February 21, 2013 Hesston Record - Hesston Record - Serving the Community of Hesston, Kansas

Madi Weaver, a second grade student at Hesston Elementary School, is an artist with a cause.

On Tuesday, Feb. 12, Madi invited her artist mentor Mark Ward to speak to her second grade class about their paintings.

While displaying her paintings to her class, Madi was able to talk about her favorite pieces.

“The Hot Air Balloons painting - because it was kind of like I could draw it myself and then we just painted it. It just that I've never really done a painting that big, all by myself,” she said.

What makes Madi’s work unique from that of many second grade students, it will be auctioned off to raise money for Juvenile Arthiris, a condition Madi has lived with since her first birthday.

“Madi’s paintings will be up for auction at the Art for Arthritis Gala Thursday, March 7th from 6 p.m, to 9 p.m. at the Boathouse in Wichita. Tickets for the Gala are available at artforarthritiswichita.org,” said Zach Weaver.

Cost: $30,000 purchase price

Timeline: 3 to 6 months

Use: Fire and EMS training facility

Funding: Capital Improvement, community donations

The City of Hesston recently invested in a new building located across the street from City Hall.

The building, formerly occupied by H&H Meats has sat vacant for nearly five years, according to City Administrator John Carder.

Emergency Services Director Russ Buller said the location was almost ideal for use by the department.

“Obviously, in a perfect world everything important to an operation would be under one roof. We have an excellent Emergency Services facility in the center of our community that has no room to expand. Our next best option in keeping our training and the equipment that we train with close together is to go next door,” he said.

Hesston Public Library will host a Seuss-a-bration Family Fun Night on Friday, March 1, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the library, 300 N. Main St.

The event is free, but registration is required by 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 27, by emailing hesstonpubliclibrary@gmail.com or calling the library at 620.327.4666 with the number of children and adults who will be attending.

Attendees should be aware that the library doors will be locked from the library’s normal closing time at 6:00 p.m. until the event begins at 6:30 p.m. to allow staff and volunteers time to set up for the event. Because of the way the event is designed, participants can arrive late or leave early if necessary.

To read more, see this week's print edition.

Tax season is a time of worry and nail biting for many who have to file their annual paperwork.

This year, Hesston Area Senior Center is making the process much less stressful. The Senior Center is partnering with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)-certified group Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA).

On March 12, VITA member Cleta Smith will be at the Senior Center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to help Hesston residents file taxes.

Smith said the VITA organization will help make tax-time less of a headache.

“All you need to bring is a photo ID, social security card, all sources of income – W-2’s 10-99’s, and last year’s tax return if possible,” she said.

Child Using Art To Fight Arthritis

City Starts Renovation On New EMS Training Facility

Hesston Public Library Seuss-A-Bration Coming Soon

H.A.S. Making Tax-Time Less Painful For Hesston Residents