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Hayden Travis, 24, starts teaching second grade at Winfield Scott Elementary School in Fort Scott this year.
She was raised in Uniontown, and her mom, sixth-grade West Bourbon Elementary School teacher Bonnie Rathbun, was her inspiration.
“My mom has been a teacher for many years, and I have grown up watching her give 110% to her students every year,” Travis said. “I was inspired by her dedication, passion, and drive to help students be successful.”
Travis previously taught 8th-grade earth science for two years in the Shawnee Mission School District in the Kansas City area.
She graduated from Pittsburg State University in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree.
Her family includes husband: Zach Travis, mother: Bonnie Rathbun, father: Randy Rathbun, sister: Taylor Graber, and brother: Chad Parks.
In her spare time she likes spending time with family, playing and watching sports, enjoying outdoor activities, staying active, and crafting, she said.
Watching students grow from the beginning to the end of the school year is the best part of teaching for Travis.
“Ultimately my goal is to help mold students into successful and independent individuals who can achieve any goal they desire,” she said.
What are the greatest challenges in teaching for you?
“One of the greatest challenges in teaching for me is finding a balance between my professional and home life,” she said.
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WEEKLY CHAMBER COFFEE REMINDER
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Lane Murphy’s first rodeo was in 2015, at age 3, in Hume, MO, where he tried his hand at “Mutton Bustin'”, which is riding a sheep to see how long you can stay on.
He liked the challenge and later that summer, at age 4, Lane started riding with the Kansas Junior Bull Riders (KJBR).
Lane will be a second-grade student at Winfield Scott Elementary School this school year.
But like young children everywhere, he knows what he wants to do when he grows up.
Lane has hopes of being a future rodeo star.
“I want to do the same thing I’m doing now (riding in rodeos),” Lane said. “Everything except getting hurt. I want to ride as much as I can. It’s not easy.”

In 2018 Lane ended the season ranked as the No. 1 rider in Mutton Bustin’ for the JPBR; No. 1 in Mutton Bustin’ for the MJRC, and No. 1 in Mutton Bustin’ for the All Youth Rodeo Association (AYRA). Thus, earning his entry into the 2018 YBR World Championships in Abilene, TX where he finished No. 4 in the World for Mutton Bustin’, and then placing No. 7 in the 2018 National JPBR Championship that took place in Amarillo, TX.
The cowboy recently participated in the Youth Bull Riding (YBR) World Championships in Abilene, TX, where he placed 18th in the world for Calf Riding.
Currently, Lane is ranked No. 3 in Calf Riding with the JPBR, and No. 3 in Calf Riding with the Missouri Junior Bull Riding Circuit (MJRC) for the 2019 rodeo season.
Lane has qualified to ride in the upcoming Junior Professional Bull Riding (JPBR) National Championship in Amarillo, TX during the month of October.

He has also been invited to ride in the International Miniature Bull Riders Association (IMBA) World Finals taking place in Las Vegas, NV in December 2019.
Every weekend the family attempts to find at least one rodeo to ride in, and even for “close” rodeos, they might have to travel hundreds of miles to rodeos in Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
The family is currently seeking additional financial assistance through fundraising to help support his travel expenses to the National JPBR Championship in Amarillo, TX and the IMBA World Finals in Las Vegas, NV.
His family is selling t-shirts in youth and adult sizes, and his parents are accepting donations on his behalf.
Lane is the son of local residents Jaymie and Patrick Murphy who is the owner/operator of Murphy Day Work, and the grandson of life-long Fort Scott residents Pat and Janet Murphy and Jay and Julie Leek.

To purchase a t-shirt in support of Lane contact, send his mother Jaymie Murphy a text message at 620-215-5012 to order. Please include name, shirt size, and color. Monetary donations can be sent to 1210 180th Street, Fort Scott, KS 66701.
“Lane also invites you to like and follow his fan page on Facebook to keep up with videos of his rides,” his mom, Jaymie said.

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The Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce sponsors a weekly free concert at Heritage Park, First and Main Street, each Friday evening.
“This Friday’s show will feature The Workman Bluegrass Band,” Ralph Carlson, event coordinator, said. ” The group has been a very popular group with our fans fo several years. In addition to Bluegrass, they will perform Classic country, gospel, and traditional songs.”
The concert starts at 7 pm. Come early and bring a lawn chair as seating is limited.
“I am really pleased to get this outstanding group of musicians for this show,” Carlson said.

This is part of a series that highlights young entrepreneurs, under 30 years of age, in Bourbon County. If you would like to nominate a young entrepreneur, submit to news@fortscott.biz the name and email/phone number of the person, along with why you are nominating them and your name.
Delynn Abati, 26, first dabbed in cake creating, that has become her livelihood, when she became engaged.
“When my husband and I got engaged, my parents sat us down and gave us a choice: they would give us a set amount of money to pay for our wedding OR we could pay for the wedding ourselves and they would give us a bigger gift on our wedding day,” Abati said.

“We decided we’d give the second option a try,” she said. “As I planned our wedding, I saved money wherever I could, somehow we managed to do that without sacrificing anything we really wanted.”
“I decided I’d use that year to learn how to make my own wedding cake,” she said. “It wasn’t a perfect cake. There are some birthday cakes that I do now that look better than our wedding cake looked, but it was cool to be able to say I did it myself.”
She was married in 2018.
Once the wedding was over, she never stopped making cakes.
Out of that challenge by her parents, came For Goodness Cakes, offering custom cakes, cupcakes, cake truffles, cake pops, and French Macarons.

“I started selling cakes originally, as a way to gain funds to go back to school,” Abati said. “The more cakes I did, however, the more I just wanted to do cakes… So I made a business of it.”

The business was technically formed on January 1, 2019.
“I did cakes informally for about six months before I started calling it a business,” Abati said. “I wanted to make sure I had a good chance of at least breaking even before I threw everything I had into this business.”
Abati works from home at her bakery business.
“I work out of my home for now,” she said. “I do not have any plans of moving my operation any time soon but that option is also always in the back of my mind.”
She loves creating and working from home.
“I have always loved creating so it’s great to be able to use my hands to create new things every day,” Abati said. “The part that I love about owning my own business is that I get to create my own hours. I am a night owl so most days of the week you’ll find me baking in my kitchen or making cake videos in my living room at 2 a.m. People think I’m crazy but I come alive at about 8 p.m. every evening. It’s great to be able to do something I love, at such a peaceful time of day.”
Abati is the only paid employee of her home business.
“It’s just me right now.,” she said. “My husband, Tony Abati; mom, Amy Drake, and mother-in-law, Sandy Abati, are always willing to help and have jumped in several times to help me deliver, set up, or sometimes even finish decorating things. I’m lucky to have them! I couldn’t do it 100% on my own.”
Recently, Abati started offering new products and services.
“Thursday, August 15th, I released a lot of new changes to FGC,” she said. “The most exciting of which, in my opinion, is the fact that I am now offering French Macarons and I am introducing a cake cutting service. The rest of the changes are listed in a Facebook and Instagram post on my page @ForGoodnessCakesFS.”
Abati’s contact info:
Call or text: 6207041315 (texts preferred for orders)
Facebook and Instagram: @ForGoodnessCakesFS
![]() Jennifer Tourtillott, 39, will teach kindergarten at Winfield Scott Elementary School this year.
This is her sixth year teaching kindergarten, after receiving her bachelor of science degree in elementary education from Pittsburg State University.
“I taught at a school called St. Andrews, in my hometown of Roswell NM,” she said. Her family includes two brothers, two sisters and her parents, who are retired educators, living in Texas.
She is married to Jason and they have two children.
“Jason is a teacher in Uniontown, for 14 years,” she said. ” Our son is Mason and he is going into 3rd grade. Our daughter is Madison and she’s going into kindergarten.”
In her spare time, she creates custom wood furniture with her husband, called Tourtillott Creations
The best part of teaching for her is:
“Giving the children a fun and loving atmosphere. (Where)They feel safe and enjoy learning,” she said.
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Make something awesome at Maker Monday!
Upcoming meetings: August 26 & September 16, 4 – 5 pm.
Enjoy snacks & water and work as a family at this free program. Kids 2nd grade and below must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
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