In just five days, Louisburg residents will have an opportunity to pass a proposal that would allow the formation of a recreation commission in Louisburg.

The proposal on the ballot, will read, “Should the Louisburg Unified School District #416 and the City of Louisburg create a joint Recreation System, and levy one mill through the school district taxing authority, to provide for recreational needs of all ages, allow for a separate means by which to oversee recreational activities, and fund a number of current and future recreational functions within the Louisburg Unified School District 416 and the city of Louisburg.”

It seems clear enough, but certain voters want to know more specifics and how it will work. They will have the chance to ask all the questions they want Sunday as organizers are holding a forum discussing the possible recreation commission at 6 p.m. at Timbercreek Bar and Grill.

Louisburg resident Cindy Apple, one of the citizens who have spearheaded the proposal, will be on hand to answer questions and provide voters with all the information they need come Election Day.

“I hope to explain to the voters exactly how the rec commission will be organized, the need for it in the community and the possibilities that can come from it,” Apple said.

If approved, the money from the one mill increase would be used to hire a recreation director to help boost current programs and add new ones, along with maintaining and improving Louisburg’s current facilities.

The director would then work with a recreation commission board that is comprised of an equal number of city council and school board members and one at-large member.

Although it will take a small tax increase for this program to work, Apple believes this would be the start of bigger and better things for Louisburg.

“The biggest point I hope to get across is the idea that our one mill can grow into so much,” Apple said. “We don’t have to increase it. I’ve heard a lot of ‘It’s one mill now, but then what?’ Well, first it will take the board to raise it and I doubt the members of the city and school board who will serve on the rec commission board are just going to raise the mills hap hazardly.

“Secondly, we need the entity more than the money. The money will help but what I mean is when we have the recognized entity, we can get more. There are so many intergenerational and health initiative grants that will not give grant money to volunteer organizations (like LARA and the Louisburg Soccer Club). So yes, one mill may not set us up to do everything, but it will give us the foundation we need to build and grow.”

For more information on what the recreation commission proposal is about, make sure to visit http://louisburgrec.simplesite.com/

Here is your Louisburg High School Athlete of the Week for week five. The award is sponsored by Prairie Shield Roofing.

HERMAN KNIPP, SENIOR, SOCCER

Louisburg senior Korbin Hankinson has his eyes on the endzone as he tries out outrun a Eudora defender Friday at Wildcat Stadium. Hankinson scored a pair of touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 33-0 win over Eudora.

There was a lot to be excited about following Louisburg’s 33-0 victory over Eudora on Friday at Wildcat Stadium.

The defense recorded its second shutout of the season and the Wildcats improved their record to 4-0 on the year. Despite all that, the second half curbed Louisburg’s enthusiasm on what appeared was going to be a perfect night.

“We will take the shutout, but we really didn’t play very well in the second half,” Louisburg co-head coach Jeff Lohse said. “We had a couple turnovers and a lot of penalties — and penalties killed us all game. They are just mental mistakes, so we will learn from those and get them fixed.”

Louisburg fumbled twice in the second half and penalties stalled several drives after the Wildcats scored 25 unanswered points in the first half. Even the players realized it wasn’t the way they wanted to finish the game.

Junior Dalton Ribordy pushes a Eudora runner back Friday in Louisburg.

“It feels pretty good to win,” senior lineman Mason Koechner said. “We came out good in the first half, but man we had a lot of mistakes in the second half. The score shows that we did well, and our defense held up, but we could have done a lot better.”

The Wildcats looked sharp early as they opened the game with a long drive that eventually led to a touchdown. Louisburg used a 13-play, 68-yard drive to go up 7-0 after a 1-yard touchdown run from senior Korbin Hankinson.

Eudora was then forced to punt on its next drive, but the Cardinal punter mishandled the snap and Louisburg senior Ben Hupp was able to recover the fumble and give the Wildcats a short field. Louisburg was able to take advantage as sophomore Austin Moore scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to go up 13-0.

Right before the end of the first quarter, the Cardinals turned the ball over on downs and Wildcat senior Jake Hill gave Louisburg good field position to start the second quarter following a 36-yard run. The next play, quarterback Grant Harding found fellow senior Thomas San Agustin who hauled in a 40-yard over-the-shoulder catch for a touchdown and 19-0 lead.

Moore recovered Eudora’s second fumble of the game later in the first half and San Agustin later ran it in for a 3-yard touchdown to put the Wildcats up 25-0 at halftime.

San Agustin accounted for 113 total yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Hankinson had a team-high 81 yards on the ground and two scores, including a 30-yard pass from Harding in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Harding had 159 yards of total offense to go along with his two touchdown throws as he guided the Wildcat attack. He also got good protection from his offensive line of Koechner, T.J. Dover, Dalton Frazier, Garrett Lowry and Dustyn Rizzo.

“I thought our offensive line and running backs did a nice job in the first half and Korbin made a nice catch in the second half,” Lohse said. “Grant threw a couple nice balls for touchdowns, which was good to see because when teams start stacking the box against us we have to be able to throw the ball a little bit and he did a good job of that.”

The Wildcats had trouble getting anything going on offense in the second half thanks to penalties and two turnovers.

Louisburg’s defense did keep the shutout intact as it limited Eudora to 173 yards of total offense and the Cardinals never threatened to score.

Senior Lyndon Smith led Louisburg with 10 tackles, while Moore and Koechner added nine and eight, respectively. Hill also finished with seven stops in the win.

“Yeah we got out to a big lead, but we feel like this team is good enough that we need to learn how to finish now and we are not finishing ball games,” Lohse said. “That is what we are going to work on this week and moving forward.”

Louisburg will go for its fifth straight win Friday when it hosts Baldwin for homecoming. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

“We are all pretty excited with what we have done so far,” Koechner said. “We are excited with what is to come and we know we are doing well, but we know we can do even better.”

LOU    13        12        0          8 – 33

EUD    0          0          0          0 – 0

First quarter

L: Korbin Hankinson 1 run (Nick Hull kick)

L: Austin Moore 2 run (kick failed)

Second quarter

L: Thomas San Agustin 40 pass from Grant Harding (run failed)

L: San Agustin 3 run (run failed)

Fourth quarter

L: Hankinson 30 pass from Harding (San Agustin run)

STATISTICS

OFFENSE

RUSHING – Korbin Hankinson 12-81; Thomas San Agustin 10-67; Jake Hill 7-64; Grant Harding 12-61; Will Ridley 1-11; Austin Moore 4-8

PASSING – Grant Harding 6-10-98

RECEIVING – Thomas San Agustin 2-46; Korbin Hankinson 1-30; Christian Tosterud 2-13; Ben Hupp 1-9

DEFENSE

TACKLES – Lyndon Smith 10, Austin Moore 9, Mason Koechner 8, Jake Hill 7, Nick Hull 5, Dustyn Rizzo 5, Garrett Lowry 5, T.J. Dover 4, Dalton Ribordy 4, Connor Green 3, Grant Harding 3, Thomas San Agustin 3, Blue Caplinger 3, Will Ridley 2, Kiefer Tucker 2, Christian Tosterud 1, Tucker Batten 1.

For the last five years, runners from all over the area have made their way to Louisburg every fall to compete in the annual Blazin’ the Burg 5K Run and Walk.

Now that the event is in its sixth year, members of the Louisburg Chamber of Commerce want to make it a bigger experience – for not only the runners – but for the community as well when it kicks off on Oct. 1.

“We will have bands, food trucks, vendors and a lot of things for kids and families to do throughout the evening,” chamber director Becky Bowes said. “We are hoping a lot of people will come out and see what it is all about. We are trying to make this more of a community event encouraging everyone to come cheer participants on and enjoy entertainment before and after the race.”

Some of the entertainment will include the local band 68 Overpass which will play after the race until around 10 p.m. The children’s band Happy Face will perform before the start of the race to entertain the little ones.

Along with the vendors and food trucks, there will be face painting, a bounce house and cheerleaders from the Kansas City Chiefs will be on hand as well.

A new aspect to the event this year is race organizers decided to expand the race and add a 10K course to go along with the traditional 5K and kids fun run.

“We wanted to attract new runners and make it a little more challenging for some,” Bowes said. “We thought about doing a half-marathon but we couldn’t get a course together without crossing 68 Highway and we didn’t want to do that. But we hope the 10K will bring more people out and we are excited about it.”

The chamber is also trying to attract younger participants as well. There will be a kindergarten through fifth-grade challenge and the grade level with most representation will earn an extra recess at school and a popsicle.

The Blazin’ Bash on Broadway will begin at 4 p.m. and the center of the entertainment will be between the Wildcat Activity Center and 1^st and Broadway. The Kids Fun Run will start at 5 p.m., while the 5K and 10K Run/Walk portion of the event will take place at 6 p.m.

Louisburg High School cheerleaders and the drumline from the LHS Marching Band will be stationed throughout the course to help encourage the runners.

To register for the 6^th Annual Blazin’ the Burg, visit www.louisburgkansas.com. Registration for the 5K is $35 for an individual or $30 for a member of a team of four or more. For the 10K, the cost is $45 for an individual or $35 for a team of four or more.

The cost for the Kids Fun Run is $15, but organizers are also offering a discount for all races through Sept. 15. To receive $5 off your registration, enter the code ‘416’ when signing up online.

Also at the festivities will be the group Giving the Basics. Members will accept donations of personal care items and those will be given to Louisburg High School students who are in need.

For more information about Blazin’ the Burg, contact Bowes at the Louisburg chamber office at 837-2826 or at chamber@louisburgkansas.com.

The 2016 fall sports season officially kicked off tonight when Louisburg High School held its 20th annual pep rally that was sponsored by First National Bank. All the different teams and organizations were introduced to the crowd and also had performances from the LHS Marching Band, Jazzy Cats and LHS Cheerleaders. Make sure to check out the photo gallery below for highlights from this evening’s event.

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In the midst of one of the most talked about national elections in recent history, the residents of Unified School District #416 will have a decision to make of their own.

When they hit the voting booth in November, those residents will see a question on the ballot that might not seem as crucial as who is going to be the next President of the United States, but it is important to the growth of the Louisburg community.

It will read something like this.

Should the Louisburg Unified School District #416 and the City of Louisburg create a joint recreation system, and levy one mill through the School District taxing authority, to provide for recreational needs of all ages, allow for a separate means by which to oversee recreational activities, and fund a number of current of future recreational functions within the Louisburg Unified School District #416 and the City of Louisburg?

The correct vote on this should be a resounding YES! At least it will be from me anyway.

The rest of you will have the opportunity to vote whether or not there should be a joint School District and City Recreation System. In other words, the two entities will come together to run a recreation commission and provide programs for area citizens to help improve a better quality of life.

A similar measure was tried almost 15 years ago, but was voted down.

Louisburg citizens Diana Moore and Cindy Apple approached Louisburg city manager Nathan Law about trying to get something put together on the November ballot.

Law informed the two that the best option to get something passed would be to go to the city council and USD #416 board of education to see if the entities would be interested in a joint venture and both groups voted unanimously to team up and see if the voters would be interested in having a recreation commission.

When Law took over as city manager in 2015, he looked at Louisburg’s 5×5 plan that was adopted the city council in 2013, and one of the items on that list was an updated parks and recreation system.

“That is why it was on my radar to begin with,” Law said. “When Diana and Cindy came to me and asked what I thought about a recreation commission, I already had some rough thoughts put together as far as what a school district rec commission would look like versus a city. It is something the community could find value in, but it is whether or not the school district would see the same value that city council does or vice versa. Both clearly saw the value in it to save Cindy and Diana the time of having to go door to door and get a petition put together.”

So, the No. 1 question I am sure everyone is going to ask themselves first is how much is it going to cost.

Well to form a rec commission, there will be a one mill increase to property values within borders of USD #416. So, yes that means your taxes will go up.

For example, on a $150,000 home, your property tax will go up $17.25 a year – yes that is a right – A YEAR! On a $200,000 home it would be $23 a year, on a $250,000 home it is $28.75 a year and so forth.

So if you were taxed $23 a year, that works out to $1.91 a month or close to 6 cents a day.

The question you have to ask yourself is this: Is less than $2 a month worth having better recreation programs for not just area youth, but infants and senior citizens as well? Is less than $2 a month worth having a better quality of life.

For me, this is a no-brainer people. Yes, I understand some people have strict budgets and don’t want to see their taxes go up at all. I totally get it as it seems a lot of us live paycheck to paycheck. I am one of them.

At the same time, even if none of these so-called recreation programs affect you, you have to understand that this would be an investment in your community and should be one worth making.

You cannot look at this as just youth sports. This recreation commission issue is much more than that as it encompasses a majority of our population, whether it would be infant programs or programs that would benefit senior citizens.

This would take away our dependency on volunteers for our programs. Every organization in Louisburg is comprised of volunteers and rely on groups of people – most who already have full-time jobs and families of their own – to help run programs to give our children something to do.

There is also a chance the cost of current programs would decrease with a new rec commission.

Groups like the Louisburg Area Recreation Association (LARA) and Louisburg Soccer Club are made up entirely of volunteers and they never know if they are going to have enough to make it through a year.

“We struggle at times and we have had to send emails out parents asking for help for certain age groups or they won’t be able to have teams because we don’t have enough volunteers,” Moore said, who is also the president of the Louisburg Soccer Club. “I know LARA does too. A lot of the volunteers we have are the same people we are calling over and over again and it is tough.

“I want people to know it is not just youth sports. That is just one aspect of it. This would benefit senior citizens, all the way down to kids who haven’t started school yet. We have lots of ideas of what we can do. It will just be better for the community overall to have everything under one hat.”

That “one hat” will be comprised of a recreation commission board and a director. Two or three members of the city council, two or three members of the board of education and an at-large member will serve on the board, while the one mill increase will allow for the hiring of a director to oversee day-to-day operations when it comes to the scheduling of fields at Lewis-Young Park to promoting programs.

Apple, who is a member of the LARA board, believes this would be a win for everyone.

“A rec tax means so much more than sports,” Apple said. “Sports activities can absolutely be a part of the recreation program – but there are so many possibilities. I like to phrase it as more of a Parks and Programming Tax because this money will be specifically earmarked for improvements to our parks and sports fields and it will also offer programs that we do not yet have in Louisburg. This could include enhancements to our parks to make them more accessible to those of all ability levels, providing activities for children birth to age 5, and even providing adults more options. Many of the improvements to our baseball and softball fields are done by volunteers and LARA. The budget for the city for the parks and fields are line items and that takes away from our improvements to things like roads or other areas of business.

“On the programming side, we are looking at the hiring of a dedicated person who will oversee not just sports activities, but also programming from birth to seniors.

Apple has stated that if this ballot question is passed, that LARA will transition all of its money, equipment and resources over to the city to carry on the programs it started. However, not all recreation organizations will be forced to do it.

Programs like the Louisburg Soccer Club, the Louisburg Barracuda swim program, the Louisburg Kids Wrestling Club and Louisburg Senior Center will still be able to run separate from the commission, but it gives them an option to keep the program alive if volunteers become scarce.

“As a volunteer for LARA, we are extremely excited for this opportunity,” Apple said. “It is a full time job to run LARA because it offers year-round athletic opportunities. We offer basketball, T-ball, baseball/softball, volleyball and flag football. When a season is not happening, we are prepping for the next season. The group of volunteers are incredible and we have worked hard to bring new opportunities to Louisburg since taking office. However, the reality is that the turnover for volunteers is inevitable and you hope that another strong group will take over – but that may not be the case. LARA has built a strong organization both in memberships and financially.

“Now, not every organization in Louisburg may want to do this. We have lots of groups, organizations, and businesses that offer athletic or enrichment opportunities and they may want to remain independent. The city is not looking to take over their programs, but will help by supporting and partnering up with them to give our community as many opportunities at home as possible.”

So, when you go to vote on Nov. 8, please consider voting “Yes.” This is something that has been long overdue.

I hear a lot of people say how great the Louisburg community and its surrounding area are – and they are spot on. So why not make a small investment and turn a great community into a greater one?

It is time.

Lakin Cunningham, an eighth-grader at Louisburg Middle School, will be competing in two national rodeos in the next three weeks. She will travel to Tennessee this week for the National Junior High Rodeo Finals and will also compete at the National Little Britches Rodeo in Oklahoma in early July.

During these next three weeks, Lakin Cunningham will find herself among some of the best youth rodeoers in the nation.

It is a familiar place for her, actually.

Cunningham will leave tomorrow for Tennessee to compete in her second straight National Junior High School Rodeo Finals (NJHSFR). Then in the first week of July, she will depart for Oklahoma to take part in the National Little Britches Finals Rodeo.

The national spotlight isn’t anything new for the Louisburg Middle School eighth grader. Cunningham took part in the NJHSFR last year in the goat-tying competition and was the Kansas Reserve Champion in that event as a sixth-grader.

This year, Cunningham qualified for the national rodeo in barrel racing and goat tying and is ready for a better showing this time around. The NJHSFR features competitors from 43 states, five Canadian Provinces and Australia. Each of the states or provinces bring their top four in each event.

“I am very excited to be competing at the NJHSFR again this year,” Cunningham said. “This is my second year making it and this year I even made it in two of my three events that I competed in at my state competition. The national rodeo is the toughest junior high competition in the world.”

Goat tying is one of two events Lakin Cunningham will compete in at the National Junior High Rodeo Finals.

At the state rodeo, Cunningham finished fourth in barrel racing and also took fourth in goat-tying to earn a spot in the national competition, but it led to some mixed reactions.

“I was very pleased with making it in the fourth spot this year in barrel racing,” she said. “It was one of my goals for the year. However, in goat tying I was a little bit disappointed because I led the state of Kansas all year long. I went into the state finals to win state and get a state championship title. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a great finals as I let my nerves affect my runs and ended up fourth. I am still very happy about making it in both of these events.”

“This year the Kansas circuit was tough. We have girls in our state that our definitely contenders in my events for a national title and I hope that I am one of them.”

The national spotlight won’t be quite as bright for Cunningham this time around as she plans to use her experience from a year ago to propel her to a good finish.

“This year I am not that nervous because last year the national finals rodeo was my first nationals experience ever and nerves got to me and affected my runs,” she said. “This year I know I can’t get nervous or it will mess with me just like it did last year. I’ve been working on mental toughness along with my skills so I don’t get nervous.

“I want to go in there and make the short go, which is when the top 20 in each event advance to the final round of competition. That is my expectation going into national finals this year – do what I know how to do and know I can do it. Being in the top 20 would be awesome.”

Although she will be competing in those two events, Cunningham will also hit the campaign trail. She is currently running for the position of National President, and with that, she will be giving speeches and handing out campaign materials.

It is a lot of work for a middle school student, but she is looking forward to the challenge.

“It would be great to bring one of only three national officer positions back to our state,” she said.

If that experience wasn’t enough, Cunningham will also compete in the world’s oldest youth association in the world, which is the National Little Britches Rodeo Association (NLBRA).

Cunningham qualified for the National Little Britches Rodeo Finals (NLBRF) in four events – barrel racing, goat tying, pole bending and ribbon roping. Last year, she qualified in three events and placed fourth in the 1^st go round in barrel racing.

She is also the current National Rodeo Princess for the NLBRA, which has allowed her to travel to eight states to represent the association.

“I’m very excited to compete in the NLBFR again this year,” Cunningham said. “My goals for this year’s NLBRA national finals is to get in the top seven in the world in goat tying and barrel racing. I would also like to place in go rounds and the short go in those two events as well.

“I am also very excited to compete with my Ribbon Roping partner Chancy Johnson from Whitewater. It’s a team event and she’s a great roper. I’m the runner. I hope we do good in that event as well.”

Basketball with no running or jumping. Is that even possible?

It is if you are playing Granny Basketball.

A Granny Basketball team is coming to Miami County and organizers Jean Carder and Becky Berg, Louisburg, are looking for women to join the fun. What exactly is Granny Basketball?

It’s basketball for ladies over 50 years of age who are interested in a little fun and fellowship on the basketball court. The Granny Basketball League started in Iowa in 2005 as a fun, yet competitive, exercise for women over 50 and as an avenue for charitable giving; wholesome, nostalgic and sometimes humorous entertainment, a recognition for mature women and a method of preserving the history of six-on-six basketball, according to league materials.

“It’s just plain fun,” says Carder. She got the idea to start a local granny basketball team after reading a story in the Kansas City Star about a Border Showdown game between teams from Lawrence and Missouri.

Carder, who can be heard on the sidelines of Louisburg High School activities, had been looking for something to get involved in after becoming an empty-nester. Granny basketball seemed to fit the bill so she contacted some “mature” girlfriends to see if anyone wanted to join the fun.

Berg, a cancer survivor, jumped at the chance to add a different type of exercise to her health program and one that also involved some laughs and fellowship. Carder and Berg went to Lawrence to watch the Kansas Grayhawkers and Gray Tornados practice. After one practice, the duo were hooked.

“We had a blast,” Carder said. “I have a slight competitive spirit so it’s fun to get out on the court and have some laughs with the other ladies. But Becky and I don’t think those Lawrence ladies know the correct height for the goals. They seemed awfully tall.”

The rules of the game follow Iowa high school girls rules from the 1920s. The court is divided into three sections and players stay in their designated section. There are 2 guards who are defenders. There are 1 to 2 centers who play in the center third of the court and are the passers. The two forwards are the scorers.

The twist to all this? Uniforms reflect those worn in the ’20s so players were bloomers, long-sleeved shirts and a middy collar with the number on it.

An interest meeting with light practice/shoot-around is planned for 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the West Gym in Louisburg. While RSVPs aren’t necessary, Carder said she would love to know how many to expect. She can be reached at 837-5719.

If you can’t attend the meeting but are interested, contact her for more information. Wear your workout clothes, tennis shoes and bring a bottle of water.

“We’d love to have gals from the other communities in the county to come on over and check it out,” Carder said. “It would be great fun if we could get a couple Miami County teams formed.” “We’d like anyone with a passing interest to come out and learn more about granny basketball.”

The season won’t actually kick off until next spring but some summer and fall practices are in the works. More information on Granny Basketball can be found at www.grannybasketball.com or look on Facebook at KansasGBB.

ALL-FRONTIER LEAGUE SOFTBALL

First Team

Catcher: Sierra Sanderson, Spring Hill, junior

Infield: Kayla Kurtz, Baldwin, freshman; Jordan Flakus, Eudora, junior; Shea Mesik, Ottawa, senior; Dani Townley, Spring Hill, senior

Outfield: Miranda White, Louisburg, senior; Bayleigh Nelson, Ottawa, senior; Morgan Laudan, Paola, senior

Pitcher: Jordan Johnson, Paola, sophomore; Sarah Brown, Spring Hill, junior

Utility: Kylee Bremer, Baldwin, senior

Second Team

Catcher: Courtney Earring, Paola, junior

Infield: Kellee Wiggins, Baldwin, sophomore; Kamryn Shaffer, Ottawa, sophomore; Allison Daggett, Paola, junior; Matti Morgan, Paola, junior

Outfield: Sieana Hall, Baldwin, sophomore; Kylie Corneliusen, De Soto, senior; Elizabeth Hays, Spring Hill, sophomore

Pitcher: Kyla Etter, Eudora, freshman; Allyssa Griggs, Louisburg, junior

Utility: Carly Bodenhausen, De Soto, sophomore

Honorable Mention

Catcher: Emalee Overbay, Louisburg, junior; Jocelyn Woods, Ottawa, sophomore

Infield: Mackenzie Smith, De Soto, junior; Payton Faddis, De Soto, sophomore; Brooklynn Beerbower, Eudora, junior; Molly Rison, Louisburg, freshman; Courtney Clayton, Ottawa, senior

Outfield: Audrey Flowers, Baldwin, freshman; McKinley Markley, Baldwin, sophomore; Devin Purcell, Eudora, sophomore; Jasmine Thevarajoo, Eudora, junior; Meghan Smith, Paola, senior; Regan Smith, Spring Hill, sophomore

Pitcher: Lauren Dandreo, Ottawa, freshman

Utility: Alaina Howe, Eudora, sophomore; Ashaya Blevins, Ottawa, junior

Damon Dennis, owner of Louisburg Chiropractic, shows off his new mini bass guitar with a Wildcat logo on it. The guitar was given to him as a gift from several Louisburg High School seniors and their families for his years of service to the LHS athletic programs.

Damon Dennis is a busy man.

If owning and running your own business isn’t taxing enough, Dennis has spent the last 24 years running back and forth to Louisburg High School serving as the school’s athletic trainer – something he does at no charge.

“I do it because I enjoy being around the kids,” Dennis said. “I just want to help in any way that I can.”

Lauren Dunn, and some of the other seniors at LHS, thought he deserved a little bit more.

Dunn, who has paid numerous visits to Dennis’ Louisburg Chiropractic office and has had several ankles taped by the good doctor, wanted to get him something special.

So with the help of her parents Janie and Donnie, and twin brother Alex, Lauren started collecting donations since the beginning of the year and they found the perfect gift – a mini bass guitar.

It wasn’t just any guitar as the group had it custom made to have the Wildcat logo put on it.

“This community is blessed with some of the best people and Doc D is a selfless person and always puts the kids before him, even if some of them might get on his nerves,” Lauren said. “But he means the world to me and I am going to be sad next year without Doc D by my side while I am playing volleyball at Pittsburg State.”

So, what would a chiropractor and team doctor need with a bass guitar? Well, music is also a big part of Dennis’ life.

In his down time, he is a member of the local band 68 Overpass and they play several gigs throughout the year.

To complete the surprise, the group of LHS seniors paid a visit to his gig at Timbercreek earlier this month. It was there that several seniors got up to speak and thank him for his service.

Louisburg senior Lauren Dunn presents Dr. Damon Dennis with a plaque earlier this month at Timbercreek. A group of LHS seniors surprised Dennis and thanked him for his years of service.

Lauren, Alex, Anders Vance and Jarod Woodward all made little speeches before they, and seniors Sierra Reinhart, Tristan Shrock and Cassidy Hink presented him with the guitar.

“I didn’t know or think anything about it because a lot of the people that were there usually come to the shows anyway,” Dennis said. “Then Donnie (Dunn) got up and said something and then I knew something was going on.”

Lauren also presented Dennis with a commemorative plaque along with some gift cards for all his help over the years.

The present took a little work to get to put together. The Dunn family corresponded with Damon’s wife, Karla, to keep it a secret.

Other senior families quickly became involved in different ways, whether it was with donations or helping pick out the perfect gift.

“We started collecting money during football season and wanted to present it to him at graduation but Doc wasn’t going to be in town,” Janie Dunn said. “Donnie mentioned to do it when 68 overpass was playing at Timbercreek and so that worked. I’m surprised we kept it quiet this long. We had a lot of donors and I tried to spread the word to all sports and keep it a secret. I think he was surprised.”

Needless to say he was a little shocked.

“Apparently it was the quite the undertaking,” Dennis said. “For them to do it and for me to not hear about it is pretty significant because I usually hear about everything that is going on. But for them to go to that much trouble for me…it is just really nice. I just love the kids and being around them.”

The effort to put the surprise together was well worth it to everyone involved as it was their way to say “Thank you” to the man who was always there for them when they needed it.

“Doc is a huge part of this community and he takes the time every day after school to come tape us or help us with injuries, for free,” Alex said. “He has a big impact on the athletic programs here.

“For me personally, it was a heartfelt moment because Doc and I have a great friendship and he deserved this.”