Super Mom 2025 Debbie Sheldon receives her $50 in Chamber Bucks from Chamber Director Tina Fernandez. Seated by Debbie is her husband Sherill. Standing behind them are Citizen’s State Bank employees, Stacy Helget, Allie Turner, Janett Peinado, Maribel Marioni and Tina Martens. In the back are Aren McBride, Aurora Tinoco and Valeria Ruvalcaba. Congratulations Super Mom Debbie!!!

Debbie Sheldon has been selected as Super Mom 2025!! Debbie’s original lucky entry in the Hermes Super Mom Sweepstakes was entered at Citizens State Bank where employees drew her name out. She now has her 25 Gas Capital Dollars from CSB and a lot of decisions to make of how to put those dollars to use.

Debbie’s husband is Sherill Sheldon and they have a daughter, Ashley Nesselrode and a granddaughter Bailee Benefiel. Debbie’s entry was put into a final drawing with all the other winners listed below. Her entry was drawn in a final drawing by The Hermes to declare her Super Mom 2025! As Super Mom Debbie also received an additional 50 Chamber Bucks from Hugoton Chamber of Commerce. Congratulations Debbie!! Enjoy being declared Super Mom 2025 this year. And have fun spending those Chamber Bucks in a local business of your choice!

Other lucky drawing winners that will be enjoying their winnings are:

Nanine Harper will be able to put a $25 Gift Certificate to good use picking out something beautiful from Janets Bridal and Boutique. Sue Omo will have fun going through her specially created Gift Basket of spectacular items from Hugoton Drug. The girls at Hugoton Drug drew out Sue’s name to make her their Mother of the Year.

Bultman Tire Center will be honoring their special Mom and drawing winner Melinda Rankin with a $50 Gift Certificate. Get that vehicle fixed up Melinda!! Gene’s Heartland Foods drew out Chrissy Topliss’ name. Chrissy will be able to put that $25 Gift Certificate to good use in Hugoton’s fabulous grocery store.

The girls at Main Revelation drew out Shirley Leonard’s name. She will now have her $25 Gift Card in hand and a lot of decisions to make to pick from all the amazing items new owner Blanca Cantu has to offer. Evonne Franco’s name was drawn at Dream First Bank making her their special Mom. Evonne will be able to pick up her $25 Gift Certificate and find some nice things of her choice.

Acosta’s, Nietos Cafe will be the place for Shelley French to go to select her meal after being selected their lucky mom. She will have a $30 Gift Certificate to use whenever she feels she does not want to cook and wants some tasty good food created by Lupe and his staff. Flatlanders’ lucky winner of a $25 Gift Card is Amanda Willis. Amanda will have so many interesting items to choose from among Flatlanders’ gigantic selections.

Los Agaves Bar and Grill drew out Maria Gonzalez as their special Mom. She can come in anytime and get her $25 Gift Certificate. She is guaranteed to be filled with some of their wonderfully delicious meals and served by some of the friendliest people in town when she decides to use it.

Melissa Peterson is the China – Chinese Restaurant’s drawing winner. Melissa will be able to enjoy some of the wonderful fare that China serves up with her $25 Gift Certificate. Meagan Plummer will also be eating good. Her name was drawn at Bonnie and Clyde ‘s Grill and Sports Bar for their $30 Gift Certificate.

Tan’alon is where Pat Ayres’ name was drawn making her the lucky winner of a specially filled basket filled to running over by the girls there. Equity Bank drew out Shannon Moore’s name from their entry box. She will be able to enjoy putting that $25 Gift Card to some good use.

Sandy Campbell can cruise on into the Jet Drive-in with her specially picked someone. She was drawn as their lucky winner of two free dinners with drinks! Sandy and her someone will enjoy whatever they pick from Lana and her crew’s specialities. Kendra Lewis’ shop, Rebellious Nails and Boutique is now open at her new address of 625 S Main. Kendra drew Brittany Hemann’s name as her Mother of the Year. Brittany can pick from some great items or services with her $25 Gift Certificate.

Stevens County Retail Pharmacy will be presenting Barbara Loibl with her $30 Gift Card as her name was picked to be their winning Mother’s Day entry.

Laura Holcomb is the lucky mom whose name was drawn at Yardmaster Garden and Gifts. This will entitle Laura to a grand $25 Gift Certificate to be used to pick something wonderful from Yardmaster’s wide array of something green and flowery or a gift from Diane’s large selection of extraordinary gift items.

The Hermes congratulates all of these local Moms! You are all very special. Enjoy!! And a big thank you to all the participating businesses.

Nurse Honor Guard of Southwest Kansas and Oklahoma Panhandle. Nancy is in the center back row in the all black cape. Photo courtesy of Nancy Bansemer.

by Jasmin Adous, Laura McMillan

REMARKABLE WOMEN

During our Remarkable Women Contest, we asked our viewers to submit nominations to help honor the incredible women who make a difference in our communities every day!

Nominations were asked to have made a tremendous difference in (1) community contribution, (2) self-achievement, or (3) exhibited innovation, creativity, and an entrepreneurial spirit. Self-nominations were ineligible.

From across the country, 125 extraordinary women were selected as nominees for their selflessness, accomplishments, and community impact.

Hugoton’s own Nancy Bansemer, retired Kansas Nurse, is a nominee!!!

Nancy has made it her life’s work to go above and beyond the call of duty – as a nurse, a teacher, and an almost full-time volunteer.

Nancy has spent decades using her nursing skills to serve patients.

“You are a very important part of that person’s life, and you’re there to help them,” she said.

She also taught at Seward County Community College, where she taught the next generation of nurses that nursing is more than a job.

“If you don’t take the time and the compassion to listen to them, they just are missing out,” Bansemer said. “You gain so much more out of your job and your career if you take the time to listen to your patients.”

Nancy worked at Southwest Medical Center in several roles, including as a manager and a hospice nurse.

When she retired, she felt she was not done serving others. She joined Project Hope, a nonprofit that provides food for Stevens County families in need.

“They were serving, you know, 30 or 40 families a month,” she said. “And then I soon began. I was going to work just a couple of days a month.” But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Project Hope’s mission grew. It began providing home deliveries to quarantined people, and the volunteers began serving over 200 families a month.

“We have a lot of immigrant families in our area that have nothing, came with nothing,” Bansemer said. “And we don’t question. We just give, and it’s just really rewarding. We don’t care where they’re from or what their needs are.”

Project Hope now has a strong presence in the community, getting help from food drives led by 4-H clubs and the Boy Scouts and donations from local beef and pork producers and companies. All of it benefits those who rely on Project Hope.

“We don’t just give them a sack of groceries, we give them a cart full of groceries,” Bansemer said.

Nancy talks about her serving with the Nurse Honor Guard of Southwest Kansas and Oklahoma Panhandle, “We honor nurses at their memorial services,” she said. “It just talks about honoring nurses and honoring this person and the lives they helped … It’s kind of like the last call that you do for law enforcement.”

After a lifetime of service, Bansemer does not plan to give it up anytime soon. “You can grow old sitting in a chair, bored and lonely, or you can grow old and be out in the community,” she said.

Mrs. Bansemer says she tries to show that leadership is teamwork. She taught this lesson to her nursing students and shares it today with the many volunteers she works with at Project Hope.

“I got a call just a couple of nights ago that somebody had just moved to town and had nothing, and they didn’t have any food and no money,” she said. “So, you know what you do? You go get it. So it’s just part of life-giving. If not, you’re going to lead a sad life.”

Nancy and her husband Ted have been married for 50 years. She is a mother and grandmother and an active member and volunteer in her church.

These 125 nominees celebrated in Los Angeles, Ca. in April 2025, where they experienced:

A trip to the National Celebration Event with VIP treatment, including Round-trip airfare to Los Angeles, Hotel Room, Ground Transportation to and from the airport and hotel.

Special events with their fellow Remarkable Women.

Their stories are highlighted in national and local media as well as their digital and social media platforms.

Their stories may be spotlighted in a national television program on the CW Television Network, on NewsNation, the fastest-growing cable network and on television stations in 116 cities across the United States.

The Nexstar Charitable Foundation will make donations to amplify their community causes, including:

A $1,000 donation for all 125 nominees’ chosen 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Five Regional Finalists, each receiving an additional $5,000 for their selected 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

One (1) Remarkable Woman of the Year, awarded $25,000 for the 501(c)(3) nonprofit closest to her heart.

All 125 nominees will be honored at a star- studded awards dinner and ceremony in Los Angeles, where one woman will be named Nexstar’s Remarkable Woman of the Year! To learn more about Project Hope and how you can help, call 620-544-2245.

During the months of March and April, KSN shared stories of Remarkable Women. Be sure to stay tuned! To learn more about Nexstar’s Remarkable Women contest, check out ksn.com – Local News – Here For You Copyright 2025

Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Download the KSN News App and stay up-to-date wherever you are. You can even watch KSN News live for free!

Retired Kansas nurse dedicates life to helping others; by: Jasmin Adous, Laura McMillan Posted: Mar 13, 2025 / 05:15 PM CDT Updated: Mar 13, 2025 / 06:33 PM CDT

Bridget Knopp with her winning works accepted into the Missouri State University Juried Virtual Exhibition. The works titled, left to right, “Chased by the Blues”, “Eden”, and “Soft Silence” are shown with her winning certificates. All three works were accepted and two received Honorable mention and merit awards.

Hugoton Junior Bridget Knopp has entered a virtual composition hosted by Missouri State University. Bridget is currently an independent advanced student in Mr. Terrill’s high school art program at USD 210.

Bridget had three works accepted into this competition. Her oil portrait painting “Soft Silence” was awarded the Honorable Mention citation. A second self-portrait oil painting “Chased by the Blues” was awarded a Merit Award. A third work, her pastel drawing on velour paper “Eden” was also accepted.

Her works will be included in Missouri State University’s Virtual Juried Exhibition for High School Art and Design Students. This year was their biggest turn-out ever with almost 800 works submitted from students across 10 states which were reviewed by their jurors, each one independently, with scores compiled and averaged to determine the results. Only 459 pieces were accepted for exhibition or given special citations or awards. The competition will be on display virtually online beginning June 1, with links to view the show provided closer to this date at that time.

“Bridget has been an outstanding art student since she came to my classes in seventh grade. She is constantly learning, growing and improving every year, and is extremely serious about what she does. “Her talent for all media is extremely impressive, and she has a true future in the fine arts in whatever avenue she uses it to pursue.

The competition she entered here was advertised to our program and she took the full initiative to enter her work and pursue what can be a challenging and daunting task to put your work “out there” at such a high level. I knew she would do well no matter what. This is an outstanding accomplishment to be included in such a competitive show, and she will always continue to do more in the future with her talents.” said Mr. Terrill. You can read more about the department here: https://art.missouristate.edu/ .

Representative Marty Long, County Commissioners Joe D. Thompson, and Shannon Crawford and Eric Cox with Roc’N E Interprises LLC take time from visiting for this picture.Saturday, April 19 was the last Legislative Update for Hugoton. Representative Marty Long updated the group on bills vetoed and passed.

Governor Kelly vetoed 18 bills this session. A budget of 10.6 billion dollars was passed which was $210,000,000 less than last year. He also highlighted some of the tax cuts. One of them was the food sales tax. With no food sales tax the state loses about $650,000,000 a year in taxes.

Flora Food Group Factory Director Sarah Lackey was in attendance and Representative Long asked her a few questions about production at the plant.

Colter’s proud family joins him for his Eagle Scout Award Ceremony. From left, Jason Robertson, Grandpa Rex, Colter, Grandma RoGlenda and Stacie (Coulter) Robertson.Colter Cade Robertson has earned his Eagle Scout Rank!! Colter is the 15 year old son of former Hugoton residents, Stacie and Jason Robertson. Colter’s proud grandparents are Rex and RoGlenda Coulter and Dean and Jeanette Robertson.

Colter has been in scouting ever since he was a small boy. He has worked hard over the years earning the badges that would lead him to earning his Eagle Rank.

The Rank of Eagle Scout is the highest and most honored in the Boy Scouts of America. Young men who have achieved this rank in the past have almost universally risen to the highly respected positions in their chosen vocational pursuits and have retained into their adult years the ideals of community service which they were taught as Scouts.

The Texas State Scout Leader came to the Eagle ceremony and gave the five young men Colter has been together in Scouts with, a talk. He included how proud he was of them and that only around two percent of Scouts make it to the Rank of Eagle.

In 2024 Colter was searching for a project for his final scout award. Andrews, Tx. where Colter and his family live, had the perfect opportunity for Colter. Andrews has a Bird Viewing area that needed plenty of work that could be conducive for an Eagle Scout project. Colter chose the project of building new birdhouses to replace the old and outdated ones.

Since moving to Andrews, Colter has been in scouting with five of the same boys. Two of these boys, Aramis and Canyon, have become close friends with Colter. Aramis chose repairing a platform for viewing the birds.

Colter researched different size and shape birdhouses for different birds, and built them using non-toxic paint in earth tone colors. He then installed the new birdhouses with a little help from his parents and fellow Scout, Canyon.

When being interviewed by the local Andrew’s newspaper Colter said, “I am quite happy that I have finished this project working towards my Eagle.” Colter noted, “It has been a good experience. I hope that some kids will have the same opportunities that I have and get to see and do all the things I have done in Scouts. I hope to use my experience in Scouts for my future job.” Colter also added, “Hopefully this will inspire kids and adults to get outside more and enjoy looking at the different types of birds in Andrews. This is a nice ending to a long journey.”

Colter wrote a Letter of Ambition as a part of his Eagle requirements. In his letter he told of his goals and plans including: that he plans to get all A’s and B’s in his classes; stay in top physical shape, this goes with his weightlifting and powerlifting competitions; he has always wanted to join the Marines; then college; possibly become a cop, detective, swat, firefighter or paramedic; volunteer at the Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America; and just be a role model and friend to children in the foster system.

He also wrote, “So that brings an end to my goals and asperations that I have planned out for my future. Thank you for reading my application for Eagle Scout.”

So proud of you Colter Cade. Congratulations.

USAF Lt. Colonel M. Zane Hershey is officially promoted to USAF Colonel M. Zane Hershey in Washington, D.C.

United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel M. Zane Hershey is now officially promoted to USAF Colonel M. Zane Hershey. He is a former Hugoton resident and a graduate of Hugoton High School. Zane is the son of Mike and Valerie Hershey.

Most all of Zane’s family, Mike and Val, wife Veronica, their children Leo and Rosalyn and Zane’s in-laws, Leo and Susie Castillo attended Lt. Col. Hershey’s Promotion Ceremony March 31, 2025. The ceremony took place in Roosevelt Hall, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.

Lieutenant Colonel M. Zane Hershey currently serves as the Deputy Chief, Actions Division, in the Joint Secretariat, Joint Staff in Washington, D.C. In this position, he supports the Nation’s top leadership within the Joint Staff, Department of Defense and interagency with effective information management and decision-making by leading the Joint Staff corporate decision process, providing administrative services, and establishing information requirements in compliance with law and policy.

Lt. Col. Hershey received his commission from the United States Air Force Academy in 2006 and served in a variety of operational and staff assignments throughout his career. He served as Airpower Strategist (A5), Headquarters Air Force, Commander of the 3rd Airlift Squadron (C-17A), and C-17 Weapons Officer and Evaluator Aircraft Commander. Prior to assuming his current position, Lt. Col. Hershey was a student at the National War College, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.

Lt. Col. Hershey is a command pilot with more than 3,500 flight hours and 866 combat hours in operations ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM, NEW DAWN, FREEDOM’S SENTINEL, ALLIES REFUGE, and Combined/Joint Task Force HORN OF AFRICA. His education includes 2006 Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Co.; 2006 Air and Space Basic Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, Al.; 2013 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Al.; 2013 Master of Business Administration, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Ok.; 2017 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Al., by correspondence; 2018 Master of Science in Transportation Management, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; 2019 Master of Philosophy in Military Strategy, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Maxwell AFB, Al.; and 2023 Master of Science in National Security Strategy, National War College, Fort MeNair, Washington, D.C.

His flight rating is Command Pilot with flight hours of more than 3,500. Aircraft he has flown include C-17A, KC-135, T-LA, and T-34C.

Major awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster; the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters; the Air Force Commendation Medal; and the Army Achievement Medal. Other awards are 2013 Distinguished Graduate, Squadron Officer School; 2014 Outstanding C-17 Graduate (DG) and Top Flying Award, USAF Weapons School; 2018 Honors Graduate, Air Force Institute of Technology; and 2023 Distinguished Graduate, National War College.

Colonel Hershey resides with his family in Springfield, Va. now. We here in his home town send our Congratulations!! You make us proud!!!! Thank you for your service.

Hugoton Elementary School sixth grade girls enjoying a trip to Emporia State University in March. The 24 students attended a math and science conference at the University. The goal is to increase young women’s interest and confidence in science and mathematics. Photo courtesy of Susan Ellsasser.

EYF; Enhancing Your Future with Mathematics and Science was the topic of the week in sixth grade on the first day of March.

Twenty -four sixth grade girls attended a math and science conference at Emporia State University March 1. The participants spent the day fostering awareness of career opportunities in mathematics and science-related fields. The goal is to increase young women’s interest and confidence in science and mathematics.

This is the twentieth year the conference has been attended by Hugoton students. Every year the girls report with enthusiasm, that they had a great time and that the workshops were fun and interesting. In these tight economic times the participants want to express a huge thank you to the Hugoton Board of Education for funding the trip.

Those attending were: Emma Demers, Kalaxy Mendoza, Kenia Maciel, Mia Fabella, Sofia Ortiz, Emma Rich, Sophia Araiza, Clara Morris, Haylea Beltz, Adelina Flores, Lorelei Mendoza, Brissa Evans, Elizabeth Jones, Zoe Serrano, Sophia Heston, Emma Marquez, Destinee Wasson, Averie Amerine, Jimena Salgado, Alayna Black, Vannia Diaz, Jazlyn Escalera, Analise Price and Hannah Marquez.

Sponsoring the trip were Emily Lott, Susan Ellsaesser, Laura Jones, Jayme Rich and Rebecca Marquez.

Members of the Hugoton Assembly of God traveled to Honduras last week for a mission trip. They worked in conjunction with King’s Castle going out into the streets and schools to connect with the children and their families. King’s Castle uses music, dance, puppets, and prayer to reach the children of Honduras and then connect them with their local churches.

HAOG participated in these programs, reaching out across the capital of Honduras in the city of Tegucigalpa. Missionary Jessie Harshbarger, originally from Missouri, brought the two groups together to make this amazing mission trip possible. During the week, they participated in 13 street/school programs reaching 1691 individuals. During those programs, they had prayer requests of 404 for health concerns, 332 for problems in the home, and 466 for salvation. The HAOG crew was also able to assist in the building of the foundation for King’s Castle’s new campground dorm and an area for a washer and dryer which will be a major blessing for the kitchen crew who currently hand wash all the laundry for that area.

HAOG missionaries included Tim, Kristi, and Mia Singer, Omar, Janett, Valeria, and Omar Jr Peinado, Jamyn and Kirstin Wolters, Angel and Cyson Hunt, Todd, Jennifer, and Austin Hewitt, Amanda and Thomas Willis, and Jeffrey Sternberg.