Ark Valley News - Looking Back

Looking Back
Last Updated: December 01, 2016

50 years ago

A Rock Island Train derailed just north of Furley the day after Thanksgiving.

Valley Center High School football players Mike Minerd, Larry Lawrence and Rick Brucker were selected to the Chisholm Trail League first team.

45 years ago

David Highfill, son of Mr. and Mrs. Fay Highfill of Valley Center, was a staff member at KTJO-FM, a student-operated, licensed radio station at Ottawa University. Highfill, a junior, spent at least two hours per week as a disc jockey for the station.

Navy Airman Apprentice Michael E. Shewmake, son of Mr. and Mrs. Roy W. Shewmake of rural Valley Center, graduated from the Naval Air Technical Training Center in Memphis, Tenn. He was a graduate of Valley Center High School.

40 years ago

Busy B's Daylight Donut Shop opened for business on South Meridian. Elizabeth Bromley of Valley Center and Joyce Betkey of Wichita were co-owners.

Kansas Gov. Robert Bennett appointed Valley Center attorney Keith Anderson as a Sedgwick County associate district judge for the 18th Judicial District.

35 years ago

The Valley Center City Council accepted the resignation of ambulance director Alan Branson. The council appointed Loren and Twila Wells as co-directors.

The Southwest Baptist University Missouri Student Teachers Association named Larri Periman, daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Bill Periman of Valley Center, as a queen's attendant for homecoming ceremonies at the school.

30 years ago

Diedra Davis received an Emily V. Berger Scholarship and Pam Springler received a Frances Elizabeth Taylor journalism scholarship, both from the University of Kansas.

Sheri Blocher, daughter of Jim and Jorja Blocher, received an Eva Becker Memorial Scholarship at Bethel College.

25 years ago

The Valley Center City Council approved Kenneth L. Hinton as the city's newest police officer.

The Valley Center Chamber of Commerce announced it would sponsor a residential Christmas lighting contest. The chamber would offer cash prizes of $125 for first place, $100 for second, $50 for third, and $25 for fourth and fifth place.

20 years ago

Mike McCormick, vocal music instructor at Valley Center High School, led the Madrigals in a Christmas carol and George Naylor, instrumental instructor at the Valley Center High School, led the high school band for the lighting of the Christmas tree at the historical museum. The Valley Players served refreshments.

Sheriff's deputies from Sedgwick and Harvey counties warned area residents about burglars who struck between noon and 1 p.m. The deputies said the burglars would kick in doors to gain entry.

15 years ago

Lacey Heilman, daughter of Kay and Jeff Heilman of Valley Center, was a finalist in the prestigious Gore Scholarship competition at Wichita State University.

Megan Clark of Valley Center participated in Bethany College's scholarship days program and was awarded a founder's scholarship worth $5,200.

10 years ago

A cow headed for slaughter at Richards Cold Storage in Valley Center got a reprieve when it managed to escape and run at-large, eluding owners and police officers for about three days.

At its 88th annual meeting, the Kansas Farm Bureau awarded Sen. Carolyn McGinn of Sedgwick one of its most prestigious awards. Kansas Farm Bureau president Steve Baccus presented McGinn with the Distinguished Service Award.

5 years ago

The railroad crossing gates on Meridian in Valley Center caused more than $1,000 in damage to a Valley Center woman's vehicle. She told police the gates came down on her vehicle while stopped at the crossing. No one was hurt.

Brynn Swank, a Valley Center fifth-grader with juvenile arthritis, was the Youth Honor Hero of the Arthritis Foundation's Jingle Bell Run/Walk. "Team Swank Shorty" was raising money for the event.