Wesley Allan Gress, 68, of Fort Scott, passed away late Sunday night July 19, 2020, at Via Christi Ascension in Fort Scott, Kansas. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home.
Obituary of Claudia Maberry
Claudia Marie Maberry, a former resident of Fort Scott, died July 17, 2020 (one day after her 96th birthday) in Vaiden Community Living Center, Vaiden, Mississippi).
She was born July 16, 1924, the daughter of Roy Francis Kennedy and Anna Maria Fagerberg Kennedy, in Fort Scott. She attended Fort Scott schools, graduating with the senior class of 1941. She then attended Fort Scott Junior College briefly.
She married Oscar C. Maberry of Garland, Kansas on April 5, 1946. They would have celebrated their 58th anniversary six days after Oscar’s death on March 30, 2004.
Claudia’s first job was at the local ice cream parlor. She then opened and managed Elmer Pargen’s first restaurant before going to work as a seamstress for Key Work Clothes for several years.
Claudia’s most important and valued positions in life were that of devoted wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend. She was an active, member of the now-closed First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, for 58 years. She was, also, a member of the Builder’s Class, Anna Bender Guild, and served as a board member and deaconess and could be found frequently working in the kitchen preparing meals for various church events. Claudia was proud to be a charter member of Starlite FCE and continued her membership throughout her life.
Claudia moved to Madison, MS in December 2016, to live with her daughter and son-in-law.
Claudia was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, one brother, Earl R. Kennedy, and one sister, Elizabeth (Betty) Lee Clinkenbeard.
Survivors include her daughter, Cheryl Blacklidge and husband Robert of Madison, MS, one grandson, Brandon Blacklidge of Madison, MS., and a much loved niece, Shirley Marie Freeman of Kansas City, Kansas and her children Kenny Wilson, and family, and Kimberlee McCannon, and family. Other survivors include a niece, Amy Kennedy, and family, of Portland, Oregon, and two nephews, Jeff Kennedy, and family of Portland, Oregon, and David Kennedy, and family, of Salem, Oregon. She is also survived by one first cousin, Ron Wood and wife Barbara of Fort Scott.
Rev. Reed Hartford will officiate graveside services 10:00 a.m. Saturday, July 25, 2020, at Evergreen Cemetery under the direction of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Evergreen Cemetery. Contributions may be mailed or dropped off at Evergreen Cemetery 914 215th St., Fort Scott, Kansas 666701, or Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home 15 West Wall St. Fort Scott, Kansas. 66701. Condolences may be submitted to the online guest book at konantz-cheney.com.
Shaunn Pytlowany: Candidate for Bourbon County Treasurer, Candidate Forum Is TODAY
This is part of a series of features on the candidates running for offices in Bourbon County. The Bourbon County Primary Election will be held, Tuesday, August 4, 2020.
Today, July 20, is the candidate forum at Ellis Fine Arts Center, on the campus of Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for a meet and greet with candidates. The forum starts at 6 p.m. in the order of federal, state, then local candidates.
Shaunn Pytlowany, 49, is a candidate for Bourbon County Treasurer.
He graduated from LaVista High School, Fullerton CA. He was a graduate and graduate assistant of Dale Carnegie training, a General Motors Mark of Excellence award winner, business management and financial training through Toyota, Ford, General Motors, Dodge.
” Professionally I have over 19 years experience in leadership and team building,” Pytlowany said. ” I’ve been a successful local business owner since 2006. Also, being that I’ve lived and have been active in the community for 26 years it’s given me the opportunity to develop strong working relationships with city and county officials.”
” If elected my past experience in the automotive industry along with operating a business would be a benefit,” he said. “From inventory control, building and developing teams, and expense management.”
What would be your day one priority if elected?
“Analyze the current structure in the office,” he said. “Are the correct people in the correct positions? Develop a plan to increase the amount of daily transactions that are currently processed during the pandemic. Keep the office on budget by reducing the amount of times an outside auditor is needed in turn saving the taxpayers money.”
The following is information provided on the Bourbon County Kansas website.
Not sure if you’re registered to vote or where to vote?
You may register to vote online, through the Kansas Secretary of State’s website.
Check your voter registration status, the location of your polling place and view a sample ballot at VoterView by the Secretary of State.
Advance Voting is available prior to each election. You may advance vote in one of two ways: By mail, by filing an application for a ballot to be mailed to you OR in-person, beginning at least one week prior to any election.
Breann Eden: New Winfield Scott Elementary Art Teacher
Breann Eden, 33, is the new Winfield Scott Elementary School art teacher.
Eden has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Teaching with an emphasis in Art Education, and four years teaching experience.
“This will be my fifth-year teaching,” she said. “I started my teaching career with Nevada R-5 School District in Nevada, Missouri. I was the art teacher at the elementary level(K-2) for two years and secondary level(6-8) for two years.”
She is a Fort Scott native, the oldest daughter of David and Jara Martin, and is married to a Jon Eden, who has a daughter, Kenlee Eden.
“Jon and I are awaiting the arrival of our first child together, due July 27th,” she said.
Eden has been involved with several organizations in Fort Scott.
“I am involved in the Bourbon County Arts Council and 2nd Story Arts Festival and I attend Community Christian Church,” Eden said.
“In my free time, you will find me spending time with my family, working on my house with my husband or creating art.”
How did you become an educator?
“After graduating from college, I worked for a non-profit that offered support to families with teenagers. From there I began my master of arts in teaching and worked as a social worker. With these experiences, I fell in love with working with children, so I became an art teacher.”
Is there someone who inspired you to teach?
“The children I worked with in my past employment experiences have inspired me to become a teacher.”
What is the best part of teaching for you?
“The best part of teaching art is providing opportunities for children to explore their creativity and think critically. I have enjoyed watching students develop their own ideas and then execute them through problem-solving and planning.”
What are the greatest challenges?
“My greatest challenge is finding time to be creative and to do all the things with my students and for my students that I want to do!”
Bourbon County Has 59 COVID 19 Cases
SEK Multi-County Health Departments
Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, and Woodson Counties
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update
July 20, 2020
Allen County
| Current Positive Cases | 5 |
| Total Hospitalizations | 2 |
| Current Recovered Cases | 5 |
| Total Positives Since Testing | 10-1 removed-out of state and to remain there |
| Deaths | 0 |
Anderson County
| Current Positive Cases | 6 |
| Total Hospitalizations | 0 |
| Current Recovered Cases | 18 |
| Total Positives Since Testing | 24 |
| Deaths | 0 |
Bourbon County
Woodson County
| Current Positive Cases | 1 |
| Total Hospitalizations | 1-0 remaining in hospital |
| Current Recovered Cases | 10 |
| Total Positives Since Testing | 11 |
| Deaths | 0 |
Recovered cases are based on dates of onset of symptoms, not on day testing results are received.
The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Daily Reports July 20
The Fort Scott Police Department Daily Reports July 17-18
Staying Mentally Sharp
Most older people can remain intellectually sharp late into their lives, but doing so requires two things. First, believe in your ability to maintain mental alertness and remain optimistic and confident that you can. Next, regularly exercise your mental talents just as you need to exercise your body to stay in peak physical condition.
One of the greatest fears of many older people is the loss of mental competence. Although obviously a possibility for some, both middle-agers and elders often worry excessively about this occurring.
Besides being nerve-racking, the worrying can encourage the very behavior we fear: We believe we are becoming forgetful and then point to perfectly natural lapses in memory as proof that senility is setting in. Thus, too often, our fear of mental decline becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, sometimes at a surprisingly early age. Guard against this tendency both in yourself and among your friends and family.
As we grow older, we show some decline in what is called “explicit memory.” For example, you want to remember a name or fact, and try as you might, the memory refuses to come on demand. Also, with advanced age, distractions can be more of a problem, and the speed of processing information slows. Other kinds of memory show little or no decline with age.
Some of this process has to do with the learning processes that work best for us. If we are a visual learner, for example, then those things we see will stick with us better. If our preferred learning style is through auditory processes, then we may have a greater need to hear things to retain them. We need to remember that we have to learn something before we can remember it. When it comes to recalling names, for example, if we have never been good at remembering names, then we shouldn’t be hard on ourselves if we don’t remember them well in older age.
With frequent use and practice, older persons can significantly improve their cognitive functioning. Activities such as reading, word games and stimulating conversations aid our mental abilities.
Take one day at a time, expect the best, stretch yourself to achieve it, and appreciate the gift of a good mind. Remember that most of us are capable of far more than we realize.
Contact Barbara Stockebrand at the Yates Center Southwind Extension District Office at 620-625-8620 for more resources on keeping your mind sharp.
Come Hell or High Water
There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.” Proverbs 19:21
Several years ago, a severe rainstorm turned a peaceful town into a flooded disaster area. The local newspaper editor set out in a rowboat to cover the story in detail. As she paddled down a stream that had been one of the town’s residential streets, she noticed a woman sitting on the roof of a house.
The newspaper editor paddled to the edge of the roof, tied up her boat, climbed out, and sat down next to the woman. She thought that a woman sitting alone on her roof would make a great story. So, she took out a pen and paper. Before she could ask the woman a question, she saw a hat floating downstream with the current. When the hat reached the far side of the house, it made a complete u-turn and floated upstream to the other end of the house. Then the hat made another u-turn and floated downstream again until it reached the far side of the house where it turned again and floated upstream to the other end of the house. The hat did this time after time.
The reporter was bewildered. She turned to the woman and asked, “Do you have any idea what that hat is doing out there in front of your house?” She said, “Yes. That hat is on my husband’s head. He said that ‘come hell or high water’ he was going to mow the lawn today.”
The point is: Sometimes we stubbornly cling to our plans instead of letting go and letting God have control. We often ignore things that are important and continue to focus on the trivial. The flood rises to the rooftop, but we go on mowing the lawn.
You probably started 2020 with big plans. You had dreams of a year that had nothing to do with a global pandemic. Then March came and you had to change your plans.
Personally, I am very discouraged as we pass the year’s halfway mark. It seems nothing has gone right. Government bureaucrats, who can’t even fix the streets and sidewalks, have suddenly become health experts. They tell us it is healthy to gather in mass to protest, but it is unhealthy to gather in mass for church. They tell us that it is a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion, but I have no choice but to wear a mask. They let prisoners out of jail for fear of them catching COVID-19, but threaten to put Christians in jail if they sing in church. What is right is wrong and what is wrong is right. Nothing makes sense. It seems as if the world is spinning out of control.
But God is in control. The Bible says that there are many devices (or plans) in a man’s heart, but God’s purposes prevail (Proverbs 19:21). What are God’s purposes in this global havoc? Perhaps God wants us to forget about ourselves and focus on things that truly matter.
How long has it been since you… Took the time to go see someone who lives alone? Wrote an email to someone who crossed your mind? Spent more time in God’s book than on Facebook? Shared your faith? Offered forgiveness? Told someone that you loved them?
I suppose that I could stubbornly continue to be discouraged about the world situation. But instead, I think, I am going to let go and let God. Even in all this madness, I am going to look for ways to serve Him.
Come hell or high water.
James Collins is senior pastor of Fort Scott’s First Southern Baptist Church. Follow him on Twitter @collins_point, Facebook James Collins “The Point Is,” or at the website thepointis.net.
Kansas Office of Recovery Announces CARES Funds
Governor Kelly Announces the Transfer of Direct Aid Funds to Kansas Counties
$400 Million from the CARES Act – Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF)
TOPEKA—Governor Laura Kelly today announced the Office of Recovery’s disbursement of CARES Act funds to Kansas counties.
As part of her administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Kelly is directing resources to county officials and local administrators to cover COVID-19 expenses for communities across Kansas.
“We are putting these funds directly into the hands of our county governments and offering them the flexibility to direct the money in ways that are specific to their community needs,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Keeping our economy open and prioritizing the health and safety of Kansans is our goal, and these funds will relieve some of the burden Kansans are facing.”
Governor Kelly’s SPARK Taskforce and Office of Recovery have been assessing statewide needs for the second and third rounds of CRF investments.
Following the guidance of the U.S. Treasury to deliver funds fairly, timely, and effectually, $400 million of the State’s CRF allocation was distributed to local governments yesterday.
County governments can use the funds for reimbursement of the unbudgeted costs of expenditures incurred due to COVID-19. Additionally, county governments will be able to spend the remaining amount of their allotment by submitting a direct aid plan to the Office of Recovery by August 15, 2020. The direct aid plan allows counties to prepare for any possible increase in COVID-19 cases in the future.
The Office of Recovery has provided county officials with webinars, templates, and other resources to assist them in their direct aid plan preparations. Counties that do not submit direct aid plans will be required to return funds to the State.
“The SPARK Taskforce continues to address the needs of the people of Kansas,” Office of Recovery Executive Director Cheryl Harrison-Lee said. “Their expertise is invaluable as the Office of Recovery readies itself for the arduous task of administering and supporting this undertaking.”
The SPARK Taskforce will meet next week to hear SPARK Agency Work Group proposals for the statewide investment of Round II CRF dollars. The SPARK Steering Committee will convene on Monday, July 20, at 1:00 p.m. to review proposals. The SPARK Executive Committee will convene on Wednesday, July 22, at 11:00 a.m. to approve items for the State Finance Council’s review and final passage.
More information about the SPARK Taskforce and the tools provided to counties can be found at covid.ks.gov/spark-recovery-office/.
Statewide Nursing Facility Surveys Ahead of Deadline
KDADS Completes Statewide Nursing Facility Surveys Ahead of Federal Deadline;
Positioned for additional federal CARES Act funding*
TOPEKA – Secretary Laura Howard announced today the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) has completed focused infection control surveys (FICS) in all federally certified nursing facilities in the state as required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) more than two weeks ahead of the deadline set by the federal agency.
On March 4, 2020, CMS suspended non-emergency surveys of nursing facilities and redirected states to conduct FICS, immediate jeopardy complaints and allegations of abuse and neglect. That directive was followed June 1, 2020 by the release of CMS document QSO-20-31-All that requires states to complete 100% of FICS by July 31, 2020 to maintain full FY 2021 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act allocations. KDADS reached the July 31 mandate more than 2 weeks ahead of the deadline, ensuring the state will continue to receive its complete share of CARES funds to protect these vulnerable populations.
Since the March 4 directive was received from CMS, 57 full-time KDADS surveyors with support from contractor Healthcare Management Solutions, have completed surveys in all of the state’s 326 certified, licensed facilities. QSO-20-29-NH All outlines specific enforcement actions for infection control citations facilities are subject to based on inspection results. To date, surveyors have:
- Completed 326 FICS
- Completed 90 Immediate Jeopardy (IJ) complaint investigations
- Written 26 IJ citations
- Written 39 infection control citations at D, E and F Level (citations at these levels could lead to financial penalty or require follow-up action(s) from the nursing facility; Health Inspection Score: Weights for Different Types of Deficiencies)
- Written 16 IJ level infection control citations (citations at these levels could lead to financial penalty or require follow-up action(s) from the nursing facility; Health Inspection Score: Weights for Different Types of Deficiencies)
- Zero facilities not in compliance with QSO-20-31-ALL
“Since the pandemic started, KDADS surveyors have been on the frontlines conducting in-person inspections and investigations and have been essential to our successful compliance with federal directives that address the safety of Kansans in nursing facilities and the staff who care for them,” Secretary Howard said. “Reaching the 100% requirement early is a reflection of the hard work of our dedicated team of surveyors.”
To help track COVID-19 and its impact on nursing facilities across the state and to inform the public, KDADS has developed an online resource page that contains detailed information including FICS completed and infection control citations issued, reopening guidance, facilities reporting COVID-19 cases by county, and Kansas-facility specific data from CMS. Visit https://kdads.ks.gov/covid-19/adult-care-home-covid-19-data.
*States that have not completed 100% of their FICS by July 31, 2020 will be required to submit a corrective action plan to CMS outlining a strategy for completion within 30 days. If, after the 30-day period, states have not achieved 100% compliance, CARES Act FY2021 allocation may be reduced up to10%. Subsequent 30-day extensions could result in additional reductions to 5%. These funds will be redistributed to states that completed 100% of their FICS by July 31.
For more information on COVID-19, please visit the KDHE website at www.kdhe.ks.gov/coronavirus.
The Fort Scott Police Department Daily Reports July 14-16
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