A special young man in Leoti

Today, I heard about a girl in Leoti who was bragging about stealing merchandise from a local store. The girl told the kids in a group that she admired an inkpen that was for sale. She waited until the owner of the store was busy with other customers then she made her move. Today, she was bragging on her major feat.

This girl is only one of a bunch of regular shoplifters in Leoti. Because of the fact that MANY children and teenagers have stolen items for many years EVERYWHERE, store employees are trained to be on the lookout for these "mischevious" shoppers.

In a small town such as Leoti, rumors travel quickly of kids who are drinking, using illegal drugs, stealing, doing graffiti around town... KATIE, BAR THE DOOR IF AN UNWED TEENAGER BECOMES PREGNANT!!!

All too often, we hear of how bad our youth of today are. But how often do we hear of the GOOD that the youth give to their fellowmen? Late this afternoon, Abigayle and I were on our way to the Seaboard Mill when I noticed a young man helping an older woman cross the street towards Mel's Grocery Store. The duo was moving very slowly but he had a good grip on the lady's arm. I can only imagine how much security that teenanger gave the lady for his kind assistance to her.

This was just another occassion when I had the opportunity to see this young man helping older people. A couple of weeks ago, I saw him and a courtesy worker at Mels helping a different woman carry her groceries and herself to her car. I've been told that he has stopped on his way to school one morning to help another person in distress. That person had fallen on snow and ice just shortly before Christmas Vacation. As soon as he recognized her plight, he put his own life on hold to help.

About 12 years ago, I had been hired to help a couple in town who were plagued with very serious illnesses. I needed help in performing some of my duties for the couple. This boy's mother was hired by the State of Kansas to help me. As a result of that, I was honored to get to know the special mother and her two young sons. The divorced mother was doing a MAGNIFICENT job of raising her two children. They were polite and real joys to be around. Her sons are now teenagers and both are very real assets to our community!

Anyway, I just decided to take the opportunity to witness to people that there are some kids in our society who lack "a little to be desired." But, it is time that more people realize that there are some great kids and teenagers out there! We need to let them know how much we appreciate the kind and good things that they do.

VLE-B