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3:45 Personnel matter of individual non-elected personnel
1st District Commsioner is Lynne Oharah, 2nd District-Jeff Fischer,
3rd District-Nick Ruhl, County Clerk-Kendell Mason.
Justifications for Executive Session:
Personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel
Consultation with an attorney for the body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship
Matters relating to employer-employee negotiations whether or not in consultation with the representative(s) of the body or agency
Confidential data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts and individual proprietorships
Preliminary discussions relating to the acquisition of real property
Matters relating to the security of a public body or agency, public building or facility or the information system of a public body or agency, if the discussion of such matters at an open meeting would jeopardize the security of such public body, agency, building, facility or information system
The Design Review Board will meet on Thursday, February 15th, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. at the City Hall Commission Meeting room at 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas. This meeting will be held to discuss a Certificate of Appropriateness for the installation of bicycle racks in the downtown area, discussion of fencing in the downtown area, and review of the Gordon Parks sign on the Iron Star Building. This meeting is open to the public.
The City of Fort Scott City Offices will be closed on Monday, February 19th, 2018 in observance of the President’s Day holiday. The offices will reopen on Tuesday, February 20th, 2018.
The City’s tree and brush dump site located on North Hill will also be closed on Saturday, February 17th, 2018 for the President’s Day holiday. It will be open again on Tuesday, February 20th, 2018 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
USD 234 Superintendent Bob Beckham is retiring effective June 29.
Beckham gave the Board of Education notice at a meeting last Tuesday.
Beckham worked his way up from teacher to the athletic director, then the principal, then four years ago assumed the superintendency of the district.
The following is from an interview with fortscott.biz.
Why are you retiring?
“I always told myself that I would know when it was time for me to retire, I just know it’s time now.”
How far into your contract are you?
“In June I will have fulfilled my current contract.”
Will you give a short synopsis of your career?
“After graduating from Pittsburg State University I taught and coached five years at Altoona-Midway High School. I came home in 1989 and taught biology and social studies and coached at Fort Scott High School for nine years. I served as the athletic director for seven years, then as the high school principal for eight years. I will have completed my fourth year as the superintendent in June.”
Why did you become an educator?
“Like all educators, I chose this profession to invest in young people – to help them reach their full potential.”
What are you looking forward to in retirement?
“I will be going back to work, just not sure in what capacity yet.”
Helen B. Clark Rhodes Sexton, a former resident of Pittsburg, Kansas and more recently of Ft. Scott, Kansas, passed away Friday, February 9, 2018, at the Guest Home Estates in Ft. Scott.
She was born January 28, 1925, the daughter of Edward D. Clark and Dora Anna Whiteside Clark, at Moundville, in Vernon County, Missouri.She moved with her parents to Kansas in 1941.
Mrs. Sexton worked at Key Work Clothes in Ft. Scott for ten years.In 1958, she completed a course in cosmetology and owned and operated her own salon on South Main Street in Ft. Scott for thirteen years.She closed her salon and went to work at Day and Zimmerman, KAAP, at Parsons, Kansas, as an explosive operator, and in quality control.She was a graduate of the Medical Self Help Training Class at the plant.
Her hobbies covered a large territory.She loved sewing, arts, and craft shows, and making homemade candies, cookies, and cakes for her family and friends during the holidays.She kept several scrapbooks and family picture albums from when she was in her teens.In 1997, she wrote and had published, The Ninth of Twelve from theUsta Place, the story of her life.She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Ft. Scott.
In 1945, she was united in marriage to Hubert A. Rhodes at the old First Christian Church in Ft. Scott by the Rev. Wilbert Dunlap.To this union, two children were born.
On May 17, 1970, she was married to Harley Sexton.
Survivors include her children, Gary Allen Rhodes (Carolyn Butler), of Ft. Scott and Sherri Rhodes Stenseng (Russell), of Eldorado, Kansas; three grandchildren, Trenton Rhodes (Summer), of Ft. Scott, Rusty Stenseng, of Eldorado, Kansas and Kristi Evans (Blake), of Wichita, Kansas and four great-grandchildren, Nova and Easton Rhodes, Logan Stenseng and Isabel Roark and numerous nieces, nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Harley, a grandson, Marcus Rhodes, three brothers and eight sisters.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 P.M. Wednesday, February 14 at the Cheney Witt Chapel.Burial will follow in the Memory Gardens Cemetery.
The family will receive friends on Wednesday from 1:00 P.M. until service time at the Cheney Witt Chapel.Memorials are suggested to Care to Share and may be left in the 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.
Shirley Mae Soto, age 79, a resident of Ft. Scott, Kansas passed away Thursday, February 8, 2018, at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas.
She was born December 30, 1938, in California, the daughter of Lee Wurtz and Pauline Sharp Wurtz. Shirley married Paul Soto. Shirley lived the majority of her life in California where she worked in a poultry plant and later as an inspector for the U. S. D. A.
Following her retirement, she moved to Ft. Scott. She then provided care for elderly. She enjoyed her cats.
Survivors include her two children, James Bentley of Ft. Scott and Paula McClurg (David) of Fresno, California; and two step-children, Paul Soto and Cindy Soto, both of California; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Also surviving is a brother, Jerry Wurtz, of Oklahoma. Her husband, Paul, preceded her in death on March 11, 2017.
Family and friends may meet at the Cheney Witt Chapel at 2:00 P.M. on Tuesday, February 13 before going to the West Liberty Cemetery for burial. Arrangements are under the direction of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, Ft. Scott, Kansas.
Jeff DeLaTorre was hired as Fort Scott High School Activities/Athletic Director at a USD 234 Board Meeting Tuesday.
Currently, he is the assistant principal at the school.
He will assume his new duties July 1.
The following is an interview DeLaTorre had with fortscott.biz.
What do you see as the strengths and challenges of the school you will be helping lead?
” Fort Scott High School has a great tradition of having successful athletic and activity programs. We have great kids and strong community support. My goal is to help those programs remain strong and maintain success and to continue to give our community a sense of pride in our high school.”
What is your career experience?
“I taught Physical Education at Yates Center High School from 1995-2000. Also coached basketball, baseball, and football. Moved to Fort Scott in fall of 2000. Taught World History and PE until 2005. Taught full-time PE from 2005 – 2011. Became the Assistant Principal in 2011 and have been in that role since then. Have been the head boys basketball coach at FSHS since 2000. In my time at FSHS I have also coached football, tennis, and baseball.”
What is your education?
” I graduated from Chanute High School in 1990. Graduated from Pittsburg State University in 1995 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education. Earned Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Pitt State in 2009.”
Your family?
” I have been married to my wife Angie for 21 years. We have two sons – Kaleb (20 and a sophomore at Neosho County Community College in Chanute), and Jacob (16 and a sophomore at FSHS).”
Hometown: Chanute
Why did you choose education as a career?
” I always enjoyed working with kids and looked at education as an opportunity to make a difference in young people’s lives. I also had several teachers and coaches growing up that had a strong impact on me, and I liked the possibility of having that same impact on my students and athletes that I would work with.”
Submitted photo. Amber Toth was selected to be Fort Scott High School’s Assistant Principal starting in July.
Amber Toth was hired Tuesday at the USD 234 Board of Education meeting to be Fort Scott High School Assistant Principal starting in July.
The following is an interview fortscott.biz had with Toth.
What do you see as the strengths and challenges of the school you will be helping lead?
“The high school has many strengths. We have an amazing staff who is always striving to get better. We are focused on rigor and excellence. We are also working really hard to get curriculum aligned across the district, not just in the building. We have leaders in place who have the best interest of kids in mind, even when those decisions are hard. We have amazing programs within the school that provide every student the opportunity to find their niche. But just like any school, there is always room for improvement. I think one of the challenges we face is ensuring our instruction is relevant in making students college and career ready. It is my goal to provide as many opportunities to ensure our graduates have bright futures and are employable. I want to see those students bring innovation and vision to Fort Scott. We are also in transition with a new accreditation process. Pieces of this will require us to alter what we do in some areas. I am looking forward to helping a wonderful team become the best school that we can be.”
Why did you choose education?
“I had amazing teachers. There are some special ones that come to mind. Mr. Warnock was my 3rd grade teacher and taught me to love exploring. Mrs. Beardmore was my 5th grade teacher and taught me to love people, even when it was hard. Ms. Zimmerman was my high school English teacher and she taught me a love of literature. Kathy Faulkenberry was my debate and forensics coach and she taught me my passion. I knew from a young age that I wanted to make a difference in the world. I love making a difference in the lives of kids. I couldn’t imagine myself in another field. The teachers I had, inspired me to change lives the way they changed mine.”
Where did you receive your education?
“I have a Bachelors in English Education from Pittsburg State University that I earned in 2000. I also have a Masters in Educational Leadership that I earned in 2011 from Grand Canyon University.”
What is your past experience?
“Before coming to Fort Scott, I was an Advanced Placement English teacher and the Advanced Placement Coordinator. I also taught debate and forensics, as well as speech. In those roles in Caney, I wrote $25,000 worth of grants to expand our AP program. I also began my journey on the National Speech and Debate Association District Committee for the South Kansas District and directed the school play.”
“Since coming to Fort Scott, I have taught Dual Credit Speech, Debate and Forensics. I also started the school pantry. I am also certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid. I have had the privilege of presenting several in-service sessions to the staff on subjects ranging from instruction, project based learning, and suicide prevention.”
Toth hales from Caney, Ks. graduating from high school there in 1995, then taught there for eight years.
Tell about your family.
” I have been married to my husband, Travis Toth for 17 years. He teaches Social Studies and is the assistant coach for debate and forensics at Fort Scott High School. Before teaching, he was a law enforcement officer.
We have four children. Darby will be graduating this year and attending Washburn University in the fall. She plans to study Psychology. Madison is a Sophomore this year. She is active in debate, forensics, drama, choir and was chosen to attend the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) conference this summer. Trent is in 6th grade. He is a hard working young man who enjoys competing in robotics, middle school forensics, plays, sports and was recently chosen to be a page next month at the state capital. Kennedy is in 2nd grade. She is competitive, tenacious, and loves to participate in Tiger Cheer.
My parents are Michael and Penny Coy and they still reside in Caney
My sister, Sarah Bahr and her children also moved to Fort Scott. Sarah is a drug and alcohol counselor for Crawford County Mental Health and an assistant coach for debate and forensics. She has two children that attend school within our district., Ashton Nave,freshman, and Graci Nave, 8th grader ”
My brothers and sisters, practice your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ by not favoring one person over another. For example, two men come to your worship service. One man is wearing gold rings and fine clothes; the other man, who is poor, is wearing shabby clothes. Suppose you give special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say to him, “Please have a seat.” But you say to the poor man, “Stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor at my feet.” Aren’t you discriminating against people and using a corrupt standard to make judgments?
Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! Didn’t God choose poor people in the world to become rich in faith and to receive the kingdom that he promised to those who love him? Yet, you show no respect to poor people. (James :2-1-6)
If you were to meet Jorge in a dark alley, chances are you would grab your pepper spray or concealed weapon and run for your life. His scowling face, pot-marked with years of hard living, cigarette, alcohol and drug damage, as scary as it is, belies his tender spirit.
He is my friend.
I met Jorge here in Mazatlan, Mexico, five years ago when I first joined a group that bi-weekly travels to the dump to feed the scroungers (their words, not mine). Jorge was our bus driver. I was terrified of him. We met again when I volunteered to help with a Bible study for youngsters who live in squalor in the outskirts of Mazatlan. Again, Jorge drove the van. Observing his love of children and dedication to spreading the gospel with his puppet ministry gave me a new vision of who this man is. As an accomplished guitarist, he also led (leads) the praise and worship at our church. It wasn’t long before I realized he is the heart and soul of the majority of ministries at La Vina Church.
For some reason, the two of us connected. Maybe it was because every year I take him clothes that Dave no longer needs or wants. Maybe it was because I have been pretty faithful in helping his ministries. Maybe it was because God just knew I needed to be smacked for being so judgmental when I first met him.
About twenty-five years ago, Jorge was a serious drug addict, derelict, alcoholic who played his guitar nightly in the brothels. (That’s not all he did when he was there.) From the minute he woke up until he crashed at night, Jorge was addicted. Year after year. Then came the evangelist’s tent revival. For five days, Fred Collum, himself a recovering addict, shared his testimony and gave a call for anyone who wanted to make Jesus the Lord of their lives to come forward.
Jorge showed up drunk on Fred’s last day, staggered up the aisle, barely able to stand, and then made an about-face, zigzagging his way out of the tent. A few weeks later, Jorge met Fred on the street and introduced himself as the drunk man who showed up at his final revival. Fred reached into his pocket to give Jorge some money but was stopped by Jorge’s words: “I don’t want your money. I want you to know that I was too ashamed to come to the front that night, but I went home, got on my knees and asked Jesus to be the Lord of my life. Since then, I have not had any cigarettes, alcohol or drugs.”
So began a friendship between the two men as together they started what now is the largest English-speaking church in Mazatlan and the one known throughout the state for its feeding centers and Bible ministries. Six days a week, Jorge drives a bus or van to a colonia to minister to the poorest of the poor. His life is all about blessing others. For me, my friend blesses me every time we are together.
But my biggest blessing? That Jorge never chose to judge me.
