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March 24th, 1921: F. C. Squires, the architect, held a meeting with the county commissioners in regard to letting bids for the new Court House.

The Easter Sunrise Service conducted by our church youth on Sunday was a great start to a day that is the essence of Christianity. With the resurrection of Jesus, we can explain our deep faith and hope in all that we believe. Thank you to our youth for their faith and service.

THE UNKNOWN GOD. Just like today, there was no lack of religion in the ancient world. God led the Apostle Paul to Athens, Greece during his second missionary journey. As he walked around the city, he found statues of idols everywhere. One historian of that time, Pliny, the Elder, wrote that there were 30,000 public statues of idols in Athens, plus countless private statues in homes. But the statue that especially caught Paul's attention was the one dedicated to 'the unknown god' (Acts 17:23). The people of Athens feared leaving out any god lest it unleashes its anger toward them. Their real problem was that none of these gods were Jehovah God, who was 'the unknown God.' Their 'gods' were figments of their imagination and therefore had no power or wisdom. Jeremiah wrote about idols: 'Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good' (Jer. 10:5). He then wrote about our Creator, saying, 'But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation' (Jer. 10:10). Ultimately, anything that becomes more important than God and Jesus Christ is an idol. Probably the most popular idol of our day is 'identity.' People, in a sense, worship their identity in the world - their looks, abilities, social media presence, race or ethnicity, gender, etc. Sadly, none of these idols lead to true joy. True joy is found in Jesus and being identified with Him. Saul of Tarsus took pride in his identity until he met Jesus. Thereafter, his focus was on Christ, not himself. May we, too, find joy in our identity with Him and thus say with Paul, 'I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me' (Gal. 2:20).

Egg-cellent Find!.

On the morning of March 14, 2023, Bonita Oliva, Woodston; Kenna Vincent, Hill City; and Kim Perez, Hays, traveled to Kearney, Neb., to observe some of the biannual Sandhill Crane migration. Bonita has visited this area several times over the past ten years to witness what National Geographic calls one of North America’s “greatest wildlife phenomena” and was excited to share this with fellow bird watchers. They traveled north on Nebraska Highway 10 through Minden and intersected L 50A south of the Platte River, which is prime crane viewing country. The Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary is located in this area. The women quickly stopped to verify their reservations for the evening’s guided blind tour. They had not driven far before they came upon a dozen cars parked on both sides of the gravel road. People were everywhere with cameras, some with eighteen- inch lenses, taking photos. This is a favorite meadow where cranes can usually be found. While stopped, the women rolled down the windows to listen to the sounds made by the cranes, called purring. This soothing sound can be heard throughout the area unless a strong wind blows.

The Hobart Homemakers FCE club met Monday, March 27, 2023, at 7 p.m. at the Stockton Church of Restoration. Susan G. opened the meeting with the flag salute, and Pam J. read the FCE mission. The roll call was, 'Are you planning on planting a garden?' Six members answered it. The minutes and treasurer's report from the last meeting were read and approved.

President Jeff Van Dyke called the January 24, 2023, meeting of the Rooks County Health Center Board of Directors to order at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 24th. The other board members present were Charles Allphin, Charles Comeau, Brad Plumer, and Jon Voss. Also present were Stephanie Bjornstad, Lori Frederking, Tinley Hahn, Pam Harmon, Frank Rajewski, William Stahl, Kathy Ramsay, Nicki Waggoner, and June Karlin, recording secretary. Michael Oller, MD participated via video conferencing.

The Heartland Community Foundation is excited to share the success of our February Match Month campaign. Thanks to the generous donors in Ellis, Rooks, and Trego counties, $213,773 was raised: $59,126 in Ellis County, $80,512 in Rooks County, and $74,135 in Trego County.