Monthly Archives: October 2018

Bourbon County, K-State Extension

National 4-H Week Proclaimed in Kansas

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Gov. Colyer proclaims National 4-H Week in Kansas, inspiring kids ‘to do’

The event concludes with 48 Hours of Community Service on Oct. 13-14

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer signed a proclamation on Monday recognizing Oct. 7-13 as National 4-H Week in Kansas, clearing the way for a week-long celebration of America’s largest youth development organization.

4-H reaches nearly 75,000 young people across Kansas. Colyer’s proclamation notes that National 4-H Week “highlights the remarkable 4-H youth in Kansas who work each day to make a positive impact on those around them.”

The Kansas 4-H program is delivered through K-State Research and Extension and its network of local extension offices. Amy Sollock, the southwest area 4-H youth development specialist, notes that the organization empowers youth with skills to lead in their life and career.

“4-H was founded on the belief that when kids are empowered to pursue their passions and chart their own course, their unique skills grow and take shape, helping them to become true leaders in their lives, careers, and communities,” she said.

In addition to the youth members, there are nearly 11,000 people who volunteer their time to Kansas 4-H by creating the life experiences that “Inspire Kids to Do” for their communities, which is the theme for National 4-H Week.

“4-H Youth Development has been a part of Kansas communities since 1905,” said Wade Weber, the state program leader for Kansas 4-H. “Today more than ever, 4-H provides a unique opportunity for youth to discover their passions, build their skills, and grow confidence with the support of caring adults and dynamic partnerships with local and K-State based resources.

He adds: “4-H youth build essential life skills like problem-solving, teamwork, communication, and decision making that enable them to become tomorrow’s leaders by doing leadership today.”

National 4-H Week in Kansas wraps up Oct. 13-14 with the fifth annual 48 Hours of 4-H community service event taking place across the state. 4-Hers and volunteers plan community service events sometime during that weekend to symbolize the organization’s commitment to ‘doing.’

“Kansas 4-Hers are active in their community year-round, but 48 Hours of 4-H is an opportunity to highlight the 4-H members and volunteers who are ‘doing’ all across Kansas,” Sollock said. “In 4-H, kids roll up their sleeves and do with their hands. Their experiences grow the confidence they need for life and career. 4-Hers do with a purpose, lead by example and empower their peers to do the same.”

More information about 48 Hours of 4-H is available online. On social media, look for the hashtag, #484H.

For more information about National 4-H Week, visit 4-H.org. To join Kansas 4-H and the movement to Inspire Kids to Do, visit Kansas4-H.org.

Area News

Public Comments Welcome on Kansas Gas Service Rate Increase

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KCC to host a public hearing on Kansas Gas Service rate increase request

 

Topeka – The Kanas Corporation Commission (KCC) will hold a public hearing on Thursday, October 4 to receive input from Kansas Gas Service customers on the company’s rate increase request. The public hearing will begin at 6 p.m. at the Washburn Institute of Technology, Main Conference Center, Building A, located at 5724 SW Huntoon in Topeka.

Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about the proposed rate change and make comments to KCC Commissioners. Members of the public can attend in person or watch a live broadcast of the hearing on the Commission’s website: www.kcc.ks.gov. For those unable to watch live, a recording of the hearing will be available on the Commission’s website beginning October 11.

The application, filed by Kansas Gas Service in June, requests a $42.7 million dollar net base rate increase. If approved, the average residential customer’s natural gas bill will increase by $5.67 per month, an increase of 10 percent. A complete copy of Kansas Gas Service’s application and supporting testimony is available on the Commission’s website.

The Commission will accept public comments through 5 p.m. December 14, 2018. In addition to attending the public hearing, there are three convenient ways to submit a comment:

  1.  Go to the KCC website (www.kcc.ks.gov) and click on the “Your Opinion Matters” link to submit a comment.

2)  Send a written letter to the Kansas Corporation Commission, Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, 1500 SW Arrowhead Road, Topeka, KS 66604-4027.
Be sure to reference Docket No. 18-KGSG-560-RTS.

3)  Call the Commission’s Public Affairs office at 1-800-662-0027 or 785-271-3140.

Fort Scott, Government, Opinion

City of Fort Scott Responds to Mercy Shut-Down

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First off, the City would like to recognize the incredible effort by all of the Mercy employees and it’s local leaders.

1886.

That is the year the first Mercy hospital opened and we have been blessed to have their services.  The tireless effort of these employees proves the strong community character of Fort Scott.

What makes Fort Scott a great place is the people. Our people have seen this town thrive, face challenges, and rebound like never before.

Fort Scott continues to see remarkable industry growth with the addition of over 800 jobs within the last 5 years.  Over a 24% increase in the hourly median wage.  In addition to the commercial investment with employer expansions, the residential investment has grown by 45% within the last two years.

Fort Scott is home to generations of families.

People who have been raised here and are returning home to raise their families.

People who have gone to the Community College here and choose Fort Scott as their home.

We have a district-wide student to teacher ratio of 13 to 1.  An aquatic center which opened in 2012.  One of the top 10 best public golf courses in the state.  A 360-acre lake for fishing, boating, and recreation.  Over 7 miles of bike trails within Gunn Park which is home to 7 shelter houses, 2 fishing lakes, playground areas, and a 9 hole Frisbee golf course.  A state of the art baseball facility featuring a 1,200 seat stadium, 2 indoor batting cages, clubhouse with lockers and lounge, turf infield and grass outfield.

Fort Scott has tremendous community pride.  The City intends to support our residents in every way possible through this transition.

Robert Uhler, Community Development Director, Rachel Pruitt, Economic Development Director, and Dave Martin, City Manager are actively working on solutions and have been pleased with the outreach of interested parties.

Our citizens work hard and deserve affordable healthcare.  We are confident Fort Scott will overcome this challenge and continue to be a great place to work and raise families.

 

Respectively –

 

Economic Development

City of Fort Scott

Business, Fort Scott

One Person Can Make a Difference: Irena Sendler’s Story Told to Children

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Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes Program Director Megan Felt, left, with Cathy Werling, the author of Mommy Who Was Irena Sendler? book.

It’s been 19 years since the story of Irena Sendler, the rescuer from death of 2,500 Jews in Poland, was discovered by three Uniontown High School students in Norm Conard’s history class. The Jews were being killed in Europe by the Nazi Germans.

“It was September 23, 1999, when we found the clipping that day in Norm’s class,” Megan Felt said.  That clipping mentioned Sendler as one of a few people in Europe at the time who stepped up to save the Jews.

The students, Elizabeth Cambers Hutton, and Sabrina Coons Murphy along with Felt, did a history project on Irena Sendler that changed the lives of many, including Sendler who was still living at the time.

Several books and a movie have been made of Sendler’s life and are available for sale at the center.

Now one of the “rescuers of the rescuer”, Megan Stewart Felt, is featured in a book on Sendler that features she and her daughter, Blair, in re-telling the story for younger children.

The children’s book, self-published by the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes, is entitled Mommy Who Was Irena Sendler?, by Cathy Werling.

Werling is an employee of the center and Felt is the program director of the center, located at Wall and Main Street in downtown Fort Scott.

“Cathy surprised me with her idea of telling the story,” Felt said. “I think it’s special to tell about Irena, involving my daughter, Blair.”

Blair, who is 8-years-old, is “very excited,” Felt said. “She has been practicing her cursive handwriting to sign books for the family,” she said with a smile.

While Werling was writing the book, Blair came to the center and got a tour from  Werling.

“I hadn’t told her much about Irena and the holocaust,” Felt said.

Werling explained the story in a way that Blair could understand,   Felt said.

“We continued to have conversations about Irena and…. how one person can make a difference,” Felt said. “I want her to know that even though she is a girl in Southeast Kansas, she has the power to make a difference and being a positive change in the world. That’s the goal of the center.”

Werling agreed.

“When I got involved with the center, I found the work of the center is to help people understand that one person can make a difference,” she said.

“Young children need role models to show what you can do in circumstances where someone needs to step up,” Werling said.

“If we can help them be a positive force, that’s my mission, to see that,” she said. “Everyday people like them that can have a powerful impact.

Mommy Who Was Irena Sendler? is the third book that Werling has written on unsung heroes at the center.

Area elementary students come to the center for book readings at their appropriate level.

The children are then encouraged to choose to make a difference in someone’s life.

“It’s moving to see the little kids become involved in the stories on unsung heroes,”  Felt said. “You hear them saying ‘I saw a little girl who sits alone. I can sit with her.'”

Werling uses a “hook” in her children’s books to get the child interested, then the story is told,  the book ends with how the child can “be like that person,” Werling said.

In her latest book, Werling has additional pages of facts on the story, including photos.

“I want them to understand that the story is true,” Werling said.

The illustrator of the book is Maggie Raguse, Werling’s sister-in-law, who is a professional artist.

The book Mommy Who Was Irena Sendler? will be published by the end of October 2018, then will be for sale at the center, Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble bookstores, Werling said.

Irena megan table sign.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Area News

Grief Support Luncheon Oct. 3

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Grief Support Luncheon
Oct 3, 2018 12:00 PM
Our next scheduled grief support luncheon will be Wednesday, October 3rd, at 12:00 Noon. Anyone dealing with a loss is encouraged to come and bring a friend. Cheney Witt Chapel will provide lunch at the Carriage House, 301 S. Main. Pastor Matthew Hunt will be speaking. Call us at 223-1186 if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you!

Bourbon County, Government

Bourbon County Commission Agenda for Oct. 2

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Agenda

Bourbon County Commission Room

1st Floor, County Courthouse

210 S. National Avenue

Fort Scott, KS 66701

Tuesdays starting at 9:00

Date: October 2nd, 2018

1st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________

2nd District-Jeff Fischer Corrected: _______________

3rd District-Nick Ruhl Adjourned at: _______________

County Clerk-Kendell Mason

9:00-9:45-Jim Harris

9:45-10:00-Letter for Diehl-Banwart

10:30-12:00-Justin Meeks

12:00-1:30-Commissioners gone to lunch

1:30-Robert Coon-No Zoning

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

Area News, Mercy Hospital

Mercy Hospital Fort Scott to Close

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Primary Care Services to Continue through Agreement with CHC/SEK

FORT SCOTT, Kan. (October 1, 2018) – In the face of declining patient numbers and shrinking reimbursement, Mercy has made the difficult decision to close Mercy Hospital Fort Scott by the end of the year. The decision was made following months of exploring options for keeping hospital services in the community.

At the same time, there is a plan for continuing physician services in the area. Mercy is finalizing an agreement with the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC/SEK), the federally qualified health clinic based in Pittsburg, to maintain primary care services in Fort Scott and other nearby communities in which there are Mercy Clinic locations. All Mercy Clinic Fort Scott primary care physicians have committed to continue practicing in the area as part of CHC/SEK. The two organizations expect to share more information soon.

“Mercy Hospital has been privileged to serve Fort Scott since 1886. Like many rural hospitals across the country, we have struggled to remain viable as community needs have changed,” said Reta Baker, hospital president. “We considered – and exhausted – every possibility for keeping our doors open, and ultimately we had to acknowledge that it’s a different era for hospital care in Fort Scott. There are many options in nearby communities for patients seeking hospital care, and there are many challenges we didn’t have in years past. Our hearts are heavy, but it’s the decision we know has to be made.”

The hospital will close by December 31, including all inpatient services, the emergency department and ambulatory surgery.

Mercy first announced the need to explore options for future sustainability in 2014, citing trends that included patients leaving the area to seek health care services in larger communities and declining reimbursement, especially from government payers which make up the largest source of revenue. The announcement was followed by an 18-month discernment process, which ended in 2015 with the understanding that should these trends continue, Mercy would need to revisit plans for the future.

“That time came earlier this year, and a new process of evaluating solutions was undertaken,” said Baker. “Unfortunately, the health care environment in Fort Scott has not improved, and in fact we’ve encountered the additional challenge of successfully recruiting and retaining physicians in the community.”

To prepare for closing the hospital, Mercy will undertake the required regulatory and legal notices and procedures, including notifying state and federal agencies and payers.

Mercy is developing plans to support hospital co-workers in through the closure process, and all will be treated with compassion and respect. There may be the possibility for some co-workers to transfer to other Mercy facilities.

“Having closed our hospital in Independence, Kansas, in 2015, we know how difficult this news is to hear – not only for our Fort Scott co-workers and the community, but for everyone across Mercy. Our prayers are with everyone impacted by this decision,” said Lynn Britton, Mercy president and chief executive officer. “We also know that the Sisters who served before us had to make similar decisions in light of changing community needs, and we draw strength from their courage.”

 

Mercy, named one of the top five large U.S. health systems in 2018, 2017 and 2016 by IBM Watson Health, serves millions annually. Mercy includes more than 40 acute care and specialty (heart, children’s, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, 800 physician practices and outpatient facilities, 44,000 co-workers and 2,100 Mercy Clinic physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In addition, Mercy’s IT division, Mercy Technology Services, supply chain organization, ROi, and Mercy Virtual commercially serve providers and patients in more than 20 states coast to coast.

supply chain organization, ROi, and Mercy Virtual commercially serve providers and patients in more than 20 states coast to coast.

Business, Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce

Completion Nearing On Dr. Crawford’s Office Dowtown

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This is the building on Wall and Main Street in Fort Scott’s Historic downtown that Dr. Tim Crawford purchased.

Dr. Tim Crawford’s dental office, Family Dental, plans to move from its current location on South Main Street to the building at Wall and Main Streets within a few months.

“Construction on historic Fort Scott buildings is slow,” Crawford said.

Dentist Tim Crawford, center, with office personnel, from left: Alison Harper, hygenist; Jessica Terry, assistant; Crawford; Karis Hopkins, reception and assistant; Carina Guajardo, office manager. Not pictured: Ashley Rogers, assistant. They are pictured outside the Wall Street portion of the historic building Crawford is renovating.

Crawford and his staff hosted a Fort Scott Chamber Coffee at the new site on September 27.

Dr. Tim Crawford speaks to the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce weekly coffee attendees Sept. 27 at the site of his new office, which is still in the construction stage of renovation.

He spoke to the crowd in the reception room of his new office.

Coffee attendees share conversations before the announcement segment of the weekly coffee. They are in the reception room of the new dental office of the renovated historic downtown building at Wall and Main Street.

“I’m excited to be downtown for accessibility,” Crawford told the coffee attendees. “We hope to be open in a few months.”

Dental services offered are implants, oral surgery, pediatrics, “Everything you want to be done at a dentist.”

Coffee attendees mill around the still-being-constructed operating room of the dental office.

Fort Scott City Manager Dave Martin thanked Crawford for moving his office downtown and taking on the renovation of a historic building.

“I know you run into things that throw you behind,” Martin said.

The building Crawford owns faces both Wall Street, pictured, and North Main Street.