Newton in brief Sept. 19

County employee retiring after 18 years

Susie Lindsey will retire from the Harvey County Appraiser’s office after 18 years of service.

A retirement reception will be held in the Harvey County Courthouse Community Room at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 24.

Singer-Songwriter Daryl Nickel in Solo Concert September 28 at Carriage Factory Art Gallery

For Newton Now


The Americana Music Academy dubs Daryl Nickel as a “passionate singer-songwriter who writes of his life experiences in a serious, romantic and sometimes humorous way. He is also an incredible acoustic guitar player.”
Nickel, a Bethel College graduate with family ties in the area, will return to Newton to perform in a solo concert from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28, at Carriage Factory Art Gallery, 128 E. Sixth St.

There will be no admission fee, according to gallery director Cindy Snider.

We wanted this concert to be a gift to the community,” she said, “and Daryl graciously agreed
to play for donation only. It will be a great evening of music and storytelling open to all ages. Daryl’s CDs will also be available.”
A singer-songwriter from Golden, Colo., Nickel performs original music while accompanying himself on guitar. The songs are the reflection of a life, lyric-based music that is his take on experience and events, he said.

The songs are sometimes funny, sometimes pointed and a comment on how the world operates, but
always insightful,” he added. His latest CD is titled “Echoes in a Canyon.”

The variety of his work is remarkable,” said Snider. “He’s an engaging storyteller with a great presentation.”

Soccer field to bear coach’s name

HESSTON—The Hesston College soccer field underwent some upgrades during the summer with leveling and resurfacing and a new scoreboard installed earlier this week, and its transformation will soon be complete when it gains the name Sieber Field.

The pending name honors coach Gerry Sieber, who coached Lark student-athletes in a several sports for 30 years – 23 years of which were as men’s soccer coach. Sieber retired in December 2017.

The naming ceremony will take place on the soccer field about 5:45 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 29, between the women’s and men’s soccer games. The ceremony is also part of the college’s Homecoming Weekend activities, which are celebrating 60 years of intercollegiate Lark athletics.

We are grateful to Gerry for his many years of dedication to Hesston College and our student-athletes,” said President Joseph A. Manickam in an email to faculty and staff. “His commitment to the school, our students and the Hesston Experience deserves recognition in this lasting way.” 

Sieber, who is a 1962 Hesston College graduate, returned to his alma mater as a coach in 1968. Over the next 23 years he coached basketball, track and field and, primarily, soccer, where he tallied 247 wins, ten region titles, led 22 players who earned National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American honors, and earned Coach of the Year eight times. During those years, Sieber also taught wellness classes and served as athletic director. 

In 2010, after almost 20 years away from Hesston College, Sieber returned to develop a men’s and women’s cross country team, which he also coached for seven years prior to retirement. In 2015, Sieber was inducted into the NJCAA Soccer Hall of Fame for his successes leading the Lark program. 

Aside from the many performance-related accolades his teams earned, Sieber was also known for taking genuine interest in his student-athletes apart from their athletic development and focusing on the development of the whole person. When he moved on from Hesston College nine months ago, his efforts to build genuine community and camaraderie were recognized and celebrated as much as his successful teams.

Baldwin serves with Service Adventure

For Newton Now

Jenna Baldwin, of Newton, began a one-year service term with the Service Adventure program in August, 2018, through the Mennonite Mission Network in Colorado Springs, Colo.

A 2018 graduate of Newton High School, Baldwin is the daughter of Meagan and Clark Baldwin and is a member of New Creation Fellowship Church in Newton, part of Western District Conference.

Since 1989, Service Adventure has provided opportunities for young adults, ages 17 to 20, to serve in cities and towns in the United States, while they live in a household community with a leader for 10 months.

Participants have volunteered in medical clinics, tutored children, worked with senior citizens, assisted in building homes and helped meet additional needs across North America.

SMCHA at Bethel College Fall Fest

The Swiss Mennonite Cultural and Historical Association (SMCHA) will gather at Bethel College at 10 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 6, to recount and celebrate their cultural heritage during Bethel Fall Fest.
The event, held in the Will Academic Center, room 216, will feature coffee, poppy seed rolls and videos of Ukraine, where Swiss Mennonites once lived during their migrations.
Photographer Max Voran will show pictures of the 2013 Heritage tour to Ukraine (and other countries), which was sponsored by SMCHA. Max is native of Kingman, Kan., and graduated from Bethel College in 1965 with an Education degree. 

Storyteller Clemon Kaufman from Pretty Prairie will also speak the Swiss German dialect or Schweitzer, for those in attendance to hear.

Life enrichment includes wide variety of topics

Combines, honeybees and Vietnam will be speaking topics at the upcoming Life Enrichment lecture 9:30 a.m., Sept. 26 at the Luyken Fine Arts Center, Krehbiel Auditorium.

At 9:30 a.m., Greg Terjesen, vice president of sales and marketing for Tribine Harvester, will talk about the company’s new combine.

At 10:35 a.m., Ken Regier and Ryan Goertzen, beekeepers of Newton and North Newton will give a lecture on the work and at 11:30 a.m., Kim Huynh of Textron Aviation and Rob Howes, a retired aviation engineer from Wichita will give the lecture: Escape to Freedom: One Family’s Journey from Vietnam to the U.S.

Life enrichment is a weekly series directed to adults age 60 and over. Attendance costs $2 per week. The full schedule is available at www.bethelks.edu/life-enrichment.

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