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Jim BlaylockToday let's go to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirate. A turbocharged diesel engine is arriving on a freight shipment. And where in the world do you think it might be coming from?Well, if you've heard this program before, you probably won't guess New York or LA. Sure enough, this international product originated in rural Kansas.Meet Jim Blaylock. He is president and owner of Blaylock Diesel Service Incorporated in Baxter Springs, Kansas. Baxter Springs is a town of 4,351 people in Cherokee County in the very southeast corner of Kansas. The town is two miles from Oklahoma and seven miles from Missouri.Now Baxter Springs isn't exactly a big city, but it is larger than Jim Blaylock's original home. He grew up on a farm near Fairland, Oklahoma which at the time was a town of about 500 people. Now, that's rural.Jim married a girl from the area and moved to Baxter Springs. He had a diversified career after junior college and the Army. His positions varied from welding to mining to dairy farming to construction to Delta Airlines to Yellow Freight.In 1980, his job was eliminated by the recession, so he opened a welding shop in his garage. He started rebuilding diesel engine parts for the Cummings engine company.At that time, Cummings was having turbocharger parts remanufactured by a company in California, but Cummings wasn't satisfied by the turnaround time. They asked Jim Blaylock if he could do better.He could -- and the rest is history.Today that shop which started 15 years ago with one guy in a one-car garage has become a multi-million dollar company with 26 employees producing components going virtually all over the world. In 1991, Jim bought out that California company. Today Jim's company is the largest independently owned remanufacturer of turbocharger components in the nation.Jim says, "God has really been good to me." In three years, he predicts sales to be more than 5 million dollars.Now what exactly is it that Blaylock Diesel Service does? It starts with turbochargers. These are mechanisms that go in the exhaust stream of an engine which use a turbine to force compressed air back into the engine. The result is that the engine burns cleaner and generates more power. That's why you'll find turbochargers on your Maseratis and Mercedes.Experts say a turbocharger can increase an engine's horsepower by 50 percent without any loss of fuel efficiency.Of course, these high-powered mechanisms will eventually experience wear. Jim's company remanufactures individual components which go into a turbocharger as repairs when needed. They also remanufacture complete units.These turbochargers are widely used in trucking, construction, and automotive industries.And how did this business become so international? Jim decided to advertise in trade publications for the heavy equipment industry. These publications are interesting. You might have heard of one called Diesel Progress, but my favorite is the one named Rock and Dirt. That's a little more basic than Field and Stream -- but it sure isn't the Rolling Stone...Anyway, these ads produced results. Today Jim ships all over the U.S. and to Canada, Mexico, Chile, England, Venezuela, Australia...you get the idea.So why stay in small-town Kansas? Jim Blaylock says, "We have an excellent labor force. We are centrally located. We get good help from Pittsburg State. And I just happen to think it's the best place to live in the whole U.S. I go to California and the East Coast, but I'm always glad to get back here."It's time to say goodbye to Abu Dhabi and its new turbocharger. In our minds, we'll make our way back to where it came from in Kansas, where an international entrepreneur named Jim Blaylock is making a difference in the rural economy.Bob Cox, M.D.Today let's visit a patient of Doctor Robert Cox in Hays, Kansas. This particular patient is a little boy named Nicholas, who has a heart condition. Nicholas has been seen by a cardiology specialist located at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City 8 or 10 times -- but he has yet to make a trip to the KU Med Center there.How is this possible? The miracle of telemedicine.As we told you, Nicholas is a patient of Dr. Robert Cox. Dr. Cox is a strong believer in utilizing telemedicine effectively for the benefit of rural Kansas.He comes by his concern for rural Kansas honestly. Bob Cox is originally from McDonald, Kansas. McDonald is in Rawlins County in northwest Kansas. If you really want to know, it's located between Atwood and Bird City. McDonald is a town with a population of 184. Now, that's rural.Bob went to KU for medical school, spent two years in the service, and then he and his wife came to Hays where he entered the practice of pediatrics. Over time, he felt the pressures of practicing medicine in the rural west.When one of his fellow pediatricians left their practice, the resulting workload was overwhelming. Dr. Cox says, "Every hour of the day I was on call or asleep."That kind of demand would burn anybody out. Dr. Cox began to think about other ways of providing needed medical service more efficiently. One of these is telemedicine.Today Dr. Cox is the first KU medical school faculty member located outside of Kansas City or Wichita. His position is jointly funded with KU and the Hays Medical Center.In this position, he is involved with telemedicine. Telemedicine means using technology to connect the specialists at the medical school with doctors and patients in the field. A specialist can even conduct an examination of a patient using interactive video.In the demonstration I saw, the young patient named Nicholas was in the exam room at Hays. His image was being televised to the specialist at the med school, and the specialist's image was transmitted back. These video images are converted into digital electronic signals that are transmitted on telephone lines and reconverted back to show on the monitor screen.Dr. Cox was in the exam room in Hays also, holding a special stethoscope to the patient's chest. Meanwhile, the specialist in KC can hear the heartbeat using a specially designed electronic headset. The benefits of the technology are remarkable. Of course, the darn thing probably still feels cold to the patient's chest...The point is that such technology meets the patient's need immediately. It saves the time, money, and anxiety surrounding a five-hour drive to see the specialist.More than 400 patients have been seen using the interactive video system between KU and Hays. The system can also send EKGs, echo cardiograms, and x-rays for specialists to review. Dr. Cox says that a psychiatrist can even hypnotize a patient over interactive video. Of course, any parent of a teenager already knows how television can hypnotize someone...Dr. Cox believes that rural communities have a great deal to offer, and that telemedicine can help rural communities retain doctors. He says, "Here we have a quality of life and incredible educational opportunities. These schools enabled my kids to excel." The Cox's have two daughters at K-State.Dr. Cox says telemedicine can make the demands on a doctor's time more manageable. He says, "Using telemedicine a physician might need to be on call only one night out of seven, instead of every waking hour. If we can compete with urban areas on the medical professional lifestyle, we can beat urban areas on the personal lifestyle."It's time to say goodbye to Dr. Bob Cox and his patients in Hays. We're thankful for Dr. Cox's innovative leadership and especially his heart for rural people. He's someone who's making a difference in rural Kansas.

Counter Offer Knock DownMillion Dollar Listing ...

Donna KreutzigerRecently I drove to Canada. As you may know, I've been doing a lot of work and travel regarding NAFTA and north-south trade. But this driving trip to Canada was a little different: I was home in time for supper.Our story today begins in south central Kansas. As I was driving home from a business trip recently, I looked at the map. There happened to be two Kansas maps in the car. One was printed some years ago, and the other was a brand new edition.I noticed one difference between the two maps: the older one had a town printed on it that the new one did not. The town was named Canada. So, I made a one-mile detour and drove to Canada.Meet Donna Kreutziger. Donna and Warren Kreutziger are residents of Canada, Kansas. In fact, they own one-tenth of all the houses in Canada. In other words, they own one of the ten houses in the town. The total population is approximately 25 people. Now, that's rural.Canada is not incorporated, and it's been taken off the new maps. But there is a new business in Canada. The owners are Warren and Donna Kreutziger.Warren was born and raised in the area. Donna is originally from Kensington in western north central Kansas. Warren and Donna met and married. They wanted to raise their children in the country so they moved to a small town in the area: Canada, Kansas.Warren is a supervisor with the local co-op. He and Donna also operate a Christmas tree farm, using seedlings from K-State Extension forestry.Since Warren loves to fish, they are in a wonderful location near Marion Lake. But, the old bait shop closed down. Warren wanted to have bait handy, so they finally decided to open their own bait shop. In May 1994, the Canada bait shop was born. If there hadn't been a sign on the highway to show the turn-off to the Canada bait shop, I'd never have found the town.But I did. The bait shop is located near the Kreutziger's home. The doorbell at the bait shop rings inside the Kreutziger's house also.Donna Kreutziger is very helpful. She says that Warren knows what kind of bait and tackle to have. They sell hunting supplies during the fall, plus an assortment of convenience goods year-round. You can get anything from pork & beans to paper towels.Donna says, "This has been a joy. We've had lots of good comments that the area needed something like this."In fact, the new bait shop is the only store in Canada. The old Canada grain elevator is now owned by the co-op. The post office, school, and general store closed years ago. People's mailing addresses are a rural route of Marion, the nearby county seat.But Donna believes there is new life in Canada. She says, "As people retire, others are moving in. People like being near the lake. And they want to get away from the drive-by shootings and all the hubbub in Wichita."She says, "It's easier to drive from here to Wichita than to get through the city."She believes the rural quality of life has a great deal to offer. Donna says, "For our daughters growing up, this is a safe and beautiful place to live."Yes, recently I drove to Canada. The trip didn't require twenty hours in a car; just a quick trip on a Kansas county road. What I found in Canada, Kansas was a special community spirit and quality of life. It's built by people like Warren and Donna Kreutziger, who are making a difference in rural Kansas.And to top it all off: soon after my trip to Canada, I drove through Mexico....Mexico, Missouri.ScottsvilleOne day, I was looking at a book entitled the Capper/MRI Quick-Fact Book of Kansas. This book is a compilation of interesting facts and information about Kansas.In the population section, I spotted a listing that caught my eye: The ten smallest communities in Kansas.We began looking at these communities, to see how they are surviving and what makes them tick. By smallest towns, I mean in terms of population, not geography. And I also need to define "town:" in this case, I mean an incorporated town. Around Kansas, there are probably unincorporated towns with more people than some of these incorporated towns. But if a town isn't incorporated, it will not have an official census count of its population.So based on the official records, I have a list of the ten smallest towns in the state.Today we'll visit one of these towns in north central Kansas. Scottsville is in Mitchell County near Beloit. It is a town of 26 people. Now, that's rural.Lowell Palmquist lives in Scottsville now, having farmed for years near Concordia. His daughter and son-in-law live there, so Lowell moved there three years ago. Two of Lowell's grandsons, from Scottsville, attended K-State.A printed history of Scottsville says that the town had a population of 500 at the turn of the century. By 1910, it had dropped to 248.Today, Lowell Palmquist says with a smile that the population might be about 30, "counting the cats."The mailing address for the residents of Scottsville is rural route 2, Beloit. There is no post office there and no business of any kind, except the grain elevator which is a branch of the co-op in Beloit.Housing is cheap in Scottsville. In fact, there are abandoned homes that are now lived in only by fox and raccoons.Coming into town, which one does by gravel road, one of the first things you see are the old stone walls of an abandoned building. That is the beginning of a fascinating story.When this town first began, it was a thriving little community. But the city fathers knew that it was vital to attract the railroad to the town.One of the problems that the city faced is that there was really no water well for the town. The city fathers knew that they needed water to be attractive to the railroad, so they came up with a plan.They dug a pit and hauled hundreds of gallons of water in to fill it up. When the railroad agents came, they noted what appeared to be a water well and so the railroad was brought to Scottsville.That worked fine until there was a major fire in town. Of course, there was no real water well and so no way to fight the fire. The wood frame buildings were severely damaged, but of course the stone walls were left standing. It is those stone walls that we still see today. The old stone school was closed in the 1940s.Lowell is a member of the city council. He says, "There's so few people here, there's a good chance of getting elected."While most of the other institutions have withered away, a cornerstone of the town remains: the Scottsville Community Church. Lowell Palmquist says that the church couldn't afford a pastor by itself, but it receives support from the village missions church and is very active.And that is one of the secrets about the good life in one of these smallest communities.Lowell says, "It's like a family. The church is non-denominational, and everybody goes to it. Each month they have a dinner and honor those who have birthdays that month."In a town of 26 people, they have 40 at church and 60 at the monthly birthday party! Now that's a good record.Lowell Palmquist says, "This is a close-knit, loving community. If somebody gets sick, everybody is concerned. Everybody looks after everybody else. They are a wonderful group of people. If you had a crisis, every neighbor would be there for you."Yes, that's what I found on this list of the ten smallest communities: towns like Scottsville, with a community spirit of neighbor-helping-neighbor in a way that makes a difference in rural Kansas.On our next program, we'll make another stop on our list of the smallest 10.Donna KreutzigerRecently I drove to Canada. As you may know, I've been doing a lot of work and travel regarding NAFTA and north-south trade. But this driving trip to Canada was a little different: I was home in time for supper.Our story today begins in south central Kansas. As I was driving home from a business trip recently, I looked at the map. There happened to be two Kansas maps in the car. One was printed some years ago, and the other was a brand new edition.I noticed one difference between the two maps: the older one had a town printed on it that the new one did not. The town was named Canada. So, I made a one-mile detour and drove to Canada.Meet Donna Kreutziger. Donna and Warren Kreutziger are residents of Canada, Kansas. In fact, they own one-tenth of all the houses in Canada. In other words, they own one of the ten houses in the town. The total population is approximately 25 people. Now, that's rural.Canada is not incorporated, and it's been taken off the new maps. But there is a new business in Canada. The owners are Warren and Donna Kreutziger.Warren was born and raised in the area. Donna is originally from Kensington in western north central Kansas. Warren and Donna met and married. They wanted to raise their children in the country so they moved to a small town in the area: Canada, Kansas.Warren is a supervisor with the local co-op. He and Donna also operate a Christmas tree farm, using seedlings from K-State Extension forestry.Since Warren loves to fish, they are in a wonderful location near Marion Lake. But, the old bait shop closed down. Warren wanted to have bait handy, so they finally decided to open their own bait shop. In May 1994, the Canada bait shop was born. If there hadn't been a sign on the highway to show the turn-off to the Canada bait shop, I'd never have found the town.But I did. The bait shop is located near the Kreutziger's home. The doorbell at the bait shop rings inside the Kreutziger's house also.Donna Kreutziger is very helpful. She says that Warren knows what kind of bait and tackle to have. They sell hunting supplies during the fall, plus an assortment of convenience goods year-round. You can get anything from pork & beans to paper towels.Donna says, "This has been a joy. We've had lots of good comments that the area needed something like this."In fact, the new bait shop is the only store in Canada. The old Canada grain elevator is now owned by the co-op. The post office, school, and general store closed years ago. People's mailing addresses are a rural route of Marion, the nearby county seat.But Donna believes there is new life in Canada. She says, "As people retire, others are moving in. People like being near the lake. And they want to get away from the drive-by shootings and all the hubbub in Wichita."She says, "It's easier to drive from here to Wichita than to get through the city."She believes the rural quality of life has a great deal to offer. Donna says, "For our daughters growing up, this is a safe and beautiful place to live."Yes, recently I drove to Canada. The trip didn't require twenty hours in a car; just a quick trip on a Kansas county road. What I found in Canada, Kansas was a special community spirit and quality of life. It's built by people like Warren and Donna Kreutziger, who are making a difference in rural Kansas.And to top it all off: soon after my trip to Canada, I drove through Mexico....Mexico, Missouri.ScottsvilleOne day, I was looking at a book entitled the Capper/MRI Quick-Fact Book of Kansas. This book is a compilation of interesting facts and information about Kansas.In the population section, I spotted a listing that caught my eye: The ten smallest communities in Kansas.We began looking at these communities, to see how they are surviving and what makes them tick. By smallest towns, I mean in terms of population, not geography. And I also need to define "town:" in this case, I mean an incorporated town. Around Kansas, there are probably unincorporated towns with more people than some of these incorporated towns. But if a town isn't incorporated, it will not have an official census count of its population.So based on the official records, I have a list of the ten smallest towns in the state.Today we'll visit one of these towns in north central Kansas. Scottsville is in Mitchell County near Beloit. It is a town of 26 people. Now, that's rural.Lowell Palmquist lives in Scottsville now, having farmed for years near Concordia