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The Basehor Community Library recently held a special event to help youngsters get up close and personal with some exotic animals that they likely hadn’t seen before. More than 160 people showed up at Basehor Middle School to learn about various reptiles through Atlas Education and their animal ambassadors.Funded by the Friends of the Basehor Community Library, the program was organized by Jennifer Sims, assistant librarian for Children’s Services. Last winter, while looking forward to this summer’s programs, she saw that both the Tonganoxie and Bonner Springs libraries had used Atlas Education in the past and knew it would be a great fit for Basehor.“The owner of Atlas Education started working at Petland in Lawrence, so he has a great background with animals. Their goal is to educate, and the attendees learned facts about each animal that was introduced including where they are from and what they like to eat,” Sims said.While Atlas Education probably wasn’t prepared for such a large audience, the team quickly adapted and had attendees sit every other row of the bleachers to allow a handler to walk between the rows to allow guests to see the animals up close.The purpose of the presentation was to help people understand and respect animals that they may have never seen. The reptiles that were part of the program included a bearded dragon, a ball python, a turtle, an Argentine black and a white tegu and a king snake. “The kids were super excited and the animal ambassadors did a great job of educating everyone. They were good with the audience members and kept the audience entertained with facts and tidbits of information. The turnout was great and we enjoyed seeing the excitement from both the parents and kids,” said Sims.Other upcoming programs at the library include the Summer Reading Program, which is already underway. More than 400 adults and children have signed up to participate. With a theme of “Adventure begins at your library,” students in the program receive a blank library passport and receive a sticker for visiting the library and reading.Another popular summer program is the Flat Gimlet, modeled after the Flat Stanley school program. Gimlet is a popular puppet that makes frequent visits to the library to assist Children's Department Director Patrick Peterson with reading programs. Flat Gimlet is a laminated image of Gimlet and children are encouraged to take him along on their summertime travels and take photos of Flat Gimlet enjoying new places. Those photos are on display at the library. Because classes are quick to fill up, reservations are required for many programs to ensure adequate seating and supplies are available. A complete list of classes can be found at basehorlibrary.com/calendar.

The Leavenworth County Historical Society on Saturday recognized descendants of two signers of the original Leavenworth Town Company charter, Col. George W. Gist and the brother of Amos Rees, Richard Ridgway Rees, during its History on the Lawn event, which celebrated the 170th anniversary of Leavenworth. Richard Ridgway Rees III of Kansas City represented the sixth Rees generation. Judge Rees came to Leavenworth in 1854 with two brothers, Amos and Lewis, all distinguishing themselves as early founders. Richard was the first grand master of the local Masonic Lodge in Kansas Territory. In preparation for the 21st anniversary of the founding of Leavenworth in 1875, Rees and H. Miles Moore founded a pioneer settler group, with Rees as president. Rees recited a 35-stanza poem he had written for the occasion. Col. Gist surveyed the town of Leavenworth. His descendant present at the 170th founding anniversary was Lisa Hedrick Plants of Lansing, also a sixth Gist generation. Memberships in the newly formed First Families of Leavenworth County preservation program were also presented.