Fort Scott High School Prom is April 21, 2018.

Students of area high schools are beginning to look for that special outfit to wear to the annual spring event.

Parents also are making preparations.

Parents of junior class students are currently working to make an after-prom party for the students.

The object of the party is student safety.

“If you are a parent or a business owner, or possibly a friend of Fort Scott,” Sabrina Terry, spokesperson for the group said. “Each of us has different roles that we are trying to play in keeping the kids safe as well as have fun on prom night!”
“As parents, we put together a fun-filled evening of events that the kids can participate in, in order to have fun and stay safe,” Terry said. “Our goal is to keep our kiddos doing fun and appropriate things prom night.”

Business owners and friends of Fort Scott have donated to help with the costs of putting together the after-prom event, she said.

“If you are willing to help out please just let me know,” Terry said.

“We still need a lot of prizes that will be given out throughout the night by drawing tickets. The tickets will be given to each of the kids throughout the night by playing different games and just entering the after-prom party.”

“Right now the after-prom party is up in the air as far as where it will be held,” Terry said.” The options are Buck Run (Community Center) or Fort Scott Middle School.”

“As far as what will the juniors and seniors participate in when they go to the prom party that is also up in the air depending upon what the committee decides,” Terry said. “However we do know that there will be obstacle courses that they will race through, dodgeball, nine square, etc.”

Prizes will be handed out throughout the evening.

“We have big prizes such as TVs,” she said. “However at this point, we are short on money so we do fundraisers to build up our funds so that we can go buy prizes to keep their interest. The goal is to keep them there so that they don’t create their own parties that have negative things or outcomes.”

The Young Professional League annual fundraiser benefit for the Beacon is underway.

The Beacon is a non-profit religious organization that has food, clothing, and household goods that it distributes to the community, among other services.

YPL chooses to have a yearly fundraiser to help the Beacon.

“Many people in our community are generous with donating supplies, such as clothing and food to the Beacon,” Jessica Schenkel, president of YPL said. “However, cash donations are needed to purchase the supplies they may not receive or for other reasons.”

Enchiladas are the fundraiser food the group makes.

“We are selling a ready-to-bake pan of homemade enchiladas,” Schenkel said. ” We are offering beef, chicken or cheese, or a combination. There are a dozen enchiladas per pan. They will come with instructions and can be chilled in the fridge if they are being baked soon, or they can be frozen for later. We prepare the meat the evening before the pick-up date, and ensemble all the orders the morning of pick-up.”

The cost is $20 per dozen.

“People can order from any YPL member in person or they can order online,” Schenkel said.” We are accepting orders right now and our deadline to order is January 25.”

Here is the link for online orders:    https://www.ypl-bbco.org/enchiladas

Or to order by phone 785.817.8877, leave a voicemail if no answer.

This year the food will be cooked, assembled and picked-up at Fort Scott High School.

Pick-up will be at the Fort Scott High School cafeteria on Saturday, February 3  between 2 and 5  p.m., according to the website set up for the fundraiser. Enchiladas that are not picked up by 5 p.m. will be given to the Beacon Food Pantry or re-sold. The payment will be considered a donation to YPL.

“YPL used to host a soup feed fundraiser and worked with the local churches, ” she said. “However, we have moved to a different facility and the churches have been graciously donating funds to cover the necessary expenses to make the enchiladas. This way, every bit of our profits are donated to the Beacon.”

“YPL is an organization made of professionals who are adaptive advocates of a better community through progressive partnerships and networking,”  Schenkel said. ” “Most of our members enjoy the social aspect of meeting other young professionals throughout the community and utilize our meetings as a way of networking.”

Schenkel is president for 2018.

Laura Agee is vice president and secretary;  Tiffiny Durham is treasurer; board members are Amanda Bourassa, Devin Tally, Chris Petty,  and Holly Baker.

YPL  recently held its strategic planning meeting for 2018.

“We will be rolling out a few exciting changes for this year,” she said. “Stay tuned!”

Submitted by Angie Bin

The Fort Scott High School Thespian Troupe #7365 gleaned several honors from the annual KS State Thespian Festival January 4-6, at the Century II Center in Wichita.

Twenty-six students attended with Thespian Director Angie Bin and sponsor Mark Bergmann. In addition, six Fort Scott Middle School Drama Club members attended on January 6, with sponsor Mary Jo Harper.

The troupe earned the highest honor awarded to Thespians in Kansas, the Gold Honor Troupe Award. To achieve this, troupe Historian Karina Kantilal, a junior, presented a notebook documenting the group’s productions, community involvement, and activities. The FSHS troupe also received a plaque for its 10-year anniversary as a troupe.

State Board Representatives senior Xavier Watkins and junior Hunter Adamson helped organize and lead the festival. Adamson received the honor of being elected by KS Thespian Directors to serve as one of five State Board Officers for the coming year.

“Getting the opportunity to hold the position of State Thespian Officer is such an honor,” Adamson said. “In the year to come, I hope to advocate for the importance of theatre for young people and bring about an awareness of the strength of the theatre department.”

As part of Adamson’s duties, she will attend leadership classes at the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Neb., in June and meet with the other officers throughout the year. She will then lead all state board representatives from Kansas schools to plan next year’s festival and will be in charge of the 2019 Festival.

Over the three-day festival, students also attended workshops and classes covering all aspects of theatre including acting, dance, technical theatre, theatre advocacy, stage combat and other related topics. Bin taught a workshop entitled “Let’s Play! Growing Theatre Kids,” using her research on children’s theatre to teach other schools how to cultivate a love for theatre among younger children in their communities.

Junior Darrick Green said, “I attended the Musical Theatre Stars dance workshop. It really showed me how profound these Broadway stars really are, how hard they have to work, how difficult choreography is and how much effort actually has to be released to achieve greatness.”

Students also watched productions of the top musicals and plays in the state, chosen to perform at the festival.

Junior Alyx Brooks remarked, “As usual, all of the workshops and plays were wonderful, however, one of my favorite workshops was a lighting workshop that helped me understand the different energies of lighting.”

Many students competed in individual events including sophomore Mesa Jones, junior Mary Gladbach, and senior Grant Coffman in Musical Solo; juniors Daniela Belcuore and Brooklyn Lyons in Musical Duet; and Brooks and Adamson in Duet Acting. The entire troupe competed in late night events including Improvised Acting, Speed Charades, and Creative Costuming.

The FSHS troupe plans to attend the International Thespian Festival at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, June 25-30. Members are working throughout the year to earn the approximately $750 registration fee to attend.