Category Archives: Area News

Governor Colyer Announces Tracey Mann of Salina as Lieutenant Governor

Topeka – Governor Jeff Colyer today announced the selection of Tracey Mann to serve as Kansas Lieutenant Governor.

“I am pleased that Tracey has agreed to join our team as Lieutenant Governor”, said Colyer. “Tracey has been a leader on economic development and rural issues in Kansas for years, and I am excited to bring those skills to our team. Tracey truly knows what it means to listen, serve and lead.”

“I look forward to working with him in the weeks and months ahead to usher in a new day in Kansas politics and serve the people of this great state.”

Tracey Mann commented that he was impressed with Governor Colyer’s willingness to lead, saying “I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to serve as Lieutenant Governor for Dr. Colyer. Over the years, I’ve been impressed with his willingness to serve as a leader on the hard issues.

“Governor Colyer’s track record shows he doesn’t shy away from tackling the difficult problems. I am excited to join him in serving the people of Kansas as we focus on reform, jobs and education.”

Kansas Farm Bureau CEO, Terry Holdren, added his endorsement of Mann as the new Lt. Governor, saying “Kansas farmers and ranchers, as the backbone of the state’s economy and heritage, expect good leadership from friends in positions across government,” said Holdren, “Tracey Mann is both a good friend of Kansas agriculture and a great leader. We look forward to working with him in this new role.”

Tracey Mann is the managing director and principal of Newmark Grubb Zimmer, a full service commercial real estate company headquartered in Kansas City. Before joining Newmark Grubb Zimmer, Mann served as senior program director for the National Student Leadership Forum on Faith and Values.

Mann has previously served on the board of directors for the Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership (KARL) program and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce.  He is also a board member of the City Teen Center, a non-profit educational facility serving children in Salina.

Tracey Mann is a fifth-generation Kansan from Quinter, Kansas.  He regularly returns to work on the family farm. He earned a degree in Agricultural Economics from Kansas State University in 2000, where he also served as Student Body President. In 1997, Tracey served as Jerry Moran’s first intern in Washington, DC.

Tracey, his wife, Audrey and their four children live in Salina, Kansas.

 

Area Youth In Career and Technical Education

Photo Credit: FSCC.   Student Dylan Giager and Carpentry Instructor Kim Coates at the 53rd annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in 2017.

February is Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month.

Carpentry, heating and air conditioning, masonry and welding classes at the Career and Technical Education Center in Pittsburg, which offers Fort Scott Community College classes have seen a rise in enrollment,  according to Kris Mengarelli, CTEC Executive Director.

“I do not have a current number of high school students for this spring, but (I do) for Fall 2017 – I know enrollment is up for the Spring semester,” he said.

Mengarelli is glad to see the increase.

“There are significant opportunities in the trades workforce,” Mengarelli said.  “Trade businesses are in need of skilled workers to fill the demand of a workforce that is moving toward retirement.  In addition, according to Association for Career and Technical Education, students involved in CTE courses are more engaged, graduate at higher rates and go on to post-secondary education.”

The statistics for the fall semester at CTEC that Mengarelli produced:

In heating and air conditioning, there are 10 male students whose average age is 23. None are high school students. The students are from Bourbon, Crawford, Allen, and Anderson counties.

For masonry, there are 17 students, 15 males, and two females with an average age of 18, from Crawford, Cherokee, Montgomery counties and two out of state students. Eight are high school students from Pittsburg, Girard, and Southeast.

For construction trades, there are 23 students, 20 males, and three females with an average age of 18. They are from Crawford, Labette, Allen, Anderson, and Cowley counties and two out of state students. Nine are high school students from Pittsburg and Girard.

For welding, there are 61 students, 57 males, and four females with an average age of 21. They are from Crawford, Cherokee, Bourbon, Johnson, Anderson, Linn, Miami counties and out of state.

There are 32 high school students in this group, from Pittsburg, Frontenac, Northeast, St. Mary’s Colgan, Southeast, and Girard.

For more information contact:

Kris Mengarelli
CTEC Executive Director
[email protected]
(620) 232-5644

Kim Coates
Carpentry Instructor
[email protected]
(620) 232-5644

Nacoma Oehme
Masonry Instructor
[email protected]
(620) 232-5644

Davis Oehme
Welding Instructor
[email protected]
(620) 232-5644

Chris Sterrett
Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration (HVAC) Instructor
[email protected]
(620) 232-5644

The theme for CTE Month is Celebrate Today, Own Tomorrow! This month provides CTE programs an opportunity to demonstrate how CTE makes students college and career ready and prepares them for high-demand career fields, according to a Kansas Department of Education press release.

CTE in Kansas helps meet the needs of business and industry through the development of the foundational knowledge and skills aligned to the Kansas workforce.

Kansas has 16 Career Clusters for students to choose from, and there are 35 Career Cluster Pathways, according to the press release.

A Career Cluster is a group of occupations similar in skill set and training.

Career Cluster Pathways are focused on specific areas of study leading to a particular area of industry or business. These occupations fall within seven career fields in Kansas — agriculture; business; design, production, and repair; family and consumer sciences; health; media and technology; and public services.

Kansas schools have 2,606 pathways across these fields.

Tidwell: R-E-S-P-E-C-T

John Tidwell, left, talks with Bill Pollack following the Kansas Humanities Council Presentation Thursday at the Gordon Parks Museum at Fort Scott Community College. At right, Melody Leavitt waits to speak to Tidwell.

Kansas University Professor John Edgar Tidwell spoke to a room full of people Thursday during the Kansas Humanities Series Lunch and Learn at Fort Scott Community College’s Gordon Park Museum.

The event was in celebration of Black History Month.

Tidwell gave some history on how President Abraham Lincon, with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and Dr. Martin Luther King, in the March On Washington in 1963 helped to change America.

“They led the way to freedom,” Tidwell said.

Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation, it captured the hearts and imagination of millions of Americans and fundamentally transformed the character of the war. After January 1, 1863, every advance of federal troops expanded the domain of freedom. Moreover, the Proclamation announced the acceptance of black men into the Union Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and freedom, according to https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation

“There were creed and practice differences,” Tidwell said of American history.

During the March On Washington For Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963, Dr. King gave a powerful speech that helped the progress of the Civil Rights Movement.

The most memorable part of the speech was after Mahalia Jackson, the black Gospel singer, shouted out “Tell them about the dream!” Tidwell said.

King then set aside his written speech and spoke spontaneously to the approximately 250,000 people gathered that day.

Jackson was on the platform that day of the march, as a singer.

Here is a clip of that speech:

Black women were at the forefront of the movement, he said, but “they were marginalized and doubly oppressed by racism and sexism”.

Tidwell encouraged the audience to “try to find ways to sustain mutual respect” in the current era of American history.

“Find one thing you see right and work towards that,” he said.

“What can we learn from Lincoln’s struggle with slavery and Dr. King’s efforts to set forth a dream rooted in the American Dream?” Tidwell asked.

“History can be a great teacher.  One lesson we can learn is that we are only as free as the respect we show others.  In my view, the world we now live in is best described as uncertain.

“No, it is not the world of Dr. King’s separate drinking fountains, segregated classrooms, the real estate practice of red-lining, and other acts of racial discrimination.

“As made clear by the recent outcome of the presidential campaign, our world is beset with an enervating discourse rooted in divisiveness, intolerance, and discord.  The moral imperatives of civility, mutual respect, and common sense have been sacrificed to political cant and ethnocentrism.

“The politics of insincerity and expediency have become poor substitutes for compassion and statesmanship.”

“I want people to understand that once they have sympathy and empathy for others, that will translate into an improved engagement with our history, our traditions and all those things that make us, us,” Tidwell said in a later interview. “I want this speech to inspire a little bit for how they can work together on a goal that will enhance everybody’s situation, not just their own”.

The audience eats lunch and converses before John Tidwell speaks for the Kansas Humanities Council Series presentation at Fort Scott Community College.

 

 

Youth Art Exhibit At Fort Scott National Historic Site

Kansas youth were given the opportunity to create artwork depicting the theme “New Faces, New Neighbors”.

Fort Scott National Historic Site is exhibiting the youth artwork in the building west of the visitors center.

The winter hours of the fort, from November 1 to March 1, are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The fort is located at the north end of downtown Fort Scott on Old Fort Boulevard.

For more information: 620.223-0310

One of the art projects depicted soldiers, caucasian, black and Native Americans.

For more information, click here:

“New Faces, New Neighbors” Textile Art Display

 

In addition to the above exhibit, while at the Fort view the excellent exhibit “The Fight Over Freedom”, adjacent to the youth exhibit.

The following are photos from that exhibit.

Jeff Colyer Sworn In As Governor This Afternoon

Governor Jeff Colyer, M.D. was sworn in as the 47th governor of Kansas at 3 p.m. today in the Capitol rotunda in Topeka, accompanied by First Lady Ruth Colyer and their daughters, Serena and Dominique. Governor Colyer attended mass in Hays this morning with his classmates from Thomas More Prep-Marian High School. He then visited West Side Alternative School, which is also in Hays.

Governor Colyer said, “This public school is a unique partnership with the High Plains Mental Health Center that ensures special needs kids have the same opportunities for success as any other Kansan.”

When asked about his inauguration, Governor Colyer said, “Throughout my life, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to serve in a variety of ways including as a doctor, humanitarian and lieutenant governor. I’m excited to begin serving Kansans in an even greater way today as the governor of this beautiful state.”

Dr. Colyer is a fifth-generation Kansan from Hays who is dedicated to making a difference in people’s lives on the personal, state, national and international level. Over the last 25 years, Dr. Colyer has volunteered, as a surgeon, in dangerous war zones such as Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans, Libya, and Africa. He was an International Medical Corps volunteer and the only surgeon in southern Rwanda during the genocide that killed 800,000 people.

Dr. Colyer also served as a White House Fellow under President Ronald Reagan and President George H.W. Bush in international affairs.