Bill Higgs

William M. "Bill" Higgs

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William M. "Bill" Higgs, 92, of Topeka, passed away Sept. 27, 2010 at McCrites Plaza. He was born Feb. 8, 1918, in Martin, TN, the son of Ether Albert and Ruth McAdoo Higgs. On March 7, 1942, Bill married Evelyn E. Lytton, in Mississippi. She survives. Bill served in the United States Army from 1941-45, serving in the South Pacific. He worked many years with the Mobil Pipeline as a machinist until his retirement in 1981. Bill is survived by his wife of 68 years, Evelyn; sons, William (Siri) Higgs and Michael Higgs; grandchildren, Brian (Stephanie) and Mark (Stephenie) Higgs; and great grandchildren, Blake and Rylee Higgs. Funeral service will be at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010, at Penwell-Gabel Mid Town Chapel. Burial will follow at Mt. Hope Cemetery. Mr. Higgs will lie in state after 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to Central Church of Christ, 1250 SW College Ave., Topeka, KS 66604. To leave a special message for the family online, please visitwww.PenwellGabelTopeka.com

Favorite Places (NYC)

One of my favorite places is New York City. I'm glad Debbie and I have the opportunity to visit Craig in Manhattan each fall. A great city to visit.

Favorite Places (Point Loma)

One of my favorite places in all the world is this area off the coast of San Diego. I told Debbie about ten years ago when we were there that I wish I had a lawn chair so I could just sit and watch the waves and the gray whales play off the coast.

It Was A Good Day

As I Arise Today

AS I ARISE TODAY (A Prayer Credited to Patrick of Ireland, a Fourth Century Missionary)

As I arise today, May the strength of God uphold me, the power of God guide me,
May the words of God give me speech, the wisdom of God direct me,
May the eyes of God watch over me, the ear of God hear my need,
May the hand of God guide me, the way of God lie before me,
May the shield of God defend me, the angels of God watch over me,
May Your grace, O Lord, always be mine, this day, and forevermore.

As I arise today may Christ shield me,
Against the vices that give temptation force;
the natural lusts that war within,
Against the knowledge that defiles and false doctrine of heresy,
Against every cruel, merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against the hostile men that deter my course:From every one, few or many, who shall wish me ill, far and near,Alone or in multitude and in all hours against their fierce hostility,
Against the snares of the evil one, protect me, Christ, until You return.

As I arise today,Christ be with me, Christ be within me, Christ be before me, Christ be behind me,Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ be beneath me, Christ be above me,Christ in the quiet, Christ in danger, Christ to win me;Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit, Christ when I stand,Christ to comfort me, Christ to restore me;Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.Christ in the heart of all that love me, Christ in the mouth of all who speak of me.

As I arise today, may I have the faith of the starlit heaven, the hope of the glorious sun’s giving rays,The pure whiteness of the full moon, the focus of the lightning free,The strength of the whirling wind’s turbulent gusts, the depth of the salty sea,The firmness of eternal rock, and the stability of earth.

Praise be to the creator of all nature and mankind,Praise to the God of my salvation, salvation is of Christ the Lord. Amen

Cleanup Columbus

Thanks to the many staff members and students of USD 493 who gave many hours of their time on Saturday to help spruce up the community and school grounds.

We had a great turnout and many projects were accomplished.

The following items were done by school and community members:
trash picked up all over town
brush picked up
brush taken to brush pile
mums planted downtown
mums watered
weed eating
sprayed for weeds
mums planted at Central
fire hydrants painted
flower beds cleaned
grass cut
windows cleaned

Thank you for all the hard work. The community was very impressed with the school turnout and the hard work you performed. We had over 60 staff members and students participate. We had almost 100 volunteers cleaning Columbus. You made a big difference!

Storm Damage

The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO
September 16, 2010
Storm damages roof of school gymnasium in Columbus, Kan.
Staff Writer The Joplin Globe

COLUMBUS, Kan. — Wednesday night’s storm took part of the roof off of a gymnasium in Columbus.David Carriger, superintendent of the Columbus school district, said they lost part of the roof of the Round Top Gym at Central School.“We had about half the roof blown off at 9:25 p.m.,” he said this morning. “The interior ceiling is still intact.” He said they also had several inches of water in the gym. “The water came so fast. We had a good inch in a 15-minute period. It just poured,” Carriger said. He said the water may have gotten under the gym floor and down into the sub-flooring. “It’s starting to buckle a little bit. We’re probably going to replace the floor.”

Dinner with Chuck and Faye

Debbie had her endocrinologist appointment in Tulsa on Monday evening. We had the opportunity to eat dinner with Deb's parents. It was great seeing them.

SOONERS WIN BIG

Sooners 47
Florida State 17

A Day of Remembrance

Rain is Coming

The prediction is 5-7 inches of rain from the hurricane.

Golf Weekend

Enjoyed two rounds of golf at Peoria Ridge and Columbus this weekend. My first chance to play with my dad since his heart surgery. My brother Mike played Columbus with us. I forgot how nice Peoria Ridge golf course is.......great condition and layout.

TITANS WIN

We had a great football crowd on Friday evening as Columbus defeated Parsons 47-36. The weather was great as well.

SOONERS

The 2010 College Football Season begins today as my Oklahoma Sooners play Utah State.

GO SOONERS!

Labor Day Weekend

CThe Carriger Clan invades today for the long Labor Day weekend. We will attend the Titans season opener tonight against Parsons and lots of fun and family over the weekend. Maybe a round of golf as well.

Budget News

Kansas collected nearly $38 million more in taxes than anticipated in August, raising hopes Tuesday that the state can avoid major reductions in its current budget.

The state Department of Revenue issued a preliminary report showing that the state collected $414 million in taxes during the month. That is 10 percent more than the $376 million that had been forecast by the state's official revenue projections.

Both retail sales and individual income tax collections were stronger than anticipated. The surplus made up for a small shortfall in tax collections in July, the first month of the state's 2011 fiscal year. For the two months, tax collections were a net $35 million ahead of expectations.

Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson saw the latest figures as confirmation that Kansas' economy isn't going to suffer even though the state raised its sales tax from 5.3 percent to 6.3 percent on July 1. The revenue projections account for the increase.

Parkinson pushed for the tax increase to avoid further significant cuts in education funding, social services and other programs following multiple rounds of budget reductions in 2009. Critics of the tax increase predicted it would blunt any recovery.

"Higher than expected revenues this month is another clear sign that Kansas is on the road to recovery," Parkinson said in a statement. "Kansas continues to show great progress, and I remain optimistic for our bright future."

But even Parkinson acknowledged that revenues still might fluctuate in coming months, and other officials said Kansans shouldn't read too much into the August figures.

Alan Conroy, director of the Legislative Research Department, said September collections will include some quarterly individual income tax payments, as well as the last sales taxes collected on back-to-school purchases.

"We certainly don't have the recession solved yet, but at least the numbers are a step in the right direction," said Senate President Steve Morris, a Hugoton Republican who supported the sales tax increase. "That's such a breath of fresh air after what we've been through."

If the state's month-to-month tax collections were to fall significantly short of expectations, the state could be forced to revise its $13.7 billion budget. Last year, revenue shortfalls led Parkinson to impose cuts in July and November, when lawmakers were out of session.

Conservative Republicans still believe the sales tax increase will dampen economic activity. But GOP House Majority Leader Ray Merrick, of Stilwell, acknowledged that the August figures could indicate a positive trend.

"Let's just hope it continues," he said.

The state collected almost $193 million in individual income taxes in August, about 4 percent more than the $185 million predicted.

Retail sales tax collections were almost $169 million, compared to a projection of $143 million. The surplus was $26 million, or about 18 percent.