The 127th version of the Rooks County Free Fair was underway with over 1,000 people served at the free hamburger/hot dog event to kick-start the fair, plus Roger Cooper in concert on Sunday evening. There was still plenty of excitement and entertainment to come throughout the coming week.

What Was Going On 14 Years Ago The 127th Rooks County Free Fair was set to kick off on Sunday, August 13, 2006, with a Free Hamburger Feed, followed by a concert featuring Roger Cooper, an “Unknown Kansas Original,” who had lived in Nashville before returning to their western Kansas roots, with his wife, Gwen, operating a very successful Gwen’s HomeTown Cafe, located in Alton. The Rooks County Relay for Life held Aug.

Voter turnout was “average” in the August 1 primary election. In the only contested race, incumbent Robert Schamel won the open seat on the Rooks County Commission, 1st District.

Casey Robinson, the new superintendent for Stockton USD No. 271, began his duties the first of July. Robinson grew up in Russell County, around the Lake Wilson area. The previous year he had taken a year off from administrative work and spent the past year at ESSDACK, an educational service center in Hutchinson.

Paul and Mary Ann Graf and their family members were mourning the loss of their four-year-old son, Jade, following a deadly accident involving fireworks on the 4th of July. Jade and his seven-year-old brother, Kieran, were badly burned, and their parents received burns trying to help them in the seconds following the accident.

The names of suspects charged in the burglary at Home Cookin’ were made public. Brett Kreutzer and Nicholas Nix, both 18, both of Stockton, had been charged with identical counts of Burglary, Conspiracy, Theft and Criminal Damage To Property. The charges allege the young men broke the window glass in the east, rear door of Home Cookin’ and took the money bag and money from the cash register, with a value of less than $1,000. Kreutzer had been an employee of the restaurant. A robbery occurred at Midwest Motel June 30th, between 12:30 and 1:00 a.m. Unknown person or persons entered the office through an unlocked door and took cash from the register. No suspects had been arrested, and an investigation was ongoing.

The new office building at Webster State Park was officially open as the staff had moved into the facility on June 19, 2006.

Dr. Shannon Hessler, DVM, began work at Central Veterinary Services in Stockton on June 7th, 2006. Dr. Hessler had just received her degree from the College of Veterinary Medicine and Bio Medical Sciences at Colorado State University in May.

The State PRIDE Evaluation Team, consisting of Pam Stone, Jan Simon, Jan Mason and Ben Allen, was in Stockton on June 13, 2006 to evaluate the Stockton PRIDE Committee on the many programs they had implemented around town. People from the community that attended the meeting were Vicki Berkley, Jenny Thayer-Wood, Toby Wood, Willardene Purdum, city clerk Sandra Rogers, Gift Advisory Board Representative Chuck Williams, Rooks County Commissioner Bob Schamel, city manager Connie Conyac, PRIDE President Harry Purdum, city commissioner Diane Creevan Voss, Linda Yohon, city commissioner Twila Sander, Ruth Ann Bigge, Jayne Prockish and Virgi Laska.

Rooks County Health Nurse Lorraine Baughman said there were 12 confirmed cases of mumps in Rooks County. In addition, there were 14 probable cases, waiting for results of blood work. Across the State of Kansas, there were 719 mumps cases (confirmed/probable) cases in 65 counties with the majority of those in Douglas County with 258.