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Kensington Community News
August 16, 2010
Beautiful Evening for Old Fashioned
Saturday Night
After a week of sweltering heat with
temperatures in the century mark, Mother
Nature cooperated with a cold front
which arrived Saturday in time for
Kensington's Old Fashioned Saturday
Night. The temperature as the kiddie/pet
parade began at 6:30 p.m. read 82
degrees on the Main Street thermometer
with a slight breeze to keep the flies
and mosquitoes away. The streets were
lined with cars trying to find a place
to park as the large crowd gathered.
A mud volleyball tournament, a first for
the event, began at noon on the Rust's
lot on south Main Street and generated a
lot of interest and excitement. Nine
teams were registered and many
spectators came to watch the competition
and fun. The Muddobbers, Scott and Kelly
Bretton, Mary Krueger, Tim Riley, Greg
and Robin Billings, and Melissa
Westbrook, took first prize. Second
place team winners were Grant and
McKenzie Bailey, Adam Wahlmeier, Ashley
Wegener, and Dave and April Sattler.
Third team winners were Ryan and Tiffany
Rietzke, Josh and Becky Kirchhoff,
Brooke McDowell, and Matt and Courtney
Friesen. (See related story elsewhere in
this issue.) The beer garden at the
Legion had beverages available for the
thirsty throng throughout the afternoon
and evening.
The kiddie/pet parade began at 6:30 p.m.
with MC Bob Westbrook introducing the
entries. Each of the 37 children
involved in the parade was presented a
dollar bill by the Farmers' National
Bank. Prizes for best entries were
awarded as follows: Most
patriotic/school--"Longhorn Roundup" (Maycee
Westbrook, TyLynn and KinsLy Blank,
Sydni and Lexi Rust, Nick and Tyler
Davis); Best theme--Connor Engelke on a
four wheeler; Best group--3rd & 4th
grade BB champs (Mattie Riley, Layne
Pettijohn, Ragen and Jaden Boden); Most
humorous--"Rolling into town for a whale
of a good time" (Jase Bailey, Trent,
Kennedy and Kamryn Rietzke, Ceeley
Friesen); Most creative--"Fishing for
Longhorn Victories" (Raini and Owen
Hrabe and Abby Hardacre); Most
original--Amber Schmid and Tate Foreman;
Best bicycle--Kyler Seemann; Best
pet--"Future Rodeo Queen"--Peyton
Chestnut with Deveony Coomes,
Phillipsburg Rodeo Queen.
Egg toss competition was held. Winners
were--Lower division, Riggs Reneberg and
Colton Davis; Middle division, Dillon
Bretton and Trent Rietzke; Upper
division, Jerek Wagenblast and Troy
Schirmer. The children enjoyed rides on
the train compliments of NexTech
throughout the evening.
The food and game concessions opened
after the parade and had something for
everyone. Bottled water to walking tacos
and everything in between was available
from the food vendors. Everyone should
have found their favorite things to
eat.The dunk tank, chicken bingo and
other games were available. The balloon
lady delighted the children she
encountered by presenting them with many
different shapes.
The Future Sapphire Dancers performed to
the delight of the audience. They were
divided in young and older groups. This
was followed by the talented High School
Sapphire Dancers and performances by the
Middle School and High School
Cheerleaders.
Gospel music by The Family Tradition of
Alma, Neb., featuring Van Bradley
entertained the audience until dusk when
the action was taken to the Longhorn
Stadium where the fireworks display was
held. The evening concluded with a
street dance with The Family Tradition
providing country music.
A huge crowd came to enjoy the evening
together under the open sky on
Kensington's Main Street cooled by God's
air conditioning. It you did not attend,
the Kensington folks hope you will come
next year to enjoy an evening of fun and
fellowship. It takes the Kensington
Commercial Club, many volunteers and the
loyalty and support of the businesses to
mA reminder to the K-town Kates that we
will be going to Smith Center on
Saturday, August 28 to view Bob Levin's
fossil collections. We will meet at the
north Lutheran church at 9:30 a.m.
Make this event a success. Plans are
already formulating for a similar event
in August, 2011. Thanks to those that
made it possible and to those that came
to enjoy the evening in Kensington!
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Corner Corral Grand Opening
The grand opening of the Corner Corral
on Friday, August 13 brought a huge
crown to the corner of Highway 36 and
Main Street in Kensington. Pro-Ag
Marketing recently purchased the former
Golden Corral and the celebration marked
the changeover to the Corner Corral
Cenex Station and installation of
Ethanol Blender pumps.
Cars and pickups began arriving early to
get in line to fill up at the pumps with
the special prices on E-85 and other
ethanol blends sponsored by Prairie
Horizon Agri-Energy from 10 a.m. to
noon.
Comments were heard at 11 a.m. from
special guests, Kansas Secretary of
Agriculture Josh Svaty, Kansas Senator
Janis Lee, Steve Seabrook of POET
Ethanol Products, Monte Abell of Prairie
Horizons, and an aide to U.S. Senator
Jerry Moran (name not known).
A free lunch sponsored by Pro-Ag
Marketing was held at noon. Over 300
persons were served by the employees of
the Corner Corral according to manager
JoAnn Rice. The $25 grand prize was won
by Mick Barnes of Agra.
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Swimming Pool Closes Saturday
The last day for swimming at the
Kensington pool will be Saturday, August
21. The shortened schedule is 1:30 to
5:30 p.m. The pool was busy all summer
especially with the hot temperatures and
all swimmers appreciated the pool. The
swimming lessons were also well received
and appreciated. Thanks to the staff for
another great season!
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First Day of School is Thursday, Sept. 2
The football and volleyball practices
started Monday and enrollments at the
Thunder Ridge Schools are being held
this week. The first day of school will
not be until Thursday, Sept. 2, however.
(It is reported that the later starting
date is possible to the lengthening of
each school day by 15 minutes.) The
faculty is complete although some staff
decisions are not available at this
time. The :Longhorn Legend (school
paper) has been sent to all patrons and
contains the list of the faculty
members. If you have not received a
copy, stop at one of the school offices
and pick one up. The summer has flown by
despite some very hot temperatures.
Athletes will have to be ready for
competition before they are able to
think about classes. The first
volleyball triangular will be held at
Western Plains on Tuesday, August 31
with Northern Valley and Thunder Ridge
also participating. Another triangular
volleyball will be held at Kensington on
Thursday, Sept. 2 with Plainville and
Palco as guests.. Cross Country will
begin Thursday, Sept 2, at 4:15 p.m. The
first football game for Thunder Ridge
High School will be with Hill City at
Kensington on Friday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m.
The Thunder Ridge Middle School will
have their first volleyball and football
game the day school begins on Thursday,
Sept. 2, with Northern Valley at Long
Island. Game times are volleyball at 4
p.m. and football at 6 p.m.
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USD-110 Budget Meeting Monday
The USD-110 Thunder Ridge Board of
Education will have a budget meeting at
the Board room at the Elementary School
in Kensington Monday, August 23 at 7
p.m. All interested persons are welcome
to attend.
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Book
Sale at Library
It's too late to enjoy the delicious
homemade ice cream which was served at
the Kensington Community/School Library
Tuesday evening, but the used book sale
will continue through Friday, August 20.
There are many books available for a
very low price. Proceeds will go for
additions to the Young Adult section.
With the closing of the pool, children
may be bored with nothing to do until
school starts. The Library has
many beautiful new books as well as
DVD's available to help pass the time.
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August Birthday Party at Center
The August birthdays will be celebrated
at the Kensington Community Center at
dinner on Thursday, August 19. The Food
Pantry will be open Saturday, August 21
from 1 to 3 p.m. for anyone needing food
assistance. Pinochle will be played
Tuesday, August 31 at 7 p.m. Anyone who
enjoys a good time is invited.
The Board of Directors met Wednesday
noon, August 11 to discuss the center's
business. Te numbers for the noon meals
are on target but more can always be
handled for lunch. They extend an
invitation to come join in. The floors
need to be reconditioned and buffed A
buffer can be rented and volunteers are
needed to help with this project Plans
were made for the Smith County-wide
dinner on Thursday, Oct. 7 at noon.
Table decorations to go with the theme
"Home on the Range" are needed.
A garage/bake sale is planned for the
Highway 36 Treasure Hunt on Friday and
Saturday, September 17 and 18. Please
keep this in mind as you clean out
closets and cabinets. No clothes or
furniture, please. All donations are
appreciated and tax deductible.
Winners at pitch on August 12 with 8
players present were Barbara and Howard
Grauerholz, high, and having the most
13's, and Doris Slavik with low score
honors.
Menus
Monday, August 23--Hamburger gravy,
mashed potatoes, Calif. blend vegs,
bread, pears
Tuesday, August 24--BBQ pork sandwich,
potato wedges, cole slaw w/carrots, bun,
watermelon
Wednesday, August 25--Meat loaf, creamed
potatoes, peas, bread, apricots
Thursday, August 26--Taco salad, citrus
slices, chips, blueberry cobbler
Friday, August 27--Baked chicken, baked
beans, potato salad, roll, cook's choice
fruit
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Kates
Reminder
A reminder for members of the K-town
Kates from Donna Westbrook, coordinator,
that they will be going to Smith Center
on Saturday, August 28, to view Bob
Levin's fossil collections. Meet at the
St. John Lutheran parking lot (north) at
9:30 a./m. to carpool.
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Smith Family Reunion September 5
The annual gathering of the descendants
of late John and Etta Smith will be held
at the Athol Community Hall at noon on
Sunday, Sept. 5. It will be a carry-in
dinner. Anyone with family ties is
encouraged to attend.
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Mud Volleyball Tournament a Success
Old Fashioned Saturday Night in
Kensington added a new event to the
festivities with a mud volleyball
tournament being played during the
afternoon. The tournament was held in
Rust’s lot on South Main Street. Nine
teams entered into the contest and
enjoyed an afternoon of playing in the
mud! Money prizes were given to the
first, second and third place teams. The
Muddobbers team which consisted of Scott
and Kelly Bretton, Mary Krueger, Tim
Riley, Greg and Robin Billings and
Melissa Westbrook took first place in
the tournament.
The Commercial Club and Grant and
McKenzie Bailey organized the event and
wish to thank Rusts for the use of their
lot, Levin Construction for leveling off
the courts and bringing in dirt, Jerry
Rietzke and Ryan Rietzke for dirt work
and setting up the courts and bringing
in the bleachers, the Kensington Fire
Department for the use of the Fire
Trucks to keep the courts wet and to
wash off muddy players, the City of
Kensington for the use of the bathroom
facilities at the swimming pool, Troy
Conaway for purchasing and cutting the
poles for the volleyball nets, the SALS
for purchasing the nets, Pro Ag for the
use of their parking lot and the Rec
Commission for the use of the bleachers.
The event was a success, and will be on
the roster of events again next year!
Tiffany Rietzke, coordinator.
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Friends Enjoy Camping and Tubing
Over the weekend of July 31, fourteen
friends from Kensington and the
surrounding area made the trip to
Valentine, Neb., to tube the Niobrara
River. In attendance were Garrett Levin,
Kelsey Rahjes, Buzz Rice, Kyle Bienhoff,
and Jess Rietzke of Kensington; Russell
Dettmer, Derek and Staci Foreman of
Agra; Christina McCall and Stacy Rachow
of Phillipsburg; Michaela Berg of Logan;
Adam Synoground of Shawnee; and Mitch
Miller and Jordan Dettmer of North
Platte, Neb.
The group camped on the banks of the
Niobrara on Friday and Saturday nights.
On Saturday they made the six-hour trip
floating down the river. It was a
perfect day for tubing as it was about
95 degrees and sunny. Other than the
sunburns reported by most of the
attendees, a good time was had by all.
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Around
the Community
Sympathy is extended to Luetta Beckman
on the death of her sister, Erna Huls,
78, of Beatrice, Neb., early Sunday.
morning. She is survived by her husband,
Harlan. Luetta plans to attend the
funeral which will be held Wednesday
morning in Beatrice..
Duane and Chrys Engelke have returned
home after vacationing with Chrys'
parents, siblings and their spouses.
They spent two days in Denali National
Forrest, Alaska, then went on a 7-day
cruise from Whittier, Alaska, to Van
Couver, Canada, and spent two days
seeing sight in Van Couver. The trip was
taken in honor of Chrys' parents 60th
wedding anniversary.\\
Since being back home Duane and Chrys
have been busy helping their oldest son,
Brandon, move back to the area. He is
working at Pro-Ag and is presently
renting the home of the late Raymond and
Bunny Hagman south of town. They have
also been helping their daughter-in-law,
Carmen, get her day care center ready
which will be in the house that Deidra
and Justin Chestnut used to live in,
next to the home of Howard and Barbara
Grauerholz.
Lea (Larson) Norcross and four children,
Valerie, J.D. Norcross III, Amanda, and
Timothy of Champaign, Ill., spent a week
with Norma Larson. The kids enjoyed the
Library, swimming and wally ball while
here. Norma and Lea's family also
attended a Jay family reunion in Salina
on Sunday, August 1, as well as spending
time at Galen and Arleta Larson's place
feeding calves and enjoying their dogs
and trampoline.
Norma accompanied Lea and family to the
wedding of her grandson, Peder Fisher
and is bride in Topeka, and then spent
the night and visited the John Fisher
family. On Saturday before leaving to go
home to Champaign, Lea's husband, J. D.
Norcross Jr., met them in Topeka and
attended the wedding, too. Galen,
Arleta, Katie, Nathan and Heidi Larson,
all of Athol, were also at the wedding.
Charis Fisher of Perry and Hannah Smith
of Elgin, Ill, brought Norma home to
Kensington and spent several days
visiting in the area. Hannah shared
pictures of her trip to Africa earlier
this summer. Hannah and Charis returned
to Perry Thursday.
Duane and LeAnn Smith drove to Kansas
City on August 4 to board a plane to
Boston, Mass, to attend the wedding of
their grandson, Joel Smith and Nadia Al-Masri,
on Saturday, August 7. Nadia and Joel
were united in marriage at a pretty
ceremony and honored with a reception at
6:30 p.m. at the Central Wharf of the
New England Aquarium overlooking the
Boston Harbor.
The Smiths also enjoyed tours of the
Boston area including visits to the USS
Constitution "Old Ironsides", famous
Beacon Hill, Old North Church, and other
historical places in Boston. They
attended the baseball game between the
Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians
at Fenway Park the evening of August 5.
The Smiths report nice weather while in
Boston and arrived back to Kansas City
Sunday evening and traveled home on
Monday.
Mike, Dianna and Kerby Rice have been
busy getting ready for the farm sale of
Orville and the late Beverly Borgmann,
southwest of Athol on Saturday, August
14. They report a large crowd and a good
sale. Orville is living at the Smith
County Rest Home in Smith Center.
John and Kim Levin of Tucson, Ariz.,
visited relatives here about two weeks
ago. Evelyn Levin accompanied them back
to Tucson where she was able to attend
several special family events. They were
parties for her great-granddaughter
Kylee DePue's 16th birthday and her son
John Levin's 50th birthday. Among the 40
guests at John's party were his
daughters, Andrea Wiggins from Houston
and Lindsey and James Gloss of Phoenix,
his son and wife, Alex and Kimbralee
Levin of Tucson, and his sister, Carol
and Alan Erick of Dallas, along with
Alan and Jan Levin and family members
and friends who live in the Tucson area.
It's great to see the bulletin board on
the north side of the Kensington
Community Store lit up again with the
time, temperature and latest news. It's
one of those many things that you don't
miss until it isn't working. The sign
was purchased from funds made available
from the Hansen Foundation several years
ago.
The cleaning and maintenance repairs of
the Kensington water tower has created a
lot of interesting watching with workers
at the top doing their job. It is now
completed and citizens commend city
maintenance person, Lee Johnson, for
keeping the water pressure at the usual
levels most of the time during the
process.
It's been great to have some of the
college students home for the summer,
but they will be heading back to the
campuses later this week.
There were a lot of families with
company this past weekend. If you would
allow to have your guests listed, please
call Ruth at 476-2801 or e-mail her at
ruthb@ruraltel.net so they can be
included next week. Readers appreciate
hearing of your family gatherings.
The pop-up thunderstorms last week
missed the Kensington area and a nice
rain would be appreciated again. A
chance of rain is included in this
week's forecast with cooler weather.
Thought for the week--A true friend is
someone who knows you're a good egg even
if you're a little cracked."
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Prairie
Haven Tidbits
Greetings, exercises and one-one
sessions are scheduled each day. Nail
care was given Monday morning. Current
events were presented Tuesday and
Wednesday mornings. The United Church
had the Thursday morning Bible study.
The party for August birthdays with ice
cream and cake was held Friday
afternoon. Bingo was played Tuesday and
Friday afternoons and the local news was
read Friday. Other things discussed were
home canning, Lucille Ball, number
trivia, and presidents. Movies and
television viewing were also enjoyed.
St. John Lutheran Church had the Sunday
afternoon worship and communion service
with Pastor Patsy assisted by Linda
Miller. Others present were Eleanora
Ratliff, Dianna Rice, and Ruth Bienhoff.
Kenneth and Janice Rose stopped by for a
brief visit.
Lola Peters enjoys her family stopping
for Sunday morning coffee. Ruth Smith
had Sunday dinner at the Corner Corral
as a guest of her son and wife, Arnold
and Linda Smith, to celebrate her 94th
birthday. Dale and Dorothy Detwiler were
also present.
Other visitors were Ann Abbott with
Doris Berland; Pat Bienhoff with Louie
Bienhoff and Mary and Montra Jones;
Dianna Rice with Dorine Kuhlmann; Mary
Struckhoff and Eleanora Ratliff with
Aleen Schalansky; Nadine Hayden and
Shannon, Hannah and Jackson Hayden of
Andover with Clara Beckmann; George
Ferguson with Ann Ferguson; Kathy and
Mary Beth with Ronald and Helen Molzahn;
Alfred Durcharm with Aleta Durcharm; Ora
Elliott with Zelda Elliott. |
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