Submitted by the Lowell Milken Center

Students in history teacher Nathan McAlister’s Royal Valley Middle School class in Mayetta, Kan., have won the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Hero’s 2016 Discovery Award $7,500 grand prize. This international student competition awards creative projects that discover positive role models, or Unsung Heroes, whose positive impact on history remains largely unknown.

Seventh graders Luke Boyden, Colin Everts and Colin Caviness created a documentary on Emma Darling Cushman, an American nurse who saved the lives of thousands of Armenian children during the Armenian genocide. In addition to caring for countless orphans, Cushman served as Acting Consul of the Allies and Neutral Nations, overseeing millions of dollars in relief funds and prisoner exchanges. Because of their work to bring Cushman’s unsung heroism to light, the students have been given the honor of inscribing her headstone at the American Cemetery in Cairo.

“This was our strongest year of applicants yet,” says Lowell Milken Center Executive Director Norm Conard. “We are truly impressed by the discoveries made and quality of projects completed by students across the country and the world through robust research and a commitment to celebrating Unsung Heroes from history.”

The $2,000 second place prize has been awarded to Jeremy Wells and Natalie Brodine, seniors in Susan Sittenauer’s history class at Seaman High School in Topeka. Their award-winning documentary tells the story of Eugene Lazowsi, a doctor who saved the lives of more than 8,000 Polish Jews during World War II by injecting them with a phony vaccine that would create a false positive for typhus. By convincing the Nazis that the typhus epidemic was spreading across 12 different villages, Dr. Lazowski’s ruse caused the Nazis to sanction off the “infected” Polish ghettos and stopped the transport of these Polish Jews to death camps. In an article written by Dr. Lazowski 35 years later, he wrote,” I was not able to fight with a gun or a sword, but I found a way to scare the Germans.” His bravery is largely unknown but his impact was immense.

Additional winners in this international student competition discovered Unsung Heroes whose actions positively changed the course of history and improved the lives of others. They include:

Third Place ($1,000)

Students: Mya Hagerty and Kate Clarke

Teacher: Jeffrey Rudkin

School: Batchelor Middle School (Bloomington, Indiana)

Project: The documentary “A Kristallnacht Survivor Courageously standing up to Discrimination,” tells the story of Unsung Hero Walter Sommers, a World War II veteran whose actions helped de-segregate lunch counters across Southern Indiana at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.

Outstanding Elementary Project ($1,000)

Students: Adam Perez, Addison Theriot, Allison Leach, Suzette Medina

Teacher: Beth de Mahy

School: Iberia Parish 6^th Grade Gifted Program (Iberia Parish, Louisiana)

Project: The documentary, “The Florence Nightingale of the Bayou Country,” tells the story of Katherine Buckner Avery, a nurse who broke social boundaries to improve rural health care in Louisiana, particularly for African-Americans, during a time of intense racial segregation. Avery took charge of a refugee camp following the 1927 Mississippi River flood, and later established the New Iberia Crippled Children’s Association to treat children afflicted with polio and other spinal injuries.

 

Outstanding Middle School Project ($1,000)

Students: Molli Christensen and Rachel Osborn

Teacher: Alice Bertels

School: Washburn Rural Middle School (Topeka, Kansas)

Project: The documentary, “Heroes Don’t Always Wear Capes,” tells the story of Frances Kelsey, a Canadian pharmacologist and physician who, as a reviewer for the FDA, refused to authorize thalidomide, a drug later shown to cause serious birth defects. Through a long career with the FDA in decades following, Kelsey continued to have a significant impact on strengthening the agency’s oversight of pharmaceuticals.

Outstanding High School Project ($1,000)

Students: Avery Munns

Teacher: Lindsey Dowell

School: Washburn Rural High School (Topeka, Kansas)

Project: The documentary, “Ex Parte Endo: A Journey Toward Justice for Japanese Americans,” tells the story of Mitsuye Endo, a woman who challenged Japanese-American internment all the way up to the United States Supreme Court and won.

Outstanding International Project ($1,000)

Students: Eva Jemelkova, Martin Muzikar, Tomas Rysavy, Martin Tichy, and David Valecky

Teacher: Olga Myslikova

School: SSTE Brno, Olomoucka, prispevkova organizace (Czech Republic)

Project: The website tells the story of Jan Opletal, a brave activist whose premature death in 1939 from injuries sustained during an anti-Nazi demonstration catalyzed widespread student activism and served as a model for Nazi defiance across the Czech Republic. Fifty years later, on November 17, 1989, a mass demonstration organized to commemorate Opletal sparked the Velvet Revolution.

LMC’s Discovery Award provides U.S. and international students in grades 4 through 12 a unique opportunity to use their creative talents to develop projects that feature Unsung Heroes from history who demonstrate the power that one person has to make positive change in the world. Projects can take the form of documentary/multimedia, performance or website. In addition to robust research, an annotated bibliography and a process paper, projects must show potential for life beyond the development of the project and an ability to inspire students and others to take sustainable actions that carry out the legacies of their subjects.

VIEW ALL THE WINNING PROJECTS

 

 

For almost a month, residents and visitors to Fort Scott have again been able to see the city from the inside of a trolley, after the previous trolley was removed from the streets about three years ago because of its age and need for improvements such as air conditioning.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Lindsay Madison, executive director of the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, during the August 18, Chamber Coffee, when the trolley was introduced during a ribbon-cutting event.

Madison said they had photos from as far back as the late 1800s that showed a trolley used in Fort Scott. With that heritage in mind, the chamber and others in the city worked together to raise funds for the new diesel vehicle.

“Many people made generous donations,” Madison said. “Thank you all for your support.”

The new trolley fits 24 passengers and is now wheel-chair accessible. It provides 50- minute narrated tours on the hour Fridays, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Groups can also reserve tours for other times during the week.

Already the trolley has been used to give tours from groups visiting from neighboring cities.

“We’re really excited and we think it’s just perfect,” Madison said.

For a fourth year, the Fort Scott National Historic Site hosted the Symbols of Sacrifice in conjunction with the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Almost 7,000 flags cover the parade ground of the fort, each one representing one of the American soldiers killed since the beginning of the Global War on Terrorism. On Saturday, volunteers read the names of those fallen men and women over the public address system in downtown Fort Scott.

Students from Christian Heights and Uniontown helped place the flags at the fort, despite the rain, on Thursday and Friday.

Festivities at the fort over the weekend included hosting the Friday night community concert as well as providing a performance Saturday evening by the United States Army National Guard’s 35th Infantry Division Band’s Brass Quintet. American Gold Star mother Jennifer Jackman also spoke.

The flags will remain in place at the fort through Thursday and visitors are encouraged to come and see the flags and honor and remember the soldiers that have died.

During the weekly Chamber Coffee Thursday morning, members of the local United Way board recognized agencies that receive funding from the organization this year in order to assist them financially as they provide assistance to Bourbon County residents.

Current United Way President Gina Shelton expressed her appreciation to the businesses and individual sponsors who donate the funds that they then distribute into the community.

“We receive the money and then push it out,” Shelton said, saying they handle it carefully.

This year’s recipients included non-profit organizations such as Tri-Valley Developmental Services, 4H, Bourbon County Senior Citizens, United Cerebral Palsy Foundation, Safe House of Pittsburg, Kansas Legal Services, Care to Share and the Keyhole for youth. A representative from each agency took time to describe the services their organization provides.

Shelton said each year they go through a vetting process to decide where the funding would be best used and which organizations are truly benefiting the local community. Recipients provide services for the young, elderly, disabled, ill and a number of others.

United Way also presented awards to local entities for their support. Diehl, Banwart, Bolton, P.A., received the professional division award; USD 234 the public division; WardKraft the industrial division; City State Bank the commercial division; and Mercy Hospital received United Way’s Over the Top award.

Over recent years, donations to United Way have decreased due to losing certain employer sponsors as well as a possible break between generations, where parents donated regularly but now their children might not, according to Shelton.

Submitted by Fort Scott National Historic Site

Fort Scott National Historic Site (FSNHS) is pleased to present Symbols of Sacrifice, September 9-15, honoring the sacrifice of Americans throughout our nation’s history.

The main focus of the event will be a Field of Honor on the historic FSNHS Parade Ground, where a United States flag will fly for each service member who has died while serving in theater supporting U.S. military operations during the Global war on Terrorism. The purpose is to remember the fallen, their sacrifice and their humanity, not to glorify war.

Symbols of Sacrifice begins on Friday, Sept. 9, when school children and concerned citizens will place the flags on the Parade Ground. The public is invited to participate but will need first to register and receive instructions at the Visitor Center upon arrival at the site.

FSNHS is pleased to partner with Ralph Carlson and the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Center in hosting the community’s free Friday Night Downtown Concert on Sept. 9. Join us outside the Visitor Center, where the concert begins at 7 p.m. with an artillery volley and garrison flag lowering to honor the fallen. While benches will be available, please bring your own folding chairs for more comfort.

Beginning at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10, volunteer community members will read the names of the nearly 7,000 honored fallen from the Global War on Terrorism over the downtown Fort Scott public address system. As you hear the names of those sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, cousins and friends, please take a moment to thank them and the unnamed millions of other members of the U.S. Armed Forces who have answered the call to defend our freedom throughout the generations.

Then, Saturday evening, we are pleased to welcome the U.S. Army National Guard’s 35^th Infantry Division Band’s Brass Quintet. These citizen-soldiers from Kansas and Missouri will perform a free concert on the FSNHS grounds. The evening’s activities begin at 6 p.m. with Mrs. Jennifer Jackman, past president of the American Gold Star Mothers, offering remarks on the fine work performed by that organization in supporting the families of the fallen, those still serving and all of America’s military veterans. Again, while the site will provide bench seating, we invite the public to bring personal folding chairs for a more enjoyable evening.

The Field of Honor will remain open during the daylight hours from Friday, Sept. 9, through noon on Thursday, Sept. 15.

 

During their meeting Tuesday evening, the Fort Scott City Commission decided to allow city manager Dave Martin and others to begin drafting an ordinance allowing utility task vehicles to be driven on city streets.

In recent weeks, the issue of allowing the off-road UTVs on streets had come to the commissioners’ attention, with residents speaking both in favor of such an allowance as well as in opposition to it.

“We can’t make everybody happy, although we try,” Martin said.

Martin said he had discussed the decision with residents and the majority spoke in favor of such an ordinance, while those opposed to it referenced concerns such as their speed capabilities, ranging from 25 to 75 miles per hour, and the fact manufacturers built them as off-road vehicles.

A number of residents addressed the commission during Tuesday’s meeting and said they believe UTVs, including vehicles such as Kawasaki Mules and other models, are safer than motorcycles and golf carts as well as some cars.

Police Chief Travis Shelton gave a report, saying he had contacted other cities that allow UTVs on the streets, including Chanute, Parsons and Pittsburg. In speaking with representatives from those police departments, Shelton said they reported little trouble when it came to accidents, chases, ticketing and reckless driving involving UTVs.

“I don’t think you’ll have a problem with them” UTV owner Eric Shoemaker said, also emphasizing that he believes the UTV tires are also safe for the streets. “These are a lot safer than a golf cart.”

Martin said he had heard the UTV tires are strictly for off-road use and would not have proper traction on streets, but others in attendance at the meeting assured him otherwise, merely pointing out that the tires would likely wear out faster.

“I think there’s a lot of people in this county that it’s going to help,” said resident Tim Bradbury.

The commissioners approved writing an ordinance by January 1, with a 4-0 vote, with commissioner Jim Adams absent. That deadline will give Martin and others such as Shelton time to continue their research and determine what restrictions and regulations will be in place, such as being a licensed driver, 18 years or older and what safety features such as seat belts and turning signals will be required.

When the ordinance is complete, the commission will again address the issue and decide to approve it or not.

During the Labor Day weekend, scores of visitors came to Fort Scott National Historic Site to participate in a variety of activities and demonstrations relating to the fort’s history.

Activities included artillery, mounted, baking and other demonstrations, guided tours of the fort as well as discussions on life for the officers’ wives at the fort, the construction of the fort and the importance of guard duty. The weekend events also included the Centennial Grand Ball held Saturday evening at Memorial Hall.

Submitted by Fort Scott National Historic Site

The three things that most attract visitors to Fort Scott—guns, horses and guns— will be featured on Labor Day Weekend this year at Fort Scott National Historic Site.

A program demonstrating the small arms of both the infantry and the dragoons soldiers will be offered on Saturday and Sunday this weekend, while the site’s artillery crew will fire the big gun on Sunday and Monday. Additionally on Saturday, reenactors portraying dragoon soldiers will be on horseback and offering mounted demonstrations. Other programs that weekend will honor the work of the soldiers or things the soldiers did to take a break from work.

On Saturday, September 3, the bakehouse and mess hall will be active with the smells of soldiers cooking bread and the noon meal. An 1840s doctor will have his shingle out at the post hospital. A laundress will be demonstrating Dutch oven cooking and a soldier will be showcasing 1840s construction methods and tools.

On Sunday and Monday, you can catch up on the latest gossip at the fort in a program titled “Frontier Gossip,” which will focus on officers’ wives at Fort Scott. “Bucket Brigade” will be a relay showing how the guards fought fires. Kids of all ages are invited to participate in this program and should be prepared to get wet.

On Monday, there will also be a special Labor Day tour “From the Crack Post of the Frontier:” This tour will focus on the labor force, building materials, architectural styles and construction techniques used in the building of Fort Scott.

In addition to these programs, there will be a Centennial Grand Ball on Saturday, September 3rd, at the historic Memorial Hall. It is being hosted by the volunteers and Friends of Fort Scott National Historic Site in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service. Doors open at 6 p.m. with dancing from 7 to 10:30 p.m.

Admission for the ball is as follows

 General Public- $15 in advance/$20 at the door per person, or two for $25 in advance/$35 at the door.

 Friends members- $10 in advance/$15 at the door.

 Children 12 and under and Dance Observers- $5.

All proceeds go to the “Friends” group, which will use the funds to support special programs at the historic site. Tickets can be purchased at Country Cupboard or the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce. A rehearsal for the ball will be held that Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the historic site’s Grand Hall.

Following is the schedule of activities for the weekend.

Saturday, September 3rd

10:00 a.m. “Flour, Sweat and Tears”-Bakehouse Talk

10:00 a.m. Dance rehearsal for Centennial Ball

11:00 a.m. Guided Tour

12:00 p.m. “Hardy Dashing Fellows”-Mounted Demonstration

1:00 p.m. “Flash in the Pan” -Small Arms Demonstration

2:00 p.m. “Home Improvement” (without the power tools) -1840s Construction Demo

3:00 p.m. “Hardy Dashing Fellows”-Mounted Demonstration

4:00 p.m. Flag Retreat

7:00 p.m. Centennial Grand Ball (Memorial Hall)

Sunday, September 4th

11:00 a.m. Guided Tour

1:00 p.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo

2:00 p.m. “Frontier Gossip”-The Real Lives of Fort Scott Officers’ Wives

3:00 p.m. “Flash in the Pan” -Small Arms Demonstration

4:00 p.m. Flag Retreat

Monday, September 5th

11:00 a.m. “Crack Post of the Frontier” –Guided Tour-Construction History of Fort Scott

1:00 p.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo

2:00 p.m. “Frontier Gossip”-The Real Lives of Fort Scott Officers’ Wives

3:00 p.m. Bucket Brigade: 1840s Guard Duty and Firefighting

4:00 p.m. Flag Retreat

 

With the first day of fall classes rapidly approaching, Fort Scott Community College can again boast in the fact that it is ranked in the top five community colleges in the nation according to a study by SmartAsset.

For a third year, the New York based company looked at the community colleges in the nation and ranked them according to their in-state tuition, student-faculty ratio, the graduation and transfer rate and the ratio of the students’ starting salaries upon entering the work force compared to their tuition fees.

Out of the 565 two-year colleges considered, FSCC was ranked fifth, dropping from its position at number one in 2015 only because of a slight decrease in their graduation and transfer rate, which SmartAsset revealed had been evident in many of the colleges in their most recent study.

“It is really an honor,” FSCC President Alysia Johnston said, saying the study again shows they offer high quality courses at an affordable price. “We’re very proud of our faculty and staff and of course our students.”

The study showed that FSCC has a student-professor ratio of 14-1, more ideal than the national average of 20-1. The starting salary for students is 1.05 times the tuition they paid and the graduation and transfer rate is 51 percent, higher than the 40 percent national average but slightly lower than previous years.

“Continuous improvement is what we’re striving for,” Johnston said, adding the study is evidence of those efforts made by the staff at FSCC.

SmartAsset’s vice president of content, AJ Smith, oversaw the research for the study which has placed FSCC as one of the top two-year colleges each of the three years the study was released.

“Compared to the national averages, Fort Scott does very well,” Smith said.

Neosho County Community College was ranked ninth in the nation after being considered #45 on the list in the previous year’s study results.

Smith said SmartAsset’s goal is to provide readers insight concerning financial issues, especially large purchases and investments such as college tuition. For more details on the recent study, see the following link:  https://smartasset.com/student-loans/best-community-colleges-2016

Despite the wet weather, numerous dogs and their owners attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday morning for the new Bark in the Park dog run located at Gunn Park near Shelter House #7.

The idea for the dog park began when community members Jim and Martha Scott saw such a park a few years ago when traveling through another city. Since that time, the city of Fort Scott, the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce and several other individual businesses and persons assisted in making the park a reality.

“It was all donations,” Jim Scott announced. “No tax dollars.”

Some of the donations included dog toys, park benches, waste bags, a sign as well as money for the fencing materials and time volunteered to dig the postholes from businesses such as Sleep Inn and Suites and Walmart as well as a collection of individuals.

“When you have a community like Bourbon County and like Fort Scott, you can do these things to raise the money, because you don’t need tax dollars,” Scott said. “Because the people raise it and say ‘I want to help, that sounds like a great idea.’”

Lindsay Madison, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, expressed their excitement for the new dog park and encouraged others to approach the chamber with similar ideas for the city of Fort Scott.

“This is just one additional, great asset to our community,” Madison said. “The more things we have here, the more people will come.”

With the software already in place, the Unified School District 234 will utilize online enrollment for the first time this school semester as a means to provide a more convenient method for parents and guardians to enroll their students and make payments.

“We hope it’s a great asset for our parents,” business manager Gina Shelton said during the board of education meeting held Monday evening, pointing out that the same process will be completed by parents, whether done in person or online.

The online enrollment will kick off Friday, July 15, and will allow guardians to log into their Parent PowerSchool account, where they can enroll students, pay textbook fees and add money to lunch accounts electronically. That online enrollment will be available until at least about a week prior to the Sept. 1, school start date, providing time for the information to be imported.

Any progress made in the enrollment process can also be saved and returned to later at the parent’s convenience. Those enrolling more than one student can decide to enroll and pay for one student at a time instead of all at once or having to make numerous trips to the school offices.

“We’ve had some good feedback, I feel like, from anticipation of people doing it,” Shelton said of the response so far.

Shelton said the school completed a couple internal tests already and said the process is simple, likely taking only about 15 minutes, but Shelton encourages parents to go ahead and start gathering information so that process will not be delayed once it is started. Some of that information required includes contact information for parents and step-parents, such as phone numbers, addresses and social security numbers; three emergency contacts, preferably local; and the student’s basic medical information such as immunizations, personal doctor and any allergies.

With the easily available opportunity to use electronic payments such as credit or debit cards as well as checks, Shelton said they hope it may reduce the number of returned checks, adding the entire process will help the district save money.

New students to the district will still be required to enroll in person.

Those needing to find out who their students’ teachers will be in the upcoming semester can contact the individual school secretaries after Aug. 17. That information will be posted on Parent PowerSchool about a week after that date.

If anyone comes across an issue while enrolling online, they can contact Jason Fryar at [email protected] or contacting the board office at 620-223-0800 for assistance.

“We want to be as helpful as possible,” Shelton said, especially as it is their first year of using the online enrollment.

Shelton said the only thing that cannot be done online is the free and reduced food application, which still needs to be printed out and sent in or dropped off at the school. Shelton encourages all parents to fill them out because it affects school funding.

Shelton also pointed out that there will be a flat textbook fee of $35 this year instead of providing reduced textbook fees based on free and reduced lunches. Accommodations may be available for those unable to pay at once.

During their July meeting, the board of education also took time to reorganize itself as it does annually. Jordan Witt was nominated to be the board president for another year. Gary Billionis submitted his resignation from the board, effective immediately. Jamie Armstrong was nominated to take his place as board vice president. Vanessa Poyner was named the hearing officer for suspensions and expulsions.