CURRENT NEWS

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September Meetings:  Rod Obermeier, Chair

- - September 27th - Visit Topeka --and-- Installation of New Officers
(Special Notice) Please make this a special celebration for our out-going President, Misty Kruger, and in-coming President Joe Patton. Bring your spouse and/or a guest!
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October Meetings: Dean Landman, Chair

- - October 4th - El Dean Holthus, Trustee for the Home of the Range Heritage Cabin.
- - October 11th - Pastor Jim Bender, Children at Guinea, West Africa
- -  October 18th - Tricia Waggoner, Highway Archeologist for the KSHS
- - October 25th - Sara  Hale, Opportunities for sponsoring CCDHH (Deaf Oratorical Contests
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Minutes - Downtown Optimists, September 13th

 The speaker of this meeting was David Cherry, Asst. Executive Director of the Kansas State High Activities Association (KSHSAA). In many states, the equivalent organization covers only athletics. However, in Kansas, a number of non-athletic events come under the umbrella of the KSHSAA. And not as the name implies, it also covers middle schools. At its inception, the organization did not include women evens.

The KSHSAA does not receive any tax money. Almost all of it funds come from ticket sales for the regional and state meets of the various activities. The host school receives money to cover their cost.

Each year the school are divided into classes based on their enrollment during September. This criteria applies to all activities except football. The class breakdown applies to the next year for football because their season is already underway by the time to count is made.

The names for the drawings were Bill Kastens, Junior Elder, and Steve Weir

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Minutes - Downtown Optimists, September 20th

The meeting was called to order by president, Misty Kruger. The speaker for this week was Dennis Taylor, Exec. Director of the Kansas Lottery. He acknowledged the birthdays of his father, who was a long time member of the club as well as Junior Elder. (The club recognized Junior's birthday the previous week by standing and singing "Happy Birthday'"

Dennis indicated that one of the upcoming changes in the law that affects winnings. In the future, losses cannot be used to offset winnings. Internet gambling has become legal in some states and also people filling up with gasoline and buy a ticket at the pump. The owners of the stores where the pumps are located are afraid that customers will not go into the store to buy other items.

He indicated that the Kansas Lottery has no jurisdiction over the Indian Casinos. The casinos are owned by the state and run under contract by companies that have bid on running the casinos. The state also run the lottery games but does not sell any tickets. The are over 1700 businesses selling lottery tickets in the state.

More detail about the lottery and be found at their website at www.kslottery.com

The names for the drawings were Leland Kimball, Dean Landman and Freeman Vicory