New York City Trip Day 1

We had a fantastic time visiting Craig in New York City. This was our third trip to the Big Apple to visit Craig and probably the best. We had such a great time spending time with him as we walked the streets of the neighborhoods of NYC.

Day 1: We left Kansas City at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday and had a short 2 hour 15 minute flight to NYC. We took a cab to Craig's apartment on the west side of Manhattan. He lives 2 blocks north of Lincoln Center and 2 blocks south of the Hudson River. Great location. First thing we did, of course, was have pizza at Luigi's. Had to begin my eating vacation with NYC pizza. It was great. Craig took us first on a trip up north to The Cloisters. It was built by the Rockefellers to house works of art. It was very impressive. Built as an old monastery, it housed many church pieces from the 16oo's. We enjoyed the view of the Hudson and the changing colors of fall. After our trip to the northern part of NYC, we went to the east side for Deb to shop, then dinner at Carmine's. Great Italian food, served family style. The meat balls were the size of baseballs. We couldn't eat all the bread and food they brought. After dinner we headed to Times Square to shop. We got back to Craig's place about midnight.

Craig

Debbie and I leave this evening to go see Craig in New York City. He is finishing up his senior year at FIT and working full time at Hermes. Craig has to work over Thanksgiving and Christmas so this is our "holiday" celebration with him. Its tough to only see him about two weeks out of the year, but that's part of life.........growing up.

Big Cedar

Deb had a great time at the ladies Webb City Church of Christ weekend retreat at Big Cedar in Branson. All I got to do was stay home, cut grass, rake leaves, clean the house and feed Jack. But it was a beautiful all weekend,

Happy 50th

Happy 50th Anniversary to my Mom and Dad.

I hope you are enjoying Eastern Europe.

Safe Walk

Columbus Safe Walk 2010. We had over 850 kids in 90 minutes. We appreciate all the contributions from the USD 493 faculty and staff.

TULSA BEATS NOTRE DAME

Way to go Tulsa!

Happy Halloween

Brian and Craig Halloween 1989.

We will enjoy the Columbus Safe Walk tonight as we celebrate here in Columbus. Kids have a safe evening.

Congratulations Lady Indians!

Volleyball has always been a big part of my life as a coach, teacher, principal and superintendent. My first job in 1984 as a history teacher consisted of a coaching position with volleyball and basketball coaching duties. Growing up in southern California, volleyball was a huge sport, but one that I really didn't know much about until I started coaching junior college volleyball in Nebraska.

Every stop along my educational career has resulted in being part of successful volleyball programs. At York College in Nebraska, as head coach we spent two years turning a program around that had not had any success, to my second year going 18-12 with a great group of athletes. As head coach in Conway Springs, Kansas, I was blessed to have great athletes where we won 2 conference titles and had two sub-state runner ups in three years along with a final top 6 ranking in Class 3A. After leaving Conway, they have gone on to win several state titles and been a 3A powerhouse.

We spent 17 years in Osage City where volleyball was a very important fall sport. As high school principal and superintendent, we took several trips to the state tournament in Salina and won several conference titles. A 4th place state finish was the best showing in volleyball before the Lady Indians capped off a great weekend performance with their first state volleyball championship this weekend.

I congratulate all the Lady Indian fans! Thanks Troy for keeping me updated during your two day run.

Here in Columbus, Coach Hamilton is beginning to build the volleyball program. I look forward to the coming years as he and the girls do some great things with the program.

I encourage everyone to get behind the sport of volleyball. It's a great sport that's very exciting and one that is enjoyable to watch.

Professor's Life Cut Short

The York College family, East Hill congregation, and York community mourn the loss of a humble servant of the King. Surrounded by his family, longtime YC business professor, Dr. Roger Collins (57), passed into the gracious arms of His Redeemer Monday night, October 25 at 11:34 pm.

Roger and his wife Deb were in Springfield, Missouri over the weekend to be with Deb's grandmother. Saturday at noon, Roger went jogging and had a massive heart attack in a local park. CPR was performed and he was rushed to the hospital. Using hypothermic treatment, he was placed in a medically induced coma in critical care. On Monday morning, his body was warmed to the desired temperature and he was taken off the sedation drugs. That afternoon, however, Roger had another episode of cardiac arrest and was rushed into surgery. The doctors returned him to a hypothermic state but were not able to stabilize his condition.

Dr. Collins (YC class 1973) was in his 29th year teaching at York College, and served as chair of the college's Elijah A. Levitt School of Business. From 1997-2007, he coached the cross country and track teams and was himself an avid runner. He served as an elder at the East Hill Church of Christ in York.

In chapel Tuesday morning YC Campus Minister Tim Lewis said, "Dr. Collins was an investment man; he was a businessman. He invested everything in his life for this day. Well, today is payday."

Please continue your prayers for Deb, their children, grandchildren, and family. And please be prayerful as our community suffers the loss of a friend, co-worker, teacher and brother in the faith.

Roger's funeral will be on Monday, November 1 at 10:30 a.m. at the East Hill Church of Christ in York (12th & Delaware). Burial will be at the West Lawn-Hillcrest Memorial Park (5701 Center St) in Omaha at 3:00.

Happy Birthday Mike

Fall

It seems like yesterday Brian and Craig were little guys enjoying fall with scare crow.

Communion Thoughts

These are communion thoughts that were sent to me this week......

The most hurtful lies I’ve been told go something like this: “I have it all together.”

Because when you tell me that you have it all together, I feel compelled to tell you the same thing.

And, church, hear me say this: “I do not have it all together.”
These lies keep us from saying things that we really need to say. Things like:
“I screamed at my kids today.”
“I hate going to church.”
“My marriage is falling apart.”
“I can’t pay my bills.”
“Some days, I just don’t think I can make it.”
And, yet, the times when I have been shown Christ are when men and women have invited me into their brokenness.
They have opened their hearts and their arms and said “Welcome to my mess.”
And then together we have pushed away literal and metaphorical cobwebs, and stepped over literal and metaphorical junk and we have communed.
It is there that I have been healed.
Today as we come to the table we sit at the feet of a Savior who in fact had it all together, and yet he chose to step into brokenness so that we might be healed.

God, thank you for becoming broken for us and with us. We pray that this table become a place of true community, where there is not only room for the strong, but the weak have a place of honor. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Lord, I confess my weakness and my doubt. I plead “I believe. Help my unbelief.” In your son’s name Amen.

Happy Birthday Brian

Happy Birthday Brian

Sooner House

Eleanor Kissinger

Eleanor Frances Kissinger (February 3, 1925 - October 14, 2010)

Eleanor Frances Kissinger, age 85, of Ottawa, Kansas, died Thursday, October 14, 2010. She was born on Tuesday, February 3, 1925, in Ottawa, the daughter of Lowell W. and Iris (Hutchison) Seright.

She was a lifelong resident of Ottawa.

Eleanor attended Ottawa schools and graduated from Ottawa High School in 1943. She immediately started teaching school as an emergency school teacher during the war years at Davy and Hawkins country schools.

She was a homemaker and helped her husband on the farm. She worked for Sears in customer service during the 1970’s.

She was active in her younger years as a 4-H leader, helping to organize the Silverleaf 4-H Club and later working with the Town & Country 4-H Club. She belonged to the Hawkins Grange #1994, serving in several offices and also held office in the Kansas State Grange. She was a member of the Fairmount EHU for many years and member of Church Of Christ, serving many years as a Bible School teacher.

On July 29, 1945, Eleanor was united in marriage with Frederick E. Kissinger. They were proud to celebrate their 65 years of marriage this year. He survives of their home.

She is survived by her: Husband-Frederick E. Kissinger of the home; Daughter-Diana Kay & her husband, Dan, of Ottawa, Kansas; Daughter-Lori Hazen & her husband, Greg, of Ottawa, Kansas; Daughter-Barbee Savage & her husband, Fred, of Coffeyville, Kansas; Daughter-Carolyn Horne & her husband, Danny, of Branson, Missouri; Son-Wayne Kissinger & his wife, Velma, of Ottawa, Kansas; Son-Lowell Kissinger & his wife, Lisa, of Douglasville, Georgia; Sixteen-Grandchildren; Twenty-two- Great-Grandchildren; Many-step-grand and step-great-grandchildren.
She is preceded in death he her: Parents-Lowell W. and Iris Seright; Brother-J. Thornton Seright; Grandchildren-Margaret Horne, William Horne, and Joshua Horne.

SERVICES: Funeral services will be held at 15th Street Church Of Christ in Ottawa at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, October 18, 2010.

IN STATE: Mrs. Kissinger will lie in state from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Saturday and 1:00 to 9:00 p.m. Sunday at the Dengel & Son Mortuary in Ottawa, where the family will meet with friends from 3:00 to 4:00 Sunday afternoon.

CEMETERY: Highland Cemetery in Ottawa, Kansas.

MEMORIALS: The family suggests memorial contributions to 15th Street Church Of Christ or Franklin County 4-H Foundation, c/o Dengel & Son Mortuary, 235 S. Hickory, Ottawa, Kansas 66067.

Fall has Arrived

Allison's masterpiece

Columbus Days

Columbus Days 2010

Sunday Afternoon Golf

We enjoyed our afternoon of golf on Sunday at Peoria Ridge in Miami. The weather was 80 degrees for October. Not bad.

Usually we never get to play golf after August 1 because of school and activities we attend. It was sure nice to be outside enjoying a great golf course in "Gods Country" (Oklahoma) on Sunday. Deb shot a great round.

Homecoming Parade

We had great weather for the Columbus Homecoming Parade on Friday. The Indy football team defeated the Titans 41-20. The weekend weather was great for Columbus Days. We even got a round of golf in after church on Sunday.

The Picture Says It All

Homecoming/Columbus Days

A busy weekend in Columbus. We celebrate the 2010 football homecoming today and Columbus Days on Saturday and Sunday.

Tulsa State Fair

Billy Sims-Sooner Great! SOONERS beat Texas!


Deb-Fried Apple Fries


Allison-massage

Deb-massage

Brian-massage

Wild Midway Ride

Midway Fun

Great looking cattle

Kangaroo

Brian-Allison

Fried pickles and fried Snickers

Sunday dinner

We had a great time on Saturday at the Tulsa State Fair. Brian and Allison came down for the weekend. They joined us for the Titans game on Friday night and finished the weekend with us at church and lunch at Gussano's.

OU-TEXAS

The big game today............ OU-TEXAS!

Guess who is here to visit this weekend? She's from Texas? He was born in Husker Land?

GO SOONERS!

Beautiful Flowers/Beautiful Wife

Bill Higgs

William M. "Bill" Higgs

| Visit Guest Book

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.