It's that sweet time of year…

??...time for the Square Deal’s 2012 Sweetheart Drawing!
Nominate a Rawlins County resident for the drawing by filling out the form on Page 10 of this issue — or use your own piece of paper. Drop your nomination in one of the Sweetheart boxes at the Square Deal, Brown’s True Value, McDonald Grocery or The Bank in Herndon.
You can also email us your nominations at squaredeal114@sbcglobal.net.
All nominations are due by noon, Monday, Feb. 13.
This drawing provides an opportunity to recognize any Rawlins County
resident who goes the extra mile to provide a service, offer a smile or give
encouragement — that person you would describe as a Sweetheart!
Lovely gifts from our generous local businesses await the winner of the drawing. In addition to the winning name, all the names provided to the newspaper will be printed so that everyone may see how many sweethearts live in Rawlins County, Kansas!

Sportsman Club plans Saturday banquet

?Rawlins County Sportsman Club is all set to receive guests at their annual banquet Saturday, Feb. 4 at the Columbian Hall, Lake Atwood.
Serving of lamb fries and fish with all the trimmings begins at 6 p.m.
There will be a live auction of guns, art work and outdoor treasures. Drawing items include a gun safe, fishing trip, more guns and many more choice pieces.
There will even be a youth only auction so kids can get in on the fun.
Tickets will be on sale at the door and everyone is welcome.
“A 2012 membership to the Rawlins County Sportsman Club buys your dinner,” Mike Tongish said. “We will charge kids ages 8 to 12 $5 and those younger than that can eat free.”

Good Samaritan Center plans renovations

?Plans for updates to the Good Samaritan Center’s entrance, a bathing area and parking lot were a main topic of discussion with the Rawlins County Commissioners at their Jan. 31 meeting.
Janice Shobe, Good Samaritan administrator, reviewed funding, design and oversight issues with commissioners. She said she had been in contact with Corina Cox, representative for Northwest Kansas Planning and Development, and relayed to commissioners that grant funding for nursing homes is limited. She learned better funding might be available if it were for handicapped accessibility.
“These grants aren’t due for some time and they are not awarded until January 2013,” Shobe said.
Another option for partial funding was from monies left to the facility through the Homer Winslow estate. She volunteered to contact architects for estimates and return that information to the commissioners.
Shobe told the newspaper it has been nine years since renovations have been made to the facility. An increase in parking will replace eight parking spaces lost during the expansion of the hospital. It will also correct drainage and erosion problems caused by pavement buildup over the years, which redirects water toward the facility.
“Penco Engineering has looked at [the parking area],” said commissioner Charles Walker, who had concerns about water drainage.
Penco will provide an engineering study of the drainage problem, Shobe said.
Commissioners approved a motion by Henry to assist the Recreation Committee with the demolition of the concession stand at Bliss Field. Jerry Holste agreed to assist with the use of the landfill’s front end loader.

Board votes to hire superintendent

?The Rawlins County School Board has voted to hire Adam McDaniel to serve as superintendent of USD 105 and K-6 prinicipal of Rawlins County Elementary School, beginning July 1 of this year.
Following five consecutive hours of executive session at a special meeting Jan. 26, the board voted unanimously to approve a contract for McDaniel as superintendent/principal.
The board set salary, benefits and moving expenses in a contract effective from July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2014.
The agreement was reached pending McDaniel’s receiving contractual approval from his current district in Salina, where he serves as principal of Ell-Saline High School.

Sportsmen honor Al Koch

?Al Koch loved his native Kansas homeland and felt a deep responsibility for conserving all its natural resources.
Members of Rawlins County Sportsmans Club remember his leadership in the early days of their club’s formation and they chose to honor him as “Sportsman of the Year 2012.”
“Al was with us from the beginning and I think he held every office,” Craig Morton said. “He was a leader we looked up to.”
Al came to Rawlins County as the District Conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service in 1949. He retired in 1972.
His soil conservation position made him a wonderful ally as sportsmen were planting trees on club house property at Blakeman and planting shrubs and thickets for wildlife habitat across the county.
“I don’t remember him being a hunter,” Bernie Horinek said. “But his expertise when we were planting habitat was really valuable.”
Al felt a responsibility to pass along knowledge about being a respecter of wildlife as well as accountability as a hunter.
He was among the first to become a hunter safety instructor and for many years he helped Rawlins County youth get qualified to hunt.
“I remember my grandfather as a great teacher,” said Ward Thomas, Al’s only grandchild. “He was always showing me how to do something, whether it was gardening, woodworking or fishing.”
Ward remembers being with his grandfather when he was working toward preserving and maintaining Crystal Springs Recreation Area northwest of Atwood.
Al and his wife, Mary, reared three children, Mary Ann, Elizabeth and Richard in Atwood.
“Al was a tall guy with a good sense of humor,” Horinek remembers. “He had a quiet way of sharing information and showing us how to do things when we were planning the thickets and we had a lot of respect for him.”
He had a lifetime membership to Rawlins County Sportsman Club. Al died in December 2011 in Houston, Texas, where he had moved in retirement.
Al’s selection will be announced at this year’s banquet, which will be held at 6 p.m., Feb. 4 at the Columbian Hall. There will be a spritely live auction and drawings for guns and other donated outdoor items. It will also be the evening when one rooster tag will be drawn for the Ringnecks over Rawlins County contest. The winner will receive a Benelli shotgun.

Clearing the corner

?Cahoj Earthmoving crews worked to tear down the building on the corner of Atwood’s State and 4th Streets, a project they started Jan. 25. Careful workers are taking this project slowly, as the building — which most recently housed a grocery store —shares a wall with Schnee’s Hometown Brand Center. The owner of the corner property stated he has no definite plans for the site yet.

Full stories in this week's Square Deal.

Courtesy of Beardsley Equity Co-op
WHEAT: $6.60; MILO: $5.84; CORN: $6.11