El Dorado Today

For some time Marv Loucks has had a vision to help local young-sters. Approximately a year ago, he took steps to make his vision a reality. He enlisted three dozen community volunteers to serve on a task force called the Vision 20/20 Task Force. Their mission – to assist children through mentoring to strengthen skills in such areas as personal account-ability, literacy, work ethic, substance abuse, fitness and health, from Kindergarten through High School.

To do this, the group has partnered with the Big Brothers /Sisters of Butler County, USD 490, the El Dorado Chamber of Commerce, Frontier Refining and Marketing, and Leadership Butler, which lent its 501C3 designation to the group.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become a reality in El Dorado, thanks to the efforts of Vision 20/20 and the financial support of Frontier Refining and Marketing. This program, the brain child of famous entertainer Dolly Parton, sends an age-appropriate book to each child born in El Dorado each month from birth through age 5, at no charge to the child’s family. In February, 224 children received their first book.

Volunteers have responded enthusiastically for the mentoring program initiated by Vision 20/20. With recruiting help from the El Dorado Chamber, seven different El Dorado businesses/organizations have committed their employees to man eight four-person teams which visited

kindergarten classes for the first time in March for mentoring. Each volunteer underwent training given by USD 490, Big Brothers/Sisters, and the El Dorado Chamber. Each team is committed to staying with the same group of students from Kindergarten through graduation.

Three of the companies committing volunteers for the mentoring program have a waiting list of more than two years. However, more teams will be needed with each new year of incoming Kindergarteners. If you do the math, 104 teams will be needed by the year 20/20, when the very first teams will have finished their work, hope-fully with positive results!

Community volunteers step up for mentoring program

Three new businesses have opened their doors, and a fourth is scheduled to open soon. Scooter’s Coffee House has opened in District 142, 142 N. Main, adjacent to the Pink Saloon. The franchise features Seattle style coffee drinks as well as baked items, sand-wiches and soft drinks. Also available is Scooter brand coffee

by the pound and bakery mixes. The atmosphere is very modern, comfortable and invit-ing. Hours are M-F 6 to 8; Sat. 7 to 8; Sun Noon to 5.

Satchel Creek Steaks, also in District 142, directly behind Scooters, features all-natural beef raised on the family ranch in the Flint Hills. The meat contains no growth hormones,

antibiotics or steroids. Steaks, patties, ribs, franks, jerky, as well as gift cards and baskets may be purchased in the store or ordered. For more informa-tion call 320-1937.

Construction is ongoing to remodel space in District 142 for Salon Knotty, an upscale salon. An opening date is expected soon.

District 142 welcomes new businesses

News from El Dorado, Kansas April 2008

Volume 2, Issue 2

High School students move into renovation

2

Bill Walton 2

ButlerCC Kids College 2

Flint Hills Services 3

Governor’s One Shot Turkey Hunt

3

Giant Scale Remote Con-trolled Airplanes

3

Upcoming calendar events 4

Inside this issue:

Special points of interest:

El Dorado Lake was chosen by Wichita Magazine as runner up in the “best weekend getaway” category, along with Branson Missouri

Susie’s Chili Parlor, 124 S. Main, was featured in Wichita Magazine’s Dining Daytrips- 20 delicious discoveries worth the drive.

Bridge on El Dorado’s newly opened bike path

Butler Community College mentor Kay Metzinger works with kinder-garten students. - photo by Julie Anderson

In April 2005, USD 490 voters approved a $19.14 million bond issue to construct and equip additions to and make needed renovations, including demo-lition of some existing portions, to the El Dorado High School.

Phase I of construction was recently completed and students and staff are now occupying the new classroom addition, multi-purpose room, and vo-tech building. Also included in Phase I projects were the renovation of the gymnasium, swimming pool and athletic locker rooms. The original classrooms, auditorium, commons,

kitchen and administration offices will be demolished in April 2008. Construction of the new auditorium, commons, kitchen, administration offices and five classrooms (drama, music and video produc-tion) will begin soon thereafter.

The new construction provides EHS students and staff numerous academic, safety and environ-mental benefits. All new class-rooms are compatible with today’s instructional needs, and are well lit with natural light and a lighting system that provides proper intensity and distribution of light. The academic areas are located

away from noisy areas like cafeteria, gym and music rooms. Science labs now have sufficient space for group instruction as well as individual experiments. When completed the new 1,000-seat auditorium will have a modern stage and lighting and sound system, in addition to space for stagecraft, forensics and video production.

The new construction at El Dorado High School creates classroom environments that encourage technology skills, individual and group learning, communication, basic aca-demic and thinking skills.

arts and language classes. Fourth and fifth graders may find math, computer, arts, language, writing, history and science classes to their liking. A few of the tantalizing titles are Exploring Math through Travel, Crime Scene Investigation, Nuts for Newspapers, You’ve Got German Germs!, and Rock Climbing 101.

This summer, Butler Community College will offer “quality enrich-ment classes” for students who will be in second through fifth grade in the coming school year. What that really means is that a line-up of fun and educational summer classes awaits on campus to fill summer days for kids.

Second and third graders may choose from a menu of science,

Instructors typically are certified teachers, and in some instances have specialized fields which enhance the learning experience.

Classes are held on both the El Dorado and Andover campuses, depending on the session. For more information, call the Community Education Office at 316-322-3193 or 733-3190 from the Wichita metro area.

High School students move into new digs

Butler Kids College provides fun summer challenge

West.. His childhood experience with horses is evident in these works.

Bill’s passion for sports, particularly baseball, is evident in his sport art. He prefers to paint or draw the golden era of baseball using brilliant pastel colors to create portraits and action scenes of athletes.

This sport genre has taken him from coast to cost with commis-sioned work from throughout the

United States and Canada. He has done commissioned sport art for the Oklahoma Sports Museum and for the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame in Wichita, among others.

Bill and his wife Connie own and operate the Bill Walton Studio and Gallery at 135 1/2 N. Main in El Dorado. Professional framing is available at the gallery. The business is open to the public daily.

Walton combines interests, talent into successful career Bill Walton’s fascination with the professional athlete and the old west, combined with his artistic skills, has evolved into a full-time profession as an artist.

His identity as a western artist began to unfold in 1971. He depicts western scenes using vari-ous mediums that tell a story, whether it is dramatic or comedic, or an illustration of the simple tasks typical of daily life in the

Page 2 E l Dorado Today Volume 2, Issue 2

Butler Kids College provides summer enrichment to area students.

Walton’s feeling for the game translates through his artistic talent onto paper.

El Dorado High School students occupy new classrooms

Flinthills Services provides support for hopes, dreams

Hunters flock from across the nation for Turkey Hunt

Giant scale remote control planes coming to El Dorado.

Butler County has a rich history of providing supports and services for individuals with developmental disabilities, beginning in 1954 with the forming of The Arc of Butler County, the first organization of community members for this purpose. Some of those original founding members were instrumental in the or-ganizing of what is known today as Flinthills Services, Inc.

Today Flinthills Services provides support and assistance to ninety people and their families

in Butler County, including job exploration, employment skills experience, independent living, supported community living, targeted case management, and wellness monitoring.

At three different facilities in El Dorado, Flinthills Services staff teaches daily living skills, arts and crafts, leisure activities, outdoor gardening, nutrition, and offers employment op-portunities. Also available are residential services and in-home family supports.

Flinthills Services has put into place a direct mail service and

shredding service which employs their clients. They have the capability of shredding up to 1000 pounds of docu-ments per hour, and provides documentation when the job is finished. The direct mail service includes collating, folding, stapling, labeling, applying postage and delivery to the Post Office. In addition, they offer small hand packaging and assembling services.

For more information, contact Dana Korkki at 321-2325 or Curtis Roby at 321-6553.

form of landowners, guides and event workers.

Each year, one hunter is awarded the Top Gun Award for bringing in the turkey receiving the greatest score, based on size and coloring. The hunt supports a youth program, inviting a group of celebrity youth hunters, to teach the importance of outdoor resources. Another important aspect of the hunt is the awarding

Each April, El Dorado welcomes a group of celebrity hunters from across the nation for the Kansas Governor’s One-Shot Turkey Hunt. The event was started in 1987 by Governor Mike Hayden for the purpose of promoting Kansas and the great outdoor resources we enjoy. In its twenty second year this April, the event will draw approxi-mately 90 hunters, and involve hundreds of volunteers in the

The giant scale airplanes have a minimum 80-inch wingspan and generally weigh over 100 pounds.

David Wiebe, owner/operator of Wiebe Air Repair at El Dorado Airport, estimates that 20 to 25 remote control pilots will be at the June meet, with their planes from around the area,

They are perfect replicas of the real thing, built by hand, mostly from scratch by the owners, to one quarter inch scale. They are giant scale remote control planes, and they will be flying in El Dorado on June 27, 28 and 29 at the El Dorado Municipal Airport, 1485 SE 30th, El Dorado.

including Wichita, Topeka and Tulsa.

Activities are planned on Friday, June 27 from noon to 4 p.m.; Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., beginning with a free fly-in breakfast; and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The public is invited, and all events are free.

We are forever thankful to those community members, families, and The Arc for their hard work and dedication of ensuring that all people, regardless of their disability, should have a system of support responsive to their hopes, dreams, and desires.

Dana Korkki, Director

Flinthills Services

Page 3 E l Dorado Today Volume 2, Issue 2

Governors Sebelius and Hayden at One-Shot Turkey Hunt

of scholarships to students working toward an outdoor resource degree, established through the Willis Scholarship Foundation.

Some of the celebrities attending past Turkey Hunts are Sonny Purdue, Governor of Georgia, Craig Morgan, recording star, Daryle Singletary, recording star, Dr. James “Red” Duke of televi-sion fame, Bill Koch, and Harold Ensley, television fishing guru.

Giant Scale remote control planes fly in El Dorado

El Dorado Inc. is a public/private partnership with the City of El Dorado whose mission is to further the economic development of the El Dorado area and its environs. The primary objectives of El Dorado Inc. shall be to benefit the community as measured by increased employment, payroll, business volume, housing starts and similar factors.

For El Dorado Inc. membership information, contact Linda Jolly at 321-1485 or lkjolly@eldorado-inc.com

El Dorado Inc. 201 E. Central P.O. Box 350 El Dorado, KS 67042

We’re on the web! Visit us at www.visiteldoradoks.com

Phone: 316-321-1485 Fax: 316-321-5419 E-mail: lkjolly@eldorado-inc.com

El Dorado, Kansas—Where we enjoy the fine art of living well!

News from El Dorado, Kansas

April 19 Carolyn Cruso Iron Horse Concert Hall 315 S. Main St.

April 25, 26 Instrumental Concert Fine Arts Theatre, Butler CC

April 26 Switchback Iron Horse Concert Hall 315 S. Main St.

May 1 - October 4 Exhibition: "1958 Twister: Two Minutes of Terror" Butler County History Center 383 E. Central

May 2-28 Art Exhibit: Skeet Sirmons, Mary Binford Miller and Nancy Whitaker Coutts Museum of Art, 110 N. Main

May 2, 3 Instrumental Concert Fine Arts Theatre, Butler CC

May 3 Marianne Koke Memorial Concert & Barbecue

Iron Horse Concert Hall 315 S. Main St.

May 8 Butler Community College BCC Student Art Sale Erman B. White Gallery

May 20 Brown Bag Luncheon Tom Kinder - “Taxidermy”– Noon Coutts Museum of Art, 110 N. Main

May 24 Mayfest Contemporary Art Show, with music & a movie; starts at noon. Star-Vu Drive-In Theater 1010 S. Haverhill

May 30 Special History Section for El Dorado Times, Politics Butler County History Center 383 E. Central

June [TBA] Nifty 50's and Psychedelic 60's Car Show Butler County History Center 383 E. Central

El Dorado Events Calendar April 4-25 Maleta Forsberg Exhibit Coutts Museum of Art, 110 N. Main

April 5 Jubilant Bridge Iron Horse Concert Hall 315 S. Main St.

April 10, 11, 12 Theatre Production - Bus Stop Fine Arts Theatre, Butler Commu-nity College

April 11, 12, 13 Annual Governors One Shot Turkey Hunt

April 12 Boulder Acoustic Society Iron Horse Concert Hall 315 S. Main St.

April 15 Brown Bag Luncheon Connie Walton - "Beyond Conven-tional Framing"- Noon Coutts Museum of Art, 110 N. Main

April 18, 19 Dance Concert Fine Arts Theatre, Butler CC

June 1 Vintage Baseball Game McDonald Stadium

June 4-25 Rick McNary - Cowboy Photogra-phy; Sharon Connaway - Rodeo /Ranch Paintings Coutts Museum of Art, 110 N. Main,

June 13-15 Frontier Western Celebration Concert, Heritage Events, Extreme Bull Blowout, Ranch Rodeo, Trail Rides and MORE!

June 17 Brown Bag Luncheon– Noon Robin Forpahl - “Summer Fashions” Coutts Museum of Art, 110 N. Main

June 21 CAST for Kids Event Outdoor fishing event for disabled and special needs children. El Dorado Lake & State Park

June 27- 29 Giant Scale Remote Control Aircraft Meet; FREE Fly-In Breakfast El Dorado Airport