QUINTER — In March, a reporters from the Wall Street Journal and George Washington University, along with a film/photo crew from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation visited Gove County. As part of their national study entitled “A New Portrait of Rural America,” Gove County represented “The Aging Farmland.”

This group traveled all spring throughout the United States, compiling data and stories about rural America. They presented their findings in their entirety on September 26 in Washington DC. Select community leaders from across rural America were asked to participate in a panel discussion as part of the event releasing the study.

Ericka Nicholson, Gove County economic development director, was invited and attended, expanding on the story of Gove County through a panel discussion and Q&A session following the study’s release.

The study was commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, with a purpose listed as follows: This is what American Communities Project (ACP) sets out to do. A combined social science/journalism effort based at The George Washington University’s School of Media & Public Affairs, the ACP uses a vast array of data – from election results and economic numbers to consumer survey and polling – to break communities into different types for analysis. The primary point: Even in the age of the Web, people in different places experience the world very differently.

Working with academics, the ACP used a wide range of different factors – everything from income to race and ethnicity to education to religious affiliation – and a clustering technique to identify 15 types of counties, everything from big cities to aging farmlands. It has mapped those types to show where the country’s political, socio-economic and cultural fissures are.

The result is an unprecedented growing attempt to understand the subtleties and complexities of the United States as the country reimagines its future and its place in the world. The project correlates economic and demographic data to election results and consumer data to see what is moving those different communities and to see who is struggling and who is thriving in the 21st Century United States.

The ACP’s 15 community types: African American South, Aging Farmlands, Big Cities, College Towns, Evangelical Hubs, Exurbs, Graying America, Hispanic Centers, LDS Enclaves, Middle Suburbs, Military Posts, Native American Lands, Rural Middle America, Urban Suburbs, and Working Class Country.

Highlighted in the Aging Farmland report is the surprising story of success found in healthcare delivery in Gove County.

Adding to the piece is a section about the advances in the Wheatland High School “hands on” educational offerings, and instructor (and local farmer) Mark Heier’s efforts to engage his students in these courses.

Also spotlighted is Gordon Jamison’s cattle and horse operation and how he has adapted his ranching business to evolve with the changing industry.

Kassie Remington (on behalf of Kansas Farm Bureau) contributes agricultural narrative to the piece as well as adding her own family’s farming and ranching business narrative.

Nicole Godek and Kay Haffner contribute to the report by discussing the founding and growth of the GCDC, and Godek ’s web based network of rural communities called Love Small Town America.

Nicholson’s contribution focuses on how many residents in very rural America must wear several hats, and reinvest in their communities.

“It was encouraging to see so many people filling the room who are genuinely interested in what is going on in very rural America,” she said.

“It is easy to tell the story of the people in our area and people are genuinely interested to hear that story. It is hopeful to me that so many are truly interested in this study of rural America. There were representatives there from the Wall Street Journal, Politico, NBC, HRSA, NACo, FDA, EPA, USDA and many more.

“I enjoyed meeting the other community leaders from this report. We all decided that while our struggles in rural America are similar, our tools, processes and methods of fighting for our communities are all very different,” Nicholson added.

To view the Entire American Communities Report you can visit https://www.americancommunities.org/.

To view the Gove County segment you can visit https://www.americancommunities.org/chapter/gove-county-kansas-aging-farmland/.

There is also a link to the televised event on the ACP webpage.

– SUBMITTED –

Acting Corrections Secretary Jeff Zmuda announced today the appointment of two longtime Kansas Department of Corrections administrators to lead Norton and Topeka correctional facilities, effective Oct. 6.

Gloria Geither, the agency’s case management and mentoring director, will serve as warden for Topeka Correctional Facility while Norton Correctional Facility Acting Warden Hazel Peterson will permanently take the helm at Norton.

“We are fortunate to draw upon the experience of two corrections veterans who have a dedication to improving the lives of our offenders and a commitment to staff,” Zmuda said. “Both Gloria and Hazel are trusted leaders within the agency who have a strong understanding of our challenges and a desire to make Kansas safer.”

The appointments of Geither and Peterson follow Shannon Meyer being named as warden for the state’s oldest facility for male offenders, Lansing Correctional Facility, in August. The leadership at three of the state’s eight adult correctional facilities now will be held by women, the largest number in the agency’s history.

Geither replaces the vacancy left by Meyer’s move from Topeka Correctional Facility, the state’s only women’s prison. Currently, the facility has a population of 902.

Previously, Geither oversaw the agency’s Mentoring4Success program and efforts to improve risk-reduction strategies to improve recidivism and overall prison admissions.

Geither began her career with the KDOC in 1990 at Topeka Correctional Facility as the director of the women’s activities and learning center. She would go on to serve as the agency’s director of religious services.

Geither received her bachelor’s degree in administration of justice with an emphasis in corrections and a minor in sociology from Wichita State University. She received her master’s degree in public administration from the University of Kansas.

Peterson’s appointment comes following former Warden Joel Hrabe’s move to Corrections’ deputy secretary of facility management. Norton Correctional Facility houses low-medium and minimum-custody male offenders and has a current population of 971.

Peterson began her career at Norton in 1992 while working in the food service area. She became a corrections counselor in 1996 and steadily rose through the ranks to become a corrections manager in 2004. During her career, Peterson has been recognized for her work in classification and in re-entry and risk-reduction programming and services. In 2018, Peterson was named a deputy warden at Norton.

Peterson attended Barton Community College and completed the KDOC Leadership Academy.

— KDOC

COLBY — A fiddler made famous with Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, and later the Saturday night television hit show “Hee Haw” will spotlight the stage at Colby Community College’s Cultural Arts Center, Sunday, Oct. 13 at 3 p.m. CDT. Jana Jae, known as the first lady of country fiddle, will have a workshop ahead of the show in the CCC choir room for anyone interested, starting 1 p.m., and will also include a discussion of her life-time music and performing career.

This 50th Anniversary Western Plains Arts Association project is generously funded with a public grant from the Mid-America Arts Alliance, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the state arts agencies of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.

In addition, the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, Logan, and the Greater Northwest Kansas Community Foundation —Dane Hansen Community Grant for Thomas County, and the Seele Foundation, are major contributors to this year’s WPAA season.

Like most entertainers who have reached stardom, Jana Jae’s success is the result of hard work perfecting raw talent. Musical talent runs through the family. Her parents studied at New York’s famed Juilliard School of Music, and Jana was introduced to the classical study of the violin, on a one-eighth sized instrument, at the age of two. Then, thanks to the direction and inspiration of her grandfather, an accomplished champion fiddler in his own right, Jana also learned to love playing by ear.

She virtually grew up jamming with and learning from some of the best in the business while living in western Idaho, not far from Weiser, the site of the National Old-time Fiddlers’ Contest. Soon she had honed her skill of fiddling into a fine art and won the Ladies National Championship several times.

She also continued her classical training, winning scholarships to Interlochen and the International String Congress. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in music and studied abroad at the Vienna Academy of Music. She taught music for several years until she felt inspired to take her unique blend of music on the road.

Jana and her trademark blue fiddle soon took the world of country music by storm. She got her big break at a Buck Owens concert in Redding, Calif., when she was invited to take the stage and play “Orange Blossom Special.” Owens was one of the first “big names” to recognize her talents and offered her a job as the first female member of his “Buckaroos” band. She later became part of the regular team of performers on the “Hee Haw” show and has appeared with such country music greats as Chet Atkins, Roy Clark, Ray Stevens, The Oakridge Boys, Mel Tillis, Ricky Skaggs and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

Jana has built a solid solo career, drawing upon her diverse musical background. Her one-of-a-kind style blends country fiddling, western swing, bluegrass, pop and the classics, producing thrilling performances and critical acclaim. But her enthusiastic following isn’t limited only to this country. She has consistently proved her ability to cross over into other genres and has earned a reputation and large international following performing at such renowned events as the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the Wembley Festival in England as well as the New Orleans Jazz Festival. She has toured Japan, the Philippines, Australia, Africa, Brazil and continues to perform abroad. Jana is known for her pure, clear voice, showmanship, friendly sense of humor and natural communication with any audience combine for a dynamite concert.

Jana is an in-demand fiddle master having performed at Montreux Jazz Festival, Wembley Festival, New Orleans Jazz Festival and the largest out door theatre in the world “Aspecta” in Japan. Jana is a sought after fiddle player hosting her own “Fiddle Camp” – teaching the techniques that made her famous.

She is a member of: National Fiddler Hall of Fame, Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, National Western Swing Hall of Fame, Idaho Hall of Fame, Mid-America Old Time Fiddler’s Hall of Fame, and an Oklahoma Governor’s Arts Award recipient.

— WPAA

ELLIS COUNTY— One person was injured in an accident just before 9:30p.m. Wednesday in Ellis County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Chevy Trailblazer driven by Pletcher, Brittany N. Pletcher, 26, Hays, was westbound on Highway 40 one mile west of Yocemento Avenue.

The driver swerved to avoid an opossum, lost control and entered the south ditch. The vehicle rolled once coming to rest on its wheels.

EMS transported Pletcher to Hays Medical Center. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

The Kansas Army National Guard will mark the opening of a new office on the campus of Fort Hays State University with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, Oct. 8, at 1 p.m.

Attending the ceremony will be Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, the adjutant general, and FHSU President Tisa Mason along with other FHSU faculty members.

The new office will be staffed by members of the Kansas National Guard Recruiting and Retention Office, who will provide members of the Fort Hays State community with information on the educational and professional benefits of enlisting in the Kansas National Guard.

“These partnerships between the Kansas National Guard and our state’s community colleges and universities are mutually beneficial,” said Tafanelli. “The men and women who attend these institutions are smart, eager and committed to improving their state and communities; they’re just the sort of people we want in the Guard.

“And the students receive great educational benefits as a member of the Guard, not just in terms of tuition, but also because of the many great career opportunities we have. For just about any field of study they have as a student, you can find a correlating career in the Guard.”

President Mason welcomed the expansion of the university’s relationship with the Guard, stating “We take great pride in being able to support these men and women whose sacrifice, dedication and selfless service inspires us all. I think what makes us attractive as an education partner is the high-quality programs, unmatched affordability, and dedicated and caring faculty and staff we offer to value-conscious Guard members who want to advance in their civilian and military careers.”

— Adjutant General’s Department