Kim Schwab, Roger Kemp, and Bill Martin visit with Jacqui Spradling following the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Coffee Thursday.
The tragic murder of his daughter spurred Roger Kemp and his wife to action.
Ali Kemp was 19 years old in 2004 when she was raped and murdered in Leawood, a Kansas City suburb.
“That’s why we do this program,” Kemp said. “We don’t want it to happen to anybody else.”
The Kemps helped facilitate the creation of a self-defense program for females from middle-school age to “a 90-year-old grandmother,” he said.
The Ali Kemp Education Foundation, T.A.K.E., is coming to Fort Scott Middle School on Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. to noon.
Jill and Bob Leiker are the chief instructors for the class.
“Bob was formerly in law enforcement,” Kemp said. “Bob has been into prisons and interviewed several predators to find out what they look for.”
Since its inception, the T.A.K.E. program has seen 68,000 people go through the self-defense class nationwide, Kemp said.
Kim Schwab, an administrative assistant at the Bourbon County Law Enforcement Center, is currently taking registrations for the class.
She can be reached at the jail by calling 620-223-1440 or stopping by the center, located at 293 E. 20th in Fort Scott, for an application. Alternatively, one can access the application on the Bourbon County Law Enforcement Center Facebook page.
“Sheriff Bill Martin directed me to the T.A.K.E. class,” Schwab said. “It is one-hour of education and the second-hour to learn the moves you need to get away (from an attacker).”
A donation of $12 is requested, but not required.
Sponsors for the class are being sought by the Sheriff’s office.
THE ANNUAL CIVIL WAR ENCAMPMENT ON THE GROUNDS OF FORT SCOTT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE WILL BE HELD SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, APRIL TWENTY-SEVENTH AND TWENTY EIGHTH.
IN CONJUNCTION WITH THIS EVENT, THE FRIENDS OF FORT SCOTT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE WILL BE HOSTING THE SECOND ANNUAL CIVIL WAR CAMP DANCE.
Submitted photo.
LOCATED IN DOWNTOWN FORT SCOTT, HISTORIC MEMORIAL HALL WILL BE FILLED WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC FROM THE EIGHTEEN HUNDREDS ALONG WITH WHOOPING AND HOLLERING AND DANCING FEET AT THE CIVIL WAR CAMP DANCE THE EVENING OF SATURDAY, APRIL TWENTY-SEVENTH.
PERIOD DANCES AND MUSIC ARE SURE TO ENTERTAIN PARTICIPANTS AS THEY BRING HISTORY TO LIFE.
THE CAMP DANCE IS HELD TO COINCIDE WITH THE CIVIL WAR ENCAMPMENT WEEKEND AT FORT SCOTT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE.
IT GIVES THE VOLUNTEERS ATTENDING THE ENCAMPMENT AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET TOGETHER, HAVE A GOOD TIME, AND BRING HISTORY ALIVE IN A SOCIAL ATMOSPHERE.
THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO COME AND JOIN IN THE DANCING OR JUST TO WATCH.
WE ENCOURAGE, BUT DON’T REQUIRE, THOSE WHO ATTEND TO COME DRESSED IN 1860S CIVIL WAR ATTIRE, OR DRESSED AS1800S WESTERN PIONEERS. IT SETS THE TONE FOR THE EVENING.
ALL AGES ARE WELCOME. COME JOIN US AS WE LEARN 1800S DANCES TO 1800S MUSIC.
THE DOORS OPEN AT SIX-THIRTY AND DANCING BEGINS AT 7:00 PM.
THE COST OF FIVE DOLLARS PER PERSON COLLECTED AT THE DOOR GOES TO THE FRIENDS OF FORT SCOTT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE.
FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO FACEBOOK AT FORT SCOTT KANSAS EIGHTEEN HUNDREDS DANCING.
Chamber members take advantage of the tour of the second-floor office of the Bourbon County Attorney following the Chamber of Commerce coffee.
A large number of people crowded into the hallway of the Bourbon County Courthouse Thursday morning to attend the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce weekly coffee.
Many of the county’s departments were represented at the coffee.
Community announcements were given, with each announcer paying $1 to the Fort Scott Trolley Car transportation fund.
This week’s coffee was hosted by the Bourbon County Commission, with First District Commissioner Lynne Oharah telling of the events coming up in the county.
First District Bourbon County Commissioner Lynne Oharah.Nick Ruhl, District 3 Bourbon County Commissioner.Jeff Fischer, District 2 Bourbon County Commissioner.
Oharah invited the attendees to tour the facility on the first floor that houses the Bourbon County Clerk, Treasurer, County Commission Room, Economic Director and Counselor.
Also open for viewing was the second-floor Bourbon County Attorney Office space, which has been in use since October.
Bourbon County Attorney Jacqui Spradling.
Oharah said the commission is “looking to renew a one-cent sales tax for maintaining or new hard-surfaced roads in the county.”
On another subject, he also noted that “the county is totally responsible for the ambulance service as of April 1.”
This following the closing of Mercy Hospitali n October and the transitioning to the county’s responsibility for the ambulance.
Economic Director Jody Hoenor said the transition was a “team approach” between the county, Mercy and the City of Fort Scott.
Hoenor advised people to contact their insurance provider directly to see if the ambulance service will be covered in their policy.
Hoenor also said she is working on a strategic plan for the county which focuses on “increasing our population to spread the tax base over many shoulders.”
Angel Wilson, victim witness coordinator and office administration; Judy Hood, senior legal secretary and juvenile victim witness coordinator; and Staci Haynes, diversion and senior legal secretary at the Bourbon County Attorney’s Office.Jim Harris, Bourbon County Public Works Director.J.T. Heckman, Bourbon County Public Works Supervisor.
Tri-Valley Developmental Services, 4305 Campbell Drive, located in Fort Scott’s Industrial Park.
The long winter is almost over. Gardeners are getting antsy to get their hands in the dirt in their gardens.
“It’s winter time,” Barb McCord, Tri-Valley Developmental Services (TVDS) Horticultural Therapist, said. “I know a lot of gardeners are excited about getting started.”
The 7th Annual Gardeners Christmas Auction, Saturday, March 30, will help assist them to get started.
Barb McCord tells about some of the plants grown in the greenhouse at Tri-Valley Developmental Services.
The silent auction along with the plant and garden decor sale is from 10 a.m. to noon at the TVDS, located in Fort Scott’s Industrial Park at 4305 Campbell Drive.
Barb McCord shows a butterfly house for sale at the silent auction.
“I tell people it’s down the hill from Key Industries,” McCord said.
Coleus grown covers will be for sale.
The sale benefits the horticulture therapy program at TVDS.
“It’s been a successful addition to our client’s lives and provides a quality product to our community,” McCord said.
Ferns will be for sale.
The clients do science experiments, work on fine motor skills, work on following directions and learn to work as a team, among others, she said.
There will be a “compost bin”, with gently used gardening items and other items donated by the community at the sale.
“Hoses, tools, an exercise bike, a leaf shredder, a birdcage and stand, supports for plants and gardening books, McCord said.
The following will be for sale at the Gardener’s Christmas Auction:
Lots of herbs, veggies, flowers, hanging basket items and other plants will be for sale.A handmade table will be for sale: a cedar post inlaid in concrete.A table top planting unit is for sale.A spring decor item for sale.A conceal carry purse will be for sale.Jewelry for sale at the auction.
The next grief support luncheon will be Wednesday, April 3rd, at noon. Anyone dealing with a loss is encouraged to come and bring a friend. Pastor Jeff Dillow will be speaking. Cheney Witt Chapel will provide lunch at the Carriage House, 301 S. Main. Call us at 223-1186 if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you!
Alan Shinn has been a math teacher for 50 years at Uniontown High School, getting to his math room by 6 or 7 a.m. daily to prepare for class and be available for students with math questions.
UHS Math Teacher Alan Shinn looks over a lesson for class.
As of May 17, he is retiring.
His long tenure began with an interest in math as a youth.
As a freshman at Iola High School, Shinn was challenged by his algebra teacher, Mr. Jewell.
“He would answer every question with a question,” Shinn said. “I know that frustrated fellow students. But it made me attempt to do the problem. I decided my freshman year I wanted to be a math teacher.”
Shinn attended Allen County Community College, then Kansas State Teachers College at Emporia, getting a degree in mathematics.
He was the first person in his family to attend college.
Shinn started his first year of teaching math at Uniontown High School in 1969, with a $19,000 contract.
He found out about the UHS math vacancy from his uncle Don Nichols, who was the math teacher at the school for seven years.
His first year of teaching was a learning curve.
“The first year, my wife and I would go to Kansas City (to visit Don Nichols) a half-dozen times to get advice and answer questions I had about teaching,” Shinn said.
“I owe a lot to those two gentlemen: my freshman teacher and my uncle,” he said.
There was another motivation.
“My Dad worked at the cement plant,” Shinn said. “I got to work there for two summers. It was hot and dirty and I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my life.”
During his first year of teaching at UHS, Shinn was offered a scholarship from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through Pittsburg State University to get his masters degree in math.
At that time in history, science and mathematics were being strongly encouraged in the U. S. education system due to the space technology challenge from the Russians.
“They (NFS) paid for the master’s degree,” Shinn said.
“I think they need to do that again,” he said. “There is a shortage of math teachers.”
In his 50 years of teaching at UHS Shinn has coached math students into more than one hundred first-place victories in competitions with from three to 30 schools. Additionally, he has coached students to 46 second-place school awards and 24 third-place overall school achievements.
Some of Shinn’s math students’ awards line the wall in his room at UHS.
“I have had more than 20 students who are now math teachers,” Shinn said. “Two more are going to college right now to become math teachers.”
Additionally, a current UHS senior and sophomore have a desire to become math teachers, he said.
“I have always been known for giving lots of homework,” Shinn said. “I don’t think you can learn math and do one-half dozen problems per night.”
The best part of teaching for Shinn is doing the best he can to get his students to “be able to go to college (math) and get through it.”
Krista Harding District Extension Agent, Horticulture Southwind Extension District 111 S. Butler Erie, KS 66733 Office: 620-244-3826 Cell: 620-496-8786
It makes me happy to say that spring has arrived, on the calendar at least! After a seemingly endless winter, I think everyone is excited to know that spring is near. The frogs have been singing at my house and this is one of my favorite signs of spring! The other, I like to catch a whiff of smoke on the air from the burning that takes place in the spring. I know not everyone is a fan of this, but it is a necessary and useful tool that agricultural producers use.
It won’t be long and the lawn mowers will be pulled out of the garage preparing for the season ahead. As you survey your lawn in the next few weeks, you may be thinking to yourself that it looks a bit ragged. You might even consider buying some seed and throwing it out in the lawn in hopes of thickening it up. Before you do that, I would like to give a little advice….wait!
It is not recommended to seed cool-season grasses such as tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass in the spring. I know this seems strange because it would seem that spring would be the best time for seeding because the entire growing season is available for the grass to grow and establish. But there are a number of reasons why you should wait until fall to seed.
Summer is the hardest time of year for cool-season grasses – not the winter. Summertime is difficult because our cool-season grasses do not have the heat or moisture stress tolerance that our warm-season grasses such as buffalo, zoysia and Bermuda have. Therefore, they tend to become weakened in the summer which makes them more susceptible to disease and other stresses – especially heat. Young, newly planted seedlings struggle even more to survive the summer.
Soils are warmer in the fall. Warm soils mean less time required for germination and growth, so the grass becomes established more quickly.
In the spring, our major weed problems are annual grasses such as crabgrass. Since spring seeded turf is slow to mature, there are often thin areas that are easily invaded by these grassy weeds. If this happens, weeds are better adapted to our summer conditions than our cool-season grasses and so the weeds take over! Plus, the chemicals that can be used on young turf is limited.
Weeds are less of a problem in the fall. The major weed problems in the fall tend to be chickweed, henbit or dandelions. Turf seeded in early September is usually thick enough by the time these weeds germinate that often there is not much weed invasion
Spring seeding of cool-season grasses can be done, but it is more difficult to pull off than fall seeding. So my advice is to just tough it out this spring and summer if your yard is less than desirable. Come late July and August, get a game plan together for fall seeding. If your lawn needs a complete renovation, late summer is the time to do a complete kill-out of grass and work to get a good seed bed prepared.
If you have questions about lawn fertility, weed control or seeding, please don’t hesitate to contact me. A reminder, I am in Fort Scott every Thursday. Feel free to stop by the office and visit.
Krista Harding is a K-State Research and Extension Agricultural agent assigned to Southwind District. She may be reached at 620-244-3826 or [email protected].
K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Mike Reith, 54, is the recently hired Uniontown Junior/High School Principal.
His official start date is August 1, 2019.
Reith has 32 years experience teaching math. He taught four years at Indian Trail Junior High in Olathe; 28 years at McPherson High School – upper-level math such as AP Calculus, College Algebra and was math department chair at MHS for the past 15 years.
“Uniontown will be my first job as a building administrator,” Reith said.
Uniontown High School
Reith graduated from Girard High School in 1983, earned his Bachelor of Science Degree from Pittsburg State University in 1987, Master of Science Degree from Wichita State University in 2003 and will complete his Building Administration Licensure Degree from Emporia State University in May 2019.
Reith is a Southeast Kansas native.
“I grew up on a farm 3.5 miles southwest of Hepler, then went to school K-12 in Girard,” he said.
Reith was a student who enjoyed school.
“All throughout my K-12 school experience, I enjoyed school and also enjoyed success academically,” Reith said.” I particularly excelled in math throughout high school, and really enjoyed the challenge as I progressed through the upper-level math courses.”
Reith had a math teacher that was a great influence on him.
“I had an outstanding math teacher, Gary Starr, who influenced me greatly,” he said. “I was also a three-sport athlete in high school and desired to coach at the high school level. Partnering those facts with a substantial scholarship offer from the Pitt State education department led me to the conclusion that I should pursue a math degree with an emphasis in secondary education.”
“During my teaching career, I have truly enjoyed working with students in the classroom and working with athletes in coaching. I have coached multiple sports throughout my career, but primarily basketball and track, and have been a part of some very special moments and teams.”
“While I still enjoy teaching and coaching, I began to notice an increasingly apparent need for strong leadership at the administrative level,” Reith said. “It was something that I considered earlier in my career, but the timing just wasn’t right for a variety of reasons.”
“But, three years ago, I made the decision that it was the right time and the right situation in my life to pursue a building administration degree. I will complete the program in May and receive my building administration license.”
“I am thrilled for this opportunity at Uniontown and am very appreciative to Superintendent Bret Howard and the USD 235 BOE for their support for and confidence in me. My wife and I are excited to be back in Southeast Kansas, as this gets us closer to several of our family members.”
When asked what the best part of education was for him, he replied:
“While there are many things that come to mind, the primary one is the opportunity to have a positive, life-changing impact on students, families, and communities. I believe every young person should have the hope of a successful future, and they deserve the opportunity to experience the necessary preparation for that to become a reality. Quality education is the lifeblood of a civilized society, and it is a high calling but a tremendous privilege to be a part of it.”
“I would add that I have experienced a great working relationship with my colleagues in the math department and on the girls’ basketball staff at McPherson High School,” Reith said. “It is extremely rewarding when you get the opportunity to work with like-minded educators who love what they do and are in the profession for the right reasons.”
Some of the challenges that Reith sees for future educators:
“Public-school funding in Kansas always seems to be at the forefront of challenging issues that face education.
“At the basic levels of daily instruction, educators are dealing with a growing number of issues students are dealing with,” resulting from a less-than-ideal home situation. I believe we need to take opportunities to work with families in this regard, to let them know we want to partner with them to help their student be as successful as possible. It is definitely a challenge to instruct students academically when they have significant issues that cause distractions.
“The Redesign Initiative implemented by the KSDE is now something that all schools and districts in Kansas must begin to address. I believe it is imperative for schools within districts to work as a cohesive unit so that the focus and goals are consistent and effective as a student moves through the grades and schools in the district.
“Social media presents challenges such as cyber-bullying, academic dishonesty, distractions, etc. Educators must be as proactive as possible to deal with this for the good of our students.
“We must not lose sight of the reason education exists. We can get bogged down and pulled in many directions; sometimes when we try to do too much, we’re not good at anything. Addressing the issues and concerns that will truly help students be more successful academically, while at the same time helping them develop good character traits, are what we should be focused on.”
