Over 100 spectators attended the park on Friday evening to see the youngsters from the FERC playground classes exhibit their pets and dolls. The children were out in full force, too, despite a threatened thunder shower. One worker estimated there were seventy girls and fifty boys present. Due to the weather, the parade on Main Street was not held. Prizes were award to Ernest Newbrey for his horse as the largest pet, Betty Harris for her bird as the smallest pet, Keith Denio for his kitten with the most spots, Leo McCue for his dog with the shortest tail, Beverly Harris for her bantams as the most novel pets, Carl Anderson for his dog who did the most tricks, Billie Stevens for his dog with the longest tail, Wilma Barnes with the largest doll, Joan Riffe with the oldest doll, Dorothy Clark with the smallest doll, Dona Verle McMichael with the best dressed doll, and Wilma Barnes with the largest doll family numbering 38.

Details of the new Works Progress Administration (WPA) were explained to representatives of several political subdivisions in Rooks County here on Thursday morning by Paul Jackson, the engineer of the new setup. Interested individuals from various parts of the county attended to gather information about this new relief program. Those present were informed that any political subdivision may serve as a sponsor for a project.

Rooks County taxpayers will have to dig up about the same amount of money for the county’s operating expenses next year as they did in 1935, under tentative levies set by the county commissioners after preparing the 1936 budget, which is published in this issue of the Rooks County Record. The most significant reduction was made in the general fund. Its levy for the next year will be .0018 compared with .000255 for 1935.

Fire from an unknown cause raged at the Rooks County Fairgrounds on Thursday night, destroying the Stockton Sales Pavilion, a stock barn, and the racehorse barn. Lack of water at the Fairgrounds handicapped the firemen, as the stock barn would have undoubtedly been saved had there been sufficient water. L. O. Schoen, owner of the Stockton Sales Pavilion, could not say precisely what his loss would be, although it is estimated that the pavilion and equipment cost approximately $2,200.00. Miss Anna Garber, who lives about 100 yards from the scene, discovered the fire about midnight. The fire reflecting in her window awakened her, and she immediately turned on the alarm.

The harvesting of Rooks County’s wheat crop is now underway, but so small are the yields that farmers are evidently not bothering to take the grain to the elevators. Reports from Stockton show that only two or three loads have been marketed. Although Rooks County did not expect to raise much wheat, there were some fields two weeks ago that seemed to have a good chance of yielding a fair amount. Several fields in Twin Mound Township appeared to be suitable for a 20-bushel-per-acre average or better. The few thousand acres of wheat in this county that managed to survive the dust storms were damaged considerably by rust and hot weather. W. J. Fleming, manager of the Farmers Elevator, estimates that Rooks County will not raise one-fourth as much wheat as needed to seed it. Corn is continuing to look fairly good, although farmers are ready for it to rain almost any time now.

Drilling on another oil well in Rooks County is scheduled to begin later this week. The well is located on the J. A. Marshall farm, about three miles northeast of Stockton. The Eldorado Refining Company is drilling it. Erection of the derrick was completed last Thursday. If the company is successful in striking oil at this location, it is expected that offset wells will be sunk on the Will Moore, Fred Look, and Elvin Oliva farms.

Awakened at about 1:30 Saturday morning by footsteps in his home northwest of Stockton, Barney Rea started investigating and found a young man about 17 in the house attired only in a pair of trousers. The youth appeared to be a little strange so Mr. Rae called the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Ellett and undersheriff Stevens, answered the call and brought the young man to Stockton and spent much time questioning him, but the boy was unable to remember anything until late that afternoon when he was himself long enough to tell the officers his name. He was Kenneth Nonamaker, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Nonamaker, who live about three miles east of Osborne. Mrs. and Mrs. Nonamaker came after the youth on Sunday. They told Sheriff Ellett the boy had left home last Thursday on a bicycle. The parents remembered that their son was acting a little odd lately, but they took no particular notice of it.

Rooks County has completed 18 wells, a garden pond, and several farm ponds under the extensive water conservation program initiated last summer by the KERC, according to a report on the program received by Miss Pearl Rorabaugh on Monday. The report shows that more than 2,000 farm and garden ponds and 650 wells have been constructed in Kansas to date.

A reduction of $341,336.00 in the assessed valuation of personal property in Rooks County for 1935 is shown by the abstract of the assessor’s reports in the office of L. W. Wells, county clerk and assessor. The valuations for this year are $1,351,299.00 compared with $1,692,635.00 in 1934. Real estate valuations remain the same as they were a year ago.

There was considerable excitement in town Thursday evening along about eight or nine o’clock caused by a chase participated in by a father and son from Hill City. The father, O. Trexler, had been looking for his son, Kenneth, a 20-year-old youth, for some time. The boy seemed to have been on a grand spree and had written checks totaling over $1,000.00 on his father’s account, who had refused to honor them. Tuesday, the elder Trexler heard the boy had been seen around Stockton, and he came to look for him. He inquired of Fred Turnbull, who knew the son, if he had seen him. Fred, who is employed at the Standard Oil Service Station, had seen him and had reason to believe he might show up there. Mr. Trexler parked his car at the station and waited. Pretty soon, young Texler drove up from the south and started to head to the station, but upon seeing his father’s car, he veered sharply and headed out in the opposite direction as fast as he could drive. His father took off after him, and the chase led over many of the streets in the northern part of town and finally out of town to the west. The cars were traveling at an excessive speed, and on several occasions, the boy barely missed overturning while turning corners. Several pedestrians had to jump for their lives when he came down from the north and turned west at the Eades Store corner, and he missed cars parked along the street by mere inches. How the chase ended has not been learned. The young man was driving a 1935 Chevrolet Coach with ’33 county tags, but his father thinks he has been using Colorado tags part of the time.