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 ...
ROGER BUFFUM, whose Commercial Street Diner is marking its 15th anniversary, serving homestyle breakfast and lunch to the downtown crowd.
• The people and agencies who have banded together to provide coordinated community response in times of the disaster. The program is known as Community Organizations Active in Disaster.
• The Emporia State University baseball team, for its sterling performance so far on the NCAA Division 2 World Series. The Hornets go into Saturday’s championship game undefeated in the series.
• Northern Heights High School’s Envirothon team, which scored third overall in the Canon Kansas State Envirothon on May 13. Team members were Erik Pracht, Katelyn Zornes, Elizabeth Karr, Nathan Stinson and Melissa Coats. Gina Lyon was the coach.
• Debbie Adcock, who has been hired as the new administrative director for the Chase County Chamber of Commerce.
• Emporia State University track and field athlete Raelyn Pearson, who won the regional discus title.
• And Pearson’s teammate, Connie Philips, who broke the school record and surpassed her personal best to take fifth in javelin at the National Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
• Members of the veteran’s organizations of Emporia and Lyon County, who devoted their Memorial Day to honoring all those who have served and died.
• The board of the Flint Hills Community Health Center, for its decision to keep Project TEEN going in spite of the loss of outside funding for the teen-pregnancy prevention program.
• The Emporia Arts Council, which is nearing its $2.8 million goal in fundraising for a new Emporia Arts Center. The drive is still $180,000 short of the goal, but success seems assured.
• Speaking of budget courage, the Emporia Board of Education showed some gumption this week when it decided to keep the QUEST after-school program next year.
• The Emporia Fire Department, which has given away more than 440 smoke detectors to families with children and to people over 65. The firefighters are also installing the free smoke detectors.