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Happy New Year!

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HAPPY NEW YEAR! It’s 2025!
Well it’s New Years Eve as I write this lol.
It is the 140th year of The Syracuse Journal and my fifth year as editor. 
  For someone who was always on the road, the only roots as a vagabond, I think it’s cool that I landed and became a part of something bigger than myself. 
  I love some of the memories we have shared together. 
In my interpersonal communications class   
in college we studied public spaces - coffee houses, pubs, parks. I feel like this newspaper is part of that. It is a place where life and death are chronicled. It is often fodder for discussion of what we have done well and what we could do better. 
Many newspapers have folded when larger companies take over. There is no substitute for local news and boots on the ground journalism.
Do we miss things? Absolutely. Could we do better? Yep.  But we continue on  and can look back and say we did some things well. 
  One of my favorite moments may surprise you. In 2020, during the COVID -19 lockdown, we had the opportunity to find stories that brought hope to many. 
In the past five years, I have enjoyed getting to know some of you better, learning  more about the history of Syracuse, and of some of the many accomplishments Syracusans have made.
  Personally in 2024, I continued my daily Spanish lessons with a 785 day streak, I read 27 books for the year and even stepped into the publishing world by finally getting my first book published. 
   As you look back on 2024, how do you see it? 
For me there was a lot of change, a lot of acceptance, and a lot of growth.  
 I am grateful for this school break.  
Being home during this time felt incredible. It was rest for my mind, soul, body.
  Ecclesiastes 3 comes to mind.  There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance...He has made everything beautiful in its time. 
  As I write this, someone is getting married, someone is giving birth, someone is dying. 
  A friend ‘s daughter is getting married, a friend is grieving a parent’s death, and we are lambing. 
 The circle of life has gone on before me, while I have been alive, and will continue after I am gone. 
But right now it is prominent in my world. 
   I saw someone wrote, “There will be a lot of people sharing how much they achieved in 2024. But in case someone needs to hear this, it’s okay if the only thing you did this year was just get through it.”
    So what does 2025 look like? For me, I want to add a bit more discipline. But somehow discipline is synonymous with rigidity to me. And I don’t want to be so disciplined I miss important moments. My all or nothing attitude is coming through. 
So maybe 2025 is the year of being more discipliney lol! 
How about you? Got any goals set? .   
 Maybe there is a path you are on and you are ready to take some steps towards it. Or maybe it is finally time to let go. 
As I was cleaning out some things I found an old sweater. It was a beautiful navy wool sweater I bought when I was in my twenties. I remember the exact moment I purchased it. It was at the Abercrombie & Fitch clothing store down by the South Street Seaport in Manhattan, NY. It was a sunny, beautiful day with friends. I loved the sweater. It was a time in my life when whatever I tried on fit so good that it was a matter of what I liked, not what didn’t make me look huge. 
I cherished it and hoped someday to fit in it again. 
Well it has a few holes in it and that sweater won’t return me to my twenties, and I don’t want it to 
The memories I have are special. But it is time for the sweater to go. 
Maybe it is time for other things to go too. 
  As I slowly decide how to move forward, I want God in the center of it. I want to ask Him what to keep what to let go of. What works? What doesn’t? 
 Sometimes God calls us into change. Sometimes we are called to rest and sometimes we are called to get messy and dirty!
 Wherever you are I hope you can celebrate something today. You are here. You matter. And if you are still breathing you have life left in you. 
 I read something that said it’s not the days in your life but the life in your days. 
May 2025 be filled with life. 
  When I look back on my life, yes I remember the accomplishments. But it is the regrets of missed opportunities that eat at me the most. 
 While I can’t change that, I hopefully can change today. 
Go forward, feel the cold, the sun, the rain. Reach out to someone to say you matter. 
 And thank you. Thanks for reading, subscribing, and advertising here. 
Thanks for letting us be a part of this public space. 
Happy New Year!  

OPINIONS

There's A Place For You

It’s July 2025.The year is half over. The county fair begins in just a few weeks and school will start shortly after that. I cannot believe how fast time is flying.   I am home with a fever and a cold. And quite irritated because that is for winter, not beautiful... [More]

Here I am God

It’s the end of June. My daughter is away at camp for a week, and there is a lot of quiet and a lot of space.  It is strange and uncomfortable. My first reaction is to try and fill the space. But a part of me just wants to stop and relax a little.  There are things... [More]

Hurry Up and Slow Down

It’s Tuesday morning. Juneteenth, the day commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, is a federal holiday. It snuck up on me like everything else lately. So I had to knock out this paper rather quickly. It is mid June, wheat harvest is here, the fourth of July... [More]

Looking for the Good

It is mid June with a little over five weeks until the County Fair starts. We have a 4-H meeting today after we did barn chores, I took a walk, and my daughter had basketball practice and helped with our local vacation bible school.   This part of parenting is running... [More]

A Little Patience

It’s a cool, rainy Wednesday morning as I write this column. More rain is forecasted today. As long as tornados and hail stay away, I am good. Praying for protection on all our fields!  The wheat is ripening quickly. I hope everyone has a safe harvest.   We... [More]

Life in a Smalll Town

It’s the end of May. As I write this Wednesday morning boys are at state golf doing well!! Girls are headed to state track. So it doesn’t feel like school is out yet. I wish I could delay the paper’s publishing to have the results but life doesn’t work... [More]

Moments in Time

It’s the last day of school. Another school year has ended. It has had a few challenges but overall a great one. In the last week, we have covered high school graduation, kindergarten graduation, and eighth grade promotion (next week’s paper).  High school graduation... [More]

I saw God on Monday

I spent Monday on the road picking up sheep feed and covering the Junior High Hi-Plains League Track Meet.  Or in more honest terms, I spent the day running around for my daughter. LOL.   It was a busy day filled with great memories. But I spent Tuesday in a... [More]

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SPORTS

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HI-PLAINS ALL LEAGUE

The Hi-Plains League has announced recipients of all-league basketball honors. The selection process begins when individual coaches submit names. The players are then voted on by the other HPL coaches. However, coaches may not vote on their own players.   Syracuse High School... [More]

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SHS CHEER TAKES SECOND

Small but Mighty! That is the name high school Head Cheerleading Coach, Marcos Valadez put on the 2024-2025 squad last summer, “We may not have the numbers, but our team has overcome adversity and is always stepping up to the challenge.”  Proving this, the Syracuse... [More]

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BULLDOGS OPEN FALL SEASON WITH FIRST PLACE FINISH IN GOLF

The Syracuse Bulldogs Ladies Varsity Golf Team took first at their season opener in Stanton County on Tuesday afternoon. They shot a team score of 207 at the Prairie Pines Golf Course in Johnson. The varsity team  is Lanee Owens, Bronwyn Lewis, Sammy Schwieterman, Maddy... [More]

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LEWIS HEADS TO STATE TRACK

Qualifying members of the high school track team traveled to Hill City Thursday, May 16 to compete in the 2-A regional meet against 15 teams, Ellinwood, Ellis, Hill City, Hoxie, Lincoln, Meade, Medicine Lodge, Oakley, Plainville, Smith Center, Stanton County, Sublette, Thomas... [More]

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BULLDOGS TAKE SECOND AT REGIONALS - HEADED TO STATE

The Syracuse High School boys golf team battled breezy conditions on Monday May 13 competing in the 2-A Regional meet on their own Tamarisk Golf Course.  Adjusting to windy conditions and competing at home paid off for the Bulldogs Monday, placing second, qualifying... [More]

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STATE GOLF RESULTS

State golf on Monday had the Varsity Bulldogs miss playing in the finals as a team by one stroke. They finished seventh out of twelve teams.  On Day 1, Brody Keller shot a 92 missing day two by two strokes. Ian Brummett shot a 95, Mason Scott  and Johnny TeVelde shot... [More]

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JH BASKETBALL WINS

Junior High Boys Basketball A, B, and C teams travelled to Elkhart on Monday, November 21. The A team won 41-34, B team won 26-21, and  C team lost to Elkhart 13-20. Head Coach Vance Keller said, “Elkhart was a tough win for both the A and B teams but both grinded... [More]

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LADY BULLDOGS BORDER WARS CHAMPIONS!!

The Lady Bulldogs were undefeated during the Border Wars, defeating Eads on Friday, 42-7 and Walsh on Saturday 62-5, bringing their record to 3-1. But the winner wasn’t announced until Tuesday evening. Syracuse Athletic Director Josh Johnson explained, “It came down... [More]

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NEWS

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Community Rallies Around David Cartwright with Upcoming Benefit Dinner

A benefit dinner for Syracuse resident David Cartwright will be held on Friday, June 27 at the Veterans Building, located at 607 N Main Street in Syracuse. The event is being organized to help offset medical expenses following David’s recent diagnosis of stage 4 cancer.... [More]

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Hometown Vets Take Honor Flight

Palmer, visiting the Vietnam memorial, found the name of one of Syracuse’s hometown heroes, killed in Vietnam, Bobby Jantz, “He was truly a good friend.”  Two hometown Veterans, Van Vesper and Oliver Palmer, recently had the opportunity to travel on the... [More]

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Twice The Ice Opens

Last weekend, Ark Valley Oil opened up a new self-serve ice and water vending machine at the west end of Syracuse, on Highway 50 and N Highway 27.  John Welch has had a vision for that location. When the property became available, he saw it’s opportunity. ... [More]

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Farm Store Opens North of Kendall

Drive ten miles north of Kendall where the blacktop ends, where the dust of the county dirt road flies. Travel a few more miles and on the Kearny County side of the border you will find the Horton Farmstead. Trees, farm equipment, a small backyard playground, barns, and a small,... [More]

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Weis Awarded Bronze Star Medal

Syracuse resident Marvin and Janet Weis returned home last week to find a package waiting at their door. Marvin was sure Janet had ordered something online. When they got inside and opened the manila envelope, Marvin was shocked to find he had been awarded the Bronze Star Medal... [More]

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GRAMMY D’S SWEETS MOVES TO SYRACUSE

“Since I moved back here,  everything is falling into  place.”  Diena Schwieterman, 1986 SHS graduate made the decision to move home. “As soon as I made the decision, it seems like everything began falling into place.”   Diena... [More]

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Powerlifters Head to State

Syracuse Bulldogs power lifting successful season is ending with nine athletes qualifying for the state meet Saturday, March 29 in Conway Springs at 9:00 AM CT, 8:00 AM MT. Qualifying are Natalia Figueroa, Stella Simon, Deena Rochat, Angel Peralta, Angel Ramirez, Will Roberts,... [More]

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LOCAL WOMAN HACKED ONLINE WANTS TO HELP PREVENT YOU FROM SIMILAR SITUATION

Scams. Hackers. They are everywhere. They call your phone, text a simple hi, email you from what looks like a reasonable business. They are out for your money or your identity.  We often think they get other people, not us.  Local resident Ronna Simon is exasperated.... [More]

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OBITUARIES

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Shannon Craig Thompson

Shannon Craig Thompson, of Lone Jack, MO, a man of wit, wanderlust, and unwavering honesty. He passed away on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at the age of 56. Surrounded by the warmth of family and friends at Saint Luke’s Hospital on the Plaza, Shannon’s journey came to... [More]

Gary Lee Walk

Gary Lee Walk, beloved foster son of Barbara and Kenny Bay, was born August 19, 1961, in Scott City, Kansas to Lloyd Irving Walk and Margaret Jane McCormick Walk. He lived in Lakin, Kansas until he was 17 years old when he moved to Syracuse, Kansas to live with his foster parents.... [More]

Richard Mark Jones

 Funeral Services for Lamar, Colorado resident, Richard Jones will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, June 23, 2025 at Life Center Church with Pastor Fabian Reyes officiating.  Visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. until time of the service.  Cremation will follow... [More]

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Calvin Snodgrass

Calvin Snodgrass, 79, passed away April 1, 2025 at Chambersburg Hospital, Chambersburg, PA. He was born November 11, 1945 in Springfield, Colorado, to Pearl and Ralph Snodgrass. Calvin graduated from Springfield High School and attended one year of college before being drafted... [More]

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Alma Lou (Thrush) Plunkett

Alma Lou (Thrush) Plunkett, 87, passed away in Garden City, KS at Ranch House Senior Living on May 17, 2025.  Alma was born on December 10, 1937, in Syracuse, KS to Wesley Miles Thrush and Alma Gladys Thrush, an only child.  Her parents were farmers in rural Staton... [More]

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James “Bub” McGee

A Memorial Service for James “Bub” McGee will be held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, June 7, 2025, at the Bristol Grace Fellowship Church in Bristol, Colorado with Rev. Kathy Leathers officiating.  Inurnment will follow in the Hartman Cemetery, Hartman, Colorado. James... [More]

Richard Helfrich

            A graveside memorial service for longtime Coolidge, Kansas resident Richard Helfrich will be held at 10:00AM on Wednesday, June 04, 2025 at the Sunnyvale Cemetery south of Coolidge, Kansas. Following the service a gathering of family... [More]

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Harold Wayne Crawford

Harold Wayne Crawford, a devoted husband, loving father, and cherished member of his community, passed away peacefully on May 22, 2025, in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, just days before his 89th birthday. He was surrounded by his family and his beloved wife, Pat, with whom he shared... [More]

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