Community development, childcare among topics of interest in SE Kansas towns

MANHATTAN – Don’t let the size of their town fool you: The residents of Toronto, Kansas have big things in mind.It’s why more than a third of the southeast Kansas town’s 200 residents showed up recently for a meeting with K-State Research and Extension agents to figure out how to make their quaint community more vibrant.“We talked about strengths and opportunities, which helped us narrow their focus,” said Tara Smith, a family and community wellness agent in K-State’s Southwind Extension District.“Toronto has a wonderful community center, and the people have a lot of ideas on how to improve that, but it’s already a neat hub of the community.