News & Writing Excellence [Feb] 1/3

! Senior Scene by JohnWickland pg.4

! Area Church Direc-tory. pg.15

! Comics and Cross-word puzzle. pg. 16-17

Vol. 126, No. 5 Breaking News at KiowaCountySignal.com 75 ¢

Potential HIB investors returnfrom Germany with optimismBrown: ‘I have no doubt in my mind that these are top-notch folks’

HIB inventor Deiter Junker’s fifth generation Black Forest sawmill in southwestern Germany. COURTESY OF ORVAL HOWELL

City council, Mayor find Trulove20-year Marine Corps. veteran and Sterling Chief of Policewill be new Greensburg City Administrator

page 13WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Serving Kiowa County, Kansas Since 1886

pg.10

FAITH AND VALUES

‘I alwayssearchedfor somedeeperinsightinto themeaningof thesewords’

pg. 14

2 WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 , 2012 ! Kiowa County Signal ! www.kiowacountysignal.com ! @TheKiowaSignal ! Facebook.com/TheKiowaCountySIgnal

PAGE ONE Do you have a news story you would like to see in The Signal? Do you have an up-coming community event? Send it into the Signal! Email your news tips or eventsto [email protected] or call 620.723.2115

SUBMIT YOUR LOCAL NEWS AND EVENTS

GOT MOBILE? Get up-to-the-minute local news and events on your mobile device by following our Twitter account: @TheKiowaSignal

Enchilada SaleSt. Joseph Catholic

Church in Greensburg istaking orders for its an-nual Enchilada fundrais-er for the Kiowa CountyHigh School after promparty. Cost is $13 perdozen and should beplaced by Feb. 14 withEllen Peters at (620)255-3636. Orders can bepicked up on Feb. 18.

Groundhog Supper

The Mullinville UnitedMethodist Church willhost its annual Gound-hog Day Supper from 5to 7 p.m. on Feb. 4 attheir church inMullinville. Cost is a freewill donation

IT’S A GIRL!

Kaleigh GrayceReinert

GREAT BEND — Nyleand Glenna Reinert onGreat Bend welcomed 7lb,1oz, 20 inch bouncing babygirl Kaleigh Grayce Reinertto the family on TuesdayJan. 10 at Great Bend Hos-pital. Congratulations tothe entire family, includinggrandparents Ralph Rein-ert of Ness City and Den-nis and Jeannie Schuette ofYuma, Ariz. and Keith andCheryl Brown of Haviland.

NUPTIALS

Jessica DeAunTibbetts andAndrew LucasHanvey

GREENSBURG — Jes-sica DeAun Tibbetts andAndrew Lucas Hanvey,were united in marriageMay 21, 2011, at Greens-burg First UnitedMethodist Church withTerry Mayhew officiatingat the double ring cere-mony. The couple’s par-

ents are Jed and Darci Tib-betts, Pratt, and A.L. andRuth Hanvey, Greens-burg.Megan Sherer,Mullinville, was the bride’spersonal attendant. KatiSnelling, Pratt, was themaid of honor. Brides-maids were Kylie Snelling,Wichita, and Tanya Ho-ran, Park City.

Matt Hanvey, Coldwa-ter, was the best man.Groomsmen were CodySherer, Mullinville, andKevin Israel, Dodge City.Chris Tibbetts, Liberal, wasthe musician. Hilary Han-vey, Coldwater, andHeather Tibbetts, KansasCity, attended the guestbook.

After a wedding trip toRiviera Maya, Mexico, thecouple is at home in Pratt.

The bride graduatedfrom Pratt High School in2001 and from KansasState University in 2005,where she also received amaster’s degree in 2011.She is a second gradeteacher for USD 382. Thegroom graduated fromHaviland High School in2001 and Fort Hays StateUniversity in 2005. He is

employed with Kansas GasService.

BIRTHDAY WISHES

Joan HayseGREENSBURG — Joan

(Wilson) Hayse of Greens-burg, will celebrate her up-coming 80th birthday witha family dinner. She wasborn on February 3, 1932.Joan graduated from Hav-iland High School in 1950.After attending EmporiaState University she taughtFirst Grade in Kinsley,Kansas. On June 7, 1953she married Carl Hayse, inGreensburg. They owned2 businesses for manyyears; Hayse Water WellService and Hayse Green-house and Garden Center.

She raised a family of 5children; Sonia, Dale, Dan,Dean, and Darol. She has8 grandchildren and 1great grandchild. Joan re-tired when the tornado de-stroyed their home andbusinesses. She designedand rebuilt her home on

the original lot. She enjoysspending her time nowgardening, painting, vol-unteering and taking tripswith her 3 sisters. Birthdaywishes can be sent to 603S. Maple, Greensburg, KS67054

! ABC World News producer Holly Sweet took two videosdirectly following the May 2007 Greensburg tornado. Findthis video only at KiowaCountySignal.com.

As the residents of Greensburg prepare to celebratethe fifth year of rebuilding in May, The Signal will pub-lish intimate and often raw videos taken of Greensburgdirectly following the tornado. The stories of residentsand visitors in these videos shows an emotion and inti-macy not found in many of the over produced videoscreated by news outlets at the time.

Patrick Clement, Signal Editor

Jessica DeAun Tibbetts and Andrew Lucas Hanvey.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK:

‘Holly Sweet, May 2007’

ONLY ONLINE

3WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1, 2012 ! Kiowa County Signal ! www.kiowacountysignal.com

Publication No. USPS (295-960)Published weekly by Gatehouse Media, Inc. Periodicals postage paid inGreensburg, KS. Annual cost of home delivery via mail is $44 (tax in-cluded) in Kiowa, Comanche, Clark, Ford, Edwards, Pratt and Barbercounties, $55 elswhere. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes toKiowa County Signal c/o The Pratt Tribune PO Box 909, Pratt, KS 67124.We are a member of the KKaannssaass PPrreessss AAssssoocciiaattiioonn. Printed on 20% Recycled Paper. © GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC.. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

101 S. Main St. Suite 207, Greensburg, KS 67054www.KiowaCountySignal.com

Patrick M. ClementManaging [email protected]

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Subject you teach: HIGHSCHOOL RESOURCE ROOM(SPECIAL EDUCATION)School: KIOWA COUNTYHIGH SCHOOLHometown: PHILLIPSBURG,KSEducation: BACHELORS' DE-GREE -FORT HAYS STATE UNI-VERSITY; MASTERS'DEGREE--FORT HAYS STATE UNI-VERSITYFamily: HUSBAND: MIKEDAUGHTER-- BETHANY WOOD ;SON--BARRETT CASE; 4 GRAND-DAUGHTERSInterests and hobbies:GRANDCHILDREN, READING,PINTEREST

Why did you decided tobecome an educator?I had an older brother withsevere physical and men-tal handicaps. I decidedto become a teacher to

help children whohad disabilities.

Who is a teacheror professor who

inspired you and how? Several of my teachershave inspired me, but noone specific.

Who is someone in cur-rent events who you ad-mire and why? Kansas State coach, BillSnyder, has my admiration.He seems to be a man withmorals and strong ethics.His players respect himand I do, too, an on on-looker.

What are the greatestchallenges in educationtoday? Motivating students towant to learn is a chal-lenge, but also letting themrealize that the choicesthey make do matter intheir future.

What advice can youoffer for someone whowants to go into educa-tion? I would suggest that any-one going into education :Learn all you can about dif-ferent learning styles. Thiswill hopefully help you un-derstand your students alittle better.

What teaching momentis most memorable? The first time and everytime a student has saidthat he/she was glad I

could help them learnsomething is very memo-rable.

Jan CaseEDUCATOR Q&A


COLUMNS The Kiowa County Signal encourages members of the community to submit op-pinon letters related to topics that are important to you, Please keep your typedsubmission under 300 words. All submissions are published at the discretion ofthe editor. Email your letter to: eeddiittoorr@@kkiioowwaaccoouunnttyyssiiggnnaall..ccoomm

BECOME A CONTRIBUTOR

GOT BLOG? View local fashion, pop culture and political blogs updated every week at: www.kiowacountysignal.com

SENIOR SCENE

Seeking applicants

On Tuesday, Febru-ary 7 we are hav-ing a special

Game Dayfor seniors atthe GreenBean CoffeeCompany inGreensburgat the cor-ner of MainStreet andHighway 54. From 10 to11 am we will be playingbingo with complimenta-ry coffee & goodies foreverybody and prizes forthe lucky winners! Allseniors (age 60+) are in-vited to join us. Compli-mentary transportationis available upon request.

RECLAIM YOURBRAIN

It is important to exer-cise your brain to staysharp. As people age theytend to challenge theirbrain less frequently. Thegood news is that it's nev-er too late to start workingon your brain again. Themind continues to expandand adapt to stimulithroughout our lives. Thereare a variety of ways totrain your brain. You canread a good book, medi-tate, think positive, workwith numbers, recall oldmemories, play a musical

instrument, memorize asong, expand your vocab-ulary, learn a new lan-guage, and stop watchingso much television! What-ever you do, challengeyourself as you would in aphysical fitness program. Italso helps to eat a goodbreakfast, exercise regu-larly and get plenty of rest.

SEEKING QUALI-FIED APPLICANTS

We are currently seekingapplicants for Director ofthe new Kiowa CountySenior Center. If you areinterested please contactme at 723-2288 to obtaina full job description andapplication form. Thedeadline for applying forthis job is Friday, February10.

Next Week’s Menu (sub-ject to change):!Monday (February 6) –

Sloppy Joe: Tator Tots;Broccoli & Cauliflower;Pudding!Tuesday (February 7) –

Beef Stew; Harvard Beets;Fresh Orange Slices; Cin-namon Roll!Wednesday (February

8) – Smothered Steak;Baked Potato; GingeredCarrots; Strawberries &Bananas!Thursday (February 9)

– Hot Roast Beef Sand-wich; Broccoli; ApplesauceJello; Pineapple!Friday (February 10)

– Oven Fried Chicken;Mashed Potatoes withGravy; Tossed Salad; FruitCrisp

JOHN WICKLAND KCCA DIRECTOR

Winter is here al-though with thewarm days lately

it is hard tobelieve.With coldweathercome largeheating bills,however hotweathercan stretchthe budget too.

If you are looking forsome ways to help cutback on those expenses,the following tips mightbe just what you need:!Install a programma-

ble thermostat. It can beset to lower the tempera-ture when you are awayand have the house warmwhen you get back. Bylowering your thermostat

7-10º for eight hours aday you can save as muchas 10% a year.!45% of energy use is

space heating. Use asmall efficient spaceheater to warm the roomyou use most. That keepsfrom having to turn upthe thermostat and heatthe whole house.!Turn things OFF

when you are not in theroom. Lights, TV andcomputer are just exam-ples.!Replace your light

bulbs with CFL bulbs.CFL’s are compact fluo-rescent lamps. The lastabout 10 times longerand use ! the energy ofincandescent bulbs.!During winter, keep

the draperies and shades

on your south- facingwindows open during theday to allow the sunlightto enter your home andclosed at night to reducethe chill you may feelfrom cold windows.!This may sound sim-

ple but check to makesure windows and doorsare closed tight.

Hope you find sometips from the list to helpyou with your energycosts. Some of thesetips were from the U SDepartment of Energy.They have a great publi-cation that you candownload from their website, [email protected]

PAMELA MUNTZK-STATE EXTENTION

PAM’S PANORAMA

Saving on your energy bills


COLUMNS The Kiowa County Signal encourages members of the community to submit op-pinon letters related to topics that are important to you, Please keep your typedsubmission under 300 words. All submissions are published at the discretion ofthe editor. Email your letter to: eeddiittoorr@@kkiioowwaaccoouunnttyyssiiggnnaall..ccoomm

BECOME A CONTRIBUTOR

GOT BLOG? View local fashion, pop culture and political blogs updated every week at: www.kiowacountysignal.com

by Derek SchmidtKansas Attorney General

Nearly every day,our office hearsstories of Kansans

whose personal informa-tion has ended up insomeone else’s hands. Intoday’s information age,it is easier than ever foridentity thieves to getthis information. On Jan-uary 28, we recognizeNational Data PrivacyDay. As we commemo-rate this day and begin anew year, it is a goodtime to review your pre-cautions to guard againsta tragic – and perhapscostly – privacy breach.

Our computers containa significant amount of

personal information.Passwords, financial in-formation and other filesare often stored on ourhard drives and even onthe Internet. Identitythieves may try several dif-ferent methods to gain ac-cess to this information.

Phishing scams. Peopleon the Internet are not al-ways who they claim tobe. In a phishing scam, anidentity thief will send youan email pretending to beyour bank, credit cardcompany or another placeof business. It may tell youthat your password has ex-pired and you need to replyto the email with your oldpassword and new pass-word to reset it. Or theemail may contain a link

that directs you to a web-site to change your pass-word. The email and web-site may look official, evencontaining your bank’slogo. But this is just a scamto gain access to your on-line banking account.� � Ifyou use online banking,always go through yourbank’s homepage to accessyour account. Links inemails cannot always betrusted, even if they lookofficial.�

Viruses. Scam artists andhackers can also gain ac-cess to your system by in-stalling a virus on yourcomputer. These virusescan then record your everyaction on your computer,including capturing yourusernames and passwordsto online accounts. Thebest way to avoid theseviruses is to be very cau-tious when opening emailattachments or download-

ing files from the Internet.Only open files from trust-ed sources. You should alsobe sure your antivirus soft-ware is up-to-date, andregularly scan your systemfor viruses.�

Electronic devices.Thieves are always on thelookout for electronics, es-pecially when they are leftinside a car. When a thiefgets a hold of a laptopcomputer or smartphone,they don’t just get the de-vice itself, but may be ableto access the personal in-formation stored on it. Toprevent this from happen-ing, first be sure to keep thedevice in a secure loca-tion. Second, use strongpasswords to lock yourcomputer and smart-phone. Additionally, youmay want to put anotherlevel of password protec-

tion on sensitive files andapplications.�

Physical files. Even withall the information thathas been digitized, most ofus still have many paperfiles. Whether it is tax in-formation, blank checks,bank statements or bills,these documents can con-tain significant personalinformation. It’s impor-tant to keep these docu-ments in a secure place inour homes and offices, andto properly destroy thembefore throwing themaway. Shredding them witha cross-cut shredder is oneof the best ways to makesure identity thieves can’tget this information fromyour dumpster. Later thisspring, our office will besponsoring several shred-a-thons across the state tohelp you safely dispose of

personal information.Even with the best pre-

cautions, data breaches dooccur. News reports ofhackers getting into banksand government comput-er systems are unfortu-nately common. Whenthese data breaches occur,federal and state laws dogive you some protections.The business or agencywhere the data breach oc-curred is required to noti-fy you of the breach. Theymay also be required toreport the breach to cred-it monitoring agencies.

Our office is continuingto crack down on identitytheft – one of the fastest-growing crimes in Ameri-ca. If you believe you havebeen a victim of identitytheft, please contact our of-fice at 1-800-432-2310 orat www.ksag.org.

GUEST COLUMNIST

Protect your personal data, online and off


Dixie MelodyBoys

The Sawyer ChristianChurch will host the Dix-ie Melody Boys at 6 p.m.on Sunday Feb, 12 attheir building church inSawyer. The Kinston, NCbased quartet will per-form their unique brandof southern gospel musicthat has brought themnumerous musical acco-lades and a Grammynomination. For moreinformation call (620)770-2501

TNA Wresting The TNA Superstars

of Impact Wresting willappear at 7:30 p.m. onMarch 3 at the UnitedWireless Arena in DodgeCity on Saturday, March3. The tour will allowfans to have access to su-perstars like Jeff Hardy,Bobby Roode, JamesStorm and others viaTwitter alerts and ticketpromotions. Tickets areon sale at Ticketmas-ter.com

RibbonCutting

The Kiowa CountyChamber of Commercewill host a ribbon cuttingat the new Kiowa Coun-ty Memorial HospitalPharmacy on Feb. 1 at 1p.m. County residentsare encouraged to comemeet the new pharmacistand see the new state-of-the-art medicine dis-penser.

NEWS Are you or a member of your family celebrating a milestone birthday or weddinganniversary? Make sure you community knows about it! Send notices and card re-quests to: [email protected]

BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES

GOT NEWS? Contact your local Editor: Patrick Clement, [email protected] or 620.723.2115

MEDIA CENTER AT THE FARM AND RANCH CHOW

ITC Great Plains President, Carl Huslig, speakingat the Farm and Ranch Show and Ron Metzinger,General Manager for Mid America Ag Network onFriday. PHOTO COURTESY OF JANET WEST

LOCAL HONORS

Schaef earnsK-State honors

MANHATTAN –Greensburg native JarrettSchaef has earn semesterhonors for his academicperformance during theFall 2011 semester atKansas State University.To qualify, students hadto be enrolled in at least 12hours of graded coursework. Students earning se-mester honors receivecommendations from theirdeans, with the honorsrecorded on their perma-nent academic records.

ROAD TRIP

Museumdisplayshistorical map

TOPEKA —The KansasMuseum of History willdisplay the world’s earliestprinted map as part of itsnew temporary exhibit,You Are Here: PuttingKansas on the Map willopen Jan. 20 and runthrough April 29.

A highlight of this ex-hibit is the world’s earliestmap, a “T-in-O” style mapof the world, representedas an “O” with a “T” inside.The “T” divides three land-masses: Europe, Asia, andAfrica. This map is on loanfrom the Kenneth SpencerResearch Library, Univer-sity of Kansas. The 1823map by explorer Major

Stephen Long shows theplains labeled as the “GreatDesert.” This map led tothe perception that Kansaswas not habitable.

The Museum is open 9a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdaythrough Saturday and 1 to5 p.m. on Sunday. The Mu-seum is located at 6425SW 6th Avenue, Topeka.Admission is $8 adults,$6 students. Children fiveand under and members ofthe Kansas HistoricalFoundation are admittedfree. For more informa-tion call 785-272-8681 orvisit kshs.org.

KANSAS NEWS

Recycling is upin Kansas

TOPEKA — The KansasDept. of Health and Envi-ronment is reporting anincrease in statewide recy-cling in its 2011 Commu-nity Recycling Survey.

The report says that 85percent of Kansans thatwere surveyed are recy-cling household waste and96 percent of respondentsconsider recycling to beimportant.

Other interesting resultsshow that 81 percent recy-cle aluminum cans, 70 per-cent recycle plastics, 56percent recycle newspa-pers, 45 percent recyclecardboard and 44 percentrecycle other types of pa-per. More information onthe survey can be found atwww. Kdheks.gov/waste

! NEWS BRIEFS


CommunityNeeds

The Kiowa CountyMemorial Hospital andthe Kiowa County HealthDepartment will hold acommunity town hallmeeting from 9 to 10:30a.m. on Tuesday Feb. 21in the basement confer-ence room in the KiowaCounty Courthouse.Members of the commu-nity are encouraged toattend and identifyhealth needs in the coun-ty. Contact Mary Sweetfor more information(620) 723-4201 [email protected]

FriendsConcert

The Haviland FriendsChurch will host a bene-fit concert at 7 p.m. onFebruary 4 at their build-ing in Haviland. The con-cert will raise money forthe church’s missionarywork. Tim Rogers, KiowaCounty Schools Directorof Bands and his wifeHeathyr will performalong with vocal teacherKim Stewart, AmberCampbell and others.Donations will be ac-cepted at the door. Areception will follow atOrigins coffee shop.




KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

It’s a ‘Super’ mistake to drink and driveTOPEKA – It’s an an-

nual event for many.Friends and family willgather around the flatscreen across the Sun-flower State on Feb. 5 in amidwinter traditionknown as Super Bowl Sun-day.

While sharing the latestcheese dip or hearty bowlsof chili, many also may bemore inclined to drink anddrive. This is why theKansas Department ofTransportation is urgingKansans to plan ahead toavoid driving impaired.KDOT Traffic SafetySpokesperson Chris Bortzis encouraging everyoneto be proactive.

“We all play a part ineliminating drunk driv-ing,” Bortz said. “Make theright play and pass yourkeys to a sober designateddriver so you can get homesafely.”

Col. Ernest E. Garcia,superintendent of theKansas Highway Patrol,added that Kansans canset theright example.

“Watching the SuperBowl together is a greattradition in cities andtowns across our state andthe nation,” Garcia said.“We owe it to each other tokeep the day fun and safe.Don’t ruin your Super Sun-day with a DUI arrest or acrash and possibly a trip tothe hospital.”

In addition to encour-

aging partygoers to desig-nate a driver or to makeother game-day travelplans, Bortz said partyhosts should take steps tomake sure their guestsdon’t remember the partyfor all the wrong reasons.KDOT offers these tips:!Show all your guests

that you care for their safe-ty by offering their desig-nated drivers the best seatto watch the game, front-of-the-line buffet privilegesor a special party gift.!Before kickoff, arrange

ride-sharing for guestswithout a designated driv-er.!Only serve alcohol to

guests over 21 years of age.!Just like at NFL stadi-

ums, signal “last call” andstop serving alcoholic bev-erages at a predeterminedtime, such as the beginningof the third quarter.!Keep local cab phone

numbers by your phone, orsave them in your cellphone for quick, one-touchconvenience.!Be prepared to invite

guests to spend the night ifan alternative way home isnot available.!Always buckle up. It’s

the best defense on theroad.

“A sober designated driv-er is just smart thinkingand a smart move for allfootball fans who want toenjoy the big game to-gether,” Bortz said.





What’s going on here?

CARE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT SOMETHING? Drop us a line at:PHONE (620) 723-2115 E-MAIL [email protected] (620) 723-1031 MAIL 101 S. Main St Suite 207, Greensburg, Ks. 67054

WHAT WAS IT? Giant concrete walls and a massive crane take over South Main Streetin Greensburg last week and this week.

By Patrick Clement | Signal Editor

Main Street construction

Left: Cranes lifted the pre-fabricated walls into place . SIGNAL PHOTO

The massive pre-fabricated wallshave been put into place on the southeastern corner of Main Street andFlorida Street in Greensburg. Thewalls will enclose the future TwilightTheater building, currently under con-struction. Prefabricated walls we cho-sen by Twilight Theater board

members to reduce overall costs of theproject, which still has a funding gap.Construction crews were unable tocomplete the walls last week due toheavy winds, which make the walls un-safe to move. All walls are expected tobe in place by the end of the week.


NEWSGOT NEWS? Contact your local Editor: Patrick Clement, [email protected] or 620.723.2115

Call us and let us know about something or someone in the community you thinkis interesting or inspiring! The Kiowa County Signal (620)723-2115 or email us at:eeddiittoorr@@kkiioowwaaccoouunnttyyssiiggnnaall..ccoomm

SHARE YOUR STORIES WITH US!

Investors return from trip with optimism Brown: ‘I have no doubt in my mind that these are top-notch folks’

by Patrick ClementSignal Editor

GREENSBURG — OnTuesday, Jan. 17, a group ofseven potential investorsand U.S. HIB representa-tive Orval Howell flew toGermany to view the head-quarters of the Meis-senheim-based woodeneco-block company.

Howell, GreensburgMayor Bob Dixson, DayleHeft, Cheryl Heft, SteveHeft, Christi Heft andScott and Susan Brownspent five days visiting thefactory and headquartersof HIB in southwest Ger-many.

“The purpose of the tripwas for potential investorsin HIB to go over and seetheir operation, to seesome of the HIB homesand to get to know Dieter[Junker] as a person,” saidHowell. “We saw the milland the machinery. It’s afifth generation family mill.HIB is a separate compa-ny that he started. We wentto his office and his homeand had lunch where wemet his kids Ben, Oliviaand Norman. The in-vestors got to know him asa person. Not just to investin a company but to investin an individual.”

Howell has been thepoint person for HIB and

has been working with in-vestors, the city of Greens-burg and HIB to bring amanufacturing, trainingand assembly plant to thenew Greensburg Industri-al Park. Last week’s tripwas an extension of thoseefforts said Howell.

“My number one pur-pose of my going on thetrip was to represent thecitizens of Greensburg andeconomic development ofGreensburg and KiowaCounty,” said Mayor Dix-son. “I want to do every-thing we can to make sureour relationship with HIB

is ongoing. We want themto have their factory here inGreensburg.”

The city has offered eco-nomic incentives to thecompany outlined in lastNovember’s letter of in-tent, which offered rent of$1 per year in the indus-trial park, a reduction ofutility costs and potentialtax relief. The city has com-mitted a lot of money andresources to build the in-dustrial park and has beenhoping to fill the vacantlots.

“Economic developmentis about relationships,” con-

tinued Dixson. “To developthose relationships, therehas to be a connection thatties it and binds it to thecommunity. They are a sol-id company and they makea quality product. Theyare very committed toGreensburg and KiowaCounty, but it is a process.We spent a lot of time withthe business officials in anon-business atmosphereand we got to know eachother better.”

The U.S. factory wouldhouse all three sectors ofHIB. The training facilitythat would train and certify

contractors to build HIBhouses properly, the as-sembling facility whichwould combine, pack andship the interconnectingwooden blocks and themanufacturing facility. Atthe German factory all ofthe detailing is done, inpart by a sub-contractor.

The group visited theWeinig factory where themachines that cut and de-tail the wood are manu-factured. The companywould make all of the ma-chines used in the Greens-burg factory and none ofthe work would be sub-

contracted. “We wouldhave everything done inGreensburg,” said Howell.

HIB was first brought tothe U.S. by GreensburgGreentown via a designand construction compe-tition for the yet-to-becompleted Meadowlarkhouse. Since then, Junkerand his headquarters inMeissenheim have had aconnection with Greens-burg that has created aseemingly perfect fit with acompany wanting to breakinto the eco-home marketin the U.S. and a city hop-ing to add green business-

Members of the eight person group inspect one of the wood cutting machines at the Weinig factory. COURTESY OF ORVAL HOWELL.





es to its eco-portfolio. “People [in Meis-

senheim] know aboutGreensburg because of thetornado and because Di-eter came here to put oneof his homes up,” saidHowell. “People there un-derstand what happenedhere. I think they realizewhy Deter wants to build afactory in the U.S. We’refortunate enough to be thechosen town for him tobuild the factory, if we canget the investment.”

Junker stated in an in-terview last November thatan investment of $2 mil-

lion dollars would be re-quired to build the factoryand purchase the equip-ment.

Scott Brown and DayleHeft were two of the po-tential investors to makethe 5,000-mile trip.

“I went to Germany be-cause if you are going to in-vest in something maybeyou should see it, to knowwhat you’re investing in,”said Brown on Monday af-ternoon. “We had seen theproduct here, and we wereimpressed with that part ofit. It looked like it was go-ing to take a sizable but not

insurmountable invest-ment to get this thing inGreensburg and probablyquite a bit of the money isgoing to come locally. Ithought it was worth it tomake the trip over there tosee if he had a skill saw un-der a steel shed over thereor if he had a mill or aplant or what he had.What I wanted to see was,what his manufacturingplant looked like. Was it a40-year-old tin shed withlight bulbs hanging fromthe rafters?”

“I came in one day andScott said that if we are go-

ing to be serious about thismaybe we ought to go overthere and look at it,” saidHeft. “I was interested inmeeting his family, hisworkers and his investorsover there. I was very im-pressed with what I saw.”

Both Brown and Heftspoke very highly of Junkerand his family, noting thateveryone from HIB madethem feel very welcomed.

“I was impressed withgetting to know him,” saidBrown. “We went to hishome. We ate at his table;we met his mother andmet his whole family. I

have no doubt in my mindthat these are top-notchfolks and I think they’vegot a top-notch product.That ain’t a bad start. Nowthe thing is trying to figureout how we can get themhere.”

With a sizable financialinvestment needed tobring the company to thecounty, Heft and Brownwill undoubtedly act asambassadors to other in-terested parties in the area.

Howell thinks a round ofmeetings will bring theproject closer to becominga reality.

“We are going to try toraise the capital that’sneeded to build the facto-ry here. I think we canachieve that in the nextcouple of weeks. I think thetrip was very successfulbecause I think all of thepeople that came backwere more decisive aboutthis than before they went.”

Howell, Brown and Heftsee a large market for HIB

Orval Howell, Greensburg Mayor Bob Dixson, Christi Heft, Steve Heft, Cheryl Heft, Dayle Heft, Susan Brown and Scott Brown. COURTESY OF ORVAL HOWELL

CONTINUED ON PG. 12





products in the UnitedStates, which they believewill bring investors (them-selves included) a returnon their investment and

touts the product as al-most tailor-made for theU.S.

“It’s really simple, [Di-eter] developed a highly

insulated efficient wall sys-tem for building,” saidBrown. “And where is themarket for that? Here.Even in the United States,with the economic down-turn, he can buy his mainproduct, wood and lumber,at a much more reasonableprice than it is in the BlackForest. If the product ismade in the U.S., the costof traditional building andHIB building is much clos-er. If you are thinkingabout efficiency and ener-gy savings it narrows rightup in a hurry.”

All three men feelstrongly that HIB is theright business for the com-munity and were preparingto take their case to others.Both Heft and Brown, whoconsider themselves to be

conservative investors andwhom Howell calls “veryshrewd businessmen,” havedecided to become part-ners in the business, withBrown committing to alarger share following histrip to Germany.

“Oh I’d just be tickledpink to have them come toGreensburg. There havebeen hundreds of oppor-tunities and proposals forbusinesses to come toGreensburg and they justweren’t a good fit or theywere fly-by-night. This onelooks like it is a goodprospect and the trip rein-forced that. I hope we’ll beable to get them to come toGreensburg.”editor@kiowacoun-

tysignal.com

Mayor of Nordracher, Germany Casten Erfinder, Dieter Junker, architect HarryZurcher and Bob Dixson at HIB headquarters. COURTESY OF ORVAL HOWELL.

The Greensburg plant would have all required machinery, including a dovetailingand detailing machine like this one on display at the Weinig factory. COURTESY OFORVAL HOWELL.

INVESTORScontinued from pg. 10


You can send us eyewitness video directly from your handheld de-vice! Email your videos to: [email protected]

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NEWSCITY OF GREENSBURG

City council, Mayor find Truloveby Patrick ClementSignal Editor

GREENSBURG — TheGreensburg City Counciland Mayor Bob Dixsonvoted unanimously dur-ing Thursday’s special ses-sion of city council to ex-tend a job offer for the va-cant city administrator’sposition to Eddy Trulove,the current chief of policeof Sterling.

The hiring process forthe vacant city adminis-trator’s position will cometo an end on Feb. 20, whenTrulove is expected to be-gin his tenure as the fifthcity administrator in asmany years.

During the first week ofJanuary, city officials re-leased the names of twocity administrator candi-dates that had been rec-ommended by Marla Flen-tje of the city hired execu-tive recruitment firmAustin Peters Group.

Gary Emry, the currentcity administrator of Ger-ard and Trulove were con-sidered the finalists for theposition. Both men touredGreensburg, met with citycouncil members and cityemployees. Prior to the in-terviews Dixson did notrule out additional inter-views, but stated that thecity ad no immediate plansto invite or select any oth-er candidates.

In the past two weeks,members of the city coun-

cil held numerous specialmeetings and extended ex-ecutive sessions presum-ably to discuss the twocandidates.

Dixson announced onFriday afternoon that thecity had offered the posi-tion to Trulove.

In a meeting on MondayDixson said he expectedTrulove to accept the posi-tion and cited Feb. 20 ashis start date.

“During the lengthyprocess we went throughwe set down guidelines,”said Dixson. “We wanted tolook at their qualities andhow they would fit intowhere we are headed.Through a lot of delibera-tion and checking refer-ences the council felt thatEd [Trulove] was the bestqualified for the position ofGreensburg city adminis-trator at this time.”

Trulove has been thechief of police in Sterlingfor the past four and a halfyears and previously servedas a Wichita police offi-cer. He has a master’s de-gree in public administra-tion from Wichita StateUniversity and is a retired20-year Marine Corps vet-eran.

“He brings sometremendous talents to thetable,” continued Dixson, “alot of things we were veryimpressed with. He’s beenwilling to take on newchallenges. He’s provenhimself and he’s educated

himself throughout his ca-reer. Those are humanqualities that we want tosee and the council wasvery impressed with thosethings.”

Trulove has never servedas a city administrator.Emry, the other finalist forthe position, had exten-sive city administration ex-perience, which means thecity chose a relative new-comer to manage a num-ber of large city projects in-cluding the water treat-ment plant, the Big Wellmuseum and the Greens-burg Industrial Park.

“Yes, he may not have satin a city administrator’schair, but he’s been in ad-ministration during hismilitary career and after-wards in his law enforce-ment positions as a chief ofpolice,” Dixson said. “Hehas done all of the things,other than sit in the chair.I just think he’s a great fitand I’m excited about it.

The council supported him100 percent. We really feelconfident in his abilities.”editor@kiowacoun-

tysignal.com

Eddy Trulove in this 2011 official Sterling Police Department staff photo. COUR-TESY OF THE CITY OF STERLING.


FAITH AND VALUESWOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE LOCAL CONTENT ON THIS PAGE EVERY WEEK? Send your comments/concerns/question to: [email protected]

by Ellen PetersParish Life Coordinator,St Joseph Catholic Church

Recently, I was read-ing in the gospel ofMark and read the

excerpt from Mark 1:14-20. It’s about Jesus walk-ing along the Sea ofGalilee and encounteringtwo sets of brothers whofished for a living. Simonand Andrew were actual-ly fishing and James andJohn were mending nets.Jesus, interestingly, asksthem to abandon whatthey are doing and in-stead follow him and hewill make them “fishersof men.”

I remember thinkingthat would not have beena very appealing invita-tion to me because I real-ly don’t like to fish. Oh, Idon’t mind if no onebaits my hook—if I canjust sit serenely therewith a pole in my handand watch the waves bobup and down and listento the water lapping theshoreline, then fishing isokay but to actually dealwith the fish—YUK!

Nevertheless , Isearched for some deeperinsight into the meaningof these words from Sa-cred Scripture and cameupon some wisdom froma woman named Patricia

Sanchez, who holds amasters degree in litera-ture and religion of theBible from a joint degreeprogram at ColumbiaUniversity and UnionTheological Seminary inNew York. These werethe insights I gleaned.Patricia says there aremany good lessons thatany disciple might learnfrom someone who fishesfor a living.!Regardless if whether

one fishes with a net or apole, with lures or bychumming the waters,the fisher must go wherethe fish are and offerthem something that willentice them to take thebait. Disciples too canbe more effective, whenthey are willing to be mo-bile. This may requireleaving the comfort ofthe office or home andchurch and venture intothose public and privateplaces where people livetheir lives.!Disciples have been

entrusted with the “bait”of the good news, whichbecomes more attractivewhen coupled with thegood example of a gospeldriven life.!Fishers work without

discriminating as to theworthiness of the fish.There is no sign at theend of a fishing line that

Ellen Peters is the Parish Life Coordinator at the St. Josephs Catholic Church located at520 S. Walnut in Greensburg, Ks. Services are on the 1st and 3rd Saturday at 5:30pmand on the 2nd, 4th and 5th Sunday of each month at 11am. For more informationabout St. Josephs Catholic Church, please call (620)255-3636

says, “Good fish only.”Thus no disciple canhave any prejudice whenthey accept Christ’s invi-tation to be “fishers ofmen.”!Fishers do not keep

regular hours. Fish donot make appointments,so those who “fish” forthem must accommodatetheir schedules.!Those who fish suc-

cessfully are persistent.They will bait the hookagain and again, cast theline many times and low-er the nets for as long asit takes for the fish tocome. So as disciples, wemust learn to wait fortruth to attract.!Lastly, it is good to

remember that even ourwaiting can have signifi-cant value if the one whowaits does more thantwiddle thumbs or justsits idly at theseashore(ouch). Morepositive and productive isthe fisher, aka disciple,who fills the waiting withprayer and hope andtrust that God’s grace caneventually bring sinnersand searchers to repen-tance and faith. [email protected]

‘I searched for some deeper insight into the meaning of these words’


HavilandHaviland Friends Pastor: Donnie HinshawYth Pastor: Josiah Williams205 N. Kingman P: (620) 862-5258 F: (620) 862-5250 Worship 10amSunday School 9:30AMWednesday Pioneer Club &Bible Study 6:30PMWednesday Youth MinistryJr. High 6:30PMSr. High 7:30PM

Haviland UnitedMethodistPastor: Rev. Irving Simon322 N. Main P: (620) [email protected] School 9:30AMCoffee and Fellowship10:30AMWorship Service 11AM

MullinvilleChurch of ChristMinister: Russell Scott100 S. Maple

P: (620)548-2512Sunday School & BibleStudy 10AMMorning Worship 11amSunday Afternoon Service1:15PMWednesday Bible Study7PM

United MethodistPastor: Scott Rose220 N. Locust P: (620) 548-2585Sunday School 9:45AMMorning Worship 11AM

WellsfordWellsford Community Pastor: Steve PattersonSunday School 10AMMorning Worship 11AM

GreensburgBible Baptist 605 S. Elm Dr.P: (620)723-2834Wesley Carlton Sunday School 10AMSunday Service 11AM

Faith Tabernacle Pastors: Willard and BettyOlinger611 W. IllinoisSunday Service 10AM

First Baptist Pastor: Marvin George200 W. Kansas Ave.P: (620) 723-2747Sunday School 9:45AMSunday Worship 10:50AM

Peace Lutheran Reverend: Merlyn Lohrke321 S. WalnutP: (620) 298-2762P: (620) 672-8380

P: (620) 388-4952Sunday School 9AMDivine Worship 10AMWednesday Bible Study7PM

Greensburg Mennonite Pastor: Jeff Blackburn310 W. Pennsylvania AveP: (620)723-2620Sunday School 9:30AMSunday Worship 10:30AM

St. Joseph Catholic Father: Bob Schremmer820 S. WalnutParish Life Coordinator:Ellen Peters P: (620)255-3636

Kiowa County Church Directory1st and 3rd Saturday5:30PM2nd, 4th and 5th Sunday11AM

Bethel Mennonite Pastor: Mark Dirks3 miles south and1 milewest from Jct. Hwy 54 &183P: (620) 723-3361Sunday School 10AMSunday Worship 10AM

First United Methodist Reverend: Terry Mayhew600 W. LincolnSunday Worship 9:30AMSunday School 10:30AM

Lighthouse WorshipPastor: Christa Zapfe804 W. WisconsinP: (620)723-3028Sunday School 9:30AMMorning Worship & Chil-dren’s Church 10:45AMWednesday Bible Study7PM

Greensburg Christian Pastor: TJ Lawson1210 S. MainP: (620) 723-2507www.greensburgchris-tianchurch.comSunday Worship 10:30AM




COMMUNITY Call us and let us know about something or someone in the community you thinkis interesting or inspiring! The Kiowa County Signal (620)723-2115 or email us at:eeddiittoorr@@kkiioowwaaccoouunnttyyssiiggnnaall..ccoomm

SHARE YOUR STORIES WITH US!

GOT PHOTOS? See the best unpublished photos of the week, every week at: kiowacountysignal.com

KIOWA COUNTY SCHOOLS

Local students show talent for good causeGREENSBURG — On

Friday, Jan.20 the studentsin Kindergarten through5th grade at Kiowa Coun-ty Elementary School inGreensburg, participatedin a talent show. The 5thgrade Impact Group, aleadership skills develop-ment club, decided to hostthe “Betcha Didn't Know”talent show, as a way to en-courage students to col-lect BoxTops for Educa-tion.

"The kids wanted to do a

fundraiser, but know thatso many school groups sellproducts and ask for do-nations that we thoughtwe should try a differentapproach,” said Impact Ad-visor Kathy Headrick. “TheBoxTops for Educationprogram is a simple way tobring in money for theschool with minimal ef-fort and financial obliga-tion on the part of all of ourschool families.”

Students brought Box-Tops and were able to

"vote" for their favorite tal-ent show acts with theirBoxTops. Students raisedover 1800 BoxTops fromthe talent show, whichequates to a little over$180.

The talent show featuredtwenty-three performanc-es by students from all sixgrade levels, K-5. The tal-ent ranged from piano so-los and duets, to ventrilo-quism, to reading, to cheer-leading and gymnastics,to skits and a hulahoop/jump rope routine

by a group of 1st gradegirls. The Impact groupgave small prizes, some ofwhich were donated byBooster Club, to each of thesix acts that collected themost BoxTops. The re-sults are as follows:

1st Place: SistersCharleigh Friesen, 2ndgrade, and Alex Friesen,5th grade, played "MaryHad a Little Lamb" as a pi-ano duet.

2nd Place: BraidenMerhoff, 5th grade, per-formed a One Man Circus

act by juggling, pogo-stick-ing, and riding his unicycle.

3rd Place: AshlindGumpenberger, 4th grade,performed a ventriloquistact with a sock puppet.

4th Place: Koby West,Joshua Brown, and KadeTrummel, 4th grade, per-formed a skit entitled "TheInvisible Bench."

5th Place: Alex Friesenand Mallory Powell, 5thgrade, played a "Heart andSoul piano duet.

6th Place: 1st grade stu-dents Liberty Aguirre,

Abby Daniels, RayganHeft, Jennifer Taylor, andCarson Tyree performed ahula hoop and jump roperoutine.

“The Impact groupwould like to remind ourcommunity that the schooldoes collect BoxTops forEducation and always ap-preciates students and oth-er community memberstaking the time to bringthose to the grade schooloffice,” said Headrick.

Far Left: Claire Stauth, Kindergarten, reads the bookBrown Bear, Brown Bear. Middle Top: Bo West, ConnorPore, Tanner Newell, and Caydan Pore. Middle Bottom:Emma Trahan. Above: Ashlind Gumpenberger, BraidenMerhoff, Koby West, Kade Trummel, Joshua Brown, Lib-erty Aguirre, Jennifer Taylor, Raygan Heft, Mallory Powell,Alex Friesen, Charleigh Friesen, Carson Tyree, AbbyDaniels. PHOTOS COURTESY OF KATHY HEADRICK


MAVERICK BASKETBALL

KIOWA COUNTY AT ASHLANDFriday January 27, 2012

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 FINALKiowa 5 12 11 0 28Ashland 14 18 30 0 62

PLAYER STATSPTS REBS STLS TO PF

Behm 11 0 1 3 0Ardery 8 4 0 1 1Odle 4 4 0 2 2McKinney 3 0 0 3 0Prosser 2 1 2 2 0

KIOWA COUNTY AT S. GRAYSaturday January 28, 2012

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 FINALS. Gray 11 12 16 5 44Kiowa 8 13 16 0 37


Watson 10 2 1 1 3Davis 8 1 0 5 3Odle 6 9 1 4 4Wyrick 5 6 0 2 3Ralstin 4 2 0 0 1Ardery 2 9 2 5 4 Behm 2 4 0 0 1

SOUTHERN PLAINS-IROQUOIS BASKETBALL STANDINGSTeam *W-L-T W-L-T Pct. PF PA StrkAshland 7-0-0 14-0-0 1.000 913 549 14 WSouth Gray 6-0-0 11-2-0 0.846 756 527 1 wS. Central 4-1-0 10-3-0 0.769 734 536 1 LKiowa 4-1-0 7-6-0 0.538 571 588 2 lFowler 3-1-0 0.750 0.769 786 552 2 WHodgeman 3-3-0 8-6-0 0.571 662 612 1 WBucklin 2-4-0 4-9-0 0.308 565 690 2 lMinneola 2-5-0 3-8-0 0.273 477 611 6 LSpearville 1-5-0 1-11-0 0.083 420 660 4 LIngalls 1-6-0 1-10-0 0.091 395 574 1 WPawnee 0-7-0 0-7-0 0.000 130 394 7 L

*League Record

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LADY MAVERICK BASKETBALL

KIOWA COUNTY AT S. CENTRAL Monday January 23, 2012

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 FINALS.Central 14 14 13 10 51Kiowa 4 7 5 12 28


A. Liggett 9 4 1 8 3Gamble 8 2 0 2 1Melton 4 2 0 4 2Heft 3 1 0 11 3D. Liggett 2 1 1 2 3Oberle 2 1 0 1 1

KIOWA COUNTY AT S. GRAY Thursday January 26, 2012

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 FINALS. Gray 11 9 3 13 36Kiowa 14 12 5 10 41


Heft 15 5 6 5 1Gamble 7 5 2 4 2Melton 7 8 3 4 1A. Liggett 7 4 2 4 3Larsh 3 3 0 3 1D. Liggett 2 0 1 1 3

SOUTHERN PLAINS-IROQUOIS BASKETBALL STANDINGSW-L-T* W-L-T Win% PF PA Strk

Spearville 7-0-0 11-2-0 0.846 681 480 6 WIngalls 5-0-0 11-2-0 0.846 692 359 1 LS. Central 3-2-0 8-4-0 0.667 592 482 2 LBucklin 2-2-0 8-4-0 0.667 555 450 1 WKiowa 2-2-0 5-7-0 0.417 442 537 1 WAshland 3-4-0 7-7-0 0.500 596 580 1 WMinneola 2-3-0 4-7-0 0.364 421 475 2 LHodgeman 1-4-0 2-9-0 0.182 340 482 1 LSouth Gray 0-4-0 2-9-0 0.182 359 528 6 LFowler 0-4-0 0-10-0 0.000 261 541 10 L

*League Record

Rustin Ardery, Mikal Behm, Jordan Wyrick andDamien Odle compete in the SPIAA tournament atthe Wireless Arena in Dodge City. PHOTOS BY GARRETTRITONYA/DODGE GLOBE

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