At the start of the Rooks County Commission meeting held on Tuesday, January 16th, commissioners Jake Prockish and John Ruder met with sheriff Gary Knight and emergency management director Butch Post. The two requested ARPA funds to purchase two radios for dispatch backup at approximately $2,500.00, which was approved for the two departments.

Darren Rubottom is this year’s Rooks County Conservation District’s Bankers Soil Conservation Award recipient. Darren’s interest in production agriculture developed as an 8th grader while working on his grandparents’ farm south of Woodston.

The 2023 Rooks County Windbreak Award winners are Alan Dix and Travis Jones of Stockton. In 1998, Alan and Travis started planting trees for the Rooks County Conservation District. Their first project was a CRP Enhancement planting on Andreson property. Those first years were dedicated to CRP Enhancement contracts, and they could plant 15,000+ trees in those spring months. Later on, most of the plantings were for windbreaks, so fewer trees were planted.

The Rooks County Conservation District’s 76th Annual Meeting will take place on Monday, January 29th, at 6:30 p.m. at the Palco High School Gym.

The 2024 Stockton Grade School Spelling Bee was one for the books. The contest went twentysix rounds with 218 words announced until fourthgrade student Bryah Stithem won the competition after correctly spelling the word “recital.” She went head-to-head with runner-up Kaylee Clayton (fourth grade) for five rounds before Kaylee misspelled the word “inventory.” Rounding out the top four who will represent Stockton at the Rooks County Spelling Bee on Friday, February 9th, starting at 9:30 a.m.

The Phillips-Rooks Extension District will be hosting a free, daylong Farm/Ranch Financial Management program in the 4-H Building at the Rooks County Fairgrounds in Stockton on Thursday, February 8th. The program will begin at 10:30 a.m.

The #500forGood Program was started in 2018 by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka, with eight $500.00 gifts given out. This year, the organization is pleased to announce 52 recipients chosen from more than 120 submissions. The program is proud to play a small part in so many of the causes that communities believe in. This year, the Solomon Valley Manor in Stockton is one of the recipients due to Amber Muir with Solutions North Bank of Stockton, an FHLB member, answering the contest question, “If you had $500.00 to help your community, what would you do?”

A $16,033 grant from the Beach Family Foundation will help Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas add a separate, enclosed paint booth to its Custom Creations woodshop. This addition will provide a well ventilated and designated space for the painting and finishing of furniture for Custom Creations, designed to improve the overall environment for all of our Custom Creation workers.