The October meeting of the Starlite FCE was held at the Presbyterian Village meeting room. President Glenda Miller called the meeting to order and Joyce Allen led the club in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and the Club Collect. Ten members were in attendance and reported that they have volunteered ninety-three hours and had recycled fifty-five pounds.
The members put together bags to be presented to veterans’ and also packed shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, fourteen boxes were assembled. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. Doris Ericson presented the treasurer’s report which was approved.
Glenda Miller presented a video explaining how the electoral college works. She also announced that Fall Follies will be held at The Methodist Church in Humboldt, seven members are planning on attending.
Karen Peery reported on the State Conference held in Chanute this year.
Joyce Allen volunteered to take the veterans bags to Medical Lodge, Claudia Wheeler will be taking them to Guest Home Estates and Calgary Crossing and Letha Johnson and Betty Johnson will deliver the ones at Presbyterian Village.
Betty Johnson moved the meeting be adjourned; Letha Johnson seconded it meeting adjourned. After the meeting the members enjoyed refreshments of brownies, ice cream fresh vegetables and dip provided by Deb Lust and Joyce Allen.
Bill Keith, looks on as his combine is engulfed in fire on Oct. 28, during strong winds in the region. Submitted photo.
The unusually warm weather—almost 90 degrees—and the strong winds have created dangerous conditions for fires once they have started.
Stacy Racy stated on her Facebook page last night that her dad, Bill Keith , had a piece of farm equipment engulfed in fire.
Her dad was combining wheat on his farm near Hammond, about 12 miles north of Fort Scott on Monday evening, October 28.
“You can’t see right behind you on a combine,” Racy said. “The combine died and he stood on the platform on it and saw that it was on fire.”
“Tonight, my dad’s combine caught fire. Once again, Jerry Nafzger, my dad’s guardian angel here on earth, came to his rescue,” she said on her Facebook page. “My dad didn’t know the combine was on fire until it died in the field. Jerry had seen the fire and called the fire department as he headed to the field.”
“Two young men Kyler Tweedy and Clint Barker from the Muddy Waters Farms elevator (in Hammond) arrived and plowed around the north side of the combine since the wind was blowing fiercely,” she said. “They plowed around… to keep the fire from jumping.”
Racy thanked the Bourbon County Fire District #3 for aiding in putting out the fire. This rural fire department had just come from a grass fire in the area.
“Thank you to Bourbon County Fire District 3. This rural fire district covers the Devon, Uniontown, Hiattville, Fulton, Bronson, and Redfield areas in the county,” she said
“Most of these young men and women are volunteers and all worked together to get the fire under control quickly,” she said.
Racy noted that the fire crew had to wait on a train at Soldier Road in traveling to the site of the fire.
Racy posted the above photo on her Facebook page and said:
“I have several pictures ( she took of the combine fire) but this one spoke volumes as a 80-year-old man watches his combine go up in smoke,” she said. “We can replace the combine, it’s just materialistic, but once again Jesus protected him and sent people to help him. Jerry (Nafger)even came back later to pray with him!”
“Numerous neighbors came to check on him,” Racy said.” Living in this community is such a blessing.”
The combine is a total loss, she said.
This morning she received a text from a young farmer neighbor, Charles Johnson, who volunteered to come combine the rest of the wheat, she said.
“When people need help, people step up,” she said. “We have such good people as neighbors.”
This is the proclamation against all outside fires in Bourbon County, until lifted.
“Due to the extreme heat and little rain, fire-hazard conditions in Bourbon County are very high. Because of the limitations of water usage by rural fire districts, there is concern for the capabilities of those fire districts to address any fire. Once started, with the present weather conditions, a fire will be difficult to control by fire departments. Water usage is of great concern to all fire departments, and the availability of enough water to contain a fire.
The dry conditions, above-normal temperatures and fire danger will continue unabated until sufficient rainfall occurs across the area.
It is hereby proclaimed, directed, and ordered by the Bourbon County Commissioners, in accordance with K.S.A. 48-932, that the following acts are prohibited within the boundaries of this County by all citizens and visitors:
All outside burning, unless specifically approved in writing by the Fire Chief, with the exception of covered barbeque grills.
The knowing and willful violation of this order shall constitute a Class A misdemeanor and any person convicted of such violation shall be punished as provided by law. [K.S.A. 48-939]
This Proclamation shall be in full force and effect until lifted.
Passed in open session by the Board of County Commissioners of Bourbon County, Kansas, this 15th day of October 2024.”
The Bourbon County Commission meetings have been moved to Thursday mornings at 9:00 a.m. starting this Thursday, October 31, 2024. An agenda will be sent out on Tuesday for the meeting.
Two questions will be decided by Bourbon County voters at the end of November 5th’s election, along with choosing the leaders at all government levels. At a recent Bourbon County Commission meeting Clerk Jennifer Hawkins laid out the Kansas Law prohibiting electioneering, following is the excerpt from the minutes.
Electioneering Not Allowed
Bourbon County Clerk Jennifer Hawkins. Submitted photo.
Jennifer Hawkins, County Clerk, discussed the upcoming General Election and went over what electioneering is.
“Jennifer stated that KSA 25-2430 outlines electioneering and defines it as
“knowingly attempting to persuade or influence eligible voters to vote for or against a particular candidate, party or question submitted, including wearing, exhibiting or distributing labels, signs, posters, stickers other materials that clearly identify a candidate in the election or clearly indicate support or opposition to a question submitted election, within any polling place, on election day or advance voting site, during the time period allowed by law for casting a ballot by advance voting, or within a radius of 250 feet from the entrance thereof.”
“Jennifer explained this means that there cannot be any t-shirts, hats, flags on vehicles, magnets on vehicles, pins, or other wearable advertisement containing a candidate’s name or slogan.
“Jennifer said that the statue exempts “bumper stickers that are affixed to a motor vehicle that is used to transport voters to a polling place or to an advance voting site for the purpose of voting.”
“Jennifer said that any political yard signs near a polling place cannot be within 250 feet of an entrance.”
Questions On The Ballot
County Question
“Shall the current number of Bourbon County Commissioner Districts set forth in KSA 19-203(a)(b)(c)(d) & (e), be increased to five (5) Commissioner Districts?
Yes or No
Commissioner Brandon Whisenhunt said that the question is on the ballot because of a petition that was passed around the county to increase the number of commissioners.
The number of petition signers was not going to meet the deadline but was coming close to the required number, and the petitioner, Michael Hoyt, requested that the commission put it on the ballot for the voters to decide. In a 2 to 1 vote, Clifton Beth and Whisenhunt voted yes and Jim Harris voted no.
“I am hoping it will cause more discussion of issues,” Whisenhunt said. “There will be more discussion with five people talking about an issue instead of three.”
USD 234 Question
“Shall the method of election in Unified School District No. 234, Bourbon County, Kansas, be changed from the six-member district method of election, under which the school district is not divided into any member districts and all board members are elected at large?
Yes or No
Destry Brown. Submitted photo.
Destry Brown, Superintendent of USD 234 provided the following ballot question explanation.
“The USD # 234 Board of Education is asking patrons to consider a change to how Board of Education members are selected. Currently, each member is chosen from a specific area within the district boundaries, and all voters within the district vote on every position.
“This was done years ago when consolidation was done and the
district wanted to have representation from the different school communities: Winfield Scott, Eugene Ware, and rural schools like Fulton.
“Today, all students in the district attend all our schools. No attendance center boundaries exist any longer.
“In recent years, we have had to fill positions on the Board of Education due to death, movement of members out of the district, changes in job responsibilities, and retirement.
The district has found it difficult to find people to run for the Board of Education based on these specific areas that were designated years ago. Consequently, we only have six board members right now.
“We are asking the community to consider changing all our Board of Education members to at-large seats.
“This will allow people in any area of the district to run for the Board of Education.
“Some concerns have been voiced that all the board members could be elected from one neighborhood. Theoretically, that could be possible. However, it has not occurred in the districts that use the at-large format. In fact, the makeup of those boards often are more diverse.
“What would that look like? Next year, the district will have four positions open.
“Anyone interested in becoming a board member can file for a position. Suppose six people decide to run for the board. Then, the ballot next November will list all six people, and voters will select four candidates they would like to have on the Board
of Education.
“The four with the most votes, then become board members no matter where they live within the district boundaries.”
A group picture from the Girard’s meal site, the Beach Center Senior Center. Submitted photo.
On November 4 at 11 a.m., a new place for senior citizens to get healthy meals and an opportunity for social engagement will begin at Buck Run Community Center, 735 Scott Avenue, Fort Scott.
Buck Run Community Center, 735 Scott Avenue.
“60+ Nutrition Bourbon County is the name of the program,” said Kathy Brennon, Executive Director of Southeast Kansas Area Agency on Aging.
“We currently provide approximately 1,000 home-delivered meals a month to 72 people in Bourbon County, from Monday through Thursday,” she said. “This is generally known as Meals on Wheels, but there are other organizations that provide meals to individuals in their homes.”
The meals are cooked in the agency’s industrial kitchen in Pittsburg and transported to Fort Scott to be portioned for home delivery.
The Older American Act, OAA funding has two goals: to provide healthy meals to homebound individuals and, for those not homebound, to also provide a healthy meal and opportunities for social engagement which contributes to health and well-being, she said.
“The funding is primarily through the Older American Act which is federal funds, and also funded by the State of Kansas,” she said. “This funding has a required match which is provided with county funding and donations.”
Volunteers Are A Key Component Of The Funding
” For Fort Scott, there is only one SEKAAA paid staff, with volunteer staff doing the home delivery. Last year, volunteers provided over 2000 hours of assistance. Without these committed volunteers, the program couldn’t occur,” she said.
“Volunteers can be daily, one day a week, or whatever works for the person. Sometimes a business or church takes home- delivery as a project and commits to a specific day or week and they rotate their staff.”
“We do conduct background checks for all our volunteers. Volunteers frequently say they get so much out of the experience and typically people are so grateful. If someone is interested in volunteering they can call 620-305-1539 for more information.”
The Target Participants
“The target participant is individuals 60 and older. The spouse of the participant, regardless of age, and individuals less than 60 years of age with a disability, who reside in the home with and accompany a participant are also eligible to participate.”
If interested, the person must make a reservation by calling 620-305-1539.
Why this service?
“I started at SEKAAA as executive director in 2021,” she said. “I had a vague knowledge of the nutrition program but did not realize how important it was to the participants. We were coming off the COVID restrictions, in which we were slowly opening our meal sites. Social isolation and poverty is an identified concern for the elderly in the nine-county area, Allen, Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson, Woodson.”
“Veivek Murthy, US Surgeon General reports that there is significant health concerns associated with loneliness. He reports that the health impact of social isolation is similar to what is caused by smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”
“Home delivery is a very important service we provide, but we also believe that people meeting together for a healthy meal and seeing and making friends is also important. In our surveys of the congregate program, 35.6% of our participants eat alone. America’s Health Ranking reports that nearly 10% of Kansans age 60 and over face the threat of hunger. Murthy’s Social Connection Advisory reports that studies have shown that socially connected people live longer and are typically healthier. We at SEKAAA made it a goal to promote social connections whenever possible.”
“In Bourbon County over 26% of the population is over the age of 60 and it is anticipated it will continue to grow,” she said. “This program helps us meet our organization’s mission of helping people age their way, by having resources in place to keep people in their communities healthy and safe as long as possible.”
“There is a requested donation of $2 per meal, but no one is denied a meal. We do accept SNAP (foodstamps), she said.
