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CASA Holiday Party: Change A Child’s Story
Category Archives: Youth
Want to Support Splash Pad Project Coming in 2023?
A splash pad is coming to town, thanks to some leaders who took the initiative.
“This idea has been in strategic plans and will add to the revitalization of downtown Fort Scott,” said Bailey Lyons, who along with Josh Jones and Kelly Barr have spearheaded the drive for funds.
Last week at the Fort Scott City Commission meeting, Lyons announced that with the help of two big donors, they are within reach of the project.
“We plan to break ground in the Spring and open by Summer 2023,” Lyons said. “We thought it would be a wonderful addition to our community. It will be a wonderful outdoor recreational amenity that offers a fun play option for all. It will be a gathering place accessible to people of all abilities, ages, and backgrounds. We saw other communities like ours installing splash pads with great success, and wanted to bring one to Fort Scott.”
For those who might not know, a splash pad is a recreational outdoor play area with sprinklers, fountains, nozzles and other devices that spray water. Also known as a spray pool, there is little to no standing water in the space.
It will be placed at the west end of Skubitz Plaza, off of North National Avenue.
The site was picked because of accessibility, parking, and infrastructure and also is at the north end of the historic downtown area with dining, shopping and other attractions.
Fort Scott Parks and Recreation Department will provide maintenance, with the city also providing water and electricity.
So far, about $180,000 has been raised for the space, with $20,000 more to fund raise.
Two of the biggest donors have been a Timken Foundation Grant of $75,000 and a Walmart Foundation Grant of $40,000.
Chicken Mary’s, a well known restaurant north of Pittsburg, is the latest to help with fundraising.
On Wednesday, Dec. 7, one can pick up a chicken dinner or supper in Fort Scott that must be pre-ordered by Dec. 4. The meal is $10 per plate and tickets must be ordered by calling 620.224.7795.
“We also have the comedy show, and we are about to roll out a fundraiser to raffle off an ATV,” Lyons said. ‘We will be pushing out regular donation giving levels…that will allow people to donate to get us to the finish line.”
The splash pad will not raise taxes, Lyons said.
Lowell Milken Center Participating in the 34th Annual Toybox Campaign
The Lowell Milken Center has joined the 34th Annual Toybox campaign which runs through December 13. It is one of the 4-States’ largest toy drives to benefit underprivileged children in Southeast Kansas, Southwest Missouri and Northeast Oklahoma. KOAM News Now, Salvation Army and many other community service organizations and businesses have organized this worthwhile endeavor.
In Fort Scott, new, unwrapped toys for children birth through 16 years of age may be dropped off during regular business hours at the Lowell Milken Center at 1 South Main or at Care4All at 2 W. 18th St. (The Lowell Milken Center is open from 10 am–5 pm, M-F, and 10 am–4 pm on Saturdays.) The toys will be distributed through Compassionate Ministries/Salvation Army here in Bourbon County to families who have registered for holiday assistance.
Toybox Tuesday Telethons will be conducted during the Noon, 5:00 and 6:00 newscasts on KOAM and its KOAM+ streaming platforms. Dates for the telethons are November 29, December 6, and December 13. Viewers have the opportunity to make a tax-deductible financial contribution to support Toybox during the telethons. All monies raised are used to purchase new toys and gifts.
Additional information can be found at http://koamnewsnow.com/Toybox.
FSHS Band Receives Superior Rating in Neewolah Parade
The Fort Scott Band earned a 1-rating this past weekend, marching in the Neewollah Parade in Independence, KS.
“Thirty-four students were in the parade,” Justin Robinson, FSHS Band Director said. “And two middle school students were carrying the banner.
” The scale is 1-5, with top indicating a superior rating, ” he said. They will receive a plaque for this rating.
FSHS Band participated in the Neewollah Grand Parade on Saturday, October 29th. “This is the first parade, we will plan on doing the Fort Scott Christmas Parade”(on Dec. 1), he said.
“There were a total of 32 bands that participated in the parade this year and a total of 123 entries in the parade, Robinson said.
The band works approximately fours hours a week on playing their musical instruments and marching.
“We meet 45 minutes a day,” he said. “We go to the auxiliary gym if it’s raining. But we go out and hit the streets of Fort Scott when we can.”
The band also plays all the high school home games.
This is Justin Robinson’s second year as the band director.
FSHS Theatre Performs Addams Family School Edition for Fall Musical
The Fort Scott High School Theatre program performs Addams Family School Edition at 7 p.m. on Nov. 8 and 10 and at 2 and 7 p.m. on Nov. 12 at FSHS.
Theatrical Rights Worldwide says The Addams Family is “a comical feast that embraces the wackiness in every family… and it’s every father’s nightmare: Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family–a man her parents have never met. And if that wasn’t upsetting enough, Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before–keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s ‘normal’ boyfriend and his parents.”
Students playing the Addams Family members include newcomer Junie Fisher, a freshman, as Wednesday; junior Casey Gomez as Gomez; sophomore Emma Guns as Morticia; senior Luke Majors as Fester; junior Regen Wells as Pugsley; junior Jaedyn Lewis as Grandma; and junior Jonah Wilterding as Lurch. The Beineke family includes senior Jackson Elton as Mal, senior Karen Primeaux as Alice, and Junior Jericho Jones playing the boyfriend – Lucas. A full ensemble of ghostly ancestors round out the 23-member cast. Another fifteen students serve as crew members for the production.
Cast member Casey Gomez knew he wanted the part of Gomez all along, after all, his name made it his destiny to play the role! He says, “Being in The Addams Family is great! I just love it because the songs are super fun and the jokes are hilarious.”
The Addams Family is directed by FSHS Theatre Director Angie Bin and Music Director Sarah Dunivan, Winfield Scott Elementary Music Instructor. Eugene Ware teacher Abby Stepps is the Choreographer and FSCC student Christina King serves as Technical Director.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for students and children. Tickets are reserved seating and available at fortscotthighschool.ludus.com. Tickets may be available to purchase at the door if any remain. Doors open 30 minutes prior to showtime.
The musical is written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa, and Orchestrations by Larry Hochman. It is produced with special arrangement with Theatrical Rights Worldwide, 1180 Avenue of the America. Suite 640, New York, NY 10036, www.theatricalrightsworldwide.
Fort Scott 5/6 grade Football Champions Play Tonight
The Fort Scott 5/6th grade Tiger football team is undefeated and will host on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. at Frary Field the championship game against Prairie View.
“These boys have worked so hard, said Leslie Godden “They’d love to have the stands packed and have other community schools/ events and older athletics there to support them!”
“Also the youth cheer team will be there cheering them on,” she said.
The two Facebook group pages for the kids are:
@ Fort Scott Tiger Youth Football Program
@ Fort Scott Tiger Youth Cheer Program
The Haunting of Belltown Comes to Fort Scott
Travis and Jennifer Sawyer and some of their friends came up with a Halloween event that will take place starting this evening at Riverfront Park on Fort Scott’s North National Avenue.
The two-evening event is called the Haunting of Belltown.
“Travis and I and our friends thought up this idea for the community,” Jennifer said. “We did a small hayride last year with our kids and they enjoyed it so we did a haunted hayride last year for the community and was a big hit. Unfortunately insurance for our dealership to host it was going to cost too much so we decided to do it in town.”
A haunted walking trail, hayride and Halloween movies await those who come to the Haunting of Belltown.
“The hayride I would say is for all ages and the haunted trail I would say 6th grade and up, but will be best based on parents preference,” Jennifer said.
The event is Oct. 14 and 15 from 7 to 11 p.m. , on the southside of the Marmaton River on North National Avenue.
“It will be the road where Stephen Toal did all the murals under the Hwy. 69 bypass,” Jennifer said. “There will be a hayride, haunted walking trail, Halloween movies will be playing, and we will be selling hot dogs, hot cocoa and other beverages.”
To enter is free but they will be accepting donations.
More information can be found for Friday night:
Saturday night:
Sawyer Automotive is located at 1631 235th St. Fort Scott and can be reached at 620-215 5020.
The event is sponsored by:
-Sawyer Automotive sales & affiliates
-M & RC rentals
-Carhelp
-Washateria
-Durossettes tire shop
-Key Industries
-ONEstop
-Great Expectations
-Miller’s Feed
-Courtland Hotel
-Brigg’s Auto
-Pearson Towing
-Skitch’s Hauling and Excavation
-Marsha’s Deli
-Triple T construction
-Bourbon County Cars
-American Legion
-American Legion riders
-Uncle Hemp’s CBD health & wellness
-Labconco
Women’s Defense Class This Saturday For Those 12 Years and Up
The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office is sponsoring a women’s self defense class this Saturday, Oct. 15 at the Fort Scott Middle School from 10 a.m. to noon.
“This class is for women 12 years old and older, all the way up to 90,” said Kim Schwab, Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Administrative Assistant.
“The instructor is Jill Leiker, Executive Director of The Ali Kemp Educational Foundation,” she said. “She currently holds the rank of a 9th degree black belt, although the techniques taught in this class are not martial arts. They are simple techniques that any woman can learn and execute. She has instructed over 70,000 women in these techniques. She also was the recipient of the 2018 WIN for Kansas City’s Outstanding Woman Award for her positive impact on females, young and old.”
Participants should wear comfortable clothing and shoes, like sweatpants and athletic shoes, because they will be learning techniques of self-defense.
There is a suggested donation of $12 for the class to help defray the cost of presenting the class, however if someone can’t afford to pay the fee, they can still take the class, she said.
The money goes to the Ali Kemp Educational Foundation and was created by a Leawood, KS. man whose daughter was raped and murdered.
History of the Class in Fort Scott
The class in Fort Scott came about when Schwab’s daughter was preparing to go to college.
“Four years ago I approached Sheriff Martin about the possibility of having a self-defense class for my college bound daughter to take. He directed me to The Ali Kemp Educational Foundation as an excellent way to accomplish this to help her and other women in our county be proactive in taking responsibility for their own safety.”
No Class For A Few Years
COVID 19 prevented a class in 2020, she said.
Then this past April 2022, Roger Kemp, creator of the foundation, died suddenly.
“The foundation needed time to regroup after his passing and so we are now scheduled to do it this Saturday, October 15th,” she said.
To view a prior story on the class:
https://fortscott.biz/news/female-self-defense-class-coming-to-fort-scott
https://fortscott.biz/news/female-self-defense-class-coming-to-fort-scott
Pump N Pete’s Hosts Fundraiser For CASA
MASSIVE REGIONAL FUNDRAISER SPONSORED BY PUMP’N PETE’S CORPORATION
TO BENEFIT CASA PROGRAMS IN 3 STATES DURING OCTOBER
Pump N Pete’s Corp of Erie is hosting a pledge card fundraiser and other activities on behalf of Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA) during the month of October. Pete’s operates 54
convenience stores and fuel stations in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma and this special effort targeting the increase of services by CASA to abused and neglected children in the court system will benefit 6 individual CASA Programs in those areas; CASA of the 31st Judicial District, CASA of the 4th, Bourbon County CASA
and Tri–County CASA in Southeast Kansas; Child Advocates of Northeast Oklahoma and CASA of Jasper County in Missouri.
“Pinwheels for Prevention – Partners for Children” is an easy, stress free and fun way to help children in state custody. Pete’s cashiers will ask you to donate and all you do is say YES! You get to sign a Pinwheel Pledge Card and hang it in the store to commemorate your donation. It you donate $5 or more at one time you
get a raffle ticket good for a chance at winning a $25 prize in each store and the winners from each store will go on to a GRAND PRIZE DRAWING at the end of October for $250 at the Pete’s Corporate Office in Parsons.
The funds raised are used to recruit, train, prepare and support Volunteer Advocates who are specially trained by CASA and appointed by County Judges to help children who have been abused or neglected and found to be in need of care by the court. The Advocates partner with the children, speak up for their best
interest in court and guide them successfully through their time in foster care. Once appointed, the CASA is always there for the child until he or she is released from custody. CASAs focus on the needs of the children and them spending less time in foster care, also getting services that benefit them.
Fundraising proceeds have also been used in emergencies and to pay for athletics, music lessons, summer camp, winter coats, Christmas gifts, adoption gifts, life books, special equipment and special clothing for children in the CASA programs.
CASA programs are non–profit and must raise their own funds to operate The Pinwheel Fundraiser is in its 10th year and Pete’s Corporation has made it a competition between
stores, area managers and district managers, even offering corporate incentives to all employees to do their best
for CASA. From there the managers and employees have gotten very creative and have taken the competition to heart! All stores do something special or host an event to supplement the fundraiser and many do some truly zany things. Several managers have taken cream pies to the face if the store reaches a set goal or offered to get
dunked in a water tank for extra money; others have thrown a BBQ or pizza party when employees post so many pledge cards. There were dueling bake sales between stores in the same town; car washes that got drowned by rain but continued anyway; body painting; dance–a–thons; characters greeting customers; lotto
winnings donated by employees and customers and public competition to have the most pinwheels on the wall!
At the end CASA awards trophies and publicly recognizes the top 6 Pump’n Pete’s Stores in several categories and representatives from each CASA program are on hand to congratulate them. A media event is planned for December 14th in Parsons, KS.
CASA and Pump’n Pete’s invite everyone to join the fun and help unfortunate children at the same time.
Children who did nothing wrong but wound up in foster care anyway. Donations to CASA are fully tax deductable and CASA is recognized as a 502(c)(3) charity by the IRS.
FSHS Organization to Sponsor Job Fair
SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives working to ensure America has a skilled workforce. The Fort Scott High School Chapter of SkillsUSA is hosting a job fair on Wednesday, April 25, 2023 from 8 a.m. to noon in the high school auxiliary gym.
The purpose is to acquaint students with career opportunities available in the region. Michelle Laubenstein is the advisor for the group and can be reached at [email protected] or call 620.223.0600.
The FSHS SkillsUSA club is one of 23 Fort Scott High School student organizations, here is a list of the rest.
Storytime at Local Bookstore: Oct. 1
Governor: Kansas Welfare System Improves
First Report Shows Kansas Child Welfare System Making Significant Progress
McIntyre settlement agreement requires yearly reports from neutral party
TOPEKA – Kansas foster children have stable placements and are experiencing fewer moves while in care, according to the first report from the Neutral Third Party in the McIntyre class action lawsuit settlement.
“My administration inherited a broken child welfare system that had an unacceptable number of children in care, a lack of placement stability, and limited prevention services,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Under my Administration, we now have 1,300 fewer children in the system, and the Neutral Report shows we have made substantial progress in making sure kids are in stable placements and experience fewer moves. There’s more work to be done, but this report shows we are headed in the right direction.”
The McIntyre class action lawsuit was filed in 2018 under the Colyer Administration by Kansas Appleseed, Children’s Rights, and the National Center for Youth Law against the Governor, Kansas Department for Children and Families, Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The Governor was later dismissed from the case.
The parties agreed to a settlement in 2020. The settlement was structured to ensure Kansas would achieve substantial progress and compliance in key performance areas over a multi-year period. Performance areas include accountability, reporting and implementation, practice improvements and outcomes. The settlement recognizes that the outcomes and practice improvements will not all be accomplished in one year. Outcome goals were set for a three-to-four-year period.
Judith Meltzer, President of the Center for the Study of Social Policy serves as the Neutral Third Party responsible for assessing the State’s first year progress. This first report covers calendar year 2021.
“Reforming a child welfare system is a complex and multi-year endeavor,” Meltzer said. “During this first year, Kansas has made considerable progress in addressing some fundamental problems and has started down a path that we anticipate will lead to further improvements in the years ahead and to sustainable and meaningful improvements for Kansas children and families.”
Kansas made significant progress in placement stability. The Neutral validated that Kansas achieved its first-year benchmarks for placement stability and placement moves. Children in care experienced a rate of 5.84 moves per 1,000 days – more than meeting the benchmark of seven moves per 1,000 days. The report also shows that 86% of Kansas kids were in stable placements during CY 21, surpassing the benchmark of 80%.
“The report affirms our commitment to Kansas children by continuing efforts to build an effective child welfare system,” DCF Secretary Laura Howard said. “Using tools like kinship placements, partnerships with community agencies to provide trauma-informed support to foster parents and prioritizing families over facilities, these have all had a positive impact on this issue.”
The state does have more work to do in both temporary overnight placements and night-to-night or short-term placements. Children who experience a failure to place often have complex developmental, medical, behavioral or safety needs.
DCF is working to build capacity through several new initiatives. The agency has created the Failure to Place Prevention Network with the goal of creating stand-by service beds and other ways for family foster home to serve one child at a time. DCF also is addressing gaps with the addition of Therapeutic Foster Homes that launched in 2022.
The report also shows Kansas achieved several accountability benchmarks mandated by the agreement. Those include:
- Amending case management provider contracts to clarify responsibilities arising from the settlement
- Creating an independent advisory group to inform planning and program improvement
- Collecting and reporting data on Class Members placed in a jail, correctional or detention facility
State agencies also are making significant progress in mental health practice improvements and outcomes despite not reaching the CY 21 benchmarks.
- DCF approved a contract with Beacon Health Options to create the Mobile Family Crisis Helpline which launched in Oct. of 2021.
- Unvalidated period 2 data shows significant improvement in addressing mental and behavioral health needs with nearly 80% of Class Members having their needs met.
“Addressing mental and behavioral health needs is vital if we are to have a strong child and family well-being system,” Howard said. “We know there is more work to do to strengthen the timely and consistent access to mental health assessments and reviews.”
DCF and its partner agencies will continue to collaborate with the Center for the Study of Social Policy to ensure valid data and look forward to showing more progress in the Period 2 report in 2023.
Those interested in the full CY 21 report can access it via the Center for the Study of Social Policy website.