Teachers Ginger Kollman and Barb Henson were honored for 25 years of service at Stockton Grade School.

Stockton Police Chief Don Jenkins, Jr. informed the Sentinel that a Stockton Grade School student had confessed to creating the bomb threat that took place at the school on May 11, 2006 forcing the evacuation of students, staff and administrators in the elementary and high schools. According to Jenkins, the student confessed to the grade school principal, Elton Armbrister. County attorney Ed Hageman said charges of Criminal Threat and Causing the Evacuation of a Public Building had been filed. Jenkins said the school may also file sanctions of its own.

A handwritten bomb threat forced the evacuation of students, staff and adinistrators in the elementary and high schools here in Stockton on Thursday, May 11. The note was found in a girls’ restroom in the grade school. The 354 students in the elementary and high schools were safely evacuated from the premises and taken to City Hall. Residents of homes adjacent to the school also were evacuated. Because of its proximity to the school, U.S. Highway 24 was closed from the overpass at Webster Reservoir to U.S. Highway 183. Bomb sniffing dogs from Salina were brought in, but no bomb was found. The all-clear was issued, and the highway reopened by 6 p.m. Law enforcement officials were investigating the incident, the second at the school district this school year.

A casting call was out to students from third through eighth grade to be part of Kids On Stage II for the coming summer. Joan Balderston, Maxine Bates and Ruth Phelps were once again setting up a theatre workshop for aspiring actors and actresses at the Nova Theatre for two weeks in June, 2006. The focus of the workshop was memorization. Each student would have a spotlight performance in either a skit, a duet, an excerpt from a play, or reciting a favorite poem in a performance scheduled for June 22.

Vernon Sammons was celebrating his 100th birthday on May 8, 2006, and family, friends and neighbors were invited to a Celebration, planned by his kids and grandkids on Sunday, May 7th at the Solomon Valley Manor.

What Was Going On 14 Years Ago

Candidates for 2006 Stockton High School Prom were Derry Dibble, Heath Muir and Levi Earl, Rachel Moll, Savannah Lowry and Lizzy Moll.

Two bluegrass bands entertained a large crowd at the Nova Theatre on April 8, 2006. The Prairie Acre Bluegrass Band, featuring members Noah Musser, Tricia Spencer, Greg Yother and Virginia Musser, and Steam Powered Airplane, featuring Cody Walters, Stockton native Uriah Price, Jon DeGroot and Tucker Smith, played to a very appreciative crowd.

There was a very light showing of registered voters out for the April 4, 2006 general election, with only 22% of the City’s 1,021 registered voters turning out to vote. The seat on the city commission proved to be an upset as Reesa Brown, with 124 votes, unseating the incumbent Earl Richter, who received 103 votes.

Scheduled to perform at the Nova Theatre on April 8 were two bluegrass groups—Steam Powered Airplane and The Prairie Acre. Uriah Price, formerly of Stockton, was a member of the SPA band.