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Category Archives: Area News
Friends of Tri-Valley Foundation Holds 24th Annual Truck Raffle Drawing

The Friends of Tri-Valley Foundation is proud to announce the winner of the 24th Annual Truck Raffle Drawing: Thomas Lazerus. Thomas’ ticket was drawn from 1,830 entries on Friday, June 21st at 1:30 pm by Jenna Roberts. Thomas was notified immediately and was excited to hear that he had won. Thomas and his son Matthew came to Chanute from California on Tuesday, July 2nd to collect his prize. Thomas is now the proud owner of a 2024 Ford F150 Platinum Edition Truck, purchased from Steve Faulkner Ford in Chanute, KS.
Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s raffle drawing. This year’s raffle drawing raised over $14,000 which will go to provide quality and affordable housing as well as aid in the delivery of services for our neighbors with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (I/DD). Since 2001, the Foundation has built six houses as well as acquired eight houses and one duplex. These fifteen houses are home to 66 individuals with I/DD that reside in the SE Kansas counties of Allen, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Elk, Greenwood, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson. The Friends of Tri-Valley is licensed through the State of Kansas for this raffle (RAF000005).
Veterans Claims Clinic to Provide Assistance in Overland Park
TOPEKA – The Kansas Office of Veterans Services, VA Health Care – Kansas City and Eastern Kansas, and the VA Veterans Benefits Administration are proud to sponsor a comprehensive Veterans Claims Clinic on July 25 – 26 at the American Legion Post 370, located at 7500 W 75th St, Overland Park, Kan. The hours on Thursday, July 25, will be from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on Friday, July 26, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. All services are free of charge.
The clinic aims to assist Veterans and their families in filing VA disability claims, applying for VA health care, and providing information and screenings related to the PACT Act. The event will also feature participation from Veteran-focused community organizations, offering a wide range of resources and support.
No appointment is necessary to attend the clinic. Veterans should bring copies of their separation documentation, medical records and marriage and dependent birth certificates.
“We will have trained and credentialed Veterans Service Representatives ready to assist with both enrolling in VA health care and the filing of claims to gain access to benefits and compensation they have earned,” said Bill Turner, director of the Kansas Office of Veterans Services. “We hope word will spread and all Veterans and their families will take advantage of this outstanding opportunity to connect with federal, state and local community resources dedicated to their service and well-being.”
While the event is Veteran focused, Kansas City employers are encouraged to visit and learn more about Veterans’ benefits and ways they can assist them in their employment.
This event is a collaborative effort to ensure that Veterans and their families have access to the benefits and health care they are eligible for. It is essential for Veterans to secure the benefits they have rightfully earned through their service to our country. All Veterans, families and caregivers are encouraged to attend.
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TOPEKA – The Kansas Office of Veterans Services, VA Health Care – Kansas City and Eastern Kansas, and the VA Veterans Benefits Administration are proud to sponsor a comprehensive Veterans Claims Clinic on July 25 – 26 at the American Legion Post 370, located at 7500 W 75th St, Overland Park, Kan. The hours on Thursday, July 25, will be from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on Friday, July 26, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. All services are free of charge.
The clinic aims to assist Veterans and their families in filing VA disability claims, applying for VA health care, and providing information and screenings related to the PACT Act. The event will also feature participation from Veteran-focused community organizations, offering a wide range of resources and support.
No appointment is necessary to attend the clinic. Veterans should bring copies of their separation documentation, medical records and marriage and dependent birth certificates.
“We will have trained and credentialed Veterans Service Representatives ready to assist with both enrolling in VA health care and the filing of claims to gain access to benefits and compensation they have earned,” said Bill Turner, director of the Kansas Office of Veterans Services. “We hope word will spread and all Veterans and their families will take advantage of this outstanding opportunity to connect with federal, state and local community resources dedicated to their service and well-being.”
While the event is Veteran focused, Kansas City employers are encouraged to visit and learn more about Veterans’ benefits and ways they can assist them in their employment.
This event is a collaborative effort to ensure that Veterans and their families have access to the benefits and health care they are eligible for. It is essential for Veterans to secure the benefits they have rightfully earned through their service to our country. All Veterans, families and caregivers are encouraged to attend.
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Southeast Kansas Library Newsletter June 2024
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NRMC Community Events
NRMC Community Events
July, 2024
Thank you for sharing these events with our community!
Farmers Market
Enjoy fresh produce, baked goods, local honey and more! Vendors set up in the grass lot just north of the Primary Care Clinic each Tuesday afternoon.
3:00 – 6:00 p.m. – Tuesdays
Birth and Beyond: Saturday Class
A class which covers childbirth, breastfeeding and infant care for women in their last trimester.
Includes a tour of the NRMC OB when available. Meets in the NRMC Mezzanine Conference Room. $15 registration fee. Fee may be waived if cost is prohibitive.
8:30 A.M. – 12:30 P.M. • Saturday, July 13th – NRMC Mezzanine REGISTER ONLINE HERE You may also register by calling 417-448-3710
Community Blood Drive at NRMC
Join us for our community-wide blood drive in the Mezzanine Conference Room. Blood collected through our hospital drives remains in our local area to assist patients in need. To register for a specific appointment time, just visit nrmchealth.com and click on the donate blood button. Walk-ins are also welcome!
12:00 – 6:00 p.m. – Thursday, July 25th – Hospital Mezzanine
Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas Grant Applications Are Being Accepted Until June 30
CFSEK Grantee Story Series:
Cherry Street Youth Center, the “Hidden Gem” of Chanute
The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas (CFSEK) is excited to continue our series of articles highlighting the great work done by some of our grantees in Southeast Kansas communities. Our next grantee to highlight is Cherry Street Youth Center in Chanute.
In a time when childcare at an affordable cost is, in a word, lacking, it might be strange to hear of an after-school program that cares for 125 children daily and is completely free. Cherry Street Youth Center in Chanute, Kansas, is a Christian outreach ministry where children are encouraged to learn about gardening, cooperation, and 3D printing while growing closer to God. Founded in 1995 out of a small house, Cherry Street has expanded operations to three locations in Chanute, where different ministries take place for children from kindergarten to middle school.
“Our goal as a Christian ministry is to help bring children closer to God,” said Jennifer Shields, executive director, “but we also want to help our kiddos be the best versions of themselves!”
Cherry Street is not a daycare, but rather a place for students to go after school and continue their education in a fun environment.
“We like to say that we are the ‘best kept secret’ in SEK,” Shields said. “We are so unique in what we do, and our goal is always to provide this free service to our community. We can’t do what we do without our community and their support! Grants and donations are how we make purchases for our classes and programming. We bought 3D printers so our kids could learn about programming and design! That would not be possible without donations and grants from the Community Foundation!”
Shields told the story of a little girl who came to the playground at Cherry Street one day to play with her friends during program hours. She was not a student of Cherry Street, due to policies and safety guidelines, only registered children can be on campus during program hours. Shields had to ask the girl to return home until 5:30, when the program ended. Before sending the girl off, Shields asked her if she was interested in becoming a part of Cherry Street, and the little girl responded that her parents could not afford to send her there. “My heart broke, but I was so excited to tell her, ‘Sweetie, we are absolutely free! Let me send you home with some paperwork!’ She is now in 4th grade, and I see her almost daily,” Shields said.
Cherry Street serves not just as a place for fun but also as a place to encourage academic success for all children. Realizing many of the children attending the after-school program were not reading on grade level, Shields reached out to the elementary school principal to see how best to help. Cherry Street received site word lists for every grade level from the elementary school to practice with the children. “We are all about our community, both in Chanute and Southeast Kansas as a whole! We just want people to know what we do and the positive impact we are making.”
The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas is proud to have supported Cherry Street Youth Center as a 2023 General Funds Grant recipient for their 3D printer project. Through granting, CFSEK has also supported other projects at Cherry Street over the past five years. If you wish to donate to Cherry Street, you can visit https://cherrystreet.org/donate/.
The 2024 General Funds Grant applications are available until June 30th at midnight. Applications are available at SoutheastKansas.org/Grant-App.
The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas awarded over $2 million in grants from all foundation funds in 2023 and has facilitated over $23 million in total granting to Southeast Kansas since its inception in 2001. CFSEK serves the region by providing donors with various charitable interests and encouraging charitable giving, which addresses present and future needs in our area. More information about CFSEK is available at SoutheastKansas.org.
Conference For the Aging and Their Caregivers
2024 CFSEK General Funds Grant Applications Now Available!
The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas (CFSEK) is pleased to announce that the CFSEK General Funds Grant Cycle is now open!
Every year in the summer, the Community Foundation’s Grant Review Committee funds programs focusing on Basic Human Needs, Youth Activities, and Arts & Culture. Since 2004, the funds directly managed by the Community Foundation have provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to many Southeast Kansas nonprofit projects. General funds grant applications are typically available during June.
In 2023, the Community Foundation awarded $160,000 to 43 recipients in its General Funds grant cycle. These organizations represented 29 Southeast Kansas communities and 15 counties.
Learn more about the General Funds Grant history with CFSEK here.
Contact Kara Mishmash at SoutheastKansas.org/contact/
Free Family/Caregiver Support Services
New K-State Extension Agent: Lonnie Mengarelli
Bourbon County Still in A Drought Watch
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 through proclamation.
“While drought conditions have improved in some areas of the state, 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 over the summer months.”
The drought declaration placed four counties into emergency status, 35 into warning status, and 66 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 Eastern Kansas has seen significant relief from drought since March, central and western Kansas has declined rapidly into Severe and, in a few counties, Extreme Drought.
“The counties in a watch status are experiencing conditions that 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. “Summer has arrived, and with it, higher temperatures and a decrease in precipitation. The Governor’s Drought Response Team will continue to monitor the drought conditions across Kansas and make recommendations to Governor Kelly as conditions change.”
Through an interagency agreement between the Kansas Water Office, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, and the Kansas Division of Emergency Management, counties in the emergency stage are eligible for emergency water use from certain state fishing lakes and some federal reservoirs.
Individuals and communities must contact the Kansas Water Office for a water supply request before any withdrawals from lakes. These requests will, in turn, be referred to the appropriate office to obtain necessary permits to withdraw the requested water.
This proclamation shall remain in effect for those counties identified until rescinded by a proclamation ending the declaration or revising the drought stage status of the affected counties.
Effective immediately, the proclamation:
- 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.
County Drought Stage Declarations:
Drought Emergency: Hodgeman, Ness, Pawnee, Rush.
Drought Warning: Barber, Barton, Clark,
Comanche, Edwards, Ellis, Ellsworth, Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Hamilton, Harper, Harvey, Haskell, Kearny, Kingman, Kiowa, Lane, McPherson, Meade, Morton, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Russell, Scott, Sedgwick, Seward, Stafford, Stanton, Stevens, Sumner, Wichita.
Drought Watch: Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Brown, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Cowley, Crawford, Decatur, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Elk, Franklin, Geary, Gove, Graham, Greenwood, Jackson, Jefferson, Jewell, Johnson, Labette, Leavenworth, Lincoln, Linn, Logan, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, Miami, Mitchell, Montgomery, Morris, Nemaha, Neosho, Norton, Osage, Osborne, Ottawa, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Rawlins, Republic, Riley, Rooks, Saline, Shawnee, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Thomas, Trego, Wabaunsee, Wallace, Washington, Wilson, Woodson, Wyandotte.
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As the state’s water office, the Kansas Water Office conducts water planning, policy coordination and water marketing as well as facilitates public input throughout the state.
The agency prepares the KANSAS WATER PLAN, a plan for water resources conservation, management and development.
Heartland Rural Electric Coop Provides Grants for Capital Improvement Projects Available Now
- County fairs: Projects related to county fairs in the Heartland service area, with a focus on infrastructure projects and other projects that are not supported by normal fair sponsorships.
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Schools: Schools within the cooperative’s service area that have capital campaigns for facilities that would positively impact Heartland members.
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Non-profit organizations: Non-profit organizations undergoing capital campaigns with facilities that focus on education, environment, culture and the arts, and civic and community development that would positively impact Heartland members.
- Other: Other projects that better the communities in or surrounding the cooperative’s service area, as authorized by the board.



