Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

Ford LTD

I can remember childhood conversations that aren’t worth a hill o’ beans, but they’re my special memories and I cherish them. Once my folks and I were in the Lindley Prairie Cemetery area (Bear Creek) and Dad was carrying on a boisterous conversation with a long-time friend who drove a Ford LTD. These cars were massive V8-powered luxury sedans built to compete with the Chevrolet Caprice. Dad complimented Jack Fox’s nice car, even though Dad was a top-GM salesman. The friend laughed easily and said, “Yeah, the LTD stands for Long-Time-Debt!” Both men laughed heartily, but I was too young to “get it.” Even though I didn’t understand it at the time, I didn’t forget it!

The LTD initialism reminds me of the chorus, “He Paid a Debt” that we used to sing in church. Let’s take a nostalgic trip down memory lane together: “I owed a debt I could not pay, He paid a debt He did not owe. I needed Someone to wash my sins away. And now I sing a brand-new song ‘Amazing Grace’ all day long. Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay!” Believers must not take for granted or forget the debt that Jesus paid for our sins. We would be living a most-miserable life without the benefits of Calvary.

Before surrendering to Christ, every person owes a debt to God due to sin, no matter how good we claim to be. But Christ Jesus settled our accounts payable with God. This is the best deal God ever devised for mankind. “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins” (Romans 3:23-24 NLT). God’s one and only Son liberated us from the guilt, punishment, and power of sin!

In regard to unconfessed sin (racking up a debt), God is never going to say, “Don’t worry about it,” like sometimes a friend will say when we owe them a few dollars. Confession of sin paired with repentance will keep your spiritual checkbook balanced and your accounts up to date. Our sin debts separate us from God, but Jesus reconciled us to the heavenly Father and set us free from the chains of bondage and hell.

A magnificent divine exchange takes place – our filthy trash for God’s perfect righteousness. “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT).

“He canceled out every legal violation we had on our record and the old arrest warrant that stood to indict us. He erased it all – our sins, our stained soul – He deleted it all and they cannot be retrieved! Everything we once were in Adam has been placed onto His cross and nailed permanently there as a public display of cancellation” (Colossians 2:14 TPT). We were guilty as charged, but Christ Jesus erased the debt we owed. Now we have a new song to sing: “Gone, gone, gone, gone, yes my sins are gone. Buried deep beneath the sin of debt for me…”

The Key: Believers can celebrate their liberation because Jesus paid our sin debt in full.

“We need a plunger,” announced my handyman-husband after tinkering with the kitchen sink. “It’s not draining well.” I don’t know about you, but I so admire a man—especially when it’s my man—who can take care of a need without having to call on an expert, say for instance, a plumber. Off to Walmart I went, thrilled that instead of a few hundred dollars, this project would cost us only $12.95. Oh, happy day!

I was in the basement (where we are living until the upper floor is remodeled) when I heard the all-too-familiar “Uh-oh,” an unconcerning sound when it comes from the “expert”; it’s another when it comes from Handy Dandy Dave. Apparently, the suction somehow caused all the water to fill up the dishwasher which then overflowed onto the floor.

Later that day, after cleaning up the mess, we were in the basement. On the back of the patio, padded chair we are using as furniture, there was a large water spot. I asked Hubby about it. He said that it probably came from his wet head following his shower yesterday. Patio furniture is meant to be wet. Water stains would not stay on it for 24 hours.

Then I looked at the ceiling. Apparently Dave had showered, climbed on the patio chair and rested his wet head on five of the ceiling tiles because they, too, had huge water spots on them, or—another thought—the water from the kitchen floor had seeped through to the basement. We all know which of the two options is the correct one.

A plumber was called, and let’s just say that our handyman project ended up costing us a lot more than $12.95. But isn’t that the way life works sometimes? We try to tackle some small issue and before we know it, things get out of hand.

The Biblical story of David and Bathsheba comes to mind. David remained behind in Jerusalem while his men went to war. From the roof of his palace, he looked at Bathsheba, the beautiful wife of Uriah, bathing on her roof. Despite knowing she was married, David summoned her and committed adultery with her, resulting in her pregnancy. To hide the affair, David recalled Uriah from battle, hoping he would go home and sleep with Bathsheba, thus making the child appear his. However, Uriah, showing loyalty and integrity, refused to enjoy the comforts of home while his fellow soldiers were in danger, and he stayed with the other soldiers.

When this plan failed, David ordered Joab, the captain of his army, to place Uriah in a dangerous position on the front lines and withdraw support, ensuring Uriah was killed in battle. After mourning Uriah, Bathsheba married David and bore him a son. The Lord, displeased with David’s actions, sent the prophet Nathan to assure him that God had taken away his sin, but the child born of the sin would die. The child did die a week later, fulfilling the judgment.

Sin and plungers have a lot in common. What starts out no-big-deal in the hands of the wrong person can lead to much more serious problems. One drink, one lie, one peek can end up with disastrous consequences. Hubby and I ended up with a few water stains. Sinners are usually not so lucky.

A Call for Leadership and Professionalism in Bourbon County Meetings

To the Editor,

After watching the August 10th meeting, it is clear that our county proceedings have gotten completely off track.

The dialogue has devolved into personal drama and “he said, she said” arguments rather than focusing on the actual business of Bourbon County.

It is time for our elected officials to step up, put an end to the personal friction, and act like the professionals they were elected to be. This starts at the top.

Chairman Samuel Tran needs to step up and truly fulfill the role of a chairman. As the leader of these meetings, he must realize that he has a responsibility to remain calm and neutral, especially during heated public debates.

Instead of making tense situations worse, the chairman must be the grounded presence who maintains order and keeps the room focused on policy.

Public service should remain strictly about county business, not personal grievances. No matter how high passions run or how deep the disagreements go, right remains right and wrong remains wrong.

Our community deserves elected leaders who operate with clear heads, respect professional boundaries, and prioritize the work over the drama.

Sincerely,

Josh Jones

Note: FortScott.biz publishes letters to the editor from a variety of perspectives. If you would like to share your opinion, please send a letter to [email protected].

A Smarter, Cost-Effective Path Forward for Fort Scott’s Residential Streets

To the Editor,

For decades, Fort Scott residents have watched our street repair cycle repeat itself: mill the surface, apply a costly asphalt overlay, and watch potholes and cracks reappear just a few seasons later. Nowhere is this clearer than on historic corridors like Wall Street (Highway 54), where early 1900s brick rests on active, unstable clay soils without subgrade stabilization. We are spending taxpayer dollars over and over on surface symptoms without addressing the foundation beneath.

It is time to adopt a proven, modern approach: Full-Depth Reclamation (FDR) with mechanical stabilization, paired with a renewable double chip seal surface.

Right-Sizing Infrastructure for Neighborhood Streets

Mechanical subgrade stabilization is an ideal solution for Fort Scott’s residential and collector streets—roads that carry everyday passenger cars, school buses, and delivery vans rather than constant heavy freight trucks. By removing the shifting brick-on-sand layer, blending crushed aggregate (AB-3) with recycled asphalt, and mechanically stabilizing the top 12 inches, we create a strong, uniform base designed to handle neighborhood traffic for decades.

The Power of a Renewable Double Chip Seal

Instead of laying expensive Hot-Mix Asphalt (HMA) over an unstable base, capping a stabilized foundation with a double chip seal provides a tough, weather-resistant, and easily renewable riding surface.

At approximately one-fourth the cost of traditional asphalt, a double chip seal isn’t a temporary patch—it is an engineered, sealable surface layer. When the top layer eventually wears down after 7 to 10 years, it doesn’t require multi-million-dollar milling; crews simply apply another protective seal coat to extend its life indefinitely at minimal expense.

Cost Comparison: Double Chip Seal vs. 2-Inch Hot-Mix Asphalt Overlay

Across Kansas municipalities and county road projects, the financial contrast between these two options is stark:

Interlocal Cooperation: City & County Working Together

Capturing these savings relies on smart collaboration. By leveraging county reclaimer equipment and experienced operators alongside city crews, Fort Scott can complete these neighborhood street modernizations efficiently—stretching public dollars four times further than traditional asphalt paving.

Continuing to throw expensive asphalt over unengineered clay foundations is simply not sustainable. By combining city-county cooperation with mechanical base stabilization and a renewable double chip seal, Fort Scott can break the pothole cycle, save millions in tax dollars, and give our community streets that truly last.

Sincerely,

Pete Allen

Note: FortScott.biz publishes letters to the editor from a variety of perspectives. If you would like to share your opinion, please send a letter to [email protected].

Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

Uber for a Piglet

My daughter and family live 1 ½ hours north and my son and his wife live 50 minutes south from me. My daughter has a hobby farm and, after the piglets were born and ready to be sold, she mentioned that her brother wanted one of them. Since I was at her house at the time, without thinking it through, I volunteered to deliver the little pig. It would be no problem since Aaron was doing dirt work at my place that day. I’m fond of pigs, as Dad had a few sows with litters of piglets when I was a kid.

Well, when it was time for me to head home, Mariam said, “I’ll go catch the pig.” Obviously, she had taken me serious. So I said, “OK,” and off she went. She was gone quite a while, but eventually got to my car with the piglet. She put him in a nylon and mesh crate and set it in the trunk. I put down one side of the backseat so he could have access to the air conditioning. I told her I thought he would squeal all the way home and she said, “Oh, I don’t think it’ll be a problem – he’ll be fine.” Famous last words.

As I approached the I-49 on-ramp, he was squealing bloody murder. I thought, “What have I done? This is all my fault and I have 1 ½ hours of this ahead of me.” He had four different languages. When he was upset he’d let out an ear-piercing squeal. When he wasn’t upset, he’d oink. When he was annoyed by a rough patch in the highway, he’d let out a high-pitched squeak once. When he was off balance because of a curve, he’d grunt once. His favorite songs on the Tucker Family Band CD were “Peace in the Valley” and “Jesus on the Main Line.” I was nervous thinking that he could chew a hole in the material and get loose. I was speeding on purpose trying to shorten the trip as much as possible without getting pulled over by a state trooper. And if that did happen, I didn’t know if he would understand that I was merely a speeding, stressed-out uber for a pig and let me go with only a warning.

The stress, mingled with laughter, actually balanced out my emotions which prevented me from loosing my marbles on the way home. This epic situation taught me that I need to thoroughly consider all commitments before making them. My parents taught me to live with integrity and trustworthiness, and be a person of my word. “The one who makes a promise and does not break it, even though he is hurt by it” (Psalm 15:4 GW). Believers must stand by their word even if there’s a chance of temporary insanity while fulfilling the promise.

“When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to Him. It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it” (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 NLT). God considers us to be  fools if we don’t follow through with our commitments! Therefore, we are not to make promises we know full-well we can’t keep. It’s better to be honest and say, “No.”

“A man who makes a vow to the Lord or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do” (Numbers 30:2 NLT). Once we commit, we must do it – whether to God or man. We’re all familiar with the colloquialism, “…the Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.” Remember, your commitments impact your relationships with others. If you’re supposed to be there at noon, don’t show up at 12:30.

The Key: Be careful what you promise and then deliver it. (No pun intended.)

By Patty LaRoche

Aah, the role of a grandparent!

For the past few weeks, Dave and I have been entrusted with the partial care of four children under the age of six. It has been one of the most challenging times of my life (including skydiving, a near-fatal car accident and raising three A.D.D. sons). Holding a baby while walking up and down stairs (will my knees hold out?), keeping an eye on a 15-month-old who delights in stuffing bugs and rocks and large crumbs in her mouth, consoling a sobbing three-year-old because there are no horses in sight (do toddlers have hormones?), trying to learn a hip-hop dance my six-year-old wants to teach me (much to her frustration…and mine), and repeating these actions for days on end makes me wonder how I ever did it as a mother.

Oh, I know how I did it. I was thirty, not seventy-six. And they were my children, not my child’s kiddos.

Still, the blessings of grandparenting far outweigh the worries. Scripture reminds us of the difference a godly grandparent can make: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” 2 Timothy 1:5

Quietly, as I hugged or held these little ones, I was given a chance to thank God for their individuality and to ask His grace on their lives. Their innocence, their smiles, their ability to giggle at tickles and funny faces and “This little piggy went to market,” their “I love you, Mammy” greetings, made me realize what a privilege it is to spend time with these little blessings from God. No longer could I be their bucking horse or carry two of them at one time, nor could I copy their worm wiggles on the floor. I could, however, be a great audience when they wanted to perform their rendition of the National Anthem while riding their stick ponies and holding their miniature American flags or encourage them when they tried to skip.

I marvel how God could make such individual personalities within one family (Dave and I are blessed with eleven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren under the age of six) and are in awe at how they all were designed uniquely by God in their mothers’ wombs. Brunettes. Blondes. Redheads. A vociferous reader and one who says she never will learn her letters. A sweet, loving sibling and one who frequents the time-out chair. One who smiles constantly and one who screams non-stop. Each unique and each being prayed over to grow up to love Jesus.

When I taught high school, one of my roll questions each year was “What is your favorite memory?” Most of my students answered that it was something they did with a grandparent. Over my 20+ years of teaching, that answer never changed.

Dave and I are the fortunate ones. Many of my elderly friends now are raising their grandchildren because their children are not able to do so. I don’t know how they do it. When I say goodbye to my little ones, I need a spa day and some Tylenol. These grandparents do not have that luxury. So, the next time you see an elderly person pushing a stroller or a grocery cart with youngsters tagging along, a word or two of encouragement could go a long way.

A gift certificate to a local spa would go a lot further.

Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

Out of Tune

Between Ralph and I, we have 141 years of experience in playing our musical instruments (guitar and piano). We’ve been music-and-family friends for many years, playing various shows, recitals, and churches together. Recently, we were preparing to play at a local country church and Ralph was tuning his guitar. Since the piano was slightly out-of-tune, we had to troubleshoot and basically tune the guitar to the piano. It wasn’t perfect, but we did the best we could to at least be in tune with each other! It was kinda’ like playing our instruments in a three-legged race. Ralph and I had a blast and nobody threw rotten tomatoes at us, so I think it was a win-win.!

You know, some people can’t carry a tune in a bucket. And if they happen to be singing, there’s just no way to cover that up. The late George Younce, famous Southern Gospel bass singer once said, “I’ve heard so much off-tune singing I kinda’ like it.”

Can Christ followers get out of tune with God? Yes – by disobedience to His Word. Actually, a willfully-disobedient Christian is an oxymoron; like jumbo shrimp, fresh clabbered milk, pretty homely, plastic silverware, and awfully good. Love for Christ is proven and demonstrated by our obedience to all that He says. John the Beloved recorded Jesus’ words, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words” (John 14:23-24 NKJV).

It’s painful for a musician to play an instrument that’s out-of-tune. And when believers are out of tune with God, He can’t stand the dissidence. God can’t literally stand to live in our home when we’re off tune with Him. Something or someone has to give and it’s not going to be God. Here’s a royal plan spoken beautifully by J. Hudson Taylor, “Do not have your concert first and tune your instruments afterward. Begin the day with God.”

Get in tune with God. Maybe you’re playing on the wrong page – repent and change your sheet music. Please don’t tune your life to your own philosophy or today’s messed-up culture. Do your Christian walk God’s way. His way is as plain as day in His Word. God makes so much of our faith, our endeavor, and our obedience. If you have faith even as small as a single mustard seed, your prayers will be answered – one way or another (ref. Matthew 17:20). God isn’t partial – He’s given every believer an equal amount of faith.

Apostle Paul instructed believers, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3 BSB). Evidently, that beginning portion of faith is enough to get us saved, baptized, and sanctified. Plus, we can make daily faith deposits in our heart account as we walk with Him in full obedience. Sometimes we don’t need more faith, we just need to use the faith we already have! Stop thinking you don’t have enough faith to accomplish great things for God. You do!

The Key: Start every day with God and tune your heart to his heart.

I write in response to the recent letter urging yes on the “Vote for Supreme Court justices” amendment. Let’s unpack what the reasoning seems to be in the letter and in some of the supporting follow up responses.

The writer implies a cabal of attorneys are making nefarious back room deals regarding choosing a justice. The Supreme Court Nominating Committee has a lawyer from each congressional district selected by a vote of peers in their district. Do we really think the politics of Dodge City lawyers mirrors the politics of Johnson County? Yet, each politically different congressional district has equal representation on the committee. Doesn’t sound like a conspiracy to me. (Know also that other states, including Missouri, use commissions with lawyer majorities.)

Read what non-lawyer commissioner Frances Graves, whose career is with K-State Research and Extension Community Vitality, reported 7-28-26 in the Kansas Register: “Regardless of who appointed us or how we came to serve, politics simply wasn’t part of our work together…. Our discussions focused on experience, integrity, judicial temperament, legal ability and leadership….Commissioners spent hundreds of volunteer hours reviewing extensive application materials, legal writing samples, public comments before conducting hours of public interviews.” This certainly describes a nonpartisan and extremely thorough vetting process. No mention of millionaire attorneys influencing the process.

Senator Ty Masterson, conservative Republican gubernatorial candidate, is quoted in the letter. Here is another perspective on his agenda. He has made it clear that electing Supreme Court justices is a way to overturn issues already decided democratically by Kansas voters. He especially targets two issues. He targets the right of women to make their own health care choices, an issue voters supported overwhelmingly in 2022, and voter supported legislation funding public education. The Marion County Record quotes Masterson: “If we elect our Supreme Court they won’t force you to spend money on schools.” Funding our children’s education and teacher salaries is important and without our impartial Supreme Court rulings Ty Masterson would have left schools underfunded.

Finally, your decision to vote for or against the amendment must be based on agreeing with one of these three decision categories. First, no justice has ever lost a retention vote so knowledgeable Kansas voters are retaining justices based on the facts of the decisions they have made, not on campaign promises. Therefore the merit-based commission selection process is justified and working. (That’s a definite No Vote on the amendment.) Second, you believe Kansas voters are not knowledgeable, and are just checking the retention box, but, on the other hand the same voters are knowledgeable and well informed enough to choose a Supreme Court justice based on campaign promises and campaign ads supported by political party money, wealthy donors, and probably outside dark money PAC funds. So, this choice is made on what campaigning justices say, not what they have done. Third, you believe, as Senator Masterson does, that an elected justice will serve your own political agenda and is a back door to undermining the democracy of already decided voter issues. The last two options, of course, completely politicize the court and eliminate judicial impartiality. The court would now be in the business of making law based on campaign promises instead of being a check and balance on the legislative and executive branches.

While our current selection system may need tweaked, it is not broken and our Supreme Court is serving its constitutional purpose.

VOTE NO

Randy Nichols

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By Patty A. LaRoche

My connecting flight from Fayetteville to Dallas was late, and if you know Dallas Airport, you know that it is not an airport in which you want to be short on time. Blessings came in different ways. The flight attendant asked all passengers who were not running late to stay in their seats so that those of us who were going to have to run to their gates could exit the plane rapidly. A courteous act that many attendants neglect.

According to my ticket, my second leg to Nashville was on the same concourse (praise Jesus), so I was better off than those who had to lope to a different terminal. I had landed at Gate Four and needed to get to Gate Ten. So close—a miracle! Right after I exited, I saw the sign “Gates 8-28” with an arrow pointing straight ahead. Still, I needed to sprint if I intended to make my flight.

I’m always surprised at how quickly I am out of breath when I attempt to move quickly, and it did not help that the gates were in reverse order. They started with 28 and moved down to 8. I had much farther to go than I expected. Fortunately, a drinking fountain was on my path; unfortunately, it was broken. Only a tiny squirt allowed per person. After four or five attempts, I gave up. I had lost precious time.

By the time I got to Gate 24, I needed oxygen, but as I chugged past 23, the announcement was made for that area: “Flight 1500 to Nashville is in its final boarding process at Gate 23.” Say what? My ticket said Gate 10. My ticket was wrong. Had I not fought with that drinking fountain, I would have been past that gate and would have missed the announcement as well as my flight. Did God tinker with that spigot to get me on that plane, the last plane of the evening to my final destination? Hmmm…

We love reading the Bible and learning of the many major miracles, and I know that my life has had not a few of them, but I wonder how many of the little “dailies” are God’s providential hand, making our lives easier. We drive to the store without a car accident or a thief accosting us in the parking lot or bare shelves to greet us. All five of our senses work, some better than others, as do our washing machines, lawn mowers and toilets (well, most of the time). Even if they don’t, could it be that, like the Dallas Airport drinking fountain, God is working from above the scenes? Saving us from a much more serious situation? After all, He is in charge, the Writer of our stories. If we don’t get the job or the mate or the gender of child we desire, could it be that, even though God’s ways are not our ways, they are intended to mature us to be examples to others?

If we pray for the highway drivers who cut us off instead of raging at them, will we be more likely to have peace in our car? Absolutely. If we mess up and need to apologize, is God glorified when we ask for forgiveness? Absolutely. In Isaiah 55:8-9, God declares:

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. (NKJV)

Are you dealing with something right now that is not going the way you planned? Are you out of breath, chasing after an elusive desire? If so, stop. Remember, God is in charge. Maybe it’s time to pray for a broken water faucet.