Looking Back
What Was Going On 14 Years Ago
Two thousand and eight tax figures showed an increase of nearly $1.8 million, largely due to oil as the Oil category was the only one showing a significant increase in tax revenue to be collected. Except for modest increases in the Personal Property and Severed Minerals columns, every other category showed a decrease in taxes, with $107,899 less to be collected in Real Estate taxes.
Thanksgiving week was especially hard for the Ray family in Stockton. Just a year earlier, Kim Ray died in a car accident south of Stockton the day after Thanksgiving. Then, one year later, Thanksgiving week would also be remembered by the same family as Lindsey Ray and her children lost their home to a fire on Nov. 25, 2008. Haley and Anthony awakened their mother at about 3 a.m., saying they smelled smoke. They grabbed a few clothes and ran out of the house, and soon the Stockton Fire Dept. was on the scene. Lindsey had just purchased the home at 819 S. Fourth two weeks prior to the fire that took everything, including the family’s little dog.
A Grand Opening for The Dandelion Patch and Rooks County Bakery was to be held Dec. 4th and 5th, celebrating the NEW location with NEW inventory, and to top it all off, they will be BAKING!
After working with Roger Roy of Roy Construction for over 17 years, Mike Faris decided it was time to make a go of it on his own and introduced his business, Mudd Construction Co., following the retirement of Roger Roy.
The 2008-2009 high school basketball season was set to begin with the Tigers traveling to Hill City for the Mid-Continent League match-up with the Ringnecks.
Mary Conn was the new deputy clerk, working alongside Rooks County Clerk of the District Court, Connie Stithem. Stithem had recently been promoted from deputy clerk after the departure of Geneva Mason, former clerk, who had accepted the same position at Council Grove in September.
In an effort to raise funds for health care services in Rooks County, the Healthcare Foundation of Rooks County Health Center was sponsoring a “Blizzard of Golfballs,” while selling 500 tickets for golfballs to be dropped from a Reif Welding & Construction winch truck on Dec. 6, 2008. The ticket holder of the corresponding golfball that falls in or closest to the target would win $1,000. Second- and thirdplace prizes were also to be awarded.
A 25-year-old employee of United Ag Services operation in Lucas died after a fall. United Ag Services General Manager John Lapka Jr. said that Marion Brett Kressley was fatally injured when he fell, and that the incident was under investigation by both local authorities and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Showing at the Nova Theatre was “Fireproof.”
An obituary was published for Lea Ann Smith (1957).
And So They Say — Galyn Peterson: “This is the only flower shop I know in the United States where you can order corn, silage and buy a rose.”
Looking Back, What Was Going on 14 Years Ago (1994) — An ice storm had blanketed the area. Murder suspect Kim Ordway filed to have his trial moved out of Rooks County. The Tiger wrestlers took 5th at the OSsborne Invitational. Thane Van Eaton was named Most Outstanding Wrestler. The Jaycees and the VFW were sponsoring a dance featuring “Salt City Express.”
56 Years Ago, Spotlighting the Year... 1952 — The nice snow which had fallen for two days turned colder and into a real blizzard and was the most severe storm to visit the town in a couple of years. It was reported there were only 17 more shopping days until Christmas. From The Feminine Slant By the Office Cat — After the bawl is over, many a kid gets what he wants. EM3 Doyal K. Hrabe, who had been stationed in Pearl Harbor since the month of October, arrived in Stockton for his 25-day leave and surprised his mother, Mrs. Leo Bonneau.
What Stocktonites Were Doing 98 Years Ago (1910) — The nine-year-old son of S.H. Bray of Rush Township threw a stone high in the air on Friday last, and as he stood looking upward it descended and struck him in the eye, cutting the eyeball severely. Dr. Callender was summoned and after an examination decided that the child should be taken to the hospital in Concordia for treatment by Caton, the specialist. The doctor, Mr. Bray and the boy went down Friday evening. The doctor hopes to save the eye, but it may be necessary later on to remove it.
