Ark Valley News - Looking Back

Looking Back
Last Updated: November 23, 2022

50 years ago
Bud and Dottie McDaniel re-opened the serva-teria restaurant at 209 N. Park in Valley Center. The McDaniels — who owned and operated the North Star Café on North Arkansas — renamed the business North Star Café Number 2.
Robert C. Waddill was named director of corporate relations for the Kansas State Network. The former Assistant News Director joined KSN in 1966. He received a bachelor's degree in English from Wichita State University and studied at the School of International Affairs at George Washington University.

45 years ago
The Ark Valley News talked to Valley Center residents who were participating in the Big Brothers and Sisters of Sedgwick County program. Mary Trent and Randy Stevens both shared their experiences connecting with juveniles in the program.
Eleanor Evans was named Kansas Farm Bureau Woman Leader of the Year. Evans and her husband farmed 1,500 acres. They had previously received the KG&E award, the Bakers Soil and Water Conservation awards and the Sedgwick County Farm Family of the Year award.

40 years ago
Craig Gibson bought Valley Center's old pool hall — The Office — from Don and Marj Purkey, and the lease from Kenny Duncan. Gibson worked for Anesthesia Associates out of Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.
Former Valley Center High School speech and drama teacher Loren Dyson was granted an emeritus membership in the Kansas Speech Communication Association. Bethel College sophomore Brenda Weber was an honorable mention selection to the all-league volleyball team in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. Weber is the daughter of Frank and Shirley Weber of Valley Center. Airman Michael Wright was assigned to Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado after completing Air Force basic training. The son of James Wright is a 1982 graduate of VCHS.

35 years ago
Valley Center sixth-grade teacher Karen Murphy received a surprise visit to her classroom on her birthday from WuShock, the Wichita State University mascot. Murphy and one of her students, Brad Tidemann, were avid Shocker fans. Tidemann wrote WuShock a letter and asked him to surprise Murphy at her birthday party, which featured black and gold streamers and Shocker signs.
Fort Hays State University sophomore Chrissy Sitts finished 84th at the NAIA national cross country championships in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Sitts was one of 10 Kansas women who competed in the meet and she improved by 68 places from the previous year with a time of 19:20. Sitts earned all-District 10 honors by placing third in the District 10 championships at Pittsburg State with a time of 18:57; she also finished sixth at the league meet in Emporia. Sitts is the daughter of Bob and Cheryl Sitts of Valley Center.
30 years ago
Vic Noordhoek assumed assistant athletic director duties in Valley Center schools. Noordhoek previously taught sixth-grade science at the junior high school and was the assistant boys' basketball coach at the high school. Eighth-grade boys' basketball coach Dave Hickerson replaced Noordhoek at the high school level and Phil Adrian would coach the eighth-grade boys' team.
Scott Wilson completed basic training at the Army Field Artillery Training Center at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. The son of Dale and Judy Wilson is a 1992 Valley Center High School graduate.

25 years ago
Amanda Stevens won first place in the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition at Wichita State University. The WSU senior competed against more than 30 other women from four different states. She was studying music education and planned to teach at the high school level after completing her degree. The daughter of Greg and Jeannie Stevens is a 1993 Valley Center High School graduate.
The Ark Valley News talked to Vickie Mohr about her second novel, "Shadowed Promises." The book focused on Theorosa's Bridge near the intersection of 109th North and Meridian. Mohr created her own legend about the bridge for the book's story and also incorporated elements from Wichita's Castle Inn Riverside, formerly Crumm Castle. Mohr is a 1985 graduate of Valley Center High School.

20 years ago
The Ark Valley News talked to Valley Center High School senior Tara Doerfler about what is was like to chase her dream of becoming a singer and actress. Doerfler had just returned from a four-day trip to the Talent Expo, a training program for actors in Dallas, Texas. She had to audition to earn a spot at the event. Although she was told that most attendees wouldn't receive callbacks, Doerfler had received nine callbacks from talent scouts across the country after she returned from the event. Doerfler had recently been crowned VCHS homecoming queen and also placed fourth in a classical music singing competition in Boulder, Colorado.
Three Valley Center High School cheerleaders were selected to perform in the Washington Mutual Thanksgiving Day parade in Houston, Texas. Freshmen Danielle Chaput, Kristin Cowden and Sandra Clemons were chosen to the Universal Cheerleading Association All-Stars squad during a cheerleading camp at Bethany College in Lindsborg.

15 years ago
Valley Center High School senior Lindsay Geddes signed a letter of intent to play soccer at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina. Geddes was a second-team all-state selection as a junior and led the Hornets with 14 goals.
Valley Center High School sophomore Page Miller placed 18th at the National AAU Cross Country meet in Lexington, Kentucky; her three-mile time was 21:03. Miller qualified by taking second at the Missouri Valley Conference cross country track meet in Garnett. She got 25th at AAU nationals the previous year as a freshman.

10 years ago
The Ark Valley News talked to Mr. and Mrs. Abragan after they voted for the first time as American citizens. The couple moved to the area from the Philippines 12 years earlier and became U.S. citizens three years earlier. Mr. Abragan worked as an officer in charge of the Commission on Human Rights and Mrs. Abragan was the dean of a Filipino music school before they moved to the United States.
The Ark Valley News talked to Delno and Valorie Ebie about their son, Chase, who was born with Down syndrome. The 8-year-old spent the first 44 days of his life in the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Joseph Hospital in Wichita. Chase was born prematurely on Father's Day in 2004 and weighed only two pounds. His lungs collapsed when he was 3 days old and he was placed on a ventilator. Chase couldn't walk until he was 3 years old and couldn't run until he underwent open-heart surgery before his fifth birthday. But in 2012, he was thriving. Since June, Chase had logged more than 70 miles on the indoor track at the East Wichita YMCA. He also participated in the Down Syndrome Society of Wichita Buddy Walk at Heartspring in northeast Wichita. Chase's mom said he was very competitive and his family hoped to get him involved with the Special Olympics in the future.

5 years ago
Scott McCune of Valley Center was nominated for an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy.
Former Wichita Wingnuts and Kansas Stars trainer Danielle Robertson opened Robertson Chiropractic at 1220 S. Meridian in Valley Center. Robertson is originally from Toronto, Canada. Her husband is Valley Center High School graduate and baseball coach, Matt Robertson, who played semiprofessional baseball in Toronto. John Adams and Brent Welch of Valley Center launched Inside the Batter's Box, a baseball subscription box business. Their office was located at 209 W. Main in Valley Center. Herb and Amber Callender of Valley Center opened a Fried Pies store near 61st North and Hydraulic in Park City.