It’s appropriate that Bichel-meyer’s Steakhouse — a restaurant where the walls are lined with framed photos of movie stars — was the venue for this season’s Survivor parties.

Fans of CBS “Survivor: Guatemala” participant Danni Boatwright gathered each Thursday night this fall to watch the show.

And on Sunday night — the grand finale of the Survivor season — several hundred fans cheered as Boatwright won the reality show — and the $1 million prize.

Afterward, Ryan Wolfe, a 15-year-old Tonganoxie boy, said he thought Boatwright’s win had given Tonganoxie a star to place on the map.

Some might say he’s right.

Tonganoxie will catch onto the tailwind of Boatwright’s success.

And as it’s likely Boatwright’s career, in sports broadcasting, will continue to soar, our city will continue to be more well-known — and in a positive light.

So often when big-city media bring their cameras, satellite trucks and helicopters to small towns, it’s because something bad has happened.

Tornadoes, fires, car wrecks and floods are common fodder for regional or national news coverage.

What a nice thing it is that this week it’s good news that has pitched Tonganoxie into the spotlight. And all because of a hometown girl who’s proven to be gutsy, strong, smart, determined and — yet, as those who know her will say — as sweet as anyone you’d like to have living next door.

Meanwhile, it’s been fun this fall to watch episodes of Survivor, knowing a hometown girl was in the cast. And it’s been just as much fun these last two days to watch the once-again-glamorous Boatwright appear on national television news shows.

It will be interesting to continue following her career.

Whether we know Boatwright or not, whether we watched Survivor or not, one thing is certain –Tonganoxie has a new star. And Matt and Vicki Bichelmeyer, of Bichelmeyer’s Steakhouse, have another celebrity whose picture they can proudly display on their walls.