Deborah Diane Slivers, age 66, of Fort Scott, Kan., passed away Sunday, October, 22, 2017, at the Promise Skilled Nursing Facility, Overland Park, Kan.
She was born on December 11, 1950, in Fort Scott, the daughter of Perry and Juanita Blake Roberts. Deborah worked in housekeeping for several nursing homes and hospitals in the area. She attended the Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene, and enjoyed crocheting.
Survivors include two sons; Harold Slivers and wife, Christina, of Branson, Mo., and Jason Silvers, of Walker, Mo., a brother, Weldon Roberts, of Fort Scott, Kan., three sisters, Rowena Jahansouz, of Fort Scott, Kan., Brenda Moser, of Joplin, Mo., and Rhonda Spears, of Fort Scott, Kan., and three grandchildren, Aubrey, Conner and Logan Slivers. She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, James and Ronald Roberts, and a sister Linda Roberts.
A celebration of life for Deborah will be held at a later date.
Brenda Crystal Asbury, age 50, a resident of Redfield, Kan., passed away unexpectedly, Thursday, October 19, 2017, at the Mercy Hospital Emergency Room in Fort Scott, Kan.
Rev. Kevin Moyers will conduct funeral services at 2 p.m. Wednesday, October 25, at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Private burial will take place in the Moline City Cemetery in Moline, Kan. Memorials are suggested to the Brenda Asbury Memorial Fund and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
Buck Run Community Center, 735 Scott Avenue, is the site for a baby shower Oct. 30 for new mothers.
New and/or expectant mothers are invited to the Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department baby shower from noon to 2 p.m., Monday, Oct. 30 at Buck Run Community Center’s gym.
Food, gifts, and prizes will be given out to the mothers attending the event.
Prizes to give away are a breast pump, a pack and play crib, and car seats, according to Alice Maffett, public nurse in the Bourbon County Health Department.
Gift bags for each participant and free health care resource materials will also be available.
In addition, healthy snacks and refreshments will be provided.
Kayla Tinsley, Mercy RN will speak about the hospital’s High 5 Program and the benefits of breastfeeding. Sergeant Tim Harper with the Fort Scott Police Department will speak on child passenger safety, and Accent Dental Clinic will present valuable information on the importance of oral hygiene during pregnancy during the event, said Angie Reinking, Outreach Specialist with United Healthcare Community Plan.
For more information contact the health department at 620-223-4464.
The event is provided by the SEK Multi-County Health Department, United Health Care Community Plan, and Mercy Hospital.
The view from Second Street looking northwest into Bridal Veil Park.
Fort Scott City Manager Dave Martin is seeking input from the community on what to do with Bridal Veil Park.
The park is located just west of the Marmaton River on Second Street on the west side of town.
It is a low-lying area encompassed by an attractive, low rock fence on the south.
History of the park
Three concrete picnic tables, a pavilion, and numerous large tree stumps, with a meandering dirt road, are all that’s left of an area that was at first two community swimming pools, one for girls, one for boys.
“It began as Napp’s Park in the 1880s,” Fred Campbell, a local historian said. “It had a large artesian water well in the southeast corner of the park, 40 yards from the entrance. It flowed mineral water. As the water shot up about 20-30 feet from the spring, it looked like a bridal veil.”
Three concrete picnic tables that have survived since the 1930s at Bridal Veil Park.
In 1936, the Works Progress Administration of the federal government built a new community swimming pool at the current site on Main Street, said Don Miller, a local Fort Scott historian.
“At that point, the (Bridal Veil Park) swimming pools were turned over to the African-American community,” Miller said. “Segregation was the law until 1954.”
After desegregation became law the swimming pools were filled in, Miller said.
In 1986, a flood swept away the brick shelter house at the site, he said.
The current pavilion at Bridal Veil Park. The original brick one was destroyed during the flood of 1986.
“After that, it was used for a hang-out place,” Miller said. “There was a lot of illegal activities going on.”
Keep or sell the property?
Fast forward to 2017.
Martin said there is still “suspicious activity” for the Fort Scott Police Department to investigate at that location and it floods easily because of its location near the Marmaton River.
The cost of maintaining the park is approximately $5,000 to $10,000 a year, Martin said.
“Taking care of that park, is it a vision for the future of our city?,” Martin asked in an interview with FortScott.biz.
“There is a vision to have a hookup between Gunn Park and Riverfront Park in the long-term,” Martin said. “We will try to keep an easement for that,” Martin said.
The vegetation overgrowth prevents a view of the Marmaton River, on the east edge of Bridal Veil Park.
Input requested by November 21
“I’m wanting input from the community between now and November 21,” Martin said. “I talked to people who feel it would not be a good idea to sell the land.”
At the November 21 city commission meeting, a decision will likely be made, he said.
Emails can be sent to [email protected] or call Martin on his cell phone at 620-644-2498.
“I think it will be good for the city to sell the property,” Miller said. “But save the picnic tables. Those were built by the WPA, they have historical value.”
Kenneth Eugene Littleton, age 78, a resident of Fort Scott, Kan., passed away Monday, October 16, 2017, at the Kansas City Hospice House in Kansas City, Mo.
He was born March 29, 1939, in Fort Scott, the son of John Woodrow Littleton and Jennie Elizabeth Mabery Littleton. He attended Fort Scott and Wichita schools and later served with the Kansas Army National Guard. He married Jeanette K. Boyd on December 2, 1961, at Fort Scott. Kenneth and Jeanette lived the majority of their married life in Kansas City where Kenneth worked as a skilled ironworker and craftsman. He crafted ornamental iron work for many years and later performed iron work for Midwest Conveyor. Following his retirement, the couple returned to Fort Scott. In addition to working with metal, Kenneth also enjoyed working with wood and leather. He was a former Master Mason with the Masonic Lodge. He was an avid collector who used his mechanical abilities to restore and repair his many treasurers. In earlier years, he enjoyed spending time outdoors and owned and published the newspaper Midwestern Sportsman. He was also active with AmWay Corp. He also enjoyed genealogy.
Survivors include his four children, Elizabeth Ann Littleton, of Lawrence, Kan., Rebecca Manthei and husband, Robert and John Littleton and wife, Susan, all of Kansas City, Kan., and Charles Littleton and wife, Clidia, of Fla. Also surviving are six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His wife, Jeanette, preceded him in death on August 20, 2015. He was also preceded in death by his parents.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, October 20, at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Burial will follow in the Large Cemetery south of Fort Scott. The family will receive friends on Friday from 1 until service time at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Memorials are suggested to the Kansas City Hospice House or the Salvation Army and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P. O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
North Main Street in downtown Fort Scott Thursday afternoon. October 21 is the 3rd Saturday Downtown Market Place when this street will be lined with vendors.
Last month a collaboration of Fort Scott Farmer’s Market, Chamber of Commerce, city personnel and downtown merchants led to the first ever 3rd Saturday Fort Scott Marketplace.
The September event went well, according to Lindsay Madison, executive director of the chamber.
Tomorrow the North Main section of the downtown area will once again be cordoned off for vendors. This will be the last marketplace this year.
“This is the second one,” Madison said. “The plan is to set it up for May to October next year. Which is when Fort Scott Farmer’s Market is open.”
Fresh produce vendors, downtown merchants, and other organizations will take advantage of the warm weather to sell their wares from 8 a.m. to noon.
Papa Don’s Pizza, 10 N. Main will take its turn doing “Breakfast on the Bricks,” which is the breakfast offering each farmer’s market day. On the menu are breakfast pizza, cinnamon rolls, coffee, and juice.
Breakfast on the Bricks gets its name from the brick Main Street in Fort Scott.
Downtown merchants The Iron Star and J & W Sportshop will be open early for the event.
A free spinal screening will be offered by Hartman Spine and Joint.
Other vendors will be Trinity Lutheran Church, Fort Scott Compassionate Ministries, and Gold Canyon Decor, to name a few.
Continuing from last month, city golf carts will be available to transport people or purchases to their cars, say, for instance, produce vendor Ronnie Brown’s pumpkins.
One of the goals of the chamber is to boost the benefit of the downtown stores and farmer’s market, Madison said.
October 28 will be the last Fort Scott Farmer’s Market for 2017.
Isaiah 43:18 (NIV): “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.”
I’m not sure there is better—or more difficult—advice.
If your mind is like mine, it chooses to cleave to the past like contact paper to fingers, even though by dwelling on the injustices done to us, we will miss out on what God has for us now. That’s because our brains cannot dwell on two things at once. We are incapable of reliving our past and our present at the same time. Get that? Incapable.
My mind has a tendency to love history, and no, not the “Name the presidents in order” kind of history. The history to which I’m referring is that which happens when Dave and I disagree. It can be something as simple as him telling me that it’s frustrating to wake up to dirty dishes in the sink. I now have a choice: I can make a mental note to never go to bed without cleaning up, or I can thank him for sharing with me what he is feeling and promise to never, ever, ever do that again.
OR…
I can tell Dave that (a.) dirty dishes have no eternal repercussions, (b.) since there’s nothing wrong with his hands, he is perfectly capable of taking care of the dishes if they bother him so much, or (c.) he has a critical spirit that needs addressing because this is not the first time he has found fault with something I have done. And then I will replay whatever has happened over the past, say 43 years, that I have found irritating. (When it comes to remembering these details, I have a photographic memory.)
You can guess how well this all works out. I just have the hardest time remembering that my past is not my destiny.
Unless, that is, I choose to live there.
Paul’s letter to the Philippians gives a better suggestion. Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (3:13b-14 NLT)
The challenge of the past is not to see the mistakes of others. It is to train me to remember my mistakes so I can work towards becoming the kind of person God wants me to be. Where I was once selfish, I now can be tender-hearted and other-oriented. Where I was once angry, I now can be loving and kind. Where I was once lackluster about my sin, I now can be pained by how I have pained God.
The truth is this: my heart will not change if I cling to my past. I am to deal with it honestly and then displace it. An old Peanuts cartoon has Lucy standing in the outfield of Charlie Brown’s baseball diamond. As a fly ball sails toward her, she remembers all the other times she’s dropped the ball. And she drops this one, too. Lucy calls out to Charlie Brown, who’s standing on the pitcher’s mound: “I almost had it, but then my past got in my eyes!”
And I assure you, Readers, if we want to “receive the heavenly prize,” that is a ball we cannot afford to drop.
The Lowell Milken Center will be participating in the annual Halloween Parade events from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 28, at 1 S. Main by handing out candy and free coloring books to everyone who enters the Hall of Unsung Heroes! In celebration of the spooky day, we are encouraging the community to participate in the downtown Halloween Parade festivities and stop by to see our newest exhibits!
Fort Wise Pumpkin Patch will be a hub of activity, this weekend.
Two races and a Fort Scott organization’s social gathering are on the agenda.
The seasonal business has been in operation since 2015 and is owned by Chad and Melissa Wise.
Since the couple opened Fort Wise Pumpkin Company, they have geared up for each weekend in October when they open their property to the public for family fall activities.
Activities such as pumpkin chunking, a corn maze, a corn pit, an obstacle course, a slide, and a hayride on an army truck are available at this fort. Food, pumpkins and Stewart’s Mums can be purchased as well. The large mums are $10 until sold out.
The entry fee to Fort Wise is $5 person, with kids under two-years-old, free.
Fort Wise is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sundays in October.
Patriotic 5K/1 mile fun run
This weekend, there will be a 5k/1 mile competition to benefit Wreaths Across America, a non-profit organization that puts live wreaths on the graves of military veterans in December each year, to honor those who served in the military.
This is of interest to the couple because Chad Wise just retired from military service in May 2017.
The local group of this organization is hosting a Wreath Ride Patriot Pumpkin 5K/1 Mile Fun Run at Fort Wise for Saturday, October 21. Registration is at 8 a.m. Costumes are requested. The 5K run starts at 9 a.m. with the one-mile fun run starting at 10 a.m. Prizes will be awarded at 10:30 a.m. Preregistration for the event is $20 for the fun run and $30 for the 5K. The day of the race, each race registration fee will increase $5.
The runners/walkers will be traversing the 40 acres of the Wise property, which has some hills.
December 16 is the National Wreaths Across America Day, with Fort Scott National Cemetary as the local site for the ceremony to honor military service men and women.
For more information: 620-224-8933, 620-215-2174 or http://www.fortscottwreathride.com
Young Professional Social
In addition, Fort Wise is hosting a Young Professional League Social Sunday.
“This is for YPL members and their families,” Melissa Wise said.
From 4-5 p.m. the families will enjoy the activities at Fort Wise. From 5-6 p.m., after Fort Wise closes to the public, there will be a safety briefing on firearms, then a competition on shooting targets.
During both Saturday and Sunday activities at Fort Wise, it is open to the public from 11 a. m. to 5 p.m.
The gate to Fort Wise Pumpkin Company, six miles west of Fort Scott on Maple Road.
FSHS THEATRE AND PRIDE STUDENTS VOLUNTEER TO “FEED THE NEED”
The International Thespian Society (ITS), a division of the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA), is pleased to announce the participation of Fort Scott High School, Thespian Troupe #7365, in the Trick or Treat So Kids Can Eat program.
Trick or Treat So Kids Can Eat is a national community service program for ITS member schools to collect canned and dry goods for local charities and food banks. Theatre students from FSHS will collect food donations on Friday, Oct. 27, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Thousands of pounds of food will be collected in one week across the state, giving organizations the ability to help thousands of local people.
The International Thespian Society (ITS) is an honorary organization for high school and middle school theatre students located at more than 4,100 affiliated secondary schools across America, Canada and abroad. The mission of ITS is to honor student achievement in the theatre arts. High school inductees are known as “Thespians” and junior high/middle school inductees are known as “Junior Thespians.” ITS is a division of the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA), a professional organization with approximately 100,000 members nationwide.
Thespians will also partner with other high school clubs including Pride, to collect food. If you would like to donate to the cause and the students miss your home on Oct. 27, please drop your donation by FSHS and address it to Angie Bin, FSHS Thespian Director.
Fort Scott High School Performs “Disney’s High School Musical”
The Fort Scott High School Drama Department presents “Disney’s High School Musical” on November 7, 9, and 11, at 7 p.m. and on November 11, at 2 p.m.
Disney Channel’s smash hit movie musical comes to life on the newly renovated FSHS auditorium stage. Publisher Music Theatre International describes the musical: “Troy, Gabriella and the students of East High must deal with issues of first love, friends and family while balancing their classes and extracurricular activities. It’s the first day after winter break at East High. The Jocks, Brainiacs, Thespians and Skater Dudes find their cliques, recount their vacations and look forward to the new year. Basketball team captain and resident jock, Troy, discovers that the brainy Gabriella, a girl he met singing karaoke on his ski trip, has just enrolled at East High. They cause an upheaval when they decide to audition for the high school musical that is being led by Ms. Darbus. Although many students resent the threat posed to the ‘status quo,’ Troy and Gabriella’s alliance might just open the door for others to shine as well.”
The show involves nearly forty students in acting roles. Leads include sophomore Levi Bin who plays Troy Bolton and junior Morgan Rohr playing Gabriella Montez. Also featured are sophomore Mesa Jones as Sharpay Evans, junior Darrick Green as Ryan Evans, sophomore Mary Gladbach as Taylor McKessie, and senior Alex Gorman as Chad Danforth. Sophomore Kaitlyn Hanks portrays Ms. Darbus and senior Micah Self plays Troy’s dad, Coach Bolton. More than 30 students also serve in technical roles backstage and behind the scenes from costuming and lighting design to set design and building.
The musical is directed by FSHS Drama and Thespian Director Angie Bin with Music Director Mary Jo Harper, Eugene Ware Music Teacher. Taylor Schilling, a music education student at PSU and FSHS alum, serves as the Assistant Music Director and Choreographer and Jason Huffman of Pittsburg’s Memorial Auditorium serves as Technical Director.
Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for children and are on sale now at the FSHS office, 1005 S. Main and at Common Ground, 116 S. Main in Fort Scott. Seating is limited, so audience members are encouraged to buy tickets in advance. Doors open thirty minutes before showtime.
Fort Scott Parks and Buildings Supervisor Todd Farrell works to subdue the overgrown vegetation on the newly purchased seven-acre property at the entrance to Gunn Park.
Fort Scottian Frank Halsey is a trailblazer.
He has worked in the last decade to mark and prepare trails through Gunn Park so he can mountain bike.
His passion for this sport has led to over eight miles of bike trails for public use.
He has spearheaded construction of trails that meander around the edge of the park and most recently helped the City of Fort Scott purchase more land for public use trails.
The acreage addition to the park began about two years ago when Halsey noticed a “for sale” sign near the entrance to the park.
“I inquired about the property about one-and-a-half years ago,” Halsey said. “Over the last two years, the price has become doable.”
Halsey learned of Timken Industries grants to communities. The business has a plant in Fort Scott’s industrial park.
“Where they have plants, they have grants to help the community,” he said.
“Gunn Park Trails was able to acquire the grant to help pay for the land,” Halsey said. “We were able to get awarded $10,000 to buy property.”
The City of Fort Scott got on board.
At a recent Fort Scott Commission meeting, the city agreed to allocate $10,000, which along with the grant of $10,000 allowed the purchase of the seven-acres from the owner, Jerry Jackman, Iola.
“The corner lot (of the property) is an ideal location for pump tracks,” Halsey said. “Pump tracks are like a skate park for bikes.”
The six acres behind the corner lot is ideal for more trails, he said.
Halsey will begin work soon.
“Winter is a good time to build trails,” he said. “There is not so much vegetation. We hope to have it completed by the spring of 2018.”
For more information see the website www.gunnparktrails.comhttp://www.gunnparktrails.com
Fort Scott Parks and Building Supervisor Todd Farrell mows the newly acquired acreage Monday.
You may have asked yourself this exact question recently. After closer inspection of the branches, your next question is probably what in the world caused this buzz saw look to every one of them? It’s the handy work of twig girdlers – a longhorned beetle (Oncideres cingulate).
The adults have a grayish-brown body that is stout and cylindrical. One has but to look at the head of the twig girdler to realize that it is well-equipped for the girdling task. The head is compressed from front to back, and somewhat elongate from top to bottom. This makes it just right for allowing it to fit into the V-shaped girdle it creates.
Twig girdlers have a wide host range including hickory, pecan, oak, maple, hackberry and elm. While hackberry is listed as “high” on the lists of hosts, in Kansas, most reports of littered lawns occurs beneath elms.
So why do they girdle branches? The beetle has a one year life cycle. Late in the growing season, the female deposits eggs in small scars it has chewed through the bark and then chews a continuous notch around the twig girdling it. The notch is cut below the site of egg deposition apparently because the larva is unable to complete development in the presence of large amounts of sap. The larvae of twig girdlers require a “drier wood” for their growth and development.
Girdled twigs die and fall to the ground where the eggs hatch. Girdled twigs look like a beaver has worked on it only in miniature. The outside of the twig is smoothly cut but the center of the twig has a broken appearance. The larvae begin feeding on dead wood inside the twigs the following spring and continue through most of the summer. Pupation takes place inside the feeding cavity. Development is completed during August when the adult emerges to repeat the cycle.
The good news is twig girdlers cause minimal damage the tree – just annoying work for us picking up cut branches! Chemical control is impractical because the adult emergence is lengthy, spanning from August into October. The best control option is to gather up fallen twigs and dispose of them in the fall or spring. This will destroy the larvae inside the twigs. Natural mortality is generally high due to excessive drying of fallen twigs or too many larvae per twig. However, this does not mean that twig girdlers won’t be a problem the following year.
Krista Harding is a K-State Research and Extension Agricultural agent assigned to Southwind District.
