July 1: Abilene fire chief Ron Rein urges caution for residents using fireworks during the upcoming July 4th holiday. For the first time since the 1970s, Abilene residents can purchase and shoot off fireworks in residential areas on private property.
July 7: Plans are underway for the Tri-County Fair at Herington from July 8-10.
July 8: Wet weather delays many projects, including chip seal work in Abilene and the wheat harvest in northern Kansas.
July 9: Enterprise officials approve an ordinance that changes its requirement for a quorum, from four to three members. A Clay Center man, Rodney Knitter, dies July 8 in a one-vehicle rollover crash north of Abilene.
July 12: Abilene physicians M. Chantel Long and Tara Neil, who are part of the Family Care Clinic, will leave Abilene in the fall to pursue teaching opportunities elsewhere. Dickinson County officials said they received notification July 11 that a Florida company, Global Green Holdings, has withdrawn from a project to build a green park north of Herington.
July 13: Mark Wallace is re-elected as president of the Solomon school board. Members of the Abilene school board approve a school calendar for the coming year. The first day of school for the 2010-11 school year will be Aug. 17.
July 14: More than 60 parcels of property are sold during a tax foreclosure sale at the Dickinson County Courthouse. Food and fun are part of the annual Friends of 4-H Picnic.
July 15: About 200 Kansas National Guard, members of the 2-130th FA, will be honored with a welcome home ceremony on July 17 in Topeka. The unit, based at Hiawatha includes guard members from Abilene, were deployed in July 2009 to Egypt as part of a multi-national Force and observers mission. A bronze statute of a girl and boy is placed in front of the Abilene Public Library.
July 16: The Abilene Jazz Band played a concert July 15 at the Harold J. Royer Bandshell. Donny Johnson, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Duckwall-ALCO, announces his resignation effective Aug. 13.
July 19: More than 600 people turn out for breakfast at the Solomon United Festival. The theme for this year’s event is “Solomon Safari.”
July 20: A free swim is planned July 24 at the Abilene Pool.
July 21: Flying Debris, a comedy and juggling show, performed during a Pink Lemonade Party that celebrated the children and young adults summer reading program at the Abilene Public Library. Heat, humidity and minor flooding is in the weather forecast for Dickinson County during the next several days. Daytime high temperatures are forecast for the mid to upper 90s.
July 22: Abilene airport advisory board chairman Jim Price reports to city officials about the airport’s impact on the local economy. According to figures compiled by the Kansas Department of Transportation, the airport provides 18 jobs, a payroll of about $360,000 and an economic impact of more than $1 million. Old Abilene Town prepares for the July 24 National Day of the American Cowboy. Planned activities include an old-fashioned barn raising, gunfights, a picnic, Can-Can girl performances and demonstrations by reenactors in period dress. The Abilene and Smoky Hill Railroad will run its restored steam engine.
July 23: Downtown Abilene is filled with activities for the Midsummer’s Night Dream Festival. Contests including the Woodland Creature pet parade, the Fairy and Ogre contest and a scavenger hunt. Ray Maraco donates a copy of a 45 rpm record of Abilene to the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum.
July 26: Veterans describe their work in Korea during July 24 events at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. The Dickinson County highway department begins chip seal work on Old Highway 40 between Abilene and Solomon.
July 27: Robert “Hank” Royer is recognized for his 24 years on the Abilene Economic Development Council by the city commission. Pinnacle Bank appoints Gary Longenecker is appointed interim president by the bank’s board of directors.
July 28: Dickinson County is one of several Kansas counties covered by a federal disaster declaration because of a severe storm system that struck Kansas June 7-23. ALCO president Rich Wilson joins the company’s board of directors.
July 29: Long-time Abilene postal clerk Miles Miller retires after 24 years of service. In a feature story, Lloyd Burchard of Abilene discusses his son SPC Austin Burchard, who was wounded while serving in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. Michael Johnson and Debbie Smart are welcomed as new directors to the Community Foundation of Dickinson County.
July 30: Dickinson County commission approves a five percent bed tax. The tax is being collected from hunting lodges, hotels and bed and breakfast facilities located in the county.