The countdown for the 2020 Stockton Sentinel New Year’s Baby took a little longer than usual, but the wait was so worth it when new parents Dayna and Dustin Kriley welcomed their son, Ezra Michael Kriley, into the world on Friday, February 21st. Ezra was born on 5:34 p.m. at the Hays Medical Center. The little man weighed in at 8 pounds and five ounces, was 19 1/2 inches long, and has blonde hair and blue eyes like his mommy and daddy.

The Mid-Continent Elementary League Music Festival took place at Norton on Wednesday, February 26th. Several Stockton music students took solos to the event. The choir received a II Rating for their performance selections: “Homeward Bound” arranged by Jay Althouse and “Lean On Me (We Shall Overcome)” arranged by Mark Hayes.

The town of Stockton came out in full force to honor Donald Stratton, one of the last three survivors of the U.S.S. Arizona during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 as he was taken to his final resting place in Red Cloud, Nebraska. A military motorcade transported the hero from Colorado Springs where he had died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 97 years.The motorcade drove through Stockton at 8:45 p.m. on Saturday evening, February 29th and was met at the 183/24 intersection by members of the Stockton VFW, fire engines, law enforcement and townspeople waving flags and saluting as the procession went by. Not only was there a crowd at the stoplights, but others had gathered at several places along Highway 183 to pay their respects to the WWII veteran.The timetable for the procession was later than first anticipated due to an accident when the motorcade was traveling on I-70 in Gove County, which sadly resulted in two fatalities.Seaman 1st Class Stratton had a connection to the area as the grandchildren of Bob and Kay Reed, Kimberlynn (Lockhart) Uhl and Braeden Lockhart, are his second cousins. Mr. Stratton was laid to rest in the Red Cloud Cemetery with full military honors on Monday, March 2nd.

The St. Thomas Knights of Columbus will be hosting a Fish Fry this Friday, March 6th at the St. Thomas Parish Hall in Stockton. The Free Will offering will begin at 5:00 p.m. and will continue until the food runs out, so come early! See you there!

THESE STOCKTON MEN participated in the Grand Island Bowling Tourney at the end of February in 1997. The men brought home $1,956.23 in prize money out of a total payout of $10,485.25. They are (front row, from left): Lawrence Koelling, Joey Bellerive, Kermit Schindler, Dale Boucher, Corky Hagan, Harry Colburn, Jerry Sterling; (back row): Kevin Morgan, Merrill Johnston, Delwin LaRue, Dan Nelson, Bill Dibble, Bob Lambert and Donnie Johnston. Not pictured: Chad Sterling, Mike Hollern, Dale Broeker and Bob Oliva.

* And So They Say: Les Eckart: “You haven’t tried anything till you’ve tried to get a passport photo.” Butch Ostmeyer: “I don’t think it will be too long until we have the 1964 Fair lined up pretty well.”

At the Rooks County Commission meeting held on Tuesday, February 18th, sheriff Gary Knight, emergency management director Butch Post and road and bridge supervisor Rich Bouchey met with the commissioners to finalize cost details for the radio antennae installation for the County. The antennae will be installed on the east water tower site in Plainville. The City of Plainville will pay a quarter of the cost with Knight to visit with the Plainville commissioners about the purchase of a generator, as well as the welding and electrical hookups that were not included in the initial purchase price. The County will cover the yearly insurance cost with the road and bridge department to help pay for the installation fees for the antennae. The plan is to have the antennae installed by mid-to late-March.

GREGG GARTRELL, left, was recognized recently at the annual meeting of the Rooks County Conservation Service by Chairman Gregg Whisman, right. Gregg is a current member of the Rooks County Conservation District Board of Supervisors, serving as Vice Chairman. He was elected in 1980 and has served for 24 years. He was first elected in 1980, serving until 1995. He was then reelected in 2011. Gregg has chosen not to run for reelection this year. The Rooks County Conservation Board of Supervisors is a dedicated group of volunteers. They receive no pay for their service but give freely of themselves for the conservation and preservation of our natural resources. Over the last 73 years, supervisors representing the District have made great strides to help educate agricultural producers as well as urban residents and youth on the importance of our

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