HUMBOLDT — For all of its successes — and there are many — Humboldt faces challenges similar to countless other rural communities these days.
Local employers are unable to keep fully staffed because of a dearth of quality and affordable housing, a lack of quality daycare centers; and an ongoing “brain drain” wave in which the best and brightest students often go elsewhere to find their niche in life.
For that matter, too many youths are the unwitting victims of a digital society, in which they’ve become accustomed to spending hours of screen time instead of play time — and their mental health has begun to suffer.
Indeed, topics at Tuesday’s Community Conversation sponsored by Thrive Allen County ran the gamut, with a small, but engaged group discussing everything from painting stripes along city streets, refurbishing the once-vibrant Neosho River Park and addressing dilapidated properties.
So, even with a crowd of less than 10, the discussion spanned the better part of two hours.
FIRST the good news.
“We have a community that comes together and makes things happen,” said USD 258 Superintendent of Schools Amber Wheeler, particularly when it comes to supporting youth.
She counted such activities as the summer Water Wars festival, Christmas light parade and a successful school bond issue that passed by a 2-1 margin, despite the COVID pandemic largely scuttling any kind of pre-election campaign.
“It worked because our community is so supportive of our schools,” said Wheeler, a Thayer native now in her second year at the helm at Humboldt.
Wheeler also pointed to the Humboldt Recreation Commission, “which is second to none,” compared to similar-sized communities.
“I’ve never been anywhere that has the type of programs Humboldt does,” Wheeler said.
On top of such things as summer baseball and softball, HRC also sponsors father-daughter dances, mother-son dress-up parties and just recently hosted a large track meet drawing scores of youngsters from across southeast Kansas.
Others in the audience also praised Wheeler and the Humboldt school district, which Humboldt City Administrator Cole Herder noted draws a large number of out-of-district students.
Heck, Humboldt’s virtual school, an online program open to any high-schooler in the state, will sport a graduating class more than twice the size of Humboldt High School’s senior class.
In fact, in terms of overall student enrollment, the virtual school likely equals that of the rest of USD 258’s numbers, Wheeler said.
Attendees Gloria Westerman, Shirley Peck, Lorraine Kutzen-Stephens (who also works at Thrive) and City Councilman Paul Cloutier rattled off other advantages to living in Humboldt.
Cloutier said Humboldt’s size, large enough to attract retailers, but small enough that most folks know a large segment of Humboldt’s population is ideal.
