CONTACT: Becky Kellum, Sales and Marketing Director, 620-223-5550
Fort Scott Presbyterian Village’s Art is Ageless®
call for entries underway
FORT SCOTT KAN. – Fort Scott Presbyterian Village has issued a call for entries for the Art is Ageless® juried exhibit to be held March 25- April 10, 2019. Entries of artistic works will be accepted from any area artist who is 65 years of age or older to exhibit and/or compete for an opportunity to be featured in the 2018 Art is Ageless calendar.
Artists may choose to enter the exhibit only. For the competition, works are to have been completed in the past five years (since January 2014). There are nine categories, as well as designations of amateur or professional. Works to be entered for judging need to be at Presbyterian Village by March 25, 2019.
The Art is Ageless® Program encourages Presbyterian Village residents and other area seniors to express their creativity through its annual competition, as well as art classes, musical and dramatic events, educational opportunities and current events discussions throughout the year.
Local competition winners will join winners from 16 other Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America communities to be judged at the systemwide level.
Entry forms and information can be picked up at Fort Scott Presbyterian Village, 2401 South Horton, Fort Scott, or by contacting Becky Kellum at 620-223-5550 or [email protected]. Or go online to ArtIsAgeless.org to view rules, download an entry form or enter online.
Topeka- This morning, the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) approved a partial unanimous settlement agreement negotiated between KCC staff, the Citizens Utility Ratepayer Board (CURB), Kansas Gas Service (KGS) and other intervenors pertaining to the utility’s application to increase rates.
Under the settlement agreement, residential customers will see an increase of $2.40 per month (4.23 percent) on average. That includes an increase in the customer charge from $16.70 to $18.70 per month. The new rates take effect February 6, 2019. The company’s original proposal called for a monthly residential increase of $5.67 or 10 percent. In its application, KGS requested to increase base rates by $45.6 million. The settlement approved today will result in an annual increase of $21.5 million.
One issue yet to be decided is whether KGS will be allowed to keep the tax savings it has accrued since the Federal Tax Cut and Jobs Act took effect. In December 2017, the KCC issued an order requiring investor owned utilities to accrue those savings in an interest bearing regulatory account allowing time to study the economic impacts of the new lower tax rates and where appropriate, pass cost savings on to consumers. KGS asked to retain the accrued savings of $17.9 million to offset its cost of service. Both KCC staff and CURB voiced opposition to the request at an evidentiary hearing in December. The Commission will issue a decision on the tax savings issue on or before February 25.
Connie Golden, age 62, a resident of Ft. Scott, Kansas, passed away Sunday, February 3, 2019, at her home. She was born September 9, 1952, in Cuba, Missouri. She was a loving and devoted mother and grandmother. She enjoyed playing the guitar and drawing.
Survivors include two sons, James Golden Jr. and wife, Virginia and Daniel Golden and wife, Joyce, all of Ft. Scott; and thirteen grandchildren. Also surviving are several brothers and sisters in Missouri. She was preceded in death by her parents and two grandchildren Kelsey and Christian Golden.
Following cremation, Rev. Paul Rooks will conduct a memorial service at 1:30 P.M. Wednesday, February 13th at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Private burial will take place at a later date in the Large Cemetery south of Ft. Scott. Memorials are suggested to the Connie Golden Memorial Fund and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
Shirley Mae Allen, age 72, a resident of Pleasanton, Kansas, passed away Sunday, February 3, 2019, at the Kansas City Hospice House in Kansas City, Missouri. She was born January 8, 1947, in Humboldt, Kansas, the daughter of Claude Pollett and Dorothy Heimburg Pollett. Shirley first married Clark Alan Howard. He preceded her in death. She later married J. L. Allen on August 12, 1978, at Iola, Kansas. In earlier years, Shirley had worked in the business office of Mercy Hospital in Ft. Scott and later for Dr. Carney’s office in Iola. She then was employed as a para-professional for the Pleasanton High School. She had attended the Pleasanton Church of the Nazarene. Shirley was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. Taking care of her family was her number one priority. She and J.L. enjoyed attending her children and grandchildren’s sporting events.
Survivors include her husband, J. L. of the home; five children, Dr. Jay Allen (Tana), of Pleasanton, Kansas, Brian Howard (Sherry), of Nevada, Missouri, Kevin Howard (Kristy), Iola, Kansas, Kara Nicole Allen (Steven), of Kansas City, Missouri and Megan Brixey (Chris), of Lee’s Summit, Missouri; a daughter-in-law, Melissa Allen of Jasper, Indiana, five grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. Also surviving are two brothers, Clarence Pollett, of LaHarpe, Kansas and John Pollett, of Iola, Kansas and two sisters, Barbara Beasley, of LaHarpe, Kansas and Nancy Pollet, of Independence, Kansas. She was preceded in death by a son, Chris Allen.
William James Schafer will conduct funeral services at 10:00 A.M. Saturday, February 9th at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Burial will follow in the Evergreen Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to the American Cancer Society and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
Jerrold Clifford (Cliff) Patterson, age 79, of Fort Scott, KS, passed away on Saturday, February 2, 2019, at Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg, KS. He was born on September 21, 1939, in Kirksville, MO, the son of Reece Jerrold and Ruth Margaret (Reynolds) Patterson. Cliff married Nancy Jo Smith on December 13, 1958, in her parents’ home in Lawrence, KS. He worked for Hallmark Cards, Ennis Business Forms and Ward-Kraft as well as being an owner/ operator of the Otasco store in Ava, MO. Cliff enjoyed flying, sailing, fishing, woodworking and riding his motorcycle. He was active in the Mercy Hospital Auxiliary and the ROMEO Riders motorcycle club until pulmonary fibrosis ended these involvements. At the time of his passing, Cliff attended Diamond Community Church in rural Fort Scott.
Cliff is survived by his wife, Nancy of the home; four daughters, Sharon McGaughey of Pollock Pines, CA; Brenda DeKeno (Don) of Pea Ridge, AR; Deborah Allen (Tim) of Fort Scott, KS; and Laura Soliday of Kansas City, MO. He was the proud grandpa of twelve grandchildren; and the beloved “GGpa” to ten great-grandchildren. Cliff is also survived by a sister, Darlene Radke of Ferndale, WA; and a sister-in-law, Rozann Patterson of Prosser, WA. He was also the much loved uncle of four nephews and one niece. Cliff was proceeded in death by his daughter, Sandy Patterson of Bella Vista, AR; his parents; his brother, Claude Patterson of Kissimmee, FL; his brothers-in-law Robert E. Smith of Kansas City, MO and Elmer Radke of Ferndale, WA.; his nephew, Doug Radke of Bellingham, WA.
Pastor Trevor Jacobs will conduct funeral services at 2:00 PM Sunday, February 10th, at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Burial will take place at 1:00 PM Monday, February 11th, in the Evergreen Cemetery. Family and friends may meet at the Cheney Witt Chapel prior to leaving for the cemetery at 12:45 PM on Monday. Memorials are suggested to CrossPower Agape ministries and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, PO Box 347, 201 S. Main, Fort Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
BCSO Major Bobby Reed in his office at the Bourbon County Law Enforcement Center.
Personnel at the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office have been making available the Daily Intake Roster, including photos of those arrested at the jail.
This public service has been available on the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page since moving into the new jail facility in June 2018. They had provided the service a short time before moving to the jail, in fact.
But it was too time-consuming, said Major Bobby Reed.
“It took one and one-half days of time, so we discontinued,” Reed said.
With the help of the Labette County Sheriff’s Office, BCSO built a system that allows quicker delivery of the information to the public.
In recent days, they have been catching up posting the information from the arrests of October until January.
The Daily Intake Roster includes a photo of the inmate, their name and age, their offenses and bond amount and type.
“We did October, November, December and January (arrests) online in about 45 minutes,” Reed said.
“We’ve had a lot of requests from the community of ‘when is it going to be back up?’,” he said.
“It gets the word out,” Reed said. “The public can like our (Facebook) page and when someone comes in, they can see it.”
“We are only doing them by months, we just ran January 2019, so the next one will come out at the end of February.
On February 1, there were 72 inmates in the BCSO, with 15 Linn County inmates included in that total, Reed said.
Jody Hoenor, Bourbon County Economic Director,and also a member of a member of the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team (HBCAT
Tobacco addiction is being addressed locally.
“Right now Bourbon County has the 4th worst ranking for tobacco use in the state. Tobacco users cost employers $5, 816 in annual excess cost than non-tobacco users (Berman et al, 2014). What strategies have shown to make the largest impact? Counseling and Medication,” according to Jody Hoener. “Thank you to everyone who has signed up for the Tobacco Cessation Specialist Training, all free spots are filled, but you are still welcome to register to attend and we can invoice you the cost, $950. Other research and resources can be found through the Partners in Quitting Program and KANQUIT!”
“Based on last week’s Workwell KS Workshop on Tobacco Cessation, held at the Empress Event Center, we will see two more worksites implementing tobacco-free policies in addition to Peerless and FSCC. Please let me know if you are interested in making this policy change and we can send you a template and work with you through the process.”
Graphic provided by Hoener.
The following is a press release from Hoener.
In 2018, The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team (HBCAT) conducted a survey to examine the perceptions of Bourbon County community members about the issues of healthy eating, active living, and tobacco cessation.
The survey was a part of the Pathways to a Healthy Kansas grant that was received by the HBCAT in coordination with Mercy Hospital and the City of Fort Scott.
Pathways is a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas initiative.
HBCAT thanks the 244 community members who took the time to complete the survey. Here are a few key findings from the survey results.
Tobacco Free Policies: Most survey respondents support tobacco-free policies in local parks, school grounds, and worksites.
Action being taken: Research shows the two most important factors to tobacco cessation is medication and counseling. The HBCAT will work with worksites, local healthcare, schools, and community policy to encourage evidence-based solutions and promote healthy environments.
Finding #2: Almost 80 percent of respondents didn’t think that our community had adequate street lighting for walking at night.
Action being taken: Through our schools, worksites, and community policy pathways we are working to improve access to outdoor recreation. Formal assessments have been completed, and planning is in place to apply for funding to implement strategies at several locations throughout the community to encourage safe non-motorized transportation and physical activity.
Finding #3: Almost 80 percent of respondents are familiar with the U.S. recommendations for adult fruit and vegetable consumption but less than half of them reported meeting those guidelines.
Action being taken: The HBCAT spearheaded the inception of the Bourbon County Food Alliance and that alliance is instrumental in our work, “The Bourbon County Food Alliance is focusing on supporting the Farmers Market and looking for opportunities to increase patrons and vendors,” Robert Uhler, City of Fort Scott Community Development Director.
For more information about the survey or the Pathways initiative, contact: Jody Hoener, (620)215-5725 or at [email protected] Find us on Facebook or Twitter at @Healthybbco 0
2019 Kansas Renewable Energy Conference will Take Place this October
Topeka, Kan. – The 2019 Kansas Renewable Energy Conference is looking for speakers.
The conference is an annual event featuring the latest trends and developments in the renewable energy industry sector within Kansas and across the U.S. This is an opportunity for innovative speakers to educate about changing trends and new advancements in their industry. Attendees will include industry experts, wind and solar developers, manufacturers, utilities, community leaders, and related business representatives.
Topics of Interest:
• Wind
• Community/public sector initiatives
• Solar
• Transportation
• Biofuels
• Energy Storage
• Energy Efficiency
• Green Energy
• Economic Impact
• Transmission
The event will take place at the Hilton Garden Inn, Manhattan on October 3-4.
Those wishing to be speakers must submit their topic of choice by March 1, 2019.
The Quarterly Downtown Meet & Greets are hosted by the Chamber for downtown business owners, representatives and any community members to attend to network and share ideas on events, promotions and anything related to downtown!
