Rod Run weekend coming up in a jiffy

By Tara Fields

The aroma of bratwurst and burning tires will permeate the Atwood air again in a little over a week.
It’s Rod Run time!
The 26th annual Early Rod Run starts Friday, May 16 with social events for rodders and sponsors and includes Friday night fireworks at “dark-thirty” at the lake, Chairman Dave Brown said.
Bright and early Saturday morning, the Rod Run excitement will continue with breakfast at the Legion, city-wide garage sales, food vendors, Show and Shine car show, drag races and a hog roast and dance to “Jimmy Dee and the Fabulous Destinations Band.”
Brown said he wanted to stress the point that the dinner and dance is open to the public and tickets will be sold at the door for $15 per person.
The Harley Davidson motorcycle drawing will also take place Saturday night at the dance.
For more information about the car show, contact Dave Brown at 785-626-9288; food vending, contact Sarah Green at 626-9630; and lodging, contact Jim Hampton at 626-3347. For more information and a schedule of events, visit the website, www.atwoodrodrun.com.

Board tweaks PBC resolution

By Mary Holle

Wanting to make sure the timing is right for constituent voting, the Rawlins County Commissioners tentatively agreed to pass a charter resolution, with changes, at their next meeting, to be held May 19.
The commissioners discussed the proposed Public Building Commission charter resolution and made two changes during their end-of-the-month meeting April 30.
The charter resolution would allow the PBC, which was created by a vote of the people a year ago in April, to issue bonds for projects other than city or county government buildings.
The commissioners proposed to eliminate all other projects, except aquatic centers, in the resolution and limit the amount of bonds for that project to $1.3 million.
Their reasoning, they explained, was due to constituent opinions concerning the “question” on the April 2007 ballot that called for the creation of the PBC to issue bonds in the amount of $1.3 million to build a swimming pool in Atwood.
According to Commissioners Don Marshall and Wilbur Henry, constituents have also said they will be protesting the charter resolution.
Because, Marshall said, those voters want to stop the pool process now, instead of waiting for the financing vote.
If the required number of signatures on a petition to protest the charter resolution is garnered, the commissioners have the option of dropping the resolution or bringing the resolution to a vote.
“I don’t think we are going to let 100 or so people make that decision for the whole county,” Marshall said, acknowledging that if the resolution is successfully protested, a vote will take place.
In order for the county not to have a special election, Holste was going to make sure the publication of the resolution was timed for a vote, either for a decision on the charter resolution or financing of the pool, to take place at the August primary.
The next meeting will be at 9 a.m., Monday, May 19 at the commissioners’ meeting room at the courthouse.

EMS receives two great grants

By Mary Holle

The success in receiving grants is based on the ability to show need, Rawlins County Ambulance Director Pat Conrad said recently.
Conrad reported that the county Emergency Medical Service had received not one, but two grants at the Rawlins County Commissioners’ meeting last week. And, the director said he will continue to seek grant dollars to improve the county’s EMS.
“Grants definitely make your budget go a lot further,” Conrad said. “We’re pretty small out here...we don’t have a big budget.
The county emergency department received a Kansas Revolving Ambulance Fund from the Kansas Board of EMS for seven hand-held radios, four new mobile radios for ambulances, one spine board and other equipment, he said. This was a 90/10 matching grant.
Last month, Rawlins County EMS received a $19,000 grant from the Hansen Foundation toward four refurbished Automatic External Defibrilators. The AEDs monitor the heart, oxygen level and blood pressure.

USD #105 board examines
revised music room design

Members of USD 105 school board expressed approval as they reviewed plans for a new music room addition with architect Glen Strait during a special session May 5.
Strait said he would be bringing cost analysis for roofing material and developing more design details to the next regular meeting.
“I think within two and a half months we can be ready to go out to bids,” Strait said. “We need to move. Construction materials are just going and going.”
Patty Wolters, board chairman, pointed out that they planned to have the architect’s contract ready for the regular May board meeting.
Before adjournment, the board voted to hire Cheryl Cole, who has 15 years of teaching experience, to be the grade seven through 12 special education teacher for the next school term.

Auction raises $15,000 plus

By Mary Holle

“Viva Italia” was exclaimed as “eccellante,” as Atwood Rotarians and others attending the annual auction enjoyed excellent cuisine, competitive camaraderie and traveled home with treasures Saturday evening.
“The auction went well again,” Chris Sramek, Rotarian, said. “We had only good comments on the food, auction and the total evening.
“The items that did the best were all [University of Kansas] stuff,” he pointed out.
The 2008 KU National Champions team-signed basketball and display, donated by E.C. Mellick Agency, brought the highest single item total, with the winning bid hitting the $1,000 mark.
Sramek said 80 percent of the items donated for the live and silent auctions were donated by local businesses and individuals.
Winner of the Swisher electric start snow blower was Mike Braxmeyer. Terry Peterson of McCook, Neb., won the Dell laptop computer.
The auction proceeds will be used to help fund new audio and video equipment for the new music and band room addition at the Rawlins County High School.

Full stories in this week's Square Deal.

Courtesy of Decatur Co-op, Herndon Branch
WHEAT: $7.90; MILO: $9.19 CWT; CORN: $5.42