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Mentoring Program to Support Youth at USD235
USD 235 staff have been working on the details of a mentoring program for the district’s students since August 2019.
On January 15, the school district will implement the program with training for mentors.
Mentors and mentees will meet during the student’s lunch period to eat and talk. There is a conference room available should the mentors/mentees want a little quieter space to talk.
Permission slips will be sent home with students for parents to agree to their child having a mentor.
“Once the forms come back signed, we will begin to match mentors with mentees, and the program will officially be up and running,” Meaghan Russell, one of the TeamMates USD 235 facilitators, said.
“We work with Michael McCambridge out of Greenbush (Education Service Center),” she said.
“We also have an advisory committee consisting of… Mike Reith (JH/HS principal), Vance Eden (elementary principal), Bret Howard (superintendent), Jeanne Camac (JH/, HS counselor), Marty DeWitt (Uniontown Baptist Church pastor), Chad Holt (banker), Sally Johnson (city clerk), Jeff Feagins (HS business teacher and pastor of Marmaton Church),” Russell said.
“The TeamMates Coordinators are out of Nebraska, and they will be here on January 15th to conduct the training,” she said.
The following is an interview with Russell:
What is the purpose of the program?
“The purpose of the program is to build interpersonal skills in our students by having them talk with an adult from the community at lunch once a week. This should not only help to build their communication skills, but also their confidence in talking with adults and having to get to know someone new.”
If one becomes a mentor, what are the expectations?
“Mentors must be 18 years of age, willing to provide three references, able to pass a background check, and willing to attend a one-time, two-hour training. After that, it just comes down to making the commitment to come and eat lunch with a student once a week. We are very much in need of mentors, so if you are someone that has a flexible lunchtime, and you could sit with a student for twenty to thirty minutes once a week, we would love to have you participate! Our students can easily keep you entertained as they are full of stories!”
Who is paying for the program?
“This year, the school has paid the initial fees to get this program started. That money covers the cost of the background checks, training, and all communication and support provided by the TeamMates coordinators and Greenbush.”
Initially, Third Through Fifth Grade
“The TeamMates program recommends third through twelfth grade have mentors and trying to get as many students matched as possible. This program is not intended for a certain demographic of students. Initially, the plan is to begin with third through fifth-grade students, but then add grades as the program grows and expands. Mentors will be matched with the same gender of students, and the matching will be based on interests and hobbies as much as possible. One of the aspects that makes this program special is that all communication between the student and the mentor is to be done through the school.”
Why start a mentoring program?
“When students leave our district, we want them to be as prepared as possible for what lies ahead for them. We may not know what they are going to face, but we do know that relationship will be a part of it. Any skills that they learn from talking with adults will definitely be beneficial to them in the long run. Also, from a social/emotional perspective, we want to ensure that all students have connections to people. Life has ups and downs, and it is nice to have a slightly larger circle of people to help listen to you in good times and in bad. The benefit of going through the TeamMates organization to start this program is that they have already completed the research to successfully implement this in different schools, and they are a great support system to help launch this here at USD 235.”
Mentors are needed for the program.
If interested, go online to www.teammates.org/become-a-mentor or they can contact Russell for more information. Her school email is [email protected] and the school phone is (620)-756-4335.
For more information about this program: www.teammates.org.
TeamMates Mentoring Program began in 1991 with the vision of the University of Nebraska Head Football Coach Tom Osborne and his wife Nancy. Osborne felt that the athletes in his program could make an impact on the middle school students, and twenty-two football players began meeting with middle school students in the Lincoln Public Schools. Of the 22 original mentees, 21 went on to graduate from high school while one left school early to pursue a successful Motocross career. Eighteen of the original mentees also obtained some form of post-secondary education.
The program has changed quite a bit since then. Now thousands of boys and girls across the Midwest are served, and mentors come from all walks of life. One thing, however, remains the same-mentors just have to be there. It’s that simple.
Chamber Hosts Coffee Jan. 9
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Meeting To Oppose Wind Farm Jan. 9
A meeting of area residents in Bourbon and Crawford counties who oppose the Jayhawk Wind Farm development will be held Thursday, January 9, 6;30 pm at Rodeway Inn, Ft Scott, Ks.
On the agenda will be the organization of a formal opposition group, assistance from successful opponents of previous wind farms, and a discussion of potential and political avenues to stop the Jayhawk development.
The meeting is open to the public. Anyone concerned about the impact on their home values and damage to our community’s natural rural vista by the Jayhawk development is urged to attend.
Submitted by Ann Dare
The Fort Scott Police Department Daily Reports Jan. 3-7
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The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Daily Reports Jan. 8
Kansas Whitetail Deer: Record 321 Inches Score
Kansas Bowhunter Takes World-Class Whitetail
WICHITA – Kansas bowhunter, Brian Butcher, 38, harvested a whitetail buck in Chase County last October that he knew was something special. It wasn’t until the buck’s rack was measured by Boone and Crockett Club certified measurers on Friday, Jan. 3 that Butcher confirmed just how special the deer was. Butcher’s whitetail earned an unofficial net non-typical score of 321 3/8 inches. If accepted and verified by the Boone and Crockett Club – an internationally recognized non-profit conservation organization that maintains native North American big game records – the deer Butcher harvested would rank fourth in the world for non-typical whitetail deer. As for the Kansas record books, Butcher’s buck will be the largest non-typical whitetail ever taken, surpassing the current state record for a non-typical whitetail harvested with archery equipment by 57 2/8 inches.
“When I first saw it, I thought it had some branches or grass tangled up in its antlers,” said Butcher. “But when I looked at him with binoculars, I realized it was all antlers.”
Butcher released his arrow when the giant buck was just 25 yards from his treestand and the shot was true. After waiting only 5-10 minutes, Butcher tracked the deer to a spot 50 yards away.
“I had the most opposite feeling of ‘ground shrinkage’ possible,” Butcher said of the big whitetail with 67 scorable points. “I was in complete shock.”
After sharing photos of the buck with friend Brian Crowe, the duo got together and attempted to score the deer.
“We added it up five times because it didn’t make sense,” Butcher laughed. “We had it at 341 inches gross, and 316 inches net.”
According to Boone and Crockett guidelines, the rack could not be officially measured until it had dried for at least 60 days. On January 3, Boone and Crockett measurers Marc Murrell, Newton, and Ken Witt, Burleson, Tex., took on what would become a nearly five-hour-long task of scoring the deer. Murrell and Witt came up with a pending net non-typical score of 321 3/8 inches.
The score sheet and entry materials on Butcher’s buck have been mailed to the Boone and Crockett Club headquarters for verification and acceptance. Because of its high ranking, the rack will be scored again by a panel of measurers at the Boone and Crockett Club’s next awards ceremony in 2022.
If it stands, Butcher’s buck will rank fourth in the world of non-typical whitetails. Boone and Crockett’s top two non-typical whitetails were found dead in Missouri and Ohio and scored 333 7/8 inches and 328 2/8 inches, respectively.
The largest hunter-harvested non-typical whitetail was taken by bowhunter Luke Brewster in Illinois in 2018 and scored 327 7/8 inches.
The current Kansas state record firearm non-typical whitetail was taken in 1987 by Joseph Waters in Shawnee County and scored 280 4/8 inches. The current Kansas state record archery non-typical whitetail was shot by Dale Larson in 1998 in Pottawatomie County and scored 264 1/8 inches.
For more on Kansas big game records, visit ksoutdoors.com/Hunting/What-to-Hunt.
For more on the Boone and Crockett Club, visit www.boone-crockett.org/.
Lake Fort Scott Advisory Board Meets Jan. 11
The Lake Fort Scott Advisory Board will meet on Saturday, January 11th, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. at the City Hall Commission Meeting Room at 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas. This meeting is open to the public.
Obituary of Sharon Price
Sharon A. Price, age 79, passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones at her home in Ft. Scott, KS, on January 5, 2020. She was born in Corning, CA, on September 30, 1940, the daughter of William and Lois Stark Jackson. She married Joe Price in 1957. He preceded her in death on January 21, 2016. Sharon worked at J.C. Penney in Lenexa, KS, until she retired. Sharon enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren, taking them to the swimming pool. She enjoyed crocheting blankets and doll clothes, baking and cooking for holidays and birthdays and having the family with her. Sharon also liked watching cooking shows and loved her some Steve Harvey and Wayne Brady.
Survivors include a daughter, Sarah Riggs and husband James, Ft. Scott; two sons, Joseph Price II and fiancé Patty, Springfield, KS, and Patrick Price, Otisville, NY; two brothers, Steve Jackson, Red Bluff, CA, and Albert Jackson and wife Charlie, Spokane, WA; a sister, Mary Lee Sterwood and husband Skip, WA; one grandson William J.C. “Billy” Gooderl and wife Stacy, Ft. Scott; great grandchildren, Kayla and husband Kyle Purdy, and Cheyenne, Selena, and James “Fred” Gooderl; along with her fur babies Buddy, Abby, Sadie Sue, Gracey, Man 2, Chica, Ralph, Bdog, Reilly, Nina, and lastly Lucey. Also surviving are many nieces and nephews and many family by choice, including Jim and Renee Calovitch, Kristen, Daeshone Bohrn and Doug Bohrn.
Graveside services will be held at 1:30 PM Friday, January 10th, in the Centerville Cemetery, Devon, KS. Services are under the direction of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, Ft. Scott, KS. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
New FSFD Chief: Dave Bruner
Dave Bruner, 46, is the new Fort Scott Fire Department Chief, effective Jan. 6, 2020.
Bruner has worked 25 years fulltime in the FSFD.
“He’s got all the training and certificates he needs for the position,” Fort Scott City Manager Dave Martin, said of Bruner.
“I began with the department as a reserve firefighter in 1992,” he said. “I was hired full time in May of 1994. I was promoted to Lieutenant in 1999, then promoted to Deputy Chief in 2014.”
In addition to numerous firefighter, rescue, and fire officer certifications, Bruner is an Advanced EMT, and hold certifications as a Fire Investigator II, Certified Public Manager (CPM), and Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS).
“I am a member of the MERGe team, Kansas Region VI EMS Council, Fire Marshal’s Association of Kansas, and the Kansas Chapter of International Association of Arson Investigators,” Bruner said.
Bruner received his Associates of Science from Fort Scott Community College in 1994 and also earned a Fire Science Degree from Hutchinson Community College.
He is following in his father’s footsteps.
” My father was a firefighter with the department for five years before taking a full-time position with the National Guard,” Bruner said. “After he left the department, he remained in close contact with many of the members. As a child, I would go to the fire station often with him to visit and over the years developed an interest in the fire service.”
For Bruner, the best thing in being a firefighter is helping people, he said.
Some of the challenges of the job?
“The constant changes in the fire service,” he said. “Changes from equipment, firefighting techniques, as well as rescue and EMS services will always be challenging.”
“The department has worked hard the past few years to update equipment,” he said. ” I want to continue that project in order to have the tools and equipment needed so that our department can continue to operate safely and effectively.”
Bruner has bee married to Michelle for 22 years and has a daughter Kylie, 21, and a son Dylan. 15.
“Michael Miles will be the new deputy chief,” Martin said. “We will find a replacement for Michael as a firefighter.”
Paul Ballou retired as FSFD Chief on Jan. 3.
Free Concert At Common Grounds Jan. 8: Celebrating Elvis’s Birthday
Grab a “cuppa coffee” and a cookie at Common Grounds Coffee Shop and prepare to celebrate Elvis Presley’s birthday on Wednesday, Jan. 8.
A group of area musicians are playing in honor of Presley at Common Ground Coffee Shop, 116 S. Main, at 7:00 p.m.
The “Sounds of Graceland” concert will feature a variety of songs recorded by the young man born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935.
Vernon and Gladys Presley and their 13-year-old son Elvis moved to
Memphis, Tennessee in 1948, and the rest is history.
Featured on vocals are Danny Brown, Bruce Jameson and his son Colton, and more. Rob Hunt and Carolyn Tucker on keyboards, Paul Studyvin and Robert Uhler on drums, guitarist Jerry Bahr, and Randy Brasuell on bass. Sound will be provided by Dave Oas.
The evening will conclude with celebrating the gospel side of Elvis as
vocalists and musicians perform some of his most-popular sacred
recordings.
The free concert is sponsored by the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce.
For more information, contact Ralph Carlson.
