Category Archives: Area News

Friends of Tri-Valley Foundation Holds 24th Annual Truck Raffle Drawing

Tricia Campbell, Tri-Valley Special Projects Coordinator; Matthew Lazerus, Thomas Lazerus, winner of the 24th Annual Raffle Drawing; and Jeff Lassman, Steve Faulkner Ford. Submitted photo.

 

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

The SEKnFind Newsletter
June 2024

We hope you enjoy this newsletter sent as a courtesy to adult patrons of a southeast Kansas library using the SEKnFind catalog.
This selection of titles are NEW at a SEKnFind library and available for a hold.
Need assistance? Your local librarian can show you how!
Happy Reading!

New Fiction

All the colors of the dark : a novel
by Chris Whitaker

After a string of disappearances in 1975 Missouri, a one-eyed boy heroically thwarts a kidnapping, igniting a chain of events that blur the lines between triumph and tragedy as the townspeople of Monta Clare confront hidden truths.

Hall of mirrors
by John Copenhaver

Suspicious after his lover and writing partner’s death in house fire is ruled a suicide in 1954 Washington, DC, Lionel joins forces with two friends and amateur sleuths to investigate and stop a serial killer.

The unwedding
by Allyson Braithwaite Condie

Recent divorcee Ellery Wainwright, while staying at the luxurious Resort at Broken Point in Big Sur, finding the place beautiful, yet unsettling, especially when a mudslide traps her and the other guests with a murderer who has something horrific in store for them all.

The glassmaker
by Tracy Chevalier

From the height of Renaissance-era Italy to the present day, this spellbinding novel follows Orsola Rosso and her family of glassblowers as they live through creative triumph and heartbreaking loss, and how through every era, the Rosso women ensure their work, and their bonds, endure.

Lula Dean’s little library of banned books ; : a novel
by Kirsten Miller

When Lula Dean, trying to rid public libraries of“pornographic” books, starts her own lending library in front of her home, Lindsay, the daughter of Lula’s arch nemesis, sneaks in nightly, secretly filling it with banned books wrapped in“wholesome” dust jackets, changing the lives of those who borrow them in unexpected ways.

You should be so lucky : a novel
by Cat Sebastian

Ordered by the team’s owner to give a bunch of interviews to reporter Mark Bailey, baseball shortstop, Eddie O’Leary, during the 1960 season, slowly gives in to the attraction between them, and when it’s just them against the world, they must decide if that’s enough. Original.

Horror movie : a novel
by Paul Tremblay

The only surviving cast member of a notorious, disturbing 1993 art house horror movie joins the remake, but begins having trouble distinguishing between reality and film in the new novel by the author of The Pallbearers Club. 150,000 first printing.

How to become the Dark Lord and die trying
by Django Wexler

“Davi has done this all before. She’s tried to be the hero and take down the all-powerful Dark Lord. A hundred times she’s rallied humanity and made the final charge. But the time loop always gets her in the end. Sometimes she’s killed quickly. Sometimesit takes a while. But she’s been defeated every time. This time? She’s done being the hero and done being stuck in this endless time loop. If the Dark Lord always wins, then maybe that’s who she needs to be. It’s Davi’s turn to play on the winning side”

The stardust grail
by Yume Kitasei

Once the best art thief in the galaxy, anthropology student Maya Hoshimoto, when an old friend comes to her with a job she cannot refuse: find a powerful object that could save an alien species from extinction, sending her on a breakneck quest through the universe with her visions as a guide.

The wealth of shadows : a novel
by Graham Moore

In 1939, Ansel Luxford uproots his family and moves to Washington, D.C., to work on a clandestine project to undermine Nazi Germany, one involving economic warfare, and is plunged into a world of espionage, danger and deceit, especially when his wife takes a job with the FBI, bringing subterfuge to the home front.

A lonesome place for dying : a novel
by Nolan Chase

The town’s new chief of police, Ethan Brand, receiving threats on his first day on the job, is faced with the first homicide case Blaine, Washington, has seen in years and with no one to trust, must find the killers and bring them to justice before anyone else winds up dead.

Iron star
by Loren D. Estleman

A pioneering film star searching for a cinematic story that will launch his career, Buck Jones approaches a retired Pinkerton detective to set the record straight about the larger-than-life Deputy U.S. Marshal Iron St. John to tell the truth about this part-time hero in the American West.

New Audiobooks

Long Island
by Colm Toibin

In 1976 Lindenhurst, Long Island, Ellis Lacey, an Irishwoman in her 40s with no one to rely on in this still-new country, discovers her husband got a woman pregnant and the woman’s husband refuses to raise it, forcing Ellis to decide what she will do and not do in this unexpected situation.

The Rom-Commers
by Katherine Center

Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies, good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates it’s a break too big to pass up. Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone, much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script, it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme. But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself.

Red Sky Mourning
by Jack Carr

When three seemingly disconnected events are about to ignite a power grab unlike anything the world has seen, Navy SEAL sniper James Reece, to save America, must reconnect to a quantum computer called“Alice” who is positioned to act as either the county’s greatest savior or its worst enemy.

New Nonfiction

Swimming pretty : the untold story of women in water
by Vicki Valosik

Published to coincide with the 40th anniversary of synchronized swimming’s elevation to Olympic status, this breathtaking book, tracing a century of aquatic performance, from vaudeville and dime museums to the Olympic arena, honors the grit, glamor and sheer athleticism of an utterly unique sport that forever changed women’s relationships with water. Illustrations.

Raising a socially successful child : teaching kids the nonverbal language they need to communicate, connect, and thrive
by Stephen Nowicki

Reveals how to identify the nonverbal areas where a child might be struggling, and equips readers with a set of simple exercises for helping any child learn how to: follow the rhythm of conversations, respect others’ personal space and much more.

The art and science of connection : why social health is the missing key to living longer, healthier, and happier
by Kasley Killam

In this groundbreaking redefinition of health and wellbeing, an internationally recognized expert in social health argues that the definition of wellbeing is missing a major component: social connection, proving that relationships not only make us happy, but they are also critical to our overall health and longevity.

Crossing the desert : the power of embracing life’s difficult journeys
by Payam Zamani

“By blending the personal with the historical and the technical with the motivational, Crossing the Desert gives readers an intimate look at how the paths we choose, the values we embrace, and the systems we decide to participate in-or not-can make or break us, not only financially, but spiritually”

The great river : the making and unmaking of the Mississippi
by Boyce Upholt

In this landmark work of natural history, a journalist tells the epic story of the Mississippi River and the centuries of efforts to control it, which have damaged its once-vibrant ecosystems, carrying readers along the river’s last remaining backchannels and exploring how scientists hope to restore what has been lost. Illustrations.

Dog smart : life-changing lessons in canine intelligence
by Jennifer S. Holland

Based on evidence from trainers, owners, behaviorists and the animals themselves, this cutting-edge science narrative, filled with heartwarming and tail-wagging case studies, seeks to understand the world’s smartest dogs and how they got that way. Illustrations.

Big dip energy : 88 parties in a bowl for snacking, dinner, dessert, and beyond!
by Alyse Whitney

“Food editor, recipe developer, and TV host Alyse Whitney has been a Dip Queen for decades, making her the perfect diplomat for this first-of-its-kind cookbook. Big Dip Energy offers endless fun and easy ways to both entertain and enjoy solo with creative dips and dippers”

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

This is a story about one of the Community  Foundation of Southeast Kansas grantees from last year’s General Funds Grant cycle.
This year’s General Funds application is open until June 30th.

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.

 

 

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/Kara with any questions as you work on your proposal.

 

New K-State Extension Agent: Lonnie Mengarelli

K-State Extension Crops and Natural Resources Agent. Lonnie Mengarelli. Submitted photo.
 Lonnie Mengarelli, 35, is the new Kansas State University Southwind District Crops and Natural Resources Agent.
His office is in Fort Scott, but the district covers Allen, Bourbon, Neosho, and Woodson counties.
He replaced Chad Guthrie and began his duties on May 13, 2024.
Mengarelli is a 2008 Girard High School graduate, who earned a Bachelor of Science from K-State in 2013, majoring in Agricultural Technology Management with two minors: agronomy and animal science.
His background: from November 2021- May 2024 he was an agronomist for Producer Cooperative Association in Girard, making herbicide and fertilizer recommendations for producers.
From  June 2013 to November 2021  he worked for K-State at the Southeast Research and Extension Center in Parsons,  doing small plot row crop research,  in charge of crop variety trials (corn, soybean, grain sorghum, wheat, and oil seed sunflower), and the field lead for the crop production studies under Dr. Gretchen Sassenrath researching soil health and cover crop studies.
He grew up on farm northeast of Girard raising Angus influence cattle.
“I put up hay all summer long including alfalfa, fescue, sedan grass, and prairie hay,” he said. “My father was the fourth agent in Crawford County so I was heavily involved in county fair preparations and extension events.”
His duties for this position: “Being the first person-to-person contact for all row crop production, rangeland, and wildlife questions. I will help with weed identification and control, crop pest control, and consulting on management practices to help improve ag production. I will also be heavily involved in the Bourbon County Fair assisting with the 4-h shows and projects.”
He lives in Hepler, Kansas with his wife Hannah (high school sweethearts) and four kids: Heidi (10), Avery (8), Emery (8), and Heston (6).
‘We’ve been happily married 12 years and own our 160-acre Charolais-influenced cow/calf operation,” he said.
Outside of work, he has many hobbies.
“They include working on my antique trucks and tractors and going to support my kids in all their activities. When not at work I enjoy helping family on their farms from operating equipment to turning wrenches and working with livestock. I am the Fire Chief for the Hepler Rural Fire Department. Also, I am an active member of the Hepler Ruritan Club. I serve as beef project leader for the Bone Creek 4H club in Crawford County.  In the spring I volunteer to run field events such as shot put and discus at Girard High/Middle School track meets. “
Mengarelli’s office is in the Bourbon County Courthouse, 210 S. National Avenue.
Mengarelli can be reached at
Office: 1-620-223-3720
Cell: 1-620-238-0532

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.

 

# # #

 

 

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

Applications for Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative’s Concern for Community program, which provides grants of up to $5,000 for capital improvement projects throughout the Heartland service area, will be accepted June 1—July 31.
To qualify for a grant, a project must fit within one of the following categories:
  • 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.
  • Schools: Schools within the cooperative’s service area that have capital campaigns for facilities that would positively impact Heartland members.
  • 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.
In keeping with Heartland’s goal of encouraging sustainable development, preference will be given to collaborative projects receiving support from other sources. Awardees will be selected by the Heartland Board of Directors in August, and funds will be distributed in September.
Funds for Heartland’s Concern for Community Grants come from the cooperative’s unclaimed capital credit retirement checks. Because that money was intended to support the local community, Heartland’s Board of Directors has decided to use those funds for community grants.
Grant money does not come from cooperative revenues and the issuing of grants will not impact future rates or capital credit allocations.
More information and a link to the online application form can be found online at https://www.heartland-rec.com/community/concern-for-community-grants/. Questions may be directed to Doug Graham, Communication Specialist, at (620) 724-5526.

Catholic Church Reno Update: Help Needed To Fund Artifacts Restoration

Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church. May 22, 2024.

The Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church has risen from the ashes of the devasting fire that destroyed the church in August 2022.

To view the story of the fire: Fire at Fort Scott’s Catholic Church Causes Extensive Damage

People are working on the inside and the outside of the building at 705 S. Holbrook, with a target date for the church dedication of November 23, 2024, a week before Thanksgiving.

“The bricks are completed on the east (front) side,” Mark McCoy,  a building committee member, said.

“It’s a lot of intricate work, not just plain bricks,” he said. “The circle in the front will be where the stained glass window from the former church will be.”

“Over the next few weeks, subcontractors will be working inside placing drywall, and completing HVAC runs,” McCoy said. “Masonry will continue brickwork on the west side then move to the north and south.”

 

Work is being done on the exterior and interior of the Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church. On the construction fence is an artist’s rendition of what the new church will look like.

 

The Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church priest’s residence is on Holbrook Street on the backside of the church.
“Father Yancy’s house is completed,” McCoy said.
Meanwhile in Wichita, the restoration of the religious artifacts that were damaged is continuing.

The Restoration of the Artifacts

When Robert Elliot, a Catholic from Wichita, heard of the fire at Mary Queen of Angels Church in Fort Scott, he contacted Fr. Yansey Bergis to offer help and assistance in any way he could.

Elliot is a seasoned restorer with over two decades of experience, he said.

“It was apparent that I would be of the most help in rebuilding, restoring, and refurbishing all of the damaged and destroyed Stations of the Cross and all of the Statuary of the church,” Elliott said. “The fire, water, and smoke damage was enormous. I knew this would be a long and arduous process estimating at least one year to complete.”

Some of the artifacts of the Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church, following the fire, provided by Elliot.

“Four stations were damaged beyond repair (so one might think) as they lay in pieces on the ground,” Elliot said. “The rest were out of view and we had no idea as to their condition. The insurance company needed a price to do the repairs. Without seeing all of the stations, I provided a modest calculation of what the cost would be. It was my desire to assist the church in its time of need.”

“He wasn’t able to analyze all the depth of restoration or the artifacts at that time,” McCoy said. “We are so appreciative of the work he has taken on.”

When all of the stations and statues arrived at his studio, they were able to assess their condition and begin to comprehend the immense task they had undertaken, Elliot said.

“Over the year we used all of the money allocated to the project to cover the cost of labor, materials, studio rent, insurance, and labor,” he said.

Some of the workmen on the artifacts at Elliot’s workshop in Wichita, were provided by Elliot.

“I have been using funds from my personal retirement account to pay the workers and the expenses for this project since the first of the year,” he said. “We have made great progress on the project since we started a year ago, but we have a long way to go. At the very least, four to six months more.”

“It is impossible to illustrate the amount of time and detailed labor involved in bringing each of the twenty-one religious artifacts back to life so to speak. At present we have generated a little over $6,000 of the $65,000 we need. The deficit, I will have to bear alone,” Elliott said.

A GoFundMe account is set up: https://gofund.me/15feea23

“Our goal is to generate the additional monies needed to complete this important work to a high degree of excellence and craftsmanship it deserves,” Elliot said.

Here are the artisans currently working on the project:

Mary Francis Skinner, Kathy Faulkner, Dan Ochs, Michael and Hector Ibarra, Gabe and Matan Umbarger, John Suffield, Jane Clark, Ian Snyder and Eliot who is the coordinator, logistics, art director, restoration and repair, quality control, recasting the destroyed frames, and painting the statues and stations.

 
“We are always interested in finding skilled persons willing to offer their services,” he said.