Orville Johnson Passes Away

    Below is a link to Orville Johnson's obituary.  I have no idea when,  or for how long,  but the obituary mentions that he worked in Rossville.   Did he live in Rossville?   Does anyone remember him?
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/kansascity/obituary.aspx?n=M-ORVILLE-JOHNSON&pid=175560460

KSNT Dawg Football Preview

ROSSVILLE (KSNT) – Fresh off the programs first state championship in football history, the Rossville Bulldawgs are locked and loaded as they get ready to defend their title.

The Dawgs finally climbed to the top of the podium last season by knocking of rival Silver Lake in the state semifinals, and then rallying to beat Scott City in the Class 3A state championship game.

Head coach Derick Hammes is entering his 3rd season at Rossville. He’s 26-1 in his first two years.

This year’s ‘War on 24’ against rival Silver Lake falls on Thursday, October 29th at Silver Lake, the final game of the regular season.

“We reflect back on last year’s team and we’ve got a lot of good players,” said Hammes. “So it’s going to be replacing those guys. We’ve got to develop a new identity, and our senior class, they’ve got to take the reigns and they’ve got to lead.”

“It was by far the best experience this town has ever been through,” said senior wide receiver/strong safety Christian Roduner. “We got some transfers coming in to fill the spots really nicely, and I think we’ll be just as good, maybe a little better than last year.”

“It’s obviously a great feeling at the end of the year, but we’ve just got to focus up in the offseason and kind of ignore that kind of stuff because we’ve got a brand new team, a brand new people,” said senior offensive/defensive lineman Gabe Marney. “We’ve just got to focus up and work hard.”

“We really focus on our preparation,” said Hammes. “We like to tell the kids that if we handle the process, then they’re going to be ready for games that we need them to be ready for.”

Rossville opens the season on September 4th at Clay Center.
You can see the KSNT video of the team at:  http://ksnt.com/2015/08/20/rossville-bulldawgs-h-s-football-preview/

WIBW Football Team Preview

ROSSVILLE, Kan. (WIBW) -- The Rossville Bulldogs had a season to remember last year going 14-0 and capturing the schools first ever 3A State Championship.

Rossville doesn't want to get too complacent though after going 26-1 over the last two seasons.

"It feels good and we can't have too much confidence but we have to have a little bit. We have a good team this year," said Rossville senior offensive lineman Kole Davoren. "It's going to be a good season."

"Well we definitely have a big target on our back but you know we just have to face it like we did last year," said Rossville senior offensive lineman/linebacker Zach Jensen. "Nothings changed."

Derick Hammes is entering his third season as Rossville's football coach, and he's confident even with a target on their back his team can answer any challenge.

"I think that's going to be different. People will be shooting for us. We will have that target as you say and it will be different but it is a challenge for us, and our kids for the two years that I've been here have rose to the challenge," said Hammes. " I think they'll be up for it."

The Bulldogs boasted a juggernaut on offense last season scoring more than 40 points a game running and passing their way through the Mid-East League.

Although a handful of people on last year's offense graduated the team knows they can use their experience to build up the depth.

"We have to keep working on developing our depth because obviously like you said we lost some kids," said Davoren. "We just got to keep getting the younger guys better so we can keep the tradition going."

The Bulldogs do have senior quarterback Tucker Horak who had 50 combined touchdowns through the air and on the ground last year, but it's the guys who protect him that will be key.

"Obviously having an All-State quarterback returning is going to be what a lot of people look at, but we might have as deep and talented offensive line that you could have in 3A football, said Hammes. "So I think that's kind of a hidden secret for us. We got some kids up front that are battling for positions right now but we really have some kids that can block, and that's going to help everybody offensively."

For video,  go to:

http://www.wibw.com/sports/headlines/Kansas-Prep-Zone-Preview-Rossville-Bulldogs-322354592.html

Trans Sec. Meets About Willard Bridge

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW)- The top transportation officials in the U.S. was in Kansas Wednesday talking to aviation leaders, and also about the failing Willard Bridge.

Senator Jerry Moran hosted U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx in Park City, that is near Wichita.

Foxx spoke and met the the president of Wichita State University and officials from the National Institute for Aviation Research. He also met privately with Shawnee County officials. They are seeking federal funding to replace the Willard Bridge south of Rossville.

"The commissioner made a very compelling case," said Foxx. "But we have to work through our process and it's obviously very important, we're talking about a bridge project, very important in a part of the state west of Topeka and I look forward to working through the process."

Moran has shown his support for getting federal funds to replace the bridge, and says that it highlights a need on the national level.

"It highlights the need for Congress to get a long term transportation bill in place and to have other sources of support. State, local and federal projects are of significance, such as the Willard Bridge."

Foxx says that TIGER grant recipients will most likely be announced sometime in October. 

Connor Bush Wins Condiment Race

 (KCTV)-- It started out innocent enough but at just over four seconds into the race.

Down went Ketchup! And he took Mustard with him during the Sunday Kansas City Royals game!

Jack Grimes of Lawrence was "Mustard" and said the "...bad thing about the costumes is you can't look down so if someone falls, which happened to me, I tripped over the guy and I couldn't see where he was."

The "guy" or "Ketchup" who took him out was Conner Bush of Rossville.

Conner Bush told the media that, "I fell down and I was landing and then he tripped and then he fell down and when I tried to get up, my costume was falling off and then I just slipped out of it and just ran.

When 'The Ketchup Kid' came out of his suit he continued running at the end, Conner took a flying Superman leap across the finish line, for the win!

Unfortunately for Brock, getting beat by his kid brother is "not anything new".

No matter who won or lost, the experience for the three Royals fans, was one they'll always remember for better or worse.

You can see video of the event at:
http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/Rossville-kids-make-it-big-during-KC-Royals-game-322168411.html

U. S. Trans. Sec. Discusses Bridge

From cjonline.com

      U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx will meet with Shawnee County officials Wednesday morning to discuss the decaying Willard Bridge, according to U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran’s office.
      The senator’s office said Monday that Moran arranged the meeting to take advantage of the transportation secretary’s rare visit to Kansas. Foxx and Moran are scheduled to take part in a roundtable forum with aviation industry stakeholders Wednesday afternoon in the Wichita suburb of Park City.
      Few details of the secretary’s visit to Topeka have been released. The U.S. Department of Transportation confirmed Foxx will be in Kansas on Wednesday but offered no specifics.
"I am aware and appreciative of the invitation to meet with Secretary Foxx," Shawnee County Commissioner Shelly Buhler, a Rossville resident and staunch proponent of urgently replacing the bridge, said in email Monday night. "At this time all information and details including time and location which are yet to be confirmed, are being handled through Senator Moran's Office."
Foxx’s visit to Shawnee County comes at an auspicious time as the county competes with other municipalities across the country for a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER, grant to replace the Willard Bridge.
      The county has been forced to repeatedly lower the weight limit on the bridge in northwest Shawnee County. The bridge’s sufficiency rating, which measures a bridge’s fitness on a 0-100 scale, was above 61 until 2012. In 2013 it dropped to 50.7. In January, it was measured at 23.7.
Replacing the bridge is expected to cost about $24.4 million. If the county obtains a $16.7 TIGER grant, the county will use an expected $6 million surplus from a half-cent sales tax and about $1 million from Wabaunsee County to cover the difference.
      With public angst building in Rossville and Silver Lake, communities connected to the rest of the county by the bridge, the county commission in February sent letters to Moran, U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins and U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts requesting their help in obtaining federal assistance. Five days later, during a March 3 hearing in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Moran pressed Foxx for details on how Shawnee County could find funding to replace the bridge.
“At this point, the bridge over the Kansas River is no longer structurally sound enough for school buses to ride over that bridge,” Moran, a Republican, said in the hearing. “It’s a significant disruption of commerce and agriculture — not to mention public safety.”
      “Senator, unfortunately, I’m not proud to say that this is a problem that I’ve seen in many, many parts of the country,” Foxx responded.
      Foxx told the senator that TIGER grant funding “may be a potential source for this work.” On that same day, Moran invited Foxx to Kansas, according to the senator’s office.
      The TIGER grant program, established in 2009, isn’t popular among some Republicans who favor giving more money to states and oppose allowing the federal government to choose which projects are funded. In June, the U.S. House passed an appropriations bill that would slash TIGER grant funding from its current level of $500 million annually to $100 million.
Jenkins, a Republican representing Shawnee County, has said she supports the county’s efforts to seek federal funding for the bridge but voted in favor of the House legislation cutting TIGER grants. The proposed cut to the TIGER grant program wouldn’t affect Shawnee County’s current grant application.
      Foxx, a Democrat and the former mayor of Charlotte, N.C., took over the position of transportation secretary last July with unanimous approval in the Senate. During the Senate hearing, Foxx told Moran that most federal transportation funding is given directly to states and state governments should look inward when questioning why they don’t have enough money.
      “I think one question is, what other choices is the state DOT making?” Foxx said.
The question is especially relevant in Kansas, where lawmakers have frequently diverted funds from the Kansas Department of Transportation’s T-Works highway construction fund to fill revenue shortfalls. On July 30, KDOT announced it would hand over $8 million to help cover Gov. Sam Brownback’s $62.6 million in budget adjustments.
      The transportation industry coalition Economic Lifelines estimates $2.1 billion has been diverted from T-Works since it was established in 2010, earning T-Works the nickname Bank of KDOT among the governor’s critics. 

Kent Gockel Passes Away

       Kent Joseph Gockel, 57, passed away Saturday, August 15, 2015 at a Topeka Hospital.     
      He was born November 16, 1957 at Axtell, the son of Francis and Wilma Droge Gockel.   He was raised in St. Marys and graduated from St. Marys High School in 1976.     
      Kent owned and operated Gockel Thriftway in St. Marys.  He was a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.     
      He was preceded in death by his parents.    Survivors include Dee Gockel, St. Marys; two sons, Christopher and Brady Gockel, Topeka: two sisters, Jane Gockel and Joyce Davis.   
       Funeral Mass and inurnment will be private.  Memorial contributions may be sent to Piper Funeral Home, 714 Maple, St. Marys, Kansas 66536 to help offset funeral expenses.

Class of 1980 35th Reunion

    To see over a dozen photos of the Class of 1980 35th reunion during the Tall Corn Festival,  go to:
http://rossvilleksphotos.blogspot.com/2015/08/class-of-1980-35th-reunion.html

Class Reunions

If your class has had a reunion this summer,  send pictures and names of attendees and I will post the pictures on the RHS Photos web site.

Kansas Information Web Site

    This web site has just about any info you will ever need about Kansas.
http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/states/kansas/

Willard Bridge Video

    Here is a video from KSNT discussing latest developments concerning the Willard Bridge.  Primarily they are discussing the longer bus routes to get the students to Rossville
http://ksnt.com/2015/08/13/willard-bridge-weight-restrictions-weigh-on-rossville-schools/

TCF 5K Race

Results of the TCF 5K race can be read at:  www.letsgorun.com

Class of 65 Reunion

Rear, L to R: Melvin Sage, Dan Dayton, Randy Scott, Art Campbell, Virginia Meyer, Gary Dick

Center:  Amy Jones

Front, L to R: Oren Kovar, Diane Murray, Marilyn Trudy, Rebecca Barkley,
Helen Lytle, Omer VanVleck, Daryl Mitchell.

    For more photos of the Class of 65 reunion,  go to:
http://rossvilleksphotos.blogspot.com/2015/08/class-of-65-50th-reunion.html

     I would like to add a few more showing class members involved in other activities other than the parade.  If you have some,  e-mail them to:  frank.ruff@juno.com.

TCF Parade Photos

    Photos of the 2015 Tall Corn Festival Parade can be seen at:
http://rossvilleksphotos.blogspot.com/2015/08/tall-corn-festival-parage-2015.html