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Obituary

Obituary of Ruth Wells

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On December 11, 2019, the Good Lord called a faithful servant home to glory.  Ruth Fidelia (Culler) Wells, age 88, a former resident of Ft. Scott, Kansas, entered her heavenly home on Wednesday evening at the Medicalodge in Girard, Kansas.  She was born January 23, 1931, at the family farm home in Vernon County, Missouri.  She was happily married to Kenneth Earl Wells on April 16, 1950, a union that lasted for over fifty-six years.  God gave them six children; Steven E. Wells, Kathryn E.  (Kathy) Wells, Deloris E. (Lorie) Wells, Faith E. Varner, Warren E. Wells and Dwayne E. Wells.  Her surviving grandchildren are Melissa J. Love, Clifton Varner, Daniel Varner, Michael Wells, Cassandra (LeeAnn) Wells, Rose Wells, Matthew Wells and Jamie Judy.  There are also several surviving great-grandchildren.   Ruth is now enjoying seeing her Savior’s face and sharing Heaven with her husband who passed away August 1, 2006; two of her children were also awaiting her there, Warren and Deloris (Lorie).  Ruth’s parents, William B. Culler and Mary (Marie) Leer Culler and brothers, William (Bud) Culler and John Culler are all deceased.  Ruth has two younger siblings, Donna Marie Culler and Dorothy Jane Hicks.

 

Ruth loved family.  She cared for children of all ages during her life.  She was a teacher at a country school at the age of seventeen, after only one years of college.  She was a teen Sunday School teacher in a Baptist church in Wichita.  Ruth worked in the nursery at the First Southern Baptist Church and she was the primary care giver in the church nursery at Grace Baptist Tabernacle for 13 years. During the last few years of her life, she started a small church called Cross Road in the former Catt School building, in rural Fort Scott.

 

She was well known for her homemade pies and cast-iron skillet fried chicken. Her children’s friends were always welcome at any time to sit down at the supper table and enjoy farm raised meals. Ruth spent her last months telling others about her Savior, Jesus Christ in the nursing homes in southeast Kansas. Residents in the Girard facility called her “Grandma” and some would ask her to pray for them. She will be missed here on earth but she is welcomed up there in Heaven by her Creator and family members as well as Christian friends.

 

Pastor Bradley Friesen will conduct a graveside service, at 11:00 AM Tuesday, December 17, 2019 in the Deerfield Cemetery in Deerfield, Missouri. The family will receive friends on Tuesday from 10:00 – 10:45 AM, prior to leaving for the cemetery. Memorials are suggested to the Bible Believers Baptist Church Mission Fund 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.

Area News, Business, Government, K-State Extension, Kansas

Regional Farmers’ Market Workshop Scheduled for February In Iola

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MANHATTAN, Kan. —  The Kansas Department of Agriculture and K-State Research and Extension will host six regional workshops in February 2020 to assist farmers’ market vendors and managers. Kansas farmers’ markets not only provide a fresh food source, but also stimulate the local economy. In 2019, 57 farmers’ markets were registered with KDA’s Central Registration of Farmers’ Markets.

“Farmers’ markets provide growers a wonderful opportunity to have real interaction with consumers, and a chance to tell their farm’s story,” said Londa Nwadike, consumer food safety specialist with K-State Research and Extension and the University of Missouri. “It’s also important for farmers to understand certain legal, safety and financial parameters before choosing to sell at a farmers’ market.”

 

Workshop topics will vary slightly by location. Main topics include:

  • Double Up Food Bucks Program and Accepting EBT
  • Food Safety and Regulations on Selling Meat, Eggs and Poultry
  • Kansas Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program Certified Farmer Training
  • Marketing Tips
  • Produce Grower Panel

 

KDA’s weights and measures program will also offer free scale certification at the workshops for attendees.

 

Dates and locations for the Farmers’ Market events are as follows:

Saturday, Feb. 1 — Iola: Allen Community College

Saturday, Feb. 8 — Wichita: Sedgwick County Extension Office

Friday, Feb. 21 — Olathe: KSU Olathe

Saturday, Feb. 22 — Hiawatha: Fisher Center

Friday, Feb. 28 — Beloit: Beloit First Christian Church

Saturday, Feb. 29 — Leoti: Wichita County Community Building

 

Registration for the February workshops is now open. The cost is $20 per participant to cover the cost of lunch. Lunch will only be guaranteed to those participants who register prior to the respective workshop date. Registration for the workshops can be found at FromtheLandofKansas.com/FMworkshop or at local extension offices.

Onsite registration for the workshops will open at 8:30 a.m. and the workshops will begin at 9:00 a.m. and conclude by 3:00 p.m. The Wichita workshop will begin onsite registration at 8:15 a.m. and the workshop begins at 8:45 a.m., concluding at 4:30 p.m.

For more information, contact Robin Blume, KDA’s education and events coordinator, at 785-564-6756 or [email protected]. The workshops are funded by the Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops, the Kansas Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, and the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

 

KDA is committed to providing an environment that enhances and encourages economic growth of the agriculture industry and the Kansas economy. The Kansas Ag Growth Strategy has identified training for small companies via workshops as a key growth outcome for the specialty crop sector. The farmers’ market workshops will provide education through partnerships to help make Kansas farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses more successful.

 
Business, Entertainment, Fort Scott, Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce

Mistletoe On Main Street Dec. 12

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Stores open late!
Find the hidden mistletoe in each store!
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce announces Mistletoe on Main Street, Downtown & Around will be held this Thursday evening,
December 12th, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Retailers in the downtown historic district and other locations throughout town will be decked for the holidays with great gift ideas and holiday décor for a fun evening of shopping!
Store locations will have hidden mistletoe that can be found and returned to the Chamber of Commerce in exchange for $10 in Chamber Bucks, and shoppers will also be able to enter their name in a drawing for a chance to win $50 in Chamber Bucks as well.
Church news, Fort Scott

Fort Scott Nazarene Church Christmas Services

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Fort Scott Nazarene at 1728 Horton, Fort Scott, KS will have services Christmas Sunday Dec. 22, 9:00 and 10:45 am. There will be a Christmas Eve Service Dec. 24, 6:00 pm.

The church’s mission statement: All things to all people, to share the Hope of Jesus.

“We will be finishing out our Christmas Sermon Series “Do You Hear What I Hear?” God wants to cut into the noise in your life and tell you something this Christmas,” said Pastor Virgil Peck.

Obituary

Obituary of Juanita Stocker

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Juanita Stocker, age 95, a former resident of Girard, Kansas, more recently of Ft. Scott, Kansas, passed away Tuesday, December 10, 2019, at the Olathe Hospice House.

She was born September 15, 1924, in Lamar, Missouri, the daughter of Fred and Ona Mae Fowler.  She was a graduate of the Lamar High School.  In earlier years, Juanita worked at the Fowler Café in Lamar which was owned by her family.  She also worked for a short time for the ammunition plant in Parsons, Kansas.  Juanita first married Stanley Pettibon.  After Stanley’s death at an early age, Juanita married Truman Stocker in May of 1968.  Juanita and Truman owned and operated their own farm near Girard for many years.  They raised cattle and race horses.  Juanita enjoyed sewing and quilting.  She also loved to cook and was known for her delicious pies.

 

Survivors include two sisters, Frieda Davis, of Jasper, Missouri and Wanda Felts, of Lamar, Missouri.  Also surviving are several nieces and nephews including Todd and Sherry Beerbower who provided for her care.

She was preceded in death by her first husband, Stanley, in 1966, and her husband, Truman, in 2016.  Also preceding her in death were a brother, Fred Fowler, Jr. and a sister, Margie Gardner.

 

Rev. Eric Going will conduct funeral services at 10:00 A.M. Saturday, December 14th at the Cheney Witt Chapel in Ft. Scott.

A graveside service will be held at 12:00 P.M. Saturday at the Lake Cemetery in Lamar, Missouri.

Memorials are suggested to the Guest Home Estates Activity Fund 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.

Business, Entertainment, Fort Scott, Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce

Chamber Coffee Dec. 12 at FSCC

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The Chamber Coffee will be hosted by FSCC
December 12th at 8 am
Come Join us this week’s Chamber Coffee Hosted by FSCC at the newly expanded Agriculture Building, just north of Arnold Arena!
December 12th at 8 am!
Upcoming Chamber Coffee Schedule:
* City of Fort Scott 12/19
* No Chamber Coffee 12/26
* Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors 1/2/2020
* Open – Call the Chamber to Schedule 1/9 & 1/16
Fort Scott, Government, Schools

USD 234 Minutes of Dec. 9

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Members of the USD 234 Board of Education met on Monday, December 9, 2019, at the
Board of Education office for their regular monthly meeting.
President David Stewart opened the meeting. The board approved the official agenda.
The board also approved the consent agenda as follows:
A. Minutes
B. Bills and Claims
C. Payroll – November 20, 2019 – $1,415,992.14
D. Financial Report
E. Bond Proceeds Reconciliation
F. Activity Fund Accounts
There were comments from three patrons in the public forum section.
Stephanie George, KNEA President, presented a report to the board. In addition,
administrators from each building shared information with board members.
Superintendent Ted Hessong reported on the Early Childhood Roadshow in Pittsburg,
Martin Luther King Day Committee, the district website, legislative update, and the service of
board members who were leaving the board.
Gina Shelton, Business Manager, gave an update on roof projects, open enrollment, and
the substitute software program.
Board members reconsidered and approved the purchase of high school gym bleachers
due to bid changes. In addition, the board approved the following:
o Roof payment to JB Turner and Sons Roofing
o Benchmark payment
o High School gym equipment bids
o Workers Compensation insurance renewal o Resolution 19-07 – Bank Account Signers
r Cooperative agreement for high school girls to participate with the Parsons High School
girls’ swim team for the 2019-20 spring season
The board tabled action on reorganization of health insurance language.
Mr. Hessong recognized the following retiring board members: Janet Braun, Jordan
Witt, and Michelle Hudiburg and thanked them for their years of service to the school district.
Board members shared comments and then went into executive session to discuss
personnel matters for nonelected personnel and returned to open meeting. The board then went
into executive session to discuss matters relating to employer-employee negotiations. The board
returned to open meeting and approved the following employment items:
A. Resignation of Ashley Rodriguez, high school teacher aide (ISS), effective November
26,20t9
B . Leave of absence request from Vicki Kruger, middle school paraprofessional
C. Compensation for Michelle Brittain, Nicole Pellett, Patty Giltner, and Lisa Chaplin
for planning time lost due to a redesign in the middle school schedule
D. Addition of a high school wrestling coach position for the 2019-20 school year
E. Employment of Eugene Ware team leaders for the 2019-20 school year
F. Employment of Winfield Scott team leaders for the 2019-20 school year
G. Resignation of Nicki Traul, Assistant Superintendent, effective December 31, 2019

The board adjourned.