Monthly Archives: September 2022

Fort Scott, Government

Opening of FS Design Review Board

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There is one opening on the Fort Scott Design Review Board for a city resident.

 

The function of the Design Review Board is to review requests for Certificate of Appropriateness in the historic district of our downtown.  They meet on an “as needed” basis.

 

If you have a desire to serve on this board and meet the above requirements, please submit a letter of interest to the City Clerk, Diane Clay, 123 S. Main, Fort Scott, Kansas  66701. The names will be submitted for consideration to the City Commission.  All of the boards and commissions serve on a volunteer basis and are not compensated.  If you would like more information on this board, please contact Diane Clay, City Clerk at 620-223-0550 or [email protected].  Please submit your letter of interest by September 27th, 2022 by 12:00 p.m.

Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes

Lowell Milken Center Discovery Awards

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STUDENTS SURFACE UNSUNG HEROES WHO CHANGED THE WORLD,

WINNING $15,500 IN LOWELL MILKEN CENTER DISCOVERY AWARD PRIZES

 

Gracie Conrad of Loup County, Nebraska, earns $6,000 grand prize for highlighting
Betty Goudsmit-Oudkerk, who, as a teen, saved hundreds of Jewish children from the Holocaust

VIEW THE WINNING PROJECTS

 For the 2021-22 Discovery Award competition, the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes (LMC) in Fort Scott has awarded $15,500 in cash prizes to elementary, middle and high school students. This international competition inspires students to develop primary and secondary research projects which share the stories of Unsung Heroes from history whose accomplishments remain largely unknown to the public.

 

During a celebration for LMC’s 15th Anniversary and the Grand Opening of its new park, Nebraska’s Loup County High School 11th grader Gracie Conrad was announced as the $6,000 Grand Prize winner. Conrad’s extensive research led to her compelling entry, Betty Goudsmit-Oudkerk: Teenager, Resistance Member, Unsung Hero. At 18 years old, Goudsmit-Oudkerk worked at the crèche (Dutch for “daycare”), which became part of the Jewish deportation apparatus during the Holocaust. Having built relationships with the children, Goudsmit-Oudkerk was asked to join a group of workers who helped smuggle more than 600 children out of the crèche. Because of her heroic acts, Conrad notes, “hundreds of people are alive today.” (Teacher Megan Helberg)

According to LMC Chief Executive Officer Norm Conard, “Conrad’s project is exceptional in every way. The Betty Goudsmit-Oudkerk documentary shows a brilliant quality of work, telling of the unique and inspirational bravery of the Unsung Hero. We look forward to sharing this story in an exhibit for our Hall of Unsung Heroes.”

LMC’s Discovery Award provides a unique opportunity for U.S. and international students in grades 4 through 12 to research primary sources and use their talents to develop projects that showcase the power of one person to make positive change in the world. The actions which define the Unsung Hero’s legacy as a role model must have occurred a minimum of 20 years ago, and the project must demonstrate the impact made over time as a result of those actions. Students must create a documentary, performance or website featuring an Unsung Hero, accompanied by an annotated bibliography and process paper. The prize money can be spent at students’ discretion.

“Real heroes tower and guide,” said LMC Founder Lowell Milken. “But their stories need to be discovered and heard. And when we do, we have the opportunity to motivate new generations to aspire to values that are essential during the challenging times we face individually, as a nation and as a world community.”  

The $2,500 First Runner-Up award has been given to 11th graders Dylan Arie, Gianpaolo Bautista and Isaiah Ochoa-Garcia, from New Tech High School in Napa, California. Their documentary, James Braidwood: A Spark of Smoke, describes the Scottish firefighter’s pioneering work in the 1800s to help create the world’s first modern, municipal fire department. What Braidwood calls his most groundbreaking contribution to firefighting – “the aggressive interior attack” – is still used today. The students weave library archives and news sources to piece Braidwood’s life together. A personal interview with a local retired fireman and historian fuses the eras then and now, shedding light on the science and art of firefighting. (Teacher Nancy Hale)

There were two $2,000 Outstanding High School Project awards this year. One of the awards has been presented to Emily Kim, a 12th grader at Jericho High School in Jericho, New York. Kim’s project, You Don’t Have to Ride Jim Crow, combines historical artifacts with modern commentary from documentarians to tell the story of Irene Morgan, who became one of the nation’s first freedom riders. In 1944 – 11 years before the Montgomery Bus Boycott – Morgan was arrested under “Jim Crow” laws for refusing to relinquish her seat to a white couple during a trip from Gloucester, Virginia, to her home in Baltimore, Maryland. Kim deftly traces Morgan’s two-year legal battle leading up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which decided that racial segregation laws on interstate transit placed an “undue burden” on interstate commerce. The outcome struck down racial segregation relating to transportation for the first time, marking a pivotal milestone in America’s civil rights movement. (Teacher Theresa Cantwell)

The second $2,000 Outstanding High School Project was awarded to A Voice in the Dark: Kim Hak-Sun’s Breakthrough Comfort Women Testimony, a website created by Yoojung (Sally) Jang, a 12th grader at Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana, California. Jang gives a voice to the voiceless, exposing the horrors of systematic sexual slavery forced upon South Korean “comfort women” during Japanese occupation of Korea from 1910 to 1945. It was not until 1991 when Kim Hak-Sun, a victim of this violence, courageously came forward upon hearing denials from the Japanese government. Her actions led to an international condemnation of sexual slavery as a war crime and sparked a lasting movement to bring truth to power.  (Teacher Lana Sawalha)

 

The $2,000 Outstanding Middle School Project award has been presented to Emma Manion, who at the time of the project was an eighth grader at Kettle Moraine Middle School and is now a ninth grader at Kettle Moraine High School in Dousman, Wisconsin. Manion created a dynamic performance embodying Lutie Stearns, whose work helped to establish a statewide library system in Wisconsin during the Progressive Era of the 1890s. Through Stearns’ legacy, Manion demonstrates the importance of civil discourse, equal access to information and “the power of words to improve conditions for humanity.” (Teacher Terry Kaldhusdal)

 

The award for the $1,000 Outstanding Elementary School Project has been given to sixth graders Elise Deprez, Stella Murray and Brynlee Roelli, former Northside Elementary students who now attend Monroe Middle School in Monroe, Wisconsin. Their documentary, Cordelia Harvey: Angel in a Black Cape, shines a light on the care the “Wisconsin Angel” displayed toward Civil War soldiers who often received treatment at “makeshift” field hospitals. Mixing history with expert perspectives, the students show how Harvey’s support to secure state hospitals for soldiers away from war zones bettered the quality of life for soldiers and their families. (Teacher Sarah Compton)

 

Submissions for the next competition season will open February 15, 2023.

About LMC

Established in 2007, the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes (LMC) discovers, develops and communicates the stories of unsung heroes who have made a profound and positive impact on history, yet are largely unrecognized by contemporary generations. LMC has reached over 3,000,000 students and 30,000 schools in all 50 states and countries around the world. Learn more about the LMC and the Discovery Award. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Opinion

Dunk the Cracker in the Toilet by Patty LaRoche

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Patty LaRoche

On their drive from Florida to join my son Andy in Iowa, Andy’s wife, Kristen, her mom, Tina, and their 21-month-old daughter Paige spent the night in a hotel.  Before touching anything, Kristen and Tina disinfected the room with Clorox wipes.  When they realized that Paige was not in the room, they ran into the bathroom, only to find her happily minding her own business, dunking Ritz crackers in the toilet. So much for sterile.

Paige loves to dunk…basketballs in a toddler-size net, French fries in ketchup or yogurt or fruit drinks, chicken nuggets in…well, everything.  But she never has shown any interest in toilets, so this came as quite an unwelcomed surprise to her mother and grandmother.

We all know the purpose of toilets…and it’s not to dunk crackers.

“Purpose” is defined as the “reason for which something is done or created; the reason for its existence.”  Everything has a purpose, right?  Okay, probably not ramps like the picture.

Anyway, in my curiosity, I asked some friends if they could think of anything with no purpose.  Many answered “mosquitoes,” with one trivia junkie adding that more people have died of mosquito bites than from all of the world wars combined. (Google claims that 2.7 million people die every year from these pests.)  But no purpose?  Lest we forget, there is that little food-chain thing.

Years ago, Pastor Rich Warren wrote The Purpose-Driven Life, a best-seller.  Readers were challenged to look at their spiritual purpose and answer this question: “Why are you here?”  Some claimed that it was to make money.   Others, to have children.  Many said that it was to leave the world a better place than they found it.  The question is not an easy one.

Warren wanted people to be honest about where glorifying God fits into their purpose.  Let’s say that He’s not central, but is He anywhere on your list of why you exist?  If your answer is no, maybe it’s time to figure out why you think you were created.  Matthew 7:7-11 lets us know where to go to figure that out: Ask, and God will give to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will open for you.

In the book 66 Love Letters: A Conversation with God That Invites You into His Story, my devotion this morning was about the book of Ruth. In it, author Larry Crabb writes words that he pictures God imparting to him: “You value what I can give you more than you value the privilege and delight of knowing Me and being radically changed by the experience…I am determined to reverse your values

Some day we all are going to have a literal “Come to Jesus” moment where our life’s objective will be revealed to the One who made us.  If we want to make our lives count, then we must allow God to have His way with us…to reverse our values, to help us delight in knowing who He is. Before it’s too late.

Readers, this is serious stuff.  Should we get distracted and live a dunk-the-cracker-in-the-toilet existence, we will miss the main purpose we were put on earth.

 

 

Fort Scott, Government

CITY COMMISSION VACANCY

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Effective September 15th, 2022, Josh Jones resigned his position as City Commissioner on the Fort Scott City Commission.  Persons interested in applying to fill the position vacated by Commissioner Josh Jones are asked to submit a letter of interest to:  City Clerk, Diane Clay at 123 S. Main, Fort Scott, Kansas  66701 or by email at [email protected].  Letters of interest must be received by the City Clerk by 12:00 p.m. on Monday, September 26th, 2022. Only individuals who reside in the City limits of Fort Scott are eligible to apply.   Once the appointment has been made, it will become effective at the next scheduled City Commission meeting and the term will expire in December of 2024.

Any additional information or questions may be obtained by contacting Diane Clay, City Clerk at 620-223-0550.

Fort Scott National Historic Site

Jill Jaworski selected as superintendent of Fort Scott National Historic Site 

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OMAHA, Neb. —  Today National Park Service (NPS) Regional Director Bert Frost announced the selection of Jill Jaworski as the new superintendent of Fort Scott National Historic Site in Kansas. Jaworski currently serves as the Chief Park Ranger at Cape Lookout National Seashore in Harkers Island, North Carolina. She will assume her new role at Fort Scott in November.  

 

“I am excited to announce Jill Jaworski as the new superintendent of Fort Scott National Historic Site,” said Frost. “Her background in complex park operations including cultural resource management and resource protection will serve Fort Scott well into the future. Her strong collaboration and teambuilding skills will be great assets to the community and staff.” 

 

Jaworski has over 20 years of experience in NPS assignments including interpretation, emergency services, and law enforcement. As Chief Park Ranger, she has extensive experience in managing special park uses, events, permitting, and emergency response. In addition to Cape Lookout National Seashore, she has served as a park ranger at Cumberland Island National Seashore, Castillo De San Marcos National Monument/Fort Matanzas National Monument, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, White Sands National Monument, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Curecanti National Recreation Area, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, and Mount Rainier National Park. She is currently serving as the acting superintendent at Appomattox Court House National Military Park and Booker T. Washington National Monument. 

 

“I am honored to be selected as the next superintendent of this historic park and to work alongside the dedicated staff of Fort Scott,” Jaworski said of her new assignment. “I am eager to return to my Midwestern roots and work with the community, Tribes, and park partners in telling the unique stories that make this site special. I am excited by the opportunities to preserve the incredible resources here while serving the visitors who come to this amazing place.” 

 

Jaworski will be relocating to the area this fall and is looking forward to living in Kansas and closer to her family. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, camping, traveling, walking her dog, researching genealogy, and playing pickleball and tennis.  

Fort Scott, Government

FS City Administrator Signed Contract to Go To Caney

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From the Facebook page of Montgomery County Chronicle:
CANEY CITY ADMINISTRATOR POSITION OFFERED TO FORT SCOTT OFFICIAL
CANEY — In a special meeting Wednesday night, the Caney City Council voted to offer a two-year contract to Kelley R. Zellner as city administrator.
Zellner is currently serving as city manager in Fort Scott, and held previous municipal posts in Fredonia as city administrator; Valley Center where he was public works director; and served as police chief in Conway Springs.
To view the rest of the story on the Montgomery County Chronicle:

https://www.facebook.com/Montgomery-County-Chronicle-179343538715/

Fort Scott, Sports

Metcalf and Hall are selected as Wrestling Middle School Coaches of the Year

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John Metcalf. Taken from the USD234 website.

John Metcalf, a Fort Scott Middle School Physical Education teacher and student support employee, has received the Middle School Coach of the Year award from the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association.

He  will be receiving the award on October 8 in Salina.

“I have coached middle school wrestling for five years,” he said.
“We have around 50 kids come out each year for middle school wrestling.”

“I enjoy coaching the sport of wrestling because wrestling is a one on one sport,” he said. “So the happiness on a kids face when they know they are the only reason that they won is amazing!”

“I kind of always coached wrestling,” he said. “Since I was in high school, I would show up and help out with the kids club practices whenever I could make it. While I was at Fort Scott Community College I was offered to help start the wrestling program as an assistant wrestling coach at Uniontown. I coached there for one year before I went to Pitt State for college.”

“I didn’t get back into the coaching side of wrestling until I graduated in 2018,” he said. “I then got a job at Fort Scott Middle School as a para and also got hired as an assistant middle school wrestling coach with my dad who was the head coach at the time.”

“This past year my dad retired and I was then hired to replace him as the middle school head wrestling coach,” he said.

Kathi Hall, taken from the USD234 website.

Kathi Hall is a 6th Grade Language Arts, Reading, and Social Studies Teacher at Fort Scott Middle School and she helps coach wrestling.

“This is my fourth year coaching wrestling,” she said. “I did become an assistant coach because of the increase in girl athletes in wrestling. The count of female athletes in the program varies but you can be sure that they increase each year.”

“I have always been around wrestling for the last 28 years, since my three adult boys wrestled from the time they were 5, 7, and 9 in kids club and then in high school,” she said.

Bourbon County, K-State Extension

Fall – Time to Tidy Up, Store Summer Bulbs and Plan for Next Year

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Krista Harding
District Extension Agent, Horticulture
Southwind Extension District
111 S. Butler
Erie, KS 66733
Office: 620-244-3826
Cell: 620-496-8786

 

 

The change from summer to fall – I always look forward to it. However, the drought conditions this fall doesn’t have me very excited. I typically enjoy decorating with some mums and pumpkins, but I’m dragging my feet on it this year because I dread the thought of keeping the mums watered. We need rain so bad! But, fall does bring the time to do some tidying up around the home, storing summer bulbs, and yes – making plans for a better growing season next year.

 

Don’t forget to dig your summer flowering bulbs and store those that will not survive Kansas winters. Bulbs such as gladiolus, caladium, dahlia, tuberous begonia, calla lily, and canna lily need to be dug and stored so they can be planted next year.

 

All of these plants should be dug after frost has browned the foliage. They should be allowed to dry for about a week in a shady, well-ventilated site such as a garage or tool shed. Any excess soil should be removed. The bulbs should be packed away in peat moss or perlite. When packing, make sure the bulbs don’t touch each other. That way if one decays, the rot won’t spread onto neighboring bulbs. Dusting the bulbs with fungicide before storing will help prevent them from rotting.

 

Caladium should be stored between 50 and 60 degrees F. The rest of the bulbs mentioned should be stored near 40 degrees. Finding a good storage spot may be tricky. A basement wall away from a furnace is often a good location.

 

As for spring flowering bulbs (tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, allium) fall is the time to establish into the landscape. Planting this fall may be a bit tricky with the extremely dry soil. If we can catch some decent rainfall, consider planting right after that.

 

It is also time to fertilize spring-flowering bulbs. With an established bulb bed that has been fertilized in the past, there is probably plenty of phosphorus and potassium present in the soil to grow the plants next spring. If you’re not sure, take a soil test. A complete fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 9-9-6 at the rate of 2.5 pounds per 100 square feet should be used if the soil needs phosphorus and potassium. This would also equal 1 rounded teaspoon per square foot.

 

While you’re out and about in your yard this fall fertilizing bulbs, you may want to take the time to clean up the iris beds as well. Iris are known for a couple of very common problems: a fungus known as iris leaf spot and an insect named iris borer.

 

Though both cause problems in the spring, now is the time to start control measurers. Both the fungus and eggs of the borer overwinter on old, dead leaves. Removing iris leaves and other landscape debris from the iris bed this fall will significantly reduce problems next spring.

 

On a side not away from flowers, thinking ahead to October – it is a good time to plant garlic if you want large cloves next summer. The soil should be fertilized before planting with three pounds of a 10-10-10 fertilizer, per 100 square feet, and mixed into the soil. Cloves should be planted point up and spaced three inches apart and one to two inches deep. The larger the clove planted, the larger the bulb for harvesting next summer. Once planted, water in well and mulch with straw to conserve soil warmth and encourage good establishment. The garlic will be ready for harvest next summer when most of the foliage has browned.

 

Krista Harding is a K-State Research and Extension Horticulture agent assigned to Southwind District.  She may be reached at [email protected] or 620-244-3826.

 

K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

 

 

 

Government, Kansas

Evergy Asked to Explain Increase

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Kansas Corporation Commission requires Evergy
to explain increase in capital spending plan

 

TOPEKA – The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) has ordered Evergy to explain a $1.2 billion increase in the company’s capital spending plan filed this year compared to projections shared when the company presented its Sustainability Transformation Plan (STP) last year.  Today’s order requires that a workshop to discuss the matter be scheduled by September 28 and take place before December 1, 2022.

During the workshop, which can be viewed by the public on the KCC YouTube channel, Evergy will have the opportunity to explain the necessity and impact of the proposed capital spending and answer questions from Commissioners, Commission Staff, and the Citizens Utility Ratepayer Board (CURB). Prior to the workshop, Evergy is required to file updated and comprehensive financial modeling showing expected retail rate changes resulting from the continued increases in projected capital expenditures.

Evergy is required to file a Capital Investment Plan with the KCC annually. A report filed by Commission Staff in response to the 2022 report expressed concern that the expenditures outlined exceeded those reported in the STP by 21.82%. The 2022 five-year Capital Investment plan was $1 billion higher than the 2021 five-year plan, and this increased spending projection was on top of a previously announced $1 billion increase between Evergy’s 2020 and 2021 five-year plan.

The Commission echoed the Staff’s concerns regarding the dramatic capital expenditure increases projections and whether that trend will undermine the goal of achieving regionally competitive rates and reliable electric service, especially with rising inflation.

The Order states, “Evergy’s Capital Improvement Plan affects the majority of Kansans and thus requires public scrutiny.”

Today’s order is available here.

A recording of today’s Business Meeting featuring comments by Commissioners, is available on the KCC YouTube channel.

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Fort Scott, Government

FS City Commission Meets Today To Accept Resignation of Josh Jones

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The City Commission will meet for a special meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 15th, 2022 at City Hall in the City Commission meeting room at 123 South Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas.  The City Commission will meet to accept the resignation of a City Commissioner.  An Executive Session may follow at the end of the meeting.

 

This meeting will be broadcast on the City’s You tube channel.  This meeting is open to the public.

Opinion

Letter to the Editor: Josh Jones

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It has been a privilege to serve Fort Scott for the last two years as Mayor/City Commissioner.

I have had the honor to get to know some of the best employees Fort Scott has.

I haven’t always made the right decisions but I truly felt like the decisions I made was for the betterment of Fort Scott.

My house outside of city limits will be complete in 4-5 months however I feel like it is best to resign as your city commissioner effective immediately as I feel the direction of the current commission is moving in a direction that differs from my views and it would be better suited for me to resign early and let a more motivated commissioner come on board.

Josh Jones