Submitted by Amber Toth, Jan. 18

We won! This weekend Fort Scott High School competed in the 4A State Debate Tournament in two divisions.

Our first place regional team consisting of Seth Cross (2nd year debater/Junior), Zach Humble (3rd year debater/Jr) , Isabella Provence (2nd year debater/Soph), Joe Adams (2nd year debater/Soph), and Breana Mooney (3rd year debater/Jr.) took 1st place, beating out Bishop Meige and Sumner Academy.

It was a hard-fought battle, but our young team beat the state champions from last year.

We also competed in the 2-speaker division. The team of Charlotte Hutchison (4-year Sr.) and Sebastian Loyd (4-year Sr.) only dropped one round in preliminaries and went into double-octo-finals in 4th place. They were able to win the double octo-final round and proceed to the octo-final round. Unfortunately, they dropped to Tonganoxie in a 2-1 decision, placing them in the top 16 out of 72 teams in the state.

Tayton Majors (2nd year/Soph.) and Sara Al-Shawish (2nd year/ Soph.) were a couple of speaker points from breaking into elimination rounds. The teams of Darby Toth (2nd yr Soph.)/ Rebekah Sweyko (Freshman) and Suzi Owen (2nd year Jr.)/Hunter Parker (2nd year/Jr), had to make major adjustments the week of state by obtaining new partners. Considering the circumstances, they did an amazing job. They were both able to pick up at least two rounds. Rebekah and Darby had better speaker points than many of the teams that did break into elimination rounds. I am so proud of these four. They took on almost insurmountable odds the week of state and did their very best for not only themselves, but also for their team.

Also qualifying for state were sophomore Jake Province, who was ill, freshman Ethan Tatro, and senior Garrett Tatro.

Submitted by Angela Bin, Jan. 13

Members of the Fort Scott High School Thespians Chapter #7365 attended the annual Kansas State Thespian Conference, Jan. 7-9, in Wichita.  The conference was attended by over 1,400 theatre students from across the state.

Eighteen members of the troupe attended award-winning theatrical performances and participated in a variety of performance and technical theatre workshops.  Students, along with Thespian Sponsor Angie Bin, participated in such varied classes as Prosthetic Makeup for the Stage and Screen, West African Dancing, and Auditioning for Commercial and Film, among many others.

Troupe president, Suzi Owen, presented the troupe scrapbook and interviewed for “Honor Chapter” status.  The FSHS troupe received a trophy for achieving the Bronze Level of Achievement.

The troupe competed in several group events and received a 3^rd Place trophy for Speed Charades.  Students also competed in Improvised Acting and Creative Costuming.

Senior Nate Mead and junior Suzi Owen competed in the musical duet category with the song “Back of the Bus” from Band Geeks the musical.  Junior Cire’ Miller performed a musical solo of “Bless the Lord” from Godspell the musical. Freshmen Brooklyn Lyons and Alyx Brooks performed a duet acting scene from The Bad Seed and freshman Hunter Adamson and junior Hunter Parker performed a duet from Wait Until Dark.  Sophomore Kiel Hall, junior Briant Martin, and freshman Daniela Belcuore performed a group acting scene fromThomas.  Sophomore Jake Provence also submitted his short film for competition.

FSHS Thespians also had the unique opportunity to view the United States premiere of James and the Giant Peach the musical with a cast of leading student actors from across the state.

In the past month, work began on preparing the intersection at Main Street and the railroad tracks for a Quiet Zone that will prevent trains from blowing their horns within a quarter of a mile of the intersection.

Public Works Manager Chad Brown said Wednesday that contractors have completed a new portion of roadway running north towards the animal control facility, the curb work along the north and south sides of Wall Street are finished and only some of the sidewalk remains.

Thursday morning, equipment began tearing up some of the street in preparation for the center median. Lanes remained open despite the road work.

After that remaining construction is completed, Brown said the traffic lines will be painted and required signage put in place. Leading up to the project, City Manager Dave Martin said the quiet zone is expected to be complete by the summer.

USD 234 received a positive report from certified public accountant Terry Sercer during their meeting Tuesday evening, saying they found no issues with the school district’s financial statements.

“You have pretty healthy cash balances,” Sercer said, saying part of that is because of the recently approved bond projects.

The audit verified the school’s financial statements by checking accounts, receipts and checks, while also making sure the results were in compliance with state statutes and federal law. Sercer told the board they received an unqualified opinion, as well as no federal or state violations, resulting in “three stars out of three” for the audit report.

Sercer said such a positive report is never a guarantee for any organization and that the cooperation and courtesy provided by the school administration helped make the process easier for him.

Superintendent Bob Beckham also gave the board an update on the bond projects, saying bids were approved from different local and out-of-town contractors while those same contractors have received approval to move forward with the projects.

“Finally the fuse is lit,” Bekham said, saying fences have been going up at some of the different schools in preparation for the equipment that could be brought in as early as this week.

Already, drawings are complete for the some of the different projects while concepts have been approved according to fire codes and for traffic flow, which might face changes in the upcoming months. In upcoming weeks, a plan for the remodeling of the school auditorium could be available as well.

“It’s finally time,” Beckham said, saying he has been excited to hear the sound of jackhammers working at the school. “We’re finally ready to build things now.”

Other school board members expressed their pleasure at seeing the fences being raised and said they look forward to seeing work done within them. But throughout the entire project, those members asked that the community be patient and understanding as changes are made and the schools have to make adjustments accordingly.

Between the first varsity basketball games of 2016, Fort Scott High School named their homecoming king and queen Friday evening while the boys’ team clinched a win against the Labette County High School Grizzlies.

Abigail Denton was crowned homecoming queen while Vince Tome accepted the crown as homecoming king of the spring semester coronation. Other candidates included Bailie Brown, Maggie Findley, Karlea Harris, Madeline McCoy, Aaron Baugher, Austin Cook, Garret Tatro and Carter Young. Nathan Mintz and Aubrie McGhee participated in the event as the little people, carrying the crown and tiara.

The Fort Scott Tigers boys’ team then protected the court against the Grizzlies, holding onto the lead for a 54-46 win despite a persistent Grizzlies team that fought until the final minutes, trailing by just five minutes in the fourth quarter. The win brought the Tigers to a 2-4 overall record.

Senior Kaleb DeLaTorre led the team with 19 points while seniors Marcus Stepps and Josh Hudiburg added 10 and eight points, respectively. The Tigers led by as much as 11 points in the fourth quarter, their defense preventing the Grizzlies from scoring in the first almost four minutes of the quarter.

The lady Tigers team was unable to come away with a win, however, as they faced the undefeated Grizzlies, whose defense stifled the Tigers and forced numerous turnovers in the Tigers’ 67-36 loss, giving them a 2-4 record

The Tigers could not stop sophomore Tristan Gegg, who scored 29 points with four three-pointers, while Erica Gartner added 12 points on four three-pointers. The Tigers’ sophomore Madison Cook led the team with 12 points while senior Ashley Cook had nine.

During their first meeting of 2016, the Fort Scott City Commission approved the area airport’s five-year plan, including a variety of projects to be completed from 2017 to 2021.

Airport Manager Kenny Howard presented the capital improvement plan to the commission, which will then be submitted in order to receive federal grants to help cover the costs. Projects included replacing runway and taxiway edge lighting systems, land acquisition and runway extension.

Howard said the Federal Aviation Administration scores projects and  distributes funding based on those scores. If they do not receive as much funding as they would like, they will focus on projects they consider a priority and postpone others.

The total cost of the projects will likely reach more than $2 million, with about 10 percent of the fees being paid for locally.

The commission also agreed to a change in local election schedules after a recent decision by the state requires elections to be held during the November elections instead of the more common spring election, beginning during the November 2017 election.

While having a spring election meant the city had to pay extra for the separate ballots, city attorney Bob Farmer said most local government entities chose that schedule because it kept the local elections from being overlooked during November elections.

“Most of the counties felt that it was worthwhile because of the importance of the election,” Farmer said of discussions he participated in on the topic. “What we had worked fine, but a lot of things are being driven by pure economics now.”

Mayor Cindy Bartelsmeyer said she heard similar discussions during meetings she attended during the previous summer, and she heard many municipalities speak against the change, which will be applied to school boards as well.

Farmer said the state considered making the elections partisan, but decided against that change.

The current elected officials will continue in office through the November 2017 election, with new terms beginning in January of 2018. Lengths of terms and how many are elected at a time will remain the same after that point.

The commission approved the change with a 4-1 vote, with member Lucas Cosens voting against it.

Submitted by Ginger Nance

The Fort Scott Presbyterian Village will host a week-long quilt show that is open to the public for everyone to enjoy, January 5th – 12^th, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.

Bring a friend and come out to view the quilts on display during the event. Many varieties of quilts will encompass the show, ranging from old, new, hand-stitched, machine-stitched, large and small. No two quilts will be the same. The only common thread that each quilt has is that they are each pieced with love and artistry. Quilters from Southeast Kansas and Southwest Missouri will be featured during the show, all with a passion for rural living, family ties and a love of quilting.

In addition to viewing the display, join us for special guest speaker, Nancy Swanwick on January 7th at 2 p.m. at the Village for a “Quilt Trunk Show.”  Nancy will give information about how quilting can be the ties that bind us together over the generations. Her presentation is highly recommended by others as a must see and she has many treasures in her trunk to share.

For more information about the show or entering a quilt for the exhibit, contact executive director Ginger Nance at (620) 223-5550 or email [email protected]. All quilts are welcome, the more variety, the better the show. Fill your car with friends and come out to enjoy the show!

One of Fort Scott National Historic Site’s volunteers will have the opportunity this weekend to ride in the 127^th Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif., which will feature the National Parks Service’s Find Your Adventure theme in honor of its centennial celebration in 2016.

Barrett Young, a resident of Paola and Fort Scott Community College student, began volunteering at the local historic site in 2007, participating in numerous reenactments and other events at the fort since then.

Young was invited to ride in the opening theme banner float of the parade in recent months by Mike Matthiessen, president of the Tournament of Roses, who met Young in May of 2012 when he and his parents visited the Tournament House in Pasadena. Young will be representing the more than 220,000 volunteers in the National Park Service.

“When I got the email inviting me to ride the theme float in the 2016 Tournament of Roses Parade, I felt undeserving,” Young said. “At first I did not want to do it because I felt others deserved the honor more than I did.”

But Young said he accepted the invitation when he realized it would give him the opportunity to represent Fort Scott National Historic Site and other Kansas NPS sites.

Young was selected as a result of his support of and passion for the NPS, which has led him to visit all 50 states and 379 of the 409 NPS sites as well as 49 other NPS affiliated sites. He has also completed more than 390 junior and senior ranger programs and promotes the NPS by speaking at community events or organizations and setting up displays, such as at libraries, senior citizen meetings and rotary club meetings.

Young said he hopes to have a career in the NPS, and has ever since he began volunteering and reenacting with his parents.