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What’s Happening in Fort Scott Feb. 7 Newsletter
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Monthly Archives: February 2025
New Chapter Begins in Care to Share: Downtown Space and Gift Shop
Care to Share, a local helping organization, is having a ribbon cutting at their new location, which also houses a gift shop.
The organization helps cancer fighters and their families in their battle.
“We try to provide help in many ways and each case is different based on the needs of that specific individual and their family,” said Teresa Davenport, president of Care to Share. “We will clean, mow, drive, provide meals, etc. One of our biggest expenses is gas vouchers so people can get to treatment. We also provide hotel rooms and meals if overnight stays are needed. We have supplemental drinks available at the office too. When asked what Care to Share does or what we can provide, our answer is’ What do you specifically need?’ and our team of volunteers do everything we can to meet those needs.”
“The space and gift shop are very exciting for us,” she said.
The ribbon cutting will be on Feb. 27th at 8 a.m. at the new office at 9 E. Wall.
The new gift shop offers shirts, sweatshirts, hats, earrings, slippers, dog beds, fishing lures, kooies, wristbands, keychains, throws, and other items for sale.
“Several people (vendors) have put their items in our gift shop as well and we get 20% of sales on those items, with some vendors giving us 100% of their sales. What a blessing that is!”
“If people would like to be a vendor, they can contact me to discuss,” she said.
The gift shop is owned by Care to Share.
The organization continues to offer, wigs, jewelry, hats, slippers, throws, and several other items, free, to those fighting cancer.
The shop is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. “with hopes to expand our hours of operation with the help of people wanting to volunteer a few hours a month to include Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
“All sales from our gift shop will go to help our local cancer survivors in our catchment area, which is Linn, Bourbon, and Crawford Counties.”
Their mission statement is “Care to Share provides friendship and support through emotional and financial assistance to cancer fighters and their caregivers because we…… Care to Share.”
“We were organized in June of 2007 and started raising funds in March of 2009. We have no paid staff, a wonderful volunteer base, and a board of directors. We provide thousands of volunteer hours and hundreds of rides and meals every year. WE COULD NOT DO WHAT WE DO WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND BUSINESSES!”
We now have intake coordinators for each county. Leah Lewis and Debbie West for Bourbon. Richard Long for Linn and Greg Scott for Crawford. We also have a meal coordinator, Whendi Martin, a cleaning Coordinator, Karis Poyner, a Transportation Coordinator, Dadle Cathey, and our prayer chain and grants coordinator, Kathy Clark. We have other coordinator positions open as well if someone is interested in giving up their time. We are looking for a media person and people to pick one of our events as a year to be the coordinator for that one event one time a year. Being spread out in three counties, it would help us grow to find volunteers to head these events. We are also looking to grow our events in Linn and Crawford Counties, so if anyone has any ideas for a fundraiser, they are welcome to give us a call!!!!! We can be reached at 620.644.9090 or they may call me directly at 620.238.0902.
Upcoming Events
“Our next big event is the Pre-Spring Fling, February, 15 at the River Room featuring The Piano Man. Tickets and information can be found on our Facebook page. Something new to our organization is The Community Concert Series that we are collaborating with the City of Fort Scott.”
Perfect Timing by Patty LaRoche
Author: A Little Faith Lift…Finding Joy Beyond Rejection
www.alittlefaithlift.com
AWSA (Advanced Writers & Speakers Assoc.)
Theodore Roosevelt once said, “When you’re at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on.” If you’ve ever prayed for something and God appears unconcerned or absent, you’re in good company. Well, not good company because His faith-full children know that life is all about His timing, not theirs.
In the Zoom Bible study I attend, last week we discussed God’s timing by listening to a sermon by Pastor Craig Groeschel. He addressed three reasons why God was silent for 400 years between the writings of the Old and New Testaments.
(1). Learning was no longer done by a teacher speaking while students remained silent; rather, the Socratic method was introduced whereby students were allowed to participate and question.
(2). Rome developed roads and travel flourished.
(3). Alexander the Great conquered the world and Jewish people spread out.
According to Groeschel, all of that needed to happen to prepare for Jesus’ coming. God’s timing is perfect, even though it might not seem that way if we spend weeks/months/years praying for something and are hanging onto that knotted rope.
My son, Adam, recently recovered two Haitian orphans, a seven-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy, and delivered them to their adoptive, Canadian parents who met them at the airport in Miami, Florida. His safety and theirs depended on God’s timing.
A year ago, Adam’s sex-trafficking team rescued a missionary family in Haiti and returned them to the U.S. That family was contacted by two Canadian couples who had spent five years trying to adopt two Haitian orphans, and now that the papers were signed, it was too dangerous for the kids to get out of Port Au Prince. Did they know anyone who could help? The missionaries put them in contact with Adam. This time our son went alone.
A colleague Adam had met in Ukraine knew a helicopter pilot in Haiti who could help in the rescue. When travel to the U.S. was postponed (Flights to Port Au Prince had been suspended by all airlines due to violence in the country), an acquaintance of Adam’s knew a pastor who hid them until they could leave. Had Adam not met these people (God’s timing), this could have had a very different outcome.
Adam knew that God had orchestrated this rescue, so when he was grilled for hours at the Embassy, he did not fret. After all, here was a white, tattooed, bearded male, attempting to leave Haiti with two young black children, and even though he had all the legal paperwork, he looked suspicious. At the airport and on the plane, he felt the looks and heard the murmurs. (I’m sure I would have been one of those judging, except I, in my dramatic flair, probably would have made a scene and had him arrested.)
Psalm 18:30 (NIV) is a verse worth memorizing: As for God, His way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in Him.
Adam will attest to that.
The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Daily Reports Feb. 7
Obituary of Sharon Kay Miller
Sharon Kay Miller,81, of Fort Scott, most recently Tallahassee, Florida passed away on February 4, 2025. She was born in Fort Scott, Kansas on June 11, 1943, to loving parents Kenneth Wilson Simons and Veda Fern Wheeler Simons. She graduated with the Fort Scott High School class of 1961. Sharon married George Kepley (G.K.) Miller on June 23, 1962, in Mapleton, Kansas.
Sharon loved doing things with and for her family, friends, and community. She was a member of Olive Chapter #13 Order of the Eastern Star. She was a Bluebirds, Campfire Girl and Cub Scout Mom, and a Mother Advisor for the Fort Scott Rainbow Girls. She was a proud and supportive Navy wife. She made lasting friendships while working at Western Insurance in Fort Scott. And she was a great fan of Kansas Jayhawks basketball!
Sharon liked to sew and crochet, much to the benefit of her family and friends! She also liked to fish and to work in her flowerbeds. Most of all, she loved and fiercely supported her family.
Sharon is survived by her husband, G.K. of Tallahassee, her daughter, Denise Dawn Miller and son-in-law Bryan Baker of Tallahassee, her son John Jay Miller, and daughter-in-law Lori Reesor of Middleton, Wisconsin, her son-in-law Charlie Elliott of Fort Scott, Kansas, and her sister, Charlotte Ann Owen and brother-in-law Ronald Owen of Basehor, Kansas. She is also survived by granddaughters Candace Corrine Martin and husband Anthony, Kayla Nicole Hall and husband Dustin, Sarah Alice Miller, grandson Andrew Neal Miller Baker, seven great-grandchildren, Alyssa and Makenna Martin, Gavin and Logan Smith, Mallorie, Libbie and Grayson Hall, two nephews, Kenneth Lee Owen and Brian Owen, an aunt, Katherine Scott, and a host of treasured cousins.
Sharon is greatly loved and missed.
Following cremation a memorial service with burial in the U. S. National Cemetery in Ft. Scott, Kansas will be held at a later date. Arrangements are under the direction of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, Ft. Scott, Kansas. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
Illusionist Reza To Perform Tomorrow at the Ellis Center in Fort Scott
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Bourbon County Inter-Agency Coalition General Membership Meeting Minutes
The Beacon Year in Review 2024
Community Needs Assessment Survey 2025
February 5, 2025
- Welcome: Nineteen members representing sixteen agencies attended the meeting held at the Scottview Apartments Conference Room.
- Member Introductions and Announcements:
- Larry Jump- SEK-CAP Early Childhood Community Liaison. The Fort Scott Head Start center is fully staffed. Head Start also offers home visiting services throughout the county. SEK-CAP is conducting a community needs survey to drive future policy. Please take a couple of minutes to complete the survey.
- Craig Campbell – Good Neighbor Action Team – GNAT builds ramps, and helps with grants and application assistance. Looking for low-tech work that individuals involved in the justice system can work on.
- Heather Shepherd- CHC Social worker- Heather works with the CHASE program. She helps students and parents overcome obstacles.
- Stephanie Breckenridge- Family Resource Center Family Response Advocate – Stephanie can provide support to families with children in the following areas: parenting, concrete support, and advocating.
- Kelli Mengarelli – Family Resource Center, Early Childhood Block Grant
- Jannelle Tate- ECBG – Area schools/centers are finishing winter testing
- Michelle Stevenson- Fort Scott Early Childhood Program (funded by ECBG) Offers services to families with children prenatal-6. Michelle provides developmental screenings, parent activities, and resources. She currently has a couple of openings and will have a lot more in June.
- Christine Abbott – SE KANSASWORKS- located in HBCAT from 9:00-4:00 on Tuesdays. Can help clients needing assistance finding employment, youth career guidance, work experience, and on-the-job training. Clients can set up an account online or walk in as needed.
- Angela Handly- Salvation Army/Compassionate Ministries- Angela can help clients with gas vouchers, rent assistance, utility assistance, shoes, and clothing. Angela is also helping with the Girl Scouts. She has cookies for $6/box. Also looking for more girls to join Girl Scouts.
- Dave Gillen- Beacon- 2024 marked 40 years of service for the Beacon. They provide food and are a hub for several Bourbon County programs. See the attached “Beacon Year in Review” document to see how much of an impact the Beacon had in 2024.
- Star Culp – Parents As Teachers Bourbon County – Parents as Teachers just received the PAT Blue Ribbon, the highest standard for PAT programs. PAT offers a free home-based early learning program. There are no necessary qualifications, but must have a child prenatal-6. PAT has an open position for an additional parent educator.
- Shanna Willey – Community Health Worker in the clinic at CHC – Shanna can help clients with medicare savings applications, KanCare applications, Kansas medical assistance, and LEIP applications.
- Patty Simpson – Housing Authority – The Housing Authority operates 190 income-based apartments. There is a short waiting list for all sizes of units. Taking applications every day. Applicants must be 18 years old or emancipated through the court. A felony does not necessarily disqualify an applicant.
- LeaKay Karleskint- K-State Extension & Research SNAP-Ed Nutrition Educator – Offer free SNAP-Ed programs for 3rd grade and up, just need a space for the lesson. Also offering a walking program for seniors with arthritis at Buck Run.
- Tammy Alcantar -Crawford County Health Department- Work with Bourbon County Health Department to offer teen pregnancy, Baby & Me Tobacco Free, and prenatal classes in Bourbon County.
- Elsie Gardner – DCF Independent Living – Program works to prepare youth ages 18-26 for adulthood. Can provide financial benefits and help connect with community partners. Independent Living works in multiple counties in SEK.
- Dee Dee LeFever- Greenbush Community Liaison
- Program: Allison Duke, Kinship Navigator Specialist, FosterAdopt Connect
FosterAdopt Connect Kinship Navigation is a free program for people caring for children who are not their own, especially youth at risk of entering or reentering foster care. Kinship care can be anyone with a previous relationship to the child. Prefer to work on the informal side- no legal recognition- before the courts are involved. Also will work with formal cases where DCF or other agencies are involved. FosterAdopt Connect offers support in the following areas: basic resources (food pantries, clothing), childcare/education support, advocacy systems and applications support (food stamps, mental health, TANF, etc.), can help navigate the foster system, limited emergency financial assistance is available, and can partner with Kansas Legal Services. There are a few requirements: biological parents cannot live in the home, income cannot exceed 200% of the poverty limit, and must live in Bourbon or Crawford County. Kinship Navigation can refer to other programs within FosterAdopt Connect. FosterAdopt Connect is funded by a TANF 2Gen grant. Referrals can be made through IRIS or at FosterAdopt Connect.org. The Bourbon/Crawford County office opened in January 2024 and is currently working with two families in Crawford and Bourbon County.
- Open Forum: Nothing further came before the membership.
- Adjournment: The next General Membership meeting will be March 5, 2025.
Rembering the World of Anne Frank: Fort Scott High School Thespians on Feb. 20-22
Feb. 4, 2025
FSHS Thespians presents “And Then They Came for Me – Remembering the World of Anne Frank”
Fort Scott High School Thespians presents the play “And Then They Came for Me – Remembering the World of Anne Frank” by James Still.
Performances are at 7 p.m. on Feb. 20-22 in the FSHS Auditorium.
The production is a multi-media performance with live sound bytes and videos from the actual Holocaust survivors portrayed in the play as well as real video footage from the time period.
In addition to the performance, the lobby will feature many items of interest to the audience. A collection of Holocaust memorabilia from local historians Ronda and Rob Hassig will be on display in the Art Gallery. Students in the Advanced Drama class are displaying research on groups of oppressed peoples and plays that have been written to speak up for those groups, much like how “And Then They Came for Me” speaks for victims and survivors of the Holocaust. Students in Jon Barnes’ Government and Current Events classes, after reading and listening to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” wrote “A Letter From a Fort Scott Classroom” about a time in their lives that they felt discriminated against. Many of these letters will be available to read. The Technical Theatre class also built white models of set designs for the play that are on display.
Cast and crew members of the play were educated about the real lives of their characters through research and a presentation by Ronda Hassig. Hassig has personally visited sixty concentration camps and she shared her knowledge and photos with the students to help them better understand their characters and the world of the play.
Senior Kaiden Clary plays one of the Holocaust survivors, “Performing Young Ed gave me a chance to look into how a Jewish person was treated during WWll, how this person had to hide from SS guards to even be with his grandparents, how he had to try to escape time and time again. After learning about and discussing him, it is hard to believe that people actually had to go through many of these things, especially not seeing his parents for almost four years.”
Tickets for “And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the Life of Anne Frank” are $5 for students and $7 for adults and available at fortscotthighschool.ludus.com or at the door. Doors open thirty minutes prior to showtime.
The play is directed by FSHS Theatre Director Angie Bin with Mesa Jones serving as Assistant Director. It is produced by special arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois. Please contact Bin at [email protected] or at 620-719-9622 with questions.
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NRMC to Offer Free Cholesterol Screening
Nevada Regional Medical Center (NRMC) announces it will host a free cholesterol screening sponsored by NRMC Foundation on Friday, February 21 from 6:30 to 9:30 A.M. Registration is open to the public, but appointments are limited.
The Foundation sponsors this annual screening each February in recognition of American Hearth Month. “This simple blood draw can give participants a quick view of their total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglyceride levels” notes Foundation Director, Jennifer Eaton. “These results can then be shared with their primary care provider to determine the next steps to take in their heath journey.”
According to the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. for both men and women. However, there are steps you can take to keep your heart healthy and reduce the risk of heart disease:
- Get enough quality sleep
- Eat a balanced diet
- Stop smoking
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Get active
- Manage/monitor your blood sugar & blood pressure
- Manage stress
- Control cholesterol levels
Daily acts of self-care can also benefit you heart health. Make that doctor’s appointment you may have been putting off, do at least one positive action for heart health each day, find an exercise buddy or join a class/group to help stay motivated and encourage your family to participate as well to help you meet your health goals.
To register for the free cholesterol screening, call (417) 448-3801.
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About Nevada Regional Medical Center
NRMC is a 71-bed acute, intensive and skilled care hospital providing comprehensive health care services. Staff represent more than a dozen medical specialties including ear, nose & throat, family practice, general surgery, gynecology, internal medicine, orthopedics, pain management, pediatrics, psychiatry and wound care services. Additionally, consultation clinics are held regularly by specialists in cardiology, dermatology, neurology, podiatry, pulmonology and urology.
NRMC is centrally located between Kansas City and Joplin along the I-49 corridor.
REZA Coming to Fort Scott This Saturday Feb. 8
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Public Hearing on Evergy’s Request to Recover Costs
KCC schedules public hearing and comment period on Evergy’s
request to recover costs for new gas plants and solar facility
TOPEKA – The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) has scheduled a virtual public hearing beginning at 6 p.m. on March 5th to provide Evergy Kansas customers across the state with information about three proposed new generation investments (two combined cycle gas-fired generating turbine plants and one solar facility). One gas plant would be located near Evergy’s Viola Substation in Sumner County and the second near Hutchinson in Reno County. The Kansas Sky solar facility would be located in Douglas County. The Commission will also provide an opportunity for public comments during the hearing.
Evergy filed an application with the KCC requesting a predetermination of the prudency of the investments and whether the company would be entitled to recover the costs of the investments and under what terms. Evergy has asked to recover the cost of construction work in progress (CWIP) and in a future rate proceeding will ask for recovery of the investments after they are in service, which is expected at the end of 2026 for the solar facility and 2029 and 2030 for the gas plants.
To participate in the virtual hearing via Zoom and make a public comment, advance registration is required by noon on March 4. For persons wishing to watch, but not comment during the public hearing, a live video stream will be available on the KCC YouTube channel. The hearing will also be recorded for later viewing.
In addition to the hearing, the Commission will accept written comments through 5 p.m. on April 7. Comments may be submitted online, by mail or by calling the KCC at 785-271-3140 or 800-662-0027.
To register for the virtual hearing, make a public comment online or find additional information on the application, go to the Commission’s website (www.kcc.ks.gov) and click on the “Your Opinion Matters” tab.
The Commission will issue an order on the application on or before July 7, 2025.
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