Thanksgiving weekend is a busy time of year in Hugoton. Friday, November 29 join the Santa Committee in front of the Hugoton Area Chamber of Commerce at 630 S. Main for their annual Christmas Caroling event. The singing will start at 6:00 p.m. You can also enjoy hot chocolate and cookies along with lots of good music and visiting.

Saturday, November 30 is Small Business Saturday. Be sure to visit the stores in town for some great Christmas gifts and maybe just something special for yourself. Following your shopping spree, at 5:30 p.m., the Hugoton Area Chamber of Commerce will be sponsoring a Christmas Parade.

Santa Claus will make his grand appearance in the parade and will stick around to visit with the kids afterwards. Yardmaster Lawn and Landscape will warm you up by giving out Hot Cider during the parade in front of State Farm Insurance.

Be sure to stop by and get a hot cup of their delicious cider. Santa will stay at the Senior Citizens Activity Center at 624 S Main after the parade until 7:30 p.m. So bring the kiddos by and visit with Santa so they can tell him what they want for Christmas. Santa’s visit is sponsored by the Santa Committee. Be sure to come out, see all the christmas lights on the floats, visit with Santa and just have a fun filled Friday and Saturday.

Moscow Wildcats brought home the six man State title after an undefeated season. This took place 41 years after the wildcats brought home an eight man title in an undefeated season back in 1978.

The wildcats traveled to Dodge City to play at the high school’s memorial stadium in a match up against undefeated Cheylin. The wild west bowl was sponsored by American implement.

Moscow ran away with the game scoring 52 points to Cheylin’s 6, bringing home the trophy for the six man State title. More story on page 1B.

The Kansas Association of Secondary School Principals (KASSP) is proud to recognize Melody Witt, Hugoton High School, as the KASSP Area VI High School Principal of the Year. She will be presented this award Thursday, November 14 at 5:30 p.m. in the South Ballroom of the Holiday Inn on Rock Road in Wichita.

KASSP is an organization of over 450 secondary school principals from across the state of Kansas. Witt was nominated and selected by peer principals. Candidates are evaluated on their school leadership, school improvement, dedication, professionalism, and service to students.

Congratulations are extended from the Kansas Association of Secondary School Principals to Melody Witt.

The General Election is Tuesday, November 5, 2019. Polls will open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 7:00 p.m. Voters in Moscow 1, 2 and 3 will vote at the Methodist Church at 304 Main in Moscow. Stevens County voters in all other voting precincts will vote at the Memorial Hall at 200 East Sixth in Hugoton.
In the election there will be a proposition to amend Section 1 of Article 10 of the Constitution for the State of Kansas.
Voters will also have a chance to vote in Stevens County for the USD 210 Board of Education, USD 209 Board of Education and Moscow and Hugoton Mayor positions and City Council.
USD 210 Board of Education candidates running are Todd Gayer, Barry D. Hittle, Mike Persinger, Paula M. Rowden and Ed Stevenson.
USD 209 Board of Education candidates running are Antonia “Toni” Crawford, Grace Eisenhower, Mark
Horyna, Brandi Lahey, Terry A. Pierson and Tammy L. Sutherland-Abbott.
For the Mayor position in Hugoton Jack E. Rowden is running and Moscow Mayor position Kevin Staggers is running.
Hugoton City Council has two positions open. Frankie D. Thomas and Jason Teeter are both running for the positions. In Moscow there are two positions open and only one candidate is running, Curtis R. Crawford.

Be sure to wear orange for Unity Day Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Every October, individuals from across the nation – and around the world – unite in a campaign to keep all youth safe from bullying.  Every day thousands of young people experience bullying from their peers while at school, after school in their neighborhoods, and even when they are at home, through social media and texts. There are many ways to support bullying prevention as an individual or with friends and family, and within your school or community.  One way is to wear ORANGE Wednesday, October 23 to bring awareness and support for bullying prevention on Unity Day.

WHY UNITY?

For years, our culture justified bullying with expressions such as, “Bullying is a natural part of childhood,” “Some kids just deserve to be bullied,” or “Bullying is a rite of passage.” The goal of the day is to bring together youth, parents, educators, businesses, and community members across the nation to emphasize the message that bullying is not acceptable and that all students deserve to be safe in school, online, and in the community.

WHAT IS THE CALL TO ACTION?

 The call to action is simple—wear and share the color orange—as a visible representation of the supportive, universal message that our society wants to prevent bullying, and is united for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion. 

WHY THE COLOR ORANGE?

 Unity Day is held during October, and orange is a color commonly identified with that month and season. It is also a color associated with safety and visibility. Orange is described as warm and inviting, and its vibrancy makes a strong statement. It was also a color that was not being used by another widely known cause.

WHAT CAN ONE PERSON DO?

Everyone’s involvement is important! This event goes beyond the school walls and into the community. Anyone can wear orange and share an image with an online post. For so long, those who were bullied felt that no one cared— the simple act of wearing orange shows them that they are not alone and will hopefully empower them to speak and reach out.

HOW CAN BUSINESSES AND ORGANZATIONS GET INVOLVED?

Go orange! Be creative! A few ideas include: in 2013, the iconic Green Giant

statue in Blue Earth, Minn. wore an orange toga and lit up the night sky

with an orange glow. TLC of the Discovery Channel made their logo orange

for the day. Other ways to go orange include tying orange ribbons to a

fence or around a tree, offering an orange item for sale with proceeds to the

National Bullying Prevention Center, or creating a unity mural. Check out the

“Activation Ideas” section of this guide for more tips.

The City of Hugoton was recognized for 100 years of providing a quality electric service to their community. The City was presented with the Centennial Award from the Kansas Municipal
Energy Agency at their annual awards banquet October 3, 2019 in Wichita.
The Centennial Award is given out each year to honor Community Visionaries who founded the City’s Electric Utility.
Kansas Municipal Energy Agency is a member driven joint action agency with the mission of providing municipal utilities reliable and economical energy to serve their communities.
Hugoton was represented by Gary Rowden, Electric System Supervisor who accepted the award.
The City of Hugoton is a member of KMEA. Hugoton, in Stevens County in Southwest Kansas, has a population of approximately 3,900.

Gary Rowden, Electric System Supervisor for the City of Hugoton, was presented with the Max Embree “Distinguished Service Award” for his leadership role in his community and to public power. He was presented with the award from the Kansas Municipal Energy Agency at their annual awards banquet October 3, 2019 in Wichita.
The Max Embree “Distinguished Service Award” was established in honor of Max Embree of Colby who played a leading role in the early years of the Kansas Municipal Energy Agency. The award honors his memory and is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and devoted service to both the Kansas Municipal Energy Agency and Public Power.
Kansas Municipal Energy Agency is a member driven joint action agency with the mission of providing municipal utilities reliable and economical energy to serve their communities.
Gary has spent the majority of his career in a leadership role in his hometown of Hugoton. He held an elected position on the city council before taking a position on the staff. He has been in a supervisory role for the city since 1998 overseeing the distribution and production operations of the Electric Department as well as the Parks Department. Gary has served on the KMEA Board of Directors, Power Supply Committee and Awards Nominating Committee for several years.

Sheriff Ted Heaton received word that the local schools were going to have to replace their breath alcohol testers. Sheriff Heaton and School Resource Deputy Adam Mauk decided to donate new professional Passive Breath Alcohol Testers for the school.

The new testers can detect alcohol by just a wave in front of the suspected person, so as not requiring a breathanalyzer test. These amazing new detectors also have the ability to detect the presence of alcohol in a cup, bottle or can by just a wave over the receptacle.

The new testers will be a great deterrent at Prom, After Prom, games, or any other school function or activity.

The Stevens County Sheriff’s Department is very much appreciated for these most useful high tech testers and continuing to keep our children safe.

The Hugoton FFA has won the State Land Contest for the third year in a row! The State Land Judging contest and the State Homesite Evaluation contests were hosted by the Satanta FFA and the Haskell County NRCS. The Land “A” Team was made up of Kynna Crawford, David Barker, Jacob Bell and Kyra Shelton. Individual placings were Jay McClure first, Kyra Shelton fourth and Kynna Crawford fifth.

The Homesite “A” Team placed second with Esli Lopez, Jay McClure, Judith Avila and Kynna Crawford having scores that counted. Esli Lopez placed third, Kynna Crawford fifth, Akashya DeLa Cerda fourth, Daycen Austin sixth, Jay McClure seventh, Rustin Pearcy eighth, Nicholas Bryan ninth and Shea Robertson tenth.