The roar of motorcycles was loud Thursday evening as riders from American Legion, Kansas Patriot Guard and other riders escorted the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall from Fort Scott to Paola.
The riders met the traveling wall at Velocity Tactics on Wall Street, before getting on Highway 69 towards its destination in Paola. A State Highway Patrol officer was also part of the escort while local law enforcement controlled traffic.
The wall will remain at 5 Delaware Street, Paola, July 14-16, with the wall accessible to visitors 24 hours daily. A ceremony will be held Saturday morning along with other performances and presentations throughout the weekend.
Submitted by Heather Browne, Fort Scott Community College
FSCC Student Earns First Place at National SkillsUSA Competition
Fort Scott Community College student Dylan Giager recently earned first place in the carpentry division at the 53rd annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference held in Louisville, Ky.
Photo Credit: FSCC. Student Dylan Giager and Carpentry Instructor Kim Coates at the 53rd annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference.
In April, Giager won the Kansas SkillsUSA competition, which earned him the opportunity to compete at the national level against 26 state champion students from colleges across the United States.
In the months leading up to the national competition, Giager spent many hours practicing projects in the mornings before class and in the evenings. FSCC Carpentry Instructor Kim Coates provided Giager with a variety of plans to help him practice a range of techniques.
“I always say, practice doesn’t make perfect—perfect practice makes perfect. Students have to get each of the project steps just right, from reading the blueprints to making calculations to swinging their hammers,” said Coates. “I knew Dylan would do well because he does quality work and pays a lot of attention to detail.”
Once Giager perfected his building technique, he focused on improving the amount of time he spent completing the projects. All that hard work paid off, because he completed his project more than two hours early.
FSCC carpentry students have won first place at the national SkillsUSA competition for three years in a row. SkillsUSA is a national organization that serves high school and college students who are preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations. SkillsUSA programs include local, state and national competitions in which students demonstrate occupational and leadership skills.
For more information about the FSCC Construction Trades program, please contact Judy Meister, FSCC Occupational Recruiter, at 620-223-2700, ext. 5247.
FSCC Presents Kids’ College and Leadership Academy
Fort Scott Community College will host two day camps for area students in July. The FSCC Leadership Academy, designed for students ages 14-18, will be held on Tuesday, July 25. FSCC Kids’ College, designed for students ages 7-14, will take place on Wednesday, July 26. Both camps will be held at the Danny & Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Each camp will offer leadership activities and three college-style courses taught by FSCC faculty and members of the community. The cost per student is $10 and lunch is included.
Parents may register their students at 8:30 a.m. at the door on the day of the event. The Danny & Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center is located at 2108 South Horton in Fort Scott, Kan.
Local and out of town cyclists as well as members of the community participated in the 4th Annual Marmaton Massacre Festival over the weekend, as the Gunn Park bike trails dried out from recent rains.
Almost 100 cyclists rode the trails Saturday and Sunday for time trial courses, a marathon race, a children’s race and others during the UFD West Series event. Organizer Frank Halsey said a surprising number came to camp in town and take advantage of what Fort Scott has to offer.
“Everybody loves our small town and the hospitality we afford,” Halsey said.
While the rain earlier in the week threatened to cancel the event, the trails dried out enough for the races to go on. Halsey said the event was a success only because of help from volunteers, local business and the city of Fort Scott to clean the park as well as sponsor and run the event.
Apart from the races, the festival also provided food and retail vendors, live music and Bike Trial demonstrations Saturday evening to anyone in the public.
Halsey said he was pleased with the turnout from the community Saturday evening for the festival, admitting they have struggled in past years to attract local residents. But this year, Halsey said he considered the event a success and felt they gained traction with the higher attendance from the community.
“Our goal has been to not only provide a mountain bike race, but to also create a festival within the peaceful confines of Gunn Park,” Halsey said. “A festival that would attract locals as well as outsiders to Fort Scott. Hopefully, this successful event creates enough awareness that we can continue to grow.”
The Lowell Milken Center will be hosting the inaugural Stubby Day from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 29, at the city park in downtown Fort Scott. This fun-filled day is in honor of one of the Center’s unsung heroes, Sergeant Stubby, who happens to be the most decorated animal in American military history. We are encouraging the community to bring their families, four-legged loved ones and friends to celebrate.
Stubby’s story will be told at 9:30 a.m. while area businesses/vendors will be present: Lee’s Paws and Claws, Gypsy Soul Rescue, Fort Scott High School Thespians for face painting, Kenny Felt Photography pet portraits from 9:30 10:30 a.m., Kinede’s Cakes with special desserts and the City of Fort Scott. There will be games, prizes and beverages.
Sergeant Stubby saved many lives while braving countless battles in WWI and we want to share his story with you.
Fort Scott’s downtown and Main Street will be bustling during the inaugural Hit the Bricks Wine Stroll and Art Walk on Friday, July 28.
The event kicks off at 5 p.m. with activities for everyone’s pleasure. Main Street will be blocked between 1st and 2nd streets for the event until about 8:30 p.m.
The free art walk, coordinated by the Bourbon County Arts Council, is open to the public. Spectators can admire and shop for beautiful artwork by area artists and enjoy sounds of local musicians.
The wine stroll will feature a sampling of wines from six Kansas vineyards including Fort Scott’s very own Vinedo del Alamo. Other wineries and vineyards participating in the stroll include Aubrey Vineyards, Overland Park; Flustered Blonde Vineyard and Winery, Parsons; Fuga Winery, Waverly; Smoky Hill Vineyard and Winery, Topeka; and Vogel Family Vineyards, Galena.
Wineries will also have unopened bottles of wine available for purchase.
Cost for the wine stroll is $25 and includes a commemorative wine glass and tote bag for bottled wine purchases. The event is open to those age 21 years and older with a valid ID required at check in. Check in for the wine stroll begins at 5 p.m. at the Beaux Arts Centre located at 102 S. National. The trolley will be available to transport participants from the check–in location to Main Street between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Beginning at 8:30, music lovers can dance the night away with a concert by Nashville-based country music sensation Blane Howard at Liberty Theatre. Concert tickets are $35 each. With a generous donation by the Modern Woodmen of America, the company has been recognized as the corporate sponsor for the concert.
Advance tickets for the stroll and concert are strongly recommended. Patrons can save $10 if they purchase both the wine stroll and concert tickets for $50. Tickets are available online at www.bit.ly/HitTheBricksTix.
Proceeds from the Hit the Bricks event will benefit the Mercy Health Foundation Fort Scott, a nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation which supports programming and equipment at Mercy Hospital Fort Scott.
“The Mercy Health Foundation Board appreciates the collaboration between the City of Fort Scott, the Bourbon County Arts Council (BCAC), our volunteers and the generous support from other local businesses to make this inaugural event possible,” said Tina Rockhold, Mercy Health Foundation executive director and community relations manager. “We hope the event will create an appreciation for the history, art and culture of Fort Scott and Southeast Kansas.”
For more details about the Hit the Bricks Wine Stroll and Art Walk, call the Mercy Health Foundation office at 620-223- 8094.
“There will be Drama” was the theme of this year’s International Thespian Festival and the phrase proved true for 25 Fort Scott High School Thespian troupe members who were lucky enough to attend this year’s festival for free.
Photo Credit: Angie Bin
FSHS Thespian troupe #7365 was selected by the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA) as a 2017 Send a Troupe to Festival Grant winner. The festival at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, June 19-24, was $740 per student which included rooming and meals each day and admittance to all the shows, workshops and late night activities.
FSHS Junior Ally Heenan said, “It was an amazing opportunity to experience and I feel extremely lucky to have been able to go. I made many friends and I feel it brought our troupe closer together as a family.”
Having never attended festival before, FSHS qualified for the grant by completing an in-depth application and providing an administrative recommendation letter from Superintendent Bob Beckham. As grant recipients, the FSHS troupe was recognized in front of more than 4,000 students and troupe directors on the main stage during the festival.
According to EdTA, the festival is a celebration of student achievement in the performing arts and a one-of-a-kind, weeklong immersion experience in singing, dancing, acting, designing, directing, creating, writing and memory-making. Festival featured workshops presented by theatre professionals, individual and group performances, programs for technical theatre students, and opportunities to audition for college admission and scholarships. Some students travelled from as far away as China and Dubai to attend this year.
“It made me have more of a passion for theatre,” said FSHS sophomore Carlee Studyvin. “Meeting people from all over the U.S. was something that I will never forget.”
FSHS Junior Mary Gladbach added, “It was so exciting to be surrounded by people who I could share my love of theatre with, we were all complete strangers, but we still felt connected because of our shared passion.”
Theatrical make-up design, specialized choreography, playwriting and improvisational acting were some of the most popular types of workshops among the Fort Scott troupe. FSHS Thespian President Hunter Adamson, junior, also benefitted from a special class on Leadership that she attended each day. Many students attended panel discussions over productions they saw and even met the musicals’ composers.
FSHS Thespian Director Angie Bin, FSHS English teacher Mark Bergmann, and parent chaperone Mindy Bartlett also attended the festival.
Despite a few light showers on Wednesday, the Fort Scott Hurricanes swam against the Chanute Sharks in a swim meet at the Fort Scott pool. Fort Scott won the meet with 391 points to Chanute’s 333.
The Hurricanes will be swimming in Iola next Wednesday.
After serving as part of the team at Mercy Hospital since 2010, Dr. Amy Sachau worked her last day there on July 5, after deciding to transition away from full-time and work and closer to her hometown of Overland Park.
Photo Credit: Mercy Hospital
“We have felt so loved in Fort Scott,” Sachau says, adding the rural hospital was just what she was looking for after completing her family medicine residence. “It is an honor to have worked at Mercy Fort Scott, as I feel the focus truly is on the care of our patients.”
Sachau will be starting an employee health clinic for the Shawnee Mission School District, where she attended school. There she will be able to care for the large school district’s employees and their families while spending more time with her two daughters, age 8 and 10 years, and living within walking distance of her mother.
“It was an incredibly difficult, tear-filled decision,” Sachau says, saying she wants to take advantage of the time she has with her daughters as they continue to grow up. “My new position will be part time, and will not require working nights, weekends and holidays, so I can spend that time with my family.”
While looking forward to moving closer to home and spending more time with family, Sachau said she will miss the community of Fort Scott, its slower pace and the friendliness of the residents and hospital staff.
“I love my co-workers at Mercy, and in fact, this is the very hardest part of leaving,” Sachau says. “My staff bends over backwards for our patients—and for me—day after day, and I could never thank them enough.”
Mercy staff also spoke highly of Sachau and her care for her patients.
“It has been an amazing experience working for Dr. Sachau,” says Kyla Probasco. R.N., of the Mercy Clinic. “She has always provided exceptional care for her patients. Their love and appreciation for her has been very apparent the last few months and speaks volumes for her character.
“This community is really going to miss her. I consider it an honor to be a part of her team and have always been proud to say, ‘I am Dr. Sachau’s nurse.’ I am extremely sad that Dr. Sachau is leaving, but am so happy for her and her family and all of their future endeavors together.”
Rain dampened costumes, but not spirits at the annual 4th of July Burke Street Parade this year. Despite the heavy rain, many participants walked, biked and rode in the annual event.
Having provided in-home care for Bourbon and neighboring counties for almost six years, the owners of Care 4 U are now adding another business, Your Hometown Medical Equipment, which will sell medical items needed in the county, after other similar stores have closed.
Glen Pearson, Jr., and sister-in-law Rachel Pearson run Care 4 U and now the medical equipment store, after recently receiving the necessary licenses for the store.
Glen has been involved in aspects of the medical care field since serving at a nursing home when he was a teenager. Since then he has sold medical equipment in a prior business and then opened Care 4 U as a hobby, which has grown to include 50 employees who care for 45 clients, some for only a few hours a day while others require 24-hour care.
Most of those employees are from Fort Scott and must go through five background checks and screenings before they can help take care of Care 4 U’s clients. While the business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., they are also on call at any time. Care can be paid for through Medicaid or private pay.
“Here at Care 4 U, we do everything we can to keep you or your loved one at home,” Rachel said during a recent Chamber of Commerce event Thursday, saying they take care of their clients through medical care as well as house-cleaning and running errands.
Glen said through his time working with nursing homes, he often felt sorry for those who were taken there and then forgotten about or visited only rarely. In keeping them at home, Glen said the clients can be somewhere where they are more comfortable and where it is also more economical.
As Care 4 U continued to grow, Glen said he decided he wanted to get back into the medical equipment business as well, which led to Your Hometown Medical Equipment.
The store is to be open with the end of the long holiday weekend and can be found at the same location as the Care 4 U office, at 5 E. Wall Street.
At 70 years old, Roxine Poznich simply isn’t ready to retire or let a cancer diagnosis interfere with her plans. So when she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the square-dancing great grandma handled the do-si-do with the disease with determination.
Roxine with her dancing partner Ron Buhr at the 2014 National Square Dancing Convention in Little Rock.
The Diagnosis
Roxine’s cancer was diagnosed in late February.
“I wasn’t feeling bad, nor did I have any symptoms of any illness,” she said. “I’ve always been active and healthy so it never occurred to me I might have cancer.”
But she decided to take advantage of a heart and vascular screening that Mercy was promoting during National Heart Month.
“I thought it wouldn’t hurt to have that checked. When the radiology technician used ultrasound to check the arteries in my neck, ankles and abdomen for blockage, I certainly was not expecting her to find a softball-sized tumor just below my ribs.”
Roxine has worked as a level 2 histology technician at Mercy Hospital Fort Scott for 26 years.
“I see my co-workers in imaging services almost daily and I consider them my friends. Knowing that they were able to find the tumor makes me even more grateful for their expertise and the compassionate way they treat patients.”
Roxine with co-workers, friends and Mercy radiology technicians Leslie May and Kristen Rank. Photo Credit: Mercy Hospital
The Care Team
“Learning I had cancer was a shock. I was nervous about my treatment, so I wanted to be somewhere I knew the people caring for me. Plus, I wanted to stay in Fort Scott so I didn’t have the extra burden of traveling out of town.
“I knew I could count on the team at Mercy’s Cancer Care Unit of Hope to provide the best care available. Dr. Nassim Nabbout, oncologist/hematologist with Cancer Center of Kansas, took me under his wing and explained to me the process for surgery and treatment. He was kind, straightforward and honest – exactly what I needed to tackle the disease.
“I can’t say enough good things about Dr. Nabbout and the Mercy Cancer Care Unit of Hope nurses. The care is as good if not better than if I had traveled to a large hospital or bigger city. Our community is so fortunate to have this clinic at the hospital.”
The Outlook
Fortunately, Roxine’s form of cancer is slow growing and treatment success rates are high. She was even able to work throughout her eight weeks of treatment except for the actual days she received the drug rituximab.
Once her treatment was complete, she was released and back to dancing again.
The Privileges of Partnership
Mercy has partnered with Cancer Center of Kansas since 2008 to provide oncology/hematology services in Fort Scott. Through the Cancer Center of Kansas’ relationships with such well-known programs as M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., the program offers Mercy Fort Scott patients the most current cancer research in detection, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, control and quality of life. To learn more about the physicians and treatments available at Mercy Cancer Care Unit of Hope, call 620-223- 8589.
The Fort Scott National Historic Site began to celebrate Independence Day over the weekend with the Symbols of Sacrifice memorial displaying thousands of American flags placed in honor of every American soldier who died for the United States since the Revolutionary War.
Other demonstrations were also given to fort visitors Saturday by volunteers dressed in period clothing. Further events and demonstrations will be available for visitors throughout the day on Tuesday. See here for another FortScott.biz article for details on the schedule of events.
Volunteers from scout troops as well as families and other individuals placed the flags Thursday and the flags will remain in place through Sunday, July 9. Fort staff invites volunteers to help remove the flags Monday, July 10.
