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Chamber Golf Classic 4-Person Scramble July 26
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The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Daily Reports July 3
FSNHS: Public Response Brings Extra Week of Trailblazer Program

Second Week of Trailblazer Program Announced at Fort Scott NHS this Summer!
FORT SCOTT, Kansas: Due to the popularity of Fort Scott National Historic Site’s Trailblazer Program, we are pleased to announce that the program will be repeated for a second week from August 12-16, 2019. It will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 12:00 p.m. each day. The workshop will be the same as the one held the previous week, except that 12 additional children will be able to participate in the program.
Registration is underway. To sign-up, contact Fort Scott National Historic Site at (620) 223-0310 or email [email protected] with your name and phone number. Participants must be between ages 9-12 as of the beginning day of camp. Participants will be sent an informational packet after registration is complete. There is no charge for the day camp. Since space is limited to 12 participants, priority will be given to youth who have not attended before.
During this workshop, children will be introduced to the National Park Service mission of caring for the Nation’s natural and cultural heritage. They will search for treasure in a mock archaeological dig, explore the prairie, and discover methods used to preserve the buildings and artifacts of the fort. The students will engage in living history, be fielded in flag protocol, and will work on a play that they will present at the end of the week. Also, there will be green activities that will teach children how to use our resources wisely.
Fort Scott National Historic Site is a fee free park that offers a glimpse into the growth of our nation. A walk through the fort reveals the significant role it played in the opening of the West, as well as, the Civil War and the strife in the State of Kansas that preceded it. For more information about Fort Scott National Historic Site, please call the park at 620-223-0310, visit us at www.nps.gov/fosc, on Facebook www.facebook.com/FortScottNPS, Twitter www.twitter.com/FortScottNPS, and Instagram www.instagram.com/fortscottnps
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 419 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov, on Facebook www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice, Twitter www.twitter.com/natlparkservice, and YouTube www.youtube.com/nationalparkservice.
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KDR Helps Military Transfer Credentials
Kansas Dept. of Revenue helps current and discharged military transfer valuable credentials
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Revenue is working in partnership with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to help military personnel bridge a possible licensing gap with its Military Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Even Exchange Program. The program is open to current Kansas National Guard, Kansas Reserves, or discharged military personnel who have a valid military CDL credential convert over to a civilian CDL.
“We recognize our military men and women with a CDL acquired during their service are valuable to the Kansas workforce,” Department of Revenue Secretary Mark Burghart said. “The safety training received during service goes above and beyond the requirements of the civilian CDL and it only makes sense to be part of the Military Even Exchange Program.”
“Kansans serving in the military have been some of the most devoted public servants, with a strong sense of commitment to making our communities, state and nation better,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “It’s important that they have employment opportunities to transition to civilian life in a way best for them and their families. Reintegration programs and the Military Even Exchange CDL Program are among ways we can offer that vital assistance.”
Kansas is the fifth state to be part of this program. Being ahead of other states makes the program valuable to both veterans and businesses needing highly skilled CDL credentialed drivers.
Military personnel discharged with the military credential have up to a year from their discharge date to be eligible for the conversion. If a hazardous materials credential is needed in addition to the CDL, an applicant must take the additional test. All applicants must provide a medical clearance card from an FMCSA certified physician.
For more information about the program, please contact Brian Brunt at 785-213-9157.
Thespians Perform at ITF

FSHS Thespians Perform at International Thespian Festival
A group of Fort Scott High School Thespians spent last week immersed in theatre performance and education at the International Thespian Festival (ITF) at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
Eleven students attended the festival June 24 through 30 with Thespian Troupe Director Angie Bin and parent sponsor Amy Labbe.
Recent FSHS graduate Hunter Adamson performed a monologue as an individual event and received a Superior medal for her highly ranked performance. Adamson qualified for ITF by receiving a Superior rating at the KS Thespian Festival in January.

Mesa Jones, who will be a senior, performed for an audience of 4,500 in the KS All-State Musical “Bring It On!” Jones auditioned for the show last summer and performed at the KS Thespian Festival in January. The musical then qualified to perform at ITF and Jones traveled to Kansas City on June 21 for brush-up rehearsals and a performance in preparation for the ITF performance last Tuesday. Jones also qualified at state to perform her musical solo as an individual event at ITF last week.
Addy Labbe, also an upcoming senior, and Jones auditioned for theatre programs in colleges all across the United States by performing a 90-second musical solo selection. Jones also participated in a college dance audition. Both students received call-backs from many colleges and spent several days interviewing with theatre program representatives from a variety of schools.
Throughout the week, students attended numerous workshops on a wide variety of subjects. Some favorites included classes on clowning, character development, juggling, playwrighting, costuming and set design, and stage combat.
Many of the workshops were taught by professional Broadway and television actors and designers and professional playwrights.
Three FSHS students participated in a special Leadership workshop including Adamson, a 2018 State Thespian Officer; Jones, a current State Thespian Officer; and upcoming junior Ashanti Green, a State Thespian Representative.
The thespians also watched multiple productions each day including musicals, plays, one-act plays, and individual events. Some highlights included seeing multiple shows from Kansas schools with actors that the FSHS students have become friends with over the years. In all, KS Thespians performed three mainstage shows, an opening show number, and had two students who served as International Thespian Officers this year, and two KS Thespians elected as international officers for next year.
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Ribbon Cutting for Express Employment Professionals July 9
Been To Lyon State Fishing Lake Recently?
ZEBRA MUSSELS FOUND IN LYON STATE FISHING LAKE
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) has confirmed the presence of invasive zebra mussels in Lyon State Fishing Lake in Lyon County. Routine samples collected by KDWPT Aquatic Nuisance Species staff to detect zebra mussels were found to contain zebra mussel larvae (also called veligers). Upon finding the veligers, staff returned to the lake and located an established population of adult zebra mussels. Similar sampling is conducted by KDWPT at more than 100 waterbodies across the state.
The 135-acre lake is located 12 miles north and two miles east of Emporia on Rd 270. Lyon State Fishing Lake is owned and operated by KDWPT. The lake and surrounding wildlife area are popular destinations for fishing, hunting, hiking, and a variety of other outdoor-related activities.
While the zebra mussel population is currently small, there is no known method to completely rid a lake of this invasive species. The zebra mussels were likely introduced by “hitchhiking” with un-suspecting lake-goers. Adults are able to attach to boats or other equipment and the microscopic zebra mussel veligers may be present in any water originating from an infested lake or stream. Densities as high as 1,000 veligers per gallon have been recorded in Kansas waters.
“This is the first new population of zebra mussels found in the state in 18 months, which is the longest period of time between new lake infestations since 2006. While it is unfortunate that zebra mussels have been spread to a new lake, I remain hopeful that these occurrences will be less frequent as more people have become aware of zebra mussels, their impacts, and how to prevent moving them,” said Chris Steffen, aquatic nuisance species coordinator for KDWPT.
Lyon State Fishing Lake will be added to the list of ANS-designated waters in Kansas, and notices will be posted at various locations around the waterbody. Live fish may not be transported from ANS-designated waters. The sharp-shelled zebra mussels attach to solid objects, so lake-goers should be careful when handling mussel-encrusted objects and when grabbing an underwater object when they can’t see what their hands may be grasping. Visitors should protect their feet when walking on underwater or shoreline rocks.
Zebra mussels are just one of the non-native aquatic species that threaten our waters and native wildlife. After using any body of water, people must remember to follow regulations and precautions that will prevent their spread:
- Clean, drain and dry boats and equipment between uses
- Use wild-caught bait only in the lake or pool where it was caught
- Do not move live fish from waters infested with zebra mussels or other aquatic nuisance species
- Drain livewells and bilges and remove drain plugs from all vessels prior to transport from any Kansas water on a public highway.
For more information about aquatic nuisance species in Kansas, report a possible ANS, or see a list of ANS-designated waters, visit ProtectKSWaters.org.
ABOUT ZEBRA MUSSELS
Zebra mussels are dime-sized mollusks with striped, sharp-edged, two-part shells. They can produce huge populations in a short time and do not require a host fish to reproduce. A large female zebra mussel can produce 1 million eggs, and then fertilized eggs develop into microscopic veligers that are invisible to the naked eye. Veligers drift in the water for at least two weeks before they settle out as young mussels which quickly grow to adult size and reproduce within a few months.
After settling, zebra mussels develop byssal threads that attach their shells to submerged hard surfaces such as rocks, piers, and flooded timber. They also attach to pipes, water intake structures, boat hulls, propellers, and submerged parts of outboard motors. As populations increase, they can clog intake pipes and prevent water treatment and electrical generating plants from drawing water. In 2012, two Kansas communities, Council Grove and Osage City, experienced temporary water shortages from zebra mussel infestations before water intake structures could be cleaned up. Removing large numbers of zebra mussels to ensure adequate water flow can be labor-intensive and costly.
Zebra mussels are native to the Black and Caspian seas of western Asia and eastern Europe and were spread around the world in the ballast water of cargo ships. They were discovered in Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River in 1988 and quickly spread throughout the Great Lakes and other rivers including the Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, Arkansas and Hudson. They were first discovered in Kansas in 2003 at El Dorado Reservoir. Despite public education efforts to alert boaters about the dangers of zebra mussels and how to prevent spreading them, the species continues to show up in new lakes every year. Moving water in boats and bait buckets has been identified as a likely vector.
For information about Lyon State Fishing Lake, visit KSOutdoors.com, click on Fishing, then Where to Fish and select the Northeast region.
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Editors: the attached image depicts an adult zebra mussel collected from Lyon State Fishing Lake. Credit:
Kansas Dept. of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism
Ron Kaufman
Director of Information Services
Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism
1020 S. Kansas Ave., 2nd Fl.
Topeka, KS 66612
Phone 785-296-2870
Fax 785-296-6953
Craw-Kan Taking Orders for Fiber Optic Internet Services
Tax Receipts Increase
State closes out FY 2019 $440.5 million ahead of previous year’s total tax receipts
TOPEKA – The state is closing out Fiscal Year 2019 (FY) at $7.5 billion, or 2.62% above estimates, for total tax collections. This is a $440.5 million increase in tax revenue, compared to FY2018.
In June, the state collected $781.8 million, or 4.36% above the estimate for total tax receipts.
Retail sales tax receipts are 0.45% below monthly estimates, totaling $199.1 million, and are $5.4 million below the same month in 2018. Individual income tax receipts are at $388.0 million, or 12.47% above the estimate of $345.0 million.
“The numbers attributed to the growth in individual income tax receipts for the fiscal year are due to a combination of factors including continued growth, federal and Kansas tax law changes, and non-recurring capital-gain transactions,” Secretary Mark Burghart said. “Sales tax has been fairly flat for the year, decreasing by 0.27% compared to the previous fiscal year.”
To view the report:
12_June_Revenue_FY19_07-01-19_Final




