Monthly Archives: June 2021
History Tour This Weekend in Bourbon County
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Bourbon County History Tours: Marmaton, July 3
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Obituary of George W. Danley
George Walter Danley, age 63, resident of Mapleton, KS, died Tuesday, June 29, 2021, as the result of a traffic accident south of Fort Scott, KS.
He was born January 27, 1958, in Fort Scott, the son of Don and Eleanor Wunderly Danley. George worked as a heavy equipment operator all his life. He always had a story to tell. He never met a stranger and never held a grudge. George was funny and easy to love.
Survivors include his wife Elaine of the home; two sons, Raymond and wife Candice, and Josh and wife Katy; a daughter, Rachel and husband Aaron; eight grandchildren, Luke, Kiptyn, Kellyn, Taegan, Jaxon, Koltyn, Korbyn, Karly, and one granddaughter on the way; and many cousins and that were as close as siblings.
He was preceded in death by his parents and grandparents.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 AM Tuesday, July 6th, at the Cheney Witt Chapel.
Burial will follow in the Mapleton Cemetery.
The family will receive friends from 3:00 to 5:00 PM Monday at the Cheney Witt Chapel.
Memorials are suggested to the Bourbon County Fair and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, PO Box 347, 201 S. Main St., Fort Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
Lowell Milken Center Fellows Welcomed to Fort Scott
2021 Lowell Milken Center Fellows Receive Keys to the City
The Lowell Milken Center (LMC) for Unsung Heroes in Fort Scott, Kansas has awarded its 2021 Fellowship to 14 educators. As part of their week-long experience in Fort Scott, the six fellows for June 27 – July 2 were given the key to the city by Fort Scott City Manager, Jeremy Frazier, along with Community Development Manager, Allyson Turvey, and Director of Economic Development, Rachel Pruitt. (Eight other Fellows were in Fort Scott last week.)
Upon the presentation of the keys, City Manager Jeremy Frazier said, “The City of Fort Scott is honored to present keys to the city to the 2021 Lowell Milken Center Fellows. It is inspiring that these top educators have come to Fort Scott to cultivate their passion for education and will return to their communities to continue the work of the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes. People matter and the recognition of the many amazing contributions of unsung heroes is an important undertaking that is often underserved. Through the sharing of these inspiring unsung heroes’ stories, the world will be a better place.”
The LMC Fellowship is awarded on the basis of merit to educators who have distinguished themselves in teaching respect and understanding through project-based learning or who have the potential for this distinction. The Center selects exemplary teachers from across America and around the world, drawn from a variety of disciplines, to collaborate on projects that discover, develop, and communicate the stories of Unsung Heroes in history.
John-David Bowman taught for 14 years at the high school level and also spent 3 years teaching at Arizona State University. His favorite courses include IB Political Theory, IB Theory of Knowledge, and AP US History. Bowman has a BA in History and a BA in Political Science from ASU, and a MA in Secondary Education with an emphasis in History from NAU.
Bowman believes that there are tremendous things going on in Arizona schools and feels there a need to celebrate those accomplishments, while continually striving to find ways to improve whenever possible. He focuses on student relationships as the foundation of his teaching philosophy. Bowman was Arizona’s 2015 Teacher of the Year and the 2017 Arizona History Teacher of the Year. He is from Glendale, Arizona.
Jennifer Braverman, Maple Shade, New Jersey, is an artivist who combines education and visual art and actively engages her audience in contemporary issues. Braverman’s art has been featured in solo and group exhibitions locally and nationally. She is an author and illustrator for two educational coloring books and currently is teaching AP Studio Art, Digital Mixed Media, and many other courses to grades 7-12 at Maple Shade High School.
Braverman has been an adjunct in the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies department at The College of New Jersey since 2013, teaching Gender, Pop Culture, and LGBTQ Issues in K-12 Education. She has supervised over 50 independent projects in which students focus on social justice and education. Braverman was named the 2013 Burlington County Outstanding Woman of the Year in the Arts and recognized as a member of the 2014 Inaugural Class of 40 under 40 for community leadership. She was also the 2016 Burlington County Teacher of the Year, the 2017 Moorestown-Masonic Lodge Teacher of the Year, and is a Certified Welcoming Schools National Facilitator for the Human Rights Campaign. She is passionate about teaching and making the classroom a place for all students to thrive. To learn more about Jennifer Braverman please visit www.jenniferbraverman.co
2020 Nebraska Teacher of the Year, Megan McNeil Helberg, proudly lives in rural Taylor, Nebraska, where she taught English to 8th, 11th, and 12th-grade students at Burwell Public School. This coming school year, she will be returning to teach 7-12th grade English at her alma mater, Loup County Public School in Taylor, NE. After growing up on a ranch in this area of the Sandhills, with only ten people in her graduating class, Megan feels strongly about exposing her students to various cultures and ways of life.
Sharing Holocaust and genocide education is an important passion for Helberg. In 2013, upon receiving a Fund for Teachers fellowship, Megan used the opportunity to visit Holocaust-related sites throughout Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. She also used the grant money to purchase class sets of Holocaust literature resources for her school. She was named a Museum Teacher Fellow for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) in 2016 and has spent extensive time at the USHMM, learning from world-renowned historians, authors, and survivors. Helberg saw a lack of exposure in her small town, so she founded a travel club for the school and community members to travel together and bridge the gap between school and community. She has spent time in Rwanda, Africa, studying the 1994 genocide and in the Amazon Rain Forest, living with an indigenous tribe. She brings her stories and the experiences from her travels back to her classroom in the heart of Nebraska. The main mantra in Helberg’s classroom is, “Look for the good: in others, in your community, and in yourself. If you do not see any good, CREATE it.”
Continue reading Lowell Milken Center Fellows Welcomed to Fort Scott
New Unsung Heroes Park in Downtown Fort Scott
The Lowell Milken Center Breaks Ground for New Unsung Heroes Park
Construction on the Lowell Milken Center’s new Unsung Heroes Park has officially begun, with groundbreaking taking place Tuesday, June 29, 2021, at 11:00 a.m.
With this much-anticipated expansion to the center and an opportunity to be part of Fort Scott’s downtown revitalization, the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes is anxious to share this newest resource with both the community and the many visitors that come to Fort Scott.
“We are so proud of our latest addition to the Lowell Milken Center and to downtown Fort Scott,” said Norm Conard, the executive director. “Our vision is to have an impact on our community and the entire region in many different and positive ways. We appreciate the benevolent funding from the Lowell Milken Family Foundation and other significant contributions from generous donors such as Timken and others.”
The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes (LMC) completed its main building in 2016 at the corner of Fort Scott’s Wall and Main Streets.
In 2018, a park was begun in the adjacent space south of the building in conjunction with members of the city’s park committee: Beth Nuss, Elaine Buerge, Carolyn Sinn, and Bernita Hill.
The LMC will now complete the park, called the “Unsung Heroes Park,” featuring outdoor Unsung Hero exhibits with interactive story rails, a walking trail, an enhanced water feature, and beautiful landscaping with bench seating.
The objectives of the park are to provide a place for visitors to enjoy the pleasant outdoor scenery, learn about unsung heroes, and offer a centralized community gathering space for programs and activities, while also complementing the downtown area.
The new Lowell Milken Center’s Unsung Heroes Park is expected to be completed in mid-August by Dreamscape Innovations, Inc.
The park will also feature the talents of teachers who have visited Fort Scott as past LMC Fellows and have helped design the park exhibits that will share new stories of Unsung Heroes.
To learn more about the Center and its stories and programs visit www.lowellmilkencenter.org and keep up with current events and announcements on their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/LowellMilkenCenter.
According to Community Development Manager Allyson Turvey, “The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes is truly one of the great assets of Fort Scott and enriches our entire community. We are so thrilled to see the addition of the Unsung Heroes Park which will create a vibrant green space in our historic downtown and will benefit not only our local community but the thousands of tourists that visit Fort Scott each year.”
Since its inception, the Lowell Milken Center locally has hosted over 80,000 visitors from every state in the country and has impacted over 2 million students through its various programs.
The LMC was established in 2007 and has expanded its reach nationally to include international programs and visitors from 102 countries to the LMC in Fort Scott.
The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes is an educational non-profit that discovers, develops and communicates the stories of Unsung Heroes.
Obituary of Deborah Silbaugh
Deborah Lynn Silbaugh, 57, of Buffalo, Kansas and formerly of Fort Scott, passed away Monday, June 21, 2021, at Yates Center Health and Rehab. She was born June 22, 1963, in Chicago, Illinois. She was a Nursing Aide, working primarily in nursing homes.
Deborah is survived by her husband, David Scott McIntosh of the home; her son Timothy Kester, of Rockford, Illinois; three brothers, Randy Silbaugh, of DeKalb, Illinois, Duane Silbaugh, of Flint, Michigan, and Jerry Silbaugh, of New York, New York; an aunt, Bonnie Tyler of Iowa. She was preceded in death by her mother, Pearl May Tyler.
Following cremation, private family services will be held at a later date with interment in the Maple Grove Cemetery under the direction of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home. Condolences may be submitted to the online guestbook at konantz-cheney.com.
Independence Day Celebrations at Uniontown and Fort Scott
Fort Scott and Uniontown residents will celebrate Independence Day on July 3.
If your community is having a celebration, please send information to [email protected] for publication of events.
Union State Bank is sponsoring the 16th Annual Independence Day Celebration at Uniontown City Park on Saturday, July 3.
“We are excited to bring this event back since it was canceled last year,” said Amy Holt, Vice President of Loan Administration at Union State Bank, said. “This is a customer appreciation event, but we encourage the whole community, surrounding area, and friends and family to bring a lawn chair and enjoy the evening and fireworks display.”
Events will kick off at 6:30 p.m. with fireworks beginning at dark.
“We have invited singer/songwriter, Kyle Sexton to come back and perform for us,” she said. ” We will also have inflatables and a selfie bar again for the kids to enjoy.”
School organizations and vendors will be in the park that evening, she said, and additionally, there will be a bake sale, drinks, popcorn, snow cones, and cotton candy for purchase.
Union State Bank is serving FREE hotdogs, chips, and water beginning at 7 p.m. or until they are all gone, she said.
“We are discouraging any personal fireworks in the downtown area of Uniontown,” as a safety precaution, she said.
“Union State Bank has been serving the community for over 120 years, and we enjoy hosting this event,” Holt said.
Fort Scott’s Independence Day Celebration
The Elk’s / Community Fireworks will be July 3 and begin at dark at Fort Scott Community College’s lake.
“I usually pay attention to how dark it is getting a few days ahead and set the time but between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m.,” Bill Britain, spokesperson for the Elks Club, said.
“The show will be set to music and played on KOMB Radio, 103.9,” he said.
“As usual, the fireworks will be shot from behind FSCC by the back ballfields and of course the public cannot go back that way for safety reasons,” he said.
“The Elk’s have coordinated this event for the past 25 years or so,” Brittain said.
“This year’s show should be the best we have ever had,” he said. ” “Last year we had a bad storm come through, the shooters did not get the fireworks protected fast enough and it was a total loss!
We have worked with the fireworks company to have a better show this year because of that!”
This event is for the entire community and it takes the community to put this on, he said.
New USD234 Educators: Sydney Cullison and Madeline Martin
This is part of a series of new educators in the Fort Scott School District.
Sydney Cullison, 24, is the new Fort Scott High School Agriculture Teacher.
She taught previously at Neodesha for two years.
Education: Bachelor in Agriculture Education and minor in Agronomy from Kansas State University, pursuing a Masters in Educational Administration.
Hometown: Fort Scott. She is the daughter of Richard and Deanna Cullison and Landon and Nancy Simons.
Her interests outside of her career are checking cattle and raising Pembroke Welsh Corgis.
Why did you become an educator?
“To combine my passion for agriculture and education.”
Did someone inspire you?
“Yes, a few people did! My auntie, who is an 8th-grade teacher in Missouri. I used to go to school with her when I was young and knew I wanted to be like her one day, since I was three! Mr. Parks led me to go to Kansas State for ag. education. In my senior year, I knew that ag. ed. is where I belonged!”
What is the best part of teaching for you?
“The best part is being able to travel and take kids places they have never been and show them what agriculture is really like.”
What are the greatest challenges?
“Being a younger teacher.”
Madeline Martin, 23, is the new gifted teacher at Winfield Scott Elementary and Fort Scott High School.
“I am a first-year teacher and extremely excited to get started! ” she said.
Education:
Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pittsburg State University. “I am currently pursuing a degree in School Counseling from Pittsburg State University>”
Hometown: Fort Scott, KS
Family:
“I have been married for a year and a half to my husband, Drew. We have a sweet kitty cat named Pebbles. Drew and I are high school sweethearts and both attended Fort Scott High School. Both my parents (Mark and Mo McCoy) and Drew’s parents (Paul and Kara Martin) are active members of the community and a wonderful part of our family!”
Hobbies/community involvement
“I enjoy cooking, baking, going on walks, crafting, being at the lake, snuggling with Pebbles, and coaching the swim team. I am a coach for the Fort Scott Hurricanes and I am excited to get back and be involved in the Fort Scott community! My husband and I also have our own small wedding business, I love helping couples make their dream day special!”
Why did you become an educator?
“I became an educator because I want to help ensure that all students have a safe space filled with love, compassion, and guidance. I want to help my students find their voice, to make a difference in this world, and having the opportunity to watch them learn is a joy for me. Each and every student has something to bring to the table and I want them to be able to know what they can bring to help better themselves, their community, and everyone they interact with.”
Did someone inspire you?
“Patty Smilie was the lady who started it all for me in high school. I had never thought about wanting to work in education and kept trying to suppress it in college, but quickly figured out that I have a love for serving others and wanting to help students as much as I possibly can. Mrs. Smilie always let me hang out in her office, helped me with a bunch of fun projects, and always had an encouraging word for me. She sparked my love for counseling and the thought to be an educator. I am so excited to see where this current path in education takes me, and hopefully one day it’s a counseling office. A few other teachers that inspired me to think about education are Mrs. Karen Curran, Mrs. Michelle Brittain, and Dr. Jason Lloyd.”
What is the best part of teaching for you?
“Seeing all of the ‘ah-ha moments’ that students encounter is one of the coolest parts for me. Whether that moment is in discovering something about themselves, within a subject we’re discovering, or anything in between. Seeing students make the connections or finding their joy/purpose is one of the coolest experiences to be a part of.”
What are the greatest challenges?
“Having to watch them go home at the end of the day and especially at the end of the school year. Some days it never seems like enough time to love on them or help each student, but it is rewarding seeing them move on and see what they have accomplished throughout the year.”
The Fort Scott Police Department Daily Reports June 28
The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Daily Reports June 29
FS Tigers 13U Win Kansas State Championship in Lenexa
Front row: Nate Mintz, Dayton Fly, Gavin Miles, Brady Sloan, Landon Hill, Caleb Hall. Submitted photo
Fort Scott Tigers won the 13U Kansas State Championship in Lenexa this past weekend. They played six games in under 24 hours, battling rain delays most of the weekend.
They went 5-1 and avenged an earlier loss in pool play to beat that team for the state championship. Tigers went 13-2 to close out the month of June and earn the title as state champs.
Submitted by Coach Mike Miles.