PRETTY PRAIRIE, Kan. — The annual Pretty Prairie Rodeo kicks off Wednesday evening with a full slate of activities.
Jon Stucky talks about maintaining the tradition:
As always, the first two nights of the rodeo are geared to the youth involved. Stucky runs down some of the events for Family Night:
Pretty Prairie may be a small community, but Stucky says there are plenty of things visitors can enjoy before the evening rodeo action:
Gates open at 6 p.m., the rodeo starts at 8 p.m. Children 12 and under are admitted free Wednesday and Thursday nights. There will be mutton bustin for the kids each night along with other activities. Click here for the full schedule.
The Pretty Prairie Rodeo runs through Saturday evening.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — It’s actually older than the Kansas State Fair. The 145th Reno County 4-H Fair kicks off Wednesday at the fairgrounds. The 4-H organization has been around for 116 years in the U.S. Joan Krumme, 4-H Youth Development Director, talks about how 4-H got its start:
The 4-H has more than 350 members at this time. Krumme says those new to the organization usually start slow when it comes to their involvement in the fair, but the pace picks up quickly as they become more committed:
Krumme says 4-H is also about leadership building as the ambassadors lead a lot of the activities during the fair:
The area 4-H is also assisted by more than 150 adult volunteers who help throughout the fair and year-round.
A full schedule of the fair can be found below:
Wednesday – July 18:
9:00 a.m. Fashion Revue Judging, Stringer Fine Arts, HCC, Hutchinson
2:30 p.m. Meeting for Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents and Fair
Board—Pride of Kansas
3:00 p.m. Set up fairgrounds
5:00 p.m. Volunteer Appreciation Supper
6:00-8:00 p.m. Early Check-in for all exhibits, excluding foods and
animals
12:00 – 7:00 p.m. Camper check-in
3:00 p.m. Challenge of Champions Prairie Pavilion
7:00 p.m. Public Fashion Revue, Stringer Fine Arts, HCC, Hutchinson
Thursday – July 19:
7:30-10:00 a.m. Static Exhibit Check-In, Pride of Kansas
ALL 4-H & OPEN CLASS STATIC EXHIBITS MUST BE
IN PLACE BY 10:00 AM
8:00 a.m. Conference Judging for ALL 4-H static exhibits begin at 8:00
unless otherwise listed
10:00 a.m. Open Class Market Wheat Show( no conference judging)
TBA 4-H Food Sale Begins
1:00 p.m. Leadership Challenge, Pride of Kansas, Conference Room
6:30-9:00 p.m. Optional arrival of Beef, Swine & Bucket Calf
6:30-9:00p.m. Sheep and Goat weigh in & check in
(Sheep & Goats Must be Inspected by Vet)
8:00 p.m. Exhibit Building Closes
Friday – July 20:
8:00 a.m. Exhibit Building Opens
8:00 a.m. Check
-in of Rabbits and Poultry
8:00
-10:00 a.m. Beef , Bucket Calf and Swine Arrival
(ALL LIVESTOCK MUST ARRIVE BY 10 A.M.)
8:00
—10:00 a.m. Swine Weigh
-In & check in
9:00 a.m. Pet Display, Exhibit Building (North Side)
10:00 a.m. Judging of Rabbits and Poultry
10 a.m.
-7:00 p.m Photography Judging Contest
10:30
—11:30 a.m. Beef Weigh
-In & check in
11:00
-1:00 p.m. Horticulture Judging Contest
11:00 a.m. Horse Show
1:00 p.m. Barnyard Olympics, Gottschalk Park
Ambassador Water Wars Gottschalk Park
2:00 p.m. Beef Fitting for 2nd Year Bucket Calves and Beef Project
Participants
3:00 p.m. Sheep Show
7:00 p.m. Ranch Rodeo Outside Horse Arena KSF Grounds
8:00 p.m. Exhibit Building Closes
Saturday – July 21:
8:00 a.m. Exhibit Building Opens
8:00
—10:00 Cow/Calf Pair Arrival
Cow/Calf Release
—1 hour after Beef Show
8:00
-9:00 a.m. Check
-In Dairy
8:00 a.m. Swine Show
12:00 p.m. Goat Show, held in the Goat/Sheep Barns
The goat show will start @ 12:00 or 30 minutes following the
conclusion of the swine show
1:00 p.m. Demonstrations/Public Speaking For All Age Groups
2:00 p.m. Project Fair Fun, Pride of Kansas Building
3:00 p.m. Dairy Show, Prairie Pavilion
5:00 p.m. Bucket Calf Conference Judging (1st and Second Year)
6:00 p.m. Bucket Calf Show (1st and Second Year Bucket Calves)
7:00 p.m. Karaoke @ Gottschalk Park
8:00 p.m. Exhibit Building Closes
Sunday – July 22:
9:00 a.m. Beef Show (no adhesive or paint) with Showmanship Following
12:00 p.m. Exhibit Building Opens
2:00-8:00pm Antique Tractor Show in Administration Park
3:00 p.m. Pedal Pull check-in
4:00 p.m. Pedal Pull
4:00—7:00 p.m. Inflatable Fun—Gottschalk Park
6:00 p.m. BBQ—Pride of Kansas, Catered by Hickory Stik
6:30 p.m. Food Auction – Champion & Res. Champion, Pride of Kansas
6:45 p.m. 4-H Scholarships, Special Recognitions, Fashion Revue Winners, &
Commissioners’ Cookie Jar, Pride of Kansas, County Fair Theme
Contest
8:00 p.m. Exhibit Building Closes
8:00—9:30 p.m. 4-H Youth Dance—Pride of Kansas
Monday – July 23:
8:00 a.m. Exhibit Building Opens
8:00. a.m. Livestock Judging Contest Open to all ages—Sheep Barns
11:45 a.m. Awards meal served, free lunch for all 4-Hers exhibiting & immediate
family.
After Lunch Release of Open Class & 4-H Exhibits
2:00 p.m. General fairground clean-up for everyone
4:00 p.m. Livestock Round Robin – Sheep, Swine , Goat Barn
6:00 p.m. Exhibit Building closes—all exhibits must be picked up.
7:00 p.m. 4-H Livestock Sale
All animal stalls must be cleaned before leaving the fairgrounds.
No trash in the blue bins or in manure piles at the back of the livestock buildings.
HAVEN, Kan. — The Haven USD 312 School Board gave approval to the new collective bargaining agreement with its teachers during Monday night’s meeting.
The new agreement provides an increase in base pay for teachers from $34,877 to $35,986. It also includes a six percent increase in insurance that will be picked up by the district. It also increases the school calendar days from 177 to 180.
The board was also reorganized last night. However, Bryce Mattison kept his position as board president and Bill Royer is still the vice president.
The board set a date of Aug. 13 for the public hearing on the 2018-19 budget.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A 2.4 percent increase in valuations means a little more money for Hutchinson Community College as the board prepares to approve the 2019 numbers for publication.
The proposed budget for next year is $76,024,933 on taxes levied of $13,354,950. With that, the mill levy will stay at 22.5 mills.
The budget request is always much higher than the actual amount spent during the year, so the college has some wiggle room in its spending authority if revenues come in higher than expected. The actual expenditures usually total around $44 million to $46 million.
The matter goes before the HutchCC Board of Trustees during its regular meeting on Thursday. A date for a public hearing on the budget will be set at that time.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson City Council will once again meet in special session Thursday morning to go over the 2019 budget.
The council still needs to find about $500,000 in cuts in order to keep its year-end balance at around $4.1 million and give employees a pay increase. The cuts come as the city wrestles with a balance between core services and the enhancements that come from parks, the arts and outside agencies.
The city is trying to eliminate the constant spending down of its reserve fund. In 2016, that fund was nearly $6 million. If the budget is approved as the council wants it, the reserve fund again would fall to the $4.1 million mark.
Thursday’s meeting is set for 8 a.m. at city hall.
SOUTH HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A portion of Hodge Road is now closed until further notice.
Reno County Public Works reports it is replacing the Salt Creek bridge. The area is located between 17th and 30th Avenue, or about 12 miles west of Hutchinson.
For more information, contact Reno County Public Works at 620-694-2976.
HAVEN, Kan. — The Haven USD 312 School Board will take action on a new collective bargaining agreement with the district’s 66 teachers during tonight’s agenda session.
The board agreed to the new contract during a special meeting last month. Since then, teachers have approved the new contract. The board is set to ratify the contract this evening.
The new agreement provides an increase in base pay for teachers from $35,986 to $38,877. It includes a 6 percent increase in insurance that will be picked up by the district. It also increases the school calendar days from 177 to 180.
Tonight also marks the start of the fiscal year. This will include a reorganization of the board and the usual in-house procedures.
The board will also set a date of Aug. 13 for the public hearing on the 2018-19 budget.
Tonight’s Haven USD 312 Board meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the Haven School District offices.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce will hold its monthly luncheon on Wednesday at 11:45 a.m. at the Hutchinson Town Club.
This month’s event is sponsored by Hutton Construction.
This month’s speaker is Hutchinson USD 308 Superintendent Dr. Gary Price. The luncheon is $15 for members and $25 for non-members.
For more information, contact Belinda McClannahan at the Chamber at 620-662-3361.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — It’s the Republican candidates turn to express their views and stances on issues with a forum Monday at the Hutchinson Community College Stringer Fine Arts Center.
The evening will begin with a Reno County Commission 1st District Forum at 4:00 p.m. with Kris Knowles and Ron Sellers.
That will be followed by the Kansas House of Representatives 104th District Forum at 4:45 p.m. with Rep. Steve Becker and candidate Paul Waggoner.
The final forum will feature the Republican gubernatorial candidates at 5:30 p.m.
Participating candidates include Jim Barnett, Patrick Kucera, Tyler Ruzich, Ken Selzer, and lieutenant governor candidates Tracey Mann and Willis “Wink” Hartman.
The forums are sponsored by the Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System.
Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Debra Teufel will act as the moderator.
There is no cost to attend the forums. For more information, contact Chelsey Dawson at chelseyd@hutchchamber.com or 620.662.3391.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Water use in Hutchinson is staying about normal for this time of year despite the dry, hot weather.
According to figures released by Hutchinson Public Works, the city is using an average of 6.2 million gallons of water daily so far this month. That compares to just over 7 million gallons per day at this time last year.
Whether it was the sudden warm weather in May, or the cold snap in April that delayed anyone getting out in the garden, water usage for that month was well above last year. In May, the average water use for the city was 5.9 million gallons per day, compared with just 4.9 million in 2017.
During the cold months, the city uses an average of 4.3 million gallons of water per day. In the summer months, that average increases to around 6.5 million gallons.
During the drought in 2012, the city was pumping an average of more than 9 million gallons of water a day out of the R.O. plant during the summer months.
of activities.
