Keep Your Independence Day Safe with a Few Tips from the Experts

 

Enjoy a Safe, Fun Celebration with Family and Friends

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), Office of the State Fire Marshal and Safe Kids Kansas would like to share some important safety tips to ensure that all Kansans have a safe and fun Independence Day this year.

In 2022, there were a total of 102 injuries caused by fireworks in Kansas. The person igniting the firework was most likely to be injured, and the hands were the most common body part to be injured. Over half of the injuries that occurred from fireworks that happened on July Fourth were from burns. There was a 43 percent decrease in reported injuries from 2021.

Each age group saw a decrease except for a slight increase in 0-3 year-olds. The highest incidents of injuries were caused by mortars or artillery fireworks and other fireworks like parachutes, fountains and spinning items. This data was collected through voluntary reporting from Kansas hospitals and administered by the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

“Remember that fireworks are explosives and should be handled with care,” Cherie Sage, director of Safe Kids Kansas, said. “Children should not light fireworks, including sparklers, which burn at a temperature hot enough to melt glass. We encourage parents to let their little ones use glow sticks instead of sparklers and leave the rest to grownups.”

Grilling is another favorite part of many summertime gatherings. Make sure grills are used outdoors only, away from the home and deck railings, and out from under eaves and overhanging branches. Keep children and pets away from the grill area and never leave your grill unattended. Clean your grill regularly to prevent grease fires.

“We want everyone to have a fun and safe celebration on Independence Day,” Doug Jorgensen, state fire marshal, said. “Taking a few simple precautions if you’re lighting off fireworks or grilling can ensure that your family and friends are safe and injury free this fourth of July. If possible, go to a public fireworks display, and let the trained professionals handle the risks.”

Here are some tips to keep your celebrations safe:

Have adults supervise children and pets around grills and fireworks.
Designate a child-free safety zone around grills and areas where fireworks are being lit.
Store fireworks in a cool, dry place.
Fireworks should only be handled by adults. Consider giving children glow sticks, which also help you see little ones after dark.
Have a water supply ready, such as a bucket of water or garden hose.
Dispose of used fireworks carefully, as they may reignite.
Keep a first-aid kit available and nearby.
Ignite fireworks outdoors on a flat surface.
Light only one firework at a time.
Never stand over fireworks when lighting or holding a firework in your hand when lighting the fuse and wear eye protection.
Never try to re-light or pick up fireworks that have not ignited fully.
Never attempt to make your own fireworks.

Bottle rockets are illegal and M80 type of “fireworks” are considered explosives, and it is a felony in Kansas to possess, manufacture or use, as well as being extremely dangerous. The use or sale of these banned fireworks and explosives is considered a crime under Kansas law. It is also illegal in Kansas to shoot fireworks on or under any vehicle, on any public roadway, within 50 feet of a fireworks stand or where fireworks are stored, and at gas stations or any place liquid gas – including propane – is stored.

Always refer to the local ordinances as to whether fireworks are allowed in your area as well as what types. Some cities or counties have restricted dates/times or types of fireworks that may be sold or discharged.

In addition, out of respect for veterans when it comes to the individual discharge of fireworks, please keep in mind the noise and stress (PTSD) your activities may cause near VA facilities.

For more information on fireworks safety, visit firemarshal.ks.gov/216/ or safekidskansas.org/

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Share your knowledge and expertise at the 2023 Kansas Prevention Conference!

 

The Kansas Prevention Conference provides educational opportunities to increase awareness of emerging trends, build skills and knowledge to prevent suicide, alcohol, tobacco, and other drug misuse, and advocate for best practices.

The KPC Conference hosts state and local professionals from the various facets of the substance misuse prevention field and related disciplines. Conference breakout session on October 12 – 13 will be 45 minutes, 60 minutes, or 90-minute sessions.

The Kansas Prevention Conference invites proposals that:

  • Reflect emerging techniques and cutting-edge content related to substance use or suicide prevention
  • Provide useful content for the public and prevention professionals
  • Stimulate and provoke discussion and audience engagement
  • Deliver model practices using approaches for different types of learners
  • Present evidence-based strategies
  • Use multimedia approaches to enhance attendee learning

The call for proposals will close on July 14, 2023 at 5 PM.

Nominate a champion in your community for one of the 2023 Kansas Prevention Awards!

Across Kansas, prevention champions are working hard to create change in their community. Their hard work deserves to be recognized. Nominate the champions in your community for one of the six award categories and help us celebrate them at this year’s Kansas Prevention Conference.

Nominations close on August 1, 2023.

Interested in sponsoring this year’s conference?

Learn about the exhibitor and sponsor opportunities starting at just $150.

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Copyright © 2023 Kansas Prevention Collaborative, All rights reserved.

New Historic Fort Scott Mural Artist: Cbabi Bayoc

Cbabi Bayoc. Submitted photo.
Cbabi Bayoc, St. Louis, MO,  was selected to paint the latest  downtown Fort Scott mural.
He was selected through a process, established by the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Downtown Division, to seek the best artist for the mural to highlight the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry historic significance in the Civil War.
The mural will be facing the Fort Scott National Historic Site, which is where this infantry unit was organized for  the Civil War.
This mural will be replaced with a new one depicting African-American troops who served in the American Civil War. The mural wall faces Fort Scott National Historic Site.
Bayoc, 50,  has been creating murals since 2017.
“I have about 25-30 murals in schools and businesses around the St. Louis region and several in outside locations, like the United Church of Christ corporate office in Ohio, the 1619 Freedom School in Iowa and the Family Reunification center in North Carolina,” he said in an interview with fortscott.biz.
“I have never done a military-inspired mural but have always been interested in the Civil War and Reconstruction,” he said.” I am also an Air Force brat, so this is special to me.”
“The only must-haves for (this) mural were three soldiers and their batallion flag,” Bayoc said. “So I designed a mural with a soldier in arms with the American flag, a soldier aiming his rifle across the design and the batallion flag as a backdrop.”
Bayoc will be in Fort Scott the second week of August for approximately a week for working on the mural, he said. At the beginning of the project he will have one or two people helping him.
About the 1st Colored Infantry
“Kansas was the first Northern state to recruit, train, and send Black soldiers into combat during the Civil War,” according to https://www.nps.gov/fosc/learn/historyculture/firsttoserve.htm. “Fort Scott served as the home base for both the 1st and 2nd Kansas Colored Infantry, with both regiments being mustered into federal service on Fort Scott’s former parade ground. The Emancipation Proclamation officially authorized the recruitment of African American soldiers for federal service (although the 1st Kansas Colored had earlier been recruited as a state unit in August 1862). This meant it was now legal for free Blacks and former slaves to fight back against the institution of slavery and seek to abolish it through armed resistance. As virtually every Southern slave code prohibited Blacks from carrying guns, the proclamation had a profound psychological impact across the region.”
Captain William Mathews –a free Black, a businessman and station master on the Underground Railroad –recruited former slaves into the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment at Fort Scott. He lost his rank when the unit was federalized but later served as an artillery officer.
Taken from the  Fort Scott National Historic Site, courtesy of the Kansas State Historical Society

To keep up to date on the mural creation:

https://www.facebook.com/muralsoffortscott

The mural will be dedicated during the Gordon Parks Celebration on the first Friday in October,  said Rachel French, a member of the Chamber Downtown Committee and project coordinator for the mural.

The $5,250 Kansas Office of Rural Prosperity grant awarded for the mural is a matching grant.

“We are fundraising for the match,” French said. “We need to do signage and there will be recognition of donors.”

To donate:

https://muralsoffortscott.wixsite.com/home

2023 Lowell Milken Center Fellows Receive Keys to the City

The 2023 Fellows: From left, Back Row:  Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Director Lindsay Madison;  Ali Jun from Las Vegas, NV; Victoria Lightfoot from Raleigh, NC;  Michelle Wolfe from Baker, WV; and FS Tourism Director Jackson Tough. Front Row:  Kate Molodyk from Ukraine; Lesley Snyder from Irmo, SC Jennifer Farr from Junction City, KS.

2023 Lowell Milken Center Fellows Receive Keys to the City

 

The Lowell Milken Center (LMC) for Unsung Heroes in Fort Scott, Kansas has awarded its 2023 National Fellowship to 12 educators.

As part of their week-long experience in Fort Scott, the six fellows for June 25 – 30 were given the key to the city on Tuesday, June 27th, by Jackson Tough, Tourism Director. (Six other Fellows were in Fort Scott last week.) Upon the presentation of the keys, Tourism Director Jackson Tough said, “From Gordon Parks to the history of the Fort and the National Cemetery, along with this amazing Center for Unsung Heroes, we realize that Fort Scott is the home of heroes. Now we add you, the Lowell Milken Fellows to that list of heroes. You influence so many young people. You mold them, inspire them, and give them direction.”

 

The Fellows honored this week were Jennifer Farr from Kansas, Ali Jun from ­­­­Nevada, Victoria Lightfoot from North Carolina, Kateryna Molodyk from Ukraine, Lesley Snyder from South Carolina, and Michelle Wolfe from West Virginia.

LMC Director Norm Conard praised these outstanding individuals, saying, “We are so honored to be able to network and collaborate with these exemplary educators and provide them with an opportunity to reflect, reenergize and strategize with each other as they seek to find new ways to inspire their students.”

 

Every summer, the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes awards their Fellowship to national and international award-winning educators from America and around the world.

As National LMC Fellows, they deepen their understanding of Unsung Heroes and project-based learning in preparation for developing Unsung Heroes projects with their students. They also learn the stories of powerful role models who have helped to change the world and can be life-changing examples for students today.

Along with the time spent deepening their professional skills at the LMC, the Fellows enjoy visiting the Fort Scott area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

U234 Report from June 27 Meeting

Unified School District 234

424 South Main

Fort Scott, KS 66701-2697

www.usd234.org

620-223-0800   Fax 620-223-2760

 

 

DESTRY BROWN                                                                                                                                                        

Superintendent                                                                                                                                            

BOARD OF EDUCATION SPECIAL MEETING

NEWS RELEASE

Tuesday, June 27, 2023

 

Members of the USD 234 Board of Education met at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, for a special board meeting at the board office.

 

President Danny Brown opened the meeting.

 

The board approved the following items:

  • High School Science Resources from McGraw Hill in the amount of $13,531.64
  • Preschool Resource from FrogStreet in the amount of $23,216.16
  • KERMP Property, Casualty, Auto Insurance Renewal
  • Laptop Storage from WebRestaurant & Supply from Amazon in the amount of $16,946.08
  • Year-End Budget Review and Approval of Transfers

 

The board went into executive session and then approved the Personnel Report as presented.

 

President Danny Brown adjourned the meeting.

 

 

 

 

PERSONNEL REPORT – APPROVED EMPLOYMENT

June 27, 2023

 

RESIGNATIONS/TERMINATIONS/RETIREMENTS:

Feagins, Cecil J – Retirement – Fort Scott Middle School Custodian, as of August 31, 2023

Gumfory, Chelsea – Resignation – Fort Scott Middle School 8th Grade Math Teacher as of June 26, 2023

 

TRANSFERS/REASSIGNMENTS:

For the 2023-24 school year:

Certified:

Hall, Kathi – transfer from Fort Scott Middle School 6th Grade ELA Teacher to Fort Scott Middle School 8th Grade Math Teacher

Minor, Linda – transfer from Winfield Scott Elementary 2nd Grade Teacher to Winfield Scott Elementary Technology Teacher

 

Classified:

Glover, Carol – Winfield Scott Cook – change in hours from 5.5 hours to 5.0 hours

Vincent, McKayla – transfer from Eugene Ware Elementary Paraprofessional to Winfield Scott Paraprofessional

 

EMPLOYMENT:

Certified Recommendations for the 2023-24 school year:

Rivera, Jacquelyn – Winfield Scott Elementary 2nd Grade Teacher

Singmaster, Torrie – Fort Scott Middle School 6th Grade Math Teacher

 

Classified Recommendations for the 2023-24 school year:

Jobe, Candace – Special Education Administrative Assistant

Judson, Mary – Fort Scott High School Cook

Kim, Jong – Winfield Scott Kitchen Manager

Marsh, Anna – Eugene Ware Elementary Cook

Jones, Haley – Administrative Assistant/Communications Coordinator

 

Supplemental Recommendations for the 2023-24 school year:

Ables, Andrew – Fort Scott Middle School Assistant Football Coach

Obituary of Lucille Griffith

Lucille Mae Griffith, age 97, of Fort Scott, KS, formerly of Uniontown passed away Sunday, June 25, 2023

at Credo Assisted Living Center after a brief illness. She was born April 28, 1926 in Cleona, PA, the daughter of John H. Funk and Rosa “Rosie” Kreider Funk. Lucille graduated from Cleona, PA schools. She worked at Bethlehem Steel as a lathe worker for a short time before attending a 3-Year nursing program at the Pennsylvania School of Nursing in Philadelphia and graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1948.

Lucille work at Pennsylvania Hospital and then moved to Denver, Colorado to work as an RN at Denver Hospital. Lucille was a volunteer for USO (United Service Organization) where she met her husband Charles “Charley” Konantz Griffith who was in the Air Force. Charley was transferred to Nebraska

Airforce Base near Omaha and Lucille and Charley were married in Nebraska on June 2, 1951.

Lucille was proud of her work as a nurse at Newman Young Clinic, Mercy Hospital, and the Uniontown school district. She was a member of the Uniontown Methodist Church and later a member of Faith Christian Church in Fort Scott. Lucille was an excellent cook and enjoyed sewing, knitting, and visiting with friends. She was a member of Uniontown Eastern Star and taught knitting to 4-H members.

Lucille and her husband served as volunteers for the Red Cross Disaster Teams and worked the aftermath of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and tornados.

Lucille was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her sister Anna Alt, and her special sister-in-law Alice Ramsey.

Lucille is survived by her four children, Bill Griffith, Cindy Bartelsmeyer (John), Mary Wynn (Rick), Sara Griffith, 11 grandchildren Aaron Griffith, Lisa Zimmerman, Grace Lundy, Marty Manwiller, Amy Peterson, Chris Bartelsmeyer, Joy Rhea, Charity Strozier, Nathan Wynn, Andrea Rowe, Megan Messer, 21 great-grandchildren, her sister Marian Heffner, brother Melvin Funk, brother Richard Funk, and many nieces and nephews.

There was cremation. A celebration of life service will be held at 11:00 A.M. Saturday, July 8, 2023, at the Cheney Witt Chapel. The family will receive friends on Saturday from 10:00 A.M. until service time at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Private burial will take place in the Uniontown Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation 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.

 

 

Chamber Feature: Organized by Karis

Sending on behalf of Chamber Member

Organized by Karis…

Good-bye Clutter!

Organized by Karis is accepting new clients for July!

They are able to do a one time clean or you can schedule for a weekly, biweekly, or monthly clean.

Not located in Fort Scott? Organized by Karis travels to Pittsburg, Nevada, Pleasanton, and Mound City areas!

Give them a call today at 620.704.9547!

Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce | 231 E. Wall Street, Fort Scott, KS 66701

Bo Co Commission Special Meeting to View Fence Near Redfield on June 28

Bourbon County Courthouse

210 S. National Ave Fort Scott, KS 66701 Phone: 620-223-3800

Fax: 620-223-5832

 

Bourbon County, Kansas

Nelson Blythe

1st District Commissioner

Jim Harris, Chairman

2nd District Commissioner

Clifton Beth

3rd District Commissioner

 

 

Bourbon County Commission Agenda 1023 115th St.

Redfield, KS 66769

June 28, 2023, 10:00 AM

 

 

  1. Call Meeting to Order
  2. Fence Viewing
  • Public Comments
  1. Commission Comments
  2. Meeting Adjourn

 

 

 

Executive Session Justifications:

 

KSA 75-4319 (b)(1) to discuss personnel matters of individual nonelected personnel to protect their privacy.

KSA 75-4319 (b)(2) for consultation with an attorney for the public body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the

attorney-client relationship.

KSA 75-4319 (b)(3) to discuss matters relating to employer/employee negotiations whether or not in consultation with the

representative(s) of               the body or agency.

KSA 75-4319 (b)(4) to discuss data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trust and individual     proprietorships

KSA 75-4319 (b)(6) for the preliminary discussion of the acquisition of real property.

KSA 75-4319 (b)(12) to discuss matters relating to the security measures, if the discussion of such matters at an open meeting

would jeopardize such security measures.