DECEMBER NEWSLETTER Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, that was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. Just before 8 a.m. on that Sunday morning, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended on the base, where they managed to destroy or damage nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 airplanes. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.

Japan and the Path to War The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, but Japan and the United States had been edging toward war for decades. The United States was particularly unhappy with Japan’s increasingly belligerent attitude toward China. The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into its neighbor’s territory and take over its import market. To this end, Japan declared war on China in 1937, resulting in the Nanking Massacre and other atrocities. American officials responded to this aggression with a battery of economic sanctions and trade embargoes. They reasoned that without access to money and goods, and especially essential supplies like oil, Japan would have to rein in its expansionism. Instead, the sanctions made the Japanese more determined to stand their ground. During months of

negotiations between Tokyo and Washington, D.C., neither side would budge. It seemed that war was all but inevitable.

Impact of the Pearl Harbor Attack In all, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor crippled or destroyed nearly 20 American ships and more than 300 airplanes. Dry docks and airfields were likewise destroyed. Most important, 2,403 sailors, soldiers and civilians were killed and about 1,000 people were wounded. But the Japanese had failed to cripple the Pacific Fleet. By the 1940s, battleships were no longer the most important naval vessel: Aircraft carriers were, and as it happened, all of the Pacific Fleet’s carriers were away from the base on December 7. (Some had returned to the mainland and others were delivering planes to troops on Midway and Wake Islands.) Moreover, the Pearl Harbor assault had left the base’s most vital onshore facilities—oil storage depots, repair shops, shipyards and submarine docks—intact. As a result, the U.S. Navy was able to rebound relatively quickly from the attack.

A Date Which Will Live in InfamyPresident Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress on December 8, the day after the crushing attack on Pearl Harbor. “Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” He went on to say, “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.”

A Visit from St. Nicholas 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house. Not a creature was

stirring, not even a mouse; the stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds; While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads; And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap, Had just settled down for a long winter's nap, When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash. The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow, gave a luster of midday to objects below, When what to my wondering eyes did appear, But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer, With a little old driver so lively and quick, I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick. More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, and he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name: "Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donder and Blixen! To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall! Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!" As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky; So up to the housetop the coursers they flew With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too— And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof The prancing and pawing of each little hoof. As I drew in my head, and was turning around, down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound. He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot, and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot; A bundle of toys he had flung on his back, and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack. His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, And the beard on his chin was as white

as the snow; The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath; He had a broad face and a little round belly That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself; A wink of his eye and a twist of his head Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread; He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk, And laying his finger aside of his nose, And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose; He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight—“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

The Legend of The Christmas Tree - A Short Christmas Story

Two little children were sitting by the fire one cold winter's night.

All at once they heard a timid knock at the door, and one ran to open it.

There, outside in the cold and the darkness, stood a child with no shoes upon his feet

and clad in thin, ragged garments. He was shivering with cold, and he asked to come in and warm himself.

"Yes, come," cried both the children; "you shall have our place by the fire. Come in!"

They drew the little stranger to their warm seat and shared their supper with him, and gave him their

bed, while they slept on a hard bench. In the night they were awakened by strains of sweet music

and, looking out, they saw a band of children in shining garments approaching the house. They were

playing on golden harps, and the air was full of melody.

Suddenly the Stranger Child stood before them; no longer cold and ragged, but clad in silvery light.

His soft voice said: "I was cold and you took Me in. I was hungry, and you fed Me. I was tired,

and you gave Me your bed. I am the Christ Child, wandering through the world to bring peace

and happiness to all good children. As you have given to Me, so may this tree every year give

rich fruit to you." So, saying, He broke a branch from the fir tree that grew near the door, and He

planted it in the ground and disappeared. But the branch grew into a great tree, and every year it

bore wonderful golden fruit for the kind children.

 LOCAL NEWS Hey, La Harpe citizens, this just in…… the City crew will be sitting a Community

Christmas tree on Main Street (Just north of the rural fire barn) the second week of December! We will be hanging the lights, if you would like to decorate it with ornaments please feel free to do so.

Are you in need of grocery delivery service? Call 620-228-5570 for more information on this new service.

Stop in at City Hall for hot cider and cookies December 17th thru December 21st.

La Harpe Fitness Center is now open to the public!!! For more information contact La Harpe City Hall.

Friendly reminder; La Harpe does have a leash law!! If your dog is out running around it will be picked up and placed in the City kennel. Please keep your dog on a leash or in a pen to avoid fees and a possible summons to appear in court.

If you need assistance after-hours please call the Iola Dispatch Center at (620) 365-1437, they will notify the proper personnel.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL LAHARPE CITIZENS CELEBRATING A BIRTHDAY THIS MONTH!!!! MAY YOUR DAY BE AS SPECIAL AS YOU ARE TO US!

It’s that time of Year; La Harpe PRIDE is having a Christmas Lights display contest! Three lucky citizens will win a cash prize just for decorating your home for Christmas! If you would like to nominate someone to win the cash prizes please notify a La Harpe PRIDE member or contact City Hall. Winners will be

announced at the PRIDE Meeting on December 17th at 7:00 p.m.

D ates to remember :

December 12th: Council Meeting at 7:00pm at City Hall

December 17th: PRIDE Meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the City Hall

December 24th & December 25th: City Hall will be closing at noon on Christmas eve and will be closed all day on Christmas. The City employees wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

December 27th: Past due Utility shut off date.

If you can’t pay your account in full at this time then you must submit your reasoning to the City Clerk BEFORE December 27th.

CITY COUNCIL NEWSPUBLIC HEARING FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION PROGRAM

No comments were made by the public. Attorney Fred Works stated it is the same plan as before, we are renewing it for 3 years. Mayor Crowell requested a motion to close the hearing. David Lee made the motion to close the hearing. Danny Ware Jr. seconded. Motion carried 5-0.

CITIZENS CALL FOR BUSINESS

a) Harry Lee commended the Council on eliminating homes that were beyond repair. He shared that he had been in contact with a business that is interested in moving to La Harpe but need to know the Council’s interest in helping them by supplying them what they need; a piece of land, 3 phase electric, property needs to be zoned commercial or industrial, a truck route and the incentive program needs to be applicable to get them here. Danny Ware Jr. stated if a business wants to come to La Harpe then we need to accommodate them the best we can. Cynthia Carr suggested they show a business plan to the Council. Harry stated they build concrete panels for construction and homes and if they are here, they may build some model homes for La Harpe to add homes to some of these vacant lots. David Lee mentioned their intent is not to populate La Harpe but to grow their business.

b) Ray Maloney asked the Council if they had any objections to move in a manufactured home that has been given to him. The home was built in 1977, it has copper wiring, 3-bedroom, 2 bath double wide that was remodeled 5 years ago. Fred Works suggested he put an offer together and bring back to the Council in December.

c) Richard Luken reminded the Council the next PRIDE meeting is Monday, November 19th at 7:00pm. He mentioned that Dave Fontaine had approached him about a place to play pickle ball this winter. Richard suggested the City Hall and Dave came out and looked at it and said it would work and that the gym is big enough to have 2 courts. Richard wanted to know what kind of fee the Council would request if they wanted to play here. Danny Ware Jr. suggested a membership be filled out for everyone playing and pay the $10.00 membership fee every month. Richard stated Damaris will be conducting a few interviews next week for a health & wellness coordinator to oversee the fitness center.

NEW BUSINESS

a) KMEA Membership- Mayor Crowell stated we have an ordinance and a resolution to pass before we become members. David Lee made the motion to adopt resolution 2018-15. Danny Ware Jr. seconded. Motion carried 5-0. David Lee made the motion to adopt ordinance 1808. Ron Knavel seconded. Motion carried 5-0.

b) Resolution for the Kansas Healthcare Grant- Cynthia Carr notice a couple of errors in spelling and dates that need to be corrected. David Lee made the motion to adopt resolution 2018-14 with corrections. Danny Ware Jr. seconded. Motion carried 5-0.

c) Thanksgiving turkey for employees – Michelle suggested skipping the turkey and getting gas gift cards or something in its place. Cynthia Carr suggested we put Thanksgiving and Christmas together. Mayor Crowell suggested a $100 gift card and give it to them December 14th. Danny Ware Jr. made the motion to buy all employees a $100 gift card from Wal-Mart for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ron Knavel seconded. Motion carried 5-0.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

a) Stop signs- David Lee suggested the City crew look at these intersections to see if the stop sign is needed or can we replace with yield signs or nothing at all. Mayor Crowell suggested the City crew make up a list of intersections and turn them into Michelle by December 7th and she can share the list with us through an email. That would give you a week to get out and look at these intersections and we can decide at the December meeting which ones to remove or replace with yield signs.

REPORTS OF CITY OFFICERS

a) Fred Works, City Attorney – Had nothing more to report on

b) Chuck Richey, Water District Representative- Absent from meeting.

c) Marc Waggoner, Fire Chief- Absent from meeting but minutes were shared; The LaHarpe Volunteer Fire Department met for the monthly meeting on Sunday, November 4, 2018. Present: Marc Waggoner Sr., Dennis Sidebottom, Nick Trester, Josh Sparks, Jeremy Kinzer, Michael Waggoner, Meghan Waggoner, Marc Waggoner Jr., Tori Danford and Rick Noyes. Absent were Craig Trester, William Gay and Ronald Richardson. Had fire meeting, took trucks to the park then performed smoke test on firefighters in the tornado shelter to train them on house fires, the test was successful. Returned to the fire barn and ended meeting. Next meeting will be November 25, 2018. Marc Waggoner Jr was in attendance and asked the Council if the City Fire Department could buy new t-shirts for the fire fighters, the t-shirts are about $20 a piece. Cynthia Carr made the motion for the fire department to buy the shirts. David Lee seconded. Motion carried 5-0.

d) Michelle Altis, City clerk- Share a payment application from Black & McDonald in the amount of $171,238.91 that needed approval to pay. Danny Ware Jr made the motion to pay Black & McDonald $171,238.91. David Lee seconded. Motion carried 5-0. Michelle stated that a special meeting was needed to approve a change order. Council agreed that a special meeting on November 26th at 6:00pm will work for all.

CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL NEWS11/1: Sharlyn stated that the Council needs to give the Mayor authority to okay a few changes so that our contractors can continue the work without having to wait for approval from the Council. Eric Hethcoat arrived and shared with the Council, the project is 45% completed and should be done by December 15th. Eric stated he would like to keep things going on the smaller things that come up and give the Mayor authority to act on them. He stated he has visited with Byron and there will be a change order to present to the Council at the November council meeting. Eric mentioned there have been a few incidents where citizens are talking with the construction crews about things they want done or things they don’t want done, I have visited with Byron on this and going forward the crew is supposed to stick with the plans and any issues a citizen may have they will need to contact City Hall. Eric stressed the fact that any delays the crew may encounter will be charged back to the City so we want to make sure they are able to complete the job as needed. There are about 23 poles left to go and they can change about 8 transformers a day. Danny Ware Jr stated whatever is broke let’s fix it. Danny Ware Jr made the motion to give the Mayor authority to spend up to $4,000.00 in upgrade changes. Cynthia Carr seconded. Motion carried 3-0.

11/26: Eric Hethcoat, with BG Consultants, stated the contractor should be done by mid-December. We are planning a walk through on December 3rd, cold weather may slow them down a bit. Black & McDonald needs to order materials and get the Council’s permission for the changes. The Mayor has already approved 2 changes on sags that total was $850.00 a piece, Black & McDonald changed out some broken up wire which they have added to the change order. There are a couple of poles on Monroe that need to be straighten with guy wires but we are uncertain about the City’s right-of-way. Mayor Crowell stated the right-of-way is 15 foot from the center of the road, she asked Michelle to have the guys mark our right-of-way by those poles. Eric suggested the City could save some money if they had their crew install a few guy wires and straighten the 6-7 poles that are on the change order. The pole costs are from $3,300.00 to $5,500.00 and replacing them all would put you over the $830,000.00 threshold meaning the City would be paying that extra out of the City’s money. Eric recommended Black & McDonald do the sagging and reconducting and keep the overall total at $830,000.00. Danny Ware made the motion to spend up to $830,000.00. David Lee seconded. Motion carried 5-0. Eric stated he would get with Michelle and get an accurate figure on what is left to spend and then contact the Mayor on the changes for her approval to the $830,000.00 figure.

Mayor: City Attorney: Ella Mae Crowell (496-6219) Fred Works

City Municipal Judge: Police Chief: Patricia Miklos

Fire Chief: City Clerk: Marc Waggoner Michelle Altis

Assistant City Clerk: City Treasurer: Penny Ebert Teresa Driskel

Maintenance Staff: Code/Animal Control Paul Beasley & Bryan Peters

City Council Members: David Lee (496-2333) Danny Ware Jr. (496-2156) Cynthia Carr (496-7500) Sharlyn Thompson (496-3348)

Ron Knavel (496-2508)

Laharpe City Hall Hours: Monday-Friday

902 S. Washington 8:00-12:00 & 1:00-5:00 P.O. Box 10 Ph. (620) 496-2241 Laharpe, KS. 66751 Fax (620) 496-2240

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE; CITYOFLAHARPE.ORG

Traditional Christmas Cheese BallIngredients

1 1/2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened 1 (2.5 ounce) package thinly sliced smoked beef, chopped 1 (2.25 ounce) can pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped 1 small Vidalia or other sweet onion, minced 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce, or to taste 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions1. Mix the cream cheese, beef, olives, onion, and Worcestershire sauce together in a bowl

until evenly blended. Keeping the mixture in the bowl, scrape it into a semi-ball shape. Cover, and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.

2. Place a large sheet of waxed paper on a flat surface. Sprinkle with walnuts. Roll the cheese ball in the walnuts until completely covered. Transfer the cheese ball to a serving plate, or rewrap with waxed paper and refrigerate until needed.

3. serve Ritz crackers with the cheese ball to bring out its savory flavor

Jam Filled Butter Cookies

Ingredients 3/4 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup white sugar 2 egg yolks 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup fruit preserves, any flavor

Directions1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and egg yolks.

Mix in flour a little bit at a time until a soft dough forms. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. If dough is too soft, refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes. Place balls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Use your finger or an instrument of similar size to make a well in the center of each cookie. Fill the hole with 1/2 teaspoon of preserves.

3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

Melt in Your Mouth Toffee

Ingredients 1-pound butter 1 cup white sugar 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 cup chopped walnuts 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions1. In a heavy saucepan, combine butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Cook

over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture boils. Boil to brittle stage, 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) without stirring. Remove from heat.

2. Pour nuts and chocolate chips into a 9x13 inch dish. Pour hot mixture over the nuts and chocolate. Let the mixture cool and break it into pieces before serving.