cook with my family and I give everyone something to do.”

Herrman’s appearance on the show was made an even more memorable experience for her as she left the studio last Wednesday. She had her arms full and was on her way out the door when the receptionist stopped her and told her she had a phone call.

Herrman thought it was just a friend calling to tell her they saw her on the show, but it was actually a viewer calling in to make sure she had the recipe down correctly.

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1994

The Year In Review Community leaders from Cheney traveled to Oakland, Calif., in June to participate in the All-America Cities competition. Although the city did not make it to the final 10 cities in the competition, it was still a victory as Cheney - one of the smallest communities ever selected for the competition - made it into the judging among 30 of the “best communities in the nation.”

In June, Jo Ann Coy retired as high school librarian in Clearwater after 25 years. She was a teacher for 43 years, and more than half of her career was involved in work as a librarian.

School officials broke ground in late June for the new improvements in the Cheney School District. The $6 million project included a new high school and improvements to the elementary school.

Work was completed on schedule, and constituted the most extensive building project in the history of the school district.

In the November general election, Todd Tiahrt of Goddard upset U.S. Representative Dan Glickman, and Dan Thimesch of rural Cheney won the 93rd District race for the Kansas Legislature.

Tiahrt and Thimesch both ran on conservative platforms, even though they represented different parties Tiahrt is a Republican and Thimesch is a Democrat. Both continue to serve in their elected positions in Washington and Topeka.

Karie Youngers of Clearwater was selected in November as Miss Arkansas Valley. Youngers, a student at Friends University, won scholarship funds and also competed in the Miss Kansas Pageant the following year.

A Goddard student and her mother were killed in an accident in late November. Miranda Simon, 14, and her mother Ronda Simon were on their way to Miranda’s first cheerleading activity when they were killed in an accident on 71st Street South. A driver northbound on Ridge Road ran a stop sign, according to authorities, and also was killed in the accident.

A wandering raccoon left residents of Cheney and Garden Plain without electrical power on Christmas Day. The raccoon got into a substation between the two communities that evening, and caused a power outage to nearly 1,000 customers for about an hour.

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1995

The Year In Review The Goddard City Council agreed with little discussion and no arguments to annex school property in to city in early January. The area in question concerned 53 acres at 23rd Street south and Goddard Road, and today is the site of Goddard High School, Eisenhower Middle School, Amelia Earhart Elementary School and the district’s high school sports complex.

At midnight Friday, Jan. 13, TeleCommunications Inc. (TCI) cable television subscribers in Cheney and Goddard suddenly became customers of Multimedia Cablevision. And most won’t even notice the change for some time, said David Creamer, system manager for Multimedia and former TCI manager.

The switch occurred when Multimedia completed a trade of approximately 40,500 cable customers in Illinois and Oklahoma for 50,400 TCI customers in the area around Wichita. The deal also involved an undisclosed amount of cash.

Home Bank and Trust, based in Eureka, was approved in January to build a branch bank in Clearwater. The new bank built a facility on the north edge of the community along Fourth Street, and continues to operate a branch bank at that site.

An object that brought out the Sedgwick County bomb squad near Cheney in February was not an explosive device, officials said. It was described as some type of electrical pressure sensing device used for a high or low pressure line. Authorities said it probably fell off somebody’s truck as they were driving down the road.

Goddard teacher Beth Cross was killed in early January when the van she was driving was struck broadside by a train on 215th Street West near Goddard. Cross apparently did not stop at the railroad crossing, according to witnesses. Cross had worked a number of years at the Interlocal Cooperative in Goddard.

The Garden Plain Public Library celebrated its first anniversary in February. In its first year, the library saw a tremendous involvement from the local community. More than 2,100 people visited the library in its first year, and following that, additional support was provided by the city of Garden Plain.

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1995

Curtis Kempton of Goddard was selected in February to play in the seventh annual Air New Zealand Down Under Bowl.

Kempton had been an honorable mention All- State football player for the Lions, and played both offense and defense for the Goddard squad.

The Goddard wrestling team sent seven athletes to the 5A State Wrestling Tournament in February. Five of those athletes were first-timers at the State Tournament.

Clearwater’s Home State Bank and Trust was purchased in March by First State Bank and Trust of Tonganoxie.The bank in Clearwater had been operated for a number of years by Roy Holder, who said stockholders had agreed late in the previous year to look at selling the bank.

Alice Parker, a long-time teacher in Clearwater, died in March. She was known as being one of Clearwater’s most accomplished teachers, and taught a number of different classes at Clearwater High School, including social studies and several foreign languages. She was also a librarian.

In late March, Cheney’s dream to have a local golf course became a reality. Cherry Oaks Golf Course opened nine holes of play with much fanfare. The project was the result of private donations and public grant funds, and continues to operate as a nine-hole public golf course. Since then, the city of Cheney has purchased land north of the golf course for an additional nine holes.

For the sixth consecutive year, the vocal music department in Goddard maintained the highest level possible at regional and state contests, In addition, the band at GHS earned top honors at the State Music Festival.

Although this is Anne Weber’s first year as coordinator for the Garden Plain “Wheels Of Life” bike-a-thon, she already has had plenty of experience. Her kids have ridden in it every year. The event is an annual fundraiser for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, founded in Memphis in 1962 by entertainer Danny Thomas.

The Clearwater Coop Elevator announced in April that it had been acquired by the Mulvane Cooperative Union. Most employees stayed with the operation, which continued to offer the same basic services, in addition to Farmland brand products.

Esther Seiwert, with her husband, Ferdinand, has retired after playing the organ for 60 years at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Garden Plain.

May 4, 1995

A tribute to the organ player

By Tim Pouncey

As a church organist at St. Anthony’s for nearly 60 years, Esther Seiwert has attended more religious services than some clergymen.

But after six decades of service, Seiwert finally stopped playing for church services February 5. On April 30, parishioners grateful for her years of dedication, held a special Open House in her honor at St. Anthony’s School.

“I had to quit because I couldn’t climb the stairs anymore,” she said. “From the waist up, I’m fine. I just don’t walk too well anymore. Other than that, I get the job done.”

Seiwert said she learned to play the organ when she was around 13 years old.

“I was taught how to play by the Dominican Sisters (nuns) who were here,” she said. “I helped off and on, playing for the church during the summer.

In 1936, she married Ferdinand Seiwert and the couple left Garden Plain for five years, she said. But music was still an important part of their family. Ferdinand is a violinist who enjoyed playing dance music.

“I began playing the violin when I was in eighth grade,” he said. “I played for See A TRIBUTE, Page 12

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1993-2012

July 20, 1995

Goddard students craft nation’s top Space City

By Jeff Adkins

A team of Goddard science students will bring a national title back to the school district on Friday afternoon.

The students placed first on Monday in the National Space Settlement Design Contest in Orlando, Fla. Students like Monica O’Rourke called their parents Monday evening to inform them of the good news.

“She was so excited,” said Anne St. Clair. “I didn’t know if she was sitting down or flying.”

The victory is a prestigious one for the Goddard Science Department.

This is the second year Goddard has participated in the design contest.

Goddard was one of the top teams in the nation last year.

It was one of four teams to advance past the preliminary round of the contest,

which was opened to all schools in the nation, and traveled to Washington, D.C. to compete in the finals.

The contest was part of the National Spaceweek Gala last year. However, corporate sponsorship dropped this year.

There was no preliminary round, and Goddard, based on its top performance last year, was one of four schools invited to participate.

Other teams were from Florida, California and Maryland.

Each of the four teams was required to build a space city of the future to hold between 10,000 to 15,000 inhabitants.

The teams acted as corporations vying for a contract to build the city, and were judged on the presentation.

Students prepared research material prior to the trip, but had to prepare their presentation in Florida. St. Clair said the

students had been researching material since March.

Students on the team were Brian Morris, Shannon Holland, Gene Albright, Wes Turybury, Eric Strader, Joy Hoskins, Kristina Rzeszotarski, Phillip Hayes, Matthew McDonnold, Richard Kelderhouse, John Jeter, Tiffany Pollard and Monica O’Rourke. Sponsors were Mr. and Mrs. Barry Schartz and Brad Cline.

For the remainder of the week, students have been visiting Kennedy Space Center and were scheduled to watch the Atlantis Space Shuttle land on Friday before returning home.

For anybody who wants to congratulate the students, their flight, United 1630, is scheduled to arrive at the airport at approximately 5 p.m. on Friday.

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1995

The Year In Review In June, Amy Keller, who was Miss Cheney Lake the previous year, was crowned as Miss Kansas during the annual pageant in Pratt. Keller came to the contest as Miss Heartland in 1995, following her year as Miss Cheney Lake. The first runner-up at the state competition was the current Miss Cheney Lake, Amy Graber, who is now an administrator in the Cheney School District.

Greta Lilly of Garden Plain was selected in June as the winner in the Sedgwick County Button Design Contest. The junior at GPHS was selected from among dozens of entrants in the contest, and received a $150 savings bond for winning the contest.

A Harper man was arrested in late July in connection with the murder of Loren Jones of Clearwater. The murder reportedly occurred during a keg party on July 23.

Three Clearwater residents were evacuated from a burning cruise ship in Alaska in late July. Herman and Veda Ruth Tjaden, along with Carol Wise, all of Clearwater, were safely rescued from the Regent Star cruise ship on July 22.

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1995

The Year In Review Alisha Wiemeyer figured she had better go all out at the Sedgwick County Fair this year. Wiemeyer, a member of the Cheney Challengers 4-H Club probably isn’t going to be at the Fair next year.

She’ll be in Disney World with the Wichita Area Girl Scouts Council around Fair time next year. She succeeded in her goal, winning 17 ribbons in educational displays, market lamb, shepherd’s lead, foods, woodworking, style revue, forestry, arts and crafts, photography and hand pets.

She won five purples, 11 blues and one red.

Last year she won two ribbons.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held in September for the new library facility in Clearwater. After two failed bond issue attempts for a new library, land was donated by the Matlack and McMillen families. Other community donations helped make the library project a reality.

An assisted living unit was opened at Medicalodge in Goddard in October. The facility utilized a separate wing to house the assisted living unit, and continued to provide meals for residents of the new unit through its existing kitchen services.

In late October, the Clearwater Family Practice medical center operated by Dr. David Papish merged with Wichita Clinic. The move allowed Papish to concentrate his efforts on patient care in the community, with Wichita Clinic officials helping with the management of the facility. Papish had been serving the community for 16 years.

A Wichita man was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after a standoff with police at a home in Goddard on Oct. 23. The man was found dead in his former girlfriend’s home on the north edge of Goddard. Police had been called there to investigate an open door and a gas odor report.

If you can slow down Duane Oblander long enought to talk with him, you’ll find he’s had an interesting life. But slowing him down can be difficult, because the key to his success is speed. Oblander, owner of Hi-Tech Performance and an awardwinning boat racer, talked about his life in fast-motion to a Goddard High School automotive shop class. He began drag racing cars after high school graduation in 1961. In 1962, he won the National Drag Racing title from the American Hot Rod Association. A job as a bus mechanic brought him to Goddard in ‘65. He began experimenting by putting car engines in boats.

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1993-2012

1995

A tribute to the organ player Continued from Page 10 weddings and dances – church dances, wedding dances, barn dances – I played them all.”

When the couple returned to Garden Plain, Esther said she was asked to play again at St. Anthony’s. After that, she played nearly every Sunday until she retired.

“I just played for the honor and glory of God,” she said. “One lady said: ‘You know, you’ll get a good place in heaven for playing at the church,’ but my husband said, ‘It doesn’t count because you enjoy it too much.’ It’s true, I really have enjoyed playing.”

Esther’s enthusiasm for playing at the church spread to the Seiwert children.

The couple’s four daughters also became church organists. Daughter Roberta Lampe plays at St. Joe/Ost; Ruth Schmidt plays for a church in Sharon, Kansas, near Medicine Lodge; Betty Hunt plays at Shulte and Rita Evart used to help her mother at St. Anthony’s.

In addition to teaching her children,

Esther also gave piano lessons to dozens of Garden Plain children for nearly 18 years.

“I taught students piano because I didn’t have an organ at home,” she said. “Two of my pupils – Mary Martin and Larry Stuhlstatz also played at St. Anthony’s.”

When she wasn’t playing at the church, Esther joined her husband to play music at local nursing homes.

“She played the organ and I played the violin and we played old standards like ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,’ and ‘On the Sunny Side of the Street,’ for a number of years,” Ferdinand said.

“We both enjoy hymns and gospel music, but playing at the care homes gave us a chance to play other kinds of music.”

Although Esther will no longer be the church organist, she and her husband will continue playing at their home.

“We still play for our own pleasure,” said Ferdinand. “The nice thing about playing at home is that no one hears it when you make a mistake.”

Congratulations on

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217 N. Main, Cheney

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May 5, 1996

New twist on a hit movie

By Tim Pouncey

The destruction around the tornado site was devastating, said Steve Dick.

And Dick should know – he was responsible for most of it.

Steve Dick, field manager for Henry Dick Diggin, spent almost two months last year making an area of Oklahoma look like a tornado hit it. You can see his handiwork playing at movie theaters across the country this summer.

Dick was one of the people who worked on the blockbuster movie “Twister.”

“It started when we were contacted by a construction outfit at Caldwell, Kan., we’d done some work for,” Dick said. They rebuilt the farmstead that was used in the opening scene of ‘Twister.’ They contacted us about digging a ditch for the movie about 15 miles southwest of Ponca City, Oklahoma. I went with Steve Krenzel of Cheney and Ron Hedrick of Milton, but most of the time I was there alone.

The guys were needed for other jobs by our company.”

Dick not only dug the ditch used by a pickup truck to flee the tornado in the movie, he also helped construct some of the outdoor film locations. He worked at the location from April 15 to about the beginning of last June,” he said.

“It was a month and a half between the time we dug the ditch and when we started filming,” he said. “After we made the ditch, we drove bulldozers to smash down the wheat and mud in the fields.

Then we put rock down in the trails so the pickups wouldn’t get stuck.”

The work was not too hard, Dick said, but it could be frustrating.

“We made a debris trail to simulate where a tornado had been,” he said.

“We went out to a wide-open pasture and planted trees in the field and then ripped the limbs off to make them look damaged. That scene cost over $60,000 to set up and it was only shown for a few seconds on a TV set one of the characters in the movie was watching.”

The area where Dick worked was base camp for the movie that contained 15 semi-trucks, 17 campers and a large tent

that was set up for breakfast and dinner.

“There were about 125 people on the set,” he said. “Everybody had a cellular phone and everybody had a pager. People who were only standing 20 or 30 feet apart talked to each other on cellular phones.”

But it wasn’t all drudgery, Dick said. He met the stars of Twister, Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton and said both were nice to him.

“I only talked to Helen Hunt one time,” he said. We were told not to take pictures of the stars. But she was real nice and friendly. She just seemed like just an ordinary person.

So did Bill Paxton, Dick said.

“Paxton was a comical character, always funny and always cracking jokes,” he said. However, both Paxton and Hunt had a difficult time dealing with the real weather turbulence that occurred during the film, Dick said.

“The day they filmed the bridge scene – where the pickup runs into a bridge – it was Paxton’s 40th birthday, he said. “It was a cold and miserable day, it only got to be about 65 degrees that day when Paxton and Hunt were standing under the bridge in a foot of water. They had a big fan six foot in diameter to simulate the winds. It was storming later the day the bridge scene was filmed. A real tornado touched down about a mile away.

There were making it look like a storm when a real storm blew in.”

Dick said he was anxious to see the final results of the movie and went to see “Twister” on opening day in Wichita.

“I thought it was a great movie,” he said. “I was amazed at how much extra special effects were added by computers after they filmed a scene. Right before the bridge scene was a scene of a house and barn being blown away. That was all done with computers.

His experience with the filmmakers was pleasant enough. Dick said he would be glad to work on another movie.

“I would work with the group that made “Twister” again anytime,” he said.

“The people I worked with like Joseph Nemick, the set designer, treated us all pretty good.”

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1996

The Year In Review Kathy Boyakin of Cheney was promoted from utilities and court clerk to City Clerk in January. She has been working for the city for the past two years, and said she was looking forward to the new responsibilities.

Two people were killed in early January as the result of a two-vehicle accident north of Cheney. The crash resulted when a Coca-Cola delivery van failed to stop at the intersection of Old Highway 54 and Cheney Lake Road. Killed in the accident was Robert McKee, 28, of Wichita, the driver of the delivery van, and 11-year-old Andrea Cox of rural Cheney, a passenger in the pickup that was hit by the van. Following the accident, Steven Cox, Andrea’s father, lobbied the Kansas Legislature for better controls at rural intersections.

In mid-January, Garden Plain Elementary students bid farewell to teacher Tomoko Watanabe, 24, of Japan. Watanabe had come to the U.S. as part of a teacher exchange program, and helped teach Japanese culture and customs to students while learning about similar aspects of American life.

Gary Berger of Clearwater, a staff sergeant with the Kansas Air National Guard, was awarded the prestigious Airman’s Medal during a ceremony at McConnell Air Force Base in January.

The Clearwater Public Library moved up the street book by book-literally-in February. A human chain moved the books from the library’s location at City Hall to its new home in the same block.

In March, the Garden Plain Lady Owls basketball team took third place at the 2A State Tournament in Manhattan. It was the ninth straight trip to the State Tournament for the Lady Owls.

The Goddard City Council announced in March that it was launching an investigation into missing city funds.

Officials declined to comment on the nature of the investigation, or how much money was missing. Later in the year, theft charges were filed against former city clerk Nicki Vanosdall.

The Cheney community lost a well- known leader in March when Vernon Ferguson

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died following a brief battle with cancer.

Ferguson was a long-time teacher and track coach at Cheney High School, and was named Coach of the Year in 1995. He also served on the Cheney City Council.

Garden Plain High School principal Floyd Farris resigned his post in March, citing difficulties with top administration officials in the Renwick School District.

Sarah Helten, a Garden Plain seventh grader, won her division of the State Free Throw Contest sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.

Cheney superintendent Don Wells announced in early April that he would be leaving the local district after 11 years to assume the superintendent’s position in Mulvane. He said he was making the change to take on new challenges following numerous accomplishments in the Cheney district. The Cheney position was filled later in the year by Carl Combs, who died in a tragic car accident the following year.

In April, long-time newspaper publisher and community leader Floyd Souders died at age 90. Souders was a Cheney school teacher, superintendent and board of education member, and for 30 years Souders and his wife Norma published the Cheney Sentinel. Souders also served in the Kansas Legislature, and was a longtime official with the Sedgwick County Fair.

Triple B Construction of Clearwater celebrated 13 years in May, and was named a “Master Builder” by Star Building Systems.

A Clearwater woman was killed and two other family members were seriously injured in May during a head-on collision in northeast Kansas. Killed was Carol A. Rowden, 38. Injured was her daughter Debra, 5, and mother Della J. Koch, 73.

Clearwater graduate Kerri Pelz helped carry the Olympic Torch on its way to Atlanta in May. Pelz was one of 2,000 high school seniors awarded the honor.

Brad Lehner, a Cheney resident and 20year veteran of the Sedgwick County Fire Department, was named Fiefighter of the Year in May by the Insurance Women of Wichita.

In May, the Garden Plain girls track team won the 2A State Title, and the Cheney girls track team came in second in 3A. Several individuals won gold medals and set new state records.

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1996

The Year In Review Cheney State Park manager Jerry Schmidt and ranger Jeff Ostlund were honored in May for rescue efforts that saved two people from being drawn over the falls of the Cheney Reservoir dam. They each received the Silver Award from the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police.

Scott Stoehr, 19, of Cheney, was killed in an accident in June on MacArthur Road three miles east of Murdock. Stoehr’s vehicle struck a bridge abutment. Two passengers in the vehicle received minor injuries.

The Clearwater Historical Museum benefited from a building expansion during the year, increasing space available for exhibits. The museum opened in 1991, and the addition was completed in October.

Vierthaler’s Restaurant opened for business in Garden Plain in July. The restaurant opened on Main Street and also offers catering services.

The Cheney School District shifted its starting date in August by five days to accommodate construction work at the

new high school.

After months of efforts to obtain county building permits, Refrigeration Technologies, Inc., of rural Cheney was allowed to move ahead with plans to expand the company’s operations and facilities.

Mize’s Thriftway in Clearwater celebrated 25 years of operation in August, and also marked the 25th anniversaries of employees Brad Mize and David Coon.

In September, Susan Sanny was named as the head librarian at Cheney Public Library.

Her college majors were English and elementary education, and she also had an extensive background in computers.

A rural Goddard couple was murdered in September during a break-in at their home. Doug and Beth Brittain, both 35, were killed in the crime, and their three children were home at the time of the slayings. Arrested and later convicted in connection with the crime were Gavid D. Scott, 18, and Jason M. Wakefield, 19.

Matthew Kerschen of Garden Plain placed second in the Kansas Pedal Pull during the Kansas State Fair, and moved on to the national competition in the 4-year-old division.

The staff and residents wish The Times-Sentinel continued success!

1993-2012

May 23, 1996

Clearwater grad escorts torch on run to Olympics in Atlanta Staff report

Kerri Pelz of Viola may not have the leaping ability of a Team USA basketball player or the speed to anchor the 4x100 relay, but she does now have a critical role in the Olympics: to help make sure the Olympic flame reaches Atlanta.

Pelz, 18, was one of 2,000 high school seniors awarded the honor of being an escort runner during the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay, presented by Coca-Cola.

Pelz took her turn as an escort runner on Friday, May 17.

Each escort runner, chosen through a POWERaDE selection program, accompanies up to five Olympic torchbearers during an approximate five-kilometer stretch of the Torch Relay.

They assist, encourage and support all the torchbearers during their portion of the

Continued on Page 15

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relay.

Students, teachers, and school administrators nominated deserving students to represent their schools and communities. To meet eligibility requirements, escort runners had to be able to run five kilometers – or 3.1 miles – in 25 minutes. Student nominees were judged on their athletic and scholastic achievement, leadership, extracurricular activities and community involvement.

“The role of the escort runner is extremely important to the success of the Torch Relay,” said Brendan Harris, director, Olympic Torch Relay, The CocaCola Company. “Our goal was to identify outstanding high school students who best represent the qualities of an Olympic

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1996

The Year In Review Plans continued to move ahead for MetroPlus calling for Cheney and Garden Plain as Southwestern Bell petitioned the Kansas Corporation Commission for the calling option. MetroPlus, which offered local calling to and from Wichita, was later approved.

In September, the Ninnescah Chapter No. 423 Order of the Eastern Star celebrated its 75th anniversary in Clearwater.

In October, Farm Supply of Cheney celebrated its 50th anniversary.

In addition to other partners, two generations of Uppendahl family members have been owners of the business – Elmer Uppendahl, followed by his son, Bruce, and Bruce’s wife, Kim. In October, Rubbermaid announced that it would close its huge warehouse just west of Goddard, in an effort to consolidate operations. The warehouse facility sat vacant for several years until it was acquired

by Dillons as a distribution facility.

Debbie Williams was hired as recreation director in Cheney in October. She had been involved with helping expand

recreation programs in the community before accepting the full-time position.

The Garden Plain Lady Owls won the 2A State Volleyball Tournament in Hays in early November. It was the first State volleyball championship for Garden Plain High School. Later that month, the Owls football team placed second in the 2A State Championship.

Clearwater city administrator Yvonne Coon was honored in November for 25 years of service to the city.

The Goddard High boys soccer team placed fourth in the 5A State Soccer Tournament in Manhattan in November.

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Continued from Page 14 athlete – leadership, responsibility, dedication and athleticism.”

On April 27, 1996, the first torchbearer received the Olympic flame in Los Angeles and began an 84-day, 5,000-mile journey across America – the largest Olympic Torch Relay in history. After traveling through thousands of communities, the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay will conclude in Atlanta July 19 at the Opening Ceremony of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.

The 2,000 escort runners will

Page 15

accompany 10,000 torchbearers along the route. Torchbearers will include 2,500 people selected from a worldwide torchbearer search by Coca-Cola; 5,500 “Community Heroes” selected by community judging panels in 150 cities through a program initiated by The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games; and 2,000 Olympians and others who participate in the Olympic movement.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but I was really excited,” Pelz said.

Pelz started outside Valley Center and ran with the torchbearer and stopped at Meridian St.

In December, the Goddard School District agreed to start school a day later in January to accommodate the move into the new Goddard High School facility.

Fire damaged Walt’s Carryout in Clearwater in December. The fire started in the grill area of the kitchen.

Cheney Middle School now has a weather lab station provided by KSN TV Channel 3. The station consists of sensors that record information to be broadcast on Channel 3, and is an ongoing educational effort between KSN and local schools.

Stop in and see us or visit us at www.conwaybank.net for online banking Conway Springs 124 W. Spring St. 620-456-2255

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Times-Sentinel on your 20th Anniversary!

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P a g e 1 6 ears of he imes- entinel

1997

The Year In Review The Clearwater Evangelical Free Church began construction of a new facility in 1997. The total cost of the church project, which was built along Fourth Street on the north edge of the community, was estimated at $250,000.

Larry and Wah-leeta Steckline of Garden Plain pledged $230,000 toward a new medical facility in Garden Plain. About $70,000 had already been raised for the project and the Steckline contribution met the pledge goal.

The Intellisell telemarketing firm near Clearwater was evacuated in January when pepper spray was discharged and made its way into the ventilation system.

Jeff Berblinger of Goddard was drafted as a prospective second baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers, it was announced in January. Berblinger was a 1989 graduate of Goddard High, and played for KU and in the minors before being drafted.

A Goddard youth, 13-year-old Chad Carpenter, was fatally injured in January as the result of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound.

In March, several events in Clearwater and other communities marked the 130th anniversary of the Chisholm Trail.

A proclamation exchange was made at the Kansas-Oklahoma border. A handoff of the Kansas proclamation was made in Clearwater, one of the historic sites along the Chisholm Trail.

A Kingman man, Gary Bell, 53, was charged with murder following a shooting incident Feb. 27 at a Cheney convenience store. Killed was Paul Madden, 36, of Cheney, who was shot multiple times with a handgun. Madden had been dating Bell’s ex-wife, and was the first murder victim in Cheney’s history. In September, Bell was sentenced to life in prison.

In March, dedication ceremonies were held for new high school facilities in Goddard and Cheney.

• In early April, a Cheney eighth grader, Charity Kipp, placed second in the State Spelling Bee. She out-spelled 98 other competitors during five hours of competition.

Dr. Dan Peters, assistant principal at East High School in Wichita, was named in April as the new superintendent of the Renwick School District. Peters, 41, was selected from among 31 applicants for the position.

Fisher Lumber Company of Garden Plain was recognized in April for its support of employee Paul O’Callaghan during his deployment in Bosnia. The company received a certificate of award from the Army National Guard, of which O’Callaghan is a member.

Cheney athlete Drew Thalmann won four gold medals at the 3A State Track Meet in late May. Thalmann placed first in the 400-meter dash, 110 and 300 hurdles, and the 4x200 hurdles. The Cheney boys squad took third overall at the State meet.

Clearwater raised nearly $70,000 in June during the community’s Relay for Life event. The funds were donated to the American Cancer Society for continued research.

Cheney’s Manufacturing Development Inc. was named Supplier of the Year in June by Bell Helicopter/TEXTRON. It was the second year in a row for MDI to receive the award.

A legend in the Clearwater community, William G. “Gip” Webb, died in June. He had several successful business ventures, including Webb Mortuary, and was well known for his support of youths and sports programs.

After a potential damaging late freeze, the 1997 wheat crop ended up setting records across the area. An area ag official called it “one of those crops of a lifetime.”

State Rep. Dan Thimesch received awards over the summer for his efforts to address Gulf War Syndrome problems. The awards were presented by the Vietnam Veterans of Kansas and the Disabled American Veterans.

In July, a team of students from Goddard High School won the final round of competition in the International High School Space Settlement Design Contest. Team members included Amy Adams, Mary Beard, Jennifer Beard, Tony Draxler, Cameron Fahrenholtz, Matt Farris, David Harden, David Jeter, Matt McDonnold, Marc Maddox, Frank Morgan and Eric Strader. The competition was held at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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1997

December 24, 1997

Clearwater resident paints her way into a busy hobby

By Diana Shaughnessy

Lifetime Clearwater resident Carol Wise started painting china in 1977 so she would have something to keep her busy.

Now Wise knows what it means to be busy, as she works to keep up with a “hobby” that has turned into much, much more than just something to pass the time.

“My daughter had just gone into high school and I knew I would need something to do,” she said with a laugh.

Wise saw an exhibit of painted china at a shopping center and was intrigued. After stopping and talking with the exhibitor, she found out that private lessons were available, so she signed up and started to paint. Having taken lessons from a half dozen teachers now, Wise’s china pieces are prized possessions of many Clearwater residents.

“I really enjoy going into someone’s home and seeing one of my pieces displayed. Sometimes I even have forgotten about the piece until I see it again,” Wise said.

Unlike ceramics, which are colored under the glaze, china painting is a timeconsuming process requiring painting and painting, firing and re-firing. Wise explained that the paint actually becomes incorporated into the glaze, which then allows for regular usage and repeated washing of the plate or mug.

Many of the colors she uses have to be applied and fired three to six times until Wise is satisfied with the color intensity and shading. Of all the colors she uses, red is the most difficult.

It’s relatively easy with ceramics: you just paint it on, glaze it, and it’s red. In china paining, red has to be applied in a number of layers.” Wise also displayed some pieces with gold embossed around the edges. “I have found that gold is very difficult to work with,” she said. A base coat of yellow-orange color is applied and fired in before the gold can be painted on. Many of her pieces had the base coat fired on but were unfinished.

“I’m waiting until I get really good at working with gold,” said Wise with a smile.

Wise laughed when asked how many pieces she had done. “I’ve never kept count,” she said. Her favorite pieces to paint are plates and her favorite subject is flowers. Displaying about 25 tiny plates, Wise explained that she likes to practice on the small plates before doing the artwork on a larger dinner plate. Using no patterns, Wise’s flowers are all done free hand and by memory. She’s painted violets, tulips and many different types and colors while others are done in the “Dresden” pattern, focusing on small flowers in various locations on the plate.

“I really enjoy going into someone’s home and seeing one of my pieces displayed.

Sometimes I even have forgotten about the piece until I see it again."

- Sandy Wise Wise belongs to the Sunflower China Painting Club, an 18-member club and one of four in the Wichita area. As part of the Kansas Federation of China Decorators, Inc. that has an annual convention in early May, the club meets once a month and has special guest speakers who demonstrate their art so that those members unable to take private lessons are exposed to different techniques within the field. Wise said she has never been one of the speakers.

“It’s because I am left-handed,” Wise said. Because of her left-handedness, she has to transpose everything she learns. She thought this might be confusing to new china painters as they watch her work.

Wise does not do china painting yearround, and she is currently not planning on selling her work anymore. She said, however, that she really enjoys the hobby and may one day have enough made up so she can start selling her work again.

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April 10, 1997

She’s their ‘Greatest Hero’

By Paul Rhodes

For someone who’s taught so many students to be detectives over the years, it was ironic that Sally Loomis didn’t have a clue she was about to be the guest of honor at a surprise party.

Loomis, who has been teaching at Goddard’s Primary Learning Center for the past 24 years, was honored recently as this year’s Great American Hero at the school.

The Great American Hero award was established last year by the school’s Parent-Teacher Organization. Selection is made by polling patrons in the Goddard School District.

“She was pretty much a hands-down winner,” said PTO official Dixie Ball.

Loomis is well known around Goddard for turning her classroom into the Magic Toadstool Kingdom, where students gather on old stumps for special reading times.

And the first day of school each year, Loomis turns her young students into

detectives.

“I send them out to find information,” said Loomis. And when Loomis says, “Once a detective,” her students respond with a chorus of, “Always a detective.”

Loomis started teaching 43 years ago in Missouri. Her mother was a teacher, and a sister was a teacher, so there was always an interest in education.

After divorcing her first husband, Loomis eventually remarried. Her husband Bob received training to become a school psychologist, and took a job with school districts in the Wichita area.

“We really love our jobs,” Loomis said.

“Bob and I enjoy talking about our work, and we help each other.”

Loomis said she has been blessed with wonderful students over the years, and several of her former “detectives” were on hand for the recent assembly to honor her.

She also credited interested parents and supportive staff members with helping to

boost her abilities as a teacher over the years, and thanked her family members for their support.

Loomis’ husband and her daughter Terri and son Monty were on hand for the celebration at the school, which was

Wishing you 20 more years of success!

From your friends at

Clearwater • 620-584-5000 West Wichita • 316-773-6000 East Wichita • 316-686-5000

thrown as a surprise party. And Loomis said the school was able to keep the chief detective from finding out what was going on.

“This was definitely the highlight of 43 years of teaching," said Loomis

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1997

The Year In Review The city of Cheney was recognized in July for citizen involvement. It was named as a winner in an annual competition sponsored by the International City/ Council Management Association.

1997 graduate Jaysa Haukap of Garden Plain was named to receive the Seaton Scholarship from the Kansas State University College of Engineering. The scholarship totaled more than $10,000 over four years.

A Cheney couple, Carl and Dixie Sebits, agreed in August to donate $3 million to Friends University over a three-to-five-year period. It was the largest single donation in the university’s history, and benefitted arts, math and science departments.

In August, county agricultural agent Arlan Suderman announced he would leave his government post to join the private sector. Suderman opened a Wichita office for Schwieterman Marketing LLC. Will Hurst, 16, of Goddard set a new national record in August for his age

1993-2012

group in the steeplechase at the AAU Junior Olympics at the University of North Carolina.

down on “j-turns” on Main Street. Signs were installed in the downtown area, and enforcement was increased.

In September, Universal Products of Goddard marked its 20th anniversary with a huge public celebration to mark its milestone in business. Al and Laura Bost launched the company out of their garage, and today it is a world leader in the production of vinyl graphics products.

Harold Bohm of Cheney was recognized in October for having donated more than 30 gallons of blood to the American Red Cross since 1953.

The Sedgwick County Commission voted in September to ship its trash to a regional landfill outside Sedgwick County, and to construct one or more transfer stations.

The plan was scheduled to be in place by October of 2001, and was favored over building a new landfill in the county.

Charles Engineering of Clearwater was honored in September as the Boeing Small Business Supplier of the Year, and also received the Administrator’s Award of Excellence from the Small Business Administration. The company makes parts for the aerospace industry.

A rural Goddard man, Richard Ferguson, 73, died in September after falling into a neighbors swimming pool. Ferguson suffered from Parkinson’s disease and other health problems.

In October, the city of Garden Plain cracked

In October, a new Sonic Drive-In Restaurant opened in Goddard. Since then, more fastfood restaurants have opened or are being planned in Goddard along Highway 54.

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cheney announced plans in October to build a $1 million Family Life Center, which included meeting facilities and classroom space for the church’s elementary school.

In November, an early morning electrical fire destroyed Cheney’s City Maintenance Building on Main Street, and damaged much of the building’s contents. Damage was estimated at $300,000 and a new maintenance shop was built on Second Street near the Sedgwick County Fairgrounds.

A lawsuit filed against the city of Goddard and several former and current city officials by city council member Jane Robinson was moved to U.S. District Court in November.

Robinson had made several allegations in her suit, which was not upheld in later

1997 proceedings.

A rural Cheney man, Weylin Pore, 24, was killed in early December in a two-vehicle accident at the corner of Old Highway 54 and 383rd Street, two miles north of Cheney. Pore’s vehicle was struck by a truck that ran the stop sign at the intersection.

Also in December, Cheney superintendent Carl Combs was killed in two-vehicle crash at the intersection of 71st Street South and Viola Road. Combs was on his way to a meeting in Clearwater and failed to stop at the intersection.

Julie Moddelmog of Garden Plain won the U.S. Barrel Racing Competition held in Guthrie, Okla. The senior at Garden Plain High School won nearly $2,000 in cash and a new barrel-racing saddle.

Goddard student Amanda Nelson was named in December as the winner of the Clay Barton Scholarship. The scholarship is the largest offered by Wichita State University, and is worth $30,000 to the winning student.

Life-long Clearwater resident Carol Wise was honored in December for her holiday china painting. She started painting in 1977, and her decorative plates are owned by several Clearwater residents.

Congratulations Times-Sentinel Newspapers!

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March 19, 1998

Special achievement award given to Garden Plain resident Staff Report

When David Aves found out that he had won a Special Achievement Award from the Postal Service, he began to blush. It was a surprise, but he had his suspicions.

“I knew something was up when I saw my parents here,” he said.

Aves was presented the award

by Wichita Manager of Post Office Operations, Mark Kerschen, in an informal ceremony at the Garden Plain Post Office. Postmaster Jean Nance, postmaster relief Merrie Hansen and relief carrier Davis Stuhlsatz were all present along with Aves’ parents when Aves was given the certificate and check for $500 (less withholding tax). It was Nance who originally submitted the request for Aves to receive this special recognition.

Aves started working at the Garden Plain post office in 1991 when he was hired as relief carrier in 1996 and has been in Garden Plain ever since. For the past two years, the Garden Plain post office has been trying to hire a relief carrier so Aves would not have to be working six days a week. Even though

Aves trained the new employees, the post office went through seven relief carriers in two years which meant that Aves worked even when he wasn’t scheduled.

He has actually worked between 40-50 Saturdays when he was not scheduled and even came in to help when the post office had relief carriers just to make sure the mail was delivered correctly.

In addition to the problem of keeping a relief carrier, Garden Plain also had trouble keeping a relief for the postmaster so Aves helped out there as well. As one of Aves’ postal customers and new co-worker, Hansen said that all of Aves’ customers have expressed high satisfaction with his mail service.

“He is conscientious, gets the mail out quickly and has very few mis-deliveries,” she said.

Aves was stunned and speechless when he was told about the award. Hansen said that fellow post office workers knew about the award as did the community.

“We sent announcements around Garden Plain a few days before the presentation. We wanted everyone to know, but didn’t want the news to leak out,” laughed Hansen.

October 1, 1998

Top pie in Kansas

By Diana Shaughnessy

Ramona Kohler, better known as Toots, has only been entering pies in the state fair for the past two years.

This year her Black Bottom Pie won in the miscellaneous division and then went on to win the sweepstakes, thus making Kohler’s pie the yummiest in the state of Kansas.

“I collect pie recipes,” said Kohler. “I went to a garage sale some months ago where there were a lot of cooking utensils so I started talking about baking with the woman there. She gave me that pie recipe and I just sat on it for some time. When

I finally decided to bake it, I took the pie to the city office and they loved it so I decided to try it for the fair.”

Both the county and the state fairs have up to 11 different pie divisions including such classics as apple, cherry, berry, cream, single crust and double crust.

Kohler’s Black Bottom pie was placed in the miscellaneous class where she competed with unusual or different pies.

She also entered a pie in the Pillsbury contest, but was beat out this year by a Buhler woman. Last year, Kohler’s pies See TOP PIE, Page 21

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1998

Page 19

The Year In Review

Goddard High had two championship wrestlers during State Tournament action at the end of February. Bill Brine won in the 160-lb. weight class, and Jared Lien brought home the gold at 152 lbs.

Mike and Kerry Billingsley took over ownership of the Clearwater Greens Golf Course in January. Both had been involved in golf course management, and were looking for a course to own and operate.

In March, the Garden Plain High boys basketball team won sub-state and advanced to the 2A State Tournament in Manhattan. The Owls brought home the third place trophy from State.

In January, officials announced that the old Rubbermaid facility on the west edge of Goddard had been sold to Dillon Stores, following a sealed bid process and additional negotiations. Dillons purchased the 536,000-square-foot facility for use as a dry grocery warehouse and distribution center.

Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Ninnescah Sailing Association activities center were held at Cheney Lake in March.

Jamie’s Place, a popular restaurant and tavern in Clearwater, was damaged by fire in January. The business never reopened.

The Goddard High Science Olympiad Team placed second in the state in April, and advanced to the national competition.

The Steckline Family Medical Center in Garden Plain opened for business in midJanuary. The new medical facility was made possible by numerous donations, including a large contribution from Larry and Wah-Leeta Steckline of Garden Plain.

Dr. Randall Fahrenholtz was named to staff the facility for Preferred Medical Associates, a branch of Via Christi.

The former Taylor’s convenience store in Cheney was reopened in February by Karen Mullins. The convenience store was renamed Karen’s Korner.

In February, public review of plans for a major new housing development in Goddard was launched as the project went before the Goddard Planning Commission. Plans for the 351-home development, The Seasons, were approved and construction began later in the year.

The city of Clearwater awarded a contract in February to demolish the old County Yard Shop, where the new EMS building was later constructed.

Goddard’s first kindergarten teacher, Cleora Duncan, died in February. She was 79.

In February, the 1973 Garden Plain High School boys basketball team celebrated the 25th anniversary of its State Championship win. Members of the team were recognized during the final home game of the season at GPHS, and then gathered for a reunion celebration following the game.

Plans for the Village of Ninnescah, an assisted living facility to be built in Clearwater by Ninnescah Manor, were announced in March.

Jennifer Struthers of Clearwater was named to the Wrangler High School All Star Rodeo Team in April. Struthers had been involved in rodeo events for several years.

Clearwater art student Amanda Simon won Best of Show in a district art festival held in April. Simon won with her oil painting of a footbridge and landscape.

In May, Clearwater librarian Kathy Barry left on a year-long trip to study alpacas, a smaller cousin to the llama. Barry and two sons Drew and Brent traveled across the U.S. before returning to Clearwater.

George Tignor was named as the new principal of Goddard High School in May. Dean Plagge, who had been principal at GHS for 22 years, was named as director of human resources for the district.

Goddard seventh grade science teacher Wayne Goates was named in May as a finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

In May, Cheney entrepreneurs Bret and Jeff Albers announced they had purchased the licensing rights to Art’s and Mary’s flavor recipes. They first introduced several spices, and later reintroduced the well-known potato chips.

The Garden Plain Lady Owls won their regional track meet in May, and went on to win the 2A State Title. Pacing the Lady Owls was Kayla Pauly, who won three gold medals and a bronze medal.

From our team...

Cheney Lanes Headquarters offices location at 220 n. Main, cHeney • 316-540-3151

Albers CPA

...to your team:

Congratulations on 20 years of coverage across this area!

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May 7, 1998

Clipping his last locks

By Diana Shaughnessy

This has been a busy week for barber Dick Reynolds. After announcing he would be retiring on Saturday, May 2, all of his customers came back for one last haircut.

Saturday found, among others, Roy Shobe of Conway Springs in the barber chair. When asked how long Dick had been cutting his hair, Shobe laughed and turned to Dick asking, “Well, did you put me on a high chair the first time?” Actually Shobe has been coming to the Clearwater barber for about 30 years.

He said that he “…probably won’t get a haircut” now that Dick has retired.

Clearwater resident since 1933, Larry Williams came to get “…spruced up” one more time. He has been coming to Dick since the barber first opened in 1962.

Williams plans on going into Goddard for future trims.

Many people wanted to receive Dick’s last haircut.

The honor went to Dr. Ron Higgins of Clearwater.

“We have both been here in Clearwater since 1962 and have been members of the Civil Defense Club together,” said Reynolds. CDC members Wally Altman, Pat Smith and Tom Wallace all got together with Higgins at noon and went to Dick’s shop where he got his haircut. They then presented Dick with a

were in the top five in both the state and the Pillsbury competition.

The Black Bottom pie ended up winning the miscellaneous division and was then placed in the Sweepstakes against all of the other first-place pies.

Once again the Black Bottom was judged the best, giving Kohler the first-place prize.

“Before I decided to enter the fair, I called the garage sale lady to ask for permission,” said Kohler.

“She said that it would be all right with her, but warned me that I would probably win.” Sure enough, the Black Bottom came out on top.

For those of you who would like to try it, here is Toots Kohler’s winning recipe: Black Bottom Pie ½ cup sugar 1 Tbs. corn starch 2 cups milk (2%) scalded 4 beaten egg yolks 1 tsp. vanilla pinch of salt 1-6oz pkg. chocolate chips 1 baked 10” pie shell

The Year In Review In June, the DeBruce Grain Elevator northeast of Clearwater exploded, killing two people, trapping six workers on the roof and causing extensive damage to the huge elevator.

The explosion was believed to have been caused by grain dust.

It was announced in June that a new Catholic parish would be established in Goddard. Father H Jay Setter was named to head the parish, which was later named Church of the Holy Spirit.

Jerry and Janet Martin of Garden Plain were honored in July as top dairy producers. They were honored with the Circle of Performers Award at a conference in Kansas City.

The 1998 Sedgwick County Fair, held in July, set new attendance and sales records, especially for the first two days of the fair.

In July, a team of Goddard High School students won the international NASA Space Settlement Design Contest for the second year in a row.

Cheney third grader Kurt Lehner was named in July as a state champion in the National Handwriting Contest.

Ground was broken in August for a new Clearwater assisted living facility, the Village of Ninnescah.

retirement gift designed to keep him in good cheer.

Editor's note: Dick didn’t stay retired. He decided to go back to barbering and is still at it today.

Top pie in Kansas Continued from Page 19

1998

Page 21

1 envelope plain gelatin (Knox) ¼ cup cold water 4 egg whites ½ cup sugar Combine sugar and corn starch. Slowly add scalded mile to beaten egg yolks and salt. Stir into sugar mixture. Cook (stirring well) in top of double-boiler over hot water until custard coats spoon. Remove from heat and add vanilla. To 1 cup of the hot custard add chocolate chips and stir until all of the chips are melted. Pour into bottom of the pie shell and chill. Soften the gelatin in cold water (I do this at the beginning). Add the softened gelatin to the remaining hot custard and dissolve well. Let this mixture cool but do not let it get thick. I hurry up the cooling process by setting the pan in cold water. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar and continue beating until stiff. Fold the custard-gelatin mixture into the egg whites. Blend well and pour over the cooked chocolate mixture. I reserve about 15 of the chocolate chips and grate them over the top of the pie before setting in the refrigerator to chill well. It is best if made several hours before serving. This pie can be frozen successfully for a few weeks. Freeze the chilled pie and then wrap it in Saran wrap or put in a Tupperware container.

At the AAU Junior Olympics in August, Jennifer Goldsmith of Cheney placed third in the nation in javelin.

In August, the Renwick Board of Education voted to keep St. Joe Elementary School open, and set an enrollment threshold for the school to remain open in the future.

After months of efforts to keep Clearwater’s new Post Office facility in the downtown area, it was announced in late August that new Post Office would be located on North Fourth Street, on the northeast edge of town.

West Wichita Family Physicians announced in September it was opening a new doctor’s office in Goddard, to be staffed

by Dr. Larry Derksen, who had been working at another clinic in Goddard.

In October, the Clearwater Public Library celebrated its 70th anniversary with a special program and recognition of its many volunteers.

In late October, the Goddard High boys cross country team won the 5A state title.

In November, voters in the Renwick School District narrowly approved a bond issue package for major improvements to schools in Garden Plain, and construction of a new high school in Andale.

Also on Election Day, voters approved more than $24 million in bonds for major improvements in the Goddard School District.

Cheney cheerleaders Aubrea Meitner and Jennifer Kornelson participated in the 72nd Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. They were selected for the honor during summer cheerleading camp.

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The Year In Review Ruth Berry, director of the preschool program at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cheney, retired in January after 18 years of service.

Construction of a new Emergency Volunteer Services building in Clearwater was completed in January.

Long-time Cheney Municipal Court Judge Fred Benson died in January following a long illness. He was a criminal justice professor at WSU while also serving as a judge for several area communities.

Judy Plagge of Goddard was named the Outstanding Teacher of the Year in January by the Kansas Music Teachers Association.

In February, the Cheney Lake Association received a Distinguished Service Award from the Kansas Recreation and Parks Association. The award recognized the association’s work to improve facilities at Cheney Reservoir.

Goddard’s Matthew Cumbie, who attends Kansas Newman, returned in February from an all-star baseball trip to Puerto Rico.

Clearwater teacher Tina Curley and her 10-year-old daughter Caitlin were killed in a three-vehicle accident north of Clearwater in February.

The Goddard High wrestling team won the 5A State Wrestling Title in late February, with Bill Brine, Jared Lien and Jake Earle winning gold medals for the Lions.

Dr. Henry Biermann stopped seeing patients in Cheney in March, following 12 years of service in the community.

He moved his medical practice to the Galichia Group in Wichita in anticipation of his retirement.

A recycling program was started up again in Clearwater in March by the local Lions Club and Masons group.

The boys squad won the 2A State Tournament.

Also advancing to the 5A State Tournament were both the boys and girls basketball teams from Goddard High School. The Lady Lions placed second at State.

A private Catholic school, Cornerstone Academy, opened in April in Garden Plain, and began accepting students from kindergarten through 12th grade.

The Cheney High boys track team literally ran away with first place at the K.T. Woodman Invitational Track Meet in April.

Former Cheney resident Linda Blasi Davidson, a long-time volunteer with the Wichita River Festival, was named in April as the 1999 Admiral Windwagon Smith to head up the festival.

Clearwater Mayor Bruce Long was honored in April for 13 years of service to the community – two on the planning commission, five on the city council and six as mayor.

Well-known Clearwater resident Betty Mize died in April. She was co-owner of Mize’s Thriftway and was active in the community.

Tornadoes cut a deadly path from Peck to Wichita in early May, killing five people and destroying about 500 homes and businesses.

The Goddard Forensic Team placed second in the 5A State Championship in May, beating out 27 other competing schools.

The city of Goddard selected an official slogan in May. The winning slogan, “Make Goddard home…Your family deserves quality,” was entered by Sandie Kelsey.

Garden Plain Mayor David Cordell and council member Del Allen were recognized in May for their years of service to the city as they completed their elected term.

The Silver Creek FCE Club of Clearwater celebrated 65 years of service in March.

In May, students from Cheney Elementary School collected nearly 250 books to donate to a school in Haysville that was destroyed by tornadoes earlier this month.

Both the boys and girls basketball teams at Garden Plain High won their sub-state championships in March and advanced to the 2A State Tournament in Manhattan.

With a combined 161 years of teaching experience, five Goddard teachers retired in May. They were Paul LaBrue, Gail Keady, Dode Little, Larry Eck and Edna Orth.

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1999

March 11, 1999

Porter elected to hall of fame Staff Report

Gene W. Porter is a member of the first class to be inducted into the Kansas Cooperative Hall of Fame. The induction ceremonies occurred March 8 as part of the Council’s annual meeting and luncheon in Hutchinson.

Porter’s rural electrification career began in 1939 when he became a member of Sedgwick County REC, Cheney. In 1945 he became a trustee for the REC and served 37 years including 23 years as the cooperative’s president. Porter was SEC trustee representative from 1963 to 1982, KEC president from 1966 to 1968 and NRECA director from Kansas from 1968 to 1983. He is the only Kansan to

be elected RECA president serving from 1977 to 1979.

Other inductees into the first class are: Arthur Capper, Topeka, noted for the Capper-Volstead Act and other key farm legislation; Henry L. Peterson, Dodge City, instrumental in establishing credit unions in the Midwest; Clayton “Rocky” Rock, Hutchinson, long-time manager of the Kansas Service Assn.; and Ivan Strickler, Iola, a national leader in the dairy industry.

Nominated but not elected into induction was Jack Bozarth, Liberal, who was instrumental in beginning CMSREC, Meade. Bozarth served 51 years as a CMS Trustee before retiring in 1996.

June 3, 1999

Getting a kick out of life

By Diana Shaughnessy

Misty Bowe is a slight, tiny, blondhaired woman who teaches middle school math and helps to coach students in basketball. But she is also a Renshi, one of the few titled American Goju Karate black belts and the only woman to have achieved this honor. Renshi is the first of three honors bestowed upon special students in American Goju.

“American Goju is a form of karate,” Bowe explained. “It involves using equal portions of arm and leg movements.”

Bowe began her studies in American Goju 19 years ago as a student of her father Deny Bowe who studied under Grand Master Peter Urban, the man credited for bringing this form of karate to the United States. American Goju is now recognized internationally. In fact, Bowe and her father went to the international meet this past January in Jamaica for the Caribbean Games. At this meet, Bowe took second in women’s fighting and first in men’s and women’s forms competing on the fourth degree black belt level. But the real honor came last fall when she first found out that she might receive the title of Renshi.

“I received a phone call in October from Grand Master Urban,” she recalled.

“He wanted me to test for my fourth degree and told me that I might receive the Renshi title as well.” A bit difficult to explain, Bowe said that a Renshi title is like knighthood or a doctoral title. It would remain with her until she received a higher one. Surprised and not just a little nervous, Bowe’s test was videotaped and mailed to Urban’s home base in New York City. She and her father were then invited to Urban’s All Goju Invitational Tournament. Once there, Bowe was not only awarded her higher black belt degree, but she also received her Renshi title and was given the special red and white striped belt.

People have asked how a 3-year-old can learn American Goju,” she said reflectively. “Actually the younger children start by learning discipline, respect and awareness. We also talk about ways to avoid fights at school.”

In addition to her Clearwater classes, Bowe teaches a six-week course in Pratt on and continues to take classes from her father on Wednesdays.

“In my father’s class, everyone is viewed by the belt they possess.” Bowe paused to laugh. “He’s a lot harder on me than anyone else,” she said. “I guess he doesn’t want people to think I’ve got it easy.”

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August 5, 1999

Companion dog saves child’s life

By Diana Shaughnessy

It was 7:15 in the morning, after a night that finally allowed Rob Neises to go to bed at 5:15. He had already taken BJ the dog out, but the little canine was licking his hand frantically. Slightly upset at being roused from his sleep, he followed the dog into daughter Ashley’s room, and that’s when he knew something was wrong. Ashley has cerebral palsy and the 20-month-old girl wheezes when she breathes. As BJ entered Ashley’s room, Rob could hear no sound at all.

“Ashley had rolled onto her tummy and her head was buried in her blanket,” he said. “She was limp and her breathing was so poor that we could barely hear her.” Along with wife Angela, Rob took their almost suffocated child to Riverside Hospital. BJ, the hero of the night, was not allowed to go to the hospital, but got to spend the next two weeks at “grandparents” Bob and Mary Jane Neises’ home in Garden Plain while Ashley recovered in St. Francis’s ICU.

BJ, the little Australian Shepherd mix dog had definitely saved Ashley Neises’s life that night, but he was only doing his job. The dog had been part of an experiment carried on by Emily Weiss at WSU. Entitled Project Select, Weiss’s research is helping to determine which breeds of dog will become good candidates for wheelchair assistance training. At a cost of $12,000-$20,000 per dog, currently over 50 percent of canines fail the training.

Weiss’s work should save a substantial amount of money by allowing preliminary tests to be done on likely candidates, including tests for aggression.

A small amount of training is done while the dogs are in the experiment, making them more adoptable when they are finally released to the Humane Society.

It was this extra training that gave BJ his new home with the Neises family.

“We originally wanted something a little bigger, like a German Shepherd,” admitted Rob as he fondled BJ’s silky fur. “We had

found out about Project Select through Ashley’s doctor. He recommended some interaction for our little girl and suggested a dog.” Since most of the child’s sensory development occurs within the first five years of life, it was important to give Ashley as much stimulus as possible during these formative years.

The Neises family met with Weiss and were introduced to three dogs. According to Rob, one was a handsome-looking German Shepherd, one was a not-asattractive shepherd and the third was BJ. “We didn’t know if we liked him at first because of unique coloration,” admitted Rob. BJ’s coat is an unusual mixture of black, brown and grey sometimes referred to as merle. The medium-sized dog with the plumy wagging tail has one brown eye and one ice blue. The important factor in deciding on BJ, though, was the fact that in the initial introduction, the dog did not seem frightened at Ashley’s gravelly breathing. In fact, he came right up to her and was very gentle.

After a couple of weeks of training for the dogs, the Neiseses went back to the Humane Society to make the final selection. Still unsure about BJ, their minds were made up when the dog seemed to recognize Ashley and wanted to be near her. Within two weeks of watching Angela go to Ashley when the baby coughed or started to choke, BJ was doing the same thing. Always gentle with his little invalid, the dog was anything but gentle on that terrible morning.

“He was licking me frantically,” remembered Rob. “He even started pawing me with both feet to get me up.”

Now things in the Neises home are back to normal. To help compensate for their lack of attention, BJ now has his own pet. The puppy, named Scrappy, has already learned to go to Ashley when the baby starts to cough.

“Ashley loves animals so much,” said Rob. “We will probably have either a companion or helper dog for her all the time.”

Thanks for 20 years of service to this area!

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In July, Dr. Katie L. Neidig joined Mount Hope Dental as a full-time dental associate, beginning a process that will allow Dr. Randy K. Newby to expand his practice and better serve his patients.

For more than 30 years, Mount Hope Dental has served south-central Kansas and has established a standard of care for high quality dentistry utilizing cutting-edge technology. Dr. Neidig, a Salina native and UMKC School of Dentistry graduate, is helping Mount Hope Dental continue that standard of care. Mount Hope Dental now offers extended hours, including Saturdays as well as evenings on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Since his graduation from Creighton University Dental School in 1980, Dr. Newby has expanded his skill set by taking thousands of hours of continuing education and is a Diplomate in the American Orthodontic Society, a Fellow in the Midwest Implant Institute, and recently completed the Master Program in implantology at the GIDE Institute in Los Angeles. Dr. Newby is particularly excited about The Prettau all-porcelain bridge which is permanently fixed to implants and can replace two or more teeth as well as missing gum tissue. Dr. Newby states, “the Prettau bridge is the ultimate restoration for the replacement of missing permanent teeth.”

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The Year In Review

purchased on the north edge of Cheney.

To accommodate growth in the meantime, the church added an additional Sunday morning service.

Three returning Garden Plain Elementary School teachers were honored in May. Dorothy Corman, Kathy Ast and Ilene Kohler had 79 years of combined teaching experience.

Goddard water skiers Dale Bing and his daughter Amy placed well at the State Championship Water Ski Tournament, and advanced to the Midwest Regionals in early August.

In June, Harold Bohm of Cheney retired from Citizens State Bank after 27 years with the bank. He also spent several years as a teacher and school administrator before becoming a banker.

School officials broke ground in August for a major addition to Garden Plain Elementary School.

The All Wheels Car Show at Lake Afton in June drew an estimated 30,000 spectators.

Heavy rains in June stopped the annual wheat harvest in western Sedgwick County for more than a week.

The Clearwater Board of Education in July agreed to put a $24 million bond issue for school improvements on the November ballot.

Margaret Pelzl began work in July as the administrative assistant for the Clearwater Area Chamber of Commerce.

Cheney Baptist Church announced plans in August to build a new church on land

It was announced in August that work had begun to reopen the old Suppesville Golf Course. Garden Plain native Michael Daerr returned to the area to take over renovation and operation of the course.

After 20 years with Southern Kansas Telephone, Clearwater Cable Vision and Mikesell Enterprises, Maxine Mikesell retired in August. She was directly involved in the businesses with her husband, Gordon Mikesell.

A sudden and devastating hail storm hit Clearwater unexpectedly in early September, causing extensive damage to homes, businesses and vehicles.

Sarah O’Neal of Goddard High school was named in September as a semifinalist in the National Merit Competition.

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1993-2012

A new Girl Scout troop was organized in Garden Plain in September.

Members of Clearwater United Methodist Church broke ground in September for a 12,000-square-foot addition to their church.

Goddard school officials broke ground in September for a new elementary school, middle school and sports complex to be built around Goddard High School.

An open house was held in October for the new Village of Ninnescah assisted living facility in Clearwater.

In October, ballots were mailed to voters in the Clearwater School District to determine the outcome of the $24 million bond issue proposal for school improvements. Voters said no to the proposal when votes were tabulated in November.

Cheney city administrator Carol Bloodworth resigned her position in October, after 10 years with the city.

She later accepted the position of city administrator in Maize.

The Goddard Lady Lions won their volleyball regional in October, and advanced to the 5A State Tournament, where they placed second. The Goddard boys and girls cross country teams made school history, advancing both squads to

1999 the State Meet.

Dr. David Papish of Clearwater celebrated his 20th annivesray of medical service in the community in November.

Clearwater city administrator Yvonne Coon announced in November she would retire from her position after 20 years. Mayor Stanley Combs also resigned his post in November.

Two Goddard High students, Crystal McKenzie and Michael Van Horn, were killed in late November in separate automobile accidents.

The Rev. Joe Cunningham of Trinity United Christian Church in Cheney retired in December. He spent 40 years as a minister, with the last 10 served at TUCC. Ground was broken in December for an expansion project at Garden Plain High School.

On New Year’s Eve, well-known Cheney resident Henry “Hank” Brandes died. He was a partner in Farm Supply, and was an active community volunteer.

Garden Plain girls basketball coach John Darrow was honored in December for his induction into the Hall of Fame at Bethany College, where he was a standout basketball player.

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His first and only job

By Diana Shaughnessy

David Coon is a real small town kind of guy. He was born in Clearwater, has lived in Clearwater most of his life and worked at Mize’s Thriftway since he was in high school.

“I’ve been here all of my life except for a short time when my parents moved to Wichita to get away from the small town atmosphere,” Coon said while stocking frozen foods. “As soon as they had kids, though, we all moved back to Clearwater.

Coon is the son of J.W. Coon and Yvonne Coon. Clearwater residents know Yvonne as the past city administrator.

Graduating from Clearwater High School in 1974, Coon began working at Mize’s in 1972, when the store first opened. He worked part-time while in high school, doing carry out and stocking.

“And I’m still doing carry out and stocking,” laughed Coon. “Isn’t it great?”

Married to the former Laura Shuster, the couple has two sons. Jonathan is a junior at CHS while Joel is in eighth grade at the middle school.

Coon worked through the ranks at the grocery story. He is now an assistant manager and is known through the community as the man who can get special grocery items.

“I like pulling a rabbit out of my hat,” Coon said. “It’s fun surprising people with things they can get or items I’ve located in the stock room.”

Coon has never felt the need to move out of the area. When the family vacations, they usually go to California to visit Laura’s family. Coon’s brother Don still lives in Clearwater. Sister Belinda now lives in Hollywood, Fla. At one time Coon attended WSU, but only briefly.

I’m still a sophomore at WSU,” he said. “Soon I’ll be sending my sons there.”

He has never been laid off and has never gone hungry. Coon says a person does not have to work, rather they should be allowed to work.

“I grew up with the thought of work being like a privilege,” he said. “My Grandma Coon said people should be happy all the time. It’s a choice you make.

Coon also enjoys working with the Mize family. They’ve always treated him well, he said, and are great to work for.

Perhaps Coon is a small town man, but it is obvious he is happy with his life.

“I’m carrying out a third generation’s worth of groceries now,” he said with a familiar smile. “I get to see a lot of people every day.

It’s great.”

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2000

The Year In Review Gladys Anderson of Goddard, a retired school teacher and long-time columnist for The Times-Sentinel, died on New Years Day at the age of 93.

In January, Gambino’s Pizza of Cheney underwent a name change and became D’Mario’s. Services and employees at the restaurant and bowling alley remained the same.

Wilbur Floyd, a long-time businessman, bank director and community volunteer, died in January.

In January, Farmers Coop of Garden Plain and Cheney Coop announced a proposal to merge the two elevator operations. The merger proposal was approved by cooperative members in February.

The Goddard Police Department was informed in January that it had been awarded a federal grant totaling nearly $70,000 to help fund an additional police officer over three years.

In February, Times-Sentinel Newspapers finalized purchase of the The WestSide Story, a monthly newspaper covering west Wichita.

Lawrence Lampe retired in February, ending a 50-year career with Farm Supply of Cheney, where he delivered LP gas to rural customers and helped out in the store.

Cheney High School senior Locke Uppendahl was named in Febraury as a McDonald’s Basketball All-American finalist.

In February, Garden Plain High graduate Virgil Puetz and Goddard High graduate Tish Buerki Dimick were inducted into the Friends University Hall of Fame.

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Isaac Stuhlsatz of Garden Plain won the second grade division of a statewide agriculture bumper sticker contest in March.

In late March, Goddard special education teacher Janice Vredenburg, 52, was found murdered in her home.

In April, Steve Rausch of Garden Plain was named as the 2A Basketball Player of the Year by the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.

Jan Vogel of Clearwater, human resources representative with Southern Kansas Telephone, retired in April after 25 years with the company.

The Goddard High Lion Pride Band learned in April it had been selected to perform at halftime of the Outback Bowl on Jan 1, 2001.

Retired Goddard teachers Sally Loomis and Mike Shay were honored with a reception in May. Loomis taught it for 46 years, and Shay for 31 years.

In May, the city of Cheney agreed to purchase the former Gambles building at First and Main. It was later renovated as a City Hall facility.

The Goddard High forensic team won the 5A State Championship in May. Parents and school officials in May began the process to have St. Joe Elementary School named as a charter school in Kansas.

Long-time Cheney businessman Keith McMahan sold his car dealership in May and joined Lubbers Ford and Chevrolet as used car manager.

The Cheney boys track team won the 3A State title in late May. Over Memorial Weekend, a new Avenue of Flags was dedicated at Cheney’s Fairview Cemetery, the result of efforts by local VFW and American Legion members.

The Goddard High wrestling team placed second in the 5A State Tournament in late February.

In June, Clearwater brothers Ross and Reece Pulliam competed in the Junior World Archery Championship in California.

Sisters Jenni and Lori Graf, seniors at Cheney High School, learned in March they would each be receiving $20,000 Leadership Scholarships and $1,300 academic scholarships to attend Newman University.

The Clearwater Board of Education in June approved a one-mill tax increase through the local Recreation Commission to help fund a new $1 million swimming pool project in the community.

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February 3, 2000

2000

Bus Schwartz loves people, loves life

By Jim Emrick

He’s never without a smile and a kind word. At 63, living is what Bus Schwartz’s life is all about.

“I love people, and I love life!” Bus said as he sat at the coffee room at Prairie Meadows apartments in Garden Plain. “I enjoy meting people. People find out real quick that I’m a talker!”

Bus, who for the past three years has been writing a weekly column for the Garden Plain section of the TimesSentinel, is enjoying life these days. As he is quick to tell you – he just enjoys taking each day as it comes.

“I’m 63 and up to about three months ago I felt like I was 23,” he said.

Three months ago Bus suffered two strokes that left him unable to walk or talk. Although his recovery in just three months has been remarkable, he still is struggling to get back to feeling like he is 23 again.

Bus, who still is working to get his balance and coordination back said,

“I’ve been active all of my life, and I’m not about to slow down now. If it doesn’t get any better, I’m still glad I’m the way I am.”

He enjoys writing his weekly column, and said he really is surprised when someone tells him they enjoy his column.

“I don’t think I write very well, so I’m always surprised when someone tells me they like it,” he said. “It makes me feel good to get such a good response from people.”

Bus said he recently went out on patrol with the local law enforcement, and was surprised at how busy even the slowest of nights are, and said he now appreciates how much work the law enforcement officers have to do each shift.

“I wrote about my experience in this week’s column,” he said. “I’m going to try and get out and do that some more.

I think my readers would enjoy reading about this.”

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Carl Enterkin was named as Garden Plain Police Chief in August. He had been with the Wichita Police Department, where he retired as a lieutenant.

In June, Addie Jo Rondeau, a Goddard fourth grader, competed in the Broadmoor Open figure skating competition in Colorado. She placed second, fourth and seventh in her skating events.

Southern Kansas Telephone of Clearwater in August asked the Kansas Corporation Commission to approve a new telephone plan to succeed MetroLink, the company’s low-cost long distance calling plan. The new plan was approved by the KCC.

The Year In Review

Chad McGuffey was named in July as manager of Jim’s Foodliner grocery story in Cheney.

Jim and Adella Harmon and Gwen Bohm retired over the summer from their teaching careers in Cheney. Together, they had 91 years of service as teachers.

Joan Fleming was named manager of First State Bank and Trust’s branch facility in Clearwater in July, after 34 years with the bank.

Students from Goddard High School were again winners in July of the International High School Space Settlement Design Competition held at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the fourth time in seven years that the competition was won by students from Goddard High.

A 29-year-old Wichita man was killed in a driving accident in late July at Lake Afton.

Erlene Richardson of Cheney was honored in August for 25 years of service to students through the Sedgwick County Area Educational Services Interlocal Cooperative.

After retiring once, Dick Reynolds reopened his Clearwater barber shop in August, saying he had too much time on his hands after traveling for a couple years.

The new Family Life Center at Clearwater United Methodist Church was consecrated during a ceremony in late August.

Tommy Lee Burkholder of Cheney, 19, died in a one-vehicle accident near Goddard in September. Also receiving serious injuries in the crash was Tim Mies, 17, Cheney.

A Goddard student received three bullet wounds at a September posthomecoming party where a fight broke out among other individuals and

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1993-2012

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escalated into gunfire.

England, Smalley met Annette Albers in 1983 and relocated to the United States in 1986.

In September, demolition work began on the old Clearwater Municipal Swimming Pool, and was then replaced by the new Family Aquatic Center.

Goddard’s United Methodist Church participated in Operation Christmas Child for the fourth year in a row.

Wah-leeta Steckline was killed in a tractor accident near her rural Garden Plain ranch in late September.

Garden Plain veterans Paul Wulf and Henry Zoglman recalled wartime memories in November.

Goddard city attorney John Barrett was found not guilty in late September on charges of aggravated assault stemming from an incident in 1999 when he allegedly aimed a handgun at two juveniles following a traffic incident.

First National Bank of Southern Kansas broke ground in Goddard and November.

The Kansas Corporation Commission in October denied Southern Kansas Telephone’s request to keep the 316 area code in Clearwater and other SKT service areas. The switch to the 620 area code outside the Wichita metro area was set for February 3, 2001.

Cheney Baptist Church broke ground on their new building in November complete with a jet fly-over.

The Goddard Lions boys soccer team placed third at the 5A State Tournament in November.

Record numbers of voters flooded the polls in our area for the November 2000 general election.

Cheney resident David Smalley took his citizenship oath in 2000. Originally from

Kansas Highway Patrol officers made the largest marijuana seizure to date in November near Goddard.

Late in the year, Clearwater’s David Koon marked more than 27 years employment at Mize’s Thriftway. “I get to see a lot of people every day,” he said. “It’s great.”

The Wulf family in Garden Plain was presented a Century Farm award by Sedgwick County Farm Bureau at the annual State Convention in December.

The Spartech plant in Goddard closed its doors in December. Some employees were transferred to the company’s Wichita location.

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The Year In Review Creative Designs flower shop in Garden Plain changed ownership in January when the business was sold by Debbie Haukap to Janet Cox. Cheney school officials in January announced plans for a $1.1775 million bond issue to fund improvements to Cheney Elementary School and the high school industrial technology facility. The bond issue was approved by voters in April.

Cheney’s Assembly of God Church welcomed new pastor Howard Ray and his wife Barbara in March.

The Goddard Middle School Odyssey of the Mind team placed second during the state competition held in March.

St. Joe Elementary School was awarded Charter School status in March by the State Board of Education.

A Clearwater couple, Delbert and Paula Dorsey, won $200,000 in the Kansas State Cash Lotto in April.

Clearwater city clerk Norma Leabo retired in April after 10 years in the position.

Amy Crouch of Cheney was named in January as the Volunteer of the Year by the Kansas Recreation and Park Association for her efforts to establish Cheney Community Theater and continued support of the arts in Cheney.

In April, a new AAU track club was formed in Garden Plain.

In January, Jeff Syrios was named as Clearwater Municipal Court Judge. He had served as prosecuting attorney since 1994.

Cheney High School senior Lynn Lefebvre captured his second straight 3A State Powerlifting Championship in April.

Brad Neuenswander was named in February as the new superintendent of schools in Cheney. He is a Cheney native, served as assistant principal in Cheney, high school principal in Kingman and superintendent in Ellis.

Clearwater High School art student Emily Tjaden was honored in February with a Silver Key Award from the Wichita Art Museum.

In February three Garden Plain athletes – Jessica Cox, Sarah Helten and Rachel Kerschen – were named to the 2A State Volleyball Team by Kansas Sport Magazine.

Former Goddard Mayor George Proctor was honored in February for his years of service to the community.

Goddard High graduate Nathan Blasi signed in February to play Division 1 football at Middle Tennessee State University.

The Garden Plain Lady Owls won the 2A State Basketball Tournament in March after winning sub-state.

A ground-breaking ceremony was held in March for the new Church of the Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Goddard.

During the state competition in April, the Goddard High School Science Olympiad team placed third out of 29 teams.

Several area farmers were recognized in April with the KGE Conservation awards.

They included Martin and Lyla Kerschen of Garden Plain, Gary and Irene Holley, Cheney, Terrel Black, Cheney, and Daisy Northcutt, Goddard.

In May, the city of Goddard received a $5,000 grant from the Sedgwick County Commission to help fund a new draft of the city’s comprehensive plan.

Krystal Stuhlsatz, a senior at Garden Plain High School, was named in May to receive a $30,000 Monsignor McNeill scholarship to attend Newman University.

Goddard city clerk Cindy Nagel resigned her position in May. A major new housing development in Garden Plain, Pretty Flowers Estates, was approved for construction in May. The project is being developed by Larry Steckline.

The Goddard High tennis team won its regional tournament in May and advanced ot the 5A State Tournament.

Marcene Peterson, a veteran who was drafted in 1943, received his longoverdue high school diploma during the Clearwater High School graduation ceremony in May.

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September 13, 2001

Watching in horror

Schools work to provide information, calm their students

By Paul Rhodes

When tragedy strikes, you can’t hide it from those around you.

Tragedy struck in the United States in unimaginable proportions Tuesday morning when terrorists commandeered four U.S. airline flights and then used those planes to destroy the World Trade Center in New York City and seriously damage the Pentagon in Washington.

News of the tragedy spread quickly and its ripples were felt all across western Sedgwick County. Some of the highest concentrations of interest – and response to those in need – were witnessed at schools around our area.

Garden Plain High School was just one day away from hooking up cable to its new classroom televisions. With teachers and students anxious for information, Principal Robert Morton allowed televisions to be brought into the school.

“We used rabbit ears, wires, anything we could to get a channel,” said Morton.

“The televisions were on most of the day.

Morton said a number of students came to the office with concerns, but by the afternoon, “most of the kids got back to class.”

“There’s no question this is going to be a topic of discussion in our social studies classes for several days to come,” said Morton. Parent-teacher conferences were scheduled for Tuesday night at the school, and at one point Morton considered canceling them. But then he reconsidered.

“I decided it would be a place for parents to come and be with other people if they didn’t want to be at home,” said Morton.

In Cheney, attention also was given to providing students with information.

“Students have been allowed to watch the day’s events unfold in many of the middle school and high school classes,” said counselor Jack Thomas. Thomas said a television also was on near the school’s media center, and students and teachers

could stop, sit down and watch the news broadcasts.

“Kids were pretty subdued today. I’m not sure all of them had a grasp of the magnitude of today’s events, but I’m certain many of them did,” said Thomas.

“I’m a lot like many of them – mad about what happened, but I’m not sure who to be mad at.”

Cheney Middle School teacher Mark Rosenhagen, who teaches American history, had his students watching the events throughout the day. He said two of his students had relatives who worked in or near the Pentagon, and another had an uncle who was working on Fifth Avenue at the time of the attack.

“Students tried to compare what happened today to other disasters they are familiar with – Oklahoma City and Columbine,” said Rosenhagen. “But neither of those situations can compare to the number of lives that have been lost in the World Trade Center catastrophe.

Goddard High School principal George Tignor arrived at school in the afternoon Tuesday after attending a seminar. His first action was to check with the building’s assistant principals to see how many students were reacting to the tragedy.

“The teachers had television on in their rooms so students could watch what was going on,” he said. “By the time I arrived at school, the day seemed to be proceeding as normal.”

Any personal student problems will be handled by school counselors, Tignor said.

In Clearwater, an announcement was made at the high school at 9:15 a.m.

“Our students watched history unfold all day long,” said Principal Steve Meeker.

“They have handled the tragedy well, but it certainly tempered the mood around school for the day.”

Because of Andover’s decision to cancel after-school sports programs, Clearwater also cancelled high school football games with Andale and Mulvane.

A lot can happen in 20 years...

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The Year In Review St. Anthony’s Catholic Church of Garden Plain celebrated its 100th anniversary in May. During graduation ceremonies in May at Cheney High School, WWII veterans Raymond Kuehn and Veral Parsons were awarded honorary diplomas, which were presented to family members.

A new Cheney youth football league, the Jets, opened its season in September.

After months of renovation work, city employees moved into the new Cheney City Office Building in September.

Cheney resident Ron Blakely, founder of the Sedgwick County Zoo, died in October.

In October, “Panthers” was chosen as the mascot name for the new Eisenhower Middle School in Goddard.

Clearwater High’s volleyball team won its sub-state tournament in October and advanced to the 4A State Tournament, where the Lady Indians placed fourth.

Two Garden Plain High seniors, Rachel Kerschen and Edward Weber were nominated in October for the Wendy’s High School Heisman Program.

In the Kansas BEST competition in late October, the Goddard High School team placed first and Clearwater placed third. In November, the Goddard team represented Kansas at the national BEST competition and won the national title.

Tess Herndon, a sophomore at Goddard High School, died of injuruies she sustained during a four wheeler accident in November.

Ryan McDowell, a junior a Clearwater High School, received his Eagle Scout Award in December.

The Cheney Lady Cardinals won the Cardinal Classic Basketball Tournament in December. The Clearwater Lady Indians placed second, and the Cheney boys placed third.

In December, a number of Goddard residents publicly protested options for a bypass highway that would route Highway 54 traffic around the community.

Mallory Champa of Clearwater won the gold medal in December at the National AAU Cross Country Meet.

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Tim Seiwert of Garden Plain was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout in December.

In June, voters in the Cheney School District shot down a $2.4 million bond issue proposal to build a new swimming pool and park in the Cheney community.

Miss Cheney Lake, Jeanne Schroeder, was first-runner up in the Miss Kansas Pageant in June.

Kayla Becker, left, and Amanda Burt made the trip of a lifetime to Africa to help deaf adults and children.

In June, the Rev. Martin Holler left Clearwater United Methodist Church after 11 years to become pastor of Mt. Vernon Church in Wichita. The following month, Pastor Jerry Muncy left Clearwater’s First Christian Church to become senior pastor at First Christian Church in Leavenworth.

Roberta Lampe retired in June after 15 years as a library aide at Garden Plain schools.

Amanda Tambling of Goddard was chosen in June as a teen model by Chanel/Seventeen.

Karen Bailey took over duties in June as Goddard City Clerk.

In June, Cheney city maintenance worker Howard Hoffine retired after 30 years of service with the city.

In July, Cheney teenagers Kayla Becker and Amanda Burt worked with deaf children and adults during a mission trip to Africa.

The Clearwater Development Foundation was awarded $225,000 in tax credits in July for use in constructing a health and fitness center in the community.

Elroy Zoglman of Garden Plain was inducted in July into the Appaloosa Horse Club’s National Racing Hall of Fame.

Four Clearwater Scouts, Adam Dinwiddie, Chris Mikesell, Nick Potenski and Sean Titterington, received their Eagle awards in August.

Howard Bishop was named as the new Chief of Police in Cheney in August.

Warren Laughlin, chief officer of the new First National Bank of Southern Kansas in Goddard, was honored in August for 50 years of service in the banking industry.

In August, Jennifer Goldsmith of Cheney won the gold medal in javelin at the AAU Junior Olympics.

Members of the Cheney Baptist Church dedicated their new church facility in August.

The new Clearwater Aquatic Center officially opened in August.

July 5, 2001

In to Africa - Cheney teens on mission to Africa

By Jim Emrick

For Cheney teenagers Amanda Burt and Kayla Becker, it is a trip of a lifetime.

Their trip into Africa will not only be a learning experience for them, but also one of breaking through the silence.

Burt, 17, and Becker, 16, left early Monday morning on a 25-hour flight that will take them on a mission to Lusaka, Zambowie and to Gaborone, Botswana in Africa. They will remain in Africa for several weeks working with children and adults who are deaf.

“We didn’t know it until about a month or so ago, but both of us have wanted to go on a mission to Africa for a long time,” Amanda Burt said.

“I have wanted to go on this mission since I was real little. I told my parents that someday I wanted to go somewhere on a mission that not everybody goes to,” Burt said.

Becker said it has been a wish of hers to travel to Africa since she became aware that there are teens who are allowed to go there on teen missions.

They will first visit a church in Lusaka, Zambowie. It is a church that has a congregation of 250 deaf persons. They will be there working with deaf adults for six days. At the end of their time there, they will take a two-day-three-night drive to Gaborone, Botswana to a school for deaf children. They will remain there until they return home on July 19.

While they are there they will be escorted around by Africans Jon

(Yohannes) Getaneh and Mimi Tafese, missionaries they met here in Cheney at the Cheney Baptist Church.

“While we are traveling between Lusaka and Gaborone we will get to do a little sight seeing,” Becker said. “We know for sure we will get to see Victoria Falls and many of the other areas we have been reading about.”

Both Burt and Becker know sign language, and are looking forward to working with the people there who are deaf.

“I learned how to sign when I was real young, and then I taught Kayla how to sign,” Burt said. It will really be interesting to work with the kids and adults there.”

Burt and Becker said they wanted to thank all of the people that pitched in to help finance their trip to Africa. Both were successful in raising $3,500 each to make their trip.

Late Sunday, they both said they were feeling a little nervous and anxious about going, but they believe they will be ready to enjoy their trip once they land in Lusaka.

It’s really been a whirlwind the last few weeks. Making sure our visas and passports were in order and making sure we have all of our shots,” Burt said.

“We’re excited to be going. We both believe we are doing God’s will, and we think we can make a difference.”

Amanda is the daughter of Sharon and Byron Burt, and Kayla is the daughter of Gail and Paul Becker.

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August 15, 2002

Cancer survivor shares her story

By Morgan Cass

Goddard resident Mickey Wasinger was on a camping trip to the Colorado River with her friend, Sister Eloise, in 1995.

Alone in the tent, she remembered that it had been a while since she had done a breast exam. That night, July 5, she found a lump.

“I knew it was cancer,” she said. I waited 10 days later, when my 50th birthday celebration was over, and then I had a mammogram done to confirm my suspicions.”

She had to wait three weeks to see a surgeon.

“It was awful, because I knew there was something inside of me that was killing me and I couldn’t get it out,” she said.

On July 25, Marilee McBoyle, the surgeon, told Wasinger that the tumor was malignant. Wasinger’s reaction was to let McBoyle know that she would do whatever needed to be done.

“McBoyle said that she had been looking for a patient with my outlook on life, and that she wanted to try something on me,” Wasinger said. “I ended up having a mastectomy the next morning at 6:30 a.m., was home by 2 p.m., and on the front porch by 6 p.m. that night. Back then, same-day surgeries like that were very uncommon.”

Wasinger’s fight wasn’t over with the tumor, however. After having a bone scan performed, it was decided that she would have to take chemotherapy sessions twice a month for six months.

“At that point, I was the principal for St. Joseph’s Elementary School in Conway Springs. The first day of school, I had an assembly and tried to explain to them that just as they get in trouble with their parents, they are only disciplined because the parent loves them and wants to teach them,” she said.

I told them that I was looking at my cancer as a gift from God, and I asked them to help me give it back to Him.” She explained to the children what the chemotherapy would do, and asked them to bring her different hats to wear.

When a child would bring in a hat, she would have her picture taken with them and then wear the hat for the entire day.

The picture would go on a bulletin board outside her office.

After Wasinger’s second session of chemotherapy in September, she developed a severe fever, and would have died if not for the intervention of Sister Eloise.

“I was getting chilled on a 100-degree day, so I laid downstairs on my couch.

The doctor had said that if I developed a fever I should go to the hospital, but I didn’t want to check it. I just didn’t want to know,” she said.

I heard the doorbell ring, and Sister Eloise, who never went anywhere on a school night, was standing in the door.

She took me to the hospital, and they told me I could have died. I was truly touched by an angel.”

Although the adverse reaction was caused by a chemotherapy overdose, doctors decided that she would have to continue with that amount. In order to keep her from developing another fever, she had to drive in to Wichita every day for 10 days after her treatment.

Living in Goddard, working in Conway Springs and driving in to Wichita every day was taxing, she said.

“At one point I wanted to simply give up and die. And I would have, if it wasn’t for Sister Eloise, who said I had to do two things first.’ First, put yourself in my place, and second, tell your children your decision,’” Wasinger said. “I’m very glad I didn’t give up, because I would have been dead five years ago if I had.”

She also contributes her success in beating cancer to the teachers that she worked with and the children she taught.

During the whole ordeal, she only missed four days of school.

“With the help of the kids, I was able to give my gift back to God,” she said.

“I know it has made me a better person.

I am more patient and understanding. I can understand people better. I really just floated through the whole thing.”

Wasinger is now the principal of the new Church of the Holy Spirit in Goddard, which is preparing for its first school year. She recently participated in Goddard’s Relay for Life.

“Oh, I loved it. I had looked for other relays to participate in, but they never fell on the right dates,” she said. “This was perfect. Our team raised $1,682 towards cancer research, ran the cakewalk, and had a blast. It was wonderful.”

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scholarship to attend the International Institute of Municipal Clerk’s Conference.

She has served as Garden Plain’s city clerk for three years.

Work on expanded and remodeled classrooms at Cheney Elementary School is moving right on schedule, according to principal Paul Becker.

Since Sept. 11, no one has been allowed access to the dam at Cheney Reservoir or to the area below the dam. Restricted areas at the dam limit public access, which is marked by new signage.

The Year In Review

Tish Dimmick of Goddard and David Haden, Cheney High School graduate, were chosen to carry the Olympic Torch.

Dimmick’s mother and sister nominated her, and Haden was nominated by his coworkers. Rick Looslie, Cheney resident, helped design the torches used in the Olympic Relay while working for the Coleman Company.

Jenny Henderson, Clearwater High graduate of 2000, began working with the Red Cross Donor Services program after indecision about her college major.

The job brought her back to Clearwater to help draw blood for the Honor Society blood drive.

For Williard Bates, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2002 was just another day. But for everyone else it was a great milestone. Bates, a resident of The Village of Ninnescah in Clearwater, turned 100 years old on Sunday.

A sophomore at Clearwater High School, Rebekka Ebarb recently won an Award of Merit at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City. She has been showing her three-year-old Foxhound Draco since last April.

Navy Seaman Bryan Hurtig, son of Michael and Linda Hurtig of Goddard, was one American Sailor participating in the Atlantic Phase of UNITAS – an international joint training exercise held by the U.S. Navy. Hurtig is in charge of anchoring and mooring the ship in port and occasionally steering the ship.

Gerry Ricken, Garden Plain native, was nominated to carry the Olympic Torch in honor of his daughter, Mary Beth, who died of a malignant brain tumor after her diagnosis at age 13. While fighting the disease, she helped establish two organizations to help others live their dreams – Mary Beth’s Angels Foundation and St. Joseph’s Academy Angels Helping Angels.

While at the statewide City Clerk and Municipal Finance Officers Association Conference, Diana DeWitt received a

Students at Goddard High School are pitching in to help classmates Tara and Ashley Alford, who lost their home in a fire over the weekend. Tara is a junior at Goddard High and Ashley is a sophomore. The girls’ home in West Wichita and all its contents were destroyed in the fire. To assist the family, the school will be collecting cash donations.

After 14 years as head coach at Goddard in a 25-year coaching career, Dan Buchanan has retired from coaching boy’s basketball. He posted a 185-120 won-loss record and coached nine academic allstate players at Goddard.

A new business geared toward homeowners has opened in Goddard.

American Rental Equipment, Inc., owned

by Mike and Gina Maddox, recently opened its doors on West Kellogg to better serve the needs of Western Sedgwick County.

U.S. Representative Todd Tiahrt announced today that Cheney State Park will be receiving a matching grant of $133,000 to develop campgrounds, picnic shelters, basic cabins and support facilities. An environmental study on the water found a larger than recommended intake of phosphorus – two to five times greater than the goal of 0.1 milligrams per liter by the EPA. Recommended measures include alternative water sites for livestock and filter strips.

On April 15, 2002 Ella Davidson handed over keys to new owners from California, who will try to keep the tradition strong with “Cheney Burgers.” After doors opened in 1983, a custom double-cheeseburger, a house chili sauce recipe, ice cream, and a Mexican menu were quick to become a hometown tradition.

Richard Booth will be 62 years old this year. For 34 of those years he was a teacher for USD 264. Booth came to his retirement decision fairly quickly. “I had been thinking about it for a little while,” he said,” and I just decided it was time.”

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July 4, 2002

Always willing to give a hug and a buzz

By Morgan Cass

At 80 years old, Margie Foley takes everything in stride, even her hearing aids.

“Whenever I see kids that I know, they ask me for a hug and a buzz,” she said with a mischievous smile. When she gives someone a hug, she presses her ear up to the side of their face. The airflow through the hearing aids is stopped, and it creates a buzzing sound. Thus, she is known to neighborhood children as the “lady who gives a hug and a buzz.”

Ella Margie Light was raised in Millerton, between Clearwater and Conway Springs. “It’s a has-been town,” she said. “Thank goodness I got to go to high school in Clearwater.”

Her parents were Pennsylvania Dutch, and she grew up with 10 brothers and sisters. Two died when they were very young. To get to school, she and her siblings had to walk three miles to school. During the winter, her father paid $3 a week for her and her sister Mattie to spend the week in town, living with a woman they called Aunt Almie.

Margie worked at a café in Clearwater

for a year after she graduated, saving money for beauty school. She was able to save $80, which was half of what she needed. A friend, Bill Hammers, loaned her the other $80.

She moved to Wichita to go to beauty school and lived with a family that was a friend of her father’s.

She came to Cheney on a permit and worked for Esther Walton until she passed her State Board examination. She worked for Esther for three years.

It was during her time in Cheney that she met Glen Foley.

“They told me that there were two young men that I should meet,” Margie said. “Well, Glen came home on furlough first. I knew that I loved him, and he knew that he loved me, but he didn’t tell me until he went back to the field. He wrote me a letter and asked if I would wear his ring. I did. We wrote each other all the time. I still have all his love letters.”

After she passed her examination, she decided to move back to Wichita and work at the George Innes Beauty Company on the mezzanine. She worked

there for three years while she was waiting for Glen to return.

Glen was a tank commander and staff sergeant among other things, and received a Purple Heart for his service.

“He was blown out of a tank three times,” she said. “Glen never talked about the war,” Margie said. “The only time I ever heard him say anything about it was when he was talking to his buddies.”

When he returned to Cheney after the war, Glen and Margie got married and farmed near MacArthur Road in the Vinita Township. Margie quit working at the beauty shop, but kept her license.

They raised two sons together, Fred and Kurt. Margie’s father was Lutheran, but she was raised Baptist. Glen was a Methodist, however, and that’s how the boys were raised. Margie is still a member of the United Methodist Church.

“The name on the door is not going to save you, it’s what’s in here,” Margie said, placing her hand over her heart. “It’s what’s in here that counts.”

Today Margie has two granddaughters and two grandsons. Her son Fred lives in

the farmhouse, and Margie lives in town where she feels safer. She is very active in the community.

Every harvest, Margie takes dinner out to Fred and his wife Joyce every night.

She loves to do it, she says, because it gets her mixed in with the harvest. She has done it for 20 years.

Margie also loves to be around young people.

“They’re good for you,” she said.

“They help keep you young.”

“You’re only as old as you feel, and I think I’m closer to 65 than 80. I just can’t believe how fast the years go by,” she said.

“I don’t really feel 80 years old. I just can’t believe I am. As long as I can do all these things I will. I can’t just sit and do nothing.”

There doesn’t seem to be danger of that anytime soon, however. She didn’t even give up her beauty license until her 80th birthday on March 3.

“I just thought it was time,” she said.

So the next time you see Grandma Margie, say hello. No matter how busy she is, she always has time to stop for a hug and a buzz.

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The Year In Review

National Karate Championships in Norfolk, Va. Holloway walked away with a bronze medal giving him a spot on the United States Olympic Karate Team.

As a mentor and instructor, Sue Brown, who is retiring as vocal music instructor for the Cheney school district, has helped thousands of students find a voice over the years.

Several Cheney businesses are receiving makeovers, including Cheney Lanes, Special Care Services, Inc., the Cheney Health Clinic, and the Flower Fair. Cheney Lanes installed all-new pinsetters, gutters, and even new bowling pins.

T-shirts, decals, pins, a restored Ford Mustang appropriately painted yellow, a “Buckle-Up Kansas” awareness program, and even a sock hop to benefit her Wichita YMCA Y-Knots Gymnastics team are all part of an ongoing memorial for Amanda Clemence. She was killed in a car accident while driving back to a Goddard High School track meet on May 3, 2002.

When you’re 100 years old, you can ask for just about anything – and get it. So when Rema Fagan celebrated her 100th birthday, she pretty much got what she wanted from folks around her. Fagan got brightlycolored cupcakes, and got to pick her favorite one – it was yellow.

Husband and wife team Kent and Phyllis Zerener decided that it was time to take a break. Sunflower Tours, Inc. in Cheney recently closed its doors after 20 years. Sunflower Tours started out at the Zerener’s house, with Kent doing everything but major engine repair and maintenance. “It just got to where it wasn’t so fun anymore,” Kent said. “It was getting harder and harder to find good drivers.”

Noah Holloway, a senior at Goddard High School, recently competed at the 2002 U.S.

Long-time Cheney resident Betty Wulf contacted Canadian Meds for information on how to start her own office. Her business, Rx Meds, is a not-for-profit company that helps guide aging and disabled citizens through the process of ordering their prescription drugs from a Canadian pharmacy.

Virginia Snyder, a Clearwater resident since 1960, was a member of Clearwater’s Piecemaker’s Guild from 1985 – 1995, and owns a business of selling patterns nationwide, and even internationally. Snyder is the fourth or fifth generation quilt-maker in her

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family, she said, and each quilt is as unique as a snowflake.

and many other activities related to athletic events.

More than 75 years of Cheney High School graduates reunited Saturday in the middle school gym as part of the 2002 alumni banquet, finding memories that will last forever amidst decades of change.

The Clearwater Wellness Center, 115 E. Ross, will hold their grand opening on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2002. All activities and classes are free that day for members and nonmembers.

The new Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School in Goddard was officially dedicated with recognition of the school board and all involved with building the facility. It has capacity for 600 with current enrollment over 300.

John Peterson, a 1963 graduate of Clearwater High School, was officially named into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 16. He was Pittsburg State University’s first three-time All-American football player from 1965-1967.

Louis “Bus” Schwartz always carried two things with him – his smile and his recipes. Schwartz, 65, was killed in a two-car accident last Tuesday as he was headed to one of his favorite destinations – the grocery store in Goddard. A longtime Garden Plain resident, he began writing a column for The Times-Sentinel in 1998, which often included a recipe.

The Goddard High School BEST (Boosting, Engineering, Science and Technology) team placed second in the nation in November at the BEST National Championships held at College Station, Tex., on the campus of Texas A&M. Thousands of hours went into the eightweek project. The Goddard High team qualified for the national competition by winning the BEST Award and placing second at the Kansas BEST Game Day competition held at Wichita State University Oct. 26.

The Goddard Board of Education recently gave their approval for the booster club to utilize eight gyms for the MAYB basketball tournament that is scheduled for March 13-16, 2003. The MAYB tournament is the newest event added to the list of booster club fundraising events that already includes an annual golf tournament, a membership drive,

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Robyn Shaver, 17-year-old Goddard High School senior, recently returned from a trip to Australia as a foreign exchange student. Shaver said the experience had a tremendous impact on her perspectives – especially of other cultures.

(But we’ve still got 5 years on you)

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The Year In Review The history of the Kansas Underground Railroad will come alive for Goddard students at Challenger Intermediate and Discovery Intermediate schools on Jan. 30. Local author Lois Ruby will share her stories about the railroad, the part Kansas played in it, the Quakers of that time period, and how the Kansas Constitution helped slaves escape their horrible situations.

With the completion of a $730,000 renovation project, students at Cheney High School are now enjoying the benefits of a state-of-the-art industrial technology facility. This Tuesday evening, the public will be able to tour the new industrial technology facility and see firsthand the training opportunities students now have at their fingertips.

In January, the City of Goddard unveiled a sign marking the Charles Means Memorial Municipal Park, commemorating the man who never let a day go by without somehow serving his country or community.

Charlene Grinsell of Cheney appeared as an extra in “Boston Public.” It was her first paid acting job.

On March 11, workers with Koss Construction of Topeka are scheduled to cut the available driving lanes on Highway 54 in half from just east of Garden Plain to the western edge of Sedgwick County as they launch a $16.3 million highway renovation project.

Jerry Kill, a Cheney High School graduate and head football coach at Southern Illinois University, was the keynote speaker at the annual Cheney Chamber of Commerce Banquet Monday evening. In spite of the weather, a big crowd turned out for the annual banquet, and to hear Kill’s take on football, business, and life.

Clearwater High School senior Cole Mills recently published “A Poet’s World,” a collection of 102 original poems written between his seventh grade and sophomore years.

Barb (Rausch) Littell became the third woman inducted into the Cowley County Community College Hall of Fame. She played both basketball and volleyball.

She left Cowley to play for Tulsa and after

that, basketball for Friends where she led in scoring. After graduating, she coached at both Friends and Garden Plain High School.

Cheney Public Library vacated its building earlier this week and moved a few doors north on Main Street, but plans for renovation of the library facility have changed slightly.

The new business, Sun-N-Screen Video Rental and Tanning opened March 24 on Kellogg Drive, just two doors east of Ace Hardware. The new store offers VHS, DVD, and video game rentals as well as tanning services.

The Hutchinson News has named Cheney girls’ basketball coach Melanie Amerin the Class 3A Girls’ Coach of the Year.

Brittanie Escareno of Cheney High won the Miss Kansas Teenager competition which earned her a spot representing Kansas in the 2003 Miss Teen of the Nation competition in Las Vegas. Among the winnings for Kansas Teen was a $2,500 scholarship. Escareno was the daughter of Steve and Gayle Escareno of Cheney.

Sedgwick County Electric Cooperative, which serves most of western Sedgwick County and has been in the same location in downtown Cheney since 1946, is about to make a big move. In about two weeks, construction is set to start on a new $1.3 million home for the 65-year-old electric cooperative, which got its start in Goddard in 1937.

Dr. Bill Neuenswander served as a professor at Baker University. He began his career in education by teaching at the elementary, junior high, and then high school grade levels. Then he became superintendent in Cheney, Baldwin City, and Abilene. Neuenswander held degrees from Emporia State, Kansas State, and the University of Kansas.

Cheney State Park now has seven rental cabins available as an alternative camping opportunity. The cabins are available to all visitors year-round and are located on the West Shore Area just northeast of the park entrance.

As a reward for high student scores on state assessment tests, Cheney Elementary School principal Paul Becker spent a day on the roof of the school last Thursday. While up on the roof, Becker reaped some rewards of his own. For one thing, Becker literally got a bird’s-eye view of the community.

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March 20, 2003

129 years of family tradition immediately becoming part of the family

By Judson Klein When George and Sharon Light moved tradition.

“One day I said I was going to town, into their farmhouse nestled into the and that’s all there is to it,” Hank said. open pastures south of Clearwater last year, they found themselves stepping into “I came to stay over night one night and just ended up staying here. The original their family’s time capsule. house had a big ol’ porch, where Uncle “It was really exciting when we Frank would sit with his gun, and pick first came here,” Sharon said. “There off sparrows from the top of the barn. were a lot of old pictures inside the I was about seven, and I lived here for a house, wartime magazines, and an old year and one-half.” wooden pipe that belonged to Hank’s George recalled visiting the property grandmother, Caroline.” from his father’s (Hank) farm in A small blacksmithing shed, train rails Millerton, helping with the crops and that have crossed the property since flocks of sheep.

1884, the north edge of the Ninnescah River, and grazing land are all part of the “We usually came up to help our uncles or go fishing on the Ninnescah River,” 120 acres that became the Light family’s George said. relic in 1874.

“The Light The family family would history begins be here every with Henry Fourth of July Light, born 1801 … I used to help in Pennsylvania, with the sheep. a descendant I remember big of Germany’s sacks of wool, Rhineland and I had to Country. Henry get up in those was raised big stacks and in a German The Light family gathered for a portrait at a community rich family celebration. Family members include, stomp them down … Frank in folk tradition, BACK ROW, left to right: Joshua, Jacob, Jordan, Holly, and Justin, Sitting in front are told me he neighbors to wanted it (the similar English George and Sharon Light. property) in the and Scotch-Irish Light family name for 100 years, and he communities. This couple was blessed got his wish.” with nine children, all receiving their educations in a rural log school house, an George met Sharon in 1976 at Hutchinson Community College, integral part of the pioneer settlement. where he was studying agriculture and In the Fall of 1875 their son Henry mechanics. Sharon is a native of Argonia. and his wife Elizabeth (Brenizer) Light They have four sons, Justin, 24, Jordan, came to Kansas accompanied by their 21, Josh, 17 and Jake, 15, several of grandchildren, purchasing land just whom are seriously considering keeping southwest of Clearwater, that had been the family name attached to the same signed as a land grant from Civil War property. general Ulysses S. Grant. The Lights left George said he plans to keep the the farm to their son George and wife property thriving.

Caroline, who then passed it on to their “I’m going to keep it,” George said. three bachelor sons – Frank, Harve, and “We’ll keep the cattle, add onto the Will. This trio then bequeathed the land to their two nephews, Henry George and property, and make the house a little bigger, maybe add rooms. And more than Clyde “Dick” Light, in honor of their likely it will be willed to one of the boys.” service in WWII. His father shares his optimism.

Henry George, or “Hank” Light, “George has four boys now, and maybe recalled visiting the farm as a child we can make it 200 years. from his home in Millerton, Kan., and

It’s been a busy 20 years in Over the past two decades, the city of Clearwater has accomplished many things to improve the quality of the community in general, and its quality of life.

Important projects that have been accomplished during that time include: • The Clearwater Aquatic Center • The Senior and Community Center • The EMS and Fire Department Center, and adjacent community storm shelter.

• A new Clearwater Public Library facility, and its garden in back • Additions to City Hall and a major interior/exterior renovation project • Three new housing additions – Park Glen, Chisholm Ridge and Prairie Meadows • The city’s new Business/Industrial Park • Expansion of the sewer lagoon system • A water line servicing areas north of town • Numerous City Park improvements, including playground equipment, ball field improvements, a new concession stand, shelter improvements, and the historic windmill • A new skateboard park • A new disc golf park • Tennis courts • Fishing ponds at the Chisholm Ridge development • Ball field improvements at the Recreation Complex Thanks for documenting our growth all along the way, and congratulations on 20 years of newspaper coverage for this area!

129 E. Ross, Clearwater • 620-584-2311

To learn more about the City of Clearwater visit www.clearwaterks.org

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2003

The Year In Review This year Kay Wulf retired from Cheney Elementary School after 32 years of teaching. When she first taught in Cheney she had a combination class, a class with first and second graders. Things have changed since Wulf first started teaching.

For the first time ever Miss Cheney Lake won Miss Kansas. Something just clicked for Angelea Busby last weekend at the Miss Kansas Pageant in Pratt. From Lenexa, Kan., Busby represented Cheney Lake and did it well.

Lin Dehning, a major with the Air National Guard stationed at McConnell Air Force Base, was deployed on extended tours of duty when his unit was mobilized following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

It’s not every Sunday that a congregation gets to celebrate 50 years of ministry and memories. Former Pastor Charles Bartlett and his wife Linda were on hand for the occasion.

The new restaurant, one of more than 7,000 in the world’s largest pizza chain, is owned and operated by the franchise company of Pizza Hut of Southeast Kansa, Inc. located in Wichita. The new location in Goddard offers dine-in, carryout, and will soon launch delivery service to Goddard residents.

The Wheatland Jam moved to Lake Afton for the first time. It featured artists including Ted Nugent, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and Skid Row. The festival went smoothly as organizers overcame behindthe-scenes electrical difficulties. Concerts ran on-schedule, which surprised Rod Trowbridge, owner of the festival, given that it was the first time at Lake Afton.

The Rausch children participated in martial arts, going to karate school at the Wichita Holloway School of Martial Arts. Ryan and Angela, the older two children, attended the USA Karate Federation National Championship and Olympic Trials in San Jose, Calif. They brought home several awards from the competition.

Mike Hoover of Clearwater won two awards at the 2003 Deerman’s T.H.E. 3-D Archery World Championship. He took third place in the fingers division and was recognized as Shooter of the Year in that division with the highest score total throughout the tournament season.

Hoover was eligible for the national tournament after attending a qualifying shoot earlier in the year.

Hailey Twietmeyer of Cheney recently

placed fourth in high jump at the USA National Junior Olympics. “It was really different,” said Twietmeyer. “You usually don’t have all of the top jumpers go out at the same height.”

Leslie Henry wants to help shape up the Goddard community. No, she isn’t running for public office, but Henry and two other family members are taking a direct step to meet that goal: They have opened a Curves fitness center along Highway 54 in Goddard.

The Cheney Public Library is moved and in its new building at 203 N. Main. The building is very attractive and the staff and public are very pleased.

Jordan Best played in a soccer tournament hosted in Gotehnborg, Sweden. She began her soccer career at age four, playing in AYSO soccer programs and the Sedgwick County Soccer Association. Best practiced for three days with the U.S. team in Wisconsin before they flew out to Sweden and arrived to a very active schedule.

An annual benefit held at the Goddard United Methodist Church Oct. 11 netted $36,000 – 100 percent of which will go to the Wichita, Goddard, and surrounding communities for mission projects.

The new school year isn’t even half over but it already has been an exciting one for the Goddard Booster Club. On Wednesday of last week, the booster club officially presented $34,000 in funds to Goddard High School and Eisenhower and Robert Goddard middle schools.

For the past four years, 90-year-old Marie Kneebone has been greeting patients who come through the doors of Neodesha’s Hyperbaric Wound Care Center. She makes sure muffins are available for those who haven’t eaten breakfast before their morning appointments and provides a listening ear to patients who may have serious health problems.

Lindsey Kingsley received “the” call while she was at work at a café in west Wichita.

The news that came with the call was that the Goddard High School senior had just been named to receive a $48,000 Harry Gore Memorial Scholarship at Wichita State University.

Lindsay McCullough was part of a dance group that performed “Rock ‘n’ Roll Christmas” during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. She was a member of the Wheatchix Drill and Dance Team at GHS. McCullough earned the parade spot by winning a solo dance competition in March 2003. Her trip to New York City included a fair amount of sightseeing, but was also loaded with dance work; the crew practiced four hours a day.

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March 27, 2003

Pharmacy explodes

By Jim Emrick Shortly after 6 p.m. last Wednesday evening an explosion destroyed the Cheney Pharmacy in downtown Cheney, blowing the roof several feet into the air. Three employees inside the building at the time of the explosion were transported by emergency air and ground ambulances to Wichita hospitals. One of the employees remains hospitalized. Authorities believe the explosion was caused by a natural gas leak from a gas line located underneath the building.

Sheryl Sannipoli, who was working in the building directly across from the pharmacy, reported the explosion to the 911 dispatcher.

“I was near the front door when I heard and felt the explosion. When I looked out the door I could see the roof of the building up in the air,” Sannipoli said. Bystanders rushed to the building to help the three injured employees away from the building and Cheney Volunteer Fire Department fire and rescue personnel responded to the scene to put out the fire, provide emergency care and to take control of the scene.

“When we arrived, most of the employees were out. People who were downtown near the building rushed over to help the three women away from the building and to get them into buildings across the street,” said Brad Ewy, Cheney Volunteer Fire Dept. Fire Chief. “We attacked the part of the building that was still burning and we were able to knock down the fire right away.”

Emergency personnel from Sedgwick County Fire and Emergency Medical Services arrived on the scene to assist local emergency personnel and to help ready the injured for transport to Wichita hospitals.

According to Cheney Pharmacy owner Merlin McFarland, employees Erica Nixon, Lisa Wright and Candace Howard were injured in the explosion. Two were air lifted by helicopters and one employee was transported by ground ambulance.

Wright was treated and released last Wednesday night. Nixon was hospitalized and released from the hospital last Saturday, and Howard remains with burns to her hands.

“We are very fortunate the injuries weren’t more severe. When the explosion

occurred Erica and Candace were getting ready to walk out the back door. Lisa was waiting by the front door for the others to leave so she could set the alarm,” McFarland explained. “The explosion and flash fire occurred when Candace flipped the light switch off.”

For Cheney resident Jeff Gillum and his two young daughters Shelby and Christa, who were sitting in a pickup in the pharmacy’s drive-thru parking area when the explosion occurred, the explosion was more than a close call.

Gillum had just handed an employee his check and had rolled up his window when the explosion happened.

“Just after I had rolled up my window that’s when I heard and felt this awful explosion. At first I thought my truck had blown up. Then I realized that part of the building had collapsed on to my pickup and I could see the flames coming out of the building,” Gillum said. “It scared the heck out of my daughters. I quickly unbuckled their seat belts and we ran.”

Gillum and his daughters were not injured by the explosion. He was able to drive his pickup away from the building several days later.

According to Gillum he had just purchased his brand new red F250 Ford pickup from Lubbers about a week before the explosion. The pickup’s tank was full of diesel fuel when the explosion occurred.

Ewy said that authorities believe the explosion was caused by natural gas that had escaped from a gas line located underneath the building.

“There used to be a gasoline station at that location. In 1961 the gas station was taken out but the natural gas line was left buried beneath the building,” Ewy said.

The building was a total loss and has been bulldozed down. McFarland said he did not know yet what dollar figure would be placed on the loss of the building, and is waiting on a report from his insurance adjuster.

“The Cheney community has been very supportive of the pharmacy and we are looking at rebuilding the pharmacy at the same location,” McFarland said. “What we do will depend on what we see in the insurance adjuster’s report.”

McFarland said he is temporarily setting up the Cheney Pharmacy in the former Cheney Clinic building.

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Jaunary 22, 2004

Landmark barn gets a second lease on life

By Paul Rhodes

For many people, the old red barn along MacArthur Road on the east edge of Lake Afton has been a landmark for decades.

And over the past year, many people have watched as the old barn underwent a massive transformation. Now, the renovation work is complete, and the quiet, old barn will become a lively, new center for a variety of public gatherings.

On Feb. 1, The Red Barn will open to the public as a special meeting place for groups wanting an unusual place to gather. The facility offers meeting rooms that can accommodate groups ranging in size from a few people to several dozen, and also will offer barbecue for groups wanting food service.

“Our primary focus at the start will be to meet the needs of various group functions,” said Doris Kelsey, who is the managing partner for the project. The renovation was undertaken by Doris Kelsey and her husband Dick, who owns and operates the adjacent King’s Camp and Achievement Center.

From weddings to seminars and family reunions to business meetings, Kelsey said she and her staff will provide a unique level of service for the Wichita area. Located next to the barn is an old silo that has been converted into a series of climbing walls inside and out, and at the top, adventurous visitors can take a ride on a 480-foot Zip Line.

For groups that want to focus on teamwork, strategies and trust, a Ropes

Challenge Course is available nearby at King’s Camp.

The barn project was suggested by staff members at King’s Camp and Achievement Center, said Dick Kelsey.

“The old barn was just sitting down here, and some of the staff had talked about renovating it as a meeting facility,” he said. The Kelseys met with contractor Dan Thimesch, who determined that the building was still structurally sound and from there they got an architect involved.

“This was a big, complicated project,” said Dick Kelsey. “It would have been easier to build a new facility.”

But Doris Kelsey believes the labor intensive project was worth the effort.She beams with excitement as she shows off the main floor meeting areas and kitchen, which are just the beginning. Upstairs, the old barn has been converted into a large, open meeting room that flows out onto a massive deck overlooking Lake Afton.

In all, The Red Barn features 2,800 square feet of space. The interior of the facility is finished entirely in natural wood.

The old barn anchored an original 160acre homestead that became a summer retreat for Derby Oil founder Al Derby.

The property served as a Church of God Camp for a number of years before Dick Kelsey purchased the facility in 1990 and operated King’s Camp and Retreat Center. Kelsey opened a successful boys home, King’s Achievement Center, on the site in 1998.

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The Year In Review It was announced in July 2013 that Goddard is now the fastest-growing city in the state of Kansas. Census information released that month showed that Goddard had grown by 29.6-percent between April 1 of 2000 and July 1 of 2002. That growth put Goddard’s population at 2,640 as of July 2002.

Cheney High School graduate Matt Voth is gaining experience in rural family practice by working with Dr. Randall Fahrenholtz at the Steckline Medical Clinic in Garden Plain. Voth’s internship started Jan. 5 and will wrap up in four weeks.

Garden Plain Police Chief Robert Sharp made changes to make the police department more community friendly.

The first changes included giving the police cars a new look – black and gold – and new uniforms for the officers. A sign was also hung at the department office letting the public know that the office is open for them.

Jerry Farha, who attended last year’s P.T. Cruiser national convention, said he knew Goddard’s P.T. Cruiser patrol car would catch some real attention for the community. “It’s the only P.T. Cruiser that’s being used as a patrol car in the whole country that we know of,” Farha said. Goddard Police Chief Doyle Dyer attended the national show and won the award for “Best Theme.”

Epic DVD opened for business earlier this week and is planning a grand opening this weekend. The business is owned and operated by partners Layne Schroeder, Rich Simmons, and David Albers.

When Clarence Stuhlsatz, Garden Plain businessman, passed away last month at the age of 82, he left a legacy of hard work and determination that will be remembered for years to come. He was best known as the owner and operator of Stuhlsatz Service which has been a “home away from home” for many members of the Stuhlsatz family.

Tommy Edgmon, Russell Freeman, and Jerry Sullivan won titles in their respective weight classes for Goddard High at the 6A State tournament. The squad placed third altogether.

On Monday evening, Col. David M.

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Neuenswander, Commandant of the Air Ground Operations School at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, returned home to Cheney to deliver the keynote address at that evening’s Community Banquet.

Neuenswander grew up in Cheney and gradated from Cheney High School in 1976.

Cheney Police Officer Lee Nygaard received a special award during last week’s Cheney City Council meeting.

In October of last year, Nygaard provided the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department with information concerning suspected drug activity in the Cheney area. A followup investigation revealed a statewide drug operation, and 26 pounds of marijuana was seized.

Tim Northcutt of Cheney has always wanted to compete in a barbeque cookoff contest, so it seemed like a good idea to suggest the idea to a member of the Sedgwick County Fair board. After deciding to use the idea, the board told him that he would be running the competition.

Lindsey Morgan of Goddard High has been awarded Southwestern College’s prestigious Beech Scholarship. The scholarship, worth $40,000 if renewed for four years, is awarded to a student who has achieved personal and academic excellence in high school by attaining a minimum 3.75 GPA, and who will pursue a degree in any professional or liberal arts field.

Cheney Middle School Principal Jim Krohn received 36 cream pies in the face Monday, his reward for students scoring well on state assessments. Every student who scored in the “exemplary” category was given a cream pie to throw in Krohn’s face.

After more than three decades together in their own heating and air conditioning business, Jim and Jerry Becker have seen it all. But along the way, one thing has stayed the same for the Becker brothers – their dedication to customer service.

The Chisholm Ridge Addition is going in just north of the recreation complex on the east edge of Clearwater. Just to the east and south, the new Clearwater High School is under construction.

The bleachers at the Sedgwick County Fairgrounds were increased in capacity from 2,200 to 3,500. The extra seating came from WSU’s baseball field, and the New Orleans World’s Fair prior to WSU where they were used at the dolphin exhibit.

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May 13, 2004

Work starts on a new brew pub

By Paul Rhodes

Hank Sanford wants to hurry up and retire so he can come to work in Cheney.

Sanford and his wife Jane are the new owners of the landmark building at 211 and 213 N. Main in downtown Cheney. The building housed Stitch of Mine and the Champs Sports Bar and Grill.

Sanford plans to retire in about a year, and in the meantime is working to renovate the building. He wants to open the brew pub in

the north half of the building later this year.

“I love to brew beer,” said Sanford. “It will be a small-scale operation, offering food and homemade beer.”

Sanford has been involved in sales management in Wichita. His son Steve has been actively involved with the renovation work at the building. The Sanfords are hoping to open some kind of retail operation in the south half of the building.

Hank Sanford, left and his son, Steve, work on the awning at the building in downtown Cheney recently purchased to house a microbrewery and pub.

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March 25, 2004

Diocese says ‘yes’ – School will be in session at St. Joe Ost

By Paul Rhodes

The elementary school at St. Joe-Ost has been granted permission by the Diocese of Wichita to reopen this fall as a Catholic school.

Bob Voboril, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Wichita Diocese, said permission for the new Catholic school was granted last Thursday by the College of Consultors, which is helping with decisions in the diocese until a new bishop is named.

“It was a unanimous show of support to reopen the school at St. Joe as a Catholic school, said Voboril. He said St. Joe will be the 38th Catholic school in the diocese.

When the Renwick Board of Education voted earlier this year to close St. Joe as a cost cutting measure, school patrons moved quickly to see if the facility could revert back to being a Catholic school, which it was prior to becoming a part of the Renwick District.

As a part of the closure vote, Renwick officials agreed to return the facility to the St. Joe parish. The district will formally turn the facility over to the parish at the end of the current school term.

“Renwick is an excellent district and we want to work closely with officials there,” said Voboril. “I think they are doing the best they can with the current budget constraints.”

Voboril said he is excited to see the St. Joe facility again utilized as a Catholic school. He said there has been “tremendous support” from St. Joe patrons and other parents in the area.

In recent years, St. Joe operated as a charter elementary school within the Renwick District. There had been concerns about its closure for several years.

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TWO LOCATIONS 107 N. Main Cheney, KS 67025 316-540-3171

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Friday 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.

Dr. Steven Twietmeyer Office Hours: Thursday 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

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2004

The Year In Review Later this year, Dorothy Holm will celebrate her 99th birthday and she hopes to reach the 100 milestone, but for right now, the Goddard Medicalodges resident is plenty happy with last week’s new benchmark, her 75th year of continuous membership with the Order of the Eastern Star. Most of her membership was spent in affiliation with Eastern Star chapters based in Cheney and Clearwater.

The Cheney Golden Age Home has launched an expansion project. The main focus of the $1 million project at the care home is a large, new dining room. The room will also double as a tornado shelter at ground level. A second phase of the project will be a complete renovation of the Golden Age Home’s kitchen.

Gary Richardson closed the service station that his father opened in 1944. Three generations of Richardsons worked at Richardson’s One Stop Service Station including Gary’s son Troy. Gary took a job working for the Goddard School District in the maintenance department.

A small group of students at Clearwater High School built a car this year. And not just any

car. This car was built from the ground up by five students in the school’s advanced construction class and it runs on electricity.

The Garden Plain girls track team won the 3A State track title for the first time in school history a year after winning the 2A track title. The back-to-back State wins sent longtime coach Bill Brown off with four State titles. Brown was the track coach for 23 years. Since 1990, every girls record was broken including eight in the 2004 season.

Pilots Patricia Minard of Cheney and Karen Monteith of Wichita will be flying in the 28th Annual Air Race Classic, an all-women transcontinental air race, June 23-26. The women will be flying a Cessna 182 to see which of the 33 entrants can make the best time.

The new Clearwater high school neared its anticipated December completion date. Its cost of $14 million included a large central walkway with high ceilings.

Dan Masterson and his wife Shari have started their own catering business out of a Winnebago in their backyard south of Garden Plain. They named the company Chicken Danny’s and opened for business in January.

Last week, more than a dozen Clearwater cross-country runners ran 249 miles from the Oklahoma border to the Nebraska border.

Congratulations Times-Sentinel on 20 years of coverage!

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501 Easy strEEt Goddard, Ks 316-794-8635

1993-2012

Brad Ewy has volunteered for the Cheney Fire Department for 25 years as firefighter and Fire Chief. He became Fire Chief in 1991 and was recognized for his service at the City Council meeting.

Sheplers Western War paid a visit to Souders Museum for a photo shoot. The photos were taken for the fall catalog, one of several seasonal catalogs Sheplers puts out.

The Cheney Methodist Church youth group, Heartburn, traveled to Quito, Ecuador on a mission trip spreading the gospel to people there through drama representations and work projects. The trip was led by youth director, Michelle Fitzgerald and spanned the course of two weeks.

The owner of Eastside Marina near Cheney Reservoir said Tuesday he hopes to rebuild his business following a devastating fire last week. Ron Losie said he did not have any insurance on the property.

The Goddard School District is selling blankets and other items to raise funds for defibrillators for its schools. The district would like to equip all eight of its schools with the devices.

In the two decades since Noel Freidline graduated from Clearwater High School and started training as a jazz pianist, he has played concerts and club gigs all across the United States and Europe. Last Tuesday, he

Page 39 had the chance to perform for a packed house at the Clearwater Middle School auditorium.

Mallory Champa, a senior at Clearwater High School, is the AAU National Cross Country Champion in the Young Womens Division. Champa won her title at the AAU National Cross Country meet in Kingsport, Tenn. on Dec. 4.

When Cecil Dymond was named recently as the Youth Hornet Division Champion at Wichita’s 81 Speedway, several members of his family were on hand for the celebration. They were there to help 14-year-old Cecil celebrate his racing success, and to soak up some of the racing excitement that has become a tradition for the Dymond family.

Mallory Jennings won a $48,000 Harry Gore Memorial Scholarship to attend WSU. She wanted to become an astronaut or work in some capacity at NASA. Jennings planned to study aerospace engineering.

A poem about her son has given Garden Plain resident Roxanne Jackson new hope and a new writing career. Following her son’s death two years ago, Jackson sat down and penned the poem “My Son.” She placed the poem online at Poetry.com and soon after that she was contacted by Noble House Publishing Company wanting to publish the poem.

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2005

The Year In Review A crippling ice storm blew across Kansas during the first week of the year. It left power out for a week in some homes; SKEC had 2,700 customers without power at one point. Students at local schools went home early on Tuesday the week of the storm and were off the remainder of the week.

Garden Plain boys basketball coach Jerry Gerber reached win No. 600. The milestone came with a 68-42 win over Wichita Independent. Gerber became the fourth coach in Kansas history to reach the 600-win mark. At the time, Gerber had three state titles under his belt for Garden Plain.

A proposed exhibit hall would take over the space occupied by three separate exhibit buildings. The project was part of the year’s centennial celebration.

Dr. Debbie Bassham took over the Steckline Family Practice Center.

A graduate of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, Bassham was excited to work at a practice with a small town atmosphere.

Two years after a natural gas explosion destroyed its building on Main Street, Cheney Pharmacy prepared to move into its new home. Cheney Pharmacy operated in a temporary facility since the explosion.

Goddard Auto Repair celebrated its 20year anniversary by arranging a pit stop featuring Bill Elliott’s No. 91 show car.

Roger Whitworth transported the car who takes the show car around the country.

Josh Scheer finished fifth in javelin for the Wildcats at the NCAA Midwest Regional track and field meet with a toss of 20107. It was the third time the Garden Plain native tossed for more than 200-feet. He goes on to compete as the 22nd seed in a field of 26 at the NCAA Championship in Sacramento, Calif.

Trevor Frank has been working to raise funds for a new pool for nearly four years, starting shortly after voters in June 2001 voted down a proposed bond that would have built a new pool and park on the south end of the city. Frank has been collecting aluminum cans to raise money.

“Currently we’ve raised about $7,000,”

Frank said in an interview at Swimming Pool Park.

Cherry Oaks golf course in Cheney expanded to 18 holes. The long awaited back nine opened shortly before the annual Lubbers Tournament. The expansion allowed Cherry Oaks to host larger tournaments.

The brothers Mark and Mike Olderbak purchased seven Sav-A-Trip locations in Kansas and reopened them under the name Kabredlo’s – their last name spelled backwards.

Robert Mies of Cheney High School met President Bush while in Washington, D.C. visiting his sister. She and her husband worked for Senator Ted Stevens (R – Alaska) and were invited to a Congressional picnic at the White House.

While there, Mies had his invitation signed and a photo taken with President Bush.

Marty Seiwert of Seiwert Services spends another day of “retirement” digging a basement for a new home. The familyowned company is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and Mike Seiwert plans to scale back his work schedule in the near future.

This summer, Jenna Scheer and Amy Casner earned the chance to go to New York City to participate in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. The girls earned the trip during a summer camp in Cheney, when they tried out for UCA’s All-Star team.

Several members of the Clearwater Wellness Center climbed their first 14,000-foot peak in Colorado. The climbers trained for several months using their body fat percentages and other measurements as indicators of their performances.

The community of Goddard paid tribute to its police chief in a big way. Police Chief Doyle Dyer was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. He spent nearly 40 years as a police officer in Wichita and Goddard.

Over the Labor Day weekend, Kevin Wasson finally got a chance to inspect damage at his hurricane-ravaged home in Bay Saint Louis, Miss. Wasson surveyed the damage from a computer in Goddard.

He and his family ended up here in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Wasson, his wife Lisa, and daughter Samantha are all temporarily staying with his mother, Karen Wasson of Goddard.

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March 24, 2005

Stepanek touched a generation

By Travis Mounts When Gerald “Jerry” Stepanek died earlier this month, a piece of Sedgwick County history went with him.

Stepanek, who died Monday, March 7, was owner of Stepanek Market, a grocery store and long-time fixture of Garden Plain’s business community. He was a former city council member and served on the city’s planning commission until his death at age 87.

But for many people in Sedgwick County and across the country, he will be remembered for his sausage.

The Stepanek business dates back to 1911 when Jerry’s father, Alois “Butch” Stepanek, purchased from his brotherin-law a meat market in Garden Plain. In 1926, he purchased fixtures from a man in Conway Springs, and in 1927, purchased the grocery store from Clarence and Ora Brown. The businesses were located next to each other, the grocery store on the north and the meat market on the south.

Jerry grew up in the business.

“We kids worked in it when we could barely see over the counter,” said his sister, Aquina Thimesch. She worked at the store until 1938, before going to work at the post office. She was Garden Plain’s postmaster for 34 years.

Betty Stepanek, Jerry’s widow, also worked at the store some.

He always said he didn’t want me to work there,” she said, especially after they were married. They were wed in 1946, Jerry bought the stock and fixtures from his father in 1957, and in 1961 he bought the building.

In 1964, a new building was constructed – and still stands – on the same site, at the corner of Main Street and Avenue C. The old grocery store building was donated to the Old Cowtown Museum, where it serves as the general store.

But it was the sausage that left people talking.

Jerry learned the family recipe from his father.

“His dad made it by throwing this in, and that in,” said Betty Stepanek. She said that Jerry perfected the recipe and recorded the amounts of the various ingredients.

Stepanek sold the store in 1982, and through four subsequent owners he

continued to make the sausage. He never gave up the recipe, however.

After the store closed, he continued to make sausage yearly at Christmas time until just a few years ago.

“He finally quit because the last year we made three tons. It was just too much,” Betty said. “There were just four to six old people making it.

Even after that, Jerry continued to make and sell the spices so that other people could make their own sausage.

The spices were shipped to all corners of the United States. An order for 100 pounds of spices came in the day of Jerry’s funeral.

Betty Stepanek has no plans to make the spice herself.

“It’s really quite simple, but I’m not going to make it,” she said.

While the spices are no longer available to the public, the recipe is not lost. Jerry taught a cousin the recipe, and family members use the recipe for themselves.

Jerry Stepanek left his mark on Garden Plain in many other ways.

Along with Clarence Stuhlsatz, he helped organize the local VFW chapter in 1947.

In addition to serving on Garden Plain’s city council and planning commission, Jerry was a member of the Knights of Columbus and the St. Anthony’s Men’s Society.

“They called him the historian in town,” Betty Stepanek said about Jerry’s work on the planning commission. He stayed busy at church, even helping at a funeral just weeks before his own.

Each Halloween, he would give out whole candy bars – the regular size, not the miniatures.

She said that she has received many cards and letters about Jerry’s Halloween generosity.

Betty Stepanek and Thimesch estimated they would get 250 visitors on Halloween night.

“This street (Biermann) and the one west of here (Doyle Street) really got hit,” Thimesch said.

“He enjoyed Halloween more than Christmas, Betty added.

Perhaps most importantly, Jerry had a love for people, Betty said. “He just loved people. He did," she said.

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June 16, 2005

Norma Souders spent her life documenting history

By Paul Rhodes

Norma Souders had a couple of systems for documenting the history of the Cheney community and surrounding area.

One system involved an incredible collection of newspaper files, photographs and hand-typed files that Souders compiled over a 60-year period.

The other system involved an incredible collection of information Souders kept stored inside her head.

Souders began her love affair with history when she and her husband Floyd became the owners of the local newspaper, The Cheney Sentinel, in 1941, and hardly missed a step even after their retirement from the newspaper business in 1971. In the eyes of many people, Norma Souders was the “town historian.”

On Tuesday, June 7, the town historian and newspaper matriarch died at the age of 95. She had been living at Cheney Golden Age Home for the past four years, but had remained active in her pursuit of local history right up until her death.

“She kept a detailed diary, almost

right up until the end,” said Scharon Merriman, a niece of Souders. “And within the last few months or so, she had been working on writing her own history.

Merriman was close to her Aunt Norma, who did not have many other relatives. Souders had only one close survivor, her sister-in-law Iva Lou Baker, Merriman’s mother.

Baker and her family were close with her brother Floyd and his wife Norma.

They visited regularly, and Baker on many occasions worked part-time at the newspaper office. She continues to write a Church News column for The TimesSentinel, and her most recent column appears on Page 6 of this week’s paper.

Because of the close relationship, Merriman has many fond memories of her Aunt Norma, and credits her with helping to inspire a career in home economics.

Souders’ involvement in the fair was yet another reflection of her relationship with her husband Floyd. Iva Lou Baker said the two were a couple in every sense of the word.

Baker said the Souders Farm Museum,

Times-senTinel newspapers

which includes a complete turn-of-thecentury Main Street and buildings filled with authentic furnishings, is a shining example of that partnership.

“Floyd always wanted to be out in the country, working on the farm and working on the museum,” said Baker.

“He was able to get away and do things at the farm – and Norma played an awfully big part in that. They were very regimented in their lives, but they cared for each other very much. They were a couple to the end.”

Floyd was born on a farm near Cheney, attended local schools and earned a degree from Friends University. He came home to teach at Cheney High School, and served as superintendent for several years.

Norma was born at Belmont and lived in several communities before coming to Cheney in 1919. She got her teaching certificate from Southwestern College, and she and Floyd were married in 1931.

She also taught school for a short time.

Floyd had relatives who were newspaper publishers, and in March of 1941 he and Norma became the owners

and publishers of The Cheney Sentinel.

They continued to own and operate the newspaper until August of 1971, when the paper was sold to Thomas Moore.

Over the years, Floyd and Norma built a house just across the alley from their newspaper office, making it convenient for the busy publishers. They never had children of their own, but often hired local students to work at the newspaper office.

Local student Allen Woolf worked as a printer’s helper for Floyd, and went on to own and operate his own printing business in Wichita, Total Printing Solutions. While Floyd took care of the printing end of the newspaper business and photography, Norma handled the reporting, typesetting and front-office work. They used that team approach to publish two history books during their career – “History of the United Methodist Church of Cheney” and “History of Friends University.”

“She did the writing and he took the pictures,” said Baker. Later in her life, Continued on Page 42

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named after his brother. The book tells the story of his survival from the Jewish ghetto through numerous concentration camps.

Navy Seaman Richard O’Dell from Goddard went to Djibouti as a group of about 12 servicemen. They vaccinated 100 children for polio due to outbreaks in neighboring countries. O’Dell had a specialty in dental care.

Five volunteers at the Cheney Senior Center were recognized last week for their many years of delivering Meals on Wheels to the Cheney community. Margaret Guetschow was recognized for 20 years of service. Nete Gordon has volunteered for 15 years. Mary K. Rausch and Margaret Mackey have been volunteers for 10 years each, and Dorothy Morrison has helped for eight years.

The Year In Review

Garden Plain snapped Conway Springs’ 62-game winning streak in football. The Cardinals had a 9-year win streak over the Owls. Garden Plain decisively won 35-7.

Kat Rush got an early housewarming gift in October, even though her new home is still under construction east of Cheney. Neighbor Steve Krenzel was digging a pond at the home site when he struck something hard. She called city archaeologist Marcia Meier at WSU, who confirmed it was the femur of a wooly mammoth, a bone that runs from the top of the ankle upward.

David Faber, a Polish Jew who survived the Nazi Holocaust during World War II, will visit schools in the Renwick and Cheney school districts. Faber witnessed the murder of his parents, five of his six sisters, and watched his only brother tortured and murdered by the Gestapo. He has also authored a book, “Because of Romek,”

A fire tore through the basement of First Christian Church of Clearwater early Thursday morning, Dec. 8. The fire gutted the basement of the church at 524 Wood Street and caused an estimated $500,000 in damage. But the blaze easily could have destroyed the church if it had not been for the quick actions of a local resident and members of the Clearwater Fire Department.

It is a pretty rare sight to see a married couple drag racing each other, but for Eric and Kayti Gray it is a regular occurrence.

The Cheney couple has been involved in drag racing for a long time – Kayti for 15 years, Eric for 13 years.

Cheney Voters on Tuesday approved a ballot measure allowing liquor sales on Sundays and the Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day holidays.

Looking for a church home?

We invite you to worship with us.

Cheney United Methodist Church It’s not too late to join us for “The Story,” 31 amazing weeks of the Bible Pastor Doug Hasty Youth Director Wade Williams 406 W. Third, Cheney 316-542-3511

1993-2012

Continued from Page 41 Norma earned a degree from Friends University, and Baker said Souders was proud of the accomplishment, and used it as a tool to encourage other women to get their college degrees.

Over the years, Floyd poured his heart and soul into the Sedgwick County Fair, which he helped make a permanent fixture in Cheney. And each year at fair time, Norma not only prepared numerous entries for the open class competition, she also ran the fair office.

Norma Souders was an avid gardener and talented cook, and so the connection she had with the fair through Floyd was another natural partnership.

With Norma staffing the front office of the newspaper, Floyd also was able to continue his farming, and in later years, started expanding beyond the cabin and lake he had built just southwest of Cheney. Floyd loved to collect antiques, and eventually filled an entire Main Street of buildings with authentic furnishings.

“Floyd never really had a grand plan for the museum,” said Ray Kraus, who was involved with Koenigs Construction, which helped build

2005

portions of the museum project. Later on, Kraus went to work for Floyd and Norma Souders as a caretaker at the museum and a handyman around the Souders home.

“We all knew Floyd was collecting a lot of things,” Kraus said with a laugh.

“He just started putting up buildings to house things, and the museum grew from there.”

Today the museum includes a school and two depots that were moved to the property, and other buildings that were constructed on site to house a church, general store, print shop, lawyer’s office and other spaces.

Kraus is on the board of directors for the museum, and said plans are in place to keep the museum operational. More will be known when the Souders’ estate is settled.

“Ray has been a faithful friend and servant,” said Baker. “He was like a son to Floyd and Norma.”

Kraus and others also will be sifting through reams of information compiled by Norma Souders, almost all of which pertains to the history of Cheney.

“She helped a lot of families with their histories,” said Baker. “A lot of genealogy work was done through Norma’s files.”

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November 6, 2006

Empty freezer lands Cheney teen on the ‘Rachel Ray’ show

By Travis Mounts

A local teenager was just trying to be helpful when he took a TV host’s advice to clean out the freezer, but his actions landed him in hot water with his mother – and earned him a spot on a nationally syndicated show.

Will Gann, 13, an eighth grader at Cheney Middle School, is a big fan of the Rachael Ray Show, a new daily syndicated show featuring the cook and TV host, who also has a magazine and appears on the Food Network. Gann was watching the show one night when Ray was addressing food safety. She advised viewers to throw out food they did not recognize.

Gann heeded the advice early in October. He went to the freezer and opened it up and – not recognizing anything in there – threw all the food away.

“He cleaned out the freezer,” said Gann’s mother, Teresa “Cricket” Banzet.

“He said, ‘Hey, Mom, look what I did.’

“My jaw just dropped. I was shocked.

I asked, ‘Where is my food?’ He was so proud he was helping out and when I said, ‘No!’ he was like ‘I’m dead.’”

Gann had thrown away more than $100 worth of food. That’s a large amount for anyone, but it is especially tough on a single mom working hard to raise a hungry teenage boy. Gann’s over exuberance got him grounded for two weeks.

As the shock wore off, Banzet was able to share the story. A friend of hers, Sharon Rush, of Wichita, decided to share the story with Rachael Ray after watching the show one night. She contacted the show through its website. One part of the site asked, “Are you in the dog house?”

Rush wrote, “I’m not, but my friend’s son is and it’s all Rachael’s fault.”

The next day, producers from the show began their efforts to contact Banzet, and on Oct. 17 a crew visited Gann at their Cheney home to tape a reenactment of the episode. The next day, Gann and Banzet were flown to New York City for

an Oct. 19 appearance on the show. The show paid for their travel and hotel.

The episode aired on Halloween.

Gann got to sit at the famous kitchen table where Ray interviews celebrities and other guests. Banzet sat in the front row and also appeared in the segment.

“You put me in the dog house. It’s your fault,” Gann told the TV host. “I was thinking, “We have an overstuffed freezer. I’m going to clean it.’”

Ray played up the episode.

“Once again my big mouth got me in trouble because one youngster took me very seriously,” she said. “I really didn’t know how to fix this.”

Ray found a way, though. On the show, she presented Gann a $500 gift certificate from Omaha Steaks and another $500 gift certificate from Dillon's grocery stores.

“She really overcompensated for what we lost,” Banzet said.

Gann, an honor roll student, watches the show every day. He continued to watch, even after Ray’s advice got him in trouble.

“I like the whole show; but the cooking part is one of my favorites. I like to cook,” he said.

He enjoys making chicken and turkey dinners, as well as making up his own creations.

“He’s helped cook since he could see over the stove,” Banzet said.

Mother and son got to spend two nights and a day in New York. There was not much time for sightseeing, although they did squeeze in trips to Central Park and Times Square. They were at the studio for about four hours. The show was producing three different episodes that day.

Banzet said the staff loved Gann. He got to tour the backstage area and around the studio. Banzet did not seem worried about her son taking advice from Ray in the future.

“William said he wouldn’t do that again. He’s a good boy and he meant well. It just kind of backfired,” she said.

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The Year In Review Plans were unveiled for a senior center in Clearwater to be built along Fourth Street, next to the Village. The senior center is being built as part of a larger senior housing project. At just more than 3,000 square feet, it will serve as a regular facility for the community’s senior citizens group, and a community meeting site for other activities.

Moving day for the Goddard Public Library has been set. At the first city council meeting of the new year, plans to move the city library into the current City Hall building were firmed up by the library staff and city officials. Plans call for city offices to move into the former Prairie State Bank building downtown, which the city recently acquired.

The Clearwater School Board has selected Michael Roth for the post of superintendent of USD 264. Roth was one of four candidates interviewed for the job.

He comes from the USD 216 in Deerfield, where he served first as 6-12 principal and then as superintendent.

Cheney Elementary School has one of the best first-year teachers in the state... officially. Kindergarten teacher Livia Custer is one of 30 teachers to be named a Kansas Horizon Award winner by the Kansas State Department of Education.

She received the news that she won on her birthday.

The Goddard Board of Education chose Explorer Elementary for the new new K-4 school that will open in August 2006. A committee narrowed a list of 25 names down to two, Explorer and Trailblazer.

Cecil Brown sold the Gambles Laundromat business and building, ending a long stretch as a business owner on Main Street in Cheney. In 1954, Brown opened a local branch of the Gambles chain, selling furniture, carpeting and floor covering, wood-burning stoves and appliances. He was part of the group that bought the Laundromat in 1980. Gambles was sold in 1984 and closed in 1986.

Brown bought the Gambles building back in an auction, and operated is lawnmower and appliance business there until 1991.

A remodeling project at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Garden Plain has been completed. The front steps were torn out

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and a new design replaced them. The entrance features new lighting. Heating tubes inside the concrete will help get rid of snow and ice.

Longtime Cheney Lake supporter Bob Winkler died following a long illness. He was 76. He was a driving force behind the Cheney Lake Association, which was founded in 1990 after a storm with winds stronger than 100 m.p.h. caused extensive damage to the marina and shoreline. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks did not have the money for repairs and upgrades. A group of park users including Winkler began lobbying on behalf of the lake, and soon secured $100,000 in federal funds.

Garden Plain High School senior Justin Kerschen has been awarded the John Henry Cardinal Newman Scholarship, the most prestigious scholarship awarded by Newman University. It is worth more than $79,000 at current tuition rates.

The Goddard wrestling team is once again the best in its class. The Lions won the State title at the 6A State wrestling tournament held at the Kansas Coliseum.

Curtis Chenoweth won the the NAIA national wrestling title at 174 pounds for Newman University. He is a graduate of Clearwater High School.

Garden Plain girls basketball coach John Darrow faced off against his son, John Darrow, Jr., in the 2A State basketball tournament. The younger son coaches the Minneapolis High school team.

Garden Plain won to place third in the tournament.

Goddard School District bus driver Bob Wegerer, 58, died of an apparent heart attack while on his morning route around 7 a.m. April 3. The bus was in motion on 47th Street South with eight students on board.

The bus went through a shallow ditch and into a wheat field. One of the students on board stopped the bus. No students on board were hurt. Wegerer was pronounced dead at a Wichita hospital.

The Goddard Lions Club commemorated its 50th anniversary with a public celebration featuring free food and a street dance.

Garden Plain resident Bob Davis helped his sister, Kathy Sidman, in her fight against leukemia by donating stem cells to her. The procedure was performed at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison.

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The Year In Review Just weeks after the Garden Plain City Council stepped back from plans for a new building for the library and police department because of higherthan-expected costs, a new option has presented itself. The Horizon Foundation has offered the Steckline Family Practice building to the city to use as a new home for the Garden Plain Community Library. The library is losing its old home in the Becker Bros. building as the company expands.

The city has been looking at plans for a new police building and expanded meeting area for the city council and municipal court.

Stephanie Mountain, a 2000 Garden Plain High School graduate, is suiting up for the Kansas City Storm, a member of the Independent Women’s Football League.

KAPS Convenience Store, a locally-owned business, opened its doors in May. Owner Kevin O’Brien has several other stores in central Kansas, primarily in and around McPherson.

The Wish List Place, a new gift store in downtown Cheney, opened at 115 N. Main. The building previously housed an insurance company.

When Garden Plain Mayor Tony Flax has a task for his new city clerk, Ronda Mollenkamp, he might also receive some advice. In addition to her duties with the city of Garden Plain, Mollenkamp is the mayor of Viola. She joined the staff on a part-time basis in April, and was named the full-time city clerk in June.

Goddard High School seniors C.J. Longabaugh and Bob Linebarger competed this summer at the Catholic Forensics League tournament in Chicago and the National Forensics League tournament in Dallas. Longabaugh placed eighth in Dallas in poetry interpretation.

Jim Emrick, a well-known area writer and sports reporter, died unexpectedly. Emrick, 57, has been an editor, writer and sports reporter for The TimesSentinel for the past 6-1/2 years. At the time of his death, he also was working as a reporter for the Derby Informer and was a bus driver for Goddard USD 265. It was believed he died of a heart attack.

Several construction projects were nearing completion as the 2006-07 school year approached. The projects included an addition to the Goddard School District office, new tennis courts at Eisenhower Middle School (now Goddard Middle School), and a new gymnasium floor at Goddard Middle School.

Walt’s Carry-Out in Goddard has apparently flipped its last burger. The restaurant, which has been located at U.S. Highway 54 and Goddard Road for more than a quarter century, is no longer open for business. The building and land have apparently been sold in a bankruptcy aution, bringing an end to a long chapter in Goddard’s history. While Walt’s restaurants can be found throughout the area, including in Clearwater, they are owned by a number of different individuals.

The Cheney High School National Art Honor Society was named the winner of the high school division at this year’s Plane Crazy, a fundraising event and competition sponsored by the Arts Council in Wichita. CHS students won with their entry, “Time Flies When You’re Having Fun,” which featured a mosaic on a 12-inch airplane. It was decorated with watches, beads and other items.

The Times-Sentinel debuted a new look with the Sept. 14 issue, switching from a tabloid format to what is known in the industry as a broadsheet, the more traditional format for newspapers. Each issue now features color.

The Goddard Public Library moved into its new home in the former Prairie State Bank building at 201 N. Main With the move will come new hours.

The move was necessitated after the city sold its former library building to the Goddard School District. Original plans called for city offices to move into the bank building and for the library to take the former city building space.

Jared Erwin, a 2002 graduate of Goddard High School, has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student scholarship to Germany. He is living in Berlin and teaching English as a second language at a German high school. He graduated in May from Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo. Garden Plain barber Phil Becker re-opened his store. For more than 48 years, Becker has cut hair for residents of Garden Plain and surrounding communities. Health problems forced him to close his shop in September 2005. He overcame the amputation of both legs to open his shop up again. In 1999, he closed for several weeks while recovering after a heart transplant.

One of the longest-running business traditions in Clearwater came to a quiet and unceremonious end on Oct. 31. The last tank of gas was pumped at Gary’s Automotive, 100 W. Ross. Fuel has been sold at the station for more than 80 years, but stiffer federal regulations priced owners Gary and Donna Whitney out of the fuel-selling business. They will continue to operate the service station for repairs, helped by their son, Justin.

The Garden Plain football team earned a spot in the Class 3A State championship game with a win over Hillsboro. Their Renwick School District cousins, the Andale Indians, earned a spot in the 4A title game.

As far as anyone can tell, it is the first time in state history that one school district had two teams vying for State football titles at the same time. The Owls lost the title game to perennial State-championship contender Silver Lake.

Newman University recently announced that Jenna McCully of Clearwater has been awarded the Cardinal John Henry Newman scholarship. This is one of the most prestigious given and is only awarded to students who have scored at least a 30 on the ACT and have a 4.0 GPA. She plans to major in nursing.

Clearwater’s Cara Gorges was crowned Miss Kansas USA at the pageant in Lawrence. The 2005 Clearwater High School graduate was attending the University of Kansas last year when a friend convinced her to give pageants a try.

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February 16, 2006

Wildlife park set to open to the public

By Paul Rhodes

Tanganyika Wildlife Park, which for years has operated privately as a holding and breeding facility for exotic animals and a destination spot for tour groups, is gearing up to go public.

The wildlife park, located on the north edge of Goddard just off of 183rd Street, has presented a Planned Unit Development proposal to city officials, who so far have been supportive of the proposal to expand the wildlife park and be open to the public on a seasonal basis. Owner Jim Fouts told members of the Goddard City Council last week that he’s excited to be moving ahead with the project.

“After all the years of talking about this, it’s going to happen,” Fouts said. Tanganyika will be adding a new visitors center to accommodate larger events, and additional venues for animal exhibits,” such as a lemur island, where visitors will be able to cross over to the island and feed the lemurs in a natural setting.

“We’ll be different from the zoo because we’ll be very interactive,” said Fouts. Helping head the expansion effort will be Fouts’ son Matt, who recently completed his master’s degree, and his wife Sherri, who has been actively involved with the wildlife park since its founding in the mid-1980s.

“Sherri hand-raises the babies that come through here,” Fouts said.

Tanganyika is known around the globe for its breeding programs and involvement with zoos. Now, Fouts wants to expand the wildlife park into animal conservation work, which will be expensive.

“We can’t raise the money we need with just tour groups,” said Fouts. “Our goal is to bring 150,000 people a year through here, and the only way to do that is to open the doors.”

Also last week, Fouts received unanimous approval of the project from the Goddard Planning Commission. The plans will now go through a site plan committee, and back to the city council for final approval.

“The second they’re done, we’re going to start moving dirt,” said Fouts. He hopes to have the major construction work completed in time to open the facility to the public in August of this year.

Tanganyika Wildlife Park currently has a number of animals including giraffes, zebras, gazelles, white tigers, snow leopards, spotted leopards, kangaroos and monkeys.

“We want to add cheetahs, and we also want to create some interactive exhibits,” said Fouts. “There’s really nothing better as a learning experience.”

The gateway to the public facility will be the visitors center, which will then lead to a number of walk-through and interactive exhibits.

Tanganyika Wildlife Park owner Jim Fouts feeds a lemur at the park in Goddard.

The Jewel of Western Sedgwick County

Garden Plain

City backs housing incentives The city of Garden Plain has made a major commitment to encourage new home construction and home purchases in the community.

The city has adopted a package of utility credits for both new and existing homes. The credits are as follows: New and spec homes: • $3,000 utility credit for home values between $100,000 and $149,999.

• $4,500 for homes between $150,000 and $199,999.

• $6,000 for homes valued at $200,000 or more.

Existing homes: • $1,500 utility credit for home values between $50,000 and $99,999.

• $2,500 for homes between $100,000 and $149,999.

• $3,500 for homes valued at $150,000 or more.

For more information on the city of Garden Plain’s utility incentive program, contact City Hall.

CITY HALL 505 N. Main 316-531-2321

Visit us online

www.gardenplain.com

Thanks for 20 years of coverage and helping us to shine!

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2007

The Year In Review In 1984, Pete Compton gave the community of Cheney something it hadn’t possessed in nearly 40 years – a local liquor store. And now, after 22 years of ownership, he will be selling Compton’s Retail Liquor store. According to Compton, his store has been the only one in Cheney since its opening and was the first liquor store in town since the 1940s.

The Garden Plain Community Library opened in its new home, the former Steckline Medical Clinic building. The library was closed between Christmas and New Year’s Day to make the move.

A remodeling of the building was completed before that.

Cheney USD 268 superintendent Brad Neuenswander submitted his resignation to the Board of Education. He is leaving his hometown school to become the director of school finance for the Kansas State Department of Education. His last day will be June 30. He has been superintendent since 2001.

Goddard postmaster Monte Barnickle retired after 21 years with the Goddard Post Office. He said he plans to stay in the community, and has accepted a part-time position as Goddard’s new zoning administrator. He also plans to do volunteer work.

of Volunteer Excellence on Feb. 10. The award is given to an Arthritis Foundation Kansas Chapter volunteer in appreciation of dedication to service. Bryce was the top fundraiser of the 2006 Wichita Arthritis Walk. The teams he recruited raised nearly $4,500.

The city of Garden Plain took full occupancy of its new building on March 27. The April meeting was held in the new facility, which also will host municipal court each month.

For many marathon runners the goal is just to finish the race. When Cheney’s Rick Wulf began running marathons about two years ago, he set another goal for himself: competing in the Boston Marathon. He’ll get that chance after qualifying with a time of 3 hours 15 minutes last April in Oklahoma City, beating the maximum time by five minutes. He is one of 22,500 runners accepted into the field.

Gene and Mary Lentz have left for a road trip to Alaska in their Model A. They will travel with another couple driving another Model A. They will cover about 4,000 miles in 20 days on their way to Anchorage. At 45 miles per hour, they’ll average only about 200 miles per day.

Crews began tearing down the former Cheney Burger building. It was known as Bob and Ella’s for years. The building sold at auction last year, and a Subway restaurant will open in its place.

Six Goddard High School musicians banded together to perform during the Wichita Blues Society’s Blues Ball 2007 at The Cotillion in Wichita. The band members are Jonathan Dimick, Justin Murray, Scott Taylor, Jorden Friedel, Michael Ternes and Micah Waters.

The Clearwater Public Library celebrated its 80th birthday with a reception and refreshments. Volunteers ran the library until the first librarian was hired in 1929.

The Great Depression forced the library to rely on volunteers and city clerks for years.

More than seven inches of snow fell over the final weekend of January. The snow came on the heels of a fairly serious ice storm the previous weekend.

A Clearwater teenager escaped serious injury when the pickup he was driving was washed away by the Ninnescah River at a flooded low spot. Heavy rains flooded several areas around both Clearwater and Cheney.

Garden Plain sophomore Molly Day had her artwork selected for the 2007 Kansas Don’t Spoil It calendar. Each year, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Bureau of Waste Management choose one winner for each grade, kindergarten through 12th grade, to be included in the annual calendar.

Bryce Moore, 12, son of Melissa and Walt Moore of Goddard, became the youngest recipient of the Chris Blackwell Award

Two local volunteers were in Greensburg within hours after a devastating tornado wiped out that community. Goddard’s Montey Barnickle and Sandi Stelz are both members of Sedgwick County’s Community Response Team (CERT).

CERT groups are a part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and are activated as needed to respond to local disasters.

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April 19, 2007

Growth and an eye on the future mark 75 years for Farmers Coop

By Travis Mounts

When the members of the Farmers Coop Elevator gathered for their annual meeting in January, it marked 75 years of business for the Garden Plain-based cooperative.

Since that time, “the co-op” as it is affectionately known, has grown, expanded, and merged to grow to what it is today.

Farmers Coop incorporated on April 22, 1931, in the midst of the Great Depression.

Farmers saw a need to band together to get better prices for the crops they grew, as well as to get fair prices for the products that were vital for their livelihood.

More co-ops began springing up on the landscape – Cheney on Oct. 4, 1952, and Belmont shortly afterwards, on Oct. 21, 1952.

The Cheney-Belmont merger in 1985 signaled changing times in the 1990s, as new businesses were acquired and new locations were purchased. It was a time of simultaneous consolidation and expansion. Farmers Coop and Cheney Coop, still separate entities, entered new areas of business such as oil and gas delivery and selling propane. Other coop elevators were acquired.

A major milestone occurred in 2000, when members of the co-ops in Garden Plain and Cheney voted to merge.

“The merger with Cheney was a real big deal for the company to grow.

We really needed to expand,” general manager Terry Kohler said. “It was a win-win situation. Neither company was in a bad financial situation. Both companies were strong. It’s been great for both companies, and I don’t think either company could have survived without it.

Today Farmers Coop is visible throughout our area, with locations in Garden Plain, Cheney, Clonmel, Norwich and Belmont. There are business ties from summer-only locations in rural Kingman County, to the big CCGP Terminal in Wichita.

Farmers Cooperative continues looking to the future. In 2006, Farmers Coop partnered with Cairo Coop, MidKansas Coop, and Archer Daniels Midland to build Hutchinson Fertilizer LLC. “People think of us as the co-op down

the street, but we invest in things that help us survive,” Kohler said.

Farmers Coop employs 49 people – 39 full-time and 10 part-time. In the summer, that number jumps to 75, with up to 100 employees during harvest.

All the while, the co-op elevators that stand tall over farmland like prairie skyscrapers continue to serve the purposes they have from the beginning.

Centers for agricultural business.

Gathering places for the community. A place to meet and have a cup of coffee.

As farms turn into suburban developments and the trade area moves west and south, Farmers Cooperative and its many locations continue to serve as vital parts of our local communities.

Farmers Coop Timeline • April 22, 1931 – Garden Plain Coop incorporated • October 4, 1952 – Cheney Coop incorporated • October 21, 1952 – Belmont Coop incorporated • January 1, 1985 – Cheney/Belmont merger • May 1, 1992 – Cheney acquires Farm Supply fuel business • 1992 – Cheney & Garden Plain Coops invest in CoMark Inc. • 1994 • Cheney & Garden Plain Coops invest in CoMark LLC • May 1, 1994 – Cheney Coop acquires Murdock elevator • June 1, 1994 – Garden Plain Coop acquires Norwich, Anness and Rago locations from Garvey Grain • September 1, 1995 – Cheney Coop acquires Tucker Oil & Gas in Kingman • October 8, 1996 – Garden Plain Coop acquires Clonmel elevator from Garvey Grain • July 24, 1998 – Cheney Coop acquires Tucker Propane in Kingman.

• July 1, 1999 – Garden Plain, Cheney and Cairo Coops acquire CCGP Inc. • April 1, 2000 – Garden Plain and Cheney Coops merge • June 1, 2001 – Fuel Outlet acquired • April 1, 2003 – armers Coop and Cairo Coop acquire Prairie King • 2006 – Farmers Coop joins Cairo Coop, MidKansas Coop and ADM to build Hutchinison Fertilizer LLC.

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October 11, 2007

Meet Zhang Kun: Job brings teacher from China to Kansas

By Anne Tjaden

Zhang Kun traveled halfway around the world from her home in the middle of China to accept a job to teach in the middle of the USA: Clearwater, Kansas.

A delegation from the State Department of Kansas traveled to China to select six teachers to come teach Americans Mandarin Chinese.

In China, the last name precedes the first, so here in America Zhang Kun goes by Kun, pronounced, “Quinn.” She explains she was among 20 who were interviewed for the job.

“They asked me how I would teach Chinese to a student who knows nothing about Chinese,” she said, and they asked me what I would do if a student was naughty and challenged me (in the classroom).”

She must have given satisfactory answers because she was hired to come to America for three years to teach, arriving in Clearwater on July 31.

She is well qualified to teach Chinese.

Now in her final year of her doctoral program, she majored in English

Literature and did her graduate thesis on Shakespeare’s “Othello.”

“My father was an English teacher and he was very good,” she said, saying she and her two sisters were exposed to English literature at a young age.

In China, Kun taught English for 10 years at the high school and middle school levels, as well as some classes at the university.

Kun, 34, is also a wife and mother.

She hopes her husband and four-year-old son will be able to join her as soon as the paperwork is completed.

She misses them but her job keeps her busy. She is teaching Mandarin Chinese, and Chinese culture and history, using a variety of methods.

Five Clearwater students come to the Service Center to take Kun’s Chinese classes every day from 12:22 to 1: 17 p.m.

Mark Hermansen is one of the five.

He said he loves the class and is getting a lot out of it. He said the teacher makes it come alive.

“One day there was a Chinese holiday she wanted to teach us about. She

Zhang Kun came from China to teach Mandarin Chinese to students at the Service Center in Clearwater.

brought a lantern and some music and did a power point presentation so we

could experience, as nearly as possible, what that holiday was like,” he said.

Kun said it is impossible to learn the Chinese language without first understanding the Chinese culture. In the Mandarin Chinese class, she teaches the written characters, phrases and culture.

Every day they study “Dizigui,” (the teachings of Confucius) because those teachings are what have shaped China for centuries.

Her teaching is reaching beyond Clearwater thanks to Interactive Distance Learning (IDL) and the use of the online blackboard. The Service Center has the capability of transmitting her classes to eight different sites, so she is teaching up to 67 students in any given week.

The Kansas Department of Education predicts that by the year 2016, Chinese will follow Spanish as the third most widely spoken language in the U.S. Anyone who understands the language and the culture will have the advantage and Kun’s classes are offering a method to prepare for the future.

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2007

The Year In Review Relay For Life of Western Sedgwick County set a fundraising record by bringing in more than $42,000, more than its goal of $38,000 and nearly $10,000 more than last year. One team, Divas in Black, with members from Goddard and Garden Plain, nearly raised $5,000.

Clearwater’s Billy Kenney received a scholarship from Cowley County Community College to play Tiger, the CCCC mascot.

A Fourth of July ceremony marked the opening of the first mile of the Prairie Sunset Trail, a walking and biking trail being built along abandoned railroad property in western Sedgwick County.

The Reeves brothers of Clearwater – Matthew, Ryan, Wesley, Jonathan, Michael and Steven – all received blue ribbons in swine competition at the Sedgwick County Fair. This was the first year all six boys raised a qualifying pig to show at the fair. The pigs all came from one litter.

Changes proposed by the Sedgwick County Fire Department could bring one new station to Goddard and another along 263rd Street somewhere between U.S.

Highway 54 and MacArthur Road. The two stations would replace the long-standing Station 35 on 247th Street West.

Record-high wheat prices may have felt like salt in a wound to area farmers who do not have any wheat to sell after a weatherplague 2007 harvest. Wheat prices topped out at $8.60 per bushel in mid-September on the major boards of trade. Locally, prices topped out at $8.29 at Farmers Coop before falling to $7.74. That was as high as has been seen in more than 30 years, topping $7.30 in April 1996.

The speed limit on U.S. Highway 54 west of Goddard, including the intersection at 215th Street West, has dropped from 70 to 60 miles per hour. The intersection saw three fatal accidents between October 2006 and January 2007, and records show eight accidents in the last half of 2006.

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his family still honor that legacy by using traditional tools to create stone crocks of “kraut.” The process began this year with 250 pounds of kraut cabbage shredded into the crocks using a wooden crock shredder. His family still uses some of the tools his grandparents used.

Goddard voters approved an $83.7 million bond issue to add a second high school, a new elementary school, and build a new middle school as part of a realignment of school buildings. Renwick voters had a three-part ballot question. They easily approved the first one for new facilities and remodeling at three elementary schools and allow the district to add all-

2007 day kindergarten. The second question, to build a new gymnasium for Garden Plain High School and an auditorium at Andale High, passed by two ballots; it took three extra days for an official result. The third ballot question, which would have given GPHS an auditorium and Andale High a practice gym, was soundly defeated.

The Garden Plain Owls football team completed a dream season, going 14-0 and winning the school’s first State title in football. The school already had several titles in other sports. It was a banner year for the Goddard Lions football program, too.

The Lions went 9-3 and came within one win of the 6A State championship game.

Bill Inman is on a mission to discover the real American, one hoof beat at a time. The Lebanon, Ore., man is riding his 16-year-old horse, Blackie, across the country at a pace slow enough to find the interesting people and places he knows are the true heart of the nation. He spent one night of his journey camping at the Sedgwick County Fairgrounds en route to Wichita.

Walter “Pete” McIver of Cheney learned the art of making sauerkraut at his grandparents’ knees. Today, McIver and

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August 28, 2008

Frosty Treat hosts movie crew

By Nancy D. Borst

Ann Butler may start getting used to producers asking to use her Garden Plain business as a movie set.

Last week a crew working on a featurelength movie spent a day shooting a scene at Butler’s Frosty Treat drive-in. She said the drive-in also attracted a film crew in 1988 for a movie about tornadoes.

The most recent movie connection began earlier this year, said Butler, when two strangers pulled up to the drive-in.

“Two men stopped by. They pulled up in a car and asked if it was okay to shoot (a movie) in May,” said Butler, who owns the drive-in with her husband, Eldon.

“May came and went and I didn’t hear from them.”

Then the men called to say they were coming to Garden Plain. They showed up Aug. 19, this time with a film crew.

They spent the day shooting a scene for a movie entitled, “The Sunset Sky.” Among those who came for the day was one of the movie’s producers, Kevin Janke.

Janke also was in that car that stopped back in February.

“We were just driving cross country and it looked like the perfect place to be,” he said of Frosty Treat. “We were looking for a lot of different landscapes.”

The movie is about a cross country journey taken by a brother and sister. It highlights the effect of autism on a family (the brother in the movie is autistic).

Janke said a short film was produced first to help attract investors for the full length version.

“That helped us tremendously to raise money,” he said, adding that the short film won critical acclaim as well.

The film’s producers are from New Jersey and most of the film was shot there. But six days of filming took place at locations in Kansas.

“They set up about 9 and finished up around 4,” Butler said of the filming in Garden Plain. Frosty Treat remained open throughout the filming, she said, and customers just used a door that was out of camera range.

The day did offer a rare opportunity to her son, Tyler, who is a student at Wichita State University.

“They used my son,” said Butler. “He’s

almjost 20. They asked if he wanted to be an extra. He pretended to get some food and walk out of Frosty Treat.”

The scene showed the actors eating hamburgers and Butler said multiple takes meant multiple hamburgers.

“They went through 25 hamburgers,” she said. “At one point I asked the producer if he wanted me to leave them plain.”

She had been preparing each hamburger with pickle and onion. The producer told her to keep preparing each hamburger the same so that everything would match up when editing was done.

Butler said she gave them the hamburgers at cost.

“That was crazy,” she said of the day.

“I had a good time.”

Frosty Treat has been in her family since 1971. Her father ran it until 1991, when she and Eldon took over. The drive-in’s food fare hasn’t changed much over the years. The only change has been the addition of an enclosed area so people can step inside to place orders. Otherwise it remains one of the historic drive-ins featuring a Valentine building, so named for Arthur Valentine, whose companies manufactured prefabricated diners in Wichita.

Janke said as soon as he saw the authentic drive-in, he knew he wanted to use it. He said the open Kansas country was a nice change from New Jersey, where filmmakers “have to shoot around a lot of stuff.” He said the crew enjoyed their time in Garden Plain.

“Ann was very kind and helped us out and let us shoot there,” he said.

The movie likely will make its premiere in January 2009.

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2008

The Year In Review A transmission problem shut down electric power in Cheney, Garden Plain and portions of Goddard for several hours on Jan. 8, and gave some area students a half-day off from school. A Westar Energy “jumper” failed at a substation. Power was out as far west as Pretty Prairie and as far east as Wichita. At one point nearly 15,000 customers were without power.

That led students to be released before lunch in Cheney, Garden Plain and at St. Marks Elementary. Four schools in Goddard were impacted, but the district was able to utilize generators until power was restored. Students at Challenger and Discovery Intermediate schools discussed what life was like in colonial times before electricity. Home basketball games at Garden Plain and Cheney were not impacted.

The Cheney municipal pool got extra life.

The pool, more than 50 years old, was slated to be closed after the 2008 season.

But a new option to install a rubber-type liner to stop the pools serious leak issues was approved to extend the pool’s life.

Wayland Whitlow retired after 28 years as EMS director in Clearwater.

Jill Augustyn is living her dream and now she’s being rewarded for it. The Cheney Middle School social studies teacher has received the Horizon Award from the Kansas Commissioner of Education.

The award identifies and recognizes exemplary first-year teachers at the elementary and secondary levels.

Bruce Long of Clearwater restored his 1957 Chevrolet to mint condition just in time for the model’s 50th anniversary and for the annual national rod and custom car show in Wichita.

The Clearwater Lions Club fed 500 people at its annual pancake and sausage day at the Masonic Hall. Food was served from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A bomb threat delayed the start of the Cheney-Garden Plain basketball games at Garden Plain. No bomb was found, and the varsity games went on, although about an hour late. A written note was found. Authorities are in search of a suspect.

The crew of “The Sunset Sky” shoots a scene at Frosty Treat.

Goddard native Sgt. Ryan Newell is

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recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after a Jan. 7 IED explosion killed two fellow soldiers and severely injured Newell, who is 23. The soldiers were on a mission in Laghar Juy in Afghanistan when the explosion occurred. Newell lost his right leg above the knee and his left leg below the knee, and suffered a fractured femur and other lacerations.

Newell was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Afghan Campaign Service and United Nations Campaign Service medals.

A fire severely damaged Wilson’s Appliance, located at 167th Street West and U.S. Highway 54. The fire virtually destroyed the contents. The business sells appliances and parts.

The Goddard Lions wrestling team won its second 6A State title in three years, with five team members winning individual titles. Garden Plain’s Ryan Patterson won his second straight individual title and completed his back-to-back undefeated seasons.

Clean clothes and current events. That’s what customers got for 46 years from Quality Cleaners in Goddard. Owners Louis and Phyllis Sanchez decided to close the business and retire. For the first time in 56 years, there is no dry cleaning business at the corner of Main and First in Goddard. Louis Sanchez bought the business from Jim Farris.

The Goddard Lions girls basketball team suffered a heart-breaking loss in the 6A State championship game when Lawrence used a last-minute comeback to beat the Lions 54-52. Goddard upset twotime defending champ Wichita Heights in the semifinal.

U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt, a Goddard Republican, will seek re-election this fall because there is still work to do in Washington, he said. Tiahrt is seeking his eighth term and has served the Fourth Congressional District since 1994. Donald Betts, Jr., a Democrat and state senator from Wichita, will challenge Tiahrt.

Changes are coming to the intersection of U.S. Highway 54 and 167th Street west on the far edge of Goddard. Plans call for adding a turn lane and a traffic signal. A turn lane on 167th Street in the vicinity of the schools and another traffic signal at 167th Street and Maple also are planned.

In the past year, there have been six accidents at the intersection on Highway 54. One was a fatality crash, and another involved a Goddard school bus.

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The Year In Review Ohio Township’s Richmond Hill School, the oldest surviving one-room schoolhouse in Sedgwick County, will be moved to the Clearwater Historical Museum. The school was built around 1875. Its last recorded school year was 1941-42.

Two local crimes dominated the news in June and July 2008. A Viola convenience store clerk was abducted and held for three days before being released. In what turned out to be a related crime, a heavy set white male robbed the Garden Plain State Bank.

Robert Abner, 39, was arrested in Oregon and returned to Wichita.

An unusual building will be torn down.

The blue and white round, metal building has attracted the public’s attention and speculation for 35 years, making it a curious landmark for drivers traveling on U.S. Highway 54 between Goddard and Wichita. The building has been purchased

by Wichita Friends School and will be torn down by summer’s end. The building has had many roles since it was built in 1973.

Designed to withstand 125 m.p.h. winds, it featured a 25-foot ceiling, a rotating floor and a large overhead door. It was intended

to replace standard T-shaped airplane hangers.

Dr. Ron Higgins and his staff celebrated 45 years of dental appointments in Clearwater. Higgins took over the practice of the late Dr. Kirk Wise in 1963. Two employees, Mary Jo McMahan and Betty Gannaway, have been with Dr. Higgins for more than 25 years.

A fire consumed the home of the Cowherd family west of Clearwater. The family’s four children were home with their grandmother, Charlene Pumper. The fire destroyed the house, but everyone escaped. Jim Cowherd was serving in the U.S. Army Police at Ft. Leonard Wood in Missouri, and Elizabeth Cowherd was in Kansas City with her sister. Pumper began telling the children to get out of the house.

Casey, 8, is deaf and didn’t hear her but 11-year-old Dakota led her out. Dakota’s twin brother, Michael, went back into the home to get 4-year-old Rebekah. He had to duck under flames to get her, and covered her so nothing would fall on her.

Hurricane Gustav drew the nation’s attention as it plowed toward the Gulf Coast. Among those watching closely was JoAnn Harshaw of Cheney, a survivor of Hurricane Katrina. She was living in the west bank area of New Orleans three years ago when Katrina devastated the city and

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surrounding area. She had evacuated before the storm and her home didn’t suffer much damage. But then she had to evacuate again for Hurricane Rita. After that, her son, Jeff Schmidt, convinced her to move to Kansas.

Jason Fox of Clearwater will take his cricket skills overseas. The teen picked up the sport from his father, Edward, who is a native Australian. Cricket is the second-most popular sport in the world.

This summer, Fox was a member of a USA National U15 team that traveled to Bermuda to play in an international tournament. The team placed second, losing only to Canada.

Cheney Methodist Church will celebrate its 125th anniversary. The church can trace its roots back to settlers who worshiped in a schoolhouse. Events will begin at the church and then move to the Souders Historical Farm Museum. There will be a dinner, live music, activities for youth, and plenty of reminiscing with former pastors.

It was a heck of a year for local volleyball teams. The Garden Plain Owls won the 3A State volleyball tournament, beating Rock Creek in the championship and avenging a loss to Rock Creek suffered during pool play. The Owls finished the season with a record of 41-4. The Goddard Lions volleyball team placed third in the

2008 6A State tournament. At the 4A State tournament, the Clearwater Indians beat the Cheney Cardinals in the third-place game.

Goddard High School senior Danny Jones was named a national finalist in the Wendy’s High School Heisman competition. Jones is a standout tennis player at Goddard. After being one of the winners at GHS (a male and female at each participating high school is named), Jones became a state finalist. He was then named a state winner before becoming just one of six male national finalists.

Kendall and Sherry Mikesell and their daughters Laura and Julie announced plans for the Chris Mikesell Foundation to honor their son and brother. Chris Mikesell died early this year in a Snocat accident at the Colorado ski resort where he worked.

Mikesell, 23, was a Clearwater native who fell in love with the Colorado mountains and always wanted to move to Crested Butte, where he was living and working at the time of his death.

Mark Richards of Goddard was named the Official of the Year by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association. Richards has been a wrestling official for 28 years.

He also serves on the Goddard Board of Education.

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September 18, 2008

Heavy rains flood roads and cause headaches A record rainfall left some areas underwater at least temporarily. The city of Clearwater became an island – for a while.

“Clearwater was isolated for awhile but it was only for awhile on Friday,” said city administrator Kent Brown.

Mike Roth, USD 264 superintendent, said that Clearwater school buses got through, some with just a slight delay.

Wamego cancelled the cross country meet. Clearwater school officials asked for the football game at Andover Central to be rescheduled out of concern for people who would be returning home after the game at night on roads that might still be flooded.

In Goddard, city crews blocked off some low-lying streets that were covered by water.

By noon, numerous residents had called City Hall to report flooded basements, especially in the south end of the city.

The Goddard USD 265 School District dismissed early so students could be transported home. That plan worked fairly well, according to spokeswoman Annette Singletary.

“Because of the high water and blocked

roads, we brought a few students back to several of the schools,” she said. “All students brought back to school were picked up by parents in a very timely manner.

“Our staff did a phenomenal job of volunteering, from offering to help supervise students that were returned to school to staying late to answer phones, etc. Our bus drivers did a great job of safely delivering the majority of students to their homes, and were alert to conditions that prevented some from going home.”

Goddard parents and community residents that were registered for K-12 Alerts received updated information faster than any other source of news, said Singletary. The Clearwater district also used a similar alert program to let parents know children had arrived at school on Friday morning.

Concern over country roads led Renwick School District officials to let out all schools, including Garden Plain schools, late Friday morning.

Garden Plain’s football game against Medicine Lodge was rescheduled for

Saturday afternoon, and relocated to the artificial turf field at Hutchinson Community College. The rain forced the postponement of many area games, including those for all four local high schools. A number of area schools moved games to artificial turf fields so that their natural grass fields were not damaged beyond repair.

The city of Cheney did not suffer any damage or flooding on Friday, according

to city officials. Cheney schools held classes as normal, although the football team’s game at Bluestem was postponed until Monday.

One brave soul found a different mode of transportation.

Martin Garcia of rural Goddard was out on horseback Friday afternoon during the height of the flooding, riding near his home on 215th Street West southwest of Goddard.

Good Luck on 20 more years!

Congratulations Paul and the Staff of the Times-Sentinel.

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2009

The Year In Review Musicians with the Goddard High School Lions PRIDE marching band spent the new year in Florida where they performed and spent time at Universal Studios, competed in the Outback Bowl Competition, performed at the New Year’s Day bowl game, and finished their trip with a visit to Walt Disney World. The band won the Outback Bowl Competition, beating out 11 other bands for the opportunity to play in the bowl game pre-game show.

Newman University men’s basketball coach Mark Potter of Cheney earned his 200th career victory with the Jets. Potter was chosen to oversee the program as it was restarted after being dormant for 11 years. Potter went 13-18 his first season.

The Jets improved to 29-6 the next year and qualified for the NAIA national tournament. They finished that season ranked 13th, and Potter earned numerous coaching honors.

Clearwater residents Kelsey Mills and Matt Pogue were among a group of Wichitaarea actors who performed in a show in New York City. “Out of Oz,” a musical comedy written and produced by Wichita native Steve Rue, was performed five times Off-Broadway. In addition to the performances, Mills and Pogue were in the studio audience for “Saturday Night Live.”

In 1975, Steve Sandall made the kind of decision many young professionals make.

He took a job out of state, thinking it would be an exciting adventure for a few years. Nearly 35 years later, Sandall is still at Goddard High School. He was recently honored as the Counselor of the Year for the south-central regional of the Kansas Counseling Association.

Clearwater Postmaster Milo Smith and Cheney Postmaster Doris Beard both retired from their jobs with the United States Postal Service. Smith had been with the Clearwater Post Office since 1988.

Beard was at Cheney since 2008. Beard had a 29-year career with post office, while Smith began his career in 1978.

U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) announced he would not seek another term in the House of Representatives, and instead would challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran. State Sen. Dick Kelsey (R-Goddard) announced he

would campaign to replace Tiahrt as the representative for the Fourth District.

Cheney High School journalism students had the chance to meet with long-time CBS newsman Bob Schieffer during his visit at Hutchinson Community College.

In addition to hearing Schieffer speak, the students had the chance to interview him during a short, informal session prior to the official press conference. His advice to the students included remembering the basics and don’t be afraid to take risks.

Boy Scouts from Troop 776 in Goddard had their trek to East Spanish Peak featured in Boys Life magazine. The troop has been going to Spanish Peaks in Colorado for a couple of years, and members wanted to make a highadventure trek to climb the 12,683-foot East Spanish Peak in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Lon Doll was the ultimate Clearwater Indians booster. Now, a life-size bronze Indians statue has been put on permanent display in the commons area at Clearwater High School. Before his death, Doll was active in the school district, both as a student and as a fan after graduation.

Following his death, $4,000 in memorial donations in his name were received by the Clearwater Booster Club.

Cheney’s old water tower – a city landmark for more than 80 years – will be coming down later this year. The water tower, located in Swimming Pool Park, has not been used since the new water tower on the city’s east side went into use in 1994. Safety concerns were cited.

Goddard High School wrestling earned its third State title in four years. Boaz Beard and Tyler Caldwell became the first teammates in State history to each win fourth individual State titles. Mitchell Means won an individual title, as did Clearwater’s Nate Furches.

The Goddard boys bowling team won the 6A State championship, while senior bowler Adrian Bohanan rolled an 803 series to win the individual title.

A purple toilet is grabbing a lot of attention and double-takes in Cheney and Garden Plain these days. And that’s exactly what Amy Hammond was hoping would happen. She is one of the team captains for Gamblers For Life, which will participate in this year’s Relay For Life of Western Sedgwick County. The Gamblers are using the purple toilet as a “Flush Away Cancer” fundraiser.

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November 5, 2009

Civil War veterans are buried in Garden Plain At the west end of Calvary Cemetery in Garden Plain, along a fencerow at the back of the cemetery about 100 yards away from the road rest two Civil War veterans.

Not much is known about these men.

According to information from Jack Weiss, the original government-supplied markers for these men were stolen sometime during the last economic depression. They were eventually replaced by crudely made markers.

Seeing the tragedy that the markers were not available for these veterans, the V.F.W. Ladies Auxiliary took steps to secure new markers. They were on display at last spring’s Memorial Day service and Leo Benoit, with help from Weiss, installed the markers just days later.

Here’s what’s known about the men: • Frank C. Evans was born in 1836 and died on Sept. 25, 1890. He entered service as a private in Echo Company, 100 Regiment, Indian Volunteers, on April 19, 1862, and left service as a 1st Lieutenant in the 3rd United States Colored Troops Heavy Artillery, and left service on April 30, 1866. Teresa Cable of the Kansas Historical Society State Archives and Library in Topeka told The Times-Sentinel that based on his rank, Evans was probably a white soldier who was put in charge of a black regiment.

During the Civil War, black soldiers were limited in how high of a rank they could earn, and it was United States military policy to have white soldiers lead black units.

Evans suffered from measles and other back injuries in November 1862 while serving at Holly Springs, Miss.

• William T. Goodnight was born on Christmas Day in 1835 and died on Aug. 27, 1913. He entered the service on Aug. 21, 1862, and served as a private in “H” company, 11th Kansas Cavalry until Sept.

13, 1865. The most that is known about this unit is that it fought Indians on the frontier until the end of the war.

Both of these soldiers fought at a

time when being a soldier was really tough business. Hard tack, beans and salt pork was a soldier’s standard fare.

Life was not sleeping in a tent at night – it was bedding down horses and picket duty, and guarding the camp at all costs.

There are a lot of people who don’t know that within a 50-mile radius, there are Civil War Vets buried in this area,” said Benoit, a V.F.W. member. “They’ve lost track of some of our American History. To stand there and look at (a grave), it’s not fantasy in a book. It’s reality."

How the soldiers came to be in this area is not known. Evans died when Garden Plain and many other communities west of Wichita were just a few years old, their births brought on by the westward expansion of the railroad. By the time of Goodnight’s death, the communities were wellestablished.

Editor’s note: Information written by Jack Weiss was used in this story.

The Ladies Auxiliary of the V.F. W. led the effort to provide new grave markers for a pair of Civil War veterans buried in Garden Plain, including one for Frank Evans, who apparently led a regiment of black soldiers.

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2009

The Year In Review Former Goddard student Mike Salber was named the 2009 Senior Men’s World Barefoot Waterski Champion. He grew up in west Wichita and loved to water ski at Lake Afton. He competed in his first barefoot waterski competition at the 1984 Wichita River Festival.

Tony Bergkamp, former manager of Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company in Garden Plain, was inducted into the Kansas Cooperatives Council Hall of Fame on March 23. Bergkamp passed away in 1995.

He worked for the co-op in the early 1940s before heading off to World War II. He became the manager upon his return from war, and served in that position until 1984.

Tim Brockleman of Clearwater surprised his daughter, Melanie, during the Indians’ softball game in Andale. It was a touching moment as Tim, a longtime supporter of Clearwater athletics, surprised his daughter just weeks after receiving a new liver. He missed a lot of events in the months before the surgery, and received the okay at the last moment to leave his Kansas City-area hospital to attend the game.

The Garden Plain boys track team won its second-ever team track title, winning the 3A crown at Wichita State. Kurt Pauly set a new 3A State meet record in the 400 meters and won the 100 and 200 meters.

The girls team placed second in the team standings.

Christopher Hines was not going to let serving active duty in the Persian Gulf get in the way of seeing his daughter Chelsea’s Clearwater High School graduation. Hines, a Tech Sergeant in the Air Force, deployed April 17 to Saudi Arabia, where he will be stationed until the middle of November. He watched the graduation via webcam.

Construction began at Garden Plain High School as part of a series of Renwick School District upgrades. Area voters passed a series of propositions entitling each school within the district to receive additions.

Garden Plain’s cut of the deal includes a new gymnasium and additional paved parking. Originally, the proposal called for an underground gymnasium, similar to the one at Goddard High School. The additional cost nixed that plan.

Cheney celebrated its 125th Anniversary with a grand celebration. The two-day event included a concert by the Cessna Jazz Band, a car show, tours at the Souders Historical Farm Museum, a chili feed, musical entertainment, and a fireworks show.

Kathy Greenlee, who is now the top

official in the United States on aging issues, is a native of Clearwater. Greenlee was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in June as the assistant secretary for aging in the Department of Health and Human Services. That makes her the country’s top authority on issues facing the rapidly expanding population of older citizens.

She grew up in Clearwater and graduated from Clearwater High School. Her mother is a native of the community, and her father is from Haysville, although her parents no longer live in the area.

First Christian Church in Clearwater celebrated its 125th anniversary in October. The church’s history goes back to the fall of 1884 when a small group of individuals organized a Church of Christ at Clearwater. For the earliest years of the church, it had no building. Members used the facilities of other churches or halls.

Ground broke on the first church building in 1904 at the southeast corner of Ross and Lee Street.

Olympian Carmen Forest, the long-time teacher and coach at Pratt Community College, shared her story with students at Goddard Academy. Forest competed in team handball during the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

The eight-mile Prairie Sunset Trail opened between Garden Plain and Goddard. The trail runs from 167th Street West, east of Goddard, to 295th Street West on Garden Plain’s east side. The trail features native trees, wildlife, creeks and a soon-to-becompleted covered bridge and tunnel.

Citizens State Bank marked its 125th anniversary. The bank’s founding coincides with the founding of Cheney. Throughout its history, the bank has always been locally owned, including being owned by the Roembach family for more than 50 years.

The bank was founded as Citizens Bank by A.W. Sweet.

The annual Toy Run from Cheney to Garden Plain may have been the coldest one yet and it took place in the worst economy in the event’s 13-year history, but in the end it turned out to be the most successful one so far. This year’s event collected 1,147 toys, far surpassing last year’s record of 733 toys.

It also raised a “boatload” of cash – more than $400, according to organizer Kat Rush.

Country music singer Logan Mize is coming back home to Clearwater for his mega musical debut at the Fall Festival.

Along for the ride will be an old football rival, Chris Whitehead of Andover, who has collaborated with Mize for the past two years. Also performing will be other Kansas-grown talent, such as Clearwater native Jeremy Brady, Jill Martin of Andale, Jussy Claire of Garden Plain, Shelly Fraley of Burden, and Mike McCracken of Wichita.

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Garden Plain High School won a pair of prestigious awards this fall. The school was one of just 17 Kansas High Schools to win the Governor’s Achievement Award. The only other south central Kansas school honored was Norwich High, and Garden Plain was one of just seven schools at any level to win in two consecutive years. A dozen middle

2009 schools and 41 elementary schools were recognized.

After more than 25 years at the same location at the corner of Main Street and U.S. Highway 54, West Wichita Family Optometrists is building a new facility. It will be located in downtown Goddard, just south of the Goddard Post Office.

January 29, 2009

Cheney family makes inauguration journey

By Paul Rhodes

For one western Sedgwick County family, inauguration day last Tuesday was culmination day.

Tanya Shyrock and her grown children Rebecca and Zach traveled to Washington, D.C., for last week’s inauguration of Barack Obama as the nation’s 44th President. The seed for that journey was planted a year ago when Tanya Shyrock attended one of the Democratic Caucuses in Sedgwick County.

“My sister Renee Young and I were just awestruck by the diversity of people at the caucus,” said Tanya. “It was democracy in its most basic form – I went in undecided and came out ready to vote for Obama.”

She did just that, and on election night as she watched the returns with other Democrats at a watch party in Wichita, she vowed to be in Washington for her candidate’s swearing-in ceremony.

Initially, she thought that several other people would take part in the trip. In the end, it was just herself and her two adult children, so the trip was expanded to include some vacation time in New York City.

That allowed the Shyrocks to find hotel accomodations in Newark, N.J., and travel from there to New York City and Washington, D.C. The Shryocks were able to spend three days at key tourist attractions in New York City, including the Empire State Building, Times Square, Chinatown, Ground Zero and Central Park.

“I found out that New Yorkers are nice,” said Tanya. “They’ll talk to you and tell you their story if you just ask. We learned a lot about the culture of the city and the people.”

“New York City was a blast,” said Zach Shyrock, who, like the other members of his family had never been there before. “I

really enjoyed ice skating at Rockefeller Center.”

From New York City, the Shyrocks traveled by bus overnight Monday to Washington. They arrived in the middle of the night and decided to walk toward the Capitol, where the swearing-in ceremony would take place.

“It was a lot of walking – we were on our feet for 15 hours that day,” said Rebecca Shyrock. “I was so exhausted and cranky, but it was worth it.”

The Shryocks ended up on The Mall, about halfway between the Capitol and the Washington Monument. With binoculars, Tanya said she could actually make out people on the Capitol steps.

“When he (Obama) said ‘So help me God’ it really hit home,” said Tanya.

“Even with all the cold, all the waiting and all the walking, I’d do it all over again.”

Zach and Rebecca agreed.

“It was everything I was hoping it would be and so much more,” said Zach, who is in his second year at Hutchinson Community College. “The swearing-in was so powerful – everyone was affected by his message of hope.”

“Strangers were hugging and crying together,” said Rebecca. “Everyone was so happy, and it was so emotional.”

Both Zach and Rebecca said the experience will have a lasting impact.

“We’re already talking about things we can do individually and as a family to volunteer more,” said Rebecca, who lives in Wichita and is a case manager with Comcare. She already spends her days working with special-needs children and their families, but believes she needs to give even more back to her community, state and nation after being at the inauguration.

“He’s inspired me to do more things for others and the community,” Zach said of the inauguration.

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April 1, 2010

Discovery of headstone unleashes mystery

By Travis Mounts

A 111-year-old mystery surfaced at a Wichita warehouse, wound its way through Cheney, and into Kingman County before coming to an end at a lonely crossroads in rural Harper County.

Buried among many forgotten items in a warehouse owned by the E.H. Henry Construction Company was a tombstone for a young boy named Milford V. Trollope. The boy died March 22, 1899, aged 1 year, 9 months and 22 days. There were no other clues.

Company president Shawn Belford began searching for Trollopes in the area and found one – Troy Trollope of Cheney. He placed a call.

“He said, ‘This will probably be one of the oddest messages you’ve got,’” said Trollope.

Trollope wasn’t familiar with the longdead boy, but figured there was a good chance it was a distant relative. There aren’t many people with that surname.

“So I got hold of my dad, and as fate would have it, my uncle was doing a family history on the Trollopes,” he said.

Troy’s father, Lyman, is the family historian. Lyman’s great-greatgrandfather John Trollope came to the U.S. from England in November 1867 and settled in Illinois. John’s first cousin, William Trollope, had come to the U.S. earlier, settling in Illinois in 1853.

Milford Trollope was a descendant of William Trollope.

John Lincoln Trollope and his wife, Edith Marie Johnson Trollope, were among the earliest settlers in Harper County. They lived and farmed in the Harper area in the late 1880s and 1890s.

In 1899, their son, Milford, died of typhoid fever, as did a lot of children and adults during that time.

Milford Trollope was buried in the Hillsdale Cemetery which today is a lonely little piece of property at the corner of two dirt roads in rural Harper County, about five miles north of the town of Harper and 15 miles from Norwich. It appears that Milford is the

only family member in the cemetery. The family research indicates the boy was the first person buried in the cemetery. From all appearances, Milford was buried in an unmarked grave for the past century.

Lyman and his brother, John, along with their wives, took the tombstone to the cemetery on March 16, 2010, and set it in place. Lyman said it appeared the tombstone that was found was never placed at the burial site.

“It was a rewarding experience to say the least, to take a marker that was 111 years in hiding and get it to the grave,” Lyman Trollope said.

The question that remained was why the headstone was in the warehouse at all.

Some mysteries just aren’t meant to be solved.

October 21, 2010

GHS student makes history with ACT score

By Paul Rhodes

Goddard High School senior Brian Harrison thought it was unusual that his father was so mad because he showed up at home a little late.

It turns out his dad, Paul Harrison, was just pretending to be mad. In fact, the elder Harrison was ecstatic because he’d just discovered that Brian had scored a perfect 36 on his ACT. Since then, the Harrison family has been riding a big wave of excitement as Brian assesses the huge impact that a composite ACT score of 36 will provide.

Just as an example, Harrison already knows he could attend the University of Kansas on a full-ride scholarship just because of that score. Numerous other universities across the country offer See STUDENT, Page 56

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2010

The Year In Review Mothers are always credited with giving their children the gift of life. On Jan. 25, Cheney High School senior Jacob Morris was the recipient of that gift for the second time in his life. After Jacob went into end-stage renal failure a year ago, plans began for his mother, Judy Morris, to donate a kidney to her son.

A suspicious fire struck St. Joseph Catholic Church in Ost. The Feb. 3 fire was discovered by parish priest, the Rev. Ivan Eck. Fire crews from Haven, Cheney and Pretty Prairie responded. The fire destroyed the St. Joseph side altar and damaged the floor and walls near the altar, and there was smoke and soot damage throughout the church.

Winter weather was a factor in a February crash that killed a Goddard couple, Diane and Kenneth Brown. The crash happened on U.S. Highway 56 west of Marion.

The Goddard Lions wrestling team claimed its third consecutive Class 6A State wrestling title in March at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita. Three individuals – Trey Houlden, Dalton Beard and Kaleb Bonilla – all won individual titles.

The Cheney Cardinals girls basketball team completed a perfect season by winning the 4A State championship. The Cardinals overcame an injury to starting center Merissa Quick for a come-frombehind 52-49 victory over Concordia, which was the defending State champion and had a 51-game winning streak. Ally Nikkel scored a team-high 15 points, and Kylie Patterson added 13.

John Mies of Cheney was honored as the Kansas Boys Basketball Official of the Year. Mies has been a high school basketball official for 20 years. The award was presented by the National Federation Officials Association, and Mies was recognized during the 6A State basketball tournament. He was one of only five officials across Kansas to be recognized for that level of service.

On April 11, Keith Jopp – former principal and teacher at St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Cheney – was inducted into the Kansas Association of Independent and Religious Schools Hall of Fame. A blizzard had postponed the original induction, scheduled for February.

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In unrelated incidents, two barns near Clearwater suffered extensive damage as high winds quickly turned controlled burns into uncontrolled situations. There were no injuries to firefighters or the property owners.

Cole Quaney of Cheney earned a spot on the Kansas National junior high rodeo team and competed with his teammates in Gallup, N.M., at the sixth annual National Junior High Finals Rodeo.

Quaney, who will be an eighth grader at Cheney Middle School, competed in tiedown roping.

Rain dampened Fourth of July revelers but not their spirits as the remnants of Hurrican Alex drenched south central Kansas with up to four inches of rain over the holiday weekend. The fireworks show in Garden Plain was postponed a day, and the show in Goddard was cancelled.

A plaque honoring the late John Markham, former tennis coach at Goddard High School, was unveiled at the Goddard School District tennis courts on 199th Street West. Markham died of liver disease in October 2009.

The three-day Midwest Rock Fest at Lake Afton was headlined by 1980s rock bands Styx and Twisted Sister. Crowds were less than expected, and the festival did not return in 2011.

The future of the Garden Plain V.F.W. Post 8983 was in doubt after the group decided to sell its downtown building.

The cost and effort to maintain the building was becoming a strain for the V.F.W., whose membership was aging and dwindling. The post eventually disbanded. It had been active for more than 60 years. It was estimated that the building was constructed in the 1950s.

Two new school facilities – Apollo Elementary and Eisenhower Middle School – were ready for Goddard area students when the school year began in August. Both schools are part of a new campus at 167th Street West and Kellogg. Eisenhower High School, which is currently under construction, will open next year.

Severe weather damaged farm buildings near Clearwater. A barn on the Max Tjaden farm was completely leveled, and Norman Pelz lost the roof to his machine shed west of the city. The roof damaged a children’s play area when it landed.

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2010

The Year In Review The Cheney cross country team celebrated its 50th anniversary. The first team was fielded in 1960, and while there were a few seasons when there was no team, it has been a mainstay since the 1978 season.

Clearwater United Methodist Church celebrated its 125th anniversary in August, and the city of Clearwater held its 125th anniversary celebration in September. The city celebration was a large birthday event, with birthday cake, ice cream, a fireworks show and much more.

The book “Kansas Critters: Bugs” featured the artwork of several local students.

Carter Jennings, an 11-year-old home schooled student, had his illustration of a red admiral on a sunflower featured on the cover. Current or former Cheney Middle School students whose work was featured in the book included Amy Akler, Amanda Thimesch, Braden Bartlett, Brooke Fischer, Kara Dewey, Ryley Dewey, Sierra Crawford and Taylor Denney.

Garden Plain students featured in the book include Bryn McReynolds and Kylie Thomas.

Shannel Ramsey won the button design contest for Goddard’s centennial.

Goddard celebrated its 100th anniversary as an incorporated city during the fall. The city has its roots in two different towns. One was southwest of the city’s location on farmland owned

by A.L. Lyman. His wife, Mary, enjoyed the sound of the creek running through the farm. It reminded her of her favorite song, “Flow Gently Sweet Afton.” The town consisted of a post office, store and restaurant. The second town was located at what is now Maple Street and 167th Street, and was nicknamed Ten-Mile Post, and later Ten-Mile Corner.

It officially became Blendon, and had a two-story town hall along with a blacksmith shop, hotel, post office, two stores and five residences. Blendon thrived, but the new railroad bypassed the town, going 1-1/2 miles south. A new town was planned and would be named after J.F. Goddard, who surveyed the land. Goddard was platted in the 1870s and established officially in 1883, but did not received its charter until 1910. Several buildings in Blendon were moved to the new city.

Cheney golfers Jacie Scheer and Tayler Shellhammer placed first and third in the 4A State golf tournament, held on their home course, Cherry Oaks Golf Course.

When Johnny Reeves entered his photo at the Sedgwick County Fair, he had no idea that it would end up hanging in the Fourth District Congressional Office in Washigton, D.C. The photo was of two cowboy boots (not a matching pair) next to a tire. The photo received a purple ribbon, and a statewide selection committee selected it to be one of four photos for each congressman’s and senator’s office. The photos had to represent Kansas in some way.

Cheney students got to meet the man behind the mask when Dan Meers visited USD 268. For the past 21 years, Meers has brought to life K.C. Wolf, the 8-foot-tall canine mascot of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The visit was part of Red Ribbon Week.

Meers travels the Midwest and the entire United States to make appearances. He has played the character since it was created in 1989.

A well-known Santa suit has its first dusting of soot, and it isn’t even Christmas. A November fire at the rural Goddard home of Dan and Anna Mae Pracht caused extensive damage to their home and belongings. Spared in the fire was a Santa Claus outfit that’s a big part of several traditions around this area. Dan Pracht has been playing the jolly old elf at the urging of his priest at Church of the Holy Spirit, and that expanded to include Breakfast with Santa in Goddard and at Towne West Mall. The tables were turned at this year’s Breakfast with Santa when Pracht – dressed as Santa – was given a present. Students in the Goddard High Theatre Department and the Goddard Activities Committee joined together to surprise Pracht with a new Santa suit.

Drawings of monsters by 5-year-old Aidan Reed of Clearwater have raised more than $60,000. The youth is fighting leukemia. Reed loves drawing monsters, so his parents put some of his drawings on the website Etsy. They hoped to sell a few prints at $12 a piece. In less than week, more than 2,000 were sold. As media outlets picked up on the story, that number passed 5,000. The Reed family decided to cap sales at 13,000 if they reach that far.

Duckwall-ALCO announced that would it close its store in Clearwater, one of 44 stores to be shuttered, including 20 in Kansas. The company said those stores accounted for only 3.9 percent of sales and little or no profit. City leaders said they hoped to find a way to convince the company to stay or to find another tenant for the location.

Times-Sentinel Newspapers announced it would acquire the Conway Springs Star and Argonia Argosy, effective Jan. 1. The news was announced by Times-Sentinel owner Paul Rhodes and Star-Argosy

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June 24, 2010

Senior hangs on for 8 seconds For Kody Decker, bull riding isn’t just climbing on the back of a 2,000-pound bull and hanging on for eight seconds, it’s a dream of becoming the best in the world at what he does.

And Decker, of rural Viola, will get his chance to prove it in July. Decker, a senior at Bishop Carroll High School, just placed fourth at the Kansas High School Rodeo Association Finals in Hutchinson, and is now headed to the National High School Rodeo Finals in Gillette, Wyo. “They only take the top four in each event from the state finals,” he said. “I am excited about heading to nationals and representing the state of Kansas.”

Decker has been around rodeo most of his life. Starting out riding sheep when he was four, he quickly fell in love with the sport and eventually moved up the ranks to the bigger bulls.

“Some neighbors of ours got me interested in riding,” he said. “It all started with horse-riding lessons, and by age 13, I was riding bulls.”

In 2002, Decker was the All-Around Champion in the Flying DX Youth Rodeo Series. In his eighth grade year, he became the state bull-riding champion in the Kansas State Junior High Rodeo Association. Last year, he was one of eight selected to compete for the Tri-State area at the American Royal in Kansas City, where he placed first. At the same time, in 2009, he became the Senior Bull Riding Champion for the Kansas Junior Bull Riding Association.

Bull riding isn’t just staying on for eight seconds. The sport takes a lot of physical and mental endurance.

“I work out every day with weights and practicing on a bucking barrel,” Decker said. “I like to ride my horses bareback to help with my leg grip and balance. It’s a trick my coach taught me.”

That coach is 17-year bull riding veteran Jonas Struthers of Clearwater. He has been coaching Kody since he began riding steers at the age of 10.

“He has a great attitude and a lot of potential,” Struthers said. “I think he has a great chance of winning nationals. He can take his career as far as he wants to.”

Most people think about the danger of the sport, but for Decker, that’s just a formality. He has had his fair share of injuries, including three concussions and a fractured wrist.

“Bull riding isn’t about if you get hurt, it’s about when,” he said. “Staying healthy and fit will help me recover quickly if I

were to ever get injured. But I try not to think about those things.”

Kody is the son of Steve and Trecia Decker of Viola. He says his parents have always been there for him and helped him stay motivated.

“They have supported me and pushed me even when I didn’t feel like riding,” he said. “They drug me all over to the rodeos without complaining.”

Decker plans to continue with his bull-riding career after high school. He hopes to get a scholarship to college and eventually make a living riding bulls.

“I already have a few colleges looking at me,” Decker said. “I just want to have fun, and hopefully become a world champion someday.”

Student makes history with ACT Continued from Page 55 similar deals for students who ace their ACT, and even some of the nation’s most prestigious schools make impressive offers based on top ACT performances.

Harrison bagged his perfect ACT score on his third try. He took the first ACT as a freshman and scored a 32. As a sophomore he moved up two points to an impressive 34. This year, Harrison nailed the college entrance examination.

The ACT is taken in four parts. Harrison scored 36 in both reading and science, and 35 in math and English. Those numbers gave him a composite score of 36 – the maximum possible.

“I took a break and didn’t do any homework that night,” Harrison said of his celebration following the posting of his exceptional score. But after that he was back at it. In addition to a full load of classes at Goddard High, he’s also taking college classes through Wichita State University.

Harrison’s score truly is unusual. Only one tenth of one percent of the students who take the ACT score a 36. The national average is 21.

“None of us here in the counseling office (going back 35 years) have ever seen a 36 come out of Goddard high,” said counselor Kim Hoetmer, “I’m sure it’s a first.”

Harrison wants to attend Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. Only seven percent of applicants to the school are accepted, and Harrison is hoping he can make the cut now with his ACT score.

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2011

The Year In Review Officials from Goddard and Sedgwick County gathered in early January to mark the opening of Station 35, the new Sedgwick County Fire Station in Goddard. Work began last July on Station 35, located just northwest of the intersection of Kellogg and 199th Street West. The station also will house EMS Post 7. Both had been located a half-mile north of Kellogg on 247th Street West. The county also opened a new station last year at 263rd Street West, southeast of Garden Plain and about a mile from Lake Afton.

Sister Ann Metzen of Clonmel, a Dominican Sister of Peace, celebrated 50 years of Sisterhood. She spent much of her career as an elementary teacher in parochial schools in Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Nebraska. In 1998 Sr. Ann was entrusted with the ministry of Coordinator of the Motherhouse in Great Bend.

White’s Foodliner announced it would close its Goddard location at the end of January. The local chain, based in Kingman, faced increased competition from national competitors like Dillon’s (Kroger) and Walmart. The store also took a hit in 2011 when Kombo Pharmacy sold to Walgreens and closed its location inside the store.

The area saw more business closings when Viola lost two businesses. The General Station closed its doors at the close of business on Feb. 11. The neighboring Crossroads Liquor shut down at the end of January.

Local volunteers and businesses played an active role in the weeklong construction of a home in Schulte for the ABC Television Show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

The home was built for Carl Hall and his family. Hall, a former Wichita State University baseball player who grew up in Haysville, was paralyzed from the neck down in a 2010 car accident near Norwich. The home was built behind St. Speter’s Catholic Church in Schulte, which is the Hall family’s home parish. The show aired later in the year.

The Renwick School Board voted 7-0 to implement a preschool at Colwich Elementary School for the 2011-12 school year, contingent on the costs being budget neutral. Ten students had already signed up for the Tuesday-Thursday session, and 22 were signed up for the Monday-WednesdayFriday session.

Members of the Clearwater Student Council

took the Polar Plunge at O.J. Watson Park in Wichita, diving into ice and early March waters to raise money for Special Olympics.

The students raised $2,200, the highest amount of any team.

The Cheney girls basketball team’s 52game winning streak came to a halt at the 4A State championship in a 41-21 loss to Holton. Cheney is one of only six Kansas girls basketball teams to have ever had a winning streak of 50 or more games.

Clearwater’s Shelbie Serpan placed third at the USA Weightlifing Junior National event, held in Houston. Serpan has her sights set on competing in the 2016 Olympics.

March 2011 brought national TV exposures to the area twice. Students in the DART running club at Discovery Intermediate School in Goddard were featured on “Live with Regis and Kelly.” Meanwhile, Goddard resident Jamey Blubaugh won more than $30,000 in prizes on “The Price Is Right,” although he did not win a new car.

Zach Barrow, a seventh grade student at St. Peter Catholic School, placed second at the State Spelling Bee. He represented Sedgwick County. Barrow spelled the following words: grabble, acronym, deductible, scurrilous, infarction, luculent, filiality, diathermy, incorporeity, garniture, velocipede and munificence. (Editor’s note: At the time, two of those words were not recognized by The Times-Sentinel’s spellcheck program. As of 2013, filiality still did not show up. Merriam-Webster defines the word as “the relation or attitude of a child to a parent.”)

After nearly three years of rumors, the announcement was made that Walmart would build a “Supercenter” store in Goddard. As part of the agreement with the city of Goddard, they agreed to spend approximately $427,000 to widen 183rd Street to three lanes south of Kellogg. The store is expected to anchor a larger development with room for another large box store and more business along the frontage road.

Cheney USD 268 announced budget cuts of $279,000 that would eliminate jobs and Cheney High’s softball program, which was started just four years prior. An effort by parents and supporters later led to the program being reinstated.

Clark Davidson Elementary principal Ruth Wood retired 39 years as a teacher and administrator with the Goddard School District. Wood came to the district in 1972 after earning her degree at Wichita State University.

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October 27, 2011

A history of home sales

By Travis Mounts

In the bottom drawer of Peggy Lovett’s desk at Farm and Home Realty sits a 25-year-old notebook.

Its green cover fails to hide the many dog-eared pages that in effect are a history of real estate of Cheney and the surrounding area.

Lovett, who is retiring after being a Realtor at Farm and Home since January 1987, has kept a hand-written record of all her closings – the official completion of a real estate transaction.

Lovett had lived in Cheney for about three years, moving here from Colorado. She was working as the business manager for Davis Chevrolet, which was located in the building that now houses the Cheney Health Center, and she owned an exercise studio.

“I worked on Main Street and (real estate agent) Nancy Mount was leaving, so I came in and applied.

And that was it,” she said.

The business has changed drastically since she started.

“When I started selling real estate, the interest rate was 11 percent and we didn’t have faxes or cell phones, she said. “When interest rates dropped to 10 percent, that was very exciting.

Interest rates are now below 4.5 percent.

Paperwork had to be handdelivered to downtown Wichita. Real estate agents went with their clients to the bank to help them apply for loans.

Technology has changed virtually all aspects of the job, she said. Agents now email and text, and houses can be toured virtually on websites.

A listing may end up on a dozen different websites.

“New buyers are so tech-oriented,” she said.

But for Lovett, the personal touch was a consistent key to success.

“You still need face-to-face and hands-on (attention). You still need to meet your clients and help them with financing,” she said.

Lovett said she has always loved

working with people.

The best part of the job was “matching people with the right houses, and helping sellers move on to their next stage,” she said.

Flipping through the pages of her green book, she estimates she has been involved with about 1,000 transactions. Her first closing was June 15, 1987. She has sold to multiple generations of at least one family, and has had numerous repeat customers.

She said many customers have become friends.

That happens when you help pitch in to paint a house, move dirt or empty garages for a client.

She said the timing was right to retire. Real estate agents have to review their licenses every two years, and Lovett said letting her license lapse was the only way she could really retire. Her future plans are still taking shape.

I’m going to take a little time off, then maybe find something part-time a couple days a week. I have a lot of clients who’ve become friends,” she said.

There have been plenty of interesting stories. At one showing, a parent put their toddler down on the ground. The child quickly found trouble.

“I caught it as it was ready to fall into a sump pump hole,” she said.

She sold the house that had been occupied by the father of Casey Rankin, a native Kansas musician who became a big star in Japan after moving there in 1971. Rankin, who died in 2009, is related to blues artist Bonnie Raitt and was friends with Van Morrison, Lovett said.

“I got to take him to lunch and spend the day with him. I still get weak in the knees,” she said with a laugh.

Farm and Home Realty owner Roger Zerener described Lovett as a “real professional.”

“Every day, no matter what, she came in with a good attitude and ready to work. She has such empathy for buyers and sellers,” he said.

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July 7, 2011

Frankie Valens finds comfort in new hometown of Clearwater

By Scott Elpers

The big perm Frankie Valens sports on the cover of his new autobiography, “Chasing an Illusive Dream,” has long been replaced with a head of gray hair.

His sequined shirt has been substituted with a modest alternative.

But he still has the voice, and can belt out the tunes that made him famous.

Valens, who moved to Clearwater a few months ago, stepped out of the spotlight long ago.

He became a household name in the 1960s and ‘70s singing cover tunes like “This Magic Moment,” and “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.” He shared venues with big names like Jerry Lee Lewis, The Platters and The Byrds, and was showcased at the famous Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

“Girls were chasing me and screaming non-stop,” Valens said with a grin. “They announce your name and the girls just scream. It was fun.”

Despite all the fun, Valens had never been keen on talking about his past, until recently, when he began writing an autobiography.

“My wife and I were on tour and we were up in the mountains of Colorado.

The scenery was so beautiful. It just dawned on me, write a book,” Valens said. “I have all of this stuff from my past that many people don’t know about.”

Valens has kept so silent about his past his current wife of nearly 26 years, Phyllis, didn’t know early in their relationship he was a famous singer.

They met in a church. He was singing in the choir and she was the director.

Phyllis didn’t recognize his famous name because it’s a stage name, and he goes by his birth name, Frankie Piper.

“When I first started out in the business, they told me I would need a stage name. They told me all the girls would be chasing me and they would make havoc in my life,’ Valens said. “I had a voice like Frankie Valli, and a heart like Ritchie Valens, so we came up with the Frankie Valens.”

People still recognize his stage name to this day.

Valens became an accountant after his popularity declined in the late ‘70s, but his heart never forgot about the music.

With Phyllis behind the piano, Valens went back to making music. The duo recorded 13 albums together, many of them gospel tracks, but also the occasional oldies record.

For the past 18 years, Valens continued to play various live events, with some big and some small, with his wife. He retired in 2008 after back problems kept him off the stage.

Valens does a handful of shows now

and placed most of his energy into his new autobiography, which will be sold nationwide and online.

As part of the book, Valens started researching his family background and discovered he has an interesting family tree.

He said he shares a grandmother with Lucille Ball, and is related to George H.W. Bush and Wild Bill Hickock through marriage. He is also distant cousin to Daniel Boone.

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students to graduate from Garden Plain High School. One year later, in 1912, the school had just one more graduate, Vera Bobo.

The Year In Review The Andale-Garden Plain softball team got a perfect game from pitcher Sydnee Eck to cap a perfect season and a 4A State championship with a 2-0 win over St. James Academy.

Viola Grocery reopened in June in the former General Station space on Highway K-42. Sachin Malla and Supreme Shrestha are the new owners.

Via Christi Medical Associates announced it would close its office in Goddard. As part of consolidation effort, Drs. Mary Goodwin and Aaron Fields will move to the Via Christi office on west Maple in Wichita.

Clearwater’s Luke Laha, a member of the Fort Hays State University shooting team, won titles in two different states. On June 4, he won the non-resident division of the Oklahoma Trap Association State Championship. On June 11-12, Laha won the 16-Yard Trap Event Class C at the Kansas Trap Association State Competition.

One hundred years ago, Pearl Doyle and Hazel Summers donned a pair of caps and gowns and started a tradition still going strong in Garden Plain. They were the first

Lake Afton Observatory, which is operated

by Wichita State University, celebrated its 30th anniversary.

Justina Rausch of Garden Plain was among the singers at this year’s Sedgwick County Fair Idol competition. She was named runner-up for the second year in a row. Rausch, 21, earned a dgree in music technology at Nashville State and is set to begin a new job in August with a record label in Nashville.

Lin Andrews, a biology teacher at Goddard High School, was recognized with the Kansas Outstanding Biology Teacher Award. She will become the head teacher of the science department at the new Eisenhower High School.

Flood damage caused by faulty equipment at Amelia Earhart Elementary in Goddard caused $500,000 in damage. A backflow preventer shut incorrectly, causing extensive damage to the floors after allowing water to flow throughout the 11-year old school over the Fourth of July weekend. The water was as deep as three inches. Thirty classrooms and the office were damaged and needed new carpet as well as repairs to the lower walls.

The gymnasium was flooded and needed a new floor.

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The first tornado sirens at Cheney State Park were installed in August. One is located in Reno County on M&M Point, and the other is in Kingman County near Hobie Beach. Plans had been in the works for about a year. Before the sirens were installed, park rangers would drive the roadways and alert campers with P.A. systems, a process that could take 45 or more minutes.

Parish members at St. Joseph Ost Catholic Church have been looking up to the heavens a little more than usual as they step out of church lately. For more than a month, the church’s steeple has been undergoing a makeover including a new copper roof.

On October, Richard Reynolds celebrated nearly 50 years as a barber. The owner of Dick’s Barbershop in Clearwater began his career in Wellington in 1958. After a stop in Conway Springs, he opened his shop in Clearwater in 1963. He took a brief break after his wife passed away in 2000 but continued to cut hair at nursing homes and for others. He re-opened the business less than a year later.

St. Rose Catholic Church in Mount Vernon celebrated 100 years in October. More than 500 people showed up for the festivities near the southwest corner of Cheney State Park. The day began with a parade with more than 50 floats of parishioners,

2011 antique tractors, Model T trucks and horsedrawn carriages. The original church was struck by lightning and burned more than 90 years ago. The replacement church remains today.

Well-known local journalist Les Anderson died suddenly in November of a heart attack. The Viola native helped found the Wichita Sun and the Ark Valley Newspapers, and began teaching journalism at Wichita State at 1977. He influenced two generations of print and broadcast journalists in Kansas and surrounding states, and served as a mentor to many colleagues.

PFC Shawn Williams of Cheney returned home in December for his first visit since being injured in June while serving in the Kandahar Province of Afghanistan.

Williams, a private first class with the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, was escorting an Army colonel down unfamiliar territory in a Stryker vehicle when a roadside bomb detonated and ignited the vehicle on fire.

Williams, who was driving, fractured his foot in several places and suffered seconddegree burns on his face and hands. He was pulled away from the vehicle before it exploded. “I’m still here and glad to be here,” he said. “I feel very lucky. When I got off the truck they told me I probably shouldn’t be here. I’m glad to be able to come home and see my family.”

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June 28, 2012

Norris is a hit in MLB debut

By Travis Mounts

Goddard High alumnus and baseball standout Derek Norris played his first games in the major leagues last weekend, and his debut was a home run – figuratively and literally.

The Oakland Athletics called up the 23-year-old catcher Thursday from their Triple-A club in Sacramento, and he was in the lineup that day.

Norris caught a good game on Thursday, helping pitcher Travis Blackley and the rest of the A’s to a 4-1 home win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. His mother, Jacque, was there. Norris was in the lineup again on Friday, Saturday and Sunday as the A’s hosted the crosstown rival San Francisco Giants in an interleague contest.

He got his first hit on Saturday; although it wasn’t enough as the Giants won 9-8. San Francisco also won Friday, 5-4.

Norris’ first hit came in the bottom of the fourth Saturday, as a soft line drive dropped into short left field. He picked up another hit in the bottom of the ninth, giving Norris his first run-batted-in. The A’s comeback fell short, however.

The big moment for Norris came on Sunday. The A’s were trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth. They had two men on base but had two outs, putting Norris into the position of being the hero or possibly the goat.

On the first pitch, he watched a curve ball miss for a ball. He then watched a strike go by. The next two pitches both were high, running the count to 3-1.

Norris then took another strike, this one on the outside of the plate.

After fouling off one 3-2 pitch, Norris drilled the seventh pitch of the at-bat into the seats of left field, giving Norris his first Major League home run and the A’s a 4-2 win. Norris’ new teammates mobbed him at home plate.

It’s a good feeling,” Norris told the San Francisco Chronicle. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

The Chronicle reported that Norris was not originally scheduled to play Sunday.

But the A’s called up pitcher A.J. Griffin to fill in for an injured player on Sunday.

Griffin and Norris were teammates in

Sacramento until Norris’ promotion last Thursday.

Norris graduated from Goddard in 2007 and had committed to play collegiately at Wichita State. He was drafted by the Washington Nationals organization and opted to go straight into the minor leagues, where he played for four seasons. The Nationals sent Norris to the A’s in December in a five-man trade.

His walk-off home run made him just the second player in Oakland history to hit a walk-off homer as his first big league home run.

Norris told the Chronicle that he did not get the ball back.

“Someone can keep it,” he said. “I don’t care too much. I’ll take the feeling.”

The A’s began the week with a road trip to Seattle.

A lot of family and friends could see Norris play in person this weekend. The A’s will be in Arlington to face the Texas Rangers in a series this Thursday through Sunday. The A’s will play a midweek series against the Royals in Kansas City Aug. 14-16.

Courtesy Associated Press

Derek Norris, a Goddard High School graduate, celebrates his gamewinning three-run home run during the Oakland A’s dramatic comefrom-behind win over the rival San Francisco Giants in Oakland. Norris made his Major League debut last Thursday three days earlier.

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The Year In Review The Cheney Public Library announced plans that would roughly double its space. The plans called for an expansion into the building’s second-floor space for the young adult section. The cost, including stabilizing the space for higher traffic, was estimated at $160,000.

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran visited the recently opened Eisenhower High School in Goddard during a tour in and around Wichita in January.

Garden Plain High School won its fourth Governor’s Achievement Award. Only 18 high schools, 43 elementary schools and 11 middle and junior high schools earned the award. GPHS won the award in four of the first five years it was given.

The Dondlinger family, owner of Dondlinger and Sons Construction, announced it had purchased the former White’s Foodliner grocery store at 199th and U.S. 54 in Goddard. Williams Ace Hardware opened in March. Former White’s manager Jim Phillippe was named as the Ace store’s manager. The store opened in April.

A skull was found inside the Cheney city limits on Jan. 29. It was found on the east edge of the city near the corner of Second Avenue and Hoover. The skull appeared to have been there for a while, and could have been dragged there by an animal.

The skull was believed to have been that of an African American woman between 35 and 50 years old, and could have been in the field for one to 10 years. It was the second skull found near Cheney in less than a year. Another one was found buried in a sand bank along the Sand Creek about eight miles south of Cheney in April 2011.

Local baby honey badger Diablo, a resident at Tanganyika Wildlife Park in Goddard, made the national talk show rounds with wildlife icon Jack Hanna. Diablo was on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “Good Morning America” and “The Talk.” The honey badger’s parents had been breeding for several years, but none of the previous offspring survived. There are few of the animals in the country, and opportunities to breed the animals have been limited.

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Clearwater Historical Society Museum director Judy Cumming retired after spending nearly a decade as curator of the museum. Under her direction, a mural depicting the history of the city was painted on the front of the building.

Clearwater native Logan Mize packed The Orpheum theater in downtown Wichita to celebrate the release of a new album. The packed house heard Mize and his wife, singer Jill Martin of Andale, perform. Mize was living in Wichita and working as both a songwriter and singer.

Longtime Renwick School District educator Barbara Hunt was killed April 2 in a two-car wreck north of Goddard.

Hunt, 54, was pronounced dead at the scene following the accident, which occurred just before 6:30 a.m., at the intersection of 21st North and 199th Street West. Hunt began teaching at St. Joseph Elementary school in 1994 and eventually became head teacher. She then became principal at Garden Plain Elementary, but left that position to return to teaching in the school.

Tornadoes that caused significant damage in Sumner County and the Wichita area skipped over local communities on a night that saw nearly 100 twisters touch down in Kansas. In a rare move, forecasters across the Great Plains began putting out warnings more than 24 hours before the storms hit. Clearwater was in the path of an EF-3 tornado that caused damage south of Clearwater on a line that started south of Argonia and moved to the north-northeast. It struck several homes and farms up to and east of Conway Springs.

Ryan Patterson of Garden Plain hooked $100,000 in cash and prizes at the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship. Competing for Kansas State University, he won $50,000 cash for himself, $25,000 for Kansas State, and a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower engine for his school’s bass club.

A number of Cheney Middle School students spent a night camping in cardboard boxes and living a minimal existence. “Home Sweet Box” was designed to raise awareness of homelessness and money to benefit local organizations that can help those in financial need. Students built a homeless village and had a minimal supper of a couple hot dogs, half a can of baked beans and some bannock bread.

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The Year In Review The new Kwik Shop Market opened in May in Goddard. The new store replaced the former Kwik Shop convenience store. The new Kwik Shop Market features a greatly expanded grocery line, including produce and meats, a larger snack and beverage area, and a pharmacy.

One of the earliest harvests on record showed promise as it got into full swing over the Memorial Day weekend. Results varied widely across Sedgwick County, with reports on bushels per acre ranging from the high 30s into the 60s. Test weights were more steady.

Congregation members at Clearwater First Baptist Church rang in a slice of history in May. A dedication ceremony was held for the new tower. The bell has a long history with the church. It was part of the dedication for a new church building in 1883.

About 20 people volunteered their time, equipment or both to help the family of Raymond Rosenhagen harvest this year’s wheat crop. The longtime Cheney-area farmer, 76, died May 16. His nephew, Tim Rosenhagen, helped organize the effort,

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which drew volunteers from both Cheney and Garden Plain.

challenger for the November election, giving the win to Bennett early.

Clearwater Village and presented her with a real crown, a sash and roses.

St. Joseph Catholic School in St. Joe Ost broke ground on an expansion for new classrooms and a new gymnasium.

The public school was closed due to declining enrollment, but an effort by local parishioners led to the opening of the Catholic school, and enrollment began increasing steadily since the school opened in 2004. Graduate Les Eck donated more than half of the $620,000 cost, and parishioners agreed to contribute another $100,000 in labor.

Eisenhower High School won its firstever football game on Aug. 31, beating Clearwater 22-20. The school was in its second year, but in the first year Eisenhower and Goddard students played on a combined Goddard Lions team.

The Cheney girls golf team placed second at the 3-2-1A State tournament, held on their home course, Cherry Oaks Golf Course.

Bob Cumming retired as coach of the Clearwater Swim Team after 25 years. He began coaching when his son was on the team. Cumming said it was an easy sacrifice to make after nearly giving his life when critically wounded fighting in the Vietnam War. “I wasn’t supposed to make it out of Vietnam after I was wounded. I figured I was supposed to pay it back somehow. The Lord let me live,” he said.

Cheney resident and Goddard High School graduate Marc Bennett effectively secured the job as the new District Attorney for Sedgwick County. Bennett, a longtime assistant DA for the retiring Nola Foulston, faced off against a former colleague in the August Republican primary. There was no Democratic

Pamela Horton, a 2006 graduate of Clearwater High School and a former Garden Plain resident, was named the October 2012 Playmate of the Month by Playboy magazine. She also graced the cover. Deanne Zogleman of Clearwater won a Mary Jean Teall Award for Best Female Lead in a Musical for her performance in “Children of Eden.”

The annual awards recognize the best in theater in the greater Wichita area.

Seventy years after the fact, Leila (Love) Anderson finally received a real crown and sash as Clearwater High School homecoming queen. Anderson, who was Clearwater’s homecoming queen in 1942, did not receive a real crown that year – in fact, there almost was not even a homecoming. World War II was raging and on top of everything else, the nation was recovering from the Great Depression. She originally received a crown made from cardboard and embellished with hard candy to simulate jewels. The 2012 candidates visited Anderson at the

The Garden Plain volleyball team placed second at the 3A State tournament in Salina.

Plans were revealed for a large development in Goddard, possibly featuring Olympic training venues or other attractions that would serve as tourist destinations. The development would be located east of the Goddard Galleria, home of the soon-to-be-completed Walmart Supercenter. The development is being spearheaded by Rick Worner, who is responsible for Village West in Wyandotte County, home of Kansas Motor Speedway, Great Wolf Lodge, Nebraska Furniture Mart and Sporting Park, home of the Sport Kansas City soccer team.

The Cheney American Legion Post 295 dedicated its Veterans Memorial Wall in Cheney. Members expected to raise funds over the course of three years, but within a year had collected enough money to construct the memorial. The dedication was held as part of the annual Veterans Day ceremony hosted by the post.

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February 9, 2012

Lions Club sausage supper draws ‘em in

By Travis Mounts

Once a year, Viola’s population triples or even quadruples as people come from all over for the Viola Lions Club sausage supper.

The event has a history of at least 55 years – maybe, more, but we’ll get into that in a bit – and the supper is still going strong.

“This event is a weeklong event. We start cleaning the gym a week ahead of time and go shopping a week ahead of time,” said Lion Chad Vancuren.

“There’s a hundred volunteers and we couldn’t do this without them.”

That’s something of an understatement.

The Viola Lions Club has just 16 members. Help comes from Lions Club members in Conway Springs, Goddard and Maize. Students in the Conway Springs school district help out and get credit for community service hours.

The Viola and Conway Springs clubs co-sponsor a Leo Lions Club, which is a junior organization for youth.

Community members help out, as do family members of the Lions.

Here’s a few other staggering numbers.

There’s 800 pounds of sausage, all handformed into patties. There’s another 600 pounds of potatoes. And 100 pounds of cabbage can make a lot of cole slaw.

Saturday started early for the volunteers, as they went into the “cook shack,” the Lions club kitchen at the city park across the street from the community building where the meal is held.

By 9 a.m. or so, the cooking begins.

Gravy starts getting cooked around 10:30 a.m. At the community building potatoes and green beans start cooking at 10 a.m.

On Friday, potatoes were peeled and 125 loaves of bread were buttered ahead of the big day.

All the food is homemade. In the early days, the applesauce was made from apples pulled off local trees. Potatoes used to be hand-peeled. Now a machine does that.

Vancuren said he wasn’t sure where the original sausage recipe came from, but it is a secret mix. Yoder Meats took over making the sausage after the Conway Springs Locker closed. The sausage can be purchased at Yoder Meats year-round.

Just look for the packages that say “Viola Sausage.” Sausage and other cuts of pork

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were also sold to take home on Saturday.

The other recipes are now in a computer. Vancuren’s grandmother ran the kitchen for more than 40 years, and when she hung up her apron she handed him the recipe books, which had gotten thick over the years.

For all their work, volunteers get first crack at the food. They eat about 2 p.m., an hour before the doors officially open.

A lot of the details of the dinner’s

origin have been lost to history.

While this was the 55th Lions Club dinner, the general thinking is the event was started at least a couple years earlier in the Presbyterian church basement. While it probably feeds 100-200 people early on, it seems the meal quickly grew out of its space and beyond what church members could do. Vancuren said it made sense for the Lions Club to take over since many members belonged to the church.

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