Lolita Dawn Mumbower, age 59, a resident of Devon, Kansas, passed away unexpectedly Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at her home. She was born March 16, 1964, in Ft. Scott, the daughter of Wayne Robinson and Rosalee Burch Robinson. Lolita married Delwin Mumbower on January 24, 1986, at Ft. Scott, Kansas. In earlier years, Lolita had worked as a waitress, but the majority of her life was spent making a home for her family. Lolita will be remembered for her friendly personality. She loved spending time in the coffee shop making new friends. She enjoyed doing many things; however, fishing was not one of them. She will be dearly missed by her family and those who loved her.
Survivors include her husband, Delwin, of the home; three children, Cody Mumbower (Mary) of Fulton, Kansas, Kara Mumbower of Devon, Kansas and Krista Wyatt (Shawn) of Ft. Scott and sixteen grandchildren, Madalynn, Mason, Miranda, Meredith, Molly, Marshall, Montgomery, Micah, Martin, Emilee, Elijah, Bradyn, Blayce, Bricyn, Blaetyn, and Paisley with another grandchild expected to arrive in August. Also surviving are two bonus grandchildren, Marla and Glynda. Lolita was preceded in death by her parents and an infant granddaughter, Kamrynn.
Pastor Randy Smith will conduct funeral services at 10:30 A.M. Tuesday, March 12th at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Burial will follow in the Centerville Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 P.M. Monday at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Memorials are suggested to Care to Share 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.
Welcome: Eighteen members representing fourteen agencies attended. Billie Jo announced that swim pass applications would be available during the month of April at The Beacon and Buck Run Community Center.
Member Introductions and Announcements:
Kathy Romero, Angels Care Home Health: At present the organization provides services to about fifty clients in Bourbon County
Travis Wilcoxen, Angels Care Home Health: Angels Care has been in Bourbon County since 2004; they offer a variety of in-home skilled nursing care including psychiatric.
Nick Johnson, USD 234: The monthly preschool screening will be held on March 22. Kindergarten round-up is scheduled for April 10; preschool round-up will be April 12. Contact USD 234 for more information.
DeeDee LeFever, Community Liaison for Greenbush: Her job is to connect families with services.
Patty Simpson, Fort Scott Housing Authority: FSHA manages 190 low-income apartments; currently the waiting list is from 3-6 months for all size apartments, but they are always taking applications.
David Gillen, Beacon: In February, the Beacon assisted 232 families which included 468 individuals.
Lea Kay Karleskint, K-State Research and Extension: She is partnering with Lisa Robertson, COPE, to start a small class to help newly housed individuals with cooking skills; in April she will begin working with the Core Communities to provide nutrition education. Contact Lea Kay at K-State Research to explore the class opportunities she provides.
Shanna Willey, Community Health Worker, CHC SEK: Shanna is available to help clients with applications for Medicaid, prescription assistance, disability, LIEAP, etc.
Lora Wilson, CHC: Lora is the director for the Tobacco Cessation program; contact her if you need help becoming tobacco free.
Janice Lamb, Core communities: Core communities meets Monday evenings at 5:30 at the Methodist Church for a meal, and then hold classes to help core leaders understand all areas of poverty. The curriculum comes from “Bridges Out of Poverty.” Graduation for the first Core Communities class will be April 22 at the Methodist Church.
Stephanie Herring, Family Resource Center: Stephanie works in homes, mostly with parents rather than the children, to lower the possibility of child abuse or neglect.
Larry Jump, Community Liaison with SEK CAP: SEK CAP is looking for employees in the Bourbon County office, especially a lead teacher assistant. Contact Larry for further information.
Lindsey McNeil, COPE and KU: Lindsey is currently working on a grant with Rachel Carpenter, HBCAT, for drug prevention; they need volunteers to help with this program.
Lisa Robertson, CHC COPE: The COPE grant funding ends on May 31; they will continue seeing clients until that time. COPE was able to get six homeless people housed during the last few weeks. They have a new partnership with Spark Wheel at Uniontown. The Wash Wednesdays program will be able to continue with assistance from Aetna.
Angela Handly, Compassionate Ministries, Salvation Army: Angela has taken Allen Schellack’s position with these organizations. She took time to review the services she can provide and reminded members that her office is at 26 N. Main.
Program: Teri Hamilton, President, Fort Scott Farmers’ Market, presented our program.
It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring who reaps a harvest in the Autumn.
The Farmer’s Market will be in the new community pavilion beginning this year; the pavilion was funded with a T-Mobile grant and other donations. Anyone can reserve the pavilion through the Fort Scott City offices. Farmers’ Market operates from the first week in May through the last week in October on Saturdays and Tuesdays.
This year the Farmers’ Market will be accepting SNAP benefits in support of local nutrition. SNAP dollars will only be able to be used for food and food related items. Through a grant, a person will be hired to manage the snap booth during the hours of the Farmers’ Market.
Venders can set up a booth for $5.00 each week. Potential venders need to contact Teri in order to be approved to have a booth. There are also fundraising opportunities through the Farmers’ Market organization. There are twenty-four planned booth spaces under the pavilion now, but that can be expanded to thirty-six if the need arises. There are many special events that will be scheduled in conjunction with the Farmers’ Market such as Breakfast on the Bricks, the Children’s Business Fair, K-State Research projects/programs, The National Historic Site, etc.
Open Forum: Billie Jo reminded members that LIEAP applications will close at the end of the month.
Adjournment: The next General Membership meeting will be April 3, 2024.
Governor Kelly Updates Declaration of Drought Emergency, Warnings, and Watches for Kansas Counties
TOPEKA — Governor Laura Kelly has approved updated drought declarations for Kansas counties with Executive Order #24-01.
“While drought conditions have improved greatly in recent months, many counties continue to be negatively impacted by the decline in water supply or strains on water resources,” said Governor Laura Kelly. “I strongly encourage all Kansans to continue to conserve water as we head into the summer months.”
The drought declaration removed all 55 counties previously in emergency status and placed 15 counties into warning status and 62 into watch status. This action was recommended by Connie Owen, Director of the Kansas Water Office and Chair of the Governor’s Drought Response Team. While a majority of Kansas has seen significant relief from drought since August, central and southeast Kansas continue to be in Severe Drought.
“Counties in a watch status have conditions which indicate the probability of a water shortage is rising. It is important to monitor these conditions and be mindful of water usage in these counties,” said Owen. “The Governor’s Drought Response Team will continue to monitor the drought conditions across Kansas and make recommendations to Governor Kelly as conditions change.”
This Executive Order shall remain in effect for those counties identified until rescinded by an Executive Order ending the declaration or revising the drought stage status of the affected counties.
Effective immediately, Executive Order #24-01:
Declares a Drought Emergency, Warning, or Watch for the counties as identified below;
Authorizes and directs all agencies under the jurisdiction of the Governor to implement the appropriate watch, warning, or emergency-level drought response actions assigned in the Operations Plan of the Governor’s Drought Response Team.
The Governor’s Drought Response Team will continue to watch the situation closely and work to minimize the negative drought-induced effects on Kansans.
For more detailed information about current conditions, visit the Climate and Drought webpage on the Kansas Water Office website at kwo.ks.gov.
TOPEKA – (March 6, 2024) – Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced his office has filed a lawsuit today in Shawnee County District Court against social media company TikTok for misrepresenting its age-appropriateness in app stores, deceiving parents about the effectiveness of its parental tools, and creating and aggressively promoting an addictive app the that erodes the mental health of Kansas children.
“TikTok deceived parents by saying that the app was safe and age appropriate. In reality, the app has promoted filth, profanity, sexual content, and alcohol and drugs to Kansas kids. Even worse, it has used coercive algorithms that spike dopamine, keep kids on the app as long as possible, and facilitate downward mental health spirals. Kansas parents deserve the truth about the harm the app causes to young users, and Kansas kids should be protected,” Kobach said.
The lawsuit alleges that TikTok knew its app was not safe for kids when it released the app in 2017. Additionally, the company misleads parents by marketing its app as age appropriate for children 12 and older. Despite its assertions, TikTok hawks significant amounts of profanity and crude humor, sexual content and nudity, alcohol, tobacco and drug usage, and mature and suggestive themes.
“Parents and caregivers believe their children are protected from images of intense sexual content, illicit drug use, and videos encouraging vaping and tobacco use, because TikTok deceives parents into believing the company hides this content from children. In reality, this company created an app intentionally to hook Kansas children onto their salacious, dangerous, and damaging content at the price of those children’s mental health. This damage will echo far into the future of our state, and TikTok must answer for its actions,” said Deputy Attorney General Fran Oleen.
According to the petition, TikTok offers “restricted mode” and “family pairing” tools to keep Kansas children safe, but the tools are ineffective. The suit also alleges that TikTok negatively impacts the mental health of Kansas youth.
“Kids in Kansas have been bombarded with problematic TikTok videos while lost in the addictive grip of TikTok’s auto scroll that affects not only their attention spans, but their mental health. Youth in Kansas frequently find themselves in an infinite hole of TikTok videos that tell them they are not good enough or attractive enough. These videos are often paired with advice on how to evade parents’ detection of eating disorders,” said Assistant Attorney General Sarah Dietz. “TikTok has misrepresented itself as safe, while it purposefully addicted minors and wreaked havoc on their mental health. Even when parents and caregivers try to create a safe environment for their children by using parental controls, they are deceived by TikTok’s false representations that the parental controls are effective.”
The Office of the Kansas Attorney General is alleging multiple violations of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act. Specifically, the state seeks civil penalties of $10,000 per violation and enhanced civil penalties of $20,000 for deceptive and unconscionable acts against protected consumers.
Oleen and Dietz of the Office of the Kansas Attorney General, along with Special Assistant Attorneys General David Thompson, Brian Barnes, Megan Wold, and Athie Livas of Cooper & Kirk, PLLC, represent the state of Kansas in the suit.
Road Usage Charge study underway, looking for Kansans to participate
The Kansas Department of Transportation announces the launch of a three-month pilot study exploring whether a pay-per-mile road usage charge (RUC) could potentially replace the current state fuel tax as a new way to fund roads and bridges. The study, part of the Kansas Midwest RUC Study, asks Kansans to try out mileage reporting options and provide feedback about their experience.
Today, gasoline-powered vehicles pay 24 cents per gallon for state gas tax, and diesel-powered vehicles pay 26 cents per gallon for state diesel tax. As vehicles transition to being more fuel efficient or not use gas or diesel at all, state transportation funding may fall short.
KDOT is proactively exploring whether a RUC could be a sustainable, long-term funding source for transportation in the state. KDOT, in partnership with Minnesota Department of Transportation, is utilizing federal grant money available to states to study potential alternative approaches to transportation funding. To date, most states exploring RUC are on the East and West coasts — and Kansas is adding a Midwest perspective to this national conversation.
KDOT is actively recruiting pilot participants to take part in the study, which is scheduled to begin in April. Drivers across the state are asked to take part, especially rural Kansans who drive passenger vehicles or medium-duty trucks, people working in the agriculture industry and owners or operators of large trucks. Participants who fully complete the pilot can earn a $100 incentive.
Kansans interested in taking part in the pilot can visit www.midwestruc.org for more information to complete an interest form for the pilot study.
Ft. Scott’s Good Ol’ Days welcomes back Nashville recording artist Blane Howard for a performance on Friday, May 31st on Skubitz Plaza. Howard is a three-time Male Vocalist of the Year winner at the Arkansas CMAs, and is nominated again in 2024 for Male Vocalist of the Year, as well as Video of the Year for “Boot N Rally.”
Born in KS, raised in AR, and living in Nashville, TN, as an independent artist he has released three full albums, and EP, and two, 2-song CDs. His biggest success is with a song he wrote for his wife as a wedding gift, “Promise To Love Her,” which has over 150 million streams; however, many new fans are finding him through his songs and parodies he writes and creates for the Kansas City Chiefs. He has three original Chiefs songs, which have all been hits with Chiefs Kingdom, but his playoff parodies are continually having the fan base asking for more. This playoff season, his Chiefs playoff parodies, which included songs from Luke Combs, Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Willie Nelson, and Toby Keith, raked in over 20 Million views across social media platforms in about a four-week period.
Howard has eight new songs coming out this spring and summer; his show will include some of the new songs, his country originals, some country covers, a little classic rock, and of course a little Chiefs section for the die-hard fans in the area! You can check out Blane’s music on your favorite music site, or head over to his website www.blanehoward.com, to connect with all of his social sites, and to check out his music and videos.
For the past six years, Ascension Via Christi’s Cancer Outreach and Risk Assessment program has offered colorectal screening kits, while supplies last, at no cost to anyone 45 and older. Those whose stool samples test positive for blood are followed up by a nurse navigator and, if they need and cannot afford a colonoscopy, funding is available through a grant from the Colon Cancer Coalition.
That effort will continue again this year, through grant funding from the coalition to continue these efforts.
“The screening and follow-up colonoscopy may well have been a life-saver for patients who needed it,” says Lisa Schmidt. “Colorectal cancer screening is one of the most powerful weapons we have against colorectal cancer, which is the second-leading cause of cancer death for men and women combined.”
That’s because regular screening can detect polyps so that they can be removed before they have the chance to turn into cancer, a process that can take 10 to 15 years. It also helps detect colorectal cancer at its earliest and most treatable stage.
Schmidt, who had two pre-cancerous polyps removed during her first colonoscopy more than a decade ago and has had no findings during the two she has undergone since then, says taking part in the screening is easy.
Simply call 316-268-5890 to arrange for a kit to be mailed to you. Then follow the instructions provided for collecting a stool sample and return it in the self-addressed envelope provided with the kit. If the sample tests negative, the results will be sent by mail within a few weeks. If the specimen tests positive for traces of blood, an Ascension Via Christi nurse navigator will call you to discuss your results and recommended next steps.
According to the American Cancer Society, which recommends that anyone 45 or older get tested, the five-year relative survival rate is about 90 percent when colorectal cancer is found before it has spread. But only about four out of 10 colorectal cancers are found at this early stage. When cancer has spread outside the colon or rectum, survival rates are lower.
Symptoms can include rectal bleeding or blood in stool, changes in bowel habits and changes in bowel appearance; anyone experiencing any of these should see his or her doctor.
In Kansas, Ascension Via Christi operates seven hospitals and 134 other sites of care and employs more than 6,400 associates. In FY2023, Ascension Via Christi provided more than $65 million in community benefit programs. In FY2023, Ascension provided $2.3 billion in care of persons living in poverty and other community benefit programs. Ascension includes more than 150,000 associates and 40,000 aligned providers. The national health system operates more than 2,600 sites of care – including 139 hospitals and more than 40 senior living facilities – in 19 states. Serving Kansas for more than 135 years, Ascension is a faith-based healthcare organization committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. Visit www.ascension.org
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce invites members and guests to a Chamber Coffee event this Thursday, March 7th at 8 a.m. hosted by Bids and Dibs, 108 Scott Ave.
Join us for Chamber Coffee this Thursday at 8am with coffee, juice, light refreshments, and door prize drawings!
Any member business or organization wanting to host Chamber Coffee in 2024 is encouraged to contact the Chamber to save a date by calling 620-223-3566 or emailing [email protected].
Members of the USD 234 Board of Education met at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, March 04, 2024, for their regular monthly meeting at the board office.
President David Stewart opened the meeting.
The board appointed Joe Wimmer as board member for the next two years.
The board approved the official agenda, and the consent agenda as follows:
Board Minutes
02/12/24 Board Minutes
Payroll – February 20, 2024 – $1,658,014.61
USD 234 Gifts
Middle School Principal Zach Johnson and Counselor Kerri Hanson recognized the first year of FSMS STUCO students. These students were nominated by their teachers for this leadership role. They have been to Greenbush to attend Leadership Workshops that enabled the students to collaborate with other schools in various situations. On Wednesday they will be heading to Eugene Ware to do a reading project and eat lunch with them. Also, STUCO participated in organizing the Veteran’s Day Assembly. Mr. Johnson and Mrs. Hanson commended this group for working with Administration to have a voice in improving the school.
First Row- Lucus Bukowski, Sterling Coon Second Row- Tammy Claypool, Abel Chaplin, Riley Stephan, Madilynn Isaac, Theodore Bowman, Jentry Palmer Third Row- Gianna Gorman, Laurali Clark, Presliegh Seabolt, John Hill, Joe Lewis, Kerri Hanson – STUCO Team
Angie Bin, Fort Scott High School Drama Teacher, presented about March being Theatre in our Schools and Music in our Schools Month. Lexi Hill, senior at FSHS, is the Thespian President and Cooper George, junior at FSHS, is Thespian Vice President. Lexi is a huge advocate for theatre because of her experience starting in sixth grade and continuing into a future career. She explained about the skills she has learned throughout the years in Theatre. She is also receiving a scholarship that only ten seniors in Kansas receive. Cooper shared the opportunities he has been given through the Theatre department such as being a Stage Manager and Director. He explained all the various shows, fundraising, and many other events this department has done through this last year. An upcoming event will be on March 26 which is the Theatre Talent Show at 7PM.
Lexi Hill, Cooper George – FSHS Drama DepartmentKenna Miles – State Wrestling Champ
Scott Kimble, Fort Scott High School Principal, recognized Kenna Miles, sophomore at FSHS. She was the first female State Wrestling Champion from FSHS. Kenna said she was nervous but by the time Finals started she was ready to do her best. She ended the season 40-3.
Tonya Barnes and Mina Query recognized three Paraprofessionals from Eugene Ware. Tabitha Hardesty was thanked for taking on a significant role in the school’s focus room. She was commended for her patience and making great connections with the students.
Sara Rood is in her second year, but she has taken on small group instruction and has excelled. She is entering the Para to Teach program through Pitt State.
Erin Thurston has only been with the district starting this year but was thanked for being kind, and consistently showing up for the students in whatever area is needed.
Mina Query, Principal at Eugene Ware, recognized Sherry Lindsay, Title Teacher, for her longevity and being a role model for all teachers in the building. Sherry is willing to take on whatever new project there is and never complains. Eugene Ware is very thankful to have Sherry.
Dan Koppa, Director of Facilities, thanked Brad Wright for all he has done for the district. There is an extensive list of qualities that Brad has brought to the team. He has a great standing in the community and an impressive work ethic that has not gone unnoticed. Brad is willing to jump in and help, brainstorm, take on projects, and much more.
Superintendent Destry Brown reported on the current enrollment from September to March.
Scott Kimble, High School Principal, and Josh Messer, High School Counselor, came and presented about Kansas’ new High School Graduation requirements that will take effect starting with the graduating class of 2028. These are still being finalized at the State Level. Mr. Kimble and Mr. Messer will continue to keep the Board updated on changes.
Mr. Brown reviewed a couple of legislation that could possibly affect the district in the future.
The Preschool building is in the beginning stages of designs and is moving forward.
Kansas Renewal Institute will be implementing a facility in Fort Scott and the District will be working with this group. Superintendent Brown reported about investments and the April staff premium pay.
Assistant Superintendent Dalaina Smith gave a printout to the Board about the IREADY Fall/Winter scores. She was extremely optimistic about these improvements. She wanted to recognize that teachers and all the demanding work with interventions and extra time they are putting in to help the improve scores.
Tonya Barnes, Special Education Director, presented the Board with an update on Categorical State Aid and Medicaid Reports. She is working with each building to ensure smooth transitions for students moving buildings for the next school year.
As a discussion item, Superintendent Brown updated about the cell phone policy. The specifics are still being worked through with staff.
The board approved the following items:
2024-25 School Calendar (Pending Negotiations)
Purchase of School Bus
Resolution 23-16
The board went into an executive session for personnel matters.
President Stewart adjourned the meeting.
PERSONNEL REPORT – APPROVED EMPLOYMENT
March 04, 2024
RESIGNATIONS/TERMINATIONS/RETIREMENTS:
Buntain, Theresa – Retirement – Band Teacher Aide – Middle School
Davis, Gaven – Termination – Paraprofessional – Eugene Ware
Duffy, Kristin – Resignation – Head Cheerleading Coach – High School
Hampton, Breanna – Termination – 6th Grade ELA
Skaggs, Gwen – Resignation – Paraprofessional – Middle School
TRANSFERS/REASSIGNMENTS/LEAVE OF ABSENCE:
Certified:
Cross, Jennifer – Transfer from 2nd Grade to Title 1 Teacher -Winfield Scott – 2024-25
Garzone, Chris – Transfer from Assistant Principal to Principal – Winfield Scott – 2024-25
EMPLOYMENT:
Certified Recommendations for the 2023-24 school year:
Reichard, Betsy – Part Time Process Coordinator – 2024-25
Hoener, Rhonda – Part time School Psychologist Paraprofessional – 2024-25
Classified Recommendations for the 2023-24 school year:
Hernandez, Samara – Part Time Paraprofessional – Eugene Ware
Johnson, Corinna – Paraprofessional – Winfield Scott
Donald L. Woods was born November 15, 1954, in Fort Scott, Kansas, and passed away March 2, 2024, at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Donald was a life-long Fort Scott resident who attended Fort Scott schools including Fort Scott Community College. He graduated from Fort Scott High School with the class of 1972. Basketball was his sport of choice not only while attending high school but also as an adult in the local Industrial League.
Donald was a modest man, but he could not hide his outstanding work ethic. He mowed grass, shoveled snow, and cleaned office buildings all while working a full-time job, first at Whitesides West IGA and later as a custodian for USD 234 at Fort Scott High School.
If Donald had a passion other than riding his Honda Goldwing Motorcycle, it was his love for the moving business. As Donald told the story, he began working for his grandfather Clarence Wright’s moving business as soon as he was big enough to pick up a piece of furniture. After working for his grandfather, Donald then began working part-time for his brother Marvin Woods at Fort Scott Transfer. In 1999 Donald finally started his own household goods moving business: Don Woods Moving, LLC. Neither the cold, heat, rain, snow nor a pandemic kept Donald away from a moving job. Donald moved pianos, gun safes, jewelers’ safes, churches, hospitals, parts of a petting zoo and even St. Benedict. Moves took Donald (and Cindy) to Massachusetts, Florida, Texas and Reno, Nevada. Donald told Cindy that these were “mini-vacations” and that the real one would come soon. After retiring from USD 234 and selling his moving business in 2022, Donald dreamed of traveling on that orange bike.
Donald L. Woods is survived by his wife of 49 years, Frances L. “Cindy” Woods, a son, Arthur Hodge II of Las Vegas, Nevada, a brother Melvin Woods and wife Raisa of Olathe, Kansas, and a sister Jackie M. Vann of Joplin, Missouri. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.
Donald was preceded in death by his mother Rachel Maxine Woods, and by four sisters: JoAnn Fewell, Mickie E. Brown, Joyce E. Woods, and Marita Eileen Bullock. Also preceding Donald in death were two brothers: Gerald L. Woods and Marvin R. Woods. Donald is also survived by his friend and cousin Idella Brown and her husband D.K. Brown.
Services will be at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, March 8, 2024, at the First Presbyterian Church in Fort Scott, under the direction of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home.
A private family burial will be at Evergreen Cemetery.
Instead of flowers memorial contributions may be made to either the Kansas University Cancer Center, or Mount Olive Church of God in Christ Scholarship Fund, and may be left in the care of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home, 15 W. Wall Street, P.O. Box 309, Fort Scott, Kansas, 66701. Condolences may be submitted to the online guestbook at konantz-cheney.com.
