page 1.indd - The Holton Recorder

Renfro
Charles Frederick Renfro, 87,
Mayetta, died Sunday July 31, 2011,
at a Topeka care center.
He was born Jan. 21, 1924, in
Denison, the son of Charley Austin
and Mabel Estella Way Renfro. He
graduated from Mayetta High School
in 1942.
Mr. Renfro served in the U.S.
Army during World War II in the
Burma-India Theater. He was a
greentire in spector for Goodyear for
40 years before retiring in 1986.
He was a member of Local 307
URW, served on the Mayetta School
Board and the Mayetta City Council,
and was a member of Mayetta United
Methodist Church.
He married Alma Pearl Rogers on
Feb. 8, 1947, in Topeka. She died
April 1, 2011. He also was preceded
in death by a sister, Wilma Vaught;
and a brother, Walter Renfro.
Survivors include a son, Dale
Renfro and wife Connie, Onaga; two
daughters, Joyce Hopkins and husband
Steve, New Strawn, and Marcia
Stithem and husband Randy, Hoyt; a
sister, Ruby M. Chase, Grantville; a
sister-in-law, Virginia Burns, Rushville,
Mo.; eight grandchildren; and
11 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at
10 a.m. Thursday at Mayetta United
Methodist Church, with burial following
in Mayetta Ceme tery. Family
will greet friends from 6:30 p.m. to
8 p.m. Wednesday at Mercer Funeral
Home in Holton.
Memorial contributions may be
made to Mayetta United Methodist
Church, sent in care of Mercer Funeral
Home, P.O. Box 270, Holton,
KS 66436.
Online condolences may be sent to
www.mercerfuneralhomes.com
Holton Recorder 8/1/11
Firkins
Gary Lee Firkins, 68, Holton, died
Tuesday, July 26, 2011, at Medicalodges
Jackson County.
He was born June 3, 1943, in
Oneida, the son of Russell and Ma bel
Holdren Firkins. He received a bachelor
of arts degree in aviation science
from Clayton University College in
Missouri.
Mr. Firkins enlisted in the U.S. Air
Force and U.S. Navy in June 1960,
and he served as an aircraft mechanic
for 11 years before be coming
disabled. After receiving his aviation
science degree he went to work at a
private aviation career school in San
Antonio, Texas, and retired as the
school’s assistant di rector and director
of aviation pro grams.
Survivors include a sister, Cathryne
Joan Finger, Holton; and a
brother, Robert Firkins and wife Lil,
Lake Jack son, Texas. He was preceded
in death by his parents and a
brother, Clyde Firkins.
Graveside services were held Saturday
in Wetmore Cemetery. Dishon-
Maple-Chaney Mortuary in Horton
is in charge of arrange ments.
Online condolences may be sent to
www.dishon-maple-chaney.com
Holton Recorder 8/1/11
Fuqua
Steven J. Fuqua, 56, Mayetta, died
Sunday, July 31, 2011, at his home.
Funeral arrangements are pend ing
with Chapel Oaks Funeral Home in
Holton.
Online condolences may be sent to
chapeloaksfuneralhome.com
Holton Recorder 8/1/11
Guidelines for
obit publication
When submitting obituaries to
The Holton Recorder, re member
that survivors listed in free obituaries
are limited to those related
to the deceased by blood, marriage
or legal adoption. To have
names of non-relations printed in
an obituary, contact The Recorder
office at (785) 364-3141 or e-mail
holtonrecorder@embarqmail.com to
make arrangements for a paid obituary
Ȧlso, when submitting obituaries
for publication, it is our preference
that the obituaries are sent by the
mortuary, funeral home or crematorium
han dling arrangements. Please
have the funeral home contact our
office for more information.
Erlichman
Brian Todd Erlichman (Nu-Wee,
Pekshen, Wab-na-mitt, GUB), 38,
Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., died Saturday,
July 30, 2011, at Tendercare
Nursing Home in Sault Ste.
Marie.
He was born March 22, 1973,
in New York, N.Y.
Mr. Erlichman grew up on
the Prairie Band Potawatomi
Reserva tion in Kansas, moving to
the Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., area
in 1996. He was known as a volunteer
extraor dinaire.
Survivors include his mother,
Phylis Thomas, Dafter, Mich.; his
father, Raymond Erlichman, Kansas
City; a sister, Jeani Erlichman,
Dafter, Mich.; three brothers, including
his twin, Jordan Erlichman,
Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.,
Ashly Er lichman, Dafter, Mich.,
and Rick (Terri) Vanderpoel,
Pickford, Mich.; three aunts, Donna
Wah wasuck, Seattle, Wash.,
Kathryn Wahwasuck, Mayetta,
and Cindy Thomas, Brimley,
Mich.; two nieces, Ashley and
Amber; three nephews, Joseph,
Zachary and Brandon; and three
great-nephews, Kasen, Kalin and
Colin. He was preceded in death
by his grandpar ents, Luther and
Cecelia Wah wasuck and Abraham
and Thyra Erlichman; and an
uncle, Douglas Wahwasuck.
Traditional services were held
Monday at Niigaanaagiizhik
Cere monial Building in Sault Ste.
Marie, Mich. Cremation followed
the services.
Memorial contributions may
be made to the American Cancer
So ciety. Clark Bailey Newhouse
Fu neral Home, Sault Ste. Marie,
Mich., is assisting the family with
arrangements.
Holton Recorder 8/1/11 s
McDonald
Edna Mary McDonald, 95, Cameron,
Mo., died Saturday, July 16,
2011, at a Cameron care center.
She was born Sept. 11, 1915, the
daughter of Fred and Minnie Rommel.
She lived in Kidder, Mo., before
moving to Cameron, Mo.
Mrs. McDonald was a homemaker.
She was a member of Cameron
United Methodist Church.
She married Ralph McDonald on
June 18, 1942, in Cameron, Mo. He
died June 14, 2005. She also was
preceded in death by her parents; a
brother, Glenn; and a grandson, Leslie
McDonald.
Survivors include two sons, James
McDonald, Cameron, Mo., and
Gayle McDonald and wife Sharon,
Holton; and a grand daughter, Mary
Elizabeth Cannon and husband Carl,
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Mrs. McDonald was cremated.
Private family services and graveside
inurnment were held Saturday
in Cameron Memory Gardens Cemetery,
Cameron, Mo. Brown Funeral
Home of Cameron, Mo., is in charge
of arrangements.
Memorial contributions may be
made to the Edna McDonald Memorial
Fund, sent in care of Gayle
McDonald, 15587 222nd Road, Holton,
KS 66436. Holton Recorder 8/1/11
Gas prices
come down
in Kansas
Average retail gasoline prices
in Kansas have fallen 1.2 cents per
gallon in the past week, averaging
$3.61 per gallon yesterday (Sunday).
This compares with the national average
that has increased 1.1 cents per
gallon in the last week to $3.70 per
gallon, according to gasoline price
website KansasGasPrices.com
Holton’s fuel prices remain below
the state average, ranging from
$3.56 to $3.59 in the city.
Including the change in gas prices
in Kansas during the past week,
prices yesterday were 98.5 cents per
gallon higher than the same day one
year ago and are 20.1 cents per gallon
higher than a month ago. The national
average has increased 13.2 cents
per gallon during the last month and
stands 95.5 cents per gallon higher
than this day one year ago.
By David G. Hallauer
Meadowlark Extension
District Agent,
Crops & Soils/Horticulture
Rains over at
least a part of the
area will provide
a great benefit not
only to our summer
row crops,
but to our forages
as well. Some hay
fields and pastures,
particularly
those only recently
hayed or under
heavy use were
starting to show some stress!
Late summer stress isn’t new to our
cool season grass stands, but recent
history has shown an increasingly
poor recovery by some stands. Last
year, dry weather and armyworms
wiped out portions or even complete
HOLTON RECORDER, MONDAY, AUG. 1, 2011, PAGE 5
Crops and Soils
Rains will help grass as well as row crops
stands. Higher fertilizer prices resulting
in lower application rates have
resulted in thinned stands and an increase
in weeds as well.
Spring is when we generally look
at filling in or replanting a stand, but
fall can be a pretty good establishment
time as well. For a fall seeding
of alfalfa (if we have moisture, this
is the preferred time frame to reduce
weed pressure), the fall planting window
is August 15 - September 10.
For cool season grasses, the same is
true.
That said, there’s a lot to do between
now and seeding, like line up
seed, get equipment (small seeded legumes
and fluffy/light seeded grasses
can be a challenge!), and plan for
fertility enhancements. With that in
mind, start your planting planning
now - and get a soil test as soon as
possible.
Too many people get behind the
calendar when it comes to planning
for fall forage seeding. Start planning
now so you aren’t one of them! Hold
the Date:
The Meadowlark Extension District
Demonstration Plot Tour through
Jefferson County is tentatively scheduled
for Tuesday, Aug. 23. In addition
to the corn and soybean variety
discussion, we’ll have a focus on
weed/crop interactions and soybean
weed control. Look for a schedule
and more information next week.
My Excuse Not To Mow!!
I hate mowing. Its all right early in
the season. You know, when the days
are cooler, the grass is nice and thick
(and green!), and it’s just good to be
out again. This time of year - its just
work!
Fortunately, K-State turfgrass specialist
Rodney St. John came to my
rescue this week with this headline:
Be Slow to Mow in Hot Weather.
AWESOME!
Why would a turfgrass specialist
say such a thing? Stress! Not on the
mower or its operator, but the grass
itself according to Dr. St. John.
Mowing during this late summer
time frame is stressful for warm
season lawns. Just think about how
it must affect cool season turfgrasses
like fescue and bluegrass. They
weren’t growing well (if at all) when
temperatures hit their extremes and
mowing them off won’t help that at
all. Fortunately, that slow growth
means we can put off mowing a little
without things looking too ragged.
When should you mow? It would
be preferable to wait until temperatures
fall into the lower 90s or upper
80s F. When you do mow, set mower
height high. For warm season turfs,
that height is about 2 inches. For
cool-season grasses, it’s 3.75 to 4
inches tall.
The View from Route 8
Don’t look for miracle crop comeback this year
By Jim Suber
Have the crops already been
cropped by flood, heat and drought?
That’s still up
in the air, but after
reading a bunch
of blogs from
farmers from all
over the nation,
including here in
Kansas, and after
riding around a
lot this summer
and after trying to
raise vegetables in
the string of 100-degree-plus days, I
have to say: that it wouldn’t surprise
me a bit if the nation is stunned this
fall to find severe reductions in earlier
estimated yields. And unless it
rains nicely on the southern and central
Plains between now and football
season, hard red winter wheat could
be a real question mark.
I know. Most of my readers and
friends have long since labeled me a
pessimist, or worse, a cynic. Sometimes
realities trump the voices of
cheerleaders. When the score is 47-0
in the other team’s favor, most people
are trying to figure the best route
out of the stadium lot and home.
Most aren’t thinking of a miracle
comeback.
And that’s the deal with most grain
and other food production. Once a
plant’s potential is spoiled, it’s gone
forever until next season.
So, on corn, there seems to be a
large encroachment around the western
and southern edges of the Corn
Belt by drought and high heat. Official
condition reports from Kansas
and Missouri are not favorable.
Some of the farmers and others on
the blogs actually make percentage
downgrades of their crops and estimate
bushel losses, not to mention
poor ear size, poor kernel size, poor
test weights, and poor silage resulting
from cutting fried fields.
The soybeans are often low to the
ground, with a lot of the old Class
III beans pretty much gone in some
spots in Kansas.
This has been going on for weeks
now, starting with the Mississippi
River valley flooding from the Gulf
up to at least St. Louis, and then came
the Missouri River outrages. Just last
week more flooding was reported in
portions of Illinois and Iowa, wiping
out good stands of beans and
corn and numerous bridges and rural
roads.
Many, many rural Americans remark
over and over how likely looking
storm clouds rumble and threaten
without leaving a trace along their
route. It always seems as if any rain
falls to the north or south. Upon inspection,
one often finds little or no
rain fell north or south, either.
In the face of failing conditions,
markets went down last week, allegedly
driven by ignorance of con-
Continued to Page 8
CROSSWORD PUZZLE