New and retiring officers of the MdCV FFA include, front from left, Josey Weimer, Kali Holt, Brookelyn Janssen, Chloe Volkman, Bayleigh Lacey, Kathryn Vaught, Alaina Marsh, Grace Bradely; back, Frank Warner, Dalton Hook, and Koby Vanderpool.

By Grace Bradley

On Thursday, April 12, 2018, the Marais des Cygnes Valley FFA chapter hosted its annual chapter banquet at the Melvern Community Center. Chapter treasurer Kali Holt opened the banquet with the invocation, which was then followed by the yearly potluck dinner.

This year’s president, Josey Weimer, spoke on behalf of the chapter in welcoming everyone to the banquet and thanking the chapter for a year full of achievements and plenty of activities that kept the MdCV chapter busy.

Sharon Thielen was keynote speaker at the MdCV FFA banquet.

Chloe Volkman, MdCV FFA secretary,  introduced this year’s guest speaker, Sharon Thielen, an MdCV graduate and former FFA member. Thielen spoke about how FFA played a major role in influencing the career path she chose to take on and how the lessons she learned through FFA were lessons she will continue to pass on. Thielen’s message not only spoke to the FFA kids in the room but it spoke to the adults in the room as well. Her main lesson to the crowd was, “To never skip a step.” Meaning, do not just jump to the good parts of life, take every step, even the tough ones.

The banquet gives chapter advisor Danny Rice a chance every year to recognize the personal achievements of the FFA students, and announce scholarships awarded to senior members. For the class of 2018, senior Jevan Gregg received the Hometown Agriculture Scholarship. The Don Lichtenauer Family Scholarship was awarded to Dalton Hook, who also received the Marais des Cygnes Valley FFA Scholarship along with Josey Weimer and Kali Holt. Scholarships were also awarded to three sophomores who will be attending the Washington Leadership Conference in June that is held in Washington, D.C. Bayleigh Lacey and Grace Bradley were awarded the Lehning Scholarship, and receiving the Casten Memorial Scholarship was Kaelin Criqui.

Over the course of the year students accumulate points by participating in activities for the sweepstakes award. This year the top five winners were Kali Holt, Bayleigh Lacey, Chloe Volkman, Kaelin Criqui, and Josey Weimer. For the Greenhands, the winners were Colby Vogeler, Izzy Toman, and Sadie McGowin. The Proficiency Award winners for this school year were Dalton Hook in beef production, Josey Weimer in outdoor recreation, and Kali Holt in veterinary science. Each year two Star Greenhands are chosen for the integrity and work they put into excelling in the FFA program – this year Sadie McGowin and Izzy Toman were chosen as the chapter’s star Greenhands.

One of the highest honors in the Kansas FFA Association is the State Degree. Only three percent of the state’s membership are awarded this honor. Three MdCV FFA members were given this honor recognizing their outstanding involvement in the FFA: Josey Weimer, Dalton Hook and Kali Holt.

Hogline BBQ team of Mary and Dustin Reese accepts the grand champion awards from Corey Linton.

OSAGE CITY, Kan. – Barbecue teams stoked their cookers all night long Friday, fighting cold wintery winds to cook up the best of the best for Saturday’s 15th annual Smoke in the Spring State BBQ Championship, at Osage City, Kan. Cooks reported a miserable night of cooking, while the next day some judges complained of tough ribs, but others praised the brisket as “the best they’d ever tasted.”

Hogline BBQ and its head cook, Dustin Reese, of Owatonna, Minn., captured the top score – and the judges’ palates – to take home the grand championship prize of $3,000. The team’s win took away bragging rights from the defending two-time Smoke in the Spring championship team of the Clark Crew BBQ and Travis Clark, of Yukon, Okla.

4 Legs Up BBQ, with head cook Kelly Wertz, of Great Bend, Kan., turned in the second best scored samples to take reserve grand champion and the $1,500 prize money.

Hogline BBQ’s chicken sample shot the team to the top with a perfect 180 score and first place in that category. The team also took home extra prize money in two other categories, placing ninth in brisket and ninth in pork, but turned in one non-prize winner at 31st in ribs.

4 Legs Up BBQ won reserve champion by taking third in brisket, 10th in pork, and finishing just out of the money at 16th in both chicken and ribs.

While no longer Smoke in the Spring’s grand champion, Clark Crew BBQ still took home prize money, finishing sixth place overall with fourth in brisket, fifth in ribs, 12th in chicken, and 42nd in pork.

Lyndon Leaders and Melvern Jr. Highline gather at Melvern community building for an exchange meeting. Shoup photo.

By Garrett Shoup
Lyndon Leaders 4-H Club Reporter

The Lyndon Leaders 4-H Club had their monthly meeting on Feb. 11, 2018, as part of an exchange meeting with the Melvern Jr. Highline 4-H Club. The meeting was held in the Melvern community building. The meeting started with roll call of “What’s your favorite Olympic sport?”

Before the officer reports, clubs presented a plaque to Larry and Kay Salisbury for the Friend of 4-H award, since they could not attend Achievement Night in November.  Next were announcements of District Club Days on Feb. 24, availability of scholarship applications for 4-H camp and Discovery Days, and 4-H camp, and barn quilt workshops in February.

The program for the evening was Braelyn McNally giving a talk on getting her steer ready for the fair; Ethan Kneisler giving a demonstration on how to wire an outlet; and Allie Kneisler explaining how to show a hog at the fair.

The meeting ended with a song from 4-H camp, a fun game of sucking Jell-O out of a straw, and lastly refreshments. The Lyndon Leaders 4-H Club will have their next meeting at 4:30 p.m. March 11, in the Lyndon High School cafeteria.

Schools from across the county sent their best spellers to Lyndon to compete in the countywide spelling bee Feb. 2, 2018. Competitors, from left, were Riley Patterson, Madison Cormode, Olivia Lacey, Sadie Shoemaker, Kendalan VanCamp, Kaelee Washington, Graham Newberry, Marlen Long, Serray Shinn, and Mason Flickinger.

Hopefully sixth-grader Kaelee Washington won’t ever be incarcerated, but she knows how to spell it. “Incarcerated” was the final word in a seven-round match that gave Kaelee the championship at the 2018 Osage County Spelling Bee, held Friday morning at Lyndon High School.

Osage County’s champion spellers, from left, Kaelee Washington, first place, and Serray Shinn, second place.

Kaelee, who attends Carbondale Attendance Center, competed against nine other top spellers from schools around the county. With Heather Green as pronouncer and Peggy Morstorf as judge, the quick match dropped five competitors in the first round with words such as cordial, reservoir, quantum, calamine and jauntily. Round two had two more misses with “azalea” and “sophomore”, leaving three competitors, Serray Shinn, Burlingame eighth-grader, Mason Flickinger, Burlingame seventh-grader, and Kaelee for round three.

The word “impeccable” took out Mason, leaving two final competitors to spell “repugnance” and “strenuous” in round four, and “sherpa” and “crematoria” in round five. In round six, Serray had a “voluminous” error, giving Kaelee a “proviso” that sent her to the final one-word round. Correctly spelling “incarcerated”, Kaelee became the countywide champion.

Kaelee and second-place winner Serray will compete at the regional spelling bee to be held March 10 at Topeka.