Duplicate Bridge Club
Amit Chakrabarti and Jim Masilamani won the Manhattan Duplicate Bridge Club game June 3. Nancy Gugler and Georgia Reynolds were second in flight A and first in flight B. Linda Schottler and Debbie Fair were third, and Connie Noble and Stella Walker were fourth in flight A and second in flight B.
The duplicate bridge group meets each Monday at 1 p.m. at the Manhattan Seniors’ Center and invites any bridge players to attend. For more information or partnerships, call Pam at 785-456-3117.
Flint Hills
Woodturners Club
Twenty-one members and three guests attended the Flint Hills Woodturners Club meeting on June 1, at Rock Creek High School.
A demonstration was provided by club member Bob Holcombe on turning a calabash bowl. A very informative handout detailed the rich history and tradition of these bowls which feature a round bottom, with no foot, typically turned from green wood so that it warps slightly, imitating traditional bowls made from gourds in the pacific islands. Information included specific proportions of the three different forms, types of wood used, best practices for preparing and mounting the green wood bowl blank, and Bob’s preferred shaping tools and finishes.
Show and Tell participants included: Victor Schwarz, Heather Marusiak, Dennis Waite, Terry Schmidt, Kenneth Stitt, Vaughn Graber, Tom Boley, and Tod Salfrank.
The next club meeting will be July 6, with a demonstration of color and carving by nationally and internationally recognized Club member, Heather Marusiak. Visit our website at flinthillswoodturners.org for more information.
Manhattan
Kennel Club
The monthly meeting of Manhattan Kennel Club was held on May 21. The club enjoyed a presentation by Tess Purvis on training and working with K-9 search and rescue dogs. She has worked with search dogs in Alaska, Alabama and Kansas. These dogs look for people who are lost and victims of natural disasters. She said, “There is a difference between looking and searching.”
It takes a lot of time and patience to train these dogs, but they do very important work. The summer session of training classes is listed on our website (mkkc.org) and will begin the second week of June. There are classes for all types and ability levels of dogs and handlers.
The club held therapy dog testing on April 13. This test evaluates a dog’s behavior around medical equipment as well as a dog’s willingness to work with different people. Ten dogs took the test and nine passed.
The club continues to plan for the Capital City Circuit dog show. The club partners with the Topeka Kennel Club to host this show each August. It will be held at Stormont Vail Events Center on Aug. 22-25. The club discussed next steps for possibly holding a FastCAT or Fetch competition. Members shared accomplishments of their dogs since our last meeting. The next meeting will be June 11 at the club building.
Manhattan
Rotary Club
President-elect Randy Peterson stepped in for President Mitzi Richards who is out of the country. Stormy Kennedy and Felix Jimenez were greeters. Randy asked for a moment of silence in memory of longtime Rotarian, Larry Bowers, who died May 26.
The work of the Community Cares Chest has been suspended. Products from Save the Children are being trucked to areas who have been hit the hardest by spring tornados. President-elect Randy thanked all who worked the Bill Snyder Half Marathon and 5K including Dale Bradley, Jayson Cyr, Steven Graham, Liz Nelson, Tom Phillips, Claudia Petrescu, Mitzi Richards, Jason Smith, Bob Ward and Jim Wright. Rotary on Tap is June 18 from 5-7 p.m. at the Bluemont Hotel.
Daryn Soldan introduced Shanna Goodman, executive director of the Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation (PCEDC). Pottawatomie County is one of three fastest growing counties in Kansas and the fastest growing area in the county is Blue Township. Established in 1991, PCEDC serves to promote county wide prosperity through partnerships and business development. Two-thirds of the funding for the corporation comes from the county and one-third is provided by investors. Pillars of PCEDC are to advocate, inform and connect. PCEDC works to attract, retain and expand businesses, improve infrastructure, aid in the development of small businesses, and support workforce needs. Hot topics are child care and housing needs. Pottawatomie County is moving from a three to a five-person commission with candidate open forums held throughout the summer. Voting occurs in November. In honor of Shanna’s speaking, the children’s book “The Lost Package” will be donated to the Frank Bergman Elementary School library.
Solar Kiwanis
The Manhattan Solar Kiwanis Club met at noon on June 4 at the Blue Hills Room. There were 15 members present. Club President Karl Dean led the meeting. Brent Jones led the song, Steve Bartle, led the pledge and Ron Jackson gave the invocation.
Announcements were led by President Dean. Vera has set up an interclub meeting with the Junction City Noon club on Wednesday, June 12, at the blu restaurant in Junction City. She is looking for three Solarians to attend that meeting. Due to health reasons, Ron Williams has retired from producing our annual Manhattan Solar Kiwanis Club handbook. Ron has done an excellent job of producing the handbook for the last 20 years or so and we appreciate his efforts. Solarian Treavor Heeney has volunteered to take over the development and publication of the handbook beginning with the 2024-2025 issue. Ron, as well as other Solarians, will advise Treavor along the way, if needed.
President Dean called upon Solarian Chad Tepe who introduced Kevin Harms who recently retired from the Army as a Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CW3). Harms related that he was an “Army brat” and his family moved a lot until he was eleven years old. He joined the Army reserves when he was in college and soon was activated to the regular Army due to the military conflicts in Southeast Asia. He started out as a military policeman but did not like it. He subsequently applied for the Army flight school and was accepted. He learned to fly helicopters and had many combat missions. He made the rank of Staff Sergeant in 5 years after being activated. Harms was a squad leader and was responsible for a dozen or so soldiers. He told about all the different places he was stationed and the great men he served with. When his first child was born, he was stationed overseas and had to listen on the phone for several hours while his wife gave birth to their daughter. He was allowed to come home for two weeks after she was born but had to go back overseas and missed his daughter’s first birthday. He is now married and has a daughter and a son, and he works for Alliance Realty.
Solar Kiwanis meets at noon at the Blue Hills Room next to RC McGraw’s in the Blue Hills Shopping Center. Our next weekly meeting will be Tuesday, June 11, and Solarian Vera Williams will introduce Payton Engel, music therapist.
Contact Secretary Doug Ackley (rda@ksu.edu or 785-539-4945) if you have any questions. Some of these ideas will be discussed further at the next Solar Kiwanis Board of Directors meeting.
