All posts by Submitted Story

Bourbon County, Fort Scott, Submitted

New Online Mercy Sponsorship Application

Leave a comment

Mercy’s Application Process for Donation/Sponsorship Requests

FORT SCOTT, Kan. (May 9, 2018) – Mercy is committed to supporting charitable organizations and activities consistent with our mission to improve the health and quality of life in the communities we serve. Just one way that Mercy does so is by donating money to sponsor a multitude of annual events or organization’s efforts to promote health and wellness.

In order to better serve the organizations which submit sponsorship/donation requests, Mercy has introduced a new online sponsorship application system.  

To be considered for funding from Mercy between July 1, 2018, and June 30, 2019, all organizations seeking charitable support are asked to complete the online application at www.mercy.net/sponsorships.  

The deadline to apply is June 1, 2018. Recipients will be notified by email after July 1, 2018.

To create your organization’s online proposal, you will first need to create an account by logging on to www.mercy.net/sponsorships. Note that the application will require a W-9, and Federal Tax ID number or a Social Security number to submit.

“The application review committee looks forward to receiving proposals and learning more about your organization’s plans to use funds to further our mission among the people you serve,” said Tina Rockhold, Community Relations Manager, and Philanthropy Director.

“We strongly encourage your organization’s members to think ahead for the next 13 months and submit applications for programs they foresee having funding needs through June of 2019.”

Mercy Hospital Fort Scott is an acute care hospital with 46 licensed beds, offering comprehensive medical, surgical, OB/GYN, pediatric, home care and hospice services. Inpatient care is provided with 24/7 physician coverage. In 2017, Mercy Hospital Fort Scott received The Leapfrog Group’s prestigious A rating. Mercy Clinic Fort Scott is located on hospital grounds as well as Mercy rural health clinics in Arma and Pleasanton.

Mercy, named one of the top five large U.S. health systems in 2018, 2017 and 2016 by IBM Watson Health, serves millions annually. Mercy includes more than 40 acute care and specialty (heart, children’s, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, 800 physician practices and outpatient facilities, 44,000 co-workers and 2,100 Mercy Clinic physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In addition, Mercy’s IT division, Mercy Technology Services, supply chain organization, ROi, and Mercy Virtual commercially serve providers and patients in more than 20 states coast to coast.

Fort Scott, Schools

Local Student Raises Funds/Awareness For American Heart Association

Leave a comment
Courtesy photo.

An  American Heart Association Assembly/ fundraiser took place May 2  at Fort Scott High School.

“This is the second annual assembly to raise awareness for the American Heart Association, ” Hanna Reel, coordinator of the event, and a senior at FSHS said.  “Jared Martin and I both ran and organized this assembly/fundraiser.” Martin is a teacher at FSHS.

“Many schools around our area and town participated with this organization to help make kids aware of heart disease and ways to prevent it,” Reel said.” I took it upon myself this year to be in charge of running this assembly/fundraiser.”

The event consisted of a speaker from the American Heart Association, Joe Falter, and  Reel, speaking on behalf of her own personal experience with a rare heart condition.

Courtesy photo. Hanna Reel speaks during an assembly for the American Heart Association at FSHS. In the background are teachers Jared Martin, Josh Regan and Johanthan Stark.

Additionally, there was a dodgeball tournament.

“Seventeen competitors played against each other to win prizes during the dodgeball tournament,” Reel said. “The whole school participated in this assembly either by being spectators or being competitors. There were over 500 spectators.”

“I was able to raise $170 for the American Heart Association,” Reel said.

Government, Kansas, Submitted

Governor Signs School Finance Bill Fix

Leave a comment

Governor Jeff Colyer Signs School Finance Bill Fix 

OLATHE- Governor Jeff Colyer, M.D. today signed House Substitute for Senate Bill 61 during a ceremony at the central office of the Olathe School District. This bill was intended to fix an error made in the school finance bill that the Governor signed last month in Topeka.

“I’m very happy that the House and Senate were able to come together and fix the mistake in the previous legislation,” said the Governor. “This bill gets more money in the classroom and adds accountability measures without raising taxes on hardworking Kansas families and I’m happy to sign it.”

 

Government, Kansas, Submitted

DCF Announces New Communications Director

Leave a comment

Taylor Forrest assumes a leadership role in DCF communications

TOPEKA – Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Gina Meier-Hummel is pleased to announce that Public Information Officer Taylor Forrest has been promoted to Communications Director, effective Monday, May 7. Forrest replaces Theresa Freed, who was named Deputy Secretary of Public Affairs for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).

“I would like to thank Theresa for the hard work, leadership, and dedication that she has demonstrated at DCF the last five years. I wish her the very best of luck at our sister agency,” said Secretary Meier-Hummel. “I have full faith that Taylor will pick up where Theresa left off and engage the public purposefully to share the important work of our agency.”

Forrest has served as the public information officer for DCF since June 2017. She has a bachelor’s degree in convergent journalism from Southwestern College. Previously, she interned for Senator Jerry Moran and former Congressman, now Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.

Government, Kansas, Submitted

Freed Shifts To KDHE

Leave a comment

KDHE Welcomes Deputy Secretary of Public Affairs

Theresa Freed makes move from DCF to KDHE in a leadership role, continuing State service

Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Secretary Jeff Andersen is pleased to announce that Theresa Freed will join KDHE today, Monday, May 7, to serve in a newly-created position of Deputy Secretary of Public Affairs. Theresa served as the Communications Director for the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) for five years, and prior to that, served as Public Information Officer for the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services.

“I’m excited to have Theresa heading our Communications and Legislative divisions,” said Secretary Andersen. “She has done tremendous work at DCF, engaging the public and embracing new technology to share the good work of the agency. We look forward to her doing the same and more at KDHE.”

As DCF Communications Director, Freed was instrumental in leading many DCF public relations projects, including the launch and implementation of Foster Kansas Kids, digital signage, and the children’s room redesign. She successfully initiated DCF’s presence on social media and played a key role in the redesign of both the DCF public website and intranet. She worked closely with the agency’s Legislative and Policy division to create and review legislative testimony and supplemental information for lawmakers. Prior to State service, Freed worked for 13 years as a print and television reporter and anchor, honored with numerous journalism awards. She obtained bachelor’s degrees in broadcast journalism and political science from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in mass communications from California State University.

“I have greatly appreciated my time at DCF,” said Freed. “After many years of working at an agency that assists families at some of the most difficult points in their lives, I am now looking forward to helping Kansans in this new capacity. KDHE does amazing work through a wide range of programs and services, and I am excited to share those stories.”

Relevant experience from State service that Freed brings to KDHE includes serving on the initial KanCare Communications Workgroup, supporting the work of the KanCare Ombudsman, leading communications planning on the KEES project related to DCF services, and working closely with the DCF child care program to launch and promote a quality recognition system. She has previously worked in collaboration with KDHE on joint messaging related to child care facility safety and hot car awareness related to children.

Freed will lead the team of communications professionals at KDHE, including Director of Communications Gerald Kratochvil and Public Information Officers Kara Titus and J.C. Reeves. She will also oversee the legislative division, which includes Legislative Liaison Liz Dunn.

Freed and her husband, Larry, reside in their hometown of Topeka, with their two sons.

Government, Kansas, Submitted

Governor Responds to Decision on Lifetime Caps

Leave a comment

Governor Colyer Responds to CMS Decision on Lifetime Caps

TOPEKA- On Monday, Governor Colyer and the State Medicaid Director received a letter from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (“CMS”) announcing they would not approve lifetime caps.

Gov. Colyer issued the following statement:

“As we indicated during the last Bob Bethell KanCare Oversight Committee meeting on April 23, Kansas is no longer pursuing a lifetime limit provision in its 1115 waiver.

“The decision to remove lifetime caps was made after a series of discussions with CMS in which they indicated they would be unable to approve the measure.

“While we will not be moving forward with lifetime caps, we are pleased that the Administration has been supportive of our efforts to include a work requirement in the 1115 waiver. This important provision will help improve outcomes and ensure that Kansans are empowered to achieve self-sufficiency.”

 

Fort Scott, Schools, Submitted

FSCC Grade School Music Festival

Leave a comment

The 49th Annual Invitational Grade School Music Festival was held at Fort Scott Community College Saturday.

“The day was a huge success!Ellis and Bailey Halls (were) packed full of excited young musicians performing as soloists as well as in small and large ensembles,” Seth Ernst, FSCC music instructor said.

“Here are some numbers from the day:

–        Thirty-four schools and private music studios attended, just shy of 300 solos performed,  46 small and large ensembles, upwards of 400 students, in total, across all entries.

“There were hundreds of family and friends in attendance to watch and listen,” Ernst said. “I must give my sincerest thanks to the following people:

–          The maintenance staff, for their hard work in helping me set up and tear down all of the festival rooms,

–          The business office, for their excellent help with getting me resources for the festival,

–          The festival judges, two of whom include our very own Ronda Bailey and Dr. Greg Turner, for their expertise in assigning students’ ratings and giving valuable performance suggestions,

–          The student workers, who put in a long day and made sure that all of the performance rooms ran smoothly and that students received their earned awards. These included Abigail Gilligan, Alexandreia Johnston, Allison Gilligan, Ashley Lockwood, Dayton Knight, Donnie Flowers, Erin Deatsch, Jackalynn Neher, Katie Palmer, Kevin Kerr, Megan Thomas, Shayla Button, Tim Higgins and Ty Covey.”

Fort Scott, Schools

FSCC Spring Concert May 12

Leave a comment

The Fort Scott Community College Music Department will present the annual Spring Concert on Saturday, May 12, at 7:00 pm in the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center, 2108 South Horton St.

The FSCC Chamber Winds will begin the concert with a Hollywood-themed prelude consisting of several beloved themes from silver screen classics.

The FSCC Choir will take the second half of the show with a wide variety of uplifting and inspiring works that are sure help you feel the fullness and life of the spring season.

Admission is free and open to the public!

For more information, please contact Seth Ernst at 620-223-2700 ext. 3058, or email sethe@fortscott.edu.”

Fort Scott, Schools

FSHS Forensic Wins 2nd In State

Leave a comment
Courtesy photos. The Fort Scott High School Forensic Team 2018.

Fort Scott High School Forensics  scored this weekend.

“We had 36 events qualify for state this year,” Amber Toth,FSHS Forensic Teacher, said. “However, we are only allowed to take 16 total entries and two Lincoln Douglas Debaters. Overall, as a team, we took second.”

She is proud of her forensic students.

“If you see Forensics kids, please tell them congrats,” Toth said.” It is an amazing accomplishment to walk out of the largest state tournament in any classification with a trophy for the 2nd year in a row.”

Courtesy photos. Fort Scott High School Forensics Team 2018.

Individual Results:

Darby Toth is the Oration State Champion and the Impromptu State Runner-Up

Elizabeth Ngatia is the State Runner-Up in Oration and takes 4th in Poetry.

Zoe Self is the State Runner-Up in Extemp.

Mark Adams is the State Runner-Up in Lincoln Douglas debate.

Rebekah Sweyko takes 5th in Extemp and 6th in Informative.

Tayton Majors was 6th in Extemp.

Isabella Provence makes it to semi-finals in Humorous Interpretation.

Kaden Kiwan was a semi-finalist in Informative.

Mark Adams and Jonie Antonio were semi-finalists is Duet Acting.

“Also representing us were Ashtyn Elizabeth Dowell in Extemp, Hunter  Adamson and Zoe Self in duet, Madi Toth in prose, and Alex Gorman in Humorous Interp and Dalton Womeldorff in LD,” Toth said.

“We also have 15 students attending the National Tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Florida this summer,” she said.

Tayton Majors and Sara Al-Shawish will be competing in Policy Debate.

Darby Toth will be recognized on the state level as a four time-qualifier (Fort Scott’s second ever), was chosen as South Kansas District Student of the Year, and will compete in Student Congress.

Zoe Self and Hunter Adamson will be competing in Duo Interpretation.

Rebekah Sweyko will be competing in Informative Speaking.

Madison Toth will be competing in Program of Oral Interpretation.

Ashtyn Dowell and Jorden Willard will compete in Public Forum Debate.

Elizabeth Ngatia will be competing in Original Oration.

Isabella Provence will be competing in Humorous Interpretation.

Brooklyn Lyons will be competing in Program of Oral Interpretation.

Mark Adams will compete in Domestic Extemp.

Dalton Womeldorff will compete in World Schools Debate.

Jonie Antonio will compete in World Schools Debate.