Greeley County Republican

75¢ Single Copy

P.O. Box 610 • Tribune, Kansas 67879 • 620-376-4264 —8 Pages— Wednesday, July 8, 2020, Vol. 154. No. 28

Our vision is a vibrant, friendly, innovative, unified community with your family, health and happiness in mind.

Jan & Dan

Dan, Dan the Magic Man at Greeley County Library Friday, at 1:30 p.m. MT Wheat harvest is nearly

complete and the 2020 Greeley County Fair is just 3 weeks away! “Heroes come in ALL Shapes and Sizes” is the theme of this year’s fair. A fitting theme for our community and the entire country as we continue to fight through this pandemic.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has been hard on us all. The volunteers who serve on the Fairboard and Amusement Association Board have spent countless hours planning for a near normal county fair experience, but ultimately some tough decisions had to be made. In order to protect the health and safety of our community, our staff, and our many volunteers and patrons, the following changes will take place at the 2020 Greeley County Fair:

The Carnival is cancelled for this year’s fair.

The All School Reunion has been postponed to a later year.

The Little Folks Pet Show held at the Long Term Care has been cancelled.

4-H and Open Class Exhibits will continue as normal.

Fair activities like the Golf Tournaments, Rec Commission Events, Turtle Race, Parade, Truck & Trailer Rodeo, and Drive

In Movie will continue as planned. (see the 2020 Fairbook for a complete list of activities.)

Community Free BBQ will continue as normal, except reduced seating will be available under the Kuttler Pavilion. The 4-H Building will be open for additional seating and all meals will be served in “To-Go” containers for your convenience.

The 4-H Fair Kitchen will operate each day of the fair with a full menu. To-Go orders will be available and dine-in seating will be spaced to accommodate social distancing guidelines. This is the county 4-H Programs largest fundraiser of the year and we appreciate your support each and every year!

Hand Sanitizing stations will be available throughout the 4-H building and Kuttler Pavilion. We will also follow any local government ordinance concerning facemasks during this time.

Please don’t hesitate to call or stop by the Extension Office if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing “All of our Heroes” at the 2020 Greeley County Fair!

---Todd Schmidt, Extension Agent

Hello Greeley County Fair Enthusiasts!

To our friends in the Greeley County Community,

July 2, 2020It is with heavy hearts

that we announce the cancellation of the 2020 Greeley County Carnival. After exploring a number of scenarios and investigating as many possible options to continue, we were not able to find a workable option that keeps our community safe and allows the carnival to operate in 2020.

A number of factors went into this decision – namely the uncertainty of rising case counts in the state, recommendations that only people from the same household be seated together on rides, and sanitation requirements.

One of the complications of the carnival is that there are endless touch points – the doors to the building, the lap bars on the Roller Coaster, the chains on the swings, the darts at the balloon break. By the nature of what we do,

2020 Carnival cancelledpeople get close – frequently and without regard for personal space. Neither our kitchen or our dining area are large enough for social distancing and sanitizing the rides and surfaces between customers would have added a heavy workload to our volunteers’ plates.

As always, we were humbled by our dedicated carnival volunteers who so readily shared their thoughts on this year’s operation. Many of you were willing to step right in and sign up for a shift. Others voiced concern for their health and the community’s safety. Thank you all for your honesty and your commitment. Know how much you are appreciated and how much we look forward to moving forward in 2021.

Initially, we thought insurance availability might hold us up. That was not the case. We received a viable quote and appreciate those who helped us explore additional options.

We appreciate all that have helped prepare for this year’s carnival and look forward to continuing Monday work nights throughout the summer.

This decision was not made lightly, but instead, was agonized over and was made by a unanimous vote of the carnival board. We know this decision impacts our community widely and that it will affect how we all experience the Greeley County Fair. We are aware that our decision will anger some, sadden our patrons, and relieve others.

We welcome your questions and encourage you to contact any of the carnival board members to share your concerns.

With our gratitude for your support,

Monty MoritzDiane GentryChristy HopkinsAdriane SteinleWyatt DautelSherri ElderDavid Huddleston

Ashley’s Graphics held a street sale on Saturday, July 4. Wshely’s Graphics will move to the store south of Dixon Drugs previously occupied by the Farmer’s Daughter.

The DJ Noyes 2nd annual Memorial Fun Run is July 19th, and will be coming through Tribune at the Eagle at about 12:15 MT. The ride is sponsored by Tri-State Coalition of Concerned Motorcyclists, The Greeley-Wallace County Healthcare Foundation graciously sponsors the DJ Noyes Toy Fund for Sick Children. The Toy Fund is now serving eight local hospital and clinics and expanded this year to Wallace County EMT.

The toys are well received by the local health community and the GWCHF often hears thankful stories about the toys the children receive. In 2019 the Toy Fund had a special Christmas box of toys and a thank you to the healthcare providers for their service of hot chocolate and goodies and plan to do the same this year. We have also added anti-stress/fidget toys to help distract the child from a painful procedure.

The Toy Fund has been in Greeley County Hospital from the beginning of the fund helping with emergency and hospitalized children. Chrysanne Grund is the contact for the toys at the hospital/clinic. Bryant Plummer, a member of Tri-State & fellow classmate of DJ’s, rides in the motorcycle

run to raise funds. Last year his little son had to go to the emergency room in Oakley. His son received a toy of comfort from The Toy Fund. Bryant was very touched and spoke about how supporting this charity came full circle for him and his family by supporting the fund and receiving from the fund!

Tri-State Coalition of Concerned Motorcyclists sponsors many motorcycle runs for local charities. Andrea Plummer would be glad to tell you more about the organization. Tri-State sent a letter to DJ’s family after he passed before Christmas of 2018 stating they thought his memorial toy fund was a fund worth keeping in our local healthcare facilities and desired to have an annual motorcycle run to do so. The letter was so touching to DJ’s family! The family stays involved in volunteering to GWCHF time and efforts towards the toy fund to keep it stocked and packaged appropriately for healthcare facilities. Please note that the motorcycle run is for donation of funds and not toys as the GWCHF has specific regulations the toy fund abides by to ensure safety for their patients. To donate, the address is Greeley-Wallace Healthcare

Foundation, PO Box 338, Sharon Springs, KS 67558. Anyone is welcome to see the riders ride into Tribune. They plan to stop at The Eagle Travel Store ETA 12:15 MDT as they come from Leoti. The run continues on to Sharon Springs.

DJ Noyes moved to Logan County when he was eight in 1997 and attended Triplains in Winona. He was a Sharon Springs resident and married to Lisa Edwards Noyes of Russell Springs. His family is the Mark & Jill Hanson of the Russell Springs area. DJ worked at the Goodland Walmart when he was diagnosed with AML in 2019 and passed away the same year. He was ill as a child from Shwachman Diamond Syndrome, a pancreatic and blood disorder, and would often receive a toy of comfort when he was in healthcare facilities. The goal is the same with The Toy Fund hoping to bring some comfort and distraction in a uncomfortable and painful situations for our local children.

For more information contact Kevin, 620-214-0396 or PD 785-627-2024. Registration starts at 10 AM at Casey’s in Oakley.

DJ Noyes Memorial Motorcycle Fun Run benefit

J — We’ve heard that the harvest, which is about over now, was not a bumper crop but wasn’t as bad as was feared before harvest started. That’s good news. We can use some of that.

****J – The Greeley County Supervisors and Board of Health had a special meeting scheduled for Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m., to stream on their Facebook page. We don’t have the results of that, but the topic was to be discussion of the Kansas Governor’s mandate to wear masks while outside and in businesses and other places where 6-foot distancing cannot be done. It seems we have a split in the county and in the whole country about how to proceed with this issue and other covid-related ones.

****J — I have said it before, and I will say again: If you are a grandparent or extended family with grandchildren that live in your town or nearby, you are exceedingly lucky and blessed. Try not to take them for granted. We so thoroughly enjoyed our three weeks with our granddaughter, who lives many, many hours away. When she left, we had some withdrawal, and wondered what we did with our time before she and our daughter came! Priorities shift….

****J — I will now have to do my own fitness exercising, without a 21-month old to play with!! And I now know why I saved all the old toys in the basement!

****J – It will be a different kind of fair this year, without the carnival. There will still be some of the regular events, and some will be slightly changed to comply with social distancing.

****J – Thanks to all those who supported the community fireworks display.

****D — We plan on printing the Community Birthday Calendars again this year. If you have changes or additions, please let us know.

****D — In the July 1 edition of the GCR, I had Brian Reuber under the picture of his son Andrew. Andrew holds the school record in both the shot put at 52’3” and discus at 180’10”. My favorite memory of Andrew is a practice throw at the regional meet in Greensburg in his junior year. He threw beyond the furthest line, which was at 200 feet. The person shagging the discus walked off the distance of the throw as 210‘. A high school competitor standing next to me remarked, “Too far.” This is the final week of the GCHS track history publications. It’s an interesting history.

****D — These Modern Times – “Have to say that the Class of 2020 outdid themselves with Senior Skip Day this year!” “With so many sporting events cancelled, they’re having to televise the World Origami Championship… It’s on Paperview.”

****D — “Weaponizing information” is the term that keeps coming to mind. Edward Bernays work from the early 1900s in public relations is where I was first introduced to the concepts. I find it increasingly difficult to get factual data that I can believe. What was the yield on this year’s wheat crop in Greeley County? Some have always been sensitive about yields, but I could usually get good ballpark figures and KSU used to publish the numbers. What’s the actual number on the pandemic when they continually change the criteria? What are the positive and negative impacts of the lockdown?