‘Jericho’ being re-created in Kansas

? Fans of the CBS show “Jericho” fought for the drama to stay on the air. Now they plan to re-create Jericho this weekend in a northwest Kansas city some believe resembles the show’s fictional town.

The show’s passionate, well-organized fan base rallied around the show this summer after CBS canceled the drama in May. After fans deluged the network with calls, messages and shipments of 50,000 pounds of peanuts, CBS reversed its decision and called for second season with seven more episodes about a Kansas town isolated by a nuclear terrorist attack.

At the Jerichon festival, fans will learn about real-life responses to the nuclear disaster portrayed on the show. They also will study how communities would respond to natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the May tornado in Greensburg, about 140 miles southeast of Oakley.

The crowd attending Jerichon is expected to be small, but visitors are coming from as far as Canada.

“They know that when they come here, they’re coming to Jericho and not going to have all the big city stuff,” said Oakley resident Jerry Robben. “They want to come to Jericho, and it’s pretty close to what they’re watching on TV.”