KWIBS - From February 20, 2012 - By Kevin Noland

will return

KWIBS - From February 13, 2012 - By Kevin Noland

KWIBS - From February 6, 2012 - By Kevin Noland

KWIBS - From January 30, 2012 - By Kevin Noland

KWIBS - From January 23, 2012 - By Kevin Noland

KWIBS - From January 16, 2012 - By Kevin Noland

KWIBS - From January 9, 2012 - By Kevin Noland

KWIBS - From January 2, 2012 - By Kevin Noland

KWIBS - From December 26, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

KWIBS - From December 19, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

A few weeks ago, one of our country’s $6 million spy drones (the RQ170) made a somewhat gentle landing in Iran.

Without missing a beat, Iranians declared they shot it down, but later displayed the virtually undamaged craft for its country run media and propaganda machine.

Later in the week, Iran claimed to have decoded our military’s technology and jammed our signals, landing this supersecret plane after it went astray from a CIA and Department of Defense mission in Afghanistan.

As I understand, once contact with the operators is broken, drones such as the RQ170 are programmed to circle an area until contact is reestablished, sources said. If contact is not reestablished during a pre-programmed period, it is designed to return to base or to self-destruct -- directed through a separate channel or program. A common outcome is that the drone crashes and is burned by its fuel.

Who knows why this didn’t happen, but it’s obvious that it didn’t.

President Obama asked Iran to return the drone. Iran has stated it will not return the drone and that the drone landing in their country and violating their airspace was an act of war in itself.

I’m pretty sure that everyone knows we’re flying these things over Iran and that one of these things was bound to crash or be shot down at some point.

A couple of things that struck me as very odd about this situation was that - we lost this thing in the first place; and that we had no plan to be 100% sure it would be destroyed rather than fall into enemy hands in the case of malfunction. We are (or were recently) the most technologically advanced nation in the world.

Why doesn’t this thing have cameras all over it and a button that can be pushed that makes this thing go "boom!". (You would want the cameras for the surprised look on everyone’s faces...)

I’ve offered my assistance to President Obama this week to help resolve the problem.

My letter:

"Dear Iran,

We’re sorry that one of our remote control planes landed in your desert. We were flying it over here in Afghanistan and it malfunctioned and for some dumb reason, we’ve programed it to land gently. We’re correcting that problem. In the future, if we lose contact with one, they are set to fly over the ocean climb to 30,000’ and then nose dive at full speed. I’m not sure yet who is getting fired over the default setting to "auto land".

We’re pretty sure you didn’t shoot it down and we are even more sure that you do not possess the technology to force it from the sky, but consistency and storytelling have never been your country’s strong points.

We’re asking, kindly and formally, that you return our $6 million spy-plane. We’ll meet you at the border and compensate you for your time and delivery. We realize that it might seem like an unreasonable request, but we want it back. We do have like close to 1,000 of these things ready to go in a moment’s notice, but it just doesn’t seem right to let you have even one.

We’ll give you a few options:

A) Return it now.

If you won’t give it back by: (insert exact time and date here) we’ll destroy it.

Yes, we realize that this would be another act of aggression against your sovereign nation, but if you don’t give it back right now we’re going to drop one of those really, really smart bombs with pinpoint precision that will destroy a 100’ radius with, hopefully, no collateral damage. We do have compassion for innocent lives. That’s why we’re going to give you 10 minutes to get out of the way before we drop it.

By keeping our aircraft and accepting and cashing the enclosed check for damages, you have agreed to hold harmless the United States and its interests.

Other options to consider:

B) Return it now.

C) Return it now.

Signed, President Obama"

Well, I read today that Obama actually considered a covert mission to reclaim or destroy the drone, but decided not to because any mission of that nature could be considered too aggressive or an "act of war."

News flash.... Iran has already declared that invading their airspace with a drone was an "act of war."

Seriously, what do we have to lose here?

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With the Thanksgiving Holiday rushing right into December Christmas celebrations, our psychic abilities dimmed. I got a phone call last week from a reader who asked, "Why wasn’t anything in the paper about the vandalism to the Sharon Christmas light display?"

Honestly, I didn’t hear about it until last week when this reader called us. Folks sometimes think we just know everything, but often we don’t. "Well it was on TV!," the person said.

Well, who called the TV and not the local newspaper?

We ran three stories on the Christmas celebration in Sharon, but no one ever bothered to call us and tell us about what happened with the park.

We have a story this week on page 11. I’m sorry it took this long to cover it. That’s a sad deal and such a disappointing thing to have happen in any community. I hope the punishment is severe for those responsible. I suggested that those responsible be wrapped in LED lights and be forced to stand in the Sharon Park on display each evening until Christmas.

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This is the second to the last issue of the Premiere for the year of 2011. It’s also the time we celebrate Christmas in our newspaper and share the letters from the grade school children. I have a few favorite issues I print every year. These last two of the year are my favorites because of the letters to Santa and The Year In Review.

Here’s my favorite letter from Derrek Randels. He writes, "Dear Santa,

I want a feed pickup with red front and flat black bed. Also I want a color maker, and one sock and a skunk also I want a KU real helmet and a ninja set. Wait! Also I want an ipad also two big boxing gloves. Thanks.

Love, Derrek Randels written by Elf Garrett Randels".

One sock and a skunk? Oh my, next year this boy is getting another sock, some tomato juice and a bar of soap.

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I pray that each one of you has a blessed Christmas celebration with those you love and remember what it is that we’re celebrating this time of year: The birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas to you all.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From December 12, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Can you imagine my excitement when my wife handed me the envelope that was addressed from "Settlement Department."

I actually read my mail. I can’t tell you the number of class action law suits I have inadvertently become a party to by simply doing nothing.... I didn’t even know I was harmed.

Several years ago, I got a settlement check for $930 from an overpayment to my motorcycle insurance company. That was a good one! Last week, I got a settlement check for $18.35 from an attorney who sued Visa. That bought me lunch. This week, I got a check from Ying Ling vs. Ebay Settlement in the amount of, (drum roll........), 14 cents. That bought me nothing and only got my wife crazy stares from the bank tellers when she cashed it.

Seriously? 14 cents? The check itself, the paper, envelope and postage probably totaled closer to $1. Some lawyer made millions and I got 14 cents because Ebay Motors miscalculated some final charges on a Harley I sold on Ebay back in 2002.

From what I read, that was a pretty average amount on the settlement. Some were actually as high as $18,000, but mine was far less.

Here’s the problem....

"Bill" (as we’ll call him) recently received a card, letting him know about a class action settlement involving his lawnmower. To be honest, Bill didn’t even know that he was a part of this class action lawsuit. He didn’t even know there was a problem with his lawnmower.

This class action lawsuit had nothing to do with the product’s safety. Bill’s family wasn’t in jeopardy because of his lawnmower. This ridiculous lawsuit was over "claims that the Defendants misrepresented and overstated the horsepower of their lawnmowers and lawnmower engines." Although the defendants deny these claims, they did agree to settle.

In this particular class action case, the lawyers intend to collect over $14 million in fees.

Here is the problem I have with these types of class action lawsuits – Bill never knew he was harmed by his lawnmower and I bet the hundreds of thousands of consumers who bought these products between January 1, 1994 and April 12, 2010 never knew they were harmed either. It is a prime example of lawsuits gone crazy. Cases like this one jam the court system and prevent the timely resolution of legitimate claims.

Stupid class action lawsuits are an abomination of the tort system. Tort claims should only be made by people who have actually suffered harm and are not part of an unknown class of individuals who weren’t harmed, never once thought they were harmed and did not go out and hire an attorney to file a lawsuit.

KWIBS - From December 5, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Barb Keltner would roll over in her grave. Wait, Barb Keltner isn’t dead. She might die when she finds out what I bought last week.

For years Barb and I have had this "good vs. evil" fight over Mac/Apple and PC platforms. She being a Mac fan and me being a PC fan.

I used to joke that they put the handles on the old IMacs so that you could carry them into the repair shop easier or toss them in the landfill without straining to pick them up.

She of course at every opportunity would tell me how wonderful Apple products were and I would give her the "mmm-hmm" man-sound that means I really didn’t care.

But thanks in part to the power of marketing, the death of Steve Jobs, the alignment of the planets or whatever else you want to claim did it, last week I bought an Apple Ipad 2.

And I like it.

My son was like, "Why do you need an Ipad?"

Well, I’m sure there is a free application that will help me to deal with teenagers.

Actually, there are a lot of really cool "apps". Most of them are for sale, at a nominal fee, but some are free and are sort of useful.

Take for instance, "Duetsch". This application helps you to learn German. That would be great if I really wanted to learn German, but I don’t. However, my son set up my Ipad and installed this little "free" app so every 30 minutes my Ipad automatically turns on and says a German word or phrase. It startles me and I’m annoyed with this, but not smart enough to figure out how to turn it off.

Another "app" is one called "Lightsaber." This practical application allows me to hone my futuristic sword-fighting skills. I am sure this will come in handy in my day to day newspaper activities.

My favorite "app" though has to be the "Paper Toss" application. In this application, you are challenged to throw wadded up paper into a trash can with interference from a fan blowing.

There you have it, Barb. I’m now an Apple user.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From November 28, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

This is a story, too good not to share, about small town living. We are blessed to be able to laugh at ourselves every once in a while. Norma Ricke was good enough to let us reprint this story after a mishap she had at the grocery store last week.

Well, I have gone up and opened the door of a vehicle that looked like mine in front of a store, I have even got inside and sat down in one that looked like mine before I realized it wasn't, but I have never got in, sat down, started it up, and drove home in it, until today! Many thanks to a lovely lady named Bonnie Bailey who only laughed and assured me that it was no big deal when I brought her 2004 maroon Chevy pickup back to White's and exchanged it for mine! Not so much to Norm who kept yelling "THIEF!" at me!

Here’s the story.....

Well, I was in my kitchen cooking lunch with what I had picked up at the grocery store. The shop phone rang and I ignored it knowing Mark would get it, then he could tell whoever it was if he had something or not.

In a couple seconds my cell phone rang and it was Mark. I asked if he was ready to come in and eat lunch and he said, "No, but I am ready for you to jump in Bonnie Bailey's pickup and take it back to her."

Thinking he meant it was a customers and he needed me to help deliver it back to her I asked, "Ok, where does she live?"

He laughed and said," I don't know but she's at the grocery store and would like to have her pickup back!"

And that's when I knew.

I started freaking out and saying "Oh my gosh, am I in trouble?", but of course all he could do was laugh.

I finally hung up on him and went and got into the pickup that looked EXACTLY like mine and started the long drive back to town. I was practically in tears when I pulled in and saw the cop car parked in front of White's.

I very timidly started walking into White's when Norm stuck his head out of their liqour store and yelled, "Thief! Thief!"

Then Charlie Ricke and another lady I assumed was Bonnie came out and they were laughing.

I said "I am so sorry!"

The Bonnie lady gave me a big hug and said it could have just as easily been her. The cop who had been walking towards us must have realized I was just a moron, not a thief so he turned around and got in his car and drove off. THANK YOU LORD FOR THE BLESSING OF LIVING IN A SMALL TOWN!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From November 21, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

I had meetings almost every night last week, so it was late when I made my trek back to the ranch.

Several nights just after mile marker 30 on US281, a very healthy looking coyote sat on the east side of the road to greet me. He startled me a couple of times and I had to swerve to miss him.

He was there in the morning as I went back to work, munching on the carcass of a deer. This is a major crossing for them by the way, with no sign telling them to cross or warning motorists of their crossing. I just know they are there because of the amount of trips I make through there.

The coyote was just an opportunist.

On Wednesday night, we were returning home from the Harper County Oil Summit and we came up on him. Only this time, he was the victim. The poor little guy got creamed by some unassuming vehicle. He became dinner for the crows by Thursday morning.

It just goes to prove it’s a crow-eat-dog-eat-deer world out there.

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Speaking of the oil summit...

Ronda and I went to Chaparral High School on Wednesday with Steve and Suellen Bryan. We sort of figured on seeing a few Barber County residents. Imagine our surprise when we saw over 1,000 people in attendance. The Harper County K-State and research center were equally surprised to see the turn out. I don’t think anyone realized how much interest there is in the oil activity in our area. Everyone is an opportunist.

The program featured speakers from Chesapeake, SandRidge and Shell. It was informative and has reaffirmed my belief that our area is about to burst at the seams with activity. This will include a boost for retailers, property owners and will also bring in new money to the area for quite a few years. Hopefully, it will make some of you wealthy too!

I think we are all a little bit like that coyote - looking for opportunity. I just hope we don’t get eaten by the crows.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From November 14, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

On Thursday, November 3rd President George W. Bush spoke to about 5,000 people at the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting at the Convention Hall in Century II. It was a "bucket list" item for me, but because of ballgames and schedule (and not enough money for the $250 ticket), I had to pass.

An email crossed my desk over the weekend from former Premiere staffer and MLHS graduate Seth Oldham. Seth got a chance to hear the former president speak and shared this blog with me and asked me to share it with my readers.

He came in at just the wrong moment. President George W. Bush walked onto stage just two sentences too early to start his night off in Wichita. After confidently back-stepping behind the curtain, he successfully entered the stage thirty seconds later, waving and thanking the energetic crowd.

This was the first of many instances in which the former president caused the enormous crowd to burst into laughter. The former president seemed to let his guard down as he entertained and informed Wichitans last night. His humanness smacked the audience in the face right from the start. His speech began with an anecdote about the day he watched Barack Obama being sworn into the office of the president. He plopped down on his couch and started conversing with his wife.

"Thank goodness that's over." he said to Laura. "I'll finally have some free time on my hands."

"Yes, George," she replied, "Now you finally have the time to do your own dishes."

"Laura. You do realize you're talking to the former President of the United States?" he responded.

"Yes, I do. Just call this your new Domestic Policy Plan."

Wichitans were wooed by the President's southern charm and casual demeanor. Bush even managed to utilize the word "dude" in his speech. Most were disappointed that no "Bush-isms" were coined, but they were impressed with how frequently he made fun of himself. While talking about his book, he acknowledged that most people in D.C. didn't think that he could even read, let alone write. He also cracked jokes about the fateful day that he choked on a pretzel, passed out, and was resuscitated by the President's doctor.

All jokes aside, the former President spoke with incredible honesty about some of the decisions and events that shaped his presidency. At about the middle of his speech, he referenced his decision to send 15 billion dollars worth of aid to Africa to battle the HIV/AIDS epidemic. At the time of this decision, many Americans were upset with his choice to send aid abroad when the U.S. had its own problems to deal with. In one heartfelt sentence, he justified his decision, saying, "As the President of the most powerful nation ever, you must have priorities."

Most audience members had to fight their way through protesters outside chanting, "ARREST GEORGE BUSH." And although they were causing a ruckus, the one word that George Bush yelled during his speech was volumes louder and better received. He spoke of the choice to use faith-based programs to implement the HIV/AIDS prevention programs in Africa and the controversy that it caused because of their conservative and traditional approach. "If you want to tick some people off," he said, "just go to the Lincoln Memorial and yell 'ABSTINENCE' at the top of your lungs."

After wrapping up his speech, the president transitioned into a one-on-one interview with a member of the Wichita Chamber of Commerce. The interviewer asked him several questions, including "What went through your mind on September 11, 2001 and what are your thoughts ten years later?" Bush answered with sincerity and expressed his surprising lack of emotion during the 10 year memorial service. "The service was impersonal," he said. "I was sitting in a bulletproof glass box and watching the service from a distance."

Whether Republican, Democrat, or other, each member of the audience left Century II with a better sense of who George W. Bush is and the rationale behind his decision making during his presidency. His Christian values permeated throughout the entire presentation, but they really shone when he ended his speech saying, "God is Good," to which the Kansas crowd joyfully responded, "All the time!"

Thank you for sharing this Seth.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From November 7, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

 Every day I make my way to town from the north on 281. I watch the sun shine on our sleepy little town and I wonder, "Does Medicine Lodge have any idea what is about to happen to her?"

The oil boom is about to hit our area like a wicked summer storm. Only this time, we know it’s coming.

I’ve written about this numerous times, but I need to hammer it home with my readers. It’s coming. Unlike previous oil booms from the past, this wave and the new technology involved, is bringing in one of the world’s largest oil companies. Shell Corporation has made clear its intentions to drill horizontally in our area. With their coming, hundreds, perhaps thousands of jobs will lie in the wake.

Are we getting ready or are we burying our heads in the sand? Will we give up opportunity to cities like Pratt, Kingman, Harper and Anthony or will we grab the bull by the horns and get a piece of this fossil fuel stuffed pie? Some surrounding counties are already feeling the growing pains from the first wave of oilfield workers entering the area. We’ve already missed out on offices for local executives.

I’ve been speaking with some of my friends who I trust and believe are in "the know". We cannot move fast enough to develop housing and infrastructure. During our discussions this week I ran across a story about a similar situation in a community not so unlike our own. Could this be us?

Thu Oct 27, 2011 1:43 AM EDT

By Catherine Kim and Jessica Hopper, Rock Center

Those hurt hard by the ailing economy are flocking to Williston, N.D., where an oil boom has turned a sleepy prairie town into a place producing thousands of jobs.

"There's opportunity here and that's what we all need is opportunity," said Williston Mayor Ward Koeser. "It's kind of been an oasis for the country. You know, there's a lot of jobs here, good paying jobs in the oil industry."

Williston is situated on the Bakken formation, an oil field that some say will produce the biggest boom in North America since the 1960s. Koeser said that his town currently has 2,000 to 3,000 jobs and they haven't been able to fill the openings fast enough.

"A lot of jobs get filled every day, but it's like for every job you fill, another job and a half opens up," Koeser said.

A job on an oil rig can pay as much as six figures. The starting salary for truck drivers is around $80,000. While the nation's unemployment rate is 9.1 percent, Williston's unemployment rate is less than 1 percent.

Locals say job seekers from all 50 states are heading to the North Dakota town, becoming modern-day pioneers. The town's population has nearly doubled from 12,600 people to 23,000 people.

Patrick Parker hitchhiked from Yuba City, Calif., to Williston. When NBC News spoke to him, he had just $12 in his pocket. Parker, a paving stone layer by trade, has been out of work for two years.

"One of my goals is to make my daughters proud of me," said an emotional Parker. "I want to make them proud because I worked a good job for 10 years and then for it to go away it's just, it just gets to me a little bit."

Parker is one of a dozen people NBC News saw setting up camp or living in their cars in the parking lot of the local Wal-Mart. Williston's housing construction hasn't caught up with its rapid growth.

Parker said the town feels "like the old gold rush town."

Oil was discovered in this part of North Dakota 60 years ago, but it was only recently that oil producers have found a way to get at it more effectively. After drilling about two miles down, they drill horizontally for another two miles through the bed of rock where the oil is trapped. Using a technique called fracking - water, sand and chemicals are shot into the rock formation from that horizontal pipe to create cracks and fractures. From those openings, comes the oil. Those in the oil industry say the tight rock that traps the oil, also prevents it from escaping into the water table during the fracking process.

North Dakota is currently the fourth largest producer of oil in the United States, but that is projected to change soon. A spokesperson for North Dakota’s Mineral Resources Department said that oil production in the state is expected to surpass Alaska and California by 2015 which means North Dakota will be the second largest oil producer in the country soon.

Along with the bounty from the oil boom, come some stresses and strains. A sewage system that's running at full tilt, truck traffic congestion, an influx in 911 calls-those are just a few of the headaches that keep Mayor Koeser up at night.

There is such a large influx of people that thousands are staying in 'man camps'- shipping containers converted into housing units for the workers new to town. When more teachers were hired to deal with the rising number of students, an apartment building had to be built to house the new teachers, Koeser said.

"When we have as many people come here everyday looking for work, where are they going to live," Koeser asked. "How are we going to get water to them and sewer to them and a road to them and power to them and all those sorts of issues. Yeah, it's putting a tremendous amount of pressure on the infrastructure."

Of all the stresses, the biggest strain on the community is truck traffic, the mayor said.

"That's really stressing us, the traffic, a lot of accidents," said Koeser. "In a small community, you're used to getting from one side of town to the other in just a few minutes, that's no longer the case."

The number of accidents in September were double the amount the same time a year ago, the Williston Herald reported.

The surplus of people living in the town coupled with the traffic accidents has led to a drastic rise in calls to 911. Koeser said that the police receive at least 10,000 more calls a year than in pre oil boom times.

"Now keep in mind, you've got, you know, probably 9,000 men living in man camps around the city, not in the city limits, but living around the city and what do they do at night when they're done with work? They come to town and find a bar and want to have a good time, and sometimes get in trouble," Koeser said.

But that means more jobs: the town is adding six new policeman and three dispatchers this year, the mayor said.

Even with the headaches, Koeser said he and Williston's other residents are lucky that the town has become an oasis for job seekers.

"I've lived here most all of my life and I love it. And although we're really being challenged right now, with those challenges come some great opportunities," he said.

KWIBS - From October 31, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Will return...

KWIBS - From October 24, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Last Tuesday evening, a little over 100 people came to The First Christian Church for the community’s first public meeting on Peace Treaty.

It’s good to see so many interested folks. I scanned the room and saw every face being familiar. They were all involved in some aspect. Whether actors, sponsors, board members, committee chairs or just people working with various groups and organizations, they were all part of Peace Treaty’s success.

And no one wants it to end.

108 people filled out a survey as to when the next pageant should take place. 33 people want it again in 3 years, 41 want it in 5 years, 28 people want it in six years to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the signing of the treaty in 1867, 6 others had anywhere from 4-5 years.

The current board recommends waiting until 2017 to do the next one, with events in between to build up the excitement for the 150th. I am in favor of this idea. There are so many pros and cons to doing it sooner or later, but the biggest concern I have is, will people still want to come and participate in 6 years? I hope they will.

Three years is just too soon. I can tell you that this community is not ready to begin planning a 2014 event. We would need to start immediately and frankly, a few people need a breather before beginning another one.

Several ideas are floating around for events between the next pageant. One of those ideas was announced on Tuesday. The Indians that participated this year would love to have a pow-wow event in Medicine Lodge. Steve Bryan recommends we pursue that idea. Some other ideas include music events and scaled down performances of the night show’s cancan girls.

Whatever we do, we need to first select the people who will lead the next celebration. So far, there are many workers, but few willing to lead. For those who made 2011’s event so succesful: You’ve set the bar high!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From October 17, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

First let me say that this is in no way directed at our local folks at the USPS. These folks do their job to the best of their ability given the resources they have and the shrinking budget.

It is my opinion, one gathered and formed from being a decent-sized customer of the USPS, that this business is in desperate need of a complete revamp in its service.

Recent discussion of closing smaller post offices only frustrates me when I hear talk of ways to make the Post Office more profitable. Each week I read at least a dozen emails from frustrated newspaper publishers across the state in regards to delivery problems.

A perfect example of this comes from a customer in Sharon this week who received his Monday-mailed paper on Wednesday. Now this was normal for this past week with Columbus Day, but for the past several weeks, it was unacceptable. He’s considering dropping his subscription and buying the newspaper over the counter.

Another customer in Alva dropped her subscription to the paper after it took more than two weeks for it to arrive.

Newspapers to New Mexico and California can take as long as 3-4 weeks to deliver.

We have little, to no control of the speed at which the newspaper is delivered. The mailing is done each and every Monday, provided it is not a holiday. The mailing programs we use are certified by the USPS to ensure best rate and delivery.

My final straw this week was an important package delivered to us on Tuesday. This package was shipped 33 days prior and arrived to us, opened and retaped. Inside, half the contents were missing or damaged. Packages inside this package were opened. Someone went through this package while it was in possession of the USPS. No explanation was given to why its contents were lost, stolen and damaged.

There are more reasons that the Post Office is in financial trouble. First, Congress requires that the USPS fund both the retirement program and the health plan at 100%. The average for the S&P 500 funding is 80%. Other federal employees is 41%; the military is 24%; and the some government bureau which requires the USPS to fund at 100% does not fund its plans at all.

Second, it’s run by the federal government (and funded by fees). No one can deny the inefficiency of the government. The Post Office is expected to handle 167 billion pieces of mail this year. That’s a huge number – but it represents a 22 percent decline from just five years ago. Also, the Post Office’s total volume is expected to plunge by another 30 percent over the coming decade.

The Internet and corporately owned companies like UPS, FedX and DHL are cutting into their business and providing a faster and in some cases, less expensive solution to mail.

A perfectly stated opinion by Fitsnews read, "Of course it’s not just the ongoing decline in mail volume that’s creating this gaping financial hole. Like everything else government does, it delivers packages inefficiently, too. According to the latest data, more than 80 percent of the Post Office’s expenses are devoted to labor costs. By comparison, only 32 percent of FedEx’s expenses are labor-related.

Like any business who wants to survive, change must occur. It’s not always easy. Years ago, we had issues with the quality of the printing of our newspaper. Our customers wanted a better quality product. We demanded change and got it. It was not the smoothest of transitions. It required a new way of thinking and lot more work than what we thought, but we did it to survive.

I am thankful to our local Post Office for working hard to provide us with the best service available. I hope someone out there is smart enough and determined enough to make this service work without wrecking it even further.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From October 10, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Stop what you are doing and get out a pen and mark this date. October 18, 2011 there will be an informational meeting about Peace Treaty at the First Christian Church Family Life Center at 7 p.m.

If you are interested in the future of this event, I encourage you to attend and learn about what it means to serve this fine association.

I know that many of you want to keep this tradition alive and this meeting will be the first of many to come before planning the next big event for our community.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From October 3, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

The response about the 23rd Peace Treaty has been overwhelming.

Monday evening the Peace Treaty board held a short meeting, a debriefing of sorts, to talk about the pros and cons of the event. The pros definitely won. It might be weeks before we have the final numbers, but it looks like it was around 11,500 in attendance over the three day celebration

My inbox was so packed coming in Monday morning, that it crashed and I had to reboot my computer.

I’ve tried my best to sort through the letters and comments and put them in the paper this week. Surprisingly, I ran across one negative letter about Peace Treaty, but it was obvious that this person poorly planned their trip to Medicine Lodge and it was in no way our fault that she and her family didn’t have a good time.

The weekend was a great moral shot in the arm for our community. Everywhere I went this week, someone wanted to talk about how great Peace Treaty was. No doubt, we have some momentum that we can either build on or we can reminisce about the great Peace Treaty of 2011 one day. It’s our choice.

As far as the future of Peace Treaty, it is up to all of us to decide. It looks like it won’t be the last, but for many on the board, it’s time for fresh blood.

Everyone on the board agrees it was one of the best celebrations ever and we all enjoyed working together. It was strange going in to this past week without some Peace Treaty task before me. Monday night’s meeting was a climax of several months of planning. It left me with a feeling of real satisfaction and pride in our community. Peace Treaty truly was a product of a town coming together. It doesn’t just have to be with Peace Treaty. It can be that successful with everything we do, if we work together.

I hope you enjoyed yourself and I hope you enjoy the letters to the editor this week.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From September 26, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

What a weekend!

I’m actually writing this before it ever happened, but that’s how this business works sometimes. The town could have been destroyed by a freak earthquake, but my paper will say the weekend was a huge success!

It was all accomplished by the many hours of volunteers in our community. Some of them have been visible on the front page of the paper, or you see them actually working during the pageant and other related events. Some were nearly out of sight and out of mind. Those were some of the most important people making Peace Treaty happen.

One of those people was David Colborn. He got little recognition for what he did, but each and every one of us on the board and on committees knows his contribution. David spent countless hours and got the electricity flowing to our vendors, our bands and the pageant grounds. He also got our sound system on Main Street patched up in a couple of spots to help with announcing the parades.

When he first said he’d do it, I don’t think he understood the magnitude of the project he’d undertaken. David zipped all around town hooking things up, figuring things out and got it all done before the events took place.

We thank him for what he did for Peace Treaty and the community. His services were invaluable.

At last Monday’s meeting someone said, "Hey, he’s our new Ron Ward!" For those who remember Ron, he was the guy that always took care of the electrical needs of Peace Treaty.

Also of great importance was the work that Southern Pioneer did for the association. Thank you to Mark and Brian and Amy for answering all my calls

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I also want to thank my staff here at the paper for working so hard these past few weeks. It has been a little hectic, to say the least, in our office. The week of Peace Treaty we answered a lot of calls and did a lot of running around.

I was gone a good majority of the week with making some of the final arrangements and people stepped up to help me out and I do appreciate it. Thank you to my Wife Ronda, Doris and my Mom Joyce. You guys are the best. Because of the short week for us, much of our photography work is only available online. Go to www.facebook.com and search "The Gyp Hill Premiere" for hundreds of photos of the weekend.

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There are just too many people to thank. Actually, the most important person I can think of to thank is you. If you came and enjoyed the weekend, we thank you for being a part of it. It wouldn’t have been Peace Treaty without you.

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2011 Peace Treaty was very special for me and my family. I appeared in the pageant with my two boys, Nicholas and Joey and AFS daughter Elli Unger. It was a cool experience. We leave 2011 Peace Treaty wondering what its future holds. I hope it continues for many more generations.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From September 19, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Are you ready for a fun weekend? Well, we’ve got you covered, wagon! Ha! Peace Treaty humor....

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As you felt by the weight of this week’s paper, we’ve been very busy. The special section for Peace Treaty is in this week’s paper. Hopefully, you didn’t get too upset when you saw that we charged a buck for it. It was a mammoth project with an impressive cost to produce. For the first time in the history of Peace Treaty special sections, we have put out a multi color edition. The cost of next week’s paper will return to the normal 75 cents.

Speaking of next week’s paper.... For the past several weeks I have been stressing out over the September 26th copy of The Gyp Hill Premiere. With it being a Peace Treaty weekend, it’s hard to find the time to actually work at our real jobs! I had originally thought about taking an extra day to make the newspaper come out on Tuesday, but when I requested a print date change, I discovered we wouldn’t be able to come out until Wednesday, so we decided to stay on schedule.

So for the past week or so, I keep having these reoccurring dreams that we didn’t make our press time. I hope these are just bad dreams!

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Here we are, just a few days away from what some have said "could be" our last Peace Treaty Pageant. It seems almost sacrilegious to even utter the word "last and Peace Treaty" in the same sentence.

I’ve been asked many times if this is true and I always have to answer, "You know, it could be, but I don’t know." The decision is actually up to me. It’s up to you and everyone else who treasures this event. Peace Treaty can only go on with the support of the many people it takes to put it on. Frankly, some of them are tired, some are old, some are just too busy. The list for reasons to stop the pageant goes on and on.

Keep in mind, the list of reasons to keep it going are bigger than the reasons to stop it, but it still takes countless hours of volunteerism and sacrifice to do this event.

I want to commend Sarah Whelan and everyone on the board and who helps make Peace Treaty possible. It has been such an honor to be a part of the process. My part is so small.

I’ve been to many of the meetings and I always leave with a sense of pride in the people who donate time, money and their blood, sweat and tears to this event. Some of these people say it will be their last time. I can only hope that they reconsider.

I do know this to be true. It will be a fantastic event, rain or shine. So much buzz has been generated that it can be nothing but a success. It might be an ironic marketing twist that this could be one of the top Peace Treaty weekends in its many years in existence simply because so many think it could be the last one.

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It’s going to be such a busy week in our community. I actually had to schedule a place and a time to shower for the three day weekend. Since we live out in the country and I have so many things going on each day, I realized I didn’t have time to go home and freshen up after the Pageant.

I play the part of Colonel J.K. Rankin of the US Cavalry. He was one of the many diplomats that attended the original Peace Council. I can only imagine how hot he must have been in his dark blue wool jacket and pants. On top of that, he was surrounded by some irritated Native Americans. That must have been stressful. He probably smelled worse than I do after wearing that outfit for a couple of hours. But still, I owe it to you and everyone else I plan on running into over the weekend to find time to take a shower.

Speaking of seeing people, I so look forward to running into former class mates and seeing old friends over the weekend.

Medicine Lodge thanks you for attending Peace Treaty 2011. We hope you have as much fun this weekend as we’ve had planning it out. With your support, it won’t be the last time we get together and remember our history.

Have a great weekend!

KWIBS - From September 12, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

I was so mad.

I got my Peace Treaty uniform out of the closet a couple of weeks ago to discover it had shrunk! I’m not sure if just hanging idle did it or if it got wet at some point, or what had happened.

In a major panic, I called a friend to see if she could fix it. Apparently, the problem isn’t with my uniform, but with my gut. She laughed and said it must have been my wife’s fault with all of that good cooking. Come to think of it, five years ago it barely fit. Ten years ago it was a snug, but breathable jacket. It had been shrinking for the past decade.

I got on-line and ordered a new one and got an email that it was back ordered 6 weeks, so I panicked again. I finally found an outfit that could ship me one ASAP. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I won’t be a shirtless Colonel J.K. Rankin at the 2011 Peace Treaty. That would definitely be the end of Peace Treaty!

Peace Treaty is just barely over one week away and I am seeing some pleasing things going on in our community. The City crews have been working very hard to clean things up, painting crosswalks, parking places and curbing and mowing. I commend these guys for their work.

I’ve also seen several others cleaning up their homes and business fronts. It’s good to see so many people showing pride in their community before such an important event.

A couple of weeks ago I had actually considered doing a "worst yard of the week" photo in the newspaper. I had discussed it with several people, all who thought it was a great idea. My wife ended up being the voice of reason. Just think though, about how freaked out you would be to see your trashy yard on the front page of the newspaper. I think it would be very effective.

My son Joey had a day off last week and helped me build our float for the Peace Treaty Parades. This isn’t a new float idea. I actually did this very same float in 2001. It’s a giant paper airplane. I originally built this out of some scrap wood and newspapers 20 years ago. It was a big hit and we decided that since we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary this year, it would be a great idea to recreate this.

After the Peace Treaty in 1991, I took the plane to the dump and tossed the plans. Last week I sat down and drew it back out and after Joey saw it, he took an interest in helping me. By the end of the evening we had the whole family working on it. I have one problem though, I don’t know how I am going to get it to town.

The 1991 trip the dump is a story all by itself. Tate Henke and I dragged the fake, oversized airplane to the dump one Tuesday afternoon. It did fine at about 25 mph. At 60 mph, the thing actually tried to fly and we ended up picking up pieces of it off of the highway.

KWIBS - From September 5, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

You read a lot of things on the Internet that just aren’t true. So when I saw the message pasted in all "caps", I thought it was another bogus post. Upon researching it. I found it was completely true.

The message read: NYPD, FDNY AND EMS OFFICERS WERE NOT INVITED TO THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY CEREMONY OF 9/11... MAYOR BLOOMBERG CLAIMS THERE IS NO ROOM FOR THEM... 10 YEARS AGO, THEY WEREN'T INVITED, BUT THEY SHOWED UP WHEN EVERYONE ELSE WAS RUNNING OUT!!! RE-POST IF YOU AGREE THEY SHOULD BE THERE

This protest message, which is currently circulating rapidly via Facebook and other social media sites, claims that first responders to the 9/11 attacks in New York have not been invited to the upcoming 9/11 tenth anniversary ceremony. According to the message, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has stated that there is no room at the event for first responders.

The claims in the message are true and have been confirmed by a number of credible news reports. An August 16 report published on UPI.com notes:

NEW YORK, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- First responders who rushed to the disaster scene on Sept. 11, 2001, are not invited to this year's memorial service at Ground Zero, New York officials confirm.

The service is scheduled for Sept. 11, 10 years after the terror attacks.

In a statement, a spokesman for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Andrew Brent, said the memorial is for victims' families, CNN reported.

An August 17 Fox News report concurs, noting:

New York – They were the first ones on the scene when the World Trade Center towers fell on September 11, 2001, but ten years later, the first responders are being told that they will not be invited to take part in this year's tenth anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero.

The city announced earlier last week that due to security and space issues, there would be no room for the first responders.

The move has generated much controversy and has been viewed by many as disrespectful to those brave men and women who risked their lives and health to respond to the disaster. New York officials claim that the 10th Anniversary memorial ceremony will focus on the families of victims. New York Mayoral spokesman, Andrew Brent told UPI that "given the space constraints, we're working to find ways to recognize and honor first responders, and other groups, at different places and times."

Although official invitations were not usually sent to first responders in previous years, they were still free to attend memorial ceremonies if they wished and many have done so. However, 2011 is reportedly the first year in which first responders have been officially advised that they are not invited to the event.

Many other news agencies are reporting that Mayor Bloomberg has declined to invite religious leaders to speak and attend as well. He has asked that there be no prayer in the ceremony. Some say he’s given up on the idea after threats by atheist groups to sue the city if religion plays any part at the event.

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I drove past the Peace Treaty barn on Tuesday evening and saw a familiar site. The wagons were out and lined up on the hill. It’s just one of those things that brings a smile to your face when you think about Peace Treaty being just over two weeks away.

Our special section was put to bed last week. It always occurs to me that there was so much more that could have gone in, but we’re always restricted by a deadline to squeeze in a print day for it. It’s a mammoth project that has been months in the making. Whatever happens between now and Peace Treaty that doesn’t make the edition will have to be in our September 19th edition. One of those important things is the cast of characters. This evolving list of names is almost always one of the last things to be completed.

We discussed the pageant at Monday’s meeting. There is a lot of excitement at these last meetings before the big weekend. I have enormous respect for everyone who is working hard to make this Peace Treaty the best ever.

There is also a lot of talk about this being the last Peace Treaty. I’m confident it won’t be, but as for the pageant itself, it is unknown. I do know this: October will begin a new chapter of Peace Treaty. Planning will already be under way to keep this tradition alive and well in our community.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From August 29, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

We have just over 3 weeks until Peace Treaty! The time is flying by and getting shorter each day to accomplish a laundry list of things.

I’ve been frantically working on the special section for Peace Treaty. I shouldn’t just say "I am working..." My whole office is working on this edition. It’s a monster issue packed with our area’s history.

Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t want to talk about Peace Treaty. Almost every day we hear about something new that’s going on during the celebration that we didn’t know about. This week was the promotion of the Friends of NRA during Peace Treaty. Twnety-five numbered Henry guns have been manufactured commemorating the Peace Treaty. These things are awesome (and completely out of my budget). There is a story on this week’s front page about the guns and the fund-raising activities of the local chapter of the Friends of NRA.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From August 22, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

So, being a creature of habit, I strolled down to White’s last Monday to grab some deli food. I greeted everyone up front and mosied on to the back corner only to say, "what the...?"

There was nothing there. The deli was just one of the early moves that the grocery store made to their new store on the highway. I understood. No deli today. I can live with that.

I just decided to round the corner and get a TV dinner or something frozen I could stick in my microwave.

I got there and I was like, "what the....?"

There was no food in the freezers. I learned that the freezers had been knocked out by the wicked storms that hit our community on Friday, August 12. It made no sense to pour money into freezers that would be abandoned in a week, so the store moved that section as well.

I wandered around the store for another 10 minutes and decided I wasn’t really that hungry, grabbed a bag of peanuts and went back to work.

It might seem like an inconvenience to some, but when the move is done and the new store opens, we’re all going to have a better place to shop for food. I’m so gratful to Pat White and his family for making this huge investment in our community. This was no small task and he has been in the thick of things along side store Manager Norm Clouse and his crew.

White’s move will happen the first of this week, leaving the old store and the new store closed on Tuesday while they make some final adjustments to inventory. It’s a bitter sweet ending to a store whose presence has alway been in my life time in Medicine Lodge.

Change is sometimes hard, but in this case it’s going to be great for our town. Let us not forget that our Main Street still needs your support. We hope another business will go into the old grocery store building.

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Those crazy storms on Friday, August 12 were enough to fill up one of our ponds half way. The drought nearly killed off this pond that has been there for 50 years. That storm was also a heck of an initiation for the newest member of our family. Elli Unger came to live with us on Friday. We drove around the storm so we missed most of it, but saw its aftermath.

Elli is from Austria and will be attending MLHS this fall as a senior. Elli enjoys music and swimming. She also enjoys cooking! We’re excited about that. She told my boys last week that she was going to make them a "crap", to which my boys were completely confused. We later discovered she meant "crepe".

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From August 15, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Rev. Rodney M. Worsham, Senior Pastor of the First Assembly of God in Medicine Lodge has issued a challenge. His church is having a FREE back to school movie night on August 20th and 21st. He says if he gets 175 people or more in attendance on Saturday he will shave his head. Yes, you read that correctly. He will shave his head.

That’s something I find interesting and funny all at the same time and I would like to reissue that challenge to everyone here in the newspaper. What could be better than a FREE movie, FREE popcorn, prizes and a guy shaving his head? See The First Assembly of God Church’s ad on page 7 for further information about this event.

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America was saddened by the death of 30 U.S. soldiers who died when their helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan. We often forget that these men and women are real people with families and loved ones at home. Sometimes the news just blurs for me as I hear about our fallen heroes.

This particular tragedy hit close to home. I learned that one of the soldiers who died in this accident was a Kansan. Bryan Nichols was the pilot, and being a close friend, was in the wedding party of Julie and Seth Kastle. Julie is Doris Sorg’s daughter. Both Seth and Julie served with Bryan Nichols in two tours.

A CW2 Bryan Nichols Memorial Fund has been established. Seth and his friends are working with a financial advisor to set up a 529 College Savings plan for Braydon (Bryan’s son) with the proceeds. You may donate by visiting www.cw2nichols.bbnow.org

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The Peace Treaty board has been meeting every week now and there are only five more weeks until the big weekend in Medicine Lodge. We are frantically working on our Peace Treaty special edition and this week we will close advertising on this 40 page section with 16 pages of color. We’re extremely pleased with the response so far. If you are interested in advertising your business and we haven’t contacted you, please call Ronda at 620-886-5654.

Have a great week

KWIBS - From August 8, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Our area was blessed with some rain last Wednesday. Reports from Leroy Weber indicate that 1 1/4" fell at Lake Arrowhead.

And unofficially, the temperature dipped to a chilly 99 degrees on Thursday, breaking a 47 day streak of 100+ degree weather! brr...

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On Friday, our family will go to Wichita to welcome Elli Unger to our home and to Medicine Lodge. Ellie comes here from Austria and will be living with us through the AFS program. She is a semester student and will stay through mid-January of 2012.

There are still students who have not been placed in the Heartland area. If you are interested in hosting a student, please call Peggy Schneider at 316-641-7876.

KWIBS - From August 1, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

They were a little jetlagged and shocked at the change in climate, but Joey and John are home from their 23 day adventure in Europe.

While we are having unseasonably warm temperatures, Germany is experiencing the opposite. Many days were rainy and in the 60s there. Joey packed like he was from Kansas - shorts and t-shirts. They were both very cold and had to buy clothes to keep warm.

We met them at the airport on Monday afternoon. They traveled 4800 miles and arrived 2 minutes ahead of their schedule with only one layover in Chicago.

This trip was in contrast to my mother arriving home on Tuesday.... We went back to Wichita to get her at the airport only to find out that her flight from Atlanta had been delayed. As it turns out, she was over 5 hours late landing. Ronda and I spent the day trying to fill in 5 hours. We ate pretty well and we saw a movie, so the trip was not a complete pain. Mom went and visited family in Rhode Island for the past couple of weeks. We’re happy that Joey and Mom are back home.

I couldn’t wait for Joey to get home. He had brought me home two requested items: A giant beer mug and chocolate. I about made myself sick on the chocolate. I haven’t test driven the beer mug yet! The Germans don’t mess around when it comes to drinking beer. I believe this mug will hold about 3.5 of our 12 oz. beer cans, which is about 2 more than I can actually stomach to drink in one setting.

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You already know this, but we’re just weeks out for our big Peace Treaty Celebration and All-School reunion. Things are progressing quite smoothly as the weekend approaches. Do you have your tickets? Do you have a place to stay?

Have a great weekend!

KWIBS - From July 18, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Well, John Nixon and my son Joey are well into their second week of vacation in Europe. While there, they are visiting former students Max Zinowsky, Simon Wildberger, Christoph Wustner and Nick Gaertner. They also met John’s new AFS student, Leopold Luz.

This has been a trip of a lifetime for both of them, but especially for Joey. This is Joey’s second "out of the country" experience since a trip he took to Mexico a few years ago. He’s officially been to more countries in his 18 short years of life on this planet than his mother and I have been to put together.

This trip was made possible by Joey’s own hard work. He’s saved his money and worked very hard to be able to go to Europe. It’s also made possible by the friendships he’s made with these boys through the AFS program and with our neighbor and friend, John Nixon. When they began planning this trip more than a year ago, I knew it would happen and I knew they would have a great time.

AFS is an incredible program not just for students visiting out country, but also for the families who host them. There is a great need in our own community for host parents for the Heartland Team. If you have an interest in hosting a child for just a few short weeks, months or even an entire year, there is a student to who would be most appreciative and I promise, your family will benefit. Contact:

Peggy Schneider - Volunteer

Heartland Hosting Coordinator for AFS-USA

316 722 5439 Home

316 641 7876 Mobile

peggy.schneider@afsusa.org

We’ll be a host family again this year. Our newest daughter arrives in mid-August from Austria. Her name is Elli Unger. We’re excited to meet her and share our community with her. It’s especially exciting that it is a Peace Treaty year.

I’ve only spoken with Joey and John a few times since they left on July 2nd. Facebook has been a wonderful way to keep up on their travels and Skype was handy for receiving a phone call from the travelers last week.

Joey said he has sampled some native cousine including horse and beef tar tar. Sounds delicious doesn’t it?

John emailed me a photo of himself with Joey and "Lars", who was an exchange student two years ago and lived in Hutchinson, KS. The shot was taken off of Simon’s front terrace overlooking their community in Switzerland.

KWIBS - From July 11, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Sometimes we are quick to paint a gloomy picture of our local economy. Here’s a little bit of information that should make you confident in Barber County’s future.

I recently reported that our county is expecting upwards of $30 million in increased valuation, mostly due to oil and gas production. This week I learned that Pratt County reported their total valuation fell from $129.5 million to $124.6 million. Barber County’s total valuation is sitting at nearly $136.6 million.

We’ve got more good news!

Oil and gas production in the county will bring in more jobs and even more money in production. White’s new grocery store will be opening in the next month. The wind transmission line project is about to begin. The Medicine Lodge Memorial Hospital could be breaking ground on their upgraded facility by October. Southern Pioneer is expanding.

There is so much going on, it’s almost impossible to report it all. There are also a lot of things in the works that we can’t report about yet, but we’re very excited about.

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My family went to Hardtner this year for the 4th of July. It had been nearly 20 years since I had been there for one of their shows. With the fireworks ban in place, our lake didn’t have a night show, so we decided to give it a try. WOW! That’s all I can say. Hardtner did a bang up job and we sure appreciated how hard they worked to put on such a top-notch event. Thank you to those of you who make that possible for the area. It was truly amazing.

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We reported for several weeks about Sharon’s 125th celebration. Although my wife and I didn’t make it over during the 4th of July weekend, we saw lots of photos on Facebook. The community put on a great celebration and everyone says they had a blast. Congratulations to the Sharon community for turning 125 years old! What will you do to top that when you turn 150?!?

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From July 4, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

I thought the 4th of July weekend without fireworks would be like Christmas without Jesus, but I guess we made it without the pops and bangs.

Barber County was one of several counties that banned fireworks for the 4th. This is the first year in my lifetime I can remember not having fireworks during the 4th. I know that folks in town were able to shoot them off, but us rural folks were just fine without them. The recent drought has gotten serious enough that drastic measures had to be taken.

It's so hot that I saw two trees fighting over a dog.

It's so hot, today I saw a chicken lay a fried egg.

Some may not realize this, but conditions are so hot and dry that Elm Mills Resort has been ordered to release their hold on their water that flows into Elm Creek.

I’ve lived on M-Bar ranch for 22 years and for the first time, I am witnessing spring fed ponds drying up. A well that is better than 70 years old is not able to pump water for more than about 5 minutes. Even 99 Springs is seeing lower levels than normal for this time of year.

So far the levels at Lake Arrowhead are holding and the springs are still producing, but we desperately need rain. Counties just north of us have received less than normal rain fall, but at least they have gotten some rain.

Levels at the Barber County State Lake are alarming as well. Wells and springs just can’t keep up with this grueling heat we seem to have this summer. And remember, it’s just now July. Some of our hottest parts of summer are yet to come.

I don’t mean to sound depressing. Driving through town you can see how the drought has hit our town. Higher water rates have forced many to cut back on watering their yards and without the rain, much of the town’s yards have gone dormant. I know many of you aren’t growing gardens this year either.

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UPDATE: We did get some rain on July3rd and it helped, but we need more!

This weekend we saw our son Joey off for his three week tour to Europe. He and John Nixon will be visiting some of the old AFS students that have lived with John the past 4 years.

Europe may never be the same.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From June 27, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Something strange is happening to Ronda and I. It was brought to our attention by our cousins a few weeks ago.

We were sitting on the front porch in our deck chairs and commenting on how beautiful the birds were singing, how we loved to watch the humming birds and just sit on the porch and play with our grandson.

Our cousin pops up and said, "You’re turning into our parents. You guys are OLD!"

Wait a minute.... We’re only 5 years older than them. But we do enjoy hanging out with their parents!

It got me thinking. There are warning signs that we are getting older. We just announced that we have been in business in Medicine Lodge for the past 20 years.

There are other indicators:

All my favorite music is now in the bargain bin at Wal-Mart.

90% of the time I actually spend in front of a computer is for real work.

A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer considered "pretty good stuff."

About half the stuff in my shopping cart says, "For fast relief."

One of my most prized possessions is my lawn mower. I can tell you everything about it.

Conversations with people my own age often turn into "dueling ailments."

Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.

The clothes I put away until they came back in style are now in style, but I can’t fit into them.

I spent last weekend getting intimate with a chain saw after a freakish storm uprooted trees and peeled shingles off of our home north of town. After cutting trees and then spending a few hours on a roof in 100+ heat I realized it takes longer to rest up than it did to get tired in the first place.

The good news is that there are fewer things in life to learn the hard way!

Have a great week and a happy and safe 4th of July!

KWIBS - From June 20, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

I renewed my membership to the NRA this past week and I got a gift from them in the mail on Saturday.

I opened the package with great anticipation and pulled out a ball cap that said, "140 Years of Freedom - NRA". I put the hat on with pride and showed my son Nick.

"Nice hat!" he said.

I put it on his head. Nick took it off to adjust the size and looked at the label.

"Hey, this thing was made in China," he said.

Seriously, the NRA can’t find a hat maker in America? You speak of freedoms and you don’t support your country. I can’t tell you how disappointed I am at them and yes, they will be getting a letter from me.

Speaking of China....

China is the largest foreign creditor to the United States, holding more than $1 trillion in Treasury debt as of March. Recent discussion of a U.S default on its interest payments to China has their country up in arms. A default could undermine the U.S. dollar. So, if this hat is a deal-breaker, then by all means, keep buying Chinese hats....

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For the past couple of years, it’s been my duty to disrupt the Rucker’s wheat harvest. This year was different though. They worked so fast by the time I got down there, they were done.

Flint and Gary have ground just to the south of us and work with some pretty neat old open-cab style combines that are probably from the late 50s or early 60s. I love to watch those guys work with those machines and I try to go down with a cooler of beverages for them during harvest.

I saw them cutting late Friday evening a week ago and ran home to fill up my cooler. By the time I got there, they were gone.

It appears that much of harvest has been completed for our area. Some got the good news that it wasn’t as bad as everyone expected. I know it wasn’t good news for everyone though.

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If I’m not careful, this could be my last column. What I am about to write about could be the most controversial thing I have ever written about in my paper.

I stopped in to see our county commissioners on Wednesday of last week to show them a proclamation and ordinance for the City of Guymon, OK in an email to all Kansas media outlets.

I received the email the night before and couldn’t sleep all night thinking about it.

The proclamation was implemented last week prohibiting the sale, distribution, firing, igniting, lighting or exploding of any fireworks due to the severe drought.

In recent months we have reached nearly a state of emergency with severe drought conditions all across Kansas, especially so in parts of Western Kansas.

The 4th of July is just a few weeks away and as one of my favorite holidays. I love the displays and I know so many folks that are so responsible with their fireworks, but I am afraid that our area may need to consider restrictions this holiday.

I can already hear my phone ringing and hear the grinding of pencils on paper as you frantically write nasty letters to the editor. Here me out. I don’t want anyone to think I am a fun hater. I am just very concerned about how dry it is. I know many of you personally that do a lot in fireworks sales during the summer for the 4th of July and depend on that income, so I write this opinion thinking about how my concerns could affect you.

We’ve seen the devastation in parts of Texas and Arizona and in to New Mexico. Fires that are burning out of control and fire fighters exhausted and overworked. These same conditions are worsening for many Kansas Counties. Emergency funding and lifted restriction for grazing are already in effect for our county as well as surrounding counties.

I am not alone in my concern for public safety during this extended drought. Guymon is only following the example of many counties and communities that are banning fireworks this year. Finney county was the last to join in the ban of sales and discharge of fireworks.

The Garden City Telegram reports fire officials fear they wouldn't have enough manpower to cover all the fires that could occur on the Fourth of July because of the extremely dry weather. The city of Garden City also has canceled its Fourth of July show.

County and fire officials have agreed to ban the sale and discharge of fireworks within county limits during this year's Fourth of July season due to dry weather conditions that increase the likelihood of fires.

On Tuesday, June 14, Governor Rick Perry considered Travis County’s order declaring a local state of disaster and banning the sale and use of any fireworks. Perry has indicated that he would grant an extension of the order until July 5.

Commissioners also voted unanimously to prohibit certain fireworks - skyrockets with sticks and missiles with fins.

County Judge Sam Biscoe said he signed the order over the lunch break. If drought conditions change, he said commissioners have the authority to lift the disaster declaration and fireworks ban.

Comanche County Commissioners will be meeting Tuesday with their fire chief to discuss similar restrictions and possibly even a ban because of the low amount of precipitation that we’ve had in recent weeks and months.

I hope our county and city officials consider the risks this 4th of July and do what is right to protect our homes, property, livestock and our very lives in this terribly dry season.

A few weeks ago, someone in our church asked Dennis Colle to pray for our area to receive rain and he stood up and asked God to give us the blessing of rain. Within 24 hours we got some and we were all so thankful. Dennis, we need you to step up to the plate and pray some more. In fact, we all should be praying for that very same thing. God willing, we can all celebrate another fun and safe 4th of July. If God has other plans, I hope our county commissioners and officials consider some sort of plan for public safety.

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There is an interesting number on this week’s front page. It is Volume 21, Issue 1. This edition marks 20 years for The Gyp Hill Premiere!

The bets were on in 1991. I heard from a friend that one person gave us 6 months before we would be out of business. Another person gave us no more than 1 year. Because of some great people, we’re celebrating our 20th birthday today. There won’t be any big celebrations, just great satisfaction in doing something we love to do - print a newspaper. I remember my Grandpa Bill telling me, "You know, you have ink in your blood?" I always thought that was icky as a child, but now I understand.

We have you to thank most of all. Without our readers and advertisers we wouldn’t have made it.

We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From June 13, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

A few of important dates are coming up this week.

June 17, is our anniversary. Ronda and I were married in 1988, making it our 23rd wedding anniversary. I looked on the internet to see what that would be as far as a gift goes and was surprised that it was a silver plate. Ronda and I aren’t much on silver, but I’m pretty excited about our 24th anniversary. That’s the year you’re supposed to give a musical instrument! I’m already thinking about how cool it will be to get a vintage Gibson SG Bass guitar. It’s not really going to be a good year for Ronda. I am the one with the musical instrument fetish.

Just last weekend I bought a trombone and a paddle boat. They are not to be used together. I just stumbled on to them while hitting the Junefest garage sales.

Ronda: "What are you going to do with a trombone?"

Me: "I don’t know, but it’s so cool."

I have a small collection of things like, slide whistles, harmonicas, guitars, basses, drums, keyboards and even kazoos... Some of them I play, some of them just hang on the walls as decorations. I have always loved music and musical instruments.

I kind of got off track a little bit.

The second important date is June 19, 2011.

Father's Day is coming up this Sunday and I was thinking about the joys and struggles associated with fatherhood.

"Father" is one of those titles that demands respect, but often gets much less. I remember that I was far from the perfect child growing up. I know I gave my father grief.

Now that I am a father (of 21 years now) and a grandfather, I realize that you take the good with the bad and you try your best in every situation to, as the song goes, "teach your children well."

Most ot the time I probably come off sounding like I am nagging and ragging on my kids, but my hope is that they will learn, not only from their mistakes, but mine as well.

It’s a blessing to still have a dad. My dad has struggled with Altzhiemer’s for the past several years, but still has some good days. I love you dad. Happy Father’s Day.

I’m also very blessed to be a dad. I have three great children, a son-in-law and a grandson too. Joey, Bree, Nick, Devin and Kycen: I expect great things from you this year! *wink*. Wouldn’t it be great to get that bass guitar now instead of waiting to get it for me and your mother’s 24th anniversary? (Worn Cherry finish - item #513285 at Musician’s Friend website if you are interested).

Finally, the last important date is next Monday, June 20th. This date will be Issue 21, Week 1 of The Gyp Hill Premiere. It marks 20 years of publication for us. We thank you for that!

KWIBS - From June 6, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

And the headlines read: "Oops, we screwed up." I am speaking of the story on the Johnson family from May 30th’s issue. I take responsibility for the mistake. We didn’t get the story continued and it sort of just ended on the front page without actually ending. I apologize to the Johnsons and our readers and we have reprinted that story on page 10 of this week’s paper.

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After a long weekend many of us came back to Main Street to discover we had lost a business. Well, we didn’t actually lose the business, but it lost its building.

Sometime during the evening or night on Monday, the roof at the Country Club Wellness Center collapsed. I don’t mean, ceiling tiles. I mean part of the roof actually collapsed in on some of the exercise equipment and new aerobic flooring that was just installed three weeks ago.

Barb Ransom is the manager for the fitness center and showed us inside on Tuesday morning. You could see the blue sky. Nearly 1/3 of the building collapsed.

It almost feels like the death of a friend, losing a building like this. Fortunately, the fitness center will reopen in the Middle School down in the cafeteria. In the meantime, the building is somewhat condemned and blocked off to prevent injury. It was by the grace of God that no one was in the building when it happened and no one was injured.

The collapse raises new concerns about the condition of Main Street. Aging structures and lack of maintenance is a recipe for disaster. It brought back memories of our building’s front collapsing back in the early 1990s. It nearly shut us down for 3 months while new fronts were put on this office and our building next door. Close examination showed deteriorating mortar and brick. Wind eventually pulled the faces of the buildings completely away from the walls.

Seeing the fallen roof made me think of what communities like Sun City and Lake City felt when they saw buildings crumbling in their once vibrant towns.

It gives new purpose and drive to the recent Medicine Lodge Main Street program. It seems like a step backwards, but it might be just the thing we need to prove the worth of such a program. Marcia Lawrence recently announced that our town has been officially accepted to the "Inside Track" tier. It’s going to take a lot of work and money, but isn’t our town worth it?

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From May 30, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

All I can say to Mr. Harold Camping is, we all make mistakes. It’s not like it’s the end of the world or anything.

But if at first you don’t succeed, guess again? Now Mr. Camping is predicting October 21 as the new "end of the world" date. His original calculations were off he said, "by a few months." He’s also made predictions in the past. His last one, also incorrect, was for "between September 15 and 27 of 1994."

This so called "Bible Scholar", forgot one very important scripture. Mark 13:32 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

No where did I read, ".. and Harold Camping."

In Acts we read: 1:7 He said to them: It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

I feel sorry for those folks who invested their money in his false witnessing. I don’t feel sorry for anyone who invests in his October 21st prediction. I read where many people had quit their jobs, maxed out their credit cards and gave all of their belongings away.

Speaking of the end of the world, obviously it didn’t happen this weekend. I’m sort of glad. I had plans and was out of town. I would really prefer the end of the world to be on a Thursday before deadline. If I had my say of course.

Justin and I and our wives decided it would be fun to drive to Oklahoma City this past weekend and surprise former editor, David Fasgold. We had learned that his band, The Mighty Regulars, was playing in front of the Ford Center for the Thunder vs. Maverick’s game on Saturday evening. Secretly, Justin and I had hoped that David would let us play a song or two with them, but that didn’t happen! Joey also wanted to try and get a ticket to the playoff game. That also didn’t happen!

What did happen was Justin and I helping a man who passed out because of the heat. "Bob" had a ticket and was from Dallas. He fainted and cracked his head open on the concrete. After several minutes, EMTs arrived and took Bob away. We didn’t even think about asking to buy his ticket from him.

We got down to Bricktown at about 5 p.m. Saturday. David’s band was scheduled to go on stage at 6 p.m. We grabbed a bite to eat and made our way through a crowd of more than 20,000 Thunder fans to the front of the stage.

Justin, Doolie, Ronda, Joey and I all hid off to the side of the stage and waited for them to start playing. I pulled a wrestling mask out of my pocket and put it on. It was show time.

I paced back and forth across the front of the stage. David stared at me with a, "who is this weird-o," look on his face.

To be fair, I blended in perfectly with the masked man wearing a cape and riding a bicycle. I also fit in with the clown and the dude with the basketball goal strapped to his head that people where throwing balls at. Finally, I stood right in front of David and sang along with him to Pink Floyd’s "Time". Halfway through the song, I ripped off my mask and the biggest grin formed on David’s face. Then Justin came out from behind the speakers and his grin got even bigger. If he had smiled any bigger his ears would have fallen into his mouth. We all gathered in front of David and rocked out to the rest of their two hour show. It was really fun.

The last song David and The Mighty Regulars played was REM’s "It’s The End Of The World." I had suggested David play this on Facebook on Friday. The crowd went wild.

Below is a picture of David, Justin and I after the show.

After we said our good-byes, we headed down into the middle of Bricktown. The first place we walked into we ran right into some familiar faces. Matt Tedrow and his wife Carla were coming out of the same club we were going into. Matt is the son of Stan and Becky Tedrow, formerly of Medicine Lodge. We visited the Tedrows a couple of years ago in Oklahoma City.

There are about 1.5 million people in the metro area of OKC and it’s pretty incredible to run into someone you know, especially during the injection of thousands more people coming to watch an NBA playoff game. To top that off, Matt told me that he and Carla rarely visit Bricktown and it was just by coincidence that they decided to go out for the evening.

We hung out with Matt and Carla and called it a night just around midnight. Due to the large number of people in town for the playoffs, we had to get a hotel out of the Bricktown area. We stayed at a hotel a few minutes down the road and took a shuttle back to get ready for bed. We all had to be up bright and early to head back to Kansas.

But like most people who were roaming Bricktown all evening, I started getting hungry. I suggested breakfast. Everyone took me up on it except Ronda. By this time it was about 1 a.m. and the only thing open was a Waffle House across the street between two truck stops. We got Ronda back in the room and we headed out for some omelettes!

We ran across the busy intersection when suddenly there were police cars and officers with guns drawn all over the parking lot. We had just missed the actual commotion. Apparently, the short order night cook had a bad evening and decided to take out a large knife and waive it crazily at the customers. He was arrested and taken to jail.

I asked the waitress, "Can we still get breakfast?"

We did get breakfast and a small discount for the inconvenience. We made it back to our rooms for a good night’s sleep and were up and home by noon on Sunday. Crazy weekend!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From May 23, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

We all have things that just drive us crazy. Sane or insane, you can probably think of a few things that really "push your buttons". I had a few that I was thinking about this week, when my mom sent me an email titled, "What’s the difference between snot and cauliflower?" The answer: Kids won’t eat cauliflower....

Things That Can Drive A Sane Person Insane:

· The tiny red string on the Band-Aid wrapper that never works.

· You have to try on a pair of sunglasses with that stupid little plastic tag in the middle of them.

· The person behind you in the supermarket runs his cart into the back of your ankle.

· The elevator stops on every floor and nobody gets on.

· You open a can of soup and the lid falls in.

· There's a dog in the neighborhood that barks at EVERYTHING!

· You can never put anything back in a box the way it came.

· Three hours and three meetings after lunch you look in the mirror and discover a piece of parsley stuck to your front tooth.

· You slice your tongue licking an envelope.

· Your tire gauge lets out half the air while you're trying to get a reading.

· You wash a garment with a tissue in the pocket and your entire laundry comes out covered with lint.

· The car behind you blasts its horn because you let a pedestrian finish crossing.

· You set the alarm on your digital clock for 7 PM instead of 7 am.

· You rub on hand cream and can't turn the bathroom doorknob to get out.

· You can't look up the correct spelling of a word in the dictionary because you don't know how to spell it. (me)

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From May 9, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

I only get three special columns like this in my lifetime. The first one happened back in 2008 when my daughter graduated.

This is the second time one of my three children will graduate from MLHS. Joey will take those steps across the stage on Saturday with 38 other classmates.

It’s super tough to not be emotionally attached when putting together any senior edition for our paper. It’s even more-so when your kid is in the class.

And what a great group of kids they are. As I placed their senior photos and their baby photos on the page, I couldn’t help but to remember some really good moments in these kids’ lives. Because Joey went to school with most of them since preschool, I consider them all family.

I’m especially proud of Joey. My oldest son has grown up to make his mother and I very proud. He may not be at the top of his class, but he’s accomplished so much during his high school years. He’d be too modest to mention any of those things, but I think I’ve earned the right to be proud of him.

Several years back, Joey took an interest in going to Mexico with the UMC youth to help build a home for a pastor and his family in the Sonora Province. It was a life-changing experience for him that made him appreciate the blessings we have in America.

Joey also got very involved with AFS. He was the student president of our local chapter this year. As I write this, he’s on a trip to Wichita with his group.

He’s far more courageous than I was at his age. Joey and a friend from Germany even took off over the summer and spent a week in New York City, where he learned to navigate the subway system and busy airports across the country. He also went out to California with Jim and Cathy Colborn for a whirlwind trip up the 101. He paid for all of this by himself, working many long hours after school and on weekends.

He is planning on a trip to Europe after school is out. He’s excited to see friends he’s made through AFS.

Joey has always been someone to count on as a hard worker. He’s been employed by John Nixon for the past four years working auctions and has been at White’s for the past two years, carrying many of your groceries. I always smile when someone says to me, "You have the nicest son."

Even with all of his travels and experiences, he’s unsure about his future. It’s been something we’ve discussed and prayed about for a while now. Joey has always told us that he wants to be a beach bum. Whatever he decides to be is okay with me. I couldn’t be prouder of him.

The world awaits him and it will be a better place because of him no matter where he goes or what he does.

I love you, buddy. Congratulations to you and the class of 2011.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From May 2, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

It always amazes me that while one part of the country is praying for rain to come, another is praying for it to stop.

Just a short ways east of us, flash floods and deadly storms have riddled the area. Here we barely get a drop. What small amounts we did get is of little use now to area farmers. It won’t be a record breaking year for our area wheat producers.

I’m getting old enough that I remember significant years of precipitation. I don’t have all the facts, but I remember back in 1999 we began breaking ground on our home. We’d just gotten the basement walls poured and the subfloor on in late April. The first of May came and rains didn’t stop for over 11 days. I think we got somewhere in the neighborhood of 18 inches that month. It washed out my driveway and broke a small dam on our pond. This year, we’re about to lose that pond to the drought.

But we’re in so much better shape than parts of Texas. In 1999, the same year as our house was built, we took a trip to Amarillo, TX to SCUBA Lake Meredith. The lake is located 30 miles from Amarillo and was a fantastic fresh water SCUBA-diving spot. I just learned a few weeks ago that an ongoing drought in that area has all but dried up the big lake. The area that we dove down to 25’ is now dry earth.

The lake has gone down so much, in fact, that a plane reported missing on January 27, 1984 was discovered back in June of 2008. The water had gone down enough that the wreckage appeared. That’s a lot of water to dry up.

Other parts of Texas have just burned away. Over 1.65 million acres have burned this year. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed. That’s twice as much ground that usually burns in a given year in Texas. At least two fire fighters have died fighting these fires.

Just down the road from us in Missouri....

Rivers and creeks have already flooded. The Mississippi was at or approaching major flood stage in several communities Easter Sunday. Many dams broke in the area.

The Missouri Department of Transportation reported dozens of road and highway closures in eastern and southern Missouri. U.S. 61 has been shut down due to flooding near the Iowa border, and U.S. 160 was closed in several spots in far south-central Missouri.

All of this and then tornados on Wednesday that killed more than 250 people in 6 states. Just tragic... It leaves one humbled to think of the power of these storms.

Mother Nature is a moody one these days.

KWIBS - From April 25, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

I once ran in to Kirstie Alley in Wichita at a gift shop. I was so excited.

Alley is from Wichita and last I knew, her dad still has a place there.

I recognized her, despite the lack of makeup and fancy clothes. She was in gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt. Her hair was pulled back, but it was still Kirstie Alley.

I don’t know what came over me. I could have complemented her in her role in Look Who’s Talking, Blind Date, Village of the Damned, or her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I didn’t even mention Cheers, which she played Rebecca Howe. I mean, it was one of the most popular sitcoms on TV at the time.

Instead, here's what came out of my mouth: "I loved you in Star Trek II, The wrath of Kahn, where you played that hot Vulcan chick, Lieutenant Saavik." I think I was even wearing a Star Wars or a Battlestar Galactica T-shirt at the time. My brother-in-law was with me and he about ran out of the store. She actually signed an autograph for me across the top of a Wichita Eagle. It's still in a frame in my office.

I’ve never hid the fact that I am a geek. My DVR list on my television gives it away.

- In a fight between William Shatner and Patrick Stewart, I think Shatner would win. However, I think Patrick Stewert would make a fine president in 2012, as long as he isn’t serving on The United Federation of Planets Council.

- I learned from Battlestar Galactica that a secton is a Colonial measurement of time and analogous to one Earth week. Its plural form is "sectons". More on this next secton.....

- The recent bravery displayed by the 50 Fukushima Nuclear Plant workers reminded me of the time Spok gave his life at the end of Wrath of Kahn saying, "Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

A dear departed friend of mine, Jo Meador, gave me a poster years ago for my birthday. It was titled, "All I need to know from life, I learned from Star Trek." The poster stills hangs in our storage room in our office.

Seek out new life and civilizations.

Non-interference is the Prime Directive.

Keep your phaser set on stun.

Humans are highly illogical.

There's no such thing as a Vulcan death grip.

Live long and prosper.

Having is not so pleasing as wanting; it is not logical but it is often true.

Infinite diversity in infinite combinations (IDIC).

Tribbles hate Klingons (and Klingons hate Tribbles).

Enemies are often invisible -- like Romulans, they can be cloaked.

Don't put all your ranking officers in one shuttlecraft.

When your logic fails, trust a hunch.

Insufficient data does not compute.

If it can't be fixed, just ask Scotty.

Even in our own world, sometimes we are aliens.

This one is mine, "If you aren’t a regular on the show, always ask for any uniform color other than red."

When going out into the Universe, remember, "Boldly go where no one has gone before!"

KWIBS - From April 18, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Mike Roe forwarded an interesting article to me about rural America.that was in the Hutchinson News recently. I contacted John Montgomary, the News’ Publisher and he has given us permission to reprint the article giving credit to The Hutch News and the writer. We sort of have an "in" with the Hutchinson News. That’s where The Gyp Hill Premiere is printed each week.

The article is a good read and applies to our area. I was also sent an article from Kansas Governor Sam Brownback this week outlining a Rural Opportunity Zones Bill he recently signed into law. This bill will give incentives to those willing to relocate into rural Kansas. Barber County is one of the counties that qualifies for the incentives. You can read that article on page 13 of this week’s Premiere.

LEOTI - A sign in a window of an empty storefront beckons visitors with a plea: Move to Leoti.

The sign has been there for several years, the maker probably hopeful to attract the attention of a passing motorist in an attempt to stabilize the downward slide in population that has happened for decades in Wichita County.

After all, with farms continuing to disappear from the landscape, leaders in almost every small town dream of getting bigger. They dream of manufacturers bringing jobs, of vibrant downtowns and of families with children populating their schools.

Yet several of the state's agriculture-based communities haven't survived the growing trend - the decline of population as youths turn to the bright lights of bigger cities, never to return.

When population wanes in a town, the bank closes. So does the grocer, the hospital and the hardware store. The ultimate demise, however, is the loss of a school, from which many communities never recover.

It's a fear of any remote Kansas county, said Wichita County resident Terry Woodbury. The rural community promoter, however, see the decades-old trend as a battle that can be won.

That's because there is optimism on the prairie, he said. Residents want to stop the bleeding.

County leaders are developing industrial parks to lure small businesses. Some are addressing needs, such as affordable housing, quality day care and Internet availability. Many have tried to boost community pride and activity, including starting recreation programs and sprucing up main streets.

"I think we are in the latter days of decline because of our attachment to agriculture," said Woodbury, who operates Public Square Communities LLC, a business geared to sustaining rural areas. "We've got Internet. You can come here, have high quality of life, safety, good schools, know the neighbor, drive for three hours and go to Colorado Springs. Rural communities are starting to sell that and believe in it."

"I think we are on the front end of an urban to rural transition."

Smallest county, big plans

Woodbury's assessment comes after nearly a century-long slide for some Kansas counties. From Montana and the Dakotas down to the Texas Panhandle, the rural Great Plains has been losing citizens since around World War II.

In all, 77 Kansas counties have lost population in the past decade, according to census numbers released earlier this month. Of those, 23 saw declines of more than 10 percent. Western counties took the biggest hit, with an increase in only seven counties in this half of the state.

"The irony of rural America is the thing that has built our communities is now depopulating them," Woodbury said of farming. "We are losing people and we have to think different and come up with different economies."

Even in the state's smallest county, Greeley, with 1,247 people, leaders have recognized the issue. Tribune, the county seat, sits isolated in the center of the west-central Kansas county, largely surrounded by crop fields and pasture. It's 86 miles from Garden City and more than 60 from Goodland.

County population peaked in 1960 with 2,087 people. Then decline began, slowly but steadily.

In all, the county has lost 40 percent of its population in the past 50 years, with 18.71 percent coming in the past 10 - the fourth biggest drop in the state.

Those figures might seem grueling to turn around to most people, except Christy Hopkins.

She couldn't deny she wasn't disappointed and a little shocked at the census numbers after five years of hard work, she said as she sat in her office in early March, preparing to leave the next day for a trip to Vietnam with a leadership group.

"We're not giving up by any means," she said matter-of-factly.

The issue isn't one that sneaked up on Greeley County residents. After consecutive years of bad harvest and the acceleration in people moving away, community leaders held a survival meeting in 2004. More than 150 people attended. They hired Woodbury to offer advice and direction.

Woodbury helped develop focus groups on government, education, health care and business. Residents zeroed in on certain areas and began setting goals for the community.

Community leaders have been busy ever since.

They started adult and youth recreation programs. County officials invested some money into building a dairy - eventually attracting a buyer.

Meanwhile, one team of residents helped form a community foundation to serve the interests and goals of the county. Another team is dealing with affordable housing. There is a marketing team, a welcoming team, a health services team and a team for downtown revitalization.

While some businesses have closed, including a company that made hazardous-material trailers, about 17 other new businesses have come to town, including a feedlot, she said.

Residents also voted to unify the county and city governments in 2007. And residents in November passed a bond issue for the school - despite tough economic times, Hopkins said. Meanwhile, those who work for the community, such as referee at games, are paid in "Greeley Bucks," which help support local businesses.

She wished the numbers had reflected growth, she said. However, positive change is happening no matter the numbers.

"We really are doing a lot of things to help stabilize the community," Hopkins said. "We even have an action team focused on business transition assuring that our businesses here today will still be there tomorrow."

While every county will have their own unique plan, Woodbury calls Greeley's efforts exemplary.

"These communities are shifting gears, developing a way past the agriculture mind-set," he said, but added it will take time. "This is not a microwave job. This is slow cooking."

Leaders in other counties are giving the same rallying cry.

Shannon McCormick, who owns Main Street Supply in downtown Lakin in Kearny County, which has nearly 4,000 people, said he thinks the decline of farmers has stabilized.

"I don't know if farms can get any larger," he said, then added, "unless, I guess, we have robots driving the tractors."

Still he noted, some counties, including Kearny, can take advantage of the county's close proximity to a regional hub. For Lakin, it's Garden City, which is just 22 miles away. His county is hoping to begin a program that allows residents to fix up property and, in return, pay the same in property taxes for a period of time.

In Edwards County, population 3,000, officials started a tourism committee to lure in more visitors to the county attractions, such as its national carnival heritage museum, said Economic Development Director Linette Miller.

The county also is addressing affordable housing and fixing up dilapidated properties, she said.

And in the Lane County town of Dighton, which is nearly an hour away from regional hubs like Hays and Garden City, county Economic Development Director Dan Hartman brushes off the current decline, calling it beatable.

He says this as he takes a drive to the site of what some locals have dubbed a "Field of Dreams" - a roughly 60-acre industrial park complete with paved roadways that has one business, an oil well service company.

Hartman, however, said he plans for more, noting he's had prospects considering the site for development.

Other efforts are helping make the town more attractive. Local insurance agent and Main Street business owner John Levin, who serves on the economic development board, said the board is matching up to $1,000 for business owners who do storefront beautification projects. And, Hartman said, by next year, the county should have a community garden.

What Hartman is promoting, he says, is a lifestyle in the state's second smallest county at 1,750 people. Living much of his life in California managing a business, he drove an hour to work each way.

"We don't have a Walmart, but we don't have a crime rate that is sky-high, either," Hartman said. "It's a community where I could sit on the front porch and smoke a cigarette and wave at people I know."

He gets tired of the hubbub "that rural America is dying," he said.

"It's not dying. It's changing," he said, adding that with technology, one can work from anywhere. "The only thing wrong with rural America is the way we talk about it. I personally think we're going to see growth in the next 20 or 30 years."

He pointed to the local classified advertisements, saying they listed seven or eight jobs. But the question is whether the town's college-educated youth will return for that kind of pay. Maybe, Hartman said, leaders can attract college graduates back who have an entrepreneurial spirit, noting there are already two success stories in downtown Dighton.

Young couple Joe and Rachel Schulz are running Joe's family's new pizza restaurant. Joe's sister, Margo, 24, recently purchased the town's flower shop, and sister Michelle, 21, who helps her older sister, plans to open a bakery and coffee shop. She already does some special orders.

Pioneering youth are what towns want to attract, Woodbury said.

"Rural communities have to quit thinking we need to pave a highway of gold to get them back here," he said. "These wonderfully brilliant kids, we don't have to create a job for them. Tell them to come home, bring their job and create it. No one paved the way for my family when they settled in Leoti, Kansas. They paved the way and created it."

There is promise in the heartland, said Laszlo Kulcsar, a Kansas State University professor and director of the Kansas Population Center.

Take Greensburg, for instance, he said. The Kiowa County seat, stricken by a tornado in 2007, has reinvigorated itself into a "green town," attracting youth and technology as the city continues to rebuild.

There's also a new trend for retirees to find a place away from urban cities to retire, he said. Although they don't bring children to populate the schools, they do have a savings they want to spend before they die.

Yet, finding a niche to attract residents is the real key, he said. The slogan of good schools, good hospitals and a slow place of living with limited crime is a dime a dozen.

"There are 30,000 places just like this," he said of rural America. "In the end, these places are going to lose young people no matter what. The question is, how many young people can be retained."

Hartman remains hopeful. He said he's been working with a group promoting a new transmission line being built by ITC Great Plains LLC. The line goes from Medicine Lodge to Spearville and, eventually, the second phase of the project will take the line from Spearville to Axtell, Neb.

That means jobs, he said, whether it is for building the line or the future wind farms that a transmission line could bring. Kansas' abundant wind could be the rescuer for many of the small communities along the way.

Growing a community is possible, Woodbury said, but only with a change of attitude.

He said in the 16 communities he works in, changing attitudes is sometimes one of the top problems to combat.

"Rural people really have to believe they have a future," he said, but added, "The hardest thing for people is to change."

KWIBS - From April 11, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Boys and girls, men and women, we just think differently.

Take party planning...

In a little over a month, my oldest son Joey will be graduating from MLHS. With any graduation comes a party and the planning.

We sat down in the kitchen Sunday night and Joey’s mamma made the big announcement, "We need to talk about the graduation party."

Joey and I just groaned.

There is just nothing a man wants to do less than plan a party. Especially a graduation party. Don’t get us wrong ladies, we’ll go to parties and participate, but we don’t really want to be involved with the planning.

Guys’ party planning: Cooler, check; Ice, check; Beverage, check; Music, check; Chairs, check.

She made us sit there and name off people we wanted to invite to the party.

I said, "I can more easily name the ones I don’t want to invite."

Joey piped in, "I want a band and girls dancing."

Hmm.... so did I. Keep going Joey.

Ronda just glared at us.

"No, I want to know who your friends are and who we want to have over to celebrate your graduation," she said firmly. "I also need to order food, drinks, get napkins, have a cake made, get matching table cloths, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Joey and I just glazed over.

Just when we thought it ended, we were informed of a stop we were making while in Wichita this week.

"Boys, we’re going to Party City", said Ronda.

Party City. Wow, a whole city partying. Joey and I were actually thinking ‘this could be cool’.

If cool is looking at 40 different colors of napkins, forks and spoons, then Party City is your place. Most men don’t care. We’re content with the clear plastic utensils, cups and plates, but no.

My only contribution to this stop was buying a medal that will go around Joey’s neck that day that says, "Winner".

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From April 4, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Many events in one’s life mark great accomplishments. The birth of children and grandchildren, graduations, promotions, and an occasional big birthday make up the list.

I’d never really thought about retirement until last week. My mom, Joyce Noland, recently retired after 35 years of working for the same person. An accomplishment that few can lay claim to. My mom worked for Alan Goering shortly after he began practicing law in Medicine Lodge way back in the 1970s. She was with him when he started his own practice in the 1980s and was there when he later partnered with Bob Slinkard. Her last day was March 31st.

Alan and Bob held a very nice reception and dinner for my mom at the Vintage House in Burlington, OK on Friday, March 25th. He said some very nice things about my mom that I know brought tears to many at the table. He also said some very funny things as well.

I commend mom on her loyalty to Alan and I also commend Alan on putting up with my mom for all those years! She was surrounded by her family, coworkers and friends. It was touching to see her honored that way and I can’t tell you how proud I am of her. It’s a great accomplishment and I know she will miss her friends and family at Goering and Slinkard. Thank you Alan and Bob for being so good to her.

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Probably the biggest news this week is the return of Days of Yore. The column, disappeared from the newspaper along with the folding of The Barber County Index back in 2009 and it’s always been something our readers have requested. After some thinking, and some prodding from Doris, we’ve decided to resurrect it. Doris has spent countless hours combing through microfilm and even our own archives for stories to share with our readers.

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In preparation for Peace Treaty and it being our 20th anniversary, we’ve decorated our window at the office with some newspaper memorabilia. We’re looking for anything that fits in with our motif. If you have something you’d like to share with us, we’d love to have you drop it by!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From March 28, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

A petition is being circulated to force City Charter Ordinance 19 to a public vote.

Should you sign it?

I don’t know.

Jan Bertoglio has started and is circulating the petition. I called her and we got together last week to discuss its merits or lack thereof.

"It’s no good," she said.

The ordinance gives an administrator the authority to make certain appointments and allows for disciplinary actions in accordance with the personnel manual, all of which were passed by a 2/3 vote city council majority.

This move has some folks in the community nervous. Some even believe it was a sneaky move by the council to pass such an ordinance. I suppose timing is everything.

I spoke with Councilmember Roger Lukens last week. He explained there was no intention of this being done quickly or behind closed doors. In fact, we published discussion on this ordinance in at least one paper before it passed. Lukens told me that this ordinance has been one of the visions the council has had for quite some time now.

Perhaps passing it so close to election is what people don’t like.

Removing the powers from the mayor and giving them to an administrator is not something our one-and-only mayoral candidate likes. Bob Stutler and I have been discussing this topic over the past few days.

"I don’t like it either," he said. I want to have the same level playing field that every mayor before me had."

I see his point and I support Bob whole-heartedly as the new mayor.

The reason I support him is that he is competent to deal with those appointments and issues. Not every past mayor has been able to and we may not have a mayor in the future that is as capable and experienced as Mr. Stutler.

Thus a reason for such an ordinance.

One thing to remember is that regardless of an action by a city administrator, that person still answers to the mayor and council. If they [the council members] don’t like the decision, they have the power to remove that administrator and get one that is on board with their line of thinking.

For the record, this ordinance is not the dream child or an evil scheme conjured up by our current administrator. He did not write it. In fact, it comes from an example of the charter ordinance used by the city of Greensburg, KS. According to Austin Gilley, many third class cities in Kansas have adopted similar ordinances.

"It’s an attempt to clear up confusion and accountability," he told me. And it is the direction that our current city council set when beginning the search for a new administrator.

Roger Lukens added, "Before [the charter ordinance] , it appeared that city employees had 7 bosses - the mayor, five councilmembers and the city administrator."

Gilley is indifferent about the ordinance. If it goes through the 60 day protest period without being recalled, great. If it doesn’t he assures me and my readers he is "very excited to work with the mayor and new council regardless of the outcome."

The outcome?

Jan Bertoglio says she has more than enough signatures to stop this ordinance from taking effect on April 22nd. The next step will be for a new council to decide whether to put it to a special election in 2012 or let the issue die.

My gut feeling is, it will die.

Should you sign it? I don’t know. Do you really understand the motivation behind the ordiinace? Probably not. Do you have all of the facts? I doubt it. Did I sign it? Nope, but I am one of those folks who works and calls Medicine Lodge my home - but lives outside the city limits. I don’t have to make that type of decision and I’m sort of glad I don’t have to!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From March 21, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Each year, Kansas Press sets aside to remind citizens how important transparency is in our participatory democracy.

This was actually done last week, March 13 through 19, but we were a little rushed with remodeling and trying to leave for a trip to Amarillo. I held it for this week.

Our country was founded on the principle that government is of the people, by the people and for the people.

As Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in his middle 19th century classic, "Democracy in America," the system of self-government we chose for ourselves was unique because we relied on each other, rather than royalty, to chart the course for our nation.

Tocqueville was fascinated that in America, we elected "people like us" to make decisions on our behalf, but we also decided that for democratic rule to succeed, we had to be participants in our own governance.

Sunshine Week, March 13 through 19 this year, was a reminder to elected officials and to those they serve that for America’s system of government to work, we have to have an informed citizenry. This requires unfettered access to the information necessary to keep us abreast of just what government is attempting to do on our behalf.

Sadly, while our political leaders often talk a good line when it comes to transparency, many fall short when the rubber meets the road.

In Topeka, for instance, the city is embroiled in a controversy about the apparent theft of scrap metal from a city construction site. The scrap reportedly was sold and the money shared by a handful of city employees.

The city manager and his team decided to handle the incident as a personnel matter rather than a criminal one, even leaving the city council in the dark for six months. Had "transparency" been the rule and not the exception, this controversy most likely would have been handled in a few days. It has continued to boil for six weeks and counting.

When the duly-elected city council members were blocked by city staff from getting access to documents about the theft, the council was forced to vote 9-0 to subpoena documents that had been withheld for "personnel" reasons.

What is wrong with this picture?

Each week, the attorney for the Kansas Press Association gets call after call from local newspaper staff writers and editors fighting roadblocks to information access thrown up by public officials. Whether it’s access to agenda packets, minutes or notice of meetings or the abuse of executive sessions, transparency seems to be no more than a campaign pamphlet bullet point for some public officials.

On Thursday (March 17), a bill was heard in the House Local Government Committee that would give cities, counties and school districts the "option" to name their own governmental website rather than their local newspaper as the official publication for public notices.

Never mind that a third of Kansans don’t have access to the internet. Never mind that the internet has been proven time and again to be unreliable and susceptible to hacking and manipulation while printed newspapers are verifiable, permanent, more likely to be seen and independent from government.

It’s ironic (maybe appalling is a better word) that this bill was heard during National Sunshine Week. It illustrates that far too many of our elected officials don’t understand why they alone should not be in control of public information.

Why is "sunshine" important?

"Publicity," said Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis , "is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants, electric light the most efficient policeman."

Brandeis was right.

If we are to remain a free nation and able to compete with the rest of the world in the 21st century, citizens must be well-informed. To be well-informed, government must operate in the light of day.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From March 14, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Well you may not see it as front page news, but we do.

Our one-month long remodeling project of the front of our office was completed during the middle part of last week.

We ran a little over on our budget, but we’re thrilled with the results! If you haven’t been in to see it, we’ve recarpeted, repainted, added a wall and put in a HUGE reception area. Doris and Ronda seem comfortable in their new space.

Spending the past few weeks huffing paint fumes, carpet seams and glue, I’m ready for warm weather so we can open the door!

Ronda and I spent countless hours just talking about what to hang on the walls. For years we had the same old pictures that hung, some by tape, to our walls and we wanted something that would scream MEDICINE LODGE. While at a recent Peace Treaty board meeting, I learned there were some of the older posters for sale, so I quickly hooked up with Sarah Whelan and bought all the posters from the time frame we have been in business, which is 1991 through present. With a trip to Hobby Lobby and some nails, we’ve created a neat tribute to our town’s famed Peace Treaty.

We still have the north wall to decorate. With our limited budget, we’re hoping to do better than some paint by numbers!

There’s a few people I want to thank.

Thank you Lee Wade for being ever so patient when working with me. Lee is a perfectionist and I am a hurry-up-and-get-it-done-er. Lee helped me get the counter set in place and didn’t allow me to cut any corners. Lee also did our finish work and built our wall and doorway.

Thank you Matt and Sean Forsyth. I boasted to them how I had gotten everything out of the front office before they laid carpet and only asked that they help us move it back in. They were much obliged, but I sort of tricked them. The new furniture was the heaviest made since the Egyptians carved out stone tables in 1500 B.C. We had to remove the door and with some grunting and sweating, we got the furniture back in.

Thank you Ann Bell for the new carpet! We love you. :)

And thank you customers for being so understanding while we remodeled! Have a great week!

KWIBS - From March 7, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Sadly, free speech isn’t nice. It is often ugly and hurtful, painful to listen to and intended to cause distress.

But in the United States of America, it’s protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. And Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that basic principle in an 8-1 ruling in Snyder v. Phelps, a.k.a., the Westboro Baptist Church case.

Church members and Fred Phelps, their "minister," are infamous for their anti-gay protests at high-profile funerals, most notably, those of servicemen killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They believe the wars and casualties are God’s revenge on America for "tolerating" homosexuals. Their shouting of anti-gay epithets and hoisting signs proclaiming "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "God hates fags" are designed to be inflammatory and provocative.

It was a brave act that the father of fallen Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder filed a lawsuit against the church to stop them from spreading their message of hate at the funerals of soldiers killed in battle.

Veterans groups across the nation filed briefs with the Supreme Court in support of Snyder, as did the attorneys general of 48 states. The Westboro gang’s actions, their speech is simply hateful and disgusting.

Writing for the court, Chief Justice John Roberts said, "Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and — as it did here — inflict great pain. ... (But) we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker."

Just as the Supreme Court ruled more than 30 years ago in 1977 that neo-Nazis could parade through the streets of the heavily Jewishh Skokie, Ill., so too do the Westboro homophobes have their right to protest and to express their views.

I understand the importance of freedom of speech all too well being in the business I am in. I just can’t see the point in allowing these whackjobs to protest at funerals of soldiers.

Only one Supreme Court Justice, Alito, had the courage to stand up to the hateful "free" speech.

The others feel it’s fundamentally what America is all about.

I dispute that wholeheartedly. This is what America has become and I fear it is still evolving into something even more repugnant.

KWIBS - From February 28, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Several weeks ago, I was inspired to make some changes in our office. After sitting in on the Main Street Medicine Lodge meeting last month, I began to think about the appearance of our office and presence on Main Street.

We’ve been here for 20 years this year and since that time have done little in the way of remodeling. Our desks are old and falling apart. Our carpet is stained, torn and faded. Our window is boring and our signage is showing its age. It was time for a change.

Since it is a Peace Treaty year and since Marcia Lawrence has been somewhat of a cheerleader for the upgrade in appearance of Main Street, we made the decision to do some upgrading in our offices a few weeks ago. We’re going to kick off this whole Main Street Medicine Lodge right here at The Gyp Hill Premiere. I contacted a friend in Wichita who recently closed down an office at the Epic Center. I bought his receptionist counter and other furniture, which took me most of the day to bring down three stories out of that building. Thank you to John Nixon for allowing me the use of his trailer. We’ve ordered new carpet from Forsyth’s which is schedule to be in the week of March 7th. We’ve had Lee Wade build us a new doorway, bought primer and paint and we’re going to town!

And the results thus far? We’re a mess in progress....

Customers entering our store last week were greeted by a folded up section of our carpet and a whole lot of clutter. Most managed not to trip over it. My mom sort of tripped over it, but she’s not considered a customer. As of this writing, our walls are half primed and painted. Most of our furniture is taken out and Doris and Ronda are operating out of boxes. The floor has some sheetrock dust and scraps and the office smells of primer.

In about a week, we will begin assembly of the new reception counter. During this time, we will be a little unorganized and we ask for your patience while we get things back in order. My plan right at the moment, is to move Ronda and Doris into the middle server room and have them share a phone between them for a few days. I hope to have their computers up and running so they can take care of customers.

We’re planning on being closed Monday-Wednesday(ish), March 7-9, while we put things back together that week.

When we get the inside finished up, we’ll be working on the outside of both our building and the Allegiance building. We’ll be doing some cleaning and replacing some signage during the spring and summer. We’re excited about "spiffying" things up for Peace Treaty and we encourage the rest of our community to do the same!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From February 21, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

My youngest son’s birthday is on Friday. Nick is turning 13! In honor of his 13th birthday, I would like to announce to my readers that he is now a teenager and knows everything!

It reminds me of the sign

But my little Nicholas doesn’t act that way. Although he is becoming a little man and has entered adolescence, he is still my baby boy.

I’ve really enjoyed seeing his, sense of humor develop over the years. He’s got a quick wit, just like his old man. I’m proud of you buddy and I love you. Happy Birthday Nick! Summer is just around the corner!

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"Those fluffy towels will bring you nothing but trouble," said Joey this week.

I nearly burned the office down - the second time in the past month for me. The first time it was a tinfoil lined plate in the microwave. This time it was a smell-good candle from Pat’s called "Fluffy Towels".

Wednesday was just nuts for me. I was on the phone, had one caller holding for me and was trying to fill out paper work on a desk covered in stacks of papers. I slid my candle to the back of the desk to have more room to write and ignited a pile of papers on my desk on fire.

I was calm, cool and collective. While continuing my conversation on the phone with my customer, I calmly said, "Hold just a second sir," and then said, "Doris, could you please assist me for a minute?" as I was holding the phone and flinging burning papers off of my desk, would grab another and blow it out, only for it to reignite. The look on Doris’s face was just priceless. It was a mixture of horror and amazement.

We just began a remodeling project in our office this week. For the next month or so, we are painting, putting in new furniture and new carpet. As Doris was wiping off the charred remains of paper off of my desk she said, "Either remodel or burn the place down, but make up your mind!"

I want to remodel, so they took my candle away from me. Now it smells like burnt fluffy towels in my office.....

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From February 14, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Imagine a government that spoon-feeds it's citizens the information they want them to have, a state that controls the media, controls information about taxpayer funds and how they are spent, government that eventually controls the internet, newspapers, television and radio. It sounds like a communist regime or a bad sci-fi/horror flick, doesn't it?

It might sound like an alarmist's statement, but these things are closer to truth than you think and at least one of these is in the process of becoming reality right here in the state of Kansas.

HB2166 was introduced last week. It is, at best, the state's way of trying to eliminate an independent, proven source of communication that supplies the general public information about local government.

HB2166 gives municipalities, counties and schools an "option" to place these public notices on websites that they would designate as "official publication sources" - an option that would remove the information from the public’s view.

"Why have public notices always appeared in newspapers? It's simple: public notices are meant to be 'noticed.' If you want them to be noticed, you put them where that is most likely to occur," stated Doug Anstaett, Executive Director Kansas Press Association.

This attempt to sanction the placing of public notices on a government website is simply allowing the fox to guard the chicken house. Government should never be in control of its own information. We call that totalitarianism when other countries do it, and it's not a stretch to argue that this bill is a prescription for the worst kind of mischief from government.

Newspapers are the "watchdogs" and "activists" for fair and open government. For hundreds of years newspapers have been the leading source of supplying public notices and safeguarding the public's right-to-know about the actions of our city's, county's, school's and state's actions.

"Newspapers work because they are verifiable, you can't hack them like you can an internet site, they are a permanent record that cannot be altered or lost and they are guaranteed to be accurate by the publisher. In addition, affidavits of publication from newspapers have long been recognized as adequate notice in a court of law. How are you going to be able to guarantee a notice was published online, in a timely fashion and accurately? It can't be done," said Anstaett

It's not the first time that this concept or bill has come up. In fact, I think it's the third or fourth time in recent years. Each time the newspaper community and the general public have put a stop to it. The government waits patiently for complacency and when the time is right, they will pull the wool over our eyes. Lawmakers and some local governments will make the claim that it's all about saving money, but the truth is the average local government spends less than .0005% of its budget publishing notices in newspapers. For example, USD#254’s total budget exceeded $9 million in 2010. The district paid $474 in public notices to this newspaper in that same year. That’s .00005 of their budget spent notifying the public in our area. Taking that out of their budget would hardly "save" any significant funds.

Giving cities, counties and schools the option of placing their notices on state-run or sponsored websites removes the accountability of government and places the information on potentially hard to navigate sites and removes these legals from the public's eyes and scrutiny of the taxpayers. More than that, many questions arise: who will control the information? how will it be safeguarded and verified? will it be utilized and seen by the majority of the general public? Several more questions will come up.

Each week, the newspaper is printed, mailed, read and recorded for historical purposes. It has been the most reliable source of "hard" information in history and dates back to the birth of our great nation. This bill and these types of actions by our government, in reality, are attempts to eliminate "free" press.

Anstaett fears for the future of small town newspapers.

He said, "In addition, the effect of removing public notices would be devastating to our smaller newspapers. A number of them are hanging on by a thread in today's economy and this would likely spell the end of the road for a number of them. Local newspapers are very important to their communities. We have calculated after discussing this issue with our association members that we would — conservatively — stand to lose 50 newspapers in Kansas if public notice income went away. If public notices went away, and with it many newspapers, it would rob the people of Kansas of the information they need to keep an eye on their cities, counties, school districts and other governmental entities."

It's an issue we have and are watching very closely in our industry. Giving government the "option" of accountability is not acceptable in a free nation. Hold your elected officials' feet to the fire. Don't let them remove public notices from newspapers. Budget crunches are not an excuse to hide information from you. You have a right to know.

An "option" for governments to choose internet over newspapers will also give governments an upper-hand when newspapers demand accountability and transparency. Objective, fair reporting could be replaced by timidity and fear of losing important income for many newspapers. A threat of moving these public notices from newspapers to the internet could have a negative influence as to how newspapers report on local governments. It would be strong-arming the media to comply and it is not acceptable or fair to our readers.

This action, if passed, could mean the beginning of the end of the free press. Please contact your local representatives and tell them to stop passage of HB2166.

Two more bills of interest to newspapers and voters were filed Monday by the House Committee on Local Government. One is a good enhancement of both the open records and open meetings act; the other is another attack on public notice and the requirement for publishing certain notices in two or three consecutive weeks, cutting the requirement to one week plus the local government website.

HB 2185 would amend the civil penalties for violating KOMA and KORA to include in those who can bring an action "any person" rather than just the attorney general and county or district attorney. We believe it probably is a bill that won't see the light of day, but it came from a legislator, so it won't hurt to support it. It gives broad power to individuals to pursue KORA and KOMA violations.

The other bill, HB 2189, is a bill designed to reduce the number of consecutive insertions of certain public notices such as for the issuance of bonds, for sheriff's sales, for elections and for delinquent taxes. The bill would reduce those publications to once in the official county newspaper and also on the governmental entity's website.

As you can see, your Kansas legislators are trying to poke holes in a number of statutes on public notices, KORA and KOMA.

Thank you for your support of our newspaper and all of Kansas’s newspapers. Kevin Noland, Publisher

KWIBS - From January 31, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Our newspaper turns 20 years old in July of this year.

What reminded me of this event, was a birthday celebrated by a special friend of mine.

Bob Greer, Publisher of the Protection Press, turned 85 on January 20th. He almost forgot another important birthday during that same month, the 25th birthday of his newspaper.

Bob is one of my newspaper heroes. He still hammers out a weekly column in The Press titled "Bobbing Along Broadway". Back in 1986, Bob came to Medicine Lodge with his first edition of The Protection Press. I had the weekly pleasure of printing it on Wednesdays over the next few years until my dad sold the Index in 1990. Bob went into competition with the existing newspaper of 75 years, owned by a large chain. Does that sound familiar? His competition only lasted for a few months before the Protection Post vanished.

Sure, he was a younger, version of himself in 1986, but Bob has managed to keep his wits about him all these years, or kept what little he began with!

Over the past 20 years, Bob has stopped into my office to say "hi", usually monthly, on his way to "check up on his doctor in Wichita." He and his wife Wilma are always welcome visitors, even on the busiest days. He calls me "scooter boy", remembering my love of my Harleys years ago. On his way through, he uses my "facility" and steals a roll of toilet paper - his sense of humor.

Bob started his newspaper up on a wing and a prayer in 1986. He had many years of experience writing and editing, working at several newspapers in Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska.

Bob stated, "Ever since I was a kid of 5-6 years of age, I always wanted to be a newspaper person. I simply am in love with what I do. I am one of the lucky people you will meet: someone who loves what he does. And making big bucks is not one of my priorities."

I think I am a carved out, younger version of Bob Greer (probably a little better looking and more hip too, if you ask me)! I’m blessed to love what I do.

I called Bob just a couple of days before his 85th birthday, as I try to do every year, to tell him I was thinking of him. We talked for a while and he ended his conversation as he always does with, "I love you, old friend", to which I tell him the same.

Bob has been an inspiration to me over the years. Just a little more than 5 years after Bob started The Protection Press, Ronda and I started The Gyp Hill Premiere. Bob has a about 231 more newspapers under his belt than I do. He just printed issue 25, week 52 of The Press. That’s 1,302 (plus a couple more in the past two weeks). Our number is 1,073 as of this edition.

Bob was recently a featured person on Hatteburg’s People. Congratulations to you my old friend. I love you.

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I’ve been spending some time researching my Grandpa Bill’s newspaper beginnings, as well as my Uncle Gary’s and my dad, Ron Noland’s history in the newspaper business.

Although my dad struggles with his speech these days, he lights up when we talk about our newspaper heritage. I asked him when Grandpa started "KWICK KWIBS" this past week. He couldn’t tell me, but he gestured that he was very young. My Grandpa Bill bought his first newspaper in 1946. It was the Logan Republican in Logan, KS.

My grandpa continued his columns clear into the early 1970s with The Kinsley Mercury and The Barber County Index.

That "KWICK KWIBS" column spun off into my dad’s column called "KWICK KWIBS, Jr." in the early 1970s. In 1988 I remember sneaking into the composing room and replacing a house ad on page two with a column called simply "KWIBS". My dad was not impressed when he got his newspaper in the mail out in Branson, MO. He later relented and let me write my silly column. I continued it even after he sold the newspaper and took it over with me when we started this paper in 1991. I’ve written more than 1,000 since I first started. Guys like Bob Greer and me have "ink running through our veins." We love what we do and the communities we serve. I can’t wait until I’m 85 years old and publish my 3,380th issue.....

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From January 17, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

Former Editor and band mate David Fasgold and I used to play this silly game called "Shoot it into the sun."

The game was basically this: Anything you didn’t like, you could load it on our imaginary rocket ship and shoot it into the sun. The thing you disliked would eventually be burned up and gone forever. We would even occasionally put a person in our imaginary rocket and shoot them into the sun.

Things or people I used to shoot into the sun: Al Sharpton, Barry Manilow, Osama Bin Laden (if we could find him), deadline days at the newspaper, an assortment of grumpy customers, men’s pink shirts, sweet 80s mullets and pretty much every Oak Ridge Boys song ever written (Sorry Amy Axline).

I also would take my bills and shoot them into the sun. What could be a better excuse for not paying your electric bill?

"Mr. Noland, we did not receive your August payment for your electric bill."

Me: Oh, that bill.... well, I put that in my rocket and shot it to the sun because I didn’t like it.

"Understood Mr. Noland, we’ll do much better for you next month."

I thought David and I pretty much had the market cornered on this idea and that one day our plans would come to fruition. Of course this means we would need a cheap way of shooting rockets into the sun and since NASA can’t even do that yet, we’re still in a holding pattern.

Last week it was announced that 400 people had volunteered to go on a one-way mission to Mars.

I realize it’s not the sun, but it’s a start.

I was searching for a nomination form to print several copies off. I had several people in mind for this mission.

Where do I sign people up, I wondered? Then I read "volunteered."

What kind of person would volunteer for a one-way mission to Mars? Well, a man named Peter Greaves has. Greaves is the father of three, and a jack-of-all-trades who started his own motorcycle dispatch company and fixes computers and engines on the side.

"I envision life on Mars to be stunning, frightening, lonely, quite cramped and busy," he told FoxNews.com. "Unlike Earth, I wouldn't be able to sit by a stream or take in the view of nature's wonder, or hug a friend, or breath deeply the sweet smell of fresh air -- but my experience would be so different from all 6 to 7 billion human beings ... that in itself would make up for the things I left behind."

(Notice how I got rid of Mel Brooks and VHS all at the same time?)

Six guys are already in a "long journey scenario" going to Mars. These guys are being locked up in a "rocket ship", or in a clubhouse with attractive hardwood floors and are PRETENDING to go to Mars to test the long-term impact of such a journey.

It takes 520 days to go to Mars and back.

"Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"

No, we’re not. We’re only 3 months into this trip. I just told you a month ago how far we were. Shut up David! Watch Blazing Saddles again or look out the opposite window....

Do we really need to do this study? Six men, no women, 520 days. We have something similar to this called PRISON!

These six guys are from a bunch of different countries too and don’t even all speak the same language.

These morons are going to emerge in November a year and a half older, with nothing to show for it except an item on their resumes saying, "Most recent employment: Pretended to go to Mars." Yeah, I bet lots of employers are looking for that.

KWIBS - From January 10, 2011 - By Kevin Noland

I’m holidazed....

That’s my new word to start off 2011. Yes, 2011. Wow! We still don’t have flying cars. That makes me so mad.

Joey and I took a day off last week to enjoy one final day of his Christmas vacation. We had decided to spend a near fortune on seeing a movie at the new Warren IMAX in Wichita on 21st street. I felt a little violated paying $24 for a movie that originally came out when I was 13-years-old. The movie was Tron. The average price for a movie ticket in 1982 was about $2.50 a person. I think popcorn was still like $10 a bucket though....

When they told me it would be $24 for the two of us to see Tron in 3D on the IMAX, I asked the lady behind the counter if she would take $8 if we just saw it in 1D. She didn’t get it.

Nobody seems to have a sense of humor these days.

While in Wichita, we stopped at Walmart before coming home. I had to buy some goofy filter for a humidifier. It was like $10 but all I had was a $100 bill. I handed it to the clerk and she held it up to the light, marked it, gave me the once over and then counted back my change.

As she did this I said, "Wait, stop."

I took each bill she handed me and I held it up to the light.

She asked, "What are you doing?"

I explained that I was examining the money she was giving me to make sure it was real.

She said, "Of course it’s real. We already examined it."

I said, "Well, my $100 bill was real and I had already examined it. Obviously, you didn’t trust me enough to think I had done that, so why would I trust that the money you are giving back to me is real?"

She sort of glazed over. The people behind me were moaning.

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On 1-11-11 my grandson Kycen will be 1. I thought this was kind of cool. I think we should celebrate his birthday party at 1:11 p.m.

Happy birthday to my special little guy!

KWIBS - From December 27, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

My brain hurts...

As I poured over the year’s worth of news and determined what would make our year in review and what wouldn’t, I couldn’t help to marvel at how much "news" there was last year.

Much of the year’s coverage focused on the funding for the county’s two hospitals. Back and forth the commissioners went with the voting public, hospitals and PBC. An offer of $10 million was presented to the hospitals, $6 million is what Medicine Lodge will have to work with. It’s a far cry from the $26.5 million that we voted on not so long ago.

I would have to say that was the most important news story this year. It actually continues to haunt the taxpayers and voters of Barber County. This week a resolution is published for the funding of the hospitals. A new chapter will continue into 2011.

This year I feel the nomination should go to Austin Gilley. Gilley and his family moved here in June and Gilley hit the ground running with many difficult tasks to accomplish with the city’s budget, infrastructure, water rates, cemetery issues and a projected deficit.

He is beginning to turn things around and he’s got ideas for the community that will help us grow. He needs the community’s support and appreciation.

Not everyone will be happy with the changes that will come our way. Austin has many projects on his plate and often many who stand willing to criticize and complain and few to complement and encourage him. I want to encourage him.

I’ve had the opportunity to spend several hours working with Mr. Gilley. I can tell you he is sincere in his efforts to help Medicine Lodge. He needs your support in this endeavor. My impression is that he can help this community, if this community is willing to be helped. Show him your support and your support for the city of Medicine Lodge.

And have a great 2011!

KWIBS - From December 20, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

As Christmas approaches, I always think about the reason we celebrate this time of year. We celebrate the birth of Jesus. It’s also a time of giving and being thankful for family and friends.

It’s also close to the end of another year in our community. Next week we’ll be looking back at our accomplishments and failures for 2010 as we anticipate another flip of the calendar.

We have so much to be grateful for in this community. I want to thank everyone for their support over the past year. We are still in a questionable economic climate. Many people including many businesses have felt the pinch this year. Even though we are all a little tighter than in years past, there is still a spirit of giving and goodness that comes from Medicine Lodge during Christmas time. Take a moment to browse the greetings in our newspaper this week.

We’re truly blessed to live in a community with so many caring people. We often spend a lot of time grumbling about what is wrong with our community, but during this season, we should look at and be thankful for all that is right with our community.

I hope you take a moment to reflect on your blessings this Christmas season and I hope and pray that Jesus is the reason for your season, as it is mine. - Isaiah 53

Merry Christmas!

KWIBS - From December 13, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

In the newspaper business, you seldom hear when you do something right, but make an error, and everyone will let you know.

Sometimes though you make a whopper. My friend and fellow publisher in Coldwater, KS recently made a great boo-boo on his front page.

Dennise Andersen placed a box on the front left, bottom corner of his newspaper on November 25th that read "Happy Easter". Oops...

I called up and disguised my voice last week and told him I wanted to put an ad in his paper. He said, I’m ready. Go ahead.

I said, I’d like a small box on the front page around Christmas time that reads "Happy 4th of July." It was quiet for a minute before the cursing and name calling began. Apparently, I did well in disguising my voice, but my sense of humor gave me away. Have a great week!

KWIBS - From November 29, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

One thing I am always thankful for is Thanksgiving. This year was no different, spending time with family and friends.

We had a dear friend come and spend the holiday with us. Daryl Johnson from Topeka has been grafted into our holiday family. This is our second time spending Thanksgiving with him.

You probably remember Daryl. He was the Superintendent of Schools for USD#254 back in the mid-late 90s. Daryl and his wife Cathy were special people to us and our community. She passed away and Daryl eventually moved back to the Topeka area where he is retired and does some substitute teaching.

Daryl tells me all the time that he has a special place in his heart for Medicine Lodge. It was great seeing him and spending time with him.

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Medicine Lodge was a busy place the weekend of November 19-21. The Medicine Lodge Area Chamber of Commerce held their annual Christmas Open House and NBCRC held a benefit dodge ball tournament. I attended both and I have to say, I had a great time at both events. It’s fun to see the town getting together and having fun during the holidays and supporting good causes.

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My 10-month-old grandson is becoming a Ninja. He skillfully knows where and when to hit you to inflict the most pain. My glasses have been the most recent target of his quick hands.

It also amazes me that he went from crawling in an area no bigger than a 10 foot radius, to exploring any and all areas of our home in a matter of weeks. He pulls up on everything that is sturdy enough to support him and if he can move it or pick it up, you can bet it will end up on the floor. This includes candles, cups of water, pictures, plants, etc..

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With all of the recent controversy on airport security and new security measures being implemented, I ran across this interesting idea.

Here's the solution to all the controversy over full-body scanners at the Airports:

Have a booth that you can step into that will not x-ray you, but will detonate any explosive device you may have on your body. It would be a win-win for everyone, and there would be none of this garbage about racial profiling and this method would eliminate a long and expensive trial.

Justice would be quick and swift.

This is so simple that it's brilliant. I can see it now. You're in the airport terminal and you hear a muffled explosion. Shortly thereafter an announcement comes over the PA system,

"Attention standby passengers: We now have a seat available on flight number 4665 ....paging maintenance. Shop Vac needed in booth number 4."

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I read a lot of news copy each week and my mind does strange things with the information I process.

In this week’s issue of the Sheriff’s News on page 4, Jesus Montano is reported to have hit a deer on HWY 160. Rumor has it that he got out of the vehicle, found the deer, said, "Be healed," and the deer got up and ran away. That’s probably just not true.....

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A lot of times people will take the time to let you know when you are not doing a good job. Seldom does someone take the time to say you are doing a great job.

I thought it should be done this week. Mr. Hanna is the high school band and choir instructor and is rebuilding a program that has declined in numbers and talent over the years. Through football season and most recently at the Christmas Open House on Main Street, Mr. Hanna and his students have shown great promise in their performance.

I want to tell him and his students, GREAT JOB! You guys keep up the good work and we thank you for the great music you are generating.

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A couple of weeks ago, my oldest son, Joey, went on a little excursion to California. He and Max Zinowsky, John Nixon’s AFS student traveled there by invitation from Jim and Cathy Colborn. The Colborns were already in Califonia and invited the boys to fly out for the weekend, share a rental car and a hotel with them and then a flight home.

The boys got to travel the famous 101 from Los Angeles to San Francisco where they finished off their trip with a helicopter tour of the bay area and city.

Joey shared a funny story of how he and Jim Colborn listened to local "rap" talent in the car on the way to San Francisco. Can you imagine Jim Colborn listening to rap music? It’s even harder for me to imagine Jim wanting to spend close to 8 hours in a car with two teenage boys that don’t belong to him.

One of the coolest things the boys got to do was stopping to photograph Elephant Seals on the beach. The photos are just amazing and I was so jealous of their trip. Below is a photo that Joey took of Alcatraz. Thank you to Jim and Cathy for bringing him home safely and letting the boys experience the coast!

KWIBS - From November 22, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

My fantasy football team entered Monday night’s game with 7 points for the week. I was playing my evil twin brother, Dr. Ruben Garcia and only had one player left for the evening that needed to put better than 25 points on the board if I had any hope of winning. A nearly impossible feat, I did end up winning, 43-32.

My last guy playing was infamous former Atlanta Falcons Quarter Back Michael Vick. If you remember, Vick plead guilty to illegal dog fighting and spent time in prison and came back to the NFL in 2009.

Now as the Quarter Back for the Philadelphia Eagles, Vick has exploded with talent and a new attitude.

Everyone laughed at me during the 2009 season draft when I picked up Vick. He didn’t do much in the 2009 season, but now has emerged as one of the top quarter backs in the league setting a record Monday night with 4 passing touch downs with over 300 yards for the evening against Washington. Adding to that, Vick had 2 touch downs running, for more than 80 yards.

I think I’ll keep him on my team!

KWIBS - From November 8, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

Publisher’s note: I in no way am making light of the seriousness of abusing children.

Psalm 127:3-5

I spent the past weekend with my children, a son-in-law and my grandson. We spent a total of about 16 hours in the vehicle together. We took our first family vacation together since the last time I said I would never do that again.

So to say, "fill his quiver with them", we did, but my quiver was my Suburban. We set sail from Medicine Lodge late Friday afternoon.

Our mission: To get to Dallas, TX without killing each other, enjoy a football game (hard to do when Dallas is so bad this year), visit family and friends, see the sights and get home (again, without killing each other.)

It’s been 12 years since I have traveled anywhere with a 10 month old baby, but I have to tell you, my grandson was almost a perfect angel. At 10 months, he didn’t really have the concept of a "bathroom break" established. Thank God for leakproof diapers and air fresheners.

We made it to our hotel in Dallas on Saturday after spending the night in Oklahoma City. We got up early Sunday and took a shuttle to the Cowboy’s Stadium in Arlington and my little Cowboy Kycen experienced his first professional football game.

He was an absolute blast at the game. He cheered no matter who scored or made a penalty. He didn’t care. 100,000 people were all there for his enjoyment.

When we got home, I posted some photos on Facebook and the first reply I got was from an old friend from college. He wrote: "That’s child abuse dressing a helpless baby up in a Cowboy’s shirt!"

I know, Cowboys are 1-6 (probably worse after this past weekend), but isn’t this little guy the cutest Cowboys fan ever?

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From November 1, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

One of our family’s favorite past times is watching NFL on Sundays.

Once or twice a year, we try to take in a professional football game. Usually, we schedule it around a birthday or two. So, three months ago we bought our tickets for the October 31, Cowboys vs. Jaguars game at the Cowboys’ stadium in Arlington, TX.

Now when I say "scheduled around a birthday or two" I mean, Breeann - Oct. 3; me - Oct. 4; Joey - Oct. 28 and Ronda - Nov.3. So, we loaded up the suburban on Friday and ventured to Texas. When I say "we" I mean, me, Ronda, Joey, Nicholas, Breeann, Devin and Baby Kycen. Kycen is a true Cowboys fan. He told me so.

Three years ago when we went to the game, I wore my Tony Romo jersey. The week before the game, he was placed on the injury list with a broken pinky and we didn’t get to see him play. Last year, I wore my Jason Witten jersey and he was injured a week before we were to see the game and he didn’t play. Monday night, while wearing my Tony Romo jersey again, Romo was taken to the ground by 233 lbs New York Giant Michael Boley, breaking his clavicle on his left shoulder. This will take Romo out of the game for our trip to see the Cowboys, if not for the entire season. Remember when it wasn’t cool to wear a Kansas City Chiefs jersey? Thank God those days are behind us for a while.

As of this writing (Thursday, October 28), I’m debating on even wearing a Cowboys’ jersey all together. I’m afraid of what it might do to the team, not to mention they are 1-5 and it’s sort of getting a little embarrassing with all of the jeers I am receiving.

Part of our trip involved a short visit with Ronda’s dad and stepmother. All 9 of us went to the game together on Sunday. We also planned a dinner with my Uncle Gary and Aunt Millie and family who live in Ft. Worth after the game.

Today, Monday, we’re on our way home. My prediction is we’re tired and grumpy. I also predict we had a blast and I’ll probably have some column material for the next week’s edition of The Gyp Hill Premiere.

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I got to spend a little time with Dennis Blake this week. He and his foster boys are starting a car washing service in the community. The idea is for the kids to earn their own money and for the boys to learn responsibility, respect and to have pride in something they do.

I think it’s a brilliant idea and I hope everyone picks up the phone and calls Dennis for an appointment this week. What the Blakes do is short of amazing with these kids. They’ve had a calling placed on their hearts and they really care about these boys. They washed one of my vehicles Thursday. WOW!

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In closing this week, I’d like to wish my beautiful wife a Happy Birthday. Jazz hands baby! I love you. :)

I’d also like to wish my son Joey a late happy 18th birthday. Happy birthday buddy!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From October 25, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

Will return.....

KWIBS - From October 18, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

This column will be unpopular. Try not to judge me or my motives when reading. Try to keep an open mind.

A couple of issues I am watching November 2nd are liquor by the drink and the referendum to the Kansas Constitution concerning the right to bear arms for individuals.

First: Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating drinking and driving or promoting any abuse of alcohol when I say I support liquor by the drink. I’ve seen firsthand the devastation that alcohol can cause in families.

This issue isn’t about that. This issue is about lost tax revenues by Barber County to surrounding counties when people who do drink decide to take their business elsewhere during construction, harvest and other times when work comes to our community.

It’s true, we send thousands upon thousands of dollars out of our community because we have a membership type status in Barber County concerning purchasing alcohol at a restaurant or club. I would also argue against the fact that liquor by the drink makes it easier for someone to have access to alcohol. Any liquor store or convenience store offers a cheaper and quicker purchase of liquor in our county. Those wanting or choosing to have an alcoholic beverage at a "bar or club" environment look for places that don’t force a membership or waiting period and that’s why our hotels, restaurants, convenience stores and other local businesses, including our city and county governments, lose out to Pratt during a migration of workers during times like harvest and the recent construction of the windmills.

The tax money that could be generated from liquor by the drink could stay here and help keep your property taxes lower and help to keep people employed in our communities in Barber County. You could even make the argument that it keeps people off of the highway and in town. As unpopular or misunderstood as the issue might be, I support keeping tax money in Barber County and benefiting local businesses in the process.

Mike’s Sports Bar has raised thousands of dollars for local groups and organizations in the past through fund-raising events at his sports bar. He recently had to stop because of this outdated law in our county. That’s only one example of how this law has hurt Medicine Lodge and Barber County.

My liberal anti-gun friend should be sending me an email at any moment........

KANSAS: Vote YES on 1 November 2nd! A 1905 ruling from the Kansas Supreme Court interpreted Section 4 of the Kansas Constitution to mean that the Right to Keep and Bear Arms only exists as a collective right for those in the militia or military and no individual right exists. For that reason, the NRA has worked with the Kansas State Rifle Association, Senator Mike Petersen and the legislature, to pass a Constitutional Amendment during the 2009 legislative session, which provides new language that clarifies Section 4 and guarantees an individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms. The language reads: "A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, for lawful hunting and recreational use, and for any other lawful purpose." Our elected officials have done law-abiding Kansans a tremendous service by passing this landmark Constitutional Amendment. Now it is up to YOU to do your part on November 2, 2010 and vote this provision into the Kansas Constitution.

Have a great week

KWIBS - From October 11, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

Last week started out poorly for many business owners on Main Street. With seven businesses being broken into in one night, the town’s business district was lacking in the moral department. I had spoken with many of the victims of the senseless break-ins and vandalism and all of them felt very violated.

Most had feared the worst. They feared someone local was responsible for the cowardly acts. Later in the week, we learned that it was a random act of theft and vandalism committed by someone from outside our community and the town took a collective sigh of relief. However, it doesn’t change the fact that our community took a pretty hard hit last week.

The hardest hit was Cecil Newman and Home Lumber & Supply. It made me angry to see the mess that was left behind and how someone could hurt someone I consider a friend.

I know many who are very grateful for the hard work that local law enforcement have done in cooperation with other jurisdictions. The work was quick and professional. I would like to personally thank Chief Brian Miller for keeping the newspaper informed of the progress made in the investigation. Kudos to MLPD and Pratt PD for their work in solving the crimes.

We as a community now ask for justice to be served out to those who would steal and damage property from our city’s businesses and residents.

I’ll echo Bob Stutler: "We have a right to demand aggressive prosecution."

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From October 4, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

It chaps me a little, but I do understand.

I got a notice for the paper from City Administrator Austin Gilley last week about the upcoming city wide clean up days that are to be held October 18-22.

What frustrated me was the city’s exclusion of commercial properties. The clean up will be for residential properties only.

I’ll be the first to admit that I have used and abused the city wide clean up days in the past, but it’s always been a great opportunity to get rid of unwanted chairs, broken desks and various other uncollectible items that our office accumulates over the year.

To solidify my frustration of exclusion, our "commercial property" produces less trash and uses less water than your average resident, yet pays a higher price for the service. Commercial properties are also the ones generally producing tax revenues for the City of Medicine Lodge. And to top that, many people use the back alleys of local businesses to dump their unwanted items in our trash dumpsters or leave big items behind our stores for us to pay to have removed.

One year during clean up days someone dumped a couch behind our office that remained there for weeks because they missed our trash pick up and the city refused to haul it off. I hauled it off at my expense. To this day, there are still items that were dumped off at our office for the last city wide clean up day in the spring that the city did not remove. I had intended on just leaving those items there for this round of pick up, but now I might have to haul them to some unsuspecting residential property to get it hauled off!

In my frustration, I picked up the phone and called city hall on Tuesday morning. Austin wasn’t in, but City Clerk Kandi Simmons explained to me that the council had approved Austin’s rules for the upcoming clean up.

So I decided to vent to my very-most-favorite council member - Norm Clouse. Poor Norm. He always gets an earful from me whether he wants one or not.

Hopefully Norm won’t kill me for saying this, but being completely honest he stated he didn’t like the program at all explaining, "It costs the city a lot of money, time and resources."

I appreciate his honesty, but still think it should be an "all or none" program. I hope my column won’t result in the city pulling the plug on clean up days. It has been a great benefit to the residents, as well as the businesses, of Medicine Lodge over the years.

In closing, I would like to thank the city crew and the city council for providing this service. The city guys work their tails off trying to stay head of the game. They do this extra hauling in addition to their normal duties and we give them little to no credit for the hard work they do keeping our city up and running.

In a time of budget crunching, I realize that providing certain services are difficult for the city. I would suggest that maybe the city consider a special week of clean up for commercial properties.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From September 27, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

On October 3rd, 1989, with just 23 minutes left in the day, my little baby girl was born. When the clock struck midnight, I turned 20 years old and she has been the greatest birthday gift I could have ever asked for every year.

On Sunday of this week, she’ll be 21 years old.

She’s now a mother and a wife, but she’ll always be my little girl.

Happy 21st Birthday, Breeann. We love you and we’re proud of you!

KWIBS - From September 20, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

I wish I could say that it was completely out of character for me to take a risk like this, but nobody that knows me would agree.

Early morning, Friday, September 10, I cruised out to the airport to check out the powered parachute group that was in town for the weekend.

I made my way over to a guy who looked friendly enough and stuck out my hand and said, "Hi, I’m Kevin Noland, Publisher of The Gyp Hill Premiere."

I proceded to take some notes and pictures of his PPC contraption. Somewhere between my introduction and my leaving, Mr. Terry Clarkson had used his hypnotic powers to convince me to get into one of these contraptions and fly with him that evening. As I got into my truck for the ride back to town, I was both excited and frightened that I had agreed to come back at 6 p.m. that night with my camera in tow to go up 500 feet above town and shoot some pictures before the football game.

I had a hard time concentrating on my duties on Friday. I finally left work at 4 p.m. and went home to "relax" for a moment before coming back to fly with Terry. I found myself putting things in order at my house like I was never to return.

What was I thinking? I guess I wasn’t. I’ve always been that person who just couldn’t say "No, thank you."

Before I knew it I was on my way to town and at the airport at 6 p.m. My son, Joey, came to video my first and hopefully not last flight.

He must have thought I wouldn’t have showed up. Terry’s first words to me were, "You made it!" and "Don’t worry, I’ve only killed three other people in this thing!"

I chuckled nervously and put on my helmet to test the communications equipment out. I could hear him and he could hear me. Good, I thought. Because I wanted him to hear me clearly when I screamed like a little girl.

Preflight was interesting. Terry examined his machine from all angles and unpacked his parachute. I have a kite made of the same material. I too closely examined every string that connected it to the frame of this contraption. The frame of one of these aircrafts closely resembles a backyard aluminum swing set with wheel barrow style tires attached to it. Included in the middle is a plastic lawn chair for your comfort. A five point harness straps you in.

I jokingly asked, "The seat belt is so your body stays with the wreckage in the event of a crash, right?" He laughed and told me that this was his first flight in this or any other machine like it.

Terry buckled me in and I felt like a 195 lb. infant being strapped into an amusement park ride. As the sweat poured off of my head (because the helmet was hot), I said a little prayer before he fired up the motor powering what looked like a giant box fan bolted to the back of the swing set.

"Are your dental records up to date," he asked?

Before I could say yes, the fan drowned out my words (screams) and we were moving forward, dragging his pretty multicolored parachute behind us.

He looked up and I looked up too to see that the parachute was now directly over us and inflated. We slowed down a bit and then gently lifted off the ground. I took a picture of my family waving at me nervously from the runway in front of the hangers. I figured if they found the camera on the ground and went through the pictures, they would see who I belonged to. Joey was taking a record of my departure with his video camera. I thought to myself, "I hope they aren’t playing this video at my upcoming funeral."

Within a short period of time we were in the air. My first order of business was to ask Terry when I could remove my seat belt and get up and roam the cabin, maybe take a bathroom break.

"Sorry, this is an economy flight," he replied over my headset.

I noticed that Terry’s hands were free and he was snapping pictures out of both sides of our flying swing set.

My first thoughts were to scream at him, "Keep your hands on the steering wheel man!" Then I remembered he was flying with his feet. Going up and down was as easy as increasing the throttle to his right.

"Here, give it a try," he said. He explained that there was a throttle control to my right as well and this was a training machine to teach people how to fly PPC.

I told Terry that I wasn’t qualified to fly this thing and he said, "Neither am I!"

In order to fly I had to release the death grip I had on the frame with at least one hand. I talked myself into letting go with my right hand and grabbed the throttle.

Hmm... It really was easy!

I was loosening up by this time and had let go with my left hand too and the blood flow was returning to my fingers. I wasn’t roaming the cabin freely, but I was at least able to grab my camera and start shooting some photos.

We flew over the entire town and even did our own touchdown in the newer part of the cemetery plot behind the high school football field.

"Please don’t let us crash here," I prayed to God. "Oh, the irony...."

We bounced gently off the ground and were airborne again within seconds.

We flew over the football game and then near the water tower, which was an interesting perspective at that height. Returning to the airport, I looked down and saw my daughter and her husband in their driveway. They were waving and I waved back. I could see the drive in and before I knew it, we were circling the airport again.

"I’m going to show you how safe these things really are," Terry said. "I’m going to shut off the engine and show you what it’s like to have a mid-air stall."

What? We were at about 500 feet.

"NO, that’s really not necessary," I said. Before I could get my sentence completely out, it was dead silent (no pun intended). All I could hear was air rushing in to my helmet. Terry had shut the engine off. It was peaceful and quite. We were floating. We were also falling, but mostly floating.

"You see," he exclaimed. "We can just float down and land from here."

He fired up the engine and our fall slowed to a hover above the ground as we skipped across the grass field.

I was ready for a bathroom break at this point. I was glad to have had the experience and was glad when we were back on solid ground.

I want to thank Terry and his friends for choosing Medicine Lodge for their fly-in and thank him for giving me the experience of a lifetime!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From September 13, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

Even though Monday was Labor Day, I got up early and drove to town to go to work. I was actually excited about the fact I had to work. The brand new Premiere was printed and delivered to my office and despite the fact I built the paper days prior and knew everything in it, I wanted to get a copy and see it for myself.

I was really excited to see what a fantastic job the Hutchinson News printing plant did on the Premiere.

Then suddenly, I got this sick feeling in my gut and thought, "What will I do to top this next week?"

Most of you don’t realize that it took three times longer to lay out last week’s newspaper than in weeks past. Changing the format really "ate my lunch", so to speak. I was worn out and tired from the conversion. My head hurt and my mostly sleepless nights were filled in periodically by dreams of screwing something up with the newspaper.

Backing up to Saturday... I spent the morning wrapping up the sports pages and doing corrections. At noon I was ready for my first file transfer to the Hutchinson News servers. I believed it was a success and went home to enjoy the warm weather and lake with my family.

At about 5 p.m. I got a phone call from their computer tech. Nick Hemphill told me that everything looked good, but the photos were all in a very low resolution and wouldn’t print well.

I gathered myself up and went to town Saturday night where I spent an hour readjusting photos and uploading them. By dusk, I was given the "all clear". It was in the printers’ hands.

So I was very excited about the finished project. I was sitting in my office on Monday without a clue how to follow up the previous edition. Keep in mind, I’ve done this for more than two decades, but for some reason the 1878 story about The Barber County Mail Editor Cochran came to the front of my thoughts.

Legend has it that Cochran put out at least one good edition of The Barber County Mail, before letting his work slide. One of the stories I was told years ago was that Cochran put out his newspaper, to which the town was thrilled with it’s stories and advertisements.

He took their complements, let them buy him rounds at the local saloon and kept on partying until deadline of the next week. It was then he realized that he had nothing for the upcoming paper. So I was told that Cochran rearranged some type and stories and put out virtually the same issue as the previous week.

Tom McNeal tells a slightly different story.

"In the early part of the year 1878 a man by the name of Cochran concluded that there was a field for a newspaper in the frontier town of Medicine Lodge. He purchased a Washington hand press from McElroy of the Humboldt Union, together with a couple of racks, a few cases, a well worn font of long primer type and another font of brevier, a few job fonts for advertising purposes, moved the outfit to Medicine and commenced the publication of the Barber County Mail. Possibly Cochran concluded that it didn’t make much difference what kind of a paper was published in that kind of a town, or possibly he didn’t know how to keep the worn type clean and a decent ‘impression’ on the Washington hand press, but whatever the reason, the fact was that the paper was generally unreadable. Cochran was a man of fair ability with a rather catchy style of writing, but a good many of his local and editorial observations were lost because it was impossible to read what he had printed. Whether it was the poor print of the paper or the flirtatious disposition of the editor that caused him to become unpopular, I am unable to say, but the fact was that before his first year in the town had expired a number of residents gathered together and decided that he must depart thence in haste and with a promise never to return.

It was also decided that there must be meted out to him punishment commensurate with his offending, and on a decidedly cool night in the month of February, 1879, the regulators took the editor from his humble office, stripped him of his clothing and then administered a punishment which I think was entirely unique and unprecedented in the treatment of editors. There was no tar in the town and not a feather bed to be opened, but an enterprising settler had brought in a sorghum molasses mill the year before and as sorghum generally grew well there, had manufactured a crop into thick, ropy molasses. Owing to the cold weather the molasses was thicker and ropier than usual. The regulators secured a gallon of this, mixed it well with sandburs, which grew with great luxuriance in the sandy bottom of the Medicine, and administered this mixture liberally to the nude person of the editor. I do not need to tell my readers who are familiar with the nature of the sandbur, that it is an unpleasant vegetable to have attached to one’s person. Clothed with this unwelcome covering of sandburs and sweetness, Cochran was elevated upon a cedar rail and carried about on the shoulders of the self-appointed regulators. He privately acknowledged afterward that while this was an elevation and distinction such as no other editor perhaps had ever received, he would personally rather have remained a private and humble citizen on foot. After carrying the shivering and besmeared editor about to their hearts’ content, occasionally adding to his general discomfort by bouncing him up and down on the rough and splintered corner of the rail, the regulators told him that he must leave town within twenty-four hours, and never show his face or form there again.

There were other citizens of the town, among them a brother of mine, who, while not particularly enamored with Cochran or his style of journalism, felt that his morals would at least average up with those of his persecutors. They also organized, armed themselves with such weapons as were convenient, and told the editor that he could remain as long as he wished and they would be responsible for his safety. Cochran expressed his appreciation of their kindness, but confessed to them that the atmosphere of the town did not seem salubrious or congenial to him and if they would arrange to purchase his paper and outfit he would seek other climes where it was not the habit to decorate editors with sandburs and sorghum molasses. His proposition was accepted by my brother and his brother-in-law, E. W. Iliff; the Barber County Mail slept the sleep that knows no waking and a new paper, the Medicine Lodge Cresset, was born.

Whichever story is true is debatable. I’m very grateful for all of the kind comments about the new look for the paper. I’m also thankful that the town is not out purchasing large quantities of molasses intended for my demise. At least as of yet!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From September 6, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

Many things in the newspaper printing business have changed since the first printing press was made. Heck, it’s changed a lot since I’ve been alive.

Now I am not this old, but as early as 1041, movable clay type was invented in China.

Johannes Gutenberg, a goldsmith and businessman from the mining town of Mainz in southern Germany, borrowed money to invent a technology that changed the world of printing. Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with replaceable/moveable wooden or metal letters in 1436.

By the 20th century, many advancements were made in printing including the web press, cold set printing and 4 color process printing.

With all of the advancements in the commercial printing business, many small town papers still use technology that first came to the area in the 1950s.

My Grandfather Bill Noland was an innovative risk taker that worked part time hand setting type after school in Mullinville, KS in the 1930s. This work sparked his interest in the newspaper business that now is in its third generation.

After high school, Bill left Mullinville to attend college at Pittsburg, KS. He continued in his interests and studied linotype.

In 1947 my Grandpa Bill and Grandma Ethelyn bought their first newspaper in Logan, Kansas.

By 1958 an opportunity arose and my grandparents purchased a weekly newspaper in Kinsley, KS called The Kinsley Mercury. In 1967 they purchased the Barber County Index.

In the spring of 1967 The Barber County Index was one of the first newspapers in Kansas to place a web press in their shop. After three months the newspaper was completely converted to web. The linotype days were over.

I grew up in the printing business. I know the lingo and can still recall how to operate a Goss Community Press, such as my family owned for 30 plus years.

In 1991 Ronda and I started The Gyp Hill Premiere out of our living room. We quickly moved into a shop on Washington Street and later to our home on Main Street.

We generally printed black ink on white paper, with an occasional spot color throughout the 20 years of this newspaper.

So much has changed since those early days of webpress printing from my grandparent’s and dad’s print shop.

This week we’ve unveiled our new broadsheet format. As a result of the retirement of Sam Clester of the Belle Plaine Printing Company, we’ve begun printing our newspaper in Hutchinson, KS with The Hutch News. With this new relationship, we are now able to more easily and affordably provide our readers with full color.

Ronda and I took a tour of the printing facility two weeks ago and I have to say we were impressed. We used to print to paper and then it went to camera and then burned to plate and then to press. Now we will print to file and directly to plate and on to the press. The process offers much higher quality photos to be reproduced without as much "loss" in reproduction.

When we first entered The Hutchinson News offices, we were greeted by aon old Linotype typesetting machine in the lobby.

For years, we had one of these machines sitting in our warehouse. When I was young I used to pretend it was a robot!

A fast Linotype operator might have been able to type 14-16 lines per minute.The machine weighed more than a 1000 lbs and had many moving parts that could have easily taken a finger off in a flash. Along with the moving parts was a boiling pot of hot molten lead! Lead was supplied in "pigs" which were long ingots of lead weighing about 22 pounds each. They had an eye in one end from which they were suspended by a hook and chain above the melting pot. As the level in the pot went down, the pig would be lowered a bit by the chain to keep the level of molten lead constant. The eyes had a gap in them. When the pig went all the way into the lead and the eye melted at the bottom, the two sides would fall into the pot and the chain would rapidly zip up to the top on a counterweight letting the operator know it was time to hang another pig.

This machine was not the user friendly device we now have in the modern day PC.

In fact, this dangerous process nearly killed my Grandpa Bill Noland. He was severely burned on his legs from an accident where this molten lead spilled on him. He endured several painful months of rehabilitation and skin grafting by an accident caused by this printing process.

Terms such as slug (a line of lead), chase, quoin, turtle, Linotype, and even hellbox—except for what you’re reading—are never heard in the printing shop anymore, but I can still remember some of them. I even have a few pigs laying around the office somewhere.

Shortly after the demise of the Linotype, "cold set" printing came into being. We had giant machines that set line type that were called Compugraphic typesetting computers. These things were probably 500 pounds and could display about one line of copy at a time. The copy came out in film strips that we would wax up and paste on pages.

When we started our paper back in 1991, we had been away from the Compugraphic machines for nearly a decade. We were in the "modern day" computer age. Still very primitively, we set type on paper instead of film to be waxed up and pasted on pages.

In 1994 we converted everything to full pagination. To this day we set the entire newspaper up on computer. As of last week, we printed each page out on one single sheet of paper.

Now I just see the newspaper on the screen and when it is all done, I send it to a file and an FTP site across the internet.

I think it’s neat that I have now been alive long enough to see the complete evolution of newspaper web printing. I can only imagine what the future holds for print. My guess would be a completely digital format. I believe that will be the case in my lifetime.

We hope you enjoy the new format. I would like to thank Nick Hemphill, Greg Jerauld and Gregg Beals of the Hutchinson News for helping us with this conversion. I appreciate all of the help of my staff and family too.

I’m sure the newspaper will evolve much over the next few months as we implement new software and technology. Bear with us as we make these changes and thank you all for your support!

In closing, don’t expect my columns to be this long and informing! I’ll soon return to some bizarre subject matter that will leave you scratching your head.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From August 30, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

I got a call from an old friend last Saturday evening. Brent Shaw was in town. His grandmother had passed away and he and his sister April flew in from Phoenix, Arizona to be with their parents Connie and Dean Shaw and attend her funeral.

Brent is a Lieutenant with the Phoenix Police Department. Brent and I have kept in touch since high school. Ten years ago he even met up with me at the airport in Phoenix during a layover to San Diego.

Over the years, we have met up with Brent and his wife Tracey at any given chance that they were in Wichita to see family. It had been a few years since we had last hooked up.

Brent knew it was short notice, but wondered if I had the time to come to Wichita for a visit before he flew home on Monday. It was a request I was happy to satisfy and I needed to come to Wichita anyway to find a guy who had skipped bond on me a month ago. I asked Brent if he would be interested in having lunch and helping me find my guy and he was more than willing to accommodate!

We had lunch on Sunday afternoon and caught up. After our lunch we met up with three Wichita Police officers in a parking lot next to Dillons on South Broadway, a lovely neighborhood....

Brent and I had driven past my defendant’s house and saw his car in the driveway. We devised a plan to catch him and as we were discussing this plan with the local police, my guy drove past the parking lot where we were gathered! The Wichita PD was awesome to work with. They were quick to pull my guy over and allowed me to take him, without question, back to Pratt County where his warrant was from.

I got to spend the day with a great old friend and caught a guy who had been causing me a little stress for the past month.

Brent will probably be reading this to his guys he works with in Phoenix.

Thanks for the good time Brent!

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This is the final week of tabloid format for The Gyp Hill Premiere. Next week, we’ll have a brand new look. We’ll go back to a full broadsheet format and will be printing in full color on at least the front and back. Many times throughout the year, we’ll have some special full color runs on the inside pages. .

If you are keeping up on my columns, after 19 years of printing in Belle Plaine, KS, our new printing home will be the Hutchinson News. Early in the week Nick Hemphil, The Hutch News’ IT person, came to Medicine Lodge to help me with some of the conversion.

I had always believed our newspaper was pretty up to date on technology, but quickly learned that we were very out of date on our software and were not compatible with much of the new "print to plate" technology. After 5 grueling hours, we determined that our software and the Hutch News’ software were slightly incompatible. This means we’re going to be upgrading equipment and software over the coming weeks as well.

On Tuesday, by invitation, Ronda and I went to the Hutch News printing facility and met their production manager, Gregg Beals and Nick Hemphil. They gave us a tour of their state of the art printing plant. I’ve been out of the web press printing business for about 22 years now. There have been a lot of changes in the industry. I was very impressed with their operations.

Our newspaper will actually go to prepress at 8 p.m. on Saturday evenings and will be printed after the Hutch News’s Sunday edition, sometime around 2-4 a.m. on Sunday morning. The paper will be delivered early Monday at around 3 a.m. Ellis Mayfield will then have the paper in the stores early Monday morning and with luck, in many of your local mail boxes. Those details have yet to be hammered out.

Please bear with us during this change. We may have a few mailing hiccups, but we’ll get it straightened out quickly!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From August 30, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

I have to admit, I’ve had a few moments in my life where I wanted to act just like Steven Slater did two weeks ago.

In case your TV is broken, Slater is the jetBlue flight attendant whose meltdown on the tarmac at JFK after a flight from Pittsburgh Monday, August 9th has made him a folk hero in recent days.

Slater became an overnight celebrity when he cursed out a passenger on the plane’s intercom system, grabbed two beers and popped the emergency slide to dramatically quit his jetBlue job.

Undoubtedly the coolest way to quit your job ever, we’ve all wanted to take a turn down that slide (under ideal circumstances of course). But to grab two beers on the way out? Simply classic. The ultimate "Take This Job And Shove It" moment.

Upon exiting the plane, with a prelude of cursing Slater said, "I've been in this business 28 years and I've had it."

In just under a week after quitting his job, Slater has been photographed hanging out on the beach, met Barry Manilow and has even been offered his own reality TV show. All this for a guy who flipped out after asking a passenger to sit down (the passenger cursed him out first). Then he was struck in the head by a falling carry on bag.

Slater even has a celebrity fan page with more than 211,000 fans. Groups like "Free Steven Slater" popped up on the web within minutes of the news.

So, is he a hero or a jerk?

Don't misunderstand me. What Steven Slater did was wrong. Very wrong. And he's probably made himself unemployable in his chosen trade as flight attendant or about any job other than clerk at the DMV for that matter.

We all have bad days at the office.

Nobody should "go postal" as the old saying goes. If nothing else, the incident should be a reminder to cranky airline passengers that flight attendants are people, too, with problems of their own. Just because they're the public face of the airline doesn't mean your bumpy flight is their fault. So stay in the upright position and keep the skies friendly.

That goes for dealing with people in about every aspect of life. I can’t count the number of times over the past 20 years that people have come into my office to rip my butt about misspelling their names, not getting their paper in a timely fashion or even to just complain about the fact I put my own kid’s picture in the paper.

The world would be a better place if we could all just treat each other with kindness and respect. When you don’t treat people with kindness and respect, don’t be surprised if you run into a "Slater" or two.

I’ve often times wanted to make a public announcement, pull the emergency slide, grab two beers and jump.

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In just two short weeks, The Gyp Hill Premiere will undergo a huge transformation. We’ll be printing our last tabloid edition on August 30th. This is a great opportunity for you to go out with all of your friends and buy up every last edition to keep as a collector’s item!

Starting Monday, September 6th, we’ll publish our first broadsheet on 22" newsprint. We’re planning a full 4-color front and back page to kick off the new format.

As I stated last week, our printer of 20 years is retiring at the end of the month. With Belle Plaine Printing closing shop, we were forced to find a new home to print the newspaper. We’ve made arrangements with The Hutchinson News to do our printing and with this comes some new opportunities that we are very excited about.

I walked to the back room where we store our archives and looked back at the 10 years of tabloid editions we’ve published. Our newspaper originally published as a 32" broadsheet back in 1991. We published on that format until the year 2000 and then we switched to an 11.5" wide tabloid. The new format will measure the same width, only we’ll be 22" tall. Currently we are 15" tall. That means you’ll have to look at an additional 7 inches per page when reading the new Premiere!

You’re looking at your paper thinking about that right now aren’t you? Go get a yard stick.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From August 16, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

When I was 13 years old, Sam Clester was the most towering human I had ever met. Standing better than 6’5" to my 5’ frame and carrying close to 300 lbs, he was a giant.

Even though imposing, he had a fun nature and gentle goofiness about him that made me love to buck paper for him.

Yes, I bucked paper. At the time, most kids my age were bucking bales. Yeah, they were tough throwing those 50lb. bales around, but that was minuscule in task compared to bucking paper.

Our paper truck came every few months. When I say truck, I mean semi truck. When I say paper, I am referring to rolls of newsprint that weighed at minimum 998 lbs.

These rolls had to be maneuvered into our building, lined up and lifted on to other rolls in our warehouse with the aid of a roll lift and chain hoist. It was hard work.

Sam would sometimes buy part of our load. He was the owner of The Belle Plaine News and owned the print shop there.

My first encounter with Sam came when my dad told me to help Sam load some rolls up in his truck. I used a small piece of wood scrapped paneling that we referred to as a "cheat" to spin the rolls. At 100 lbs., dripping wet, it was all I could do to spin one of these rolls 20 degrees at a time with a butt-bump.

"Here now, let me show you how to do this," Sam said.

He grabbed that roll of paper and spun it 90 degrees with one shove and no cheat. I was impressed and always remembered this giant from Belle Plaine who could easily handle a 1000 lb. roll of paper in our warehouse.

Seven years later, I was married with a kid and my wife and I were starting our very own newspaper. I needed a place to print my newspaper and called Sam Clester up. He was eager for my business and we agreed to print at his plant in Belle Plaine the second weekend of July in 1991.

Our friendship has been solidified in ink, so to say. We’ve done many hours of bs’ing back and forth and I’ve seen Sam’s business grow over the years to the point of him selling off his newspaper businesses and simply becoming a "printer" of newspapers around the area. He’s gone through at least a half-dozen pressman over the years. I even worked for him for one day as a pressman while his pressman was on vacation. Although I had much experience with web press and sheet fed printing over the years, I had never printed on a News King or a Color King. Sam assured me that it was like, "Riding someone else’s bicycle." I had enough ego to give it a shot.

The agreement was that I could have my paper for free that week, if I printed for him while his pressman was on vacation. I got a quick tutorial on the press one day the previous week and then I was standing in front of this machine the following Monday.

If running this press was like riding my friend’s bicycle, then this was like a unicycle with one pedal and no seat. It kicked my butt.

After wasting more papers than I needed for my customers, and barely printing one legible copy of The Gyp Hill Premiere that week, I was a nervous wreck.

For some reason, many small towns had a bar not far from the newspaper office. Belle Plaine had one just to the south and Sam took me there. I had just barely turned 21. I had a few drinks and put an end to our "free papers for printing" deal. I was out of my league.

Sam understood and let me off the hook. He even discounted my shabby print job that week. I went home with my tail between my legs and we never talked about it again until last Saturday.

Ronda and I were on our way to Wichita when my phone rang. It was Sam.

Sam usually only calls when there’s bad news. Things like: the press is broke down or I’m behind on my printing bill. He wanted to eat lunch and talk face to face. When I hung up the phone, I turned to Ronda and asked, "Are we behind on our printing bill?" We weren’t.

Sam met us for lunch and explained that he was selling off his printing business and retiring. I’m not surprised by his decision. I’m now close to the same age that Sam was when we first met. I’ve known him for almost 27 years now.

He was one of the people who helped me start the newspaper more than 1000 press runs and close to 20 years ago. I’ve trusted him and his staff to provide our town with a finished product for all of these years and in two press runs after this paper, it will come to an end. He’s never let me down and he’s been there when the times were tough. There were times in the history of this newspaper, that if it weren’t for Sam’s generosity and patience, we might not have made it.

I thanked Sam in person and on the phone this week, but wanted to print my gratefulness in ink, this one last time - with Sam’s ink and paper.

Sam told me that I had courage for going up against the big boys of the newspaper industry and starting The Gyp Hill Premiere years ago. I told him I was just too young and simply too stupid to know better.

He said, "I guess there’s a fine line between courage and stupidity." I agree, but Sam has had the courage to stick it out for all these years and we’ll never forget his help and will always call him a friend.

Starting Monday, September 6, we will be changing to a new format and printing with The Hutchinson News. On most Mondays, the newspaper will actually be delivered earlier than normal. If all goes as planned, you’ll notice some big and exciting changes for our little town’s newspaper.

Have a great week!

- 30 -

KWIBS - From August 9, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

As I wrote last week, Joey and Nick Gaertner returned from New York City after a week-long adventure.

The kids had a great time and took some amazing photos.

We looked through a thousand photos last week and we’ve decided that Ronda and I should take a trip to New York someday.

I’m proud of you Joey and I’m glad you got to go on such an awesome summer trip.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From August 2, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

At about the time this newspaper comes out, I'll be heading to Wichita to pick up my son from the airport.

Call me a bad parent or consider me for father of the year, but I let my 17-year-old son travel to New York City with a friend for a week long adventure.

The trip was completely planned by my son Joey and his 19-year-old friend Soeren Niklas Gaertner of Germany. Many of you will remember Gaertner as the 2007-2008 AFS student that lived with John Nixon. Nick, as I'll refer to him, came back for a visit this summer, spending 6 weeks here between his last year of high school and his first year of college. He'll be moving to Holland to attend school in a week from now.

Upon learning that Nick would be traveling to see New York City, Joey became interested in seeing the city himself. At first there was protest from my wife, but she came around and they finalized their plans a couple of weeks ago.

Joey paid for the trip with his own hard earned money. He's an industrious young man who saves his money for such an event or to satisfy his fetish for electronics. I'm sure he's broke now..... He's also no stanger to traveling. Two years ago he went to Mexico wtih a local church group. Over Christmas break he toured Washington, D.C. He's been the most adventurous of all of our children. He's even considering a month in Europe after his graduation in the spring from MLHS to visit John Nixon's three former AFS students.

I took the boys to the airport and listened to them as they formed their "bucket list" for their trip. It included the John Lennon Memorial. Joey is a huge Beatles fan. It also included Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, The U.N. Headquarters, The Brooklyn Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, Madison Square Garden, two famous art museums, Times Square, China Town, Little Italy and the list went on and on. I couldn't believe the journey these two kids were about to take.

Their flight left at 6 a.m. from Wichita and they arrived safely in New York shortly before noon. On their first day in New York, they conquered the subway, went to the Hard Rock Cafe and then stumbled on to a Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers concert at Madison Square Garden. Tom Petty is one of our favorite musicians and Ronda and I were extremely jealous of their good fortune. They bought tickets from a scalper and saw the sold out concert. Their trip back to their hotel was literally a 10 minute walk.

As scared as I was to send my son/monkey to the concrete jungle, I thought about how much this trip will shape his future. The confidence he gained and the experience he's had will last a life time. I'm grateful to Nick for his guidance and travel experience and for helping Joey see so much on this trip and thanking God for their safe return to Kansas.

KWIBS - From July 26, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

 Our Aunt and Uncle, Greg and Debra Alexander from Mulvane, KS were here this week doing some fishing, kayaking and swimming.

Thursday afternoon they stopped in the office to show us Greg’s boo-boo. While fishing he caught more than just a fish. He ran a hook through his finger which resulted in a trip to our local emergency room.

Greg admitted that our ER facilities were lacking, but made a comment that echos with almost anyone who is fortunate/unfortunate enough to end up there. Greg said that, "I’ve never had that kind of attention before from hospital staff."

That’s what has always made MLMH a great place to be when you need health care.

Two weeks ago we had our grandmother in the hospital, twice in just a week. The hospital was completely full. The staff was busy, working in tight spaces in their ER, but they performed flawlessly in spite of the things that are needed for their facility.

I thought about what kind of message our community has sent them over the past two years as we’ve waited for the funding that was voted on back in 2008. If your voice wasn’t heard then now is the time for action.

It’s just one of many issues in our county to consider, but because they’ve always been there for us, we should be there for them on August 3rd.

KWIBS - From July 19, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

Len Gratteri and Rod Cook were in Medicine Lodge on Tuesday, July 13 at the Lincoln Library to promote their book: William Sherod Robinson, Alias Ben Wheeler.

I’ve been excited about this book for weeks and was second in line behind Roger Lukens for my autographed copy that day.

The book is an in-depth look at the life of the outlaw we always called Ben Wheeler. I’m not going to spoil it, but the book offers some different insights to the bank robbery and characters involved in one of our town’s claim to fame.

The book also contains many pictures and documents about the historic 1884 bank robbery in Medicine Lodge.

I believe the book will be sold at The Medicine Lodge Stockade Museum. You can also get a copy at the Lincoln Library.

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At the time of this publication, my little girl, Breeann Noland, became Breeann Schaffer over the weekend. She and her new husband, Devin, will be home today from their little honeymoon to Wichita.

We’ll be anxious for them to come home. We baby-sat our grandson, Kycen, all weekend. I am sure he’ll be as excited to see his mommy and daddy as we will be!

Congratulations Breeann and Devin!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From July 12, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

Kycen Joseph Schaffer is excited to announce the approaching marriage of his mommy and daddy, Breeann Alaina Noland and Devin Michael Schaffer.

It all started October 3, 1989.

It seems to me that only a few short years ago Ronda and I had a little girl. We helped her learn to crawl and then to walk.

She went to her first day of preschool and then on to kindergarten. We taught her how to ride a bike, then a motorcycle and then to drive a car.

Our little girl matured before our very eyes. She certified in SCUBA, graduated from high school and then left home for college.

Life changed for us after Breeann graduated from high school and moved out on her own. She met a young man named Devin Schaffer. Their relationship soon resulted in a pregancy and earlier this year we welcomed our first grandson into the world. Kycen Joseph Schaffer was born on 01-11-10. The news of Breeann becoming pregnant and not finishing her education was at first devastating to us. In reality, it has been the best thing to ever happen to our family.

Jeremiah 29:11- For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

If I’ve learned anything in life it’s, our plans are not our own. We think we know how things will turn out, but we’re often surprised how they actually do turn out!

Devin and Breeann stayed together through the birth of their son and now are getting married next weekend.

Sure their lives might seem a little backwards - meet, have a baby and then get married. We’ve never claimed to be the perfect family. We only claim that God has a perfect plan for our lives.

We are so thankful that Devin loves her. And she has found someone she loves and that he is a good father to their son.

Our little girl is getting her special day on Saturday, July 17, 2010. They will be married in the morning with family in attendence in front of the beach area at Lake Arrowhead. The same lake she learned to swim in, was baptised in and has played at nearly every summer weekend of her life. Her little boy Kycen is loving this same spot only 6 months into his life and I’m sure he will spend many years swimming and playing there.

Who knows what life might bring us next? Maybe one day in the near future, Kycen will be writing a column about his daughter and upcoming marriage.

Life flies when you’re having fun.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From July 6, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

I’m so not a morning person.

So Tuesday, I rolled out of bed and made my way to the coffee pot. It was 7:10 a.m. That’s when I wake up. My brain wakes up somewhere around 8 a.m. The only portion of my brain to wake up before that controls simple motor functions like breathing, my heart beat, limited vision and hearing and some lower limb activity. To my surprise there was a line in front of the coffee pot. Since I wasn’t very focused, I grabbed a cup and looked at the line.

I thought, "Who the heck is this guy in line for my coffee and why is there even a line?"

Upon a closer look, I realized it was my 17-year-old son.

He turned after he had filled up his coffee cup. "Good morning sir."

I’m sure I sounded very grumpy when I said, "Why are you drinking my coffee?"

"I like coffee now!" He said.

Joey was all dressed for work and was sitting down at the counter with his very own cup of "Joe". He had the dumbest grin I’ve ever seen on his face. He almost looked like he was on something.

"This stuff is great," he said, almost yelling. I barely made that out as fast as he was talking.

I just rolled my eyes. Then I thought about my first cup of coffee. My dad had landed a contract for Gibson’s discount stores years ago and we had to pull a few all-nighters printing their sale fliers. I was only a junior in high school, nearly the same age as Joey. I was getting super tired about 5 hours into a press run and one of the people working for my dad at the time poured me a thick cup of black coffee. It was the most terrible thing I had ever injested.

I remember pouring about a cup of sugar and half a gallon of cream in it so that I could stomach it. As the night went on, I was feeling great. So great, in fact, I didn’t even go to bed. I left the office and went straight to school!

As the years rolled on, I kept drinking coffee, but lost the urge to have all of the sugar and cream in it. Actually, I had just discovered that it was a lot easier and a lot less work to just drink it black.

My wife and I have a long history of drinking coffee and some very humorous stories about drinking it. Neither of us function without it and will lie, steal and possibly even kill if we don’t get it in the mornings. One evening years ago, we spent an unexpected night at our cousins’ house in Wichita. Being an early riser, my wife was the first up and on the hunt for the magic brown fluid we must have.

Not being familiar with our cousins’ house, Ronda searched frantically for coffee. After finding the coffee pot and some stale coffee (our cousins aren’t big coffee drinkers) she went in search of the coffee filters. Apparently, the search for coffee filters went on for several minutes before Ronda’s survival instincts kicked in. She finally gave up and began thinking of ways to make coffee without the coffee filter.

Minutes later I could smell the coffee brewing and knew it was my cue to get up and partake. Little did I know what she had done.

I poured myself a cup and sat down at the breakfast table. Just as I was about to take a sip she said, "I had to improvise on the coffee this morning."

The cup was nearly at my lips. The aroma filled my nose with joy.

"I couldn’t find the filters so I went into the baby’s room and searched for something to make a filter with," she said.

"Oh?," I said.

By this time I was flirting with the warmth of the coffee on my lips.

"I got a diaper out and cut out the middle and made a filter," she proudly proclaimed!

I put the coffee down and I know I must have looked scared.

"What’s wrong," she asked?

By this time our cousin Andy was in the room and overheard her coffee story and ran into the baby’s room. He returned with the diaper box and began reading the laundry list of chemicals in the diapers.

The anatomy of a Disposable Diaper: The outer cover of a disposable diaper is made of special plastic that has been formulated to feel like cloth. But it's still plastic, and it is waterproof and coffee proof, so Ronda cut that part off.

The absorbent middle layer, or Ronda’s makeshift coffee filter, is the essence of the "magic" disposable. It has a cotton/polyester mesh that covers a chemical powder that will turn into gel when it gets wet and release pleasing fragrance. The gel is supposed to stay inside the diaper but it's common for parents to find gel beads on their baby's skin during a diaper change or in Ronda’s case, in the bottom of her cup. The gel will allow for multiple pees, or one good brew, before needing a change. The child will probably not feel wet until the diaper gets very full. And for the coffee drinker? Well, the coffee drinker may or may not become ill, depending on how many cups he or she drinks from the baby diaper coffee filter.

It was an hour later before we made it to Starbucks, but I am proud to say, I made it without drinking Ronda’s survival brew.

As I sat and watched my son enjoying his coffee I thought about all the adventures he’ll have enjoying this magical drink.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From July 6, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

People are always sending me emails. Most are just jokes, but occasionally I get the "useless facts" message. I read them and then ponder to myself why I need to know these things.

However interesting, they are useless to me in my day to day life. This week I got some facts sent to me titled "interesting". I have put my comments about them in italics and made them even more interesting!

If you are right handed, you will tend to chew your food on your right side. If you are left handed, you will tend to chew your food on your left side. If you are ambidextrous you swallow your food whole.

The Titanic was the first ship to use the SOS signal. It would have sent out an SOSA (save our sorry arses), but they ran out of time.

Bats always turn left when exiting a cave. Most caves have a no right turn lane.

Men’s shirts have the buttons on the right, but women’s shirts have the buttons on the left. Men’s breasts always turn right when exiting their shirts.

The owl is the only bird to drop its upper eyelid to wink. All other birds raise their lower eyelids. It’s call kniwing.

Roosters cannot crow if they cannot extend their necks. Just like men can’t be wrong if they don’t open their mouths.

Every time you sneeze some of your brain cells die. Achoo! I just got dumber.

Your left lung is smaller than your right lung to make room for your heart. Your right arm is slightly longer to compensate for the loss in balance.

The verb "cleave" is the only English word with two synonyms which are antonyms of each other: adhere and separate. Really? Whitehouse?

When you blush, the lining of your stomach also turns red. But no one sees or cares about an embarrassed stomach lining.

When hippos are upset, their sweat turns red. That’s why hippos don’t wear white after Labor Day.

The first Harley Davidson motorcycle was built in 1903, and used a tomato can for a carburetor. Harley Davidson immediately discovered that their motorcycles would not run on tomatoes.

The attachment of the human skin to muscles is what causes dimples. I always thought it was ice cream that caused that.

There are 1,792 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower. You lose count when falling down them.

Human hair and fingernails continue to grow after death. But few dead people continue to go to the barber.

Every day 200 million couples make love, 400,000 babies are born, and 140,000 people die. and 199 million, 600,000 thousand people say, woa... that was close.

Colgate faced big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking countries. Colgate translates into the command "go hang yourself." 4 out of 5 suicide victims have plaque tartar build up.

Large kangaroos cover more than 30 feet with each jump. Small kangaroos say, "weeeeeeee!" It's also common knowledge that kangaroos carry their young in pouches and ants can lift many times their own weight, but few realize that an ant can't lift a kangaroo and kangaroos seldom carry ants in their pouches.

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural cause. If the horse has all four legs off the ground the person died trying to sky dive with his horse.

The human heart creates enough pressure while pumping to squirt blood 30 feet!! Once......

It’s a fact: Ancient rock pictures, recently discovered in a prehistoric cave in France, reveal that as early as 2 million years ago, cavemen were really bad at drawing.

KWIBS - From June 21, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

I didn’t have enough room in my column last week to mention a couple of important items in my life. I didn’t forget them.

Sunday was Father’s Day. I’m blessed to have my father still with me and also blessed to have my children, and now a grandson, who love me.

None of this would have been possible without a June 17, 1988 wedding. Ronda and I celebrated our 22nd anniversary last Thursday. I love you Ronda!

Then, quietly, a number changed on our front page this week. Volume 20, Issue 1. This might not mean much to you, but it marks the beginning of our 20th year as Medicine Lodge’s newspaper.

We couldn’t have done this without you!

KWIBS - From June 14, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

I’m still reflecting on Memorial Day.

For the past couple of weeks, I have heard such great things about Maj. Robert Stutler’s Memorial Day speech and also had the opportunity to talk with some veterans in our area.

My column may be more appropriate for our 4th of July edition, but this should be a reminder to us all of what our nation has always stood for. I just happened to glance at the calendar and saw that it was Flag Day today.

Last week I received a YouTube video of a former Marine singing what he said was the last verse of the Star Spangled Banner.

I’m 40 years old and I had never even heard that verse. I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t even learn in school that we had more than one verse to our National Anthem.

I got on line and read the lyrics that Francis Scott Key penned in 1814. I also read up on Key himself.

from wikipedia:

During the War of 1812, Key, accompanied by the American Prisoner Exchange Agent Colonel John Stuart Skinner, dined aboard the British ship HMS Tonnant, as the guests of three British officers: Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane, Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn, and Major General Robert Ross. Skinner and Key were there to negotiate the release of prisoners, one being Dr. William Beanes. Beanes was a resident of Upper Marlboro, Maryland and had been captured by the British after he placed rowdy stragglers under citizen's arrest with a group of men. Skinner, Key, and Beanes were not allowed to return to their own sloop, they had become familiar with the strength and position of the British units and with the British intent to attack Baltimore. As a result of this, Key was unable to do anything but watch the bombarding of the American forces at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore on the night of September 13–September 14, 1814.

When the smoke cleared, Key was able to see an American flag still waving and reported this to the prisoners below deck. On the way back to Baltimore, he was inspired to write a poem describing his experience, "The Defence of Fort McHenry", which he published in the Patriot on September 20, 1814. He intended to fit the rhythms of composer John Stafford Smith's "To Anacreon in Heaven". It has become better known as "The Star Spangled Banner". Under this name, the song was adopted as the American National Anthem, first by an Executive Order from President Woodrow Wilson in 1916 (which had little effect beyond requiring military bands to play it) and then by a Congressional resolution in 1931, signed by President Herbert Hoover.

Here’s that song --

KWIBS - From June 7, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

I did something so crazy last week, I’m almost ashamed to write about it. This was completely out of character for me. I took 4 whole days off in a row from work!

For the first time in nearly a decade, I took a very long weekend.

What did I do with all my time off, you ask?

Well, I worked on my jet ski for the kids, changed spark plugs in the boat. I worked on a 4 wheeler for my cousins, I dredged the bottom of the lake looking for my wife’s lost shoe, I aired up floatation toys at the lake, I fixed a sump pump in the basement at the farm house that had quit and flooded everywhere and I baby-sat my grandson!

It doesn’t sound like time off, but it was one of the best "Memorial Day" weekends I have ever had. In addition to all that extra work stuff, I watched my kids ski and tube, play baseball and play in the water. I also got to enjoy my grandson’s first weekend of his life at the lake. I just got to hang out with my family and some friends for several days of sun and fun.

I guess the worst thing about the weekend was, it ended.

Bring on summer!

KWIBS - From June 1, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

It's been exactly one year ago since Dorfus CrackTractor played together and the band is preparing to get together for its second annual reunion show here in Medicine Lodge this weekend for JuneFest. For those that remember, Dorfus CrackTractor is a band made up of myself, my former Editor David Fasgold and local Deputy Sheriff Justin Rugg. Our band played events, clubs and venues in the area for about 4 years before taking a break in July of 2007. Back then, gas was inching up over $4 a gallon and David had moved to Oklahoma City, making it hard for us to make enough money even to pay our gas to get to shows in Wichita which was nearly half way for all of us.

Gas is slightly cheaper now and since we’re all still friends, we’ve decided to get together and do another show before we forget all of our material. The idea for the second annual reunion stemmed from an email from Jessica Rausch with the Chamber of Commerce last fall.

I called up David Fasgold and Justin Rugg and we set it up for this coming Saturday, June 5th.

If you never caught a show, Dorfus was full of whacky costume changes, part comedy act with parodies of songs and we played a wide variety of music from rock, swing, country, disco and even rap. Some of our costumes (they don’t fit anymore!), along with our talent are gone, but we’re still up to playing a street dance for those who remember us and maybe a few who don’t!

So, we're keeping our fingers crossed that we still have a few of those fans that will come out and dance on Saturday and welcome David Fasgold back into our community for this one night only event.

We're throwing this together with a short rehearsal the Friday night before, so expect to hear a few minor train wrecks!

This will be a family-friendly show. So, make plans on Saturday to come out see us for Junefest 2010!!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From May 17, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

On behalf of the paper, I want to take a moment to congratulate the class of MLHS 2010. I also want to take a moment, as a member of the human race, to apologize for not having flying cars by now. I know we were all promised them by the year 2010, but we might have to wait until the class of 2020.

Seriously, congratulations graduates. I know you’re all thinking, "We’ve got to get out of here!" I encourage you to take one day at a time and enjoy life. You’ll grow old faster than you think!

God bless - Grandpa Kev, Class of 1988.

KWIBS - From May 10, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

It’s not too often that we hearabout those who grew up here in Medicine Lodge who do really cool things in life. David Mayfield, son of Trude and Ellis Mayfield, is one of those guys who just gets to do the coolest things! I hear stories about him in movies and meeting famous people from his parents.

Last week, David forwarded me a photo of him and Kenny Rogers together! Now you wouldn’t think it, but I actually think Kenny Rogers is pretty cool and I used to listen to his music growing up.

David writes.......

Hey Kevin..I drive Limos part time out here and Kenny was coming to town to do a concert at the Renovated Fox Theater, here in downtown Riverside, originally built in 1929?.." Gone with the Wind " Premiered here in 1939.

Anyway the boss knew I was a country fan, and asked if I would want to drive him.. DUH, I said Heck Yes!! The boss gave his manager my name and phone#.. I got a call Saturday morning 5/1/10 from the manager confirming that I would be driving, and he also indicated that Mr. Rogers was an avid photographer and would like to take some pictures at the Mission Inn (an historic hotel here that dates back to the 1890's) and wanted to know if I could set something up. I told him I would try.. The manager said they were getting on the private jet now, leaving Nebraska, and would be there that afternoon at 4:30p.m.

I was there waiting when the jet pulled up.. Kenny got out and kept eye contact with me as he walked up.. With a big smile, and his hand extended.. he said, " Hi Dave, I'm Kenny Rogers, Nice to meet you."

I told him that it was an honor to meet him and that I had made arrangements for him to take as many pictures as he wanted. He told me thanks - let’s go do it..

He spent about 45 mins. in the hotel taking pictures. He later told me that he has 4 books out on all the pictures he has taken, and working on his 5th. We then went to the concert sight. There was a fan standing at the security gate waiting to have some albums signed.. Kenny told me to stop so he could sign them for him.. 6 albums ..and he signed every one of them.

We drove up to the back stage area.. Kenny's manager invited me to come in and han gout with them and watch the show from backstage.. In the green room area, I told Kenny that my Mom and Dad were big fans of his for 40 years or so, and that I used to listen to his albums all the time.. I asked him if I could get a picture with him and he said "Of course". He put his arm around me.. and with a smile said, " You know it was child abuse, your parents making you listen to my music at such a young age!"

I laughed and said, "No way, I love your music". I told him my mom asked for an autograph.. So he grabbed a concert program and wrote, "To: Trude, Where were You ??" and signed KENNY ROGERS.

We then went down stairs to the stage area for the concert. I stood just off stage with his stage manager and listened to that man sing..(HE STILL HAS IT !!!! )

At the end of the night.. I drove him back to his jet.

He thanked me for doing such a great job.. and his manager gave me a couple of bills and said, "Have dinner on Kenny!"

I told him that it was an honor and pleasure to meet and drive for him. He shook my hand again and boarded his jet and flew off onto the night for his next gig.... Below is Kenny Rogers and David Mayfield.

KWIBS - From May 3, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

Years of playing in bands and listening to loud music have taken its toll on my hearing. Towards the end of my rock and roll days, I bought wireless in-ear monitors to try and salvage what little hearing I had left.

People say things to me and I usually say, "huh?" and ask them to repeat what they just said.

Background noises really throw me off and going to meetings, I have trouble hearing things, so I purchased a digital recorder to assist me in getting the facts correct. These things work great as long as you can hear what you just recorded....

Last week I attended the PBC meeting at Southern Pioneer here in Medicine Lodge. I took extensive notes and also recorded the meeting. I listened to the recording several times to check my facts and was satisfied with my story after a couple of proofreads. Then on Tuesday morning I got an email saying I had misspelled the name of the company that did the report for the county commissioners and hospital boards. I wrote "Burden Associates". It was "Virden Associates!"

Can someone say, "Beltone?"

? ? ? ?

Monday afternoon we were finishing up at the office and Ronda and I began making plans for dinner.

Earlier last week, I had received a package from California. It was a huge box of fresh avocados! I got them from an unnamed gentlemen that I had bailed out of jail in Pratt County. He expressed his gratefulness with produce from his farm.

My wife and I love avocados, but when you get 40 of them at once, and they all begin to ripen at once, you have to start getting creative. The first thing I suggested is a giant bowl of guacamole le! We did that, but we also decided to have chicken on the grill, wrapped in smoked bacon, with cheese melted over tomato and avocado. mmmmmm.

We were talking about the guacamole and wondering about seasoning and my son Joey pops up and said, "Isle one, left of the peanut butter."

Joey recently became employed by White’s and is now a great source in helping us find different items at the local grocery store. He’s also great entertainment when it comes to shopping.

The other day the family stopped at White’s after church and as we were taking items off of the shelf, Joey was following us straigtening and arranging the items. He wasn’t even working that day.....

So Monday we went shopping to get chicken, asparagus, milk, cheese, tomatos and biscuits. We ended up also purchasing an apple pie, some roasted nuts and a bunch of other things not on our list.

We checked out and drove home to prepare this dinner that had our mouths watering all afternoon. I started up the grill and Ronda began preparing the other entrees. I was inside looking for the chicken to get it seasoned for the grill when my boys came running in screaming, "Dad, FIRE, FIRE!!"

I ran outside to find my grill in flames, an apparant grease fire from last year’s left over grilling. I knew I should have cleaned the grease out before the current grilling season, but I was lazy and decided it would just burn off. And it did.

Calmly, I shut the gas off and pulled the grill away from the house (which sort of warped the siding for the third time since I have lived there). After about 30 minutes the grill cooled down to 400 from its peak that had reached over a 1000 degrees.

That sort of temperature would have cooked the chicken in about 2 minutes..... had we remembered the chicken.

Ronda called the grocery store and we had left the chicken in the bottom basket of the cart, along with our milk. The good news was we didn’t pay for the chicken or the milk and they just restocked it. The bad news was, we had all of this other food we had started preparing and we were not making a trip back to town.

I dug around in the freezer and found a sack of half freezer burned chicken and threw it in some warm water for defrosting. Things were not looking good for supper. Ronda was already making noise that we should just go out and eat, but I was determined to fix this meal.

We ate a little later than expected, but our dinner turned out fantastic. I guess the worst thing was that we had to ration our cereal for the evening and next morning, but we had milk to spare!

We also got a good laugh. Have a great week!

KWIBS - From April 26, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

Last weekend, my Aunt and Uncle from New Hampshire came to town for a visit.

It had been nearly 11 years since I last saw my Uncle Mike, my mom’s youngest brother.

Not many 40-year-olds can say this. I met my Aunt Laurie for the very first time this past weekend. She’s lovely and intelligent. She teaches middle school science. I’ve never even met my two cousins Miles and Tristan.

Dare I ever admit a favorite uncle. I have three and they are all great men, with great stories, but I have always been partial to this uncle.

When I was younger and used to visit my Grandpa Joe in Rhode Island, my Uncle Mike gave me special attention and always made sure I had the coolest Christmas presents. To this day, we still get a package from Uncle Mike and Aunt Laurie.

My Uncle, Mike Amaral works for Wildlife and Parks. His exact title is unclear to me, but he’s dealt in the area of endangered species for as long as I can remember. The last time I saw him, he was on his way in to Oklahoma to study some kind of poop-eating beetle.

Most recently, he appeared in a segment on the Discovery Channel special about the Appalachian Mountains. He is seen repelling down the side of a mountain to look at a nest of hawks in a crevice.

On one day of their trip to Kansas to see my mother, my sister’s family and ours, he spent some time around our ponds, picking up bugs and trying to observe a water snake that wasn’t interested in my uncle’s curiosity. I learned what dragonflies look like before they become dragonflies!

Both my aunt and uncle are like walking classrooms. On Monday we went to Hutchinson to the Cosmosphere. During a demonstration on rocketry, my Aunt Laurie sat on the front row of the group and quickly answered all of the questions of the person portraying Dr. Goddard, the father of the U.S. rocket program.

They shared their photos of a recent family trip to Ireland. They also showed me photos of my 17 and 20 year old cousins. Miles is a blacksmith and engineer who recently built a garage near their home. It’s made entirely out of local timber that he designed, milled, jointed and raised himself along with help from his dad and a boom truck. He even made the hinges to the door in his very own blacksmith shop. My cousin Tristan spins wood on a lathe and makes beautiful salad bowls he sells and local fairs.

They hike, fish and love our planet. The miles between us have hindered a close relationship that I crave to have with this incredible family. Their time in Kansas was a real blessing to our entire family. I know my mom, my sister and I couldn’t be prouder of them and can’t wait until the next time we meet again. Have a great week!

KWIBS - From April 19, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

I wanted to give a quick, public, compliment to Doris Sorg for the "Grave Tales" series she is doing on Highland Cemetery.

I had a feeling this would be a well received series, but had no idea it would be as popular as it has been.

Doris is doing some digging on this one, pardon the pun. She’s unearthed some very interesting stories about the history makers of Medicine Lodge, so stay tuned.

If you have an interesting story to share with us about someone interred at Highland Cemetery, please drop us a note, call or email us. Doris’ email is doris@medicinelodge.com. Our phone number is 620-886-5654.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From April 12, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

I love reading stories about crime, especially when they are funny!

As a bailbondsman, I get to hear some pretty funny stories and I usually have to keep them to myself, but this week I opened the Anthony Republican to find a story that made me roll on the floor laughing.

Note: I don’t support anyone assaulting another person and don’t find that funny. I just found the circumstances of this story very funny and wanted to share them with you.

Reprinted from The Anthony Republican on Wednesday, April 7, 2010

At approximately 1 a.m. last Tuesday, March 30, a disturbance occurred at 205 N. Madison in Anthony.

Johnny Gene Eveland Jr., 28, of Anthony, arrived there and physically assaulted resident Deborah Dry, according to Anthony Police Chief John Blevins. Dry knew Eveland but did not want him at her residence, Blevins said.

Blevins said that Eveland assaulted Dry with a Bible for unknown reasons and also grabbed a knife and threatened her life.

When law enforcement arrived, Blevins said, Eveland assaulted an officer before he was finally subdued. The Harper County Sheriff’s Office and Harper Police Department assisted the Anthony Police Department with the incident.

Dry was transported to Anthony Medical Center by EMS and treated for injuries sustained in the assault.

County Attorney Laurel McClellan charged Eveland with aggravated burglary, aggravated battery, obstruction official duty, aggravated battery against a law enforcement officer and criminal damage to property.

Blevins said that Eveland was not intoxicated, but tests will reveal if Eveland had drugs in his system at the time of the assault.

Eveland is being held in the Harper County Jail on a $1,000,000 cash or professional surety bond.

? ? ? ?

It is said that the word of God is a double-edged sword, but if you aren’t careful with it, it’s called assault....

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From April 5, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

I have a very small space to try and introduce some changes in The Gyp Hill Premiere.

After careful consideration, we’ve decided to retire "Yep-n-Howdy", a cartoon drawn by Blackfoot Willie since 1991.

We’ve had many requests for a crossword puzzle and a variety / entertainment section for our paper. So this week on page 3, we’re debuting our new entertainment section. At the last minute, I realized that the answer page didn’t match up to the puzzles, so please check back next week for the answers! Sorry! We’ll have them in the same edition as soon as we can work it out with the provider.

KWIBS - From March 29, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

Things puzzle me from time to time. The recent passage of the massive health care reform bill is one of those things.

How will a government takeover of 1/6 of our economy work out for us? I hope it works out better for health care than it did for social security, the U.S. Postal Service and Medicare and Medicaid.

Without question, I believe there needed to be changes in our system, but I can never believe that a complete government takeover is the best answer.

And call me crazy or simple, but being forced to purchase something seems to go against everything I believe in. I have health insurance. I’m not exactly thrilled with it, but it’s what I can afford. If the government makes all of this affordable and gives me more coverage, hoorah! But if it squeezes me or my business even harder, then I can’t possibly tell you how frustrated it will make me.

I can’t tell you everything that’s in this bill, but I can tell you a few things. One writer about the bill stated, "It's 1,017 pages long and written in an alien form of bureaucratic English that can barely be decoded by earthlings."

A couple of good things I do know to be true about the health care bill:

- It was designed to protect consumers and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse. So, we’ll see.

- The Congressional Budget estimates the bill will reduce the deficit by at least $100 billion over ten years. A government estimate... enough said.

The fact remains that it is still a government run program at best and the language isn’t clear. No one really knows how this will affect small business owners or people who just can’t afford health insurance.

What is clear is that something must be done. The present system is broken. Waiting, or keeping what we have now, are not viable options.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From March 22, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

I’ve always been one to be known as the "practical joker" around the office and at home. I’ve pulled some doozies on my family and employees over the years.

One of my favorites used to be stacking chairs and lumber against the bathroom door when someone was in there and stand in the hallway and watch it all come crashing in on them when they opened the door. Yes, I actually did this and had it done to me several times when David Fasgold worked for me.

Occasionally, a good one is pulled on me and because I am a good sport, I appreciate the quality of a good prank.

My wife gets my esteemed praise this week for pulling a joke on me that I actually told her how to do.

The victim of the joke is the passenger in your vehicle. We’ve all seen semi trucks towing semi trucks. You make sure your passenger is either sleeping, or in my case, reading a book. You come up on the semis (going the same direction of travel as you are) and slam on the breaks and scream! Your passenger will awaken or look up to see a semi truck coming right at them and usually empty their bladder or bowels or both.

Ronda successfully startled me (I did hold my bladder and bowels, but my heart skipped a few beats). We were traveling home from Oklahoma City this weekend and when she screamed, I totally fell for it and screamed a little too. We both got a good laugh. The following photos illustrate how to set it up and what it actually looks like when you pull this joke on your next sleeping or occupied passenger on the interstate.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From March 15, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

People come and go over the years in Medicine Lodge. Some of them make a huge mark on our community. Others disappear without a trace and are long forgotten.

Thursday of last week, I was in my office working, when I heard a costumer speaking with the girls up front. The voice was strangely familiar. I hadn’t heard it in quite some time, but it triggered my memory sensors.

I overheard Ronda say, "Oh my gosh! You look so different! Kevin! Come up here and see who is here!"

I already knew who it was by the sound of her voice, so I stepped out of my office.

I couldn’t believe my eyes! She had changed so much since I had seen her last. I think you could say with little doubt, that retirement is good!

Now, you are wondering, who is he talking about?

Rather than just telling you, I chased her down to Somewhere in Time to snap a photo. I thought it would be fun to play a little guessing game with my readers. Some of you who have been away for some time, won’t know her, but locally, you’ll know this lady if you can only recognize her now!

The only clue you get is this "super" photo I took of her!

If you can’t guess who she is, send me an email and I’ll give you this answer: knoland@cyberlodg.com

KWIBS - From March 8, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

Call me sick and twisted, but after a week of putting together a newspaper, I sometimes relax by searching the archives of the strange and unusual news events on the Internet.

Last week was a particularly interesting/weird week for news and I thought I would share a couple of the more humorous stories with you.

The first story somewhat surprised me, but being a bail bondsman, I have dealt with a similar situation. I once bailed an 82-year-old gentleman out of jail for a DUI when he got in his car in Wichita, headed for Joplin, MO and ended up in Medicine Lodge, KS. So I guess crime doesn't discriminate on basis of age.

An 80-year-old woman with a criminal record stretching back to 1955 has been sentenced to three years in state prison for ransacking and stealing cash from a Southern California medical office. Doris Thompson thanked a judge Wednesday for not sending her to Los Angeles County jail, which she doesn't like, and said she deserved a longer sentence. She also told the judge, "God bless you."

State records show Thompson, who has used 27 aliases, has repeatedly been arrested during the past 55 years, mainly for petty theft and burglary. She's gone to jail several times.

Thompson slipped into the medical office on Dec. 19 and stole money from drawers. She pleaded guilty to burglary and was ordered to pay about $1,400 in restitution. She will be eligible for parole in about 18 months.

The following story is true, but I added my own headline for humor purposes.

Police said the mother of an elementary school student drank a 40 ounce bottle of malt liquor before brandishing a sword in her child's school. The woman, 32, apparently intended to confront the parents of another child who had been in a spitting match with her child the previous day.

According to court records, an employee at Riverview Elementary School in Memphis reported a drunk woman armed with a sword was running through the halls of the school and had threatened to cut her.

Officers who arrived on the scene retrieved a black cane that concealed the blade.

The woman charged with aggravated assault and having a weapon on school property.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From March 1, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

I wanted to take a moment to recognize a few people in our community who have been behind the scenes here at the paper.

You may or may not look at photo credits and bylines in the paper. If you are like some that don't look, you may not realize that we have several people who contribute news and photos to the paper who are not regular staff. We're a small town paper whose success is credited to the people who take pride in our community by sharing news and photos with our readers.

I'm very fortunate to have Daryl Musgrove taking our high school sports photos, Becky Clouse contributing NBCRC and grade school photos and Daryl Honas writing our Lady Indians' sports news. I couldn't do it without you guys and I can't thank you enough!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From February 22, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

Anyone who has ever entered my office has noticed my "white board" behind my desk.

This board sort of acts as the memory portion of my brain. I keep track of the week's stories and advertising that needs my immediate or future attention.

I also jot down notes like who borrowed a camera or when I have a family birthday coming up.

But one of the most interesting things I keep on my board is when someone says something funny or stupid.

I'm not immune to this part of my board, which comprises more than 30% of the 4'x4' white board. I once said, "I'm going to the store to get a lead of hettuce."

Sometimes these things are just improper uses of a word or combining two words together like, "interflicted". My spell checker is going to go crazy this week.

We all say dumb things from time to time. I actually write them down and sometimes they end up in the paper...

I've kept a running tab on this board since about 2003. Most of my favorites come from my buddy Justin Rugg. Justin seems to have problems with math and English so he's made the board several times. One math problem on my board reads, "3+5=7". Another one of Justin's math problems was "1974+30=2009".

I'm not claiming to be any better at math than him, but I tend to get the easy questions right! However, I have no excuse for my bad grammar and spelling.

Here are some of my other favorites and their proper attributes:

"I was the same age as him in school." - me....

"Oliver bought a zero gravity mower." - Joey

"That's what dugs to your bain." - Doris

"Understandment" - Justin

"Suicide! It just kills me...." - Erin

"That's being a hicaprit." - a local pastor....

"We are well in to the 20th-1st century." - same pastor....

"I was oppositioned by an 80-year-old woman!" - Justin

"The truck made a transmissionish sound." - Justin

"He is bi-social and needs to be on SSI." - one of my bond customers.

"He has a depression hearing at 1:30 p.m." - same bond customer.

"He should win a Pulitzer Surprise!" - Kenny Joe

What started this column this week was a comment my wife made to me. We were watching a program on the History Channel about possible scenarios for the end of the world in 2012 (yes, just 2 short years away!).

Ronda looked at me and said in the most serious voice, "What do you think would happen if Mt. Rushmore erupted?"

I calmly looked back at her and said, "I would imagine pieces of stone presidents' faces would rain down on to the earth killing everyone in their paths."

Obviously, Ronda was talking about Mt. St. Helens or some other volcano, not Mt. Rushmore.

My daughter thought that it was pretty funny for her mother not to know the difference between Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rushmore. My wife asked her, "Oh yeah Breeann? What is Mt. Rushmore?"

Breeann snapped back quickly and said, "It's where the Hollywood sign is!"

Another one on the board......

A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY goes out to my youngest son Nicholas! Nicholas is turning 12 on Thursday, February 25th. Only one more year before you're a teenager buddy!

KWIBS - From February 15, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

I took my son Joey to visit with an Air Force recruiter last week. He's expressed interest in the service field after high school and I couldn't be prouder of him.

It blows my mind how fast time goes by. I look back with amazement how quickly my children have grown up and how proud I am of each one of them.

I'll be the first to confess that, as a parent, I have planned each of their futures! That's a little unrealistic I understand, but our hopes for our children sometimes reflect what we wish we could have done with our own lives when we were younger.

So many older folks tell me that if they could do it all over again with what they know now, they wouldn't change a thing! That might be a little unrealistic too. That kind of knowledge would have helped me make some different decisions in life!

As I sat and listened to Joey and his plans for the future a scripture came to mind: Jer 29:11 (NIV) "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From February 8, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

Almost everyone takes issue when it comes to having their name misspelled or pronounced incorrectly.

The past 20 years of being the owner of the newspaper has made me especially conscious of that fact. We strive not to make a mistake with a name, but it happens from time to time.

There's one name that we seem to always get wrong in the paper, even though everyone in this office knows how it is spelled.

I was eating lunch on Monday at noon and got a phone call from a gentlemen who was not especially pleased about the spelling of his name in the paper. Granted, all of the letters were there in their proper order. The problem was one letter that was supposed to be capitalized was not.

Now keep in mind that it was only about 1 p.m. The paper had just come out. This is one keen reader!

We did misspell his name. It's a mistake I had made once in the past and after a good tongue lashing, I promised it would never be made by me or my staff again.

Unfortunately, the mistake repeated last Monday. In all fairness (and to pass the buck), neither me nor my staff made the error. The article was submitted by a third party. However, we failed to reproof the material for the spelling of names and opted to just run spell check over the lengthy article.

With my unintentional lack of judgment, came the spelling of one Charles "Degeer".

It should have read Charles DeGeer, with a capital G!

I do feel badly about the error and take partial responsibility for the mistake and would like to dedicate my column this week to Charles DeGeer with a little poem I've written for him.

Ode' to Charles DeGeer......

by his friend Kevin Noland, 2010

Now I'm sure old Charles wasn't really that mad,

But it irritates him to see his name wrong - real bad,

I knew in my gut

When he was chewing my butt,

That he knew I was no college grad.

I plead my case to him over the phone,

The mistakes in the past I did own,

But this wasn't my doing,

Someone else's rear he should be chewing,

Since the article was not even home grown.

And we all know how to spell his name

Because 'round here it's a name of great fame

But it's wrong in the phone book,

Don't believe me? Take a look!

A mistake none-the-less just the same....

Make no mistake his name is DeGeer,

And his name when misspelled instills great fear,

He did use such class,

While ripping my ____,

and his point was made loud and clear!

I'm timing Charles to see how long it takes him to call and comment on this week's article.

Have a great week Mr. DeGeer

KWIBS - From January 18, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

Something very cool happened last Monday. Most people probably didn't even notice, but it was a palindrome - 01-11-10. A palindrome is a word, phrase, number or other sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction. I suppose, the next date to be a palindrome will occur in 11-11-11. The last one would have been 10-11-01.

Now for the really cool thing that occurred last Monday.

Ronda and I became grandparents!

Our Grandson Kycen Joseph Schaffer was born to Breeann and Devin at 3:55 p.m. at Pratt Regional Medical Center.

One of the coolest privileges of my job is getting to print my immediate family's birth announcements. The last one I printed for myself would have been Nicholas on February 25, of 1998. So it's been a while since I got to print a birth announcement and I am very proud to print this one!

Kycen was welcomed to the world by an entourage of family! Maternal grandparents are Kevin and Ronda Noland of Medicine Lodge. Paternal grandparents are Joe and Stephanie Schaffer of Pratt, and Ladonna and Richard Weiss of Germany.

Kycen is the great grandson of Don and Linda Vick, the late Barbara Vick, Joyce Noland, Ron Noland, Carole Schaffer and Linda Coffemann.

He is the great-great grandson of Mildred Meairs!

Kycen's aunts and uncles include Nicholas and Joey Noland, Gage, Libby and Joey Schaffer and Kayla and Cory Degenhardt.

He's got hundreds more cousins, great aunts and uncles - more names than I have space for or even want to try and name. I would surely leave someone out!

Bree had called us on Sunday night and said she was having contractions. We got pretty excited. In fact, we didn't get any sleep that night. As soon as we did relax, the phone rang at 2 a.m. (and Hillary was not there to answer it). Breeann was pretty sure she was in labor. The contractions were closer and closer and by 4 a.m., Breeann, Devin and Miley (their dog) were at our house to drop off Miley on the way to the hospital.

We all congregated at the hospital for what would be a very long day.

After more than 2 hours of pushing, they wheeled Breeann in for a cesarean section at about 3 p.m. Shortly before 4 p.m. on 01-11-10 the little guy came into the world and will surely be a source of joy for so many in his large family.

And because no one else in his family has a column in a newspaper, I have chosen a photo appropriately!

KWIBS - From January 4, 2010 - By Kevin Noland

I'm sure this week's column will constitute someone typing me an ugly email response, but I can take it.

Christmas day's attempted terrorist plot over the skies of Detroit should remind all of us that Muslim extremists still want to kill Americans.

Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab allegedly tried to ignite a device attached to his body as the Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam began its final descent in to the American city on Christmas Day. 280 passengers, mostly American were on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253.

Here are some basic facts about the terrorist himself (yes, he is a terrorist) and the events that unfolded.

Nov. 19: Abdulmutallab’s father goes to the US Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, to express concern his son was in Yemen and had fallen under the influence of extremists.

Nov. 20: The US Embassy sends a so-called VISAS VIPER cable with the information that Abdulmutallab’s father had provided. The cable is sent to all US diplomatic missions and the State Department in Washington, where it was also shared with the interagency National Counterterrorism Center for review.

Nov. 20: Abdulmutallab’s name is entered into the National Counterterrorism Center’s Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment database based on information provided by his father.

Dec. 16: Abdulmutallab’s round-trip plane ticket is purchased in Accra, Ghana, for $2,831 in cash, presumably by Abdulmutallab himself, according to Nigerian officials.

Dec. 24: Abdulmutallab reenters Nigeria for only one day to board a flight from Lagos to Detroit, via Amsterdam.

Dec. 25: Abdulmutallab allegedly tries to bring down Northwest Airlines Flight 253 as it approaches Detroit. The plane lands safely, and he is taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., for treatment of burns.

Dec. 27: Abdulmutallab is transferred to a federal prison in Michigan.

Hopefully, he'll never again experience freedom.

Over the past year, we've been conditioned to feel that the war on terror is no longer a priority for our country, but the facts remain clear. Extremists hate America and our values and it's time we start accepting that fact and not worry about hurting people's feelings when it comes to profiling.

Yep, I said the ugly word. Profiling.

We've been doing it for years. It might be uncomfortable to say, but let's face it - profiling would add an extra measure of protection for America's interests.

We have to stop being so PC (politically correct) in this country. I'm not saying remove fundamental rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I'm talking about common sense and scrutinizing those who choose air travel.

I've got other ideas that aren't very popular too, but it could mean protecting American lives and that means more to me than upsetting someone because of their race, color, religion or name.

We've all heard of the "do not fly" list. Why don't we have a "do fly" list? Millions of Americans use air travel for moving about the country and the world every year. Screen these people first. If you have been flying for 20 years, have no criminal background, no association with Islamic fundamentalists or known countries that support terrorism - you get a DO FLY card and you get to go through a special line at the airport for screening. It's like the fast pass at Six Flags. Go straight to the front of the line and enjoy the ride.

If you are a flyer that travels once in a while and have passed basic background checks, then you go in another line that has a little extra security for screening. You might be asked to remove your shoes, belt, be searched for weapons or "no fly" items, but don't worry. It's for your safety.

Finally, if your name can't be spoken without spitting all over, you are on a "watch list", have terroristic connections or are flying from a country that does support known terrorists, then you go to a special line and strip naked, are X-rayed and get a full body search. We're sorry for any inconvenience. You'll get an extra bag of peanuts for your flight.

KWIBS - From December 28, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Who doesn't love exchanging gag gifts year after year?

For twenty-five years, two brothers-in-law traded the same pair of gift pants back and forth between them, each time finding more inventive ways to wrap them.

The one present Roy Collette wasn’t looking forward to getting for Christmas 1988 was those darned pants. Yet he knew he was in trouble as soon as the flatbed truck bearing a concrete-filled tank off a truck used to deliver ready-mix rolled up. Sure as God made little green apples, those pants had to be in there. And he was going to have to fish them out, else declare his brotherin-law the winner of a rivalry that had then spanned 20 years.

Being the sport he is, brother-in-law Larry Kunkel thoughtfully supplied the services of a crane to hoist the concrete-filled tank off the flatbed.

What’s this game, you ask? What was the significance of these pants, and why were two grown men going to such efforts year after year to retrieve them, only to send them off again?

It all began in 1964 when Larry Kunkel’s mom gave him a pair of moleskin pants. After wearing them a few times, he found they froze stiff in Minnesota winters and thus wouldn’t do. That next Christmas, he wrapped the garment in pretty paper and presented it to his brother-in-law.

Brother-in-law Roy Collette discovered he didn’t want them either. He bided his time until the Christmas after, then packaged them up and gave them back to Kunkel. This yearly exchange proceeded amicably until one year Collette twisted the pants tightly and stuffed them into a 3-foot-long, 1-inch wide pipe.

And so the game began. Year after year, as the pants were shuffled back and forth, the brothers strove to make unwrapping them more difficult, perhaps in the hope of ending the tradition. In retaliation for the pipe, Kunkel compressed the pants into a 7-inch square, wrapped them with wire and gave the "bale" to Collette. Not to be outdone, Collette put the pants into a 2-foot-square crate filled with stones, nailed it shut, banded it with steel and gave the trusty trousers back to Kunkel.

The brothers agreed to end the caper if the trousers were damaged. But they were as careful as they were clever. As the game evolved, so did the rules. Only "legal and moral" methods of wrapping were permitted. Wrapping expenses were kept to a minimum with only junk parts used.

Kunkel next had the pants mounted inside an insulated window that had a 20-year guarantee and shipped them off to Collette.

Collette broke the glass, recovered the trousers, stuffed them into a 5-inch coffee can, which he soldered shut. The can was put in a 5-gallon container filled with concrete and reinforcing rods and given to Kunkel the following Christmas.

Kunkel installed the pants in a 225-pound homemade steel ashtray made from 8-inch steel casings and etched Collette’s name on the side. Collette had trouble retrieving the treasured trousers, but succeeded without burning them with a cutting torch.

Collette found a 600-pound safe and hauled it to Viracon Inc. in Owatonna, where the shipping department decorated it with red and green stripes, put the pants inside and welded the safe shut. The safe was then shipped to Kunkel, who was the plant manager for Viracon’s outlet in Bensenville.

The pants next turned up in a drab green, 3-foot cube that once was a 1974 Gremlin. A note attached to the 2,000-pound scrunched car advised Collette that the pants were inside the glove compartment.

In 1982 Kunkel faced the problem of retrieving the pants from a tire 8 feet high and 2 feet wide and filled with 6,000 pounds of concrete. On the outside Collette had written, "Have a Goodyear."

In 1983 the pants came back to Collette in a 17.5-foot red rocket ship filled with concrete and weighing 6 tons. Five feet in diameter, with pipes 6 inches in diameter outside running the length of the ship and a launching pad attached to its bottom, the rocket sported a picture of the pants fluttering atop it. Inside the rocket were 15 concrete-filled canisters, one of which housed the pants.

Collette’s revenge for the rocket ship was delivered to Kunkel in the form of a 4-ton Rubik’s Cube in 1985. The cube was made of concrete that had been baked in a kiln and covered with 2,000 board feet of lumber.

Kunkel "solved the cube," and for 1986 gift-giving repackaged the pants into a station wagon filled with 170 steel generators all welded together. Because the pants have to be retrieved undamaged, Collette was faced with carefully taking apart each component.

What happened to the pants in 1987 is a mystery, and their 1988 packaging 1989’s packaging scheme brought the demise of the much-abused garment.

Collette was inspired to encase the pantaloons in 10,000 pounds of jagged glass that he would then deposit in Kunkel’s front yard. "It would have been a great one - really messy," Kunkel ruefully admitted. The pants were shipped to a friend in Tennessee who managed a glass manufacturing company. While molten glass was being poured over the insulated container that held them, an oversized chunk fractured, transforming the pants into a pile of ashes.

The ashes were deposited into a brass urn and delivered to Kunkel along with this epitaph:

Sorry, Old Man Here lies the Pants. . . An attempt to cast the pants in glass brought about the demise of the pants at last. The urn now graces the fireplace mantel in Kunkel’s home.

KWIBS - From December 21, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Overly bragging Christmas letters: We have all gotten them. You may have even sent them. David's soccer team led the division. Erica played the lead in the school play, made the honor roll, again, and was elected homecoming queen. Mike got a promotion and a raise along with a large office with a private bathroom. Shelly is quite busy chairing three community charities in between serving in the food line at the homeless shelter.

Well, shucks; if Sally made the Dean's list at MIT while Steven got off with a strict warning and 200 hours of community service for his DUI, which one are you going to write about? Sometimes life is hard to write about.

Do you ever just want to write the truth and slip it in the mail to your family and friends? You can be proud of all the good things in your life, but life isn't always as smooth as one might believe from reading a Christmas letter.

Every year, I say I am going to write a Christmas letter and send out cards and every year, I forget or don't have time.

Since I didn't write a "personal" Christmas letter, mine will be more public and go something like this.....

Hey all,

It's Christmas time and wanted to give you an update on the family.

First off, I am very proud of my kids. I just wanted to get that out up front even though my daughter had to drop out of college earlier this year because she is pregnant, Joey asked me if he could get "black guy" dreadlocks last night and Nicholas is going through a very rebellious, back-talking stage. They're good kids and I couldn't have been blessed with better!

Despite some setbacks in our plans this year, Ronda and I are good and life is good. Ronda is very excited about becoming a grandma. I, on the other hand, am excited about the new baby too, but refuse to be called grandpa just yet. I prefer "K-Pa" the artist formerly known as Kevin.

Breeann and her boyfriend Devin will become parents in just a few short weeks. Devin has a good job and works for the county road and bridge department and Bree does some baby-sitting. They just moved out from the appartment above Taco/Tico and into a small house here in town. The apartment was a great start for them, but Breeann and the baby needed to be on the ground level, especially in inclement weather.

Joey has been working on his levels of Call of Duty..... and his stand-up comic act. He's doing good in school and ran cross country this year. He's been working for John Nixon, helping out with auctions, but would like to find more work. We've been talking about his future plans. He's a junior this year. It won't be long and he'll be graduating.

Nicholas played football this year for the first time and really showed some athleticism. He likes all sports, but I think football is going to be his thing. He's a big Cowboys fan (because his mother and I are) and we took him and Joey to a Kansas City vs. Dallas game back in October. That was a cool experience for him. He's also doing well in school.

Ronda and I aren't big fans of this cold weather snap we've had. I turned 40 in October and had knee surgery earlier this year. I really feel the cold weather now.

The newspaper business is going well and I am still a bail bondsman on the side. We enjoy what we do and most days and going to work is fun for us.

We experience the same challenges, victories, failures and special moments that most people do in life as each year comes and goes.

So now we take a moment to thank you for your friendship and love and remind you why we celebrate this year.

It's so easy to forget what the holiday is all about. If you're like me you have last minute shopping to do, gift wrapping, decorating, parties to go to, school programs to attend, baking, family and everything else that goes along with this time of year.

For me and my family Christmas symbolizes God's love and mercy and the gift of his Son Jesus.

My favorite scripture about this season is in Luke 2, beginning with verse 8: "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Ronda and I may be the worst when it comes to sending out Christmas cards, but we do have bragging rights to what this season means to us and for the blessings of family and friends.

So this is our card to you all - to our friends, our family and our readers. We wish you a Merry Christmas.

We pray that the peace and hope that is Jesus's birth fills your home this holiday.

ps: Of the 52 weeks out of each year we print a newspaper, the last two weeks of the year are the most hectic for us. Usually Christmas falls somewhere either on a print day, deadline day or smack dab in the middle of it all. We rush around at the paper weeks before, trying to schedule the time off and find ways to get work done in advance so we can produce the last two papers of the year.

We may be shutting the office down a few weeks over Christmas and New Years to spend time with our family and friends. We'll leave a note on the door if we do. If you have news, email me at knoland@cyberlodg.com.

KWIBS - From December 14, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Did you hear the collective "groan" on Sunday morning December the 6th?

That was the sound of those who competed in the dodge ball fund-raising event sponsored by NBCRC.

I went to the event all bummed out because my weekend plans changed. Originally, I was supposed to have been out of town and didn't get on a team, but as my luck (or lack there of) had it, I got picked up in a late draft by Norm Clouse.

Without a warm up or even an explanation of the rules, I was throwing, dodging and being hit by flying balls.

But they didn't hurt. There was no pain! That was, until the next day.

OH MY LORD! When was the last time I used that particular muscle group? It is the one that started somewhere at the top of your head and ended at your toe nail.

I limped out of bed for church Sunday, with a sort of shameful satisfaction as I remembered throwing the balls at some people in our community - ones that I had always dreamed of throwing a ball at! The event was a blast and my hat goes off to Becky Catlin and all who helped put this on. What a blast. I can't wait until February for the next one!

? ? ? ?

Please take a moment to read the following column. It's worth your time and why I even bother to put out a newspaper each week.

It’s not recognized as a national holiday.

We don’t get the day off from work.

We don’t have throngs of people carrying signs celebrating it — or denigrating it, for that matter.

And the day doesn’t even show up on most calendars.

In fact, if Jay Leno went Jaywalking and asked the average American citizen what we celebrate on Dec. 15 each year, he likely would get nothing more than a blank stare.

Dec. 15?

' have no idea,' would be the common answer. I’m too busy shopping for Christmas presents.

Yet, on that day and virtually every other day of the year, Americans freely exercise the rights that came with the ratification of the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Freedom of speech.

Freedom of religion.

Freedom of assembly.

Freedom to petition government for a redress of grievances.

The right to due process.

The right to bear arms.

The right against self-incrimination.

The right to a jury trial.

And, lest I forget, freedom of the press.

Yes, 218 years ago, the founders accepted almost verbatim George Mason’s ÒVirginia Declaration of RightsÓ as the bedrock statement of our individual rights as Americans.

George Mason isn’t a household name, unless you’re a huge sports fan, especially of college basketball.

While we should put our nation’s founders on their own unique pedestal, we can’t lose sight of the fact that had it not been for George Mason’s dogged determination to get his ÒDeclaration of RightsÓ accepted as the first amendments to the new constitution, we might not live in a country where we can speak out, hold opinions that others find objectionable or even abhorrent, be considered innocent until proven guilty, exercise our religious beliefs or choose not to believe and assemble for or against an issue without fear of recrimination.

George Mason held back his support of the new constitution, saying that the blueprint for a new nation lacked the absolutely essential ingredients that would place the individual above the state in almost all circumstances.

Had he not done so, we might be living in a very different country today.

So, on Dec. 15, whoop it up a little in celebration of Bill of Rights Day.

And if you happen to go to a holiday party or two, you can impress your fellow guests with your knowledge of the history of the Bill of Rights.

Someone once said they never discuss politics or religion.

What country are they from?

Doug Anstaett is executive director of the Kansas Press Association.

KWIBS - From December 7, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Well, we made it through part I of the holiday season.

Key to the celebration of Thanksgiving is gathering with family and friends to partake of a sumptuous feast prepared in honor of the day. Central to that feast (or at least to our common mental image of it) is a roasted turkey laid on a platter before the hungry guests, the bird presented in all its mouthwatering crispy-skinned perfection.

Yet not every aspiring Thanksgiving-maker knows how to properly roast a turkey. The bird proves an utter mystery to some, resulting in many a holiday mishap of a culinary nature.

Luckily, those confounded by the fowl can access a great deal of help by calling a number of turkey preparation hotlines. While some offer only recorded tips on how to prepare and roast the bird, others provide live assistance from trained experts well experienced not only with poultry but with nervous and overwhelmed cooks. Over the years, these talk line mavens have fielded all manner of queries from those bewildered by the fickle bird.

One of the more unusual questions handled by Butterball’s Turkey Talk-Line (which the company has operated since 1981) comes from those who have mistaken a well-traveled joke for an actual recipe: They call to ask if they can pop popcorn in the turkey’s cavity during the roasting process. (The joke’s punch line is: "You know the turkey is done when the popcorn pops and blows the rear off the bird.") And no, you can’t.

The hotline has heard from a gal who couldn’t find the turkey she buried in a snowbank, a guy who wanted to know how to carve his bird with a chain saw, and a mechanic who worried about using motor oil as a baste.

Then there was the young mother who failed to notice her children playing near the oven-ready bird. The kids decided the turkey’s cavity was a good place to park toy cars. Their mom didn’t discover Ol’ Tom was doubling as a garage until after the turkey had been roasted.

Another confused cook called the Butterball line after cleaning her turkey because she wanted to know how to get the metal pieces out.

"Apparently," said one of the Butterball economists, "she had scrubbed her bird with a steel scouring pad." A West Coast woman who had taken anti-bacterial precautions too far called Butterball to find out how to get the bleach she’d used off her bird. Butterball turkey experts still talk about the Kentucky woman who called in 1993 to ask how to get her dog out of her turkey. It seems the woman’s Chihuahua had dived into the bird’s cavity and become trapped there. The woman tried pulling the pooch and shaking the bird, all to no avail. A Butterball economist finally suggested the woman carefully cut the opening in the turkey wider to release the captive canine.

The Reynolds Wrap Turkey Tips Line (800-745-4000) took a query from a woman who wanted to know if she could cook her turkey by placing it in a Reynolds Oven Bag, putting it in the window in the back of her car, and letting the heat from the sun bake the turkey. (She was told that would be an uncontrolled heat source and was instructed to use an oven instead.)

The folks at Butterball have also dealt with cooks determined to roast turkeys on the back ledges of their cars. And they’ve had people call to ask if they could cook their holiday birds on radiators. Then there was the bride who had a small, apartment-size range and was worried the turkey would get larger as it cooked (similar to a loaf of bread rising) — she was fretting she wouldn’t be able to get it out of the oven after it was done. Some other howlers include the woman who cleaned out her turkey with a scrub brush, people who thawed their turkeys in the bathtub while washing their kids, and a man looking for a quick way to cook his turkey who put it in the oven on the cleaning cycle.

There are those whose problems are not how to get the turkey out of the oven, but when. Said Nancy Rodriguez, coordinator of the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line in 1985, "One lady in Arkansas had her five-pound turkey in the oven 24 hours — did we think it was done? Another caller wanted to know the best method for reattaching the thighs and drumsticks when they fall off. His 12-pound turkey had been in the oven since 8 a.m. the day before."

The self-cleaning option offered on a number of ranges has caused its share of Thanksgiving troubles when confused cooks have inadvertently started its cycle while their birds were in the oven. Others have different range-related questions, such as: "Your directions say to roast the turkey, but my oven says only bake or broil; how do I set it?"

We’ll leave it to others to provide the more mundane advice regarding thawing and cooking times, how to prepare the bird for roasting and how to prepare stuffing, and instead offer these useful tips, as gleaned from the experiences of turkey hot line counselors:

Do not leave your turkey on your back porch, either to slow thaw it or to keep it chilled until the big day. Those who have failed to heed this advice have discovered themselves birdless on Thanksgiving morning. Their loss was the local raccoons’ gain — those masked marauders celebrated the day in fine style.

If you choose to bring home your frozen bird within the car proper rather than in the trunk, do take care to seatbelt the fowlsicle lest a sudden stop transform the star of the upcoming dinner into a weighty frozen projectile.

One woman who failed to belt down her bird was rewarded for her lack of foresight with a broken toe when a sharp tap of the brakes caused the iced fowl to slide off the seat and onto her foot.

KWIBS - From November 30, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Topeka, we have a problem...

The holiday season is supposed to be a time of thanksgiving and appreciation, but that's going to be difficult for Kansans.

Last week Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson announced $259 million worth of spending cuts, reducing funds for highway maintenance and education to shore up a troubled state budget.

Parkinson made the cuts in response to a Nov. 5 revenue estimate that foretold a gap of $260 million between state revenues and approved expenditures. Parkinson said he could not promise there wouldn't be further cuts next spring when the next revenue forecast is given.

This is the 5th time reductions have been made to the state's budget and the second year in a row that Kansas has seen revenue declines. It is expected to last out to four years.

We're all going to feel this adjustment in ways that aren't going to be comfortable for us.

These cuts are now going to do severe harm to our public schools, community colleges and universities and the most vulnerable Kansans who are relying on state services to survive this economic downturn.

If you don't believe, take Governor Mark Parkinson's own words to heart, "As a result of these cuts, children’s classrooms will be overcrowded, creating an environment in which learning is a challenge for every student. Some districts will be forced to lay off teachers and close schools. The arts, athletics and extracurricular opportunities that make our schools and communities great may be a thing of the past."

But it's a business and has to operate like one, unless you are one like AIG who got billions of tax payer money to stay in business and shore up our financial institutions. Much of that money went to pay bonuses. There is so much fraud and mis-use of taxpayer money, you would think that they would build a special prison for those who have abused the system.

I'm appalled that some of this stimulus money can't be earmarked for our public school systems. It's something that is barely talked about.

It's nearly 8 months after a stimulus bill was signed by President Obama. I still wonder if that $787 billion was just a bunch of baloney.

Just a little over 10% of the stimulus money has been spent since being voted in. Of the $787.2 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, $499 billion is for stimulus projects, of which $157.8 billion has been made available and $56.3 billion has been spent. The biggest chunk, $22 billion, has been spent by states for Medicare and Medicaid payments.

If each state could get $1 billion of that stimulus money earmarked for "stimulus projects" and it were used to help our school systems, Kansas could balance their budget and have money left over to start funding programs that would stimulate our economy.

However, this $787 billion is all play money. We don't actually have the money that we're investing in this so called stimulus.

Government has just gotten too big and we're now in a cycle of spending more than we have and I wonder if we'll ever see the end of it.

Although I understand that cuts have to be made, I'm disappointed that we couldn't find them in other places. Education is just too important, and if our future is our children, and we're leaving them this incredible debt to shoulder, then I would think that education would be the last place we would cut. . You can bet that in the coming months we're going to see some critical services and cuts to our most basic everyday lives. One of those cuts is going to greatly affect our schools - the backbone of our community.

We've taken a "bury our heads in the sand" attitude over the past year and have been pretty critical of our school board and superintendent for making cuts and preparing for the "worse case scenario". Well, it's now the worse case scenario and it's time to pull our heads out and put them together for solutions to save our community and our state.

KWIBS - From November 16, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Another Veterans Day celebration in Medicine Lodge has come and gone. This year's program, veterans museum and lunch with a veteran brought students, veterans and the community together.

I've heard it said many times over the past few weeks that this could be the last of the veterans museum due to low attendance. I hate to hear that and I did some investigating for myself.

At 9 a.m. there were 37 students and 14 adults. At 11:25 a.m. there were 65 students and 31 adults. My son Joey said there was a steady flow of people all morning long.

Mr. Hill and his Junior Class have been doing the museum for many years and I would encourage them to keep it up. It's an amazing service to the community and such a cool way to honor our veterans.

The program at the High School was incredible. We have always, for as long as I can remember, had Mrs. Hartley heading up the event. This year she's stepped down, but is still volunteering her services to the district's celebration. I commend her for building this event up and thank her for her tireless service to our veterans.

The student essays and poems were a great tribute to our men and women who have served our country. The music was great, the dedications and the slide show brought tears to many eyes in the audience. I spoke to one veteran who said, "I fought back tears when I looked around the room and saw my fellow veterans standing for their branch song."

This program and the museum have become such an important part of our community, I can't imagine a Veterans Day without them.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From November 2, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

The second wave of the swine flu pandemic is now under way in the northern hemisphere. Case numbers are climbing fast and in some places vaccination has begun.

So what's the big deal? The virus hasn't evolved into the monster that some feared and most cases are mild. Were all those pandemic warnings just scare-mongering?

The Merklein family of Kiowa, probably wouldn't say so. Just over a week ago, their daughter Lauren, 14, became sick and collapsed in her hotel room while on a school trip. She died in a hospital three days later. She had an underlying heart condition, but tested positive for H1N1.

Any flu virus provides a serious threat, especially to the very old, those with underlying medical conditions and the very young. While the swine flu is not MORE virulent than previous strains of influenza, our problem is that of May 2009 scientists had not had time to produce a vaccine. As a result the virus spread more quickly than with 'normal' strains, this is why the swine flu is referred to as pandemic - world-wide.

It is interesting to look at the Spanish flu of 1918. In countries such as USA and UK about 25% of the population were infected. Of those infected approximately 3% died. While the percentages are much lower than I would have guessed, nevertheless the flu caused a huge number of actual fatalities. Just in the USA alone there were 500,000.

There's a lot of talk that the vaccine is unsafe and untested. Myths and worries about the vaccine have spread on talk radio and anti-vaccine Web sites, but Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention seemed to debunk them in an interview with the NY Times.

While most people recover, he said, "on average, flu is not a ‘mild’ illness. It can make you pretty sick, knock you out for a day or two or three." And in rare cases, he emphasized, it kills.

He rejected suggestions that the new vaccine is untested. Its seed strain was created, grown and purified in the same slow way as seasonal flu shots, which hundreds of millions of people have had, and rapid clinical trials last month showed the same lack of serious side effects.

What about the vaccines? I've had heated discussion with family and friends who are convinced it's more dangerous to get a flu shot than to just let the flu run its natural course.

People's nervousness about swine flu vaccines is understandable. In 1976, after the death of a US army recruit triggered fears of a repeat of the deadly 1918 pandemic, around 48 million Americans were given a swine flu vaccine. Of these, 532 developed Guillain-Barré syndrome, a paralytic condition caused by rogue antibodies attacking nerve cells. Most people recover from Guillain-Barré, but not all; 25 died after 1976 and others suffered lasting damage. The 1976 vaccine caused around 10 cases per million vaccinated.

Does this mean it is safer not getting vaccinated? Absolutely not. First, there is the risk of swine flu killing you. Second, what few people know is that flu itself is far more likely to cause Guillain-Barré than any flu vaccine.

The risk of getting Guillain-Barré from a flu vaccine is almost certainly less than 1 in a million; the risk of getting it from flu itself is more than 40 in a million. Swine flu is estimated to have killed 800 people in the US already, or more than 2 in every million so far. And during the first wave of swine flu this summer, 1 out of every 20,000 children aged 4 or under in the US ended up in hospital. Still think it's safer not to get vaccinated?

So, you are probably wondering, did I get my swine flu shot? No, unfortunately, I don't fall into a category for qualifying for the shot since it is still in short supply. My pregnant daughter did and my youngest son got his shot last week.

I have asked to be notified when the vaccine is available and I meet the criteria to get one. I too have an underlying heart condition and had an MI (Myocardial infarction or heart attack) when I was just 35 years old. I have some scar tissue and have three stents, but am otherwise healthy.

My prayers go out for the Merklein family in their time of mourning and I encourage everyone to take the flu shot when it becomes available.

KWIBS - From October 26, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Next weekend is Halloween and I wanted in the worst way to dress in a hospital lab coat and go as Dr. Garcia, going door to door and making house calls, but I am going to be out of town.

So maybe, Dr. Garcia could dress in shorts and flip flops and go as the local newspaper publisher? It's easy for me to dress up like a doctor, but what does a normal newspaper publisher look like? I dont' know.....

I went to the hospital's disaster training event last Saturday and Dr. Garcia was there. We always joke around about looking alike. One of the program directors was handing out assignments to the personnel at the hospital. Each EMT, nurse or staff member was given an assignment and when they got to me, I just said, "I'm Dr. Garcia's stunt double."

Wednesday is my son Joey's birthday. He's turning 17!

Happy birthday Joey!

KWIBS - From October 19, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

If you've ever been in a situation in which you've almost completed an important project, only to have your computer spontaneously crash seconds before hitting the "save" button, you understand how frustrating losing your data can be.

Now, imagine losing all your important files - everything from business files, to family photos, to your tax returns - permanently.

I can't stress the importance of backing up your files, but I can give you an example of why I am so thankful that I do.

Last weekend was the first weekend in about two years that I didn't do a complete backup of the newspaper on Saturday when the corrections were completed. I had to leave town and Doris finished up the paper. My plans were to do the back up and archives on Monday.

When I got back to town on Monday, I noticed my newspaper file was locked up, so I rebooted my PC. After restarting it, I attempted to open the file and it was corrupted. I had lost an entire digital issue of the newspaper. I've been electronically archiving since about 2005 and I have had a couple of issues that have become corrupted in that time.

Fortunately, I had the previous week backed up and only lost about 4-5 ads that were built last week. Our stories and photos are located on separate drives, so they were safe. I opened the previous week's file and rebuilt this week's newspaper. Thankfully, the crash happened after the newspaper had already been printed. It was a mild inconvenience to rebuild the pages, but it could have been a disaster without a recent back up.

There are many devices that can be used for backing up files. CDROMs, zip drives, tape drives, DVDs and my favorite - the flash drive. These little sticks of memory can be purchased for as little as $5 at electronic stores. I have a couple of them and frequently back up my important data, especially my family photos. If you don't have one, you should get one. And if you aren't backing up your files frequently, you should be.

We put an enormous amount of faith in computers to store our information. It only takes a simple flicker of electricity to destroy a day, a week, a month or even a lifetime of information.

What's worse, the modern computer is ever more vulnerable to the imminent threats multiplying on the Internet - everything from adware, to spyware, to viruses.

I don't care how much antivirus software you are running, if you are on the internet, you are vulnerable. Backing your files up is the only safe and sure way that your data will be protected.

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We took a trip to KC last week and took our boys to see the KC Chiefs vs. Dallas Cowboys game on Sunday. It was Nicholas's first professional football game.

Nick is 11 and we watch football on TV every Sunday afternoon. He was pretty excited to be at a live event with so many people. Arrowhead Stadium is a pretty loud, and intimidating place to be and he was overwhelmed with the excitement. The game went in to overtime and ended with the Cowboys walking away with a 26-20 win over the Chiefs.

We were there in our Dallas Cowboy's jerseys. Sorry goes out to you Chiefs fans. For a while it looked like the Cowboys were going to break the Chief's losing streak. We thought we were going to have to take the walk of shame to our vehicle. I was glad that the game was close, but happier that Dallas won.

As we were leaving the stadium Nicholas was still beaming from the event and asked, "Dad, who plays next?"

I responded, "Where?"

He said, "Here!"

We all started laughing and told him the game was over and that it was time to go home.

He is so used to seeing the next game come on TV that he thought there was another game being played right after the Chiefs vs. Cowboys game. When we explained that other teams play at other stadiums he seemed a little disappointed that we weren't staying for another game. It was 35 degrees outside. I'm not sure my toes could have taken another game!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From October 5, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Well, a very important milestone occurred in my life over the weekend. I turned 40. 14,600 days have passed since my birth....

It sort of crept up on me with little warning and then BAM! I was 40.

I started to panic a little bit about the new age bracket. My 20s were spent being in a band, having children, publishing a newspaper, riding Harleys, getting tattoos and being a little on the wild side.

My 30s were spent being in a band, getting tattoos, publishing a newspaper, mowing the lawn, SCUBA diving, gardening and raising my kids and graduating my oldest from high school.

I know that, God willing, my 40s are going to be spent publishing a newspaper, seeing my two boys graduate from high school, gardening and welcoming my first grandchild into the world in January. I'm pretty sure I am done with tattooing, I've given up my Harley for a ZTR lawn mower, I can't afford to go SCUBA diving anymore and I really am probably too old to be in a band.

It appears that I have grown up! Ha... you only wish.

As I reflected on this, I realized the importance of keeping a journal. It's something we've discussed in our mens' group from church and the more I thought about it, the more important it became to me.

A year ago my dad was diagnosed with alzheimer's. He's pretty good at remembering most things, but there are times he struggles for the words, names and endings for stories and memories. This illness gives me personal motivation to keeping a journal.

So for one week now, I've kept a journal. I am 40 years old and just starting, but I've been cheating for years. I've written a column of some sort or fashion for the past 20 years called KWIBS. It may have only been a once-a-week entry, but it gives some idea of my thought process and things that have been important to me over the last half of my life.

So when I started on September 27, 2009, I had no idea what to write, so I pondered my day and made my first entry. It was only a few paragraphs long, but it detailed friends Dale and Michele McCurdy coming to see me for my 40th birthday. My wife set the whole thing up and it was "mostly" a surprise. I sort of figured out what was going on the day they arrived, but I'm like that. Ronda hates going to see movies with me because I'm always figuring out the endings. I'm a walking movie spoiler....

Later in the week it got easier to make journal entries. I just set a time in the evening after everyone went to bed to type out a few paragraphs about my day and my thoughts.

This one was kind of funny: Tuesday, September 29, 2009. "Ronda and I went out on the deck to drink a glass of wine. I was filling up the hot tub and a moth flew out and got in Ronda's hair. She jumped spilling her wine all over the deck and I hosed it off. She went back inside to finish her wine."

I guess my journal will contain whatever I want to write about - The beauty of the half moon I saw last night, my concerns and hopes for my children, my wife throwing wine across the deck and screaming when a moth got in her hair - whatever is on my mind.

So, I'll add journaling to my list of things I'm doing while in my 40s and I hope to continue that routine for quite a while. It will be something to look forward to along with retirement, AARP benefits, Social Security, the point where my kids stop asking me for money and grand kids start asking me for money.....

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It wasn't just an important milestone for me this weekend. It was also one for my daughter Breeann. Breeann turned 20 years old on Saturday. She's exactly 20 years younger than me by just a few ticks of the clock. She'll only be half my age for this one year of her life and mine. It will be the last time I can say, "I'm twice your age!"

I smile as I write this, thinking about all she'll experience in her 20s, 30s and beyond. I love you sissy. Happy belated birthday to you.

? ? ? ?

One more milestone to talk about.... The Gyp Hill Premiere just printed its 1000th issue two weeks ago. That means over 1,000,000 copies printed. I meant to mention it, but the week it happened I was short on space. It's kind of cool that it happened near my 40th birthday. Also, it's National Newspaper Week!

KWIBS - From September 28, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

A school bus carrying a Texas high school swim team slid off a road and into a pond on Monday of last week.

The swim team coach, eighteen students and the driver were able to get out of the bus and swim to safety.

If any of the students were unable to swim to safety, I think you could safely say that it would have been one sorry swim team!

The driver and five students were transported to local hospitals with minor injuries.

Last week ten very courageous Junior Indians took the field against the Douglass Bulldogs who were twenty-nine boys deep. We no longer have enough players for an eleven-man team and from what I understand, we're playing the season - forfeiting our games because of the small number of players out for football this year.

The Indians even resorted to playing eight-man football last week at home, on an 11-man field, adding to their exhaustion. Our Indians are playing with heart, but even the best conditioned team can't take four quarters without rotating players and they get worn down.

So, even though they didn't win their game, they're all winners in our eyes and the Indians and Coaches Cannon and Fischer are to be commended for the effort they are putting out this season.

Keep fighting Indians! We're proud of you!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From September 14, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

So what, the President wanted to speak to our kids and encourage them to be good students and good citizens. I'm sure many would have been more upset if he'd told them to drop out of school and rebel against the government. You just can't win.

If the Democrats remember, they too had a problem with the President speaking to school children. President George Bush, Sr., took heat from a similar speech on October 1, 1991, from Alice Deal Junior High School in Washington DC. Democrats, then the majority party in Congress, not only denounced Bush's speech -- they also ordered the General Accounting Office to investigate its production and later summoned top Bush administration officials to Capitol Hill for an extensive hearing on the issue.

Sadly both Presidents just wanted to address and encourage school children. I don't think there were any hideous agendas involved.

I did have some fun with it even though our school did not participate in the event. Across America, many schools carried the President's address and 6th graders were asked, "What has the President inspired you to do?"

My youngest son Nicholas is a 6th grader and I had prepped him all week with what I thought would be a really witty answer to his teacher's question. He was to answer, "Vote Republican," but sadly my brainwashing was all for naught. Ha!

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It will forever be known as "stinky day" in our home - the first Monday in September, renamed from the ever popular Labor Day.

Normally a day full of good smells like hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill, this Labor Day started out with the fresh smell of dog poop.

Yes, at 7 a.m. Monday morning, I woke up to the sounds of my wife screaming another word for "poop". I got up to find the largest dog turds I've ever seen indoors, lying neatly in a pile in front of my bedroom door.

For clarification, we don't have an indoor dog. However on this day, in my living room was my 80 lb. German Shepherd who had the look of, "who me?" on his face.

If he could talk, he would have said, "Good morning mom and dad. I couldn't find the coffee or the filters, so I just took a crap in front of your bedroom door."

Our garage door was wide open and inside were three bags of trash spread out in what appeared to be his Labor Day celebration.

Rewinding the day....

Our dog sleeps in the garage so that we don't have to listen to him howl all night long. We had produced several bags of trash during the holiday weekend, which we placed in the garage so that the raccoons didn't get into it..... The night before, Hyde had taken out his share of food from the day's events and left a little bit of a mess. I picked everything up and scolded him. Hyde will only get into a trash sack if the bag is untied. He will not tear open a sack. He just knows better. So I can't really blame him for the night before.

As I put him away on Sunday I told him, "Don't you dare get into this trash." He looked at me and went into his crate and laid down.

Later Sunday evening my oldest son Joey came home with friends in tow at around 11:30 p.m. I was up watching TV. I had locked the front door because the bugs were gathered for their Labor Day celebration and I didn't want them moving their party into my living room. Joey knew to come in the garage door.

Last one in, shut the door. Somebody missed that one. The door between our home and the garage was left wide open and sometime in the middle of the night, Hyde came in and made himself at home. Apparently, no one had showed him where the bathroom was so he just took a stab that in front of our bedroom door was the place to go. So we spent the better part of Monday morning cleaning up dog poop. And if you have ever had an 80lb German Shepherd go #2 in your house, you can relate to the smell it made.

I also forgot to tie the bags of trash in the garage, so I cleaned that up too... again. That didn't smell very good either.

KWIBS - From August 31, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Even though other schools in the area started school as long as two weeks ago, it just seems strange that the summer break is over and it's time for our kids to start learning something again.

Like most parents, Ronda and I enjoyed the extra two weeks vacation, but we are ready for our kids to be back in school and out of our house! lol...

Classes for USD#254 begin on Wednesday. There are several new faces in our district, new classes at different buildings and many adjustments to make with the 2009-2010 school year.

I'd like to take a moment to welcome Dick Wood, chemistry and biology teacher at MLHS, Pete Jelovic, new MLHS football coach and P.E. teacher and Lindsey Ritchie, music and band teacher at MLGS.

It will be challenging for the faculty and staff of both buildings with the recent consolidations, but I have the utmost confidence in them.

I am sending out an SOS here. We don't have a sports writer to cover for MLHS football at present. I believe we're lined up for MLJH football, and MLHS volleyball and cross country. I'm looking for a parent or anyone that goes to the football games that would be interested in writing up the articles. We have an excellent photographer, Daryl Musgrove, but we've just run out of ideas on a sports writer. If you are interested in doing this, please contact our office at 620-886-5654. We love giving the kids the coverage and we know you love reading it! Thanks in advance for your help!

and.... GO INDIANS! Have a great school year!

and Have a great week!

KWIBS - From August 24, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Occasionally, I've been known to be somewhat opinionated. Correction. My wife just caught that typo and I've been told that I have been known to be VERY opinionated.

My recent rants on the hospital bond situation have left some of my readers asking, "What happened to Kevin's funny columns?"

It's hard to be funny when you are being passionate about the future of your community. Yes, I believe this issue could be a factor in our future success or our future demise. We have to do something. We need to do something and it needs to be sooner, than later.

But I'll give it a little bit of a rest this week to talk to you all about body hair. Yes, body hair. My wife is groaning right now and she's pulled out her red "edit" pen.

I'm not going to get [too] disgusting, I just want to talk mainly about how cool it is to be a guy and have the option of rearranging his own face (for once) and changing appearances by simply growing a beard or a mustache.

Women don't have that luxury, thank God, of simply letting some hair grow on their chin to make them look more distinguished.

My oldest son Joey recently began his 3 month process of growing just enough hair on his chin to be noticed. I only noticed because I was like three inches from his face one day. Sometimes you have to get that close when speaking to your teenagers.

"What's that on your chin," I asked?

"That's my stache," he said proudly.

I'm going to call it his weird beard. Joey thinks it makes him look older, but he's not fooling me. He told me I was just jealous, so I ripped open my shirt and did my best Chewbacca impersonation and said, "grow hair like this and I'll be impressed!"

To which he said, "Oooo, gross dad."

Yeah, so it's 2009 now and chest hair isn't as popular as it was in 1979, but hey, I was only 9-years-old then and couldn't grow hair yet. It figures that chest hair would be out of style by the time I could grow it.

If I only had a time machine......

Joey tried to make out beard-growing to be some awesome feat. Just about anyone with testosterone can do it....

Ladies, please don't try this at home. You and your significant other will not be pleased with the results.

Here is how to grow a beard. On Day 1, do nothing. On Day 2, do nothing again. On Day 3, continue to do nothing. On Day 4, check to make sure that nothing was still being done. Then simply repeat the cycle.

I can remember my first beard. I was twenty, with long flowing hair. It only seemed natural to grow a beard. Truth be told, I did this four-day nothing cycle more by accident while working on my secret identity in the witness protection program, also known as Peace Treaty. Before I knew it, I had the foundation of a growing beard.

Later in life, I shaved it off only to frighten my children to the point they wouldn't have anything to do with me. Over time they accepted that I was their father.

A few years back, I regrew just a Fu Manchu to hide a double chin I was working on at the same time. Now I just have it because it's a part of me that people recognize it, sort of like a trademark. It's like my very own Nike swoosh.

It's weird how hair works for a guy. We are born, many of us bald. We grow some hair on our heads, (then hair grows in *uh-hum* another region), then on our chins, later on our chests. Then some of us start losing the hair on our heads, growing some on our backs, rear ends, toes, fingers and out the ears and our nose!

Life is so cruel.

So in a way Joey and I are both starting hair growing points in our lives, only on opposite ends of the hair growing spectrum.

I have a friend who has a sweet mustache. It was his birthday this weekend. Justin Rugg turned 34 and his mustache turned 30.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From August 17, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

"My mind is already made up so don't confuse me with the facts". - unknown

That quote really stuck with me this past week as I pondered the hospitals' situation.

Friday's commissioners' meeting was far less hostile than the last one and some light appeared that could signal some cooperation between the commissioners and the hospital boards.

And ABC's General Hospital could write a few scripts from our current situation.

The plot:

- A county wide vote in favor of new hospital facilities.

- The commissioners appoint a Public Building Commission whose job was fact finding in nature.

- Thousands of dollars of tax-payer money is spent at the request of the commissioners to guarantee that the price is right.

- This Public Building Commission recommends it and sends it to the commissioners.

- The commissioners do nothing with it.

- Outrage in the communities sets in.

- One of the hospital's administrator is abruptly fired.

- Everyone comes back to the table peacefully. For now....

You just can't make this stuff up. Tune in next week.

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A headline you won't read in this week's Premiere that is a true story. "Lightning victim's pool party and fundraiser rescheduled due to lighting."

It's true. Dakota Lonker's pool party fundraiser was rescheduled after lightning moved in last Monday night.

KWIBS - From August 10, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Last week was one of the most stressful weeks I have ever had as a newspaper publisher.

Sadly, my lead story as of Monday was the passing of Bev McCollom. Bev passed away Sunday evening, too late for the Monday edition that was already at the press.

Bev was a dear friend to me and to The Gyp Hill Premiere. She was also a friend to so many others in our community. Her son Jerry told me that even in her final days, she requested a laptop so she could get a Meandering done for the paper.

Bev's death marks a sad chapter in our community's historical and colorful past. She was good enough to document so much history for us in her lifetime.

Bev wrote Meandering for my grandfather, my uncle, my dad and for me. Her column was a highlight every week for me and many of my readers have expressed their sadness that Meandering will no longer be on the back page.

But Bev's story, as important and worthy of front page recognition as it was, was bumped lower on the fold for a shocking story of survival when Dakota Lonker was struck by lightning during a freak storm later that afternoon.

Incredibly, Dakota survived and is now home healing up from what many are calling a miracle. We're glad to hear that he is doing well!

But before the week ended, even Dakota moved below the fold after the county commissioners met Thursday.

Many shell-shocked folks are left wondering the fate of a bond issue passed last November. A lot of people spoke to me about letters to the editor, but in the end only two wrote in. Others wanted to, but want to take a "wait and see" approach.

So, what about the vote? What about the public building commission's vote? What about the taxpayer and hospital money spent so far in what seems to be a waste? What about the needs of our health facilities?

These are all issues that will have to be addressed, sooner than later. We have a vote to form a public building commission. One has been formed and that commission recommended moving forward.

August 14, 2009 the commissioners will meet again for a public hearing on the budget. Some folks have expressed their desire to attend this meeting, but one wonders what good that will do.

I can tell you with little doubt that name calling and yelling at the commissioners will do little to no good. Cooler heads must prevail. You can have a difference of opinion and not turn it into a screaming match.

Some of the most ridiculous statements I have heard this week have come from people outside of our community through KAKE TV's website.

Here's one: Why don't you spend the money on a Life Flight helicopter with crew. That way you can transport those people with critical emergencies to the Pratt medical center which is only about 22 miles away.

Folks, nobody knows better the needs of Barber County than her residents. That includes: other county commissioners or other clerks, other health care professionals or anybody else outside this county. We're unique (not to be confused with eunuch, just a little humor to lighten the mood) in the respect that we have population spread out through our entire county and not congested into one urban setting. We also have good oil and land evaluations.

There are good things going for this county, but we have to seize the day! Carpe diem!

Our declining population is of our own doing. We're simply not giving anyone any reason to come here or to stay here.

Doing nothing at all just isn't an option or in the best interest of the citizens of the county anymore.

I'll be the first to admit I was pretty angry at the outcome of last week's commissioners' meeting. I still believe the voters are owed an explanation and a satisfactory outcome to their vote.

I also still believe democracy took a bad beating here in our county and I hope I am proven incorrect in my assessment last week that democracy is a sham here.

KWIBS - From August 3, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

It's an arrogance that you would normally see in some far away country without democracy.... and a short leader with crazy hair.

The majority and the will of Barber County voters was denied on Friday by three county commissioners who had their own agenda in mind when it came to the construction and funding of two hospitals in Barber County.

That agenda seems to be unclear. They project gloom and doom for Barber County with declining population and a national economy with no hope of recovery in site. They predict a national health care reform that will wreck funding for our local hospitals. They are sure they are acting in the best interest of the voters and taxpayers of this county, no matter how we voted.

Never mind that two separate hospital boards and steering committees spent more than two years planning out the needs of each of their respective community's needs for a hospital.

Never mind that these professionals know the business of providing health care and know the requirements to ensure code is met in their facilities.

Never mind the needs of each hospital facility or the needs of health care recipients of Barber County.

Never mind that interest rates are at an all time low.

Never mind that construction costs are at an all time low.

Never mind that a project like this could boost both Kiowa's and Medicine Lodge's economies for 18-24 months and attract more professionals to our communities.

Never mind that the vote in November of 2008 was won 52-48%.

Never mind that our hospitals, in good faith, followed the requests of the commissioners and the Public Building Commission and spent 10s of thousands of dollars getting a guaranteed maximum price from builders.

Never mind that the guaranteed maximum price came in slightly under budget with over runs built in for safety.

Never mind that a Public Building Commission recommended it to the Barber County Commissioners on a 5-2 vote.

People of Barber County, none of this mattered. None of you mattered.

Mr. Garten, Mr. Thomas and Mr. Harbaugh all told me that they do not support this project.

"All along, we as commissioners have had the final say so and individually and as a group, we have chosen not to proceed," stated Garten. "I personally was not willing to vote for two new hospitals in this size of county."

Never mind that a majority of tax payers were willing.

It's not up to them. It's up to three men, elected by a majority of voters.

There is no way to begin calculating the wasted money and man hours that have gone into this project to see it succeed for our hospitals and then ultimately to be shot down by three men.

But they didn't even get that satisfaction. No, there was no vote - simply silence. No record of their real intentions to be recorded in our minutes for all generations to see.

They say there was no agenda, that each of them looked at this with an open mind, but in the end, the evidence speaks clearly as to their intentions. I don't believe they ever expected our communities to pass this. I don't think they ever expected their appointed Public Building Commission to recommend it.

In the end their choices were to pass it, vote it down or simply do nothing.

They did nothing.

Friday, more than 100 people showed up to support the hospitals and many people including Dr. Meador and local Pharmacist John Hagood, spoke in support of the hospital and issuing of bonds, but in the end, Commissioner Mike Thomas motioned to adjourn. Commissioner Paul Harbaugh left abruptly. Commissioner Mike Thomas slipped out quietly and Commissioner Garten faced a crowd of angered and confused taxpayers, voters and hospital employees.

Garten said he would like to see the two communities come together and build one hospital. He already has gotten one of his wishes: The two communities have come together.

Democracy is a sham in Barber County.

KWIBS - From July 20, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

I am a nerd.

I humbly embrace this now, and I'm happier for it.

It was only recently that I came out of the "nerd" closet. I've always had a deep affection for science, technology, a short love-affair in my youth for "Dungeons and Dragons". I have the eyeglasses for the nerd look too.

My fascination with the series "Star Trek" is my biggest nerd claim to fame. I've been a fan of the series since I was old enough to watch TV. Now I DVR every episode.

I can form a compelling argument on why TNG is better than DS9 (that's Star Trek for: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for all you other "nerd" people).

Years ago, I dragged my wife and brother-in-law to Wichita to a Star Trek convention. It was awesome. Or at least I thought it was.

There were nerds everywhere and I could have been their king, except for the fact I was the only one not dressed as a Klingon or Vulcan (besides my wife and brother-in-law).

My son Joey is following close in my footsteps. He even wears a shirt that says "Dork" on it. He's not ashamed of his video game addiction, nerdy glasses or the often "pants are too short" moments he has had after a recent growth spurt. Joey's dream car is his 1974 AMC Gremlin. It's parked in the driveway waiting for its day of restoration.

And yes... I have a few Star Trek dolls. I also have the Bionic Man and the Bionic Women (who used to be my girlfriend back in the early 80s, but she didn't know it.) I still have some of my Star Wars characters too.

I love the SciFi Channel! There, I said it. That was very liberating for me.

Who cares if I am a nerd? So, what if I like science fiction movies and TV shows and still play with dolls? I contradict that by sucking at math and by being married and not living in my parents' basement.

I say all this because Seth Oldham was anxious to get away from work and to get out of town last Tuesday. The premiere of the new Harry Potter movie was happening at midnight in Wichita. He says he wasn't going in costume, but it still didn't stop me from pointing out that he too was a nerd.

Yes, Seth is a nerd, or in his case a "Dumbledork". It actually could be the reason that I like this kid.

Live long and prosper....

KWIBS - From July 13, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Would the real Dr. Ruben Garcia please stand up?

This is the chorus line to a song written by Foreigner in 1978. I don't have any idea what it means, but I was singing it all day on Wednesday of last week.

The saying goes, "everyone has a twin somewhere in the world - an identical match." Very few ever meet their "double".

I was sure if I had a twin, it would be the "evil twin". Or maybe I was the evil twin. Who knows?

Several months ago, I ran into Dr. Ransom inside the fitness center. He said, "I met your twin brother today. He's going to be the new doctor at the hospital."

Later in the day, a call came from Kevin White, Medicine Lodge Memorial Hospital Administrator. He called to tell me they were hiring a new doctor who had a striking resemblance to me.

That night, Dr. Pete Meador called to tell me that he met the new doctor and he looked just like me. It went on and on for days.

I didn't think there was any way this guy could look like me. First off, he was of Cuban descent. I don't look Cuban, do I?

Months passed and I seldom gave it another thought until, my phone rang on Tuesday. It was Jeff Clarke.

"Dude, I met the new doctor and you guys could be twins," he laughed.

It's an age-old belief with a strange appeal that somewhere on this planet, alive today, is someone who looks like you -- maybe not precisely, but close enough to be your double.

It can be fascinating to imagine. But not everyone is ready to encounter an unexpected twin.

As was the case on Wednesday morning. I was sitting in my office, catching up on work, when I heard footsteps approaching my office. I turned to see who it was and my jaw hit the floor.

"You must be Doctor Ruben Garcia," I laughed.

I thought I was looking into a mirror.

Ruben came in and sat down. It was like a strange family reunion from a separation at birth that probably never happened.

I say probably, but as our introduction went on for nearly two hours, I was wondering if interrogating my parents might be a prudent thing to do!

We decided to go to lunch at Subway. The fun had just begun. In the line, one of the girls making our sandwiches asked me, "Oh, Kevin, is this your brother?"

We both just laughed.

I asked Ruben what he liked to do for fun, what his hobbies were. He likes to SCUBA.... I have been into SCUBA for about 10 years now. This was just too freaky!

On our way out the door, I ran into a lady from Pratt I knew and she did a double take, asking us the same question, "Kevin, is this a family member you've never introduced me to?"

We left Subway and drove back to the office. I pulled behind in the alley and we talked for a few minutes.

Down the alley came my wife looking for a place to park. She saw we were in the vehicle and she pulled up - her mouth wide open....

She too had heard that the new doctor held some shared quality features with me, but she had no idea.

Ruben told me a story about him going in to Home Lumber earlier in the week. A customer in the store struck up a conversation with him. He thought it was odd because the customer was asking him personal questions about his daughter. He even asked if she was getting big! My daughter is pregnant. Ruben's daughter is 4 years old!

I can say in my 39 years of life on this planet, I've never sat across from someone and studied them as hard as I did Ruben on Wednesday. I think he did the same.

As we visited I wondered if looking like me would be a good thing or bad thing for Ruben. I think I definitely have the advantage here. Who wouldn't want to look like a doctor?

We shared a few laughs and took a few pictures that I immediately sent to family and friends. I have to admit, that Ruben is a handsome devil (if he were my evil twin of course).

I encourage everyone to welcome Ruben and his family to town and see for yourself how much we look alike!

Ruben begins his practice on Wednesday at The Medicine Lodge Memorial Hospital.

You never know, it might be me giving you your next exam.....

KWIBS - From June 29, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Here's the biggest "boo-hoo" I've heard for quite some time.

Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols is asking for a court-appointed lawyer to help him with a lawsuit complaining about the food he gets in prison.

Nichols claims in his suit that the federal Supermax prison in Colorado is causing him to "sin against God" because he doesn't get enough whole grains and fresh food.

Nichols asked for the legal aid in a document addressed to a federal judge in Denver on Monday.

According to the Associated Press, Amy Padden of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment Tuesday about the suit Nichols filed in March.

Nichols is serving life for conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter in the 1995 federal building bombing that killed 168 people. Timothy McVeigh was convicted of murder and executed.

You can only imagine how sorry I feel for Mr. Nichols and how I hope God forgives us for not giving him enough whole grains. The poor guy must be constipated something terrible.

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Tuesday night, family and friends gathered to say thanks, share a story and honor Max and Gail Ferguson for their many years of friendship and service to our community. The Fergusons will be making their new home in Derby, KS.

As long as I can remember, Max and Gail have been a part of our community. As much as I hate to see them leave, I know they'll always be a part of our town.

Max was a young school teacher when I was in 7th grade. I believe he had been teaching there for about 7 years. John Nixon had him as a teacher his first year in Medicine Lodge back in the mid-70s. That really dates him!

Gail blossomed into one of the best preschool teachers of all times right around the time that my oldest child (Breeann) started school. Each one of my kids attended her preschool and each one of them remember her as one of their most favorite teachers growing up.

Medicine Lodge's loss will be Derby's gain. We'll miss you guys and we appreciate everything you've done for us, our children and our community. Good luck and God Bless!

KWIBS - From June 22, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

You might take note of the volume number change on the front page of this week's Premiere. We turned 18 years old today!.

We're old enough to vote!

I remember the very first issue of the Gyp Hill Premiere back in 1991. It had a story about Rick Pyle's bee hive inside his apartment window. It also had a story about Ronda and I starting the paper. We had our beginnings in the old Palmer Floral building on West Washington.

Back then it was just me and Ronda and my daughter Breeann. She was just 1 year old at the time. We had a couple of stringers to write for us. Now we have Joey and Nicholas. We're also expecting our first grandchild in December.

Time flies when you are having fun and we have had fun. In the 18 years since we've been in business, some familiar names have helped us over the years and been a part of our staff: Tate Henke, Cathy Bergner, Jim Emrick, Justin Howlett, David Fasgold, Deana Horn, Doris Sorg, Gimmy Jo (Maize) Rose, Seth Oldham, Casey Long, Deb Kolb, Deb VanRanken, Sharon Bishop, Jenny (Dafforn) Howard, Billy Eliot, Justin Fluke, Chris and Gabe Goering, BlackFoot Willie (cartoonist and illustrator), Joyce Noland (our typesetter and proofreader and mother....), Mandy (Walker) Brozek, Justin Jacobs, Ellis Mayfield (our driver), Rose Mary Shoemaker (fill in proofreader), Barb Keltner (fill in proofreader), Bev McCollom (who writes Meandering), Jason Offutt (who writes As I was saying...), Joe Klock (who writes Like Klockwork), Ellen Knowls Bisson (who writes Bygone Barber County Bylines), John Nixon (who gives us old photos to print from time to time).

There are numerous more columnists and guest columnists that have been a big part of our success over the years. It's about impossible to name them all, but you have our thanks.

Not everyone can say they have a rewarding job that they look forward to doing every day (and there are some days that I struggle). For the most part, this is a great job and it is rewarding to be a part of a great community. So happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us.... you know the rest of the song.

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I was at the grocery store the other day and saw a can of Pringles and thought to myself, "Did the Pringles can come before or after the tennis ball can?"

Because it either went like this: "You can fit Tennis Balls in this Pringles can," or "You can fit potato chips inside this Tennis Ball can." It had to be one or the other.

According to the internet, Dr. Fredric J. Baur was so proud of having designed the container for Pringles... that he asked his family to bury him in one. His children honored his request. Part of his remains was buried in a Pringles can — along with a regular urn containing the rest... Dr. Baur, a retired organic chemist and food storage technician who specialized in research and development and quality control for Procter & Gamble, died May 4 at 89... He developed many products, including frying oils and a freeze-dried ice cream, for P&G... But the Pringles can was his proudest accomplishment, his daughter said. He received a patent for the package as well as the method of packaging Pringles in 1970.

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Our band, Dorfus CrackTractor, successfully pulled off a reunion show at Mike's Sports Bar on Saturday, June 13, 2009. We "sold out" and "firemarshaled" the joint as one might say.

I can't thank Mike enough for hosting us and to all the people who came out to see us. It was a blast. We'll see you again in a couple of years.

David Fasgold was back in town for our show. We practiced a few songs the night before in the back of the newspaper office. I was surprised at how well we remembered the songs we used to play.

David roamed around the office looking at how things had changed, and how things hadn't changed. He walked into my office and said, "I see you are keeping things exactly as I left them two years ago," referring to my messy office.....

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This week we say "farewell" or "Zai Jain" to our AFS student Frank (Wang Haiji) from China. We'll be taking a little trip down the Illinois River together this weekend as a send off. If all goes well for Frank, he'll get a student visa and be studying at Washburn University in Topeka in the fall of this year.

We'll miss you Frank.

KWIBS - From June 15, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Father's Day is coming up this Sunday and I was thinking about the joys and struggles associated with fatherhood.

"Father" is one of those titles that demands respect, but often gets much less. I remember that I was far from the perfect child growing up. I know I gave my father grief.

Now that I am a father (of 19 years now), I realize that you take the good with the bad and you try your best in every situation to, as the song goes, "teach your children well."

Most ot the time I probably come off sounding like I am nagging and ragging on my kids, but I my hope is that they will learn, not only from their mistakes, but mine as well.

Father's Day is a day to honor your dad. The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909.

Having been raised by her father, William Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.

In 1926, a National Father's Day Committee was formed in New York City. Father's Day was recognized by a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1956. In 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June. So Father's Day was born in memory and gratitude by a daughter who thought that her father and all good fathers should be honored with a special day just like we honor our mothers on Mother's Day.

Today nearly 100 years have elapsed since the first father's Day was celebrated. Fathers of 1900 didn't have it nearly as good as fathers of today; but they did have a few advantages: In 1900, fathers prayed their children would learn English.

Today, fathers pray their children will speak English.

In 1900, a father's horsepower meant his horses.

Today, it's the size of his minivan.

In 1900, if a father put a roof over his family's head, he was a success. Today, it takes a roof, deck, pool, and 4-car garage. And that's just the vacation home.

In 1900, fathers passed on clothing to their sons. Today, kids wouldn't touch Dad's clothes if they were sliding naked down an icicle.

In 1900, fathers could count on children to join the family business. Today, fathers pray their kids will soon come home from college long enough to teach them how to work the computer and set the VCR.

In 1900, fathers and sons would have heart-to-heart conversations while fishing in a stream.

Today, fathers pluck the headphones off their sons' ears and shout, "WHEN YOU HAVE A MINUTE."

With fatherhood comes the right of passage to use phrases like, "Shut the lights off. Do you pay the electricity bill around here?"

Here's some things you'll never hear your father say.

- Well, how 'bout that?... I'm lost! Looks like we'll have to stop and ask for directions.

- You know Pumpkin, now that you're thirteen, you'll be ready for unchaperoned car dates. Won't that be fun?

- I noticed that all your friends have a certain "up yours" attitude ... I like that.

- Here's a credit card and the keys to my new car -- GO CRAZY.

- What do you mean you wanna play football? Figure skating not good enough for you, son?

- Your Mother and I are going away for the weekend ... you might want to consider throwing a party.

- Well, I don't know what's wrong with your car. Probably one of those doo-hickey thingies -- you know -- that makes it run or something. Just have it towed to a mechanic and pay whatever he asks.

- No son of mine is going to live under this roof without an earring -- now quit your belly-aching, and let's go to the mall.

- Whaddya wanna go and get a job for? I make plenty of money for you to spend!

I hope all of you fathers have a special Father's Day!

KWIBS - From June 8, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

I was thinking about the upcoming Father's Day weekend and what Father's Day meant to me. Surprisingly, I wasn't thinking about getting cards from my kids or a great gift. I was thinking about what an honor it is to be a father in this day and age. Many children in our country and in our own community grow up without a fatherly figure in their lives. Even though my parents were divorced when I was very young, I had both my mom and my dad close by.

My life is different now and my children's lives are much different that my own growing up. My wife and I are coming up on 21 years of marriage. I don't know that I have so much "blessed" my children by being their

parent as they are being my children. Father's Day is a great day to celebrate dads everywhere, but I feel my focus should be on my kids right now and I want to honor them with my column this week.

Starting with my oldest to my youngest and then including my son "Frank" who will be leaving us at the end of this month to return to his home in China:

My daughter Breeann is 19 years old and just finished her first year of college at Pratt Community College. She's studying to be an elementary school teacher. She's found out that life is not as easy as she had hoped for. School is tough and she recently learned that she is pregnant. Our family doesn't see this as a failure, but a blessing. We're excited to be welcoming a new member to our family and we're happy to welcome her boyfriend Devin Schafer to our family. He wants to be a good father and provider for her and we're all here to support them and encourage them in this time of change in their lives. Breeann and Devin have recently moved back to Medicine Lodge and we're happy to have them back in our community. Without trying to embarrass Devin, I would like to say he would love to find a job in our community and if you hear of anything, please let me know so I can pass it along to him. He currently commutes back and forth to Pratt.

I'm very blessed to have two sons to carry on my family name.

For the past few days last week, Joey has been working very hard at getting his certification to become a lifeguard at the pool. He and several other kids have been driving to Alva for three days straight to literally swim until they puke, as one student did. Joey learned how hard and what an awesome responsibility it is to be American Red Cross Certified in life saving as a life guard and I am so proud of him. Joey is 16 now. He is really growing into a fine young man. He had a great school year and made good grades and we are hoping he carries this attitude to his junior and senior years at MLHS. Joey has a good work ethic. He's a kind young man who tries to make friends wherever he goes. Joey recently went to Mexico with a group of kids and adults from the Methodist Church and helped build a home for a pastor and his family.

Nicholas is also turning into a little man. Even though he is only 11, Nick has been helping me in the yard by carrying bricks and doing some landscaping. Nick is growing faster than anyone in our family, shooting up a few inches in a short period of time and outgrowing many pairs of pants in the past few months! I'm loving his sense of humor. When not sarcastic, Nicholas is a sharp witted character who never misses an opportunity to make a good joke. Nicholas is very creative and passionate about his interests and he's growing up to be a fine young man with many good friends.

Finally, one of the biggest changes I have seen in one of my children this year, comes from an unlikely candidate. He's not even my real son, but I accept him as such this year as he has become a part of our family. Wang Haiji, "Frank" as we call him, is winding down his stay with us and will be leaving for China in a few weeks. When Frank first got here, he was a bit bashful and reserved. Frank comes from a family of no brothers and sisters and to be thrust into our family with all of its quirks and drama is quite a change from his normal family structure. He has learned to adapt this year and I think he has learned to enjoy brothers and sisters. I know our family will be forever changed by our experience with Frank. I can say with all honesty that from the first time he called me "Dad", I have seen so much change in him. I'm also proud to call him son and I am praying that our family has influenced him in a good way and that Frank will take many of the values and the faith we hold dear back to China with him. We also hope that he'll be returning on a student visa in the fall to go to school at Washburn University.

My family wouldn't be complete or even possible if it weren't for the love of my wife Ronda and the kids' mother. It takes a partnership to raise children and she has been an equal partner with me over the years. We've not always agreed on our parenting style, but we've always agreed that we love our kids and we're proud of them.

These people mentioned above make Father's Day what it is for me. Their gift of life and sharing that gift with me and each other is the greatest gift I could ever ask for.

Finally, the greatest example of a Father's love for his children would have to come from scripture. John 3:16 reads: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

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My mom underwent a knee replacement surgery this past week in Wichita. She's doing very well, despite some pain. The day after her surgery my daughter Breeann and I went up to see her in the hospital. When we got there, I was surprised to see her up and going for a walk! Mom is our proofreader and typsetter here at the paper. I'm hoping we did a good job in catching mistakes this week in her absence! Get well soon mom and get yourself back to work!

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It's been nearly 2 years ago since Dorfus CrackTractor played together and they are getting together for a reunion show here in Medicine Lodge this weekend. For those that remember, Dorfus CrackTractor is a band made up of myself, my former Editor David Fasgold and local Deputy Sheriff Justin Rugg. Our band played events, clubs and venues in the area for about 4 years before taking a break in July of 2007. Back then, gas was inching up over $4 a gallon and David had moved to Oklahoma City, making it hard for us to make enough money even to pay our gas to get to shows in Wichita.

Gas is slightly cheaper now and we've always said we needed to get together and do a show before we forgot all of our material. David called me a few weeks ago and said, "I miss you goofs. Let's play a show together."

I called up Mike Lynch from Mike's Sports Bar and we set it up for this coming Saturday, June 13.

If you never caught a show, Dorfus was full of whacky costume changes, part comedy act with parodies of songs and we played a wide variety of music from rock, swing, country, disco and even rap.

So, we're keeping our fingers crossed that we still have a few fans that will come out and dance on Saturday and welcome David Fasgold back into our community for this one night only event. We're throwing this together with a short rehearsal the Friday night before, but we expect to have a few minor train wrecks! So, make plans on Saturday to come out see us at Mike's!! Have a great week!

KWIBS - From June 1, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

If you're like me, you've seen the above sign in windows of storefronts for the past few years. Originally, they were designed for restricted areas like courthouses, government offices, schools and lending institutions.

Kansas law prohibits a licensed concealed carry person from entering a property with such signs appropriately displayed.

Several months ago, I completed my conceal carry certification course and obtained my license. In my second line of work (surety agent and bail enforcement), I have decided it is necessary to carry concealed.

Almost three years after the start of a state law allowing people to carry concealed weapons, signs banning guns from privately owned businesses have popped up all over the Kansas area.

Although some stores have posted signs and added "no weapons" clauses to their posted codes of conduct, many small businesses haven't seen the need.

Under the law, concealed handguns are banned from some businesses, including bars and financial institutions. Anyone who has taken a concealed carry course knows where they are allowed to carry their weapon and where they aren't. Businesses and employers can ban concealed weapons from their property by posting a sign that guns are not allowed.

After the class I became more aware of how many of these signs are out there. Certain hotels, coffee shops, office product stores, gas stations and even hair dressers were displaying these signs.

Each time I see the sign a puzzling thought enters my head. Why have these places chosen to prohibit law abiding citizens from carrying a weapon? Why wouldn't they want the protection of law abiding citizens in their store?

Take for example a situation that occurred in Topeka, KS (from KTKA.com: Concealed carry permit holder shoots suspect Story by Jesse Fray. 6:40 p.m. Monday, January 22, 2007.)

An Oklahoma concealed-carry permit holder thwarted a robbery at a Topeka convenience store Friday night, police said.

Police said 57-year-old Michael Mah shot a 17-year-old suspect who was trying to rob the Phillips 66 at 29th and Randolph, after telling him to drop his weapon. The owner of the store, Dean Yee, told police two men ran inside, when one of them pointed a gun at him and demanded money. Concealed weapons advocates said Mah did the right thing.

"The bad guys … better be careful who they pick on," said Troy Powell, a retired cop who recently moved here from Texas.

Powell said the shooting is exactly what concealed-carry is intended for.

"The guy was right there on scene and had firsthand knowledge that it was happening," said Powell. "I think he reacted appropriately and probably he could’ve saved that guy’s life and his own."

Police said Mah shot the man just once.

"I don’t think any of these people that carry-concealed are wanting to do someone in, they’re just wanting to stop the guy, to keep him from hurting … someone else," Powell said.

Mah had a concealed carry permit from Oklahoma, one of 22 states from which permit holders can also carry a weapon in Kansas, police said.

"This incident, it supports that they’re right," he said. "Concealed carry is a privilege that citizens should have."

End of story...

Sadly, I think many people are uninformed about concealed carry and display the signs without understanding the cons of doing so.

This is a subject that brings out a lot of emotion from people who are for or against gun control / gun rights.

Folks, the people you need to be afraid of aren't the ones that have licenses for their guns or to carry concealed. Criminals aren't paying attention to your signs. In fact, that might just encourage someone who wants to rob you or do you wrong. They see that you don't allow guns on your premises and this emboldens them and possibly makes you an easier target.

It's not like a robber is going to look at the sign and say, "Oh, I'm not going to rob the place. I can't take my gun in there."

There are other ramifcations to this type of signage. Many gun owners and concealed carry people are paying more attention to where they do business.

I was in Wichita last week working on recovering a defendent who skipped court and left the jurisdiction of his arrest. He was caught and returned to the Kingman jail. I was "packing" that day, as I jokingly say. I was thirsty and decided to stop at a convenience store on my way home. I arrived at the door to find a "no conceal" sign on the front door. I turned around to go back to my truck to remove my gun and thought for a moment.

Instead of taking off my gun, I drove down the road and found another convenience store. This one didn't have a sign and got my business. I even spent a little more out of appreciation. They didn't have any idea that I had a weapon, nor did they seem to care.

On a practical side, it's hard to enforce such a ban. How would business owners even know if a customer has a weapon? I am going to abide by the law, however, and I am going to chose carefully where I do my business.

I'm expected to wear shoes and a shirt when I go into a business. Who cares what I have underneath it?

It's one thing to post a no smoking sign. That's benefiting the health of those around that don't smoke and I can respect that, but think about the situation in that story of the convenience store in Topeka. A no concealed sign could have made the difference between life and death.

Perhaps, if you agree with me, you would consider posting the sign below at your business.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From May 26, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but I believe it is the first time in our school's history that both the boys' baseball team and girls' softball team have won regionals and gone to state, together, in the same year!

I want to congratulate all the players and coaching staff for a GREAT season!

As they get ready for state on Friday and Saturday, let'ss send them off with our congratulations and best wishes in winning state!

GO MEDICINE LODGE INDIANS!

? ? ? ?

While on the subject of softball and baseball, I would like to thank the coaches and parents for helping our newspaper to cover the games. I've been so grateful for all of the articles and photos that have been submitted.

? ? ? ?

We've talked about doing it for the past two years - a Dorfus CrackTractor reunion show.

Justin Rugg, David Fasgold and I have missed hanging out and playing music. We played together in Dorfus CrackTractor for several years before calling it quits in August of 2007. Now, two years later, we're going to get together and play a one night show at Mike's Sports Bar on Saturday, June 13, 2009.

The band had some modest success, playing several venues in South Central Kansas and became a regular house band at places like Mike's Sports Bar, The Port of Wichita and River City Brewery / Loft 150. Dorfus was even selected to play for the grand opening of The Guitar Center in Wichita in July of 2006.

David Fasgold was the editor here at The Gyp Hill Premiere for almost three years. During the week, we'd hammer out stories and newspapers together and on the weekends we'd play music and write silly songs. Justin joined us in 2005 and we became a silly "old-guy" band doing everything from country waltzes to gangster rap, all in effort to get a laugh.

We had some really good times together and I was more than excited when David called me last week to ask about doing a show after such a long hiatus.

I called Justin and we started dusting off equipment and thumbing through more than 100 songs that were in our former set list. We've decided to do the show, without practicing - just winging it!

Over the years together, David, Justin and I did around 70 shows. I was surprised when I picked up my guitar and successfully remembered all but 3 songs in our set from our last show in Wichita on June 29-30 at The Loft 150.

I hope it's like riding a bicycle!

KWIBS - From May 18, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

I ran short of time and space this week, but wanted to congratulate Frank and the rest of the class of 2009 at Medicine Lodge High School for their graduation!

One of those graduates will be writing some stories for us this summer! Seth Oldham is a gifted young man who has worked hard to finish school at the semester's end in 2008. He returned this week to graduate with his class after attending college in Wichita. We're excited to have him home for the summer.

Yes, I am a nerd.... I went to see the new Star Trek movie... twice in one week. Can't wait until it comes to the drive-in!

KWIBS - From May 11, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

I spent quite a bit of time going back and forth to the High School this past week in preparation for the graduation section.

The class of 2009 will graduate on May 16 at Krug Field.

This year we'll be at graduation to honor our AFS student Wang Haiji, or Frank, as you have come to know him.

It's now been 21 years since I graduated from MLHS, 22 years since my wife graduated from MLHS and only 1 year since my daughter, Breeann, graduated from MLHS. In two years, it will be my son Joey taking the stage.

As I was preparing the senior's section, I looked at all the kids from my daughter's class and glanced over their "future plans" comments. I mentally noted that quite a few of the kids in her class had changed their majors, schools and lives.

One of those kids whose lives will be changing forever is our daughter Breeann. She's one year into her elementary school education major and she told her mother and me last week that we will be grandparents..... Yep. It's not exactly what we had planned for her, but it was her decision and we'll support her.

One piece of good advice that I did get from a very dear friend was this. "When your child is in trouble, shut your mouth and open your arms." - Thank you Michele McCurdy.

When I found out the news, I can't say that I was following this advice very closely, but over the past few days I have calmed down, spent a lot of time in prayer and accepted that, it is what it is, and it can't be changed. Being angry will not help my daughter's circumstances. I love her no matter what.

Her situation reminded me of a story about another couple. Twenty-one years ago a kid graduated from MLHS, got married and had a little girl a year later. His wife had only been out of school for one year longer. Those kids were Kevin and Ronda Noland, Breeann's parents. They didn't turn out too bad....

That may not have been the plans that my parents had for me, but they were my choices. Looking back, I wouldn't have changed a thing and I know that Breeann won't want to change a thing either.

Fifty-seven seniors shared their future plans for us this week in the special section included inside this newspaper. Some of those plans will change, but all of them deserve our support and prayers for their future.

Congratulations to all of the class of 2009. We're proud of you and wish you best in the future.

Have a great week !

KWIBS - From May 4, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Sorry for being short this week. I was both short on time and space.

I wanted to make a comment on Rose Mary Shoemaker's reception. With much help from the community, her sons put on a great day for her on Saturday, April 25, 2008. She's moved to Texas to be closer to her boys.

Rose Mary is like an adopted grandmother to me. I grew up at the Index, where she worked for my Grandpa Bill, my Uncle Gary and my Dad Ron. She was smart enough to retire before I asked her to work for me!

She has filled in many times for us as a proofreader. So technically, she worked for three generations of my family.

I learned the pain that a pica pole can inflict on a rear end one occasion after persistent pestering. "Rosie" was given the green light to punish me for acting up in the office when I was about 8-years-old. It took one swat for me to yield to her and respect her.

She's done so much good for this community and I am so thankful that so many people came out to share their love and appreciation for her. Good luck. Rose Mary. We'll miss you. There will always be a chair for you in the front office.

KWIBS - From April 27, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

My column this week is congratulatory in nature and maybe a little preachy. I apologize in advance.

Writing the story about Mark Buck (page one) was probably the most fun I've ever had at writing about someone in our community.

I was witness to history for the "Trim-N-Blow". Back in 2000 (seems like way back, now that I think about it), Mark brought in his contraption and I built him a website and did some video work to start the promotion process of his invention.

We were behind our building on Main Street and Mark was demonstrating his invention when he happened to barely touch the pavement. It exploded into pieces and narrowly missed both of us.

When the dust settled and we realized we weren't hurt, we both laughed and I told him that he should rename the product, "The Trim and Blow Up."

I've lost the video, but I'll never forget that.

Mark kept preserving through designs and failures, but never gave up on the idea.

I had actually not forgotten his project, but sort of filed it in the back of my brain somewhere and when he called me last week to tell me that a company was manufacturing his design, I almost couldn't believe it.

In the article, I briefly touched on something Mark said about relationships. To paraphrase at one point he said, "It [being his success] came down to relationships with people."

Mark and I visited about that subject and concluded our interview. Later that night I was pondering the subject of relationships and visiting with my wife about the day.

We are going through The Purpose Driven Life together. It's our third time and I am also doing this study with a friend, Dale McCurdy, who lives in Amarillo, TX. We call or email each day with comments on the day's chapter.

If you've never read the book, it's a good read and a good 40 day study that can be read over and over.

That night we opened our book to Day 16. It is titled "What Matters Most". It deals specifically about relationships.

Rick Warren, Author of The Purpose Driven Life writes in Chapter 16, "Often we act as if relationships are something to be squeezed into our schedule. We talk about finding time for our children or making time for people in our lives. That gives the impression that relationships are just a part of our lives along with many other tasks. But God says relationships are what life is all about."

I hope I did the story justice. It's difficult to describe what an accomplishment this is for Mark and his family. It's a project he has spent more than a decade on seeing to reality and his relationship with people and with God are what helped him find success.

Like he said, he may not get rich, but he can say, "Hey, that's my design!"

I can't begin to describe how difficult this task has been and all of the ups and downs that he and Tina and the boys have probably felt through this process.

Warren also says in his book in this chapter, "... the best way to spell love is "T-I-M-E."

Mark used his dream and this process to spend quality time with his family. They've all shared in this process, including their trip to Sacramento, CA to visit the company that is manufacturing and marketing his invention.

Often we go through life blindly without a purpose. Sometimes we don't appear to have any goals other than to get through another day.

Looking back in my own life, I have had several good ideas that I just never saw through to completion. Sometimes I just lost interest or decided the process was too dificult, so I gave up.

Having a dream or an idea that you see to completion is a great goal to have in life. When you can maintain your focus on a task that seems so unlikely, like Mark has done, and have purpose at the same time, you can accomplish greatness. I think it's cool that he made relationships so important in that process.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From April 20, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

If you don't like what's happen to our school district, there are two things that you can do to solve the problem.

The most important is come up with a way to bring more children into our district. The other is to tell Topeka not to cut funding for education.

Neither solution seems possible right now.

USD#254 has seen a steady decrease in enrollment for several years. Compounded, is the recent cuts made by the State of Kansas.

We're not alone in our troubles. Districts like South Barber, Attica, Chapparal, Coldwater and Haviland are also taking steps in preparation for harder times.

It's now come down to a reduction in force. The most recent and visible cut will be to the health program at our schools. The district cut the school nurse program last week, in another effort to reduce expenses. It's all part of preparing for more declining numbers and less revenue provided by the state.

I want to say a few words about Susan Raleigh and how much my family appreciates what she's done for our children. Most recently, she diagnosed a simple problem with our son that undiagnosed, could have lead to him becoming very sick. She has been the first line of defense in health care of our children for more than 20 years. There will be many low income families in our district that have children who will no longer have this access to health care in our community.

I don't like what's happening to our school district any more than you do. However, before gathering your pitchforks and lynching materials for our school board and superintendent, please try to understand our current financial situation.

Not one of the board members wants to see any additional cuts. Believe it or not, our superintendent does not want to continue down a path of cutting personnel either. There just are few places to cut that won't affect education.

We've done our best at the newspaper to inform the public of the crisis that has somewhat enveloped our school district.

Understand, it could be much worse. Our board of education and our superintendent, past and present, have been very aggressive in dealing with the problem.

The problem is easy math. Less kids = less money. The state isn't helping by cutting education funding. If you don't like it, call Topeka or start making babies. Who knows, maybe last month's snow storm will yield a large class of Kindergartners in the year 2015. Have a great week!

KWIBS - From April 13, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Apparently, surgery to repair your meniscus is a simple procedure, unless you are a big baby like me.

I had some surgery on my left knee on Tuesday in Wichita and was thinking I would be back to work on Wednesday. Well, I went in for a little while Wednesday afternoon, felt my knee swell up like a balloon and then decided to go back home and rest.

Today (if you are reading Monday) I go back to Wichita to have my bandages removed.

After a couple of weeks of physical therapy and a few more weeks of healing, I should be as good as a guy with a 39-year-old knee that stepped off a ladder one step too soon, who had knee surgery. So ask me how I feel in about a month!

I do want to apologize in advance for anything we missed this week. There were a couple of ball games and a track meet that I just didn't have anyone to cover.

Bless her heart.... Ronda has taken good care of me this week and Doris manned the fort, as always, but to an extra degree without us being here. I appreciate all of you helping me out this week.

This was kind of interesting....

I had been visiting with Randy Hall a week ago last Sunday and he had mentioned he was having his knee replaced. When I asked him when he was having surgery he said, "Tuesday."

"I'm having knee surgery that day too," I answered.

When I asked him where he said, "The Kansas Surgical Center in Wichita."

"Me too," I answered.

It turns out he was checking in to the hospital as I was checking out. I didn't get to see him, but I heard he was recovering and was hoping to be home by Saturday.

I hope you are healing up Randy.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From April 6, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Linda Hartley sent me a note this week and asked if I would print this in the paper.

I think it is something that everyone should read and it makes me proud to know that my daughter has nearly completed her first year of college, majoring in Elementary Education.
Have a great week!

Dear Kevin and Staff,

You know, Teacher Day USA is coming up the first week in May. Can this writing possibly make a difference in our community?

With all the controversy of school closings, 4 day school weeks, staff reduction, budget cuts all over the map, let us not forget the mainstay of education.

I think this assistant principal hit the target. Over 95% of the "good things that happen at school" never get shared.This is mostly due to the discretion of the teachers and staff members who don’t want to be recognized. They just want to feel good for the students and classes they have helped through a tough time, a crisis, a loss.

No one knows just how much time, money and love are spent for the students in OUR school system!

The old adage "If you can read this, thank a teacher" gets smiles and nods….but does it really get said?

Here’s hoping it does…and frequently.

I’d love for you to publish this in the GH Premiere. I know it is lengthy, but it is just the crust of all Real Life Heroes!

Thanks,

Linda Hartley

Real Life Heroes

Teachers as Heroes

An essay written by an assistant principal in Ohio.

By J. Bradley:

"Where are the heroes of today?" a radio talk show host thundered.

He blames society's shortcomings on education. Too many people are looking for heroes in all the wrong places. Movie stars and rock musicians, athletes, and models aren't heroes; they're celebrities.

Heroes abound in public schools, a fact that doesn't make the news.

There is no precedent for the level of violence, drugs, broken homes, child abuse, and crime in today's America. Education didn't create these problems but deals with them every day.

You want heroes?

Consider Dave Sanders, the schoolteacher shot to death while trying to shield his students from two youths on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Sanders gave his life, along with 12 students, and other less heralded heroes survived the Colorado blood bath.

You want heroes?

Jane Smith, a Fayetteville, NC teacher, was moved by the plight of one of her students, a boy dying for want of a kidney transplant. So this woman told the family of a 14-year-old boy that she would give him one of her kidneys. And she did. When they appeared together hugging on the Today Show, Katie Couric was near tears.

You want heroes?

Doris Dillon dreamed all her life of being a teacher. She not only made it, she was one of those wondrous teachers who could bring the best out of every single child. One of her fellow teachers in San Jose, Calif., said, "She could teach a rock to read."

Suddenly she was stricken with Lou Gehrig's Disease which is always fatal, usually within five years. She asked to stay on job ... and did.

When her voice was affected, she communicated by computer.

Did she go home? Absolutely not! She is running two elementary school libraries! When the disease was diagnosed, she wrote the staff and all the families that she had one last lesson to teach .... that dying is part of living. Her colleagues named her Teacher of the Year.

You want heroes?

Bob House, a teacher in Georgia, tried out for "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?". After he won the million dollars, a network film crew wanted to follow up to see how it had impacted his life. New cars? Big new house?

Instead, they found both Bob House and his wife still teaching. They explained that it was what they had always wanted to do with their lives and that would not change. The community was both stunned and grateful.

You want heroes?

Last year the average school teacher spent $468 of their own money for student necessities ... workbooks, pencils .. supplies kids had to have but could not afford. That's a lot of money from the pockets of the most poorly paid teachers in the industrial world.

Schools don't teach values? The critics are dead wrong.

Public education provides more Sunday School teachers than any other profession.

The average teacher works more hours in nine months than the average 40-hour employee does in a year.

You want heroes?

For millions of kids, the hug they get from a teacher is the only hug they will get that day because the nation is living through the worst parenting in history.

An Argyle, Texas kindergarten teacher hugs her little 5 and 6 year-olds so much that both the boys and the girls run up and hug her when they see her in the hall, at the football games, or in the malls years later.

A Michigan principal moved me to tears with the story of her attempt to rescue a badly abused little boy who doted on a stuffed animal on her desk .. one that said "I love you!" He said he'd never been told that at home. This is a constant in today's society .. two million unwanted, unloved, abused children in the public schools, the only institution that takes them all in.

You want heroes?

Visit any special education class and watch the miracle of personal interaction, a job so difficult that fellow teachers are awed by the dedication they witness. There is a sentence from an unnamed source which says: "We have been so eager to give our children what we didn't have that we have neglected to give them what we did have."

What is it that our kids really need?

What do they really want?

Math, science, history, and social studies are important, but children need love, confidence, encouragement, someone to talk to, someone to listen, standards to live by. Teachers provide upright examples, the faith and assurance of responsible people.

You want heroes?

Then go down to your local school and see our real live heroes - the ones changing lives for the better each and every day!

"Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression." -Haim Ginott

KWIBS - From March 30, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Years ago, an email floated around the internet about an idea that recipients of government welfare programs should be subject to drug testing, like many employers already require.

I always thought this was a good idea. Why should my tax dollars go towards supplying someone's drug habit?

This thought and email are closer to law now than one might think.

On Wednesday, the Kansas House of Representatives approved a measure mandating drug testing for the 14,000 or so people getting cash assistance from the state, which now goes before the state senate. In February, the Oklahoma Senate unanimously passed a measure that would require drug testing as a condition of receiving TANF benefits, and similar bills have been introduced in Missouri and Hawaii. A Florida senator has proposed a bill linking unemployment compensation to drug testing, and a member of Minnesota's House of Representatives has a bill requiring drug tests of people who get public assistance under a state program there.

Lawmakers in at least eight other states want recipients of food stamps, unemployment benefits or welfare to submit to random drug testing.

The effort comes as more Americans turn to these safety nets to ride out the recession. Poverty and civil liberties advocates fear the strategy could backfire, discouraging some people from seeking financial aid and making already desperate situations worse.

Those in favor of the drug tests say they are motivated out of a concern for their constituents' health and ability to put themselves on more solid financial footing once the economy rebounds. But proponents concede they also want to send a message: you don't get something for nothing.

Interestingly enough drug testing is not the only restriction envisioned for people receiving public assistance: a bill in the Tennessee Legislature would cap lottery winnings for recipients at $600.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. Perhaps the legislature should consider a reimbursement situation for those winning $50,000 or more. Luck is an entitlement that should not necessarily be restricted by the government, but I like the idea of, if you get government assistance and then come into some serious cash, maybe you should consider paying the tax payers back before you run out and buy yourself a bunch of useless material items.

There seems to be no coordinated move around the country to push these bills, and similar proposals have arisen periodically since federal welfare reform in the 1990s. But the appearance of a cluster of such proposals in the midst of the recession shows lawmakers are newly interested in who is getting public assistance and how they are using it.

It's a fact, these proposals are coming at a time when more Americans find themselves in need of public assistance.

Although the number of TANF recipients has stayed relatively stable at 3.8 million in the last year, claims for unemployment benefits and food stamps have soared.

In December, more than 31.7 million Americans were receiving food stamp benefits, compared with 27.5 million the year before.

The link between public assistance and drug testing stems from the Congressional overhaul of welfare in the 1990s, which allowed states to implement drug testing as a condition of receiving help.

But a federal court struck down a Michigan law that would have allowed for "random, suspicionless" testing, saying it violated the 4th Amendment's protections against unreasonable search and seizure.

At least six states: Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Virginia all tie eligibility for some public assistance to drug testing for convicted felons or parolees, according to the NCSL.

If your employer can require drug testing, why can't you as a taxpayer ask for the same treatment for people using your hard earned tax dollars for their source of income?

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From March 23, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

I was sad that the Memories of the Medicine Lodge Middle School series had ended last week.

It had just so happened that while discussing it in our office, I came across another memory that had missed the paper. This one came from Fern Heublein. I was so glad she wrote her memories and shared them with us.

Fern's story is on page 10 of this week's Premiere. It will take you back to a simpler time when we actually prayed in school. In fact, they had chapel!

I remember each morning when I was in grade school we would say the Pledge of Allegiance and then we'd have a moment of prayer. I also remembered when prayer turned to a moment of silence and then that moment was silenced all together.

Fern shares her experiences with us from a completely new perspective and one of the most historical looks back at our early school system. Thank you Fern.

Also, thank you to everyone who took a moment to share a memory about the Middle School. The response was beyond my wildest dreams. I expected the series to last 3 weeks at the most. It ended up being enough material to last 10, but we squeezed it into 5 issues.

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Well, it was certainly a busy weekend in Medicine Lodge. If you timed it just right, you didn't have to pay for food all day on Saturday! Bob and Dorothy Stutler held their grand opening of The Gun Room At The Grand and served food. Later, Mike's Sports Bar celebrated their annual anniversary with free hamburgers. There's no excuse if you went hungry.

Sunday afternoon's reunion and celebration at the Middle School was a success. It was great to see some former teachers and hear some great stories from people who "made a difference" in many peoples' lives, including yours truly.

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From March 16, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

As this paper hits the streets, a missions team, made up from folks from Medicine Lodge, are in Desemboque, Mexico.

My oldest son, Joey, is with them.

The team is building a home for a pastor and his family during their spring break while many other students are spending time at ski resorts and amusement parks. I don't think there is anything wrong with that either! I love amusement parks and I understand the tradition of skiing over spring break!

I just wanted to commend these young men and women and the adults that were willing to dedicate their spring breaks to helping others less fortunate than themselves.

I love Mexico and was excited when Joey told me he wanted to go with The United Methodist Church group. I've always loved Mexico. Ronda and I have made many trips to each of the coasts of Mexico as well as the Yukatan and Baja Peninsulas. I even took my daughter to the island of Cozumel after her 8th grade graduation. Most of the people I met from there seemed to be the happiest people on the planet despite not having the luxary that we have in America. This is going to be a great opportunity for our kids to see how good we have it in America.

Mexico hasn't exactly been getting good press lately. Many of the border and resort towns are listed as being "no travel" destinations. Gang related violence has spiked in some areas making them dangerous to visit. Desemboque is not one of those places, however, your prayers for the people on this missions trip would be appreciated.

I'm excited to hear about their trip when they return to Medicine Lodge.

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Be sure to mark your calendars for this coming weekend. On Saturday, March 21 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Bob and Dorothy Stutler will have their grand opening of The Gun Room at The Grand. Here's your opportunity to see the fantastic work they've done, buy yourself a pistol or a rifle, take in some free food and register for some FREE prizes! They're giving a Ruger 10/22 away at the end of the day, so be sure to go out and support Medicine Lodge's newest business!! Check out their ad on page 3 this week.

Also on Sunday, March 22 from 2-4 p.m., the Medicine Lodge Middle School will hold their reunion for past and present staff. Be sure to go by and say hi to an old acquaintance or a former teacher.

Congratulations to the Medicine Lodge Indians and Coach Ferguson for a great season! You made Medicine Lodge proud!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From March 9, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

It was a busy week and there wasn't much room for me, so I want to take a moment to thank BP Wind Energy and all of the folks at the Flat Ridge Wind Farm for the invite to their Celebration Ceremony on Thursday. Ronda, Doris and I went out and listened to the dedication.

I wanted to commend our local Barber County Economic Development group and the County Commissioners for all of their efforts in seeing that Barber County be a leader in renewable energy for years to come.

The speeches were all great. I especially enjoyed Commissioner Mike Thomas' comments on being able to "now see" that ridge from all over the county. I too have been impressed with how far away you can see the wind farm. I never really noticed it until after all of the wind turbine lights went online a couple of months ago. Now I can see them from my driveway 5 miles away.

Congratulations to the Medicine Lodge Indians on winning Sub-State and good luck to you guys at the State Tournament this week!

One last quick announcement. The Gyp Hill Premiere will now be available at Kiowa Prescription Plus in Kiowa, Kansas. Stop in and see John and buy a paper!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From March 2, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

Every small town should be as fortunate to have a Bob and Dorothy Stutler move in to their town.

The Gun Room at The Grand will have her "soft" opening later this week after film crews from The Outdoor Channel finish up their feature. I've had several opportunities to sneak peeks at the progress that Bob is making on his project.

To say that it is spectacular is putting it mildly. Most big cities don't have anything to top what Bob and Dorothy have done with The Grand Hotel.

Even if you are not a gun nut, like me, you'll need to make it a point to visit The Gun Room at The Grand and let "The Major" show you around. I wish Bob and Dorothy the best in opening their new store and thank them again for choosing Medicine Lodge as the home of the finest gun room in the midwest!

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Medicine Lodge got beat out by Pratt.... again.

After months of construction on the Flat Ridge Wind Farm, BP has set up their offices in Pratt to further gain lease agreements for their project. Barber County Economic Development Director Tina A. Davis told me last week, they did pitch Medicine Lodge to them, but the company wanted to be closer to highways, airport, stores and restaurants.....

Wind Energy and the construction of the transmission line to serve the wind farms will be an economic boost to our area in the coming years. We need to be very aware that Pratt is also interested in this.

Our local economic group is very involved with the transmission project and is hoping Barber County will be the place where they place the sub-station. You might have seen recent ads in our newspaper from ITC or ads from Westar soliciting the KCC for the project. It is proposed on many maps that the line will run right across Barber County.

We can't afford to miss out on these opportunities. Larger communities, such as Pratt, seem to be more appealing because they are progressive, rather than regressive.

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Our Medicine Lodge Middle School Memories series has gotten bigger than I know what to do with it. I have more than a dozen memories, some quite long, of past students and faculty members of the building to share with my readers. Unfortunately, I may run out of time and space before the reunion happens on March 22nd. The Sunday afternoon celebration will be held from 2-4 p.m. at the Middle School in honor of all of those who have worked there over the years.

I have about 2 weeks left to print the memories before the event happens and I'm just not going to have enough room in the paper. I am considering running some of the remaining memories on our newspaper's website. I've also considered continuing the series out until the end of the school year. I'm interested in reader input on this subject. I had no idea that it would be as popular as it has been. It sure has been fun reading your comments.

I had one memory shared in a "for your eyes only" form from a former student of the building. Apparently, he had nearly burned the building down in a prank (gone bad) and was suspended for the event. It made quite an impression on him. Some of you know who I am writing about!

Have a great week!

KWIBS - From February 23, 2009 - By Kevin Noland

The story I wrote about Mark and Marilyn Boyter's headstone got me thinking about how important it is to clearly communicate.

The entire frustration of the Boyters and the cemetery board seems to me to be a complete lack of communication. It wasn't that neither party communicated, but simple factors interfered with the communication. Marilyn didn't receive the correspondence from the board, their attorney or even her's for that matter.

In my fact finding I discovered that the Highland Cemetery Board had claimed they sent Boyter a number of letters directly and through her attorney that she never received, adding to her frustration about the situation.

Unfortunate is putting it mildly. Mistakes are just made.

I got a chance to sit down with Carol Ritter, Sexton at Highland Cemetery. I believe she feels very badly about the incident and wants to do everything humanly possible to resolve the situation.

I believe it was the best example of an "honest" mistake that one can make.

I tried to encourage her by reminding her that we all make mistakes. I even pointed out that the evidence can be found every Monday by reading my newspaper!

Unfortunately, now attorneys are involved and peoples' feelings are hurt. I only hope that it all works out.

Remembering and knowing Mark Boyter, I can say if he could look down on this situation, he'd be shaking his head in disbelief.

Back to communication....

My hopes are that the board of