Scouts ask that area residents place the bags filled with non-perishable food items outside their front doors on April 15. The Boy Scouts will pick up the bags and donate the items to Good Shepherd Thrift Shop.

SORT recycling planned for Saturday
The next SORT recycling drop-off will be from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Leavenworth County Fairgrounds, Tonganoxie.

Sixth-graders from Janet Burnett’s class and Susan Lenon’s class will donate their time to collect recyclable items at the drop-off.

The next SORT recycling date will be April 22.

Thrift shop, food bank to thank volunteers
The Good Shepherd Thrift Shop and Food Bank will conduct its appreciation dinner next week.

The event will be at noon April 13 at the Congregational Church. Speakers will be from the Tonganoxie Library and the Mid-America Assistance Coalition. For information about the dinner, call 845-3964.

Kindergarten roundup planned in McLouth
The McLouth Elementary School’s Kindergarten Round-Up and Screening will be April 13 and 14. Parents who have a child who will be 5 on or before Aug. 31 are asked to call the elementary school, (913) 796-6152, to set up an appointment.

County warning sirens to be tested today
The Leavenworth County Office of Emergency Management will conduct a test of the outdoor warning sirens at 11 a.m. today.

The test will consist of a steady tone sounded on the siren, Alert Warning, then silence, followed by a wavering tone, Attack Warning. The cable television override system also will be tested during this test.

Anyone who observes a malfunctioning siren is asked to call the Leavenworth County Office of Emergency Management, (913) 684-0455, or local law enforcement officials. In case of inclement weather, the test will be on the next clear day.

Kindergarten testing concludes on Friday
The final Tonganoxie Kindergarten Screening Day will be Friday. Here’s Friday’s schedule for children’s screenings: 8 a.m. (M-N), 9:30 a.m. (O-P-Q-R), 11 a.m. (S-T) and 1:30 p.m. (U-V-W-X-Y-Z).

Pizza pays; Marching Chieftains benefit
Pizza lovers have a chance to support the Tonganoxie High School Marching Chieftains by eating at the Bonner Springs Pizza Hut March next Monday. Twenty percent of the purchase will be donated to the THS group when coupons are presented to the server when the customers pay for their meal. This includes dine-in and carryout.

Charges dismissed against ex-teacher
Charges against a former Lansing band teacher have been dismissed, two days before a trial was scheduled to begin in the case.

Robert Duffer, the teacher, was charged in December with lewd and lascivious behavior and child endangerment. A municipal court trial was scheduled to begin this morning on those charges. However, the allegations were dismissed on Monday.

“I believe there is insufficient evidence to justify continuing the prosecution,” said Terry Lober, criminal prosecutor for the city of Lansing. “The charges are dismissed without prejudice, which means that charges can be refiled if new or additional facts come to light.”

The charges against Duffer stemmed from an alleged incident last December at Lansing High School in which a student said she walked into the office of the bandroom and allegedly saw Duffer sitting in a chair with his pants around his ankles.

Duffer was suspended from his employment with the district, and the school board adopted a resolution in January notifying Duffer that the board planned to fire him. Duffer then requested a hearing on the termination of his contract.

At its March 27 meeting, the board accepted Duffer’s resignation from the district and agreed to pay the remainder of his contract, according to Paula Mengel, Lansing school board clerk. Farm Bureau

member to capital

Ruth Ryan was among more than 170 Farm Bureau members in the nation’s capital recently who participated in Farm Bureau’s annual County President’s Trip. While in Washington, the Farm Bureau delegation split into teams and visited all Senate and House members to discuss priority issues including trade and tax reform, specifically Permanent Normal Trade Status for China, sanctions reform and a version of an agriculture IRA called FARRM accounts.

Mutual Savings promotes Myers
Matt Myers has been promoted to assistant branch manager of the Bonner Springs branch of Mutual Savings.

Myers began at Mutual in October 1997 as a customer service representative. He learned deposit services and basic branch operations before becoming more involved in consumer and mortgage lending. He obtained his Kansas Life and Health Insurance license.

Myers is a personal banker dealing with customer needs. He is involved with all areas of operations, including supervising branch personnel and training new employees.

Myers grew up in Bartlesville, Okla. He attended Coffeyville Community College and Pittsburg State University, majored in marketing and played scholarship baseball. Myers met his wife, Jenny, at Pittsburg State. They have a daughter, Gracie.

Schneider joins staff at Citizens Savings
Heather Schneider recently joined the staff of Citizens Savings and Loan Association, as mortgage loan officer at the branch office in Basehor.

Schneider is a graduate of Pleasant Ridge High School and the University of Kansas, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She has three and a half years’ experience as a mortgage loan officer working on Overland Park. She and her husband, Trent, are lifelong residents of the Leavenworth area.

Nunn promoted at Mutual Savings
Melanie Nunn has been promoted to assistant vice president of Mutual Savings Association, according to David Hoppes, president of the association.

Nunn, a Leavenworth native, began her career at Mutual Savings as a summer intern in 1994. After graduating from Kansas State University in December 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in business management, she joined Mutual as a full-time management trainee.

For the next 18 months, she worked in every department and branch of Mutual Savings, gaining hands-on experience with customers, learning products and services, and familiarizing herself with operational issues. In July 1996, she was promoted to loan counselor, and in February 1998, she was promoted to loan officer.

Educators attend reading conference
More than 250 educators from Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska recently attended the Kansas regional Reading Recovery Conference at Emporia State University.

These Tonganoxie school district employees participated: Sue Flynn, Tammie George, Nancy Gibbens, Kathleen Riddle, Denise Smith, Ann Taylor, Linda Vernon, Deniece Wakeman, Debra Wedel and Ruth Wickey.

Marie Clay spoke at the conference. Clay is a world-renowned New Zealand child psychologist and educator who founded the Reading Recovery, a reading intervention program for children.

Training course offered for youth
Youth between the ages 14 and 16, who plan to work on a farm this summer other than for their parents are required by law to completed the Hazardous Occupations Training Course.

The course includes instruction about tractor, machinery, and livestock safety.

The HOT course is jointly sponsored and taught by K-State Research and Extension of Leavenworth, Douglas, and Johnson counties,

The course will be taught in four Monday evening sessions on April 10, 17, 24, and May 1. The class sessions will be at the Douglas County Extension office, 2110 Harper, and will run from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. each week. Registration is $10 for the materials.

Contact an extension office to determine if space remains in the class. In Leavenworth County, call (913) 684-0475, and in Douglas County, call (785) 843-7058.