Prairie Star

08/21/2025

Two complete obituaries will be printed in next week’s Prairie Star, Aug. 28, however the services for each of these will be held prior to publication, so the information is included here:

Delbert W. Sumter, beloved father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, and friend, died on Aug. 18, 2025, on his farm in Glencoe, Okla., at the age of 89. A celebration of his life will be held on Monday, Aug. 25 at Poteet Funeral Home in Pawnee, Okla., at 10 a.m., with burial service at Oak Hill Cemetery in Chautauqua at 2 p.m.

James Franklin Veale, Sr., of Moline, died on Aug. 15, 2025, at the age of 67. A memorial service honoring James will be held at 11 a.m., on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, at Countryside Funeral Home in Howard. Inurnment will follow in Ames Chapel Cemetery, south of Moline. Services are under the direction of Countryside Funeral Home in Howard.

08/04/2025

Mary Pat Bilyk, affectionately known as “Mp,” was born on March 11, 1952, in Louisville, Ken., to Edsel and Francis (Baily) Bartle, and passed away on July 19, 2025.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, at 1 p.m., at the Chautauqua County Fair Building, located at 520 W. North St. in Sedan. Lunch will follow.
The family invites friends and family to share in an afternoon of good food, good conversation, and heartfelt memories - laughter, connection, and reflection, just as Mp would have wanted. No RSVP is needed, and all are welcome.

https://www.paperlesspost.com/go/mkeggkgu2raG3NtJDAqzM?utm_content=view_card&utm_source=cof&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=customizable_invitation&guestToken=preview433fb0bf3ebac261fc76e716a1bd15ee

07/25/2025

We are gathering details on an overnight fire in downtown Howard. Area fire departments responded to the 100 block of north Wabash just before 1 a.m. The fire was contained to the building of origin, C&O Woodworking, however adjacent buildings suffered from light to heavy smoke and water damage.

We will have more information in the July 31 edition of the Prairie Star.

07/18/2025

The front page of this week’s Prairie Star (July 17) features the Chautauqua County Rodeo queen contest story, and a portion of it is in error. The six young women were named as queen contestants, however there are three queen contestants, one princess, plus the reigning queen and princess. We strive to publish accurate stories, especially when it features the youth in the area, however, this was unforeseen, and we regret the error. Here is the story with corrected information. Please share, and of course, enjoy the Chautauqua County Fair and Rodeo.

Jenny Diveley, editor

07/03/2025

07/03/2025

The final all-area spring sports listing is included in the July 3 issue of the Montgomery County Chronicle and the Prairie Star newspapers. It is the All-Area Boys' Track and Field Team. Congratulations are extended to Jacob Horner, a Field Kindley senior, for being named the All-Area Boys' Track Athlete. And, the Coach of the Year honor goes to Jason Braun of Central of Burden High School.

Be sure to buy a copy of the July 3 issue for complete listing of the all-area boys' track teams.

Congratulations to all spring sports athletes!

06/26/2025

The June 26 issues of the Prairie Star and Montgomery County Chronicle contain sports editor Brian Thomas' All-Area Girls' Track and Field Teams for the spring 2025 season. A big congratulations is extended to Caney Valley High School head track and field coach Josh Kristalyn for being named All-Area Coach of the Year and to Field Kindley High School athlete Erin Lopez for earning the title of All-Area Girls' Track Athlete of the Year. Read the June 26 issue for a complete listing of girls' track and field honorees from the Prairie Star and Montgomery County Chronicle readership areas!

06/20/2025

The June 19 issues of the Montgomery County Chronicle and Prairie Star contain the newspapers' All-Area Softball teams for the 2025 high school season. Congratulations to Cedar Vale-Dexter head coach KB Criss for earning coach of the year honors, and Cedar Vale-Dexter sophomore pitcher Zoe Davidson for receiving the Most Valuable Player honor. Congratulations to all softball players who made the lists. Be sure to buy a copy of the June 19 issue of the Montgomery County Chronicle or Prairie Star! To subscribe, go to www.taylornews.org.

06/12/2025

With the conclusion of the spring sports season, the Montgomery County Chronicle and Prairie Star newspaper have announced their All-Area Baseball Teams for the 2025 season in their June 12 issue. Congratulations to Sedan head coach Tyler Buss for being named Coach of the Year and to Sedan's Brycen Dickens for earning the Most Valuable Player honor. The All Area Softball Team will be featured in the June 19 issue.

Be sure to buy a copy of the June 12 issue at a newsstand near you.

06/12/2025

WATER BOIL ADVISORY ISSUED FOR CITY OF CHAUTAUQUA

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has issued a boil water advisory for the City of Chautauqua public water supply system located in Chautauqua County.

Customers should observe the following precautions until further notice:

Boil water for one minute prior to drinking or food preparation or use bottled water.

Dispose of ice cubes and do not use ice from a household automatic icemaker.

If your tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears.

Disinfect dishes and other food contact surfaces by immersion for at least one minute in clean tap water that contains one teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water.

Water used for bathing does not generally need to be boiled. Supervision of children is necessary while bathing so that water is not ingested.

Persons with cuts or severe rashes may wish to consult their physicians.

The advisory took effect on June 11 and will remain in effect until the conditions that placed the system at risk of bacterial contamination are resolved. KDHE officials issued the advisory because of a waterline break resulting in a loss of pressure in the distribution system. Failure to maintain adequate pressure may result in a loss of chlorine residuals and bacterial contamination.

Regardless of whether the public water supplier or Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) announced a boil water advisory, only KDHE can issue the rescind order following testing at a certified laboratory.