Each Friday, The Gazette salutes those who make Emporia and the surrounding area a better place to live and work. Give these folks a pat on the back ...
THE 20 percent or so who showed up to vote Tuesday in Lyon County’s local elections. Next time, make sure to bring a few friends with you.
• Tuesday’s candidates, whether they won or lost. Thanks for stepping forward, folks.
• Brandon Childs of Emporia High School, who hit a winning 6 feet, 2 inches on the high jump March 30 — and then asked for the bar to be raised again, so he could try to beat his best. There’s a lesson there for the rest of us.
• The Friday night musicians at the Emma Chase Cafe in Cottonwood Falls. Whether it’s country or chamber music, these folks are just fun.
• Emporia State University President Michael Lane, who was inaugurated last weekend and immediately told the audience “It’s not about me.”
• Bad Ol’ Berns, which raised a little more than $1,800 to help pay the medical expenses of Phoebe Hensley, the owner of Phoebe’s Cafe and Cakes. Hensley has a viral infection in her heart and no health insurance.
• Nathan Stinson from the North Lyon County school district and Cole Jackson of the Chase County school district, who competed last weekend in the state geography bee. Only 100 kids qualified statewide.
• American Nutrition, which has begun upgrading the equipment in the former Safeway plant. The company expects to reopen in four to six weeks.
• EHS diver Hayley Fry, who won second place at the Emporia High Diving Invitational on Tuesday, on a dive that she had only tried once before in practice. Now that’s the way to make a splash.