Wylma Campbell, age 96, of Fort Scott, Kansas, passed away Thursday, February 1, 2018, at the Hospice of the Valley, Eckstin Center in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Services will be held at 1:00 pm Friday, February 9, 2018, at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Burial will be in the U.S. National Cemetery, Fort Scott, Kansas. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
Mary Ann Hurd, 85, of Mapleton, Kansas, passed away, Thursday evening, January 25, 2018, at the Windsor Place Nursing Home in Coffeyville, Kansas.
She was born March 10, 1932, in Harding, Kansas the daughter of William Christopher and Grace Lee Wagener.
She is survived by her niece, Alice Myrick, of Mapleton, Kansas, and two brothers, Carl Wagener of Cottageville, South Carolina, and Lee Roy Wagener, of Mapleton, Kansas.
Following cremation, private family services will be held at a later date and are under the direction of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home. Condolences may be submitted to the online guestbook at konantz-cheney.com.
Ella Louise Greenfield, 58, of Fort Scott, passed away late Wednesday evening, January 31, 2018, at Mercy Hospital. She was born November 14, 1959, in Fort Scott, Kansas, the daughter of John Calvin and Rachel Elinor (Hord) Greenfield.
Ella is survived by her children, Scarlett “Pete” Greenfield of Pittsburg, Kansas, and John Greenfield, of Fort Scott; nine brothers and sisters, John C. Greenfield, Kathie Wilson, Kurt Greenfield, Paul Greenfield, Cindy Jones, Brian Greenfield, Tracy Saker, and Karl Greenfield; and two grandchildren, and one more on the way. She was preceded in death by her father, and a sister, Cheryl Bagnall.
Following cremation, memorial services will be held 1:00 p.m. Saturday, February 10, 2018, at the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home, 15 W. Wall Street, PO Box 309, Fort Scott, KS 66701. Condolences may be submitted to the online guestbook at konantz-cheney.com.
Many people don’t realize they may be at risk for heart disease, so Mercy is making it easier to identify certain conditions by offering low-cost screenings.
“Before symptoms appear, people should consider a screening to evaluate their risk for cardiovascular disease if they are over age 45 with a family history of heart disease, high blood pressure or cholesterol, smoking or other risk factors,” said Christi Keating, executive director of nursing at Mercy Hospital Fort Scott. “Other risk factors include diabetes, peripheral vascular disease and having a more-than-ideal body weight.”
Mercy Fort Scott offers low-cost heart and vascular screening year-round, but since heart health seems to be top-of-mind during February, now is the perfect time to get a screening. The screenings help identify factors that may lead to stroke, aneurysm, cardiovascular disease or other serious conditions.
A variety of screenings are available starting at only $50. Insurance will not be billed for the screenings and payment is due at time of service.
The $50 calcium heart screening is a simple CT scan of your heart to detect calcium build-up in your arteries – an indication of heart disease. The $99 vascular screening package includes three non-invasive tests on your carotid arteries, your abdomen, and your legs. The tests help identify problems to reduce your risk of heart disease, heart attack, stroke, and aneurysm.
Patients may choose both screening packages for $149. A physician order is not necessary and no special preparation is needed before either screening package.
Screenings are available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday at Mercy Hospital Fort Scott.
To schedule your screening online, visit mercy.net/FortScottHearts or call 620-223-7015.
Mercy, named one of the top five large U.S. health systems in 2017 by Truven, an IBM Watson Health company, serves millions annually. Mercy includes 44 acute care and specialty (heart, children’s, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, more than 700 physician practices and outpatient facilities, 40,000 co-workers and more than 2,000 Mercy Clinic physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Mercy also has outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
Donald Dale Simpson, age 90, a resident of rural Garland, Kansas, passed away early Saturday, February 3, 2018, at the Country Place Assisted Living facility in Ft. Scott, Kansas.
He was born March 16, 1927, in Ft. Scott, the son of Maurice Simpson and Nina Alice McPheron Simpson. Don attended Fort Scott schools. He served in the United States Army from 1945 to 1947 where he was stationed in Italy. He married Charlene Mason on December 22, 1954.
Don farmed and raised cattle on the family farm near Garland for the remainder of his life. Don loved his life on the farm and enjoyed making things grow. He especially enjoyed tending to his strawberries and gladiolus. He also liked to collect arrowheads and toy tractors. In earlier years, he liked to do woodworking.
Survivors include his three sons, Mason (Paula), Scott (Becky), Brady (Patty), all of Ft. Scott and his daughter, Lisa Ireland (Lanny), of Stewartsville, Missouri; ten grandchildren, twenty great-grandchildren, and nine great-great-grandchildren.
His wife, Charlene, preceded him in death on November 27, 2017.
Pastor Lela Simpson will conduct funeral services at 11:30 A.M. Thursday, February 8 at the Cheney Witt Chapel.
Burial will follow in the U. S. National Cemetery where military honors will be provided by the Olson Frary Burkhart Post #1165 Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Memorials are suggested to the charity of the donor’s choice and may be left in the 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.
The following are highlights of the agenda for the Fort Scott City Commission to be held at 6 p.m. Feb. 6. at city hall, 123 S. Main.
1. Resolution 4-2018 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Dangerous and Unsafe Structure and accessory structure located at 1523 E. Wall Street – Public Hearing Date – 3/20/2018 – 6:15 p.m.
Resolution 5-2018 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Dangerous and Unsafe Structure and Accessory Structure located at 1601 E. Wall Street – Public Hearing Date – 3/20/2018 – 6:15 p.m.
Resolution 6-2018 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Dangerous and Unsafe Structure and Accessory Structure located at 13 N. Holbrook Street – Public Hearing Date – 3/20/2018 – 6:15 p.m.
Resolution 7-2018 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Dangerous and Unsafe Structure located at 523 S. Main Street – Public Hearing Date – 3/20/2018 – 6:15 p.m.
Resolution 8-2018 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Dangerous and Unsafe Structure located at 108 W. Oak Street – Public Hearing Date – 3/20/2018 – 6:15 p.m.
Resolution 9-2018 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Dangerous and Unsafe Structure and Accessory Structure located at 309 S. Lowman Street – Public Hearing Date – 3/20/2018 – 6:15 p.m.
Items to be considered by the commission:
Consideration to approve KDOT Form TRF 3 – Closeout of Downtown Brick Street and Sidewalk Replacement Project in 2010
Consideration of increase in Woodland Hills Golf Course fees and change in membership renewal dates
Paul Ballou with Rhonda Dunn will give an update on the Stout Building.
To see the full agenda which includes minutes and financials click here:
Consistent with its recent statements, Westar Energy (NYSE: WR) today asked the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) to update its prices for the new lower federal tax rate, which will save customers about $74 million per year.
Westar’s request also included $11 million of initial savings in contemplation of its proposed merger with Great Plains Energy and $29 million in savings achieved from refinancing debt. These $114 million in savings offset costs related to the recently added Western Plains wind farm, depreciation, and other expenses.
All told, these adjustments will reduce prices by about $2 million in September, when the KCC’s decision is due.
In early 2019, credits that reduced customer prices for about 10 years will expire, and Westar has asked to adjust prices for those changes at that time. “Westar Energy is pleased to ask the KCC to reflect in our prices the benefit of federal tax savings,” said Mark Ruelle, president, and chief executive officer. “It’s important that our prices reflect the actual cost of serving customers.”
Renewable energy expansion Included in Westar Energy’s rate update are costs for the new 280 megawatts Western Plains wind farm, required updates for depreciation costs, and, later, adjustments related to ending renewable energy federal tax credits and an expiring wholesale contract.
Western Plains wind farm, near Spearville, Kan., has been in service, reducing customers’ fuel costs for a year, but the costs of the new renewable energy center are not yet reflected in customer prices.
Over the wind farm’s 20-year life, the fuel savings are expected to exceed the cost of the wind farm by about $70 million.
“About a third of the electricity we supply to our retail customers now comes from renewables – notably, Kansas wind farms,” said Ruelle. “Clean Kansas energy is affordable, bringing Kansas to third in the nation for wind energy.”
The KCC requires companies it regulates to produce a study every five to seven years updating the depreciation costs that should be included in prices. Changes to depreciation costs account for $56 million of the request, but as noted, are more than offset by other decreases. These periodic updates are to ensure that customers who are paying for investments are also those who benefit from those same investments. If a depreciation period is set too short or long, customers today could pay too much or too little toward the cost of those assets.
Updating prices for lower taxes, anticipated merger savings, and interest savings, along with recognizing the costs for the new wind farm, increased depreciation costs and other adjustments results in a planned net price decrease of about $2 million that would be effective with the KCC’s decision in September.
Westar’s application also includes adjustments to reflect the expiration of government and wholesale customer credits that have been reducing customer bills during the past decade but will soon expire.
In early 2019, Westar Energy’s first wind farms will reach 10 years of service. At that time, federal production tax credits will expire. Westar also sells electricity to Kansas electric cooperatives, with gains on those wholesale sales used to reduce costs for its retail customers.
One of those long-term contracts, and the associated benefits, also expires in January 2019.
Current wholesale electricity markets no longer provide the same opportunity to capture such credits for customers. Recognizing the expiration of these benefits would result in a subsequent price increase of about $54 million to be implemented February 2019.
Together, early next year, the two adjustments combined would increase prices by about $52.6 million or 2.6 percent.
Two-thirds of Westar’s residential customers use a monthly average of 900 kWh or less, so their average monthly increase would be about $5.90 or less when both the rate reduction and the subsequent rate increase are implemented.
The KCC is the state’s regulatory body that oversees this process and sets Westar Energy’s prices.
Regulators will take eight months to review, audit and evaluate Westar’s request to ensure that prices reflect appropriate costs of providing electricity.
Visit at http://www.WestarEnergy.com.
For more information:
Westar, KCP&L: Kansans to Benefit from Federal Tax Cuts
Kansas youth were given the opportunity to create artwork depicting the theme “New Faces, New Neighbors”.
Fort Scott National Historic Site is exhibiting the youth artwork in the building west of the visitors center.
The winter hours of the fort, from November 1 to March 1, are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The fort is located at the north end of downtown Fort Scott on Old Fort Boulevard.
For more information: 620.223-0310
For more information, click here:
“New Faces, New Neighbors” Textile Art Display
In addition to the above exhibit, while at the Fort view the excellent exhibit “The Fight Over Freedom”, adjacent to the youth exhibit.
The following are photos from that exhibit.
Mercy Hospital Fort Scott and Peerless Products Inc. are collaborating to tackle diabetes in our community.
Approximately 15 employees are taking advantage of the pilot program at Peerless presented by Mercy employees, with meetings set each Friday for one hour.
Peerless management gives the employees the time to attend during their workday and pays the fee of those who choose to participate in the diabetes prevention program, according to Cindy Davis, Director of Health and Wellness at Peerless.
The pilot program runs for one year. Classes meet for one hour, once a week, for the first six months, and then decreases in frequency to monthly maintenance sessions, according to a press release from Jody Hoener, Mercy Clinic Quality and Community Benefit Liaison.
“We welcome the program and support our employees attending, with that health issue,” Davis said, who has been at her job for approximately one month.
The diabetes prevention program, led by Hoener, and Mercy’s Registered Dietician Sherise Beckham, uses an evidence-based approach proven to motivate and support individuals in making practical, real-life, lasting change.
The prevention program is not a diet and is not a well-intended, short-lived weight loss program, it’s a lifestyle change, according to Beckham in the press release.
“We want Peerless Products to be the employer of choice,” Coby Jones, Peerless Products owner said. “We are creating a worksite environment where Peerless is a place where living healthier lifestyles is easier to do,” according to the press release.
The Mercy Diabetes Prevention Program, a new service provided by Mercy Hospital, is funded through a Pathways to a Healthy Kansas grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. It is part of the Center for Disease Control National Diabetes Prevention Program.
The American Medical Association reports the burden of Type 2 Diabetes as substantial with $69 billion in lost productivity and $176 billion in direct medical costs, according to the Mercy press release.
Typically, one in three employees has prediabetes, and it is a reversible condition.
Working outside of hospital walls, Mercy is taking steps to improve the culture of health and wellness through The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, with grant funds provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas through its Pathways to a Healthy Kansas initiative, according to the press release.
Bourbon County was selected as one of the first eight Pathways communities in 2016, according to the press release.
Mercy is building relationships with many community stakeholders through the Pathways to a Healthy Kansas initiative.
The Mercy Diabetes Prevention Program is part of the community-wide initiative to implement policy and environmental change in order to improve the quality of life, encourage economic development, increase awareness and community engagement in leading healthy lifestyles, and support tobacco-free living.
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce will have a ribbon cutting as part of Fort Scott Community College John Deere Tech Program Grand Opening and Open House Friday, February 9, 2018
at 12:00 pm at 2223 S. Horton Street.
The public is invited to tour the new FSCC John Deere facilities prior to the ceremony from 8:00 am to 11:00 am, with lunch being served at 11:30 am. The remarks and ribbon cutting will take place at 12:00 pm. All are invited to the open house, lunch, and ribbon cutting.
For more information contact the Chamber at 620-223-3566 or call Kent Aikin 620.223.2700 ext. 5371 or Dale Griffiths at 620.223.2700 ext. 5372.
