“A generous person prospers; whoever prospers others will be refreshed.”

Proverbs 11:25 (NIV)

Last Wednesday, Brenda Leon and the staff had most of the residents seated outside to wave at the wrestlers and oaches on their way to the Colorado state tournament in Denver. It was great to see and hear two white Sheriff’s vehicles blaring sirens and the flashing lights, as well as three red county fire trucks. We do know that there were two wrestlers from Eads. They were seniors Shaine Winder and Jaden Self. There may have been more wrestlers from Wiley, McClave, and Cheyenne Wells who practice and wrestle with the County Line team. There were two girls who made it to state with Coach Brenden Refenschider. Other coaches are Reagan Lane, Aiden Michael, John Navarette, and Chad Krentz. Kailyn Darnell of Eads embroidered jackets with their names on the coach’s jackets. Saturday, I saw on channel 13 TV photos of the large crowd of spectators cheering for several mats of wrestlers at the state meet. There were 1,300 wrestlers competing. Whether our boys and girls win or lose, this is an incredible experience to witness and they will remember it for years.

The last two Fridays we have so enjoyed watching the basketball games on television from various schools. Sometimes there is no narration, but this is a new field of technology, so it will improve with each passing year.

Tuesday was Ash Wednesday when our director, Brenda, had such an educational party, with many unexpected decorations. She hung long purple, gold, and green foil streamers over the windows and walls. Lively Cajun music played in the background as student assistant Kara Wilson answered questions about Marti Gras, which were so educational about why some people celebrate Shrove Tuesday this way. Marla Darnell and her staff served traditional snack foods featuring shrimp, dips, and goodies.

The next day, we celebrated Vera Fell Hammon’s 90^th birthday. Her daughter, Talara Coen, and her niece, Monica Uhland, came to share the lovely cake made and decorated by our Christina Wolf. They had dinner in the alcove with Vera and her sister, Donna Eaton, who lives with us. What a delightful pair they are! Two days later they were excited for Dain Eaton to come to drive them to Lamar for lunch and then to The Brew for another large 90^th birthday party for Vera. She was so looking forward to seeing her daughter, Tamara and family from Texas, and son, Troy Don, and family from Amarillo, Texas.

Every place setting was filled with guests last week at the Eads senior citizen lunch for a new main dish of baked spaghetti that our director, Gail Voss, made. She used ground buffalo rather than beef, with four pounds of various cheeses, just a few tomatoes with noodles, chopped vegetables, and spices. This recipe of June Blooding’s was a hit, along with salads and lots of desserts. During the business meeting chaired by our President, Sylvia B. Weeks, we donated money and approved of other items.

How good to see the photos of Plainview School students in action at the east end of our county. These photos by Ruth Fees appear in the Kiowa County Press about three times per month. I could see that Ken Flory of Eads made some presentations in Plainview to adults and to little children in a classroom. Ken is the head of ambulance driving and education for Kiowa County.    

What a pleasure to have church at the elder facilities weekly. Gail Voss served last week, and Mark Imel was the pastor who brought a message to us last Sunday. Our county has churches in Haswell, four in Eads, one each in Chivington, Sheridan Lake, and Towner.

Decca Brown and other Eads students are involved in a fundraiser to purchase baseball and track uniforms to use in the coming years for junior and senior high school.

I encourage family and friends of residents who live in retirement homes or assisted living homes to visit your relatives or friends for even a short time, like five or ten minutes. It means so much to them.

Parents who have children ages four and five who are interested in having them go to preschool will need to have them tested and interviewed for pre-enrollment. Most schools do this in March, so if you have children or loved ones in that age group, it would be wise to call the school office for details.

The Kiowa County Health Fair will be March 27-28 at Eads Elementary School. For many years, volunteers have assisted Weisbrod staff to test mostly adults from all over the county and many surrounding towns, and even some former residents who drive from Denver and elsewhere. Registration is in one of the classrooms. Some tests are free, and others have a charge. The Eads Education Association serves food. For many years these tests have verified problems when the person checked with a doctor later. Many lives have been saved.

We were so sad to hear that Brady Johnson of Wray died from brain cancer. He and his wife, Jordon Barnett, have two preschool sons.