Lehigh, Kansas

The Kansas PRIDE Program is a volunteer, grassroots effort to improve the quality of life in local comunities. Each Kansas community is unique and shares a common bond: a rich heritage based on self-reliance and community pride. Since 1970, the Kansas PRIDE program has assisted and encouraged communities to prepare for the future by building on their past and forming a vision of the future. The goal of PRIDE is to help maximize community and economic development efforts by encouraging all groups to coordinate and work collaboratively for community betterment.

Over the past 36 year, the PRIDE program has grown and evolved, like our Kansas communities, to help meet their ever changing needs. The constant challenge to remain viable and provide a high quality of life can be achieved through the comprehensive PRIDE approach. PRIDE involvement can cover a wide range of activities to meet commonly identified community needs. Through participation in the community development planning process, Kansas communities have worked to involve youth in community betterment.

We served 49 meals! Mary Glen, from Burns, was there to share ideas. The gas card raffle was won by Lois Latham! We had several excellent suggestions for projects. Left over condiments, buns, chips, & pop were donated to the Geiman 4th of July celebration. The next PRIDE community get-together will be Sunday. July 20th in the park. This time it will be a pot luck picnic and with any luck we will be able to take advantage of our new horse-shoe pits and volley ball court. We would like to thank all the volunteers that have helped with these projects and thanks to Galen Chizek for leveling the baseball diamond. We are still waiting for the materials so that we can finish up with the horseshoe pits. The City of Lehigh is donating the lumber and other materials still needed.

Regulation horse shoe pit to be donated to the city for installation in the "East Park" with materials and labor to be done by PRIDE on city property. APPROVED

Two simple benches near the horse shoe pit to be donated and constructed by PRIDE volunteers. APPROVED

A youth serving "communtiy service" hours approached a PRIDE coordinator asking for work around town to help with the needed hours. PRIDE asked the council if the youth could flush the city's 14 hydrants & paint them. PRIDE will furnish adult supervision & paint. APPROVED

Using donated materials & volunteer labor, PRIDE would like to construct as least one set of 2 or 3 tier bleaches for the baseball field. APPROVED

The Fix-up/Clean-up committee, headed up by Max Kilmer and Louie Coyle are looking into prioritizing all the areas that need to be covered. General clean-up, junk cars, & business signage are some of the areas being studied. Max has located some white paint that will help this effort immensly. They are still looking for volunteers (the backbone of the PRIDE philosophy) so call them or sign the sheet at the Post Office.

Ken McIrvin is looking into what kind of efforts and/or money it will take to bring DSL internet service to Lehigh.

Ron & Ruthann Dies are busy with the alpacas and (fiber & poop). Everything is "a go". They are donating the fiber and manure to the pride project for fund-raising. What is needed most right now is some volunteers and scrap materials to make some kind of shed to keep the manure dry, also needed is an ingenious and inexpensive way to grind the product. Secondly, more people able to do a very simple and quick crochet project are needed. If you crochet, please let Ruthann know, or sign up at the post office.

The Kids' Ko-op is currently being established to give all the youth of Lehigh a chance to participate in fund raising projects that are beneficial to them (and badly needed). We are dividing this committee into three age groups, because of needs and abilities. The older kids (15 yrs and up) will be chaired by Jake Liles, a hard-working and life-long resident. Chairing the committee for 10 through 14 year olds will be another Lehigh "old-timer", Caleb Halsted. The chairman of the "up to 10 years old", has not been asked yet ( the parents are mulling it over) so that name will be announced soon. The candidate that we are thinking of though is very capable and has a love of animals, recycling and community pride - the perfect qualifications! In the planning stages though the kids of Lehigh have lots of ideas not only for what is needed in town, but also for ways to earn the money to make it happen. They will be the primary committee overseeing the "Alpaca Plant Food" manufacturing/marketing/selling project. Some, but not all of the things they plan on doing with funds: playground equipment (new and maintenence on the old), bases for the ball diamond, a library, a youth center etc.

Sara Hiebert has agreed to head up the committe for Parks and Playgrounds. She is in need of volunteers to sign up or call her. Since she is fairly new to the area, she doesn't know many people, so please get behind her and help to get the ball rolling. This committee will oversee the Kids-Koop with advise and mentoring.

Dave Malin is planning on making some of his property a sanctuary and early next year would like to begin planning, clearing, and laying paths...he will need the help of volunteers as well.

Doug Marler at the Co-op is checking into the possibility of stocking staple grocery items, so we can call that the "grain, seed, gas, tires, feed, ice cream & pop, and CONVENIENCE STORE.

Debby Gustafson and Sharon Wasemiller are the co-chairs of the "Light Lehigh" for Christmas project. A couple of years ago, Sharon purchased a large star at an auction here in Lehigh. Kay told her that these stars used to be at every house and business every Christmas, some mounted on houses, some on poles in the front yard. It's not known when or why the tradition ceased, but Sharon and Debby would like to see it again. If anyone has one of the "originals" in a shed or garage, please let them know. They will work on getting some made and ready for Christmas - a small donation may be necessary the first year to help defray their costs. If anyone would like to help on this project please contact Debby or Sharon or sign up in the Post Office UPDATE: After much publicity, we were able to get more lighting decorations then we needed!

Though we didn't have our streets lit for Christmas, we accomplished so much. 9 of our poles have the recepticles installed, the other 6 are ready to go (as soon as the weather is better) We have plenty of lights and decorations to last the city for many years to come. We discovered a sense of community and volunteerism, that we didn't know existed. We have had a storage facility donated. With the help of so many conributions of not only time, but money, we finished the "Light Lehigh" project, paid for and our account is in the BLACK! Special thanks to Emprise Bank for their generosity!

Probably have left some people out - our apologies! Everyone is doing such a good job, and we need to thank our Mayor, Mike Geiman for suggesting the PRIDE program. If we all work together and volunteer as much as we can, we will make Lehigh an EVEN better place to live and raise families. The grants and small business loans that are made available to PRIDE communities is astounding!

We are currently developing this web-site so that Lehigh has home-based forum of communication (we have no tv station, radio station, local newspaper etc.)We need not only the residents to furnish us with e-mail addresses and phone numbers, but to tell us whether or not we may publish them on the web-site. Another important personnel need is that of "co-ordinator" of a local "phone tree", let us know if you're interested.