|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
Unified School District 234
424 South Main
Fort Scott, KS 66701-2697
www.usd234.org
620-223-0800 Fax 620-223-2760
DESTRY BROWN
Superintendent
BOARD OF EDUCATION REGULAR MEETING
February 10, 2025 – 5:30 P.M.
AGENDA SUMMARY PUBLIC
1.0 Call Meeting to Order David Stewart, President
2.0 Flag Salute
3.0 Approval of the Official Agenda (Action Item)
4.0 Appoint New Members (Action Item)
5.0 Approval of the Consent Agenda (Action Item)
5.1 Board Minutes
a. 01-13-25
b. 01-20-25
5.2 Financials – Cash Flow Report
5.3 Check Register
5.4 Payroll – January 20, 2025 – $1,682,710.56
5.5 Activity Funds Accounts
5.6 USD 234 Gifts
5.7 UMB Credit Card Agreement
5.8 Zero Reasons Why Fundraising
6.0 Student Recognition
7.0 Leadership Reports (Information/Discussion Item)
7.1 Superintendent’s Report
7.2 Assistant Superintendent’s Report
7.3 Special Education Director’s Report
7.4 Winfield Scott Presentation
8.0 Old Business
8.1 TowerPoint Acquisitions Letter of Intent to Purchase Interest in Wireless Site (Action)
8.2 10 Passenger Van Purchase (Action)
9.0 New Business
9.1 Eugene Ware Event Date Changes (Action)
10.0 Public Forum
11.0 Other Business – Time ____
11.1 Enter Executive Session – Personnel Matters (Action Item)
11.2 Exit Executive Session – _______ (Time)
11.3 Approval of Personnel Report (Action Item)
12.0 Adjourn Meeting _____ (Time) David Stewart, President
0225 QB info items 0225 ADP info items
ROLL CALL:
___ Jess Ervin ___ Amber Kelly ___ Mary Pemberton ___ Savannah Pritchett ___ Bradley Stewart
Warehouse Electric bid opening –
402 Sherman bid opening –
Public Restroom toilets, Taylor Plumbing –
Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, HiAP –
CITIZENS REQUESTS
FINANCIAL REPORT
Sally Johnson – Financial reports
APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA
DEPARTMENT REPORTS
Superintendent: Bobby Rich
Clerk Report: Danea Esslinger
Jayhawk software & Quickbooks online
Trash complaint – 301 1st St #1
Rabies Clinic –
CCMFOA Conference – March 19-21, Manhattan
KACM Conference – March 27-28, Manhattan
Councilman Ervin –
Councilman Kelly –
Councilwoman Pemberton –
Councilwoman Pritchett –
Councilman Stewart–
Mayor Jurgensen –
SEED Grant – need to do invitation for bid and start ordering other items.
Park electric –
ADJOURN Time ____________ Moved by ______________, 2nd ___________________, Approved ___________
The Regular Council Meeting on January 14, 2025 at Uniontown Community Center was called to order at 7:00PM by Mayor Jurgensen. Council members present were Amber Kelly, Mary Pemberton, Savannah Pritchett, and Bradley Stewart. Also in attendance for all or part of the meeting were Hannah Geneva, Michael Ramsey, City Treasurer Sally Johnson, City Superintendent Bobby Rich, and City Clerk Danea Esslinger.
Public Restroom toilets, Taylor Plumbing – not in attendance
SEK Multi-County Health Department, Hannah Geneva – Hannah stated that Bourbon County Health Department offers these health care options: physicals, family planning, WIC programs, TB testing, blood draws, and a Dr. does come one time every 3 months. She left flyers for anyone to pick-up here at City Hall.
CITIZENS REQUESTS
Michael Ramsey asked if the City of Uniontown has a Noise Ordinance. We do have a Nuisance Ordinance that touches on the noise ordinance. He is wanting to have one in place if appropriate about the Hwy 3 semi-truck braking coming down the Highway 3 hill. It was stated that where he is located at it will not be covered under the City of Uniontown. He states that he will investigate further with the State and the County. But informed this would have to be enforced by the County and the State as is a State highway.
FINANCIAL REPORT
Sally Johnson – Financial reports
Treasurer Johnson stated that she did not have any financial reports as gWorks is not working. She has 4 support tickets and an email to the owner of the company.
CONSENT AGENDA
Motion by Amber, Second by Stewart, Approved 4-0, to approve Consent Agenda:
DEPARTMENT REPORTS
Superintendent: Bobby Rich
KRWA Conference on 3/25-27/2025- Superintendent wants to attend this conference.
Motion by Amber, Second by Stewart, Approved 4-0 that the City Superintendent may go to the KRWA conference.
Clerk Report: Danea Esslinger
gWorks issues – Clerk Esslinger informed the council that gWorks is not working as promised. She asked the council if can waive the penalty for utility billings this month due to software issues. Council advised to contact the League of Kansas Municipality to see what they advise. Also contact our attorney to see if will issue a 10-day demand letter for software issue assistance, or we may contact other software vendors.
Motion by Kelly, Second by Pemberton, Approved 4-0 to inform unpaid accounts of waiving of penalty due to software issues; penalty will be applied if not paid January 25th.
Website Hosting – Cost is going up more $2.50 more, and now is $22.24.
Allpaid – Cost is going up a minimum $3.99 fee for all debit and credit card transactions fee.
Rabies Clinic – Contact Dr. Lora Holeman to see if she will do a Rabies Clinic here on or around March 15 to 22.
SOS – Send Off Seniors asked the City of Uniontown for a donation. Clerk Esslinger advised that we have always given $100 dollars each year for the SOS.
Motion by Kelly, Second by Pritchett, Approved 4-0 to give the SOS $100 donation.
Councilman Ervin – absent
Councilman Kelly – City Superintendent did a good job snow plowing.
Councilwoman Pemberton – No
Councilwoman Pritchett – No
Councilman Stewart– No
Mayor Jurgensen – Mayor asked Superintendent Rich about the water alarm. Rich reported was having issues with the Scada antenna.
Mayor Jurgensen — Mayor also reminded Clerk Esslinger and Treasurer Johnson that the Clerk has not passed the 90-day probation period and to not have Clerk Esslinger sign any account payable checks yet.
Warehouse project –Mayor will get spec’s to the Clerk in order get electrical bids for this project. After that is completed, then will send out invitations to bid. State bids will be due on February 11 at noon to the City Hall.
SEED Grant – formally announce winners on January 17, if you want to know if we are awarded, be here at 10AM.
Park electric – Mayor is checking on more information for the South East Park Electricity.
Weed Barn – Mayor request to send an invitation to accept bids for the Weed Barn and submit to The Fort Scott Tribune. State to accept bids but must be clear that it is being sold as is condition, want closing cost to be split by both parties, and any or all bids may be accepted or rejected. State all bids will be due on February 11 at noon to the City Hall.
Motion by Kelly, Second by Stewart, Approved 4-0, to enter into executive session pursuant to non-elected personnel exception, KSA 75-4319(b)(1), in order to discuss non-elected personnel, the open meeting to resume at 8:445 PM.
Open meeting resumed at 8:43.
Motion by Stewart, Second by Kelly, Approved 4-0, to amend the Employee Benefit Plan from the 2.0.0 to addition to the 2.2.0 and 2.3.0 to be combined together and labeled as only 2.2.0.
Moved by Stewart, Second by Kelly, Approved 4-0, to adjourn at 8:45PM.

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Care to Share, a local helping organization, is having a ribbon cutting at their new location, which also houses a gift shop.
The organization helps cancer fighters and their families in their battle.
“We try to provide help in many ways and each case is different based on the needs of that specific individual and their family,” said Teresa Davenport, president of Care to Share. “We will clean, mow, drive, provide meals, etc. One of our biggest expenses is gas vouchers so people can get to treatment. We also provide hotel rooms and meals if overnight stays are needed. We have supplemental drinks available at the office too. When asked what Care to Share does or what we can provide, our answer is’ What do you specifically need?’ and our team of volunteers do everything we can to meet those needs.”

“The space and gift shop are very exciting for us,” she said.
The ribbon cutting will be on Feb. 27th at 8 a.m. at the new office at 9 E. Wall.
The new gift shop offers shirts, sweatshirts, hats, earrings, slippers, dog beds, fishing lures, kooies, wristbands, keychains, throws, and other items for sale.
“Several people (vendors) have put their items in our gift shop as well and we get 20% of sales on those items, with some vendors giving us 100% of their sales. What a blessing that is!”
“If people would like to be a vendor, they can contact me to discuss,” she said.
The gift shop is owned by Care to Share.
The organization continues to offer, wigs, jewelry, hats, slippers, throws, and several other items, free, to those fighting cancer.
The shop is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. “with hopes to expand our hours of operation with the help of people wanting to volunteer a few hours a month to include Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

“All sales from our gift shop will go to help our local cancer survivors in our catchment area, which is Linn, Bourbon, and Crawford Counties.”
Their mission statement is “Care to Share provides friendship and support through emotional and financial assistance to cancer fighters and their caregivers because we…… Care to Share.”
“We were organized in June of 2007 and started raising funds in March of 2009. We have no paid staff, a wonderful volunteer base, and a board of directors. We provide thousands of volunteer hours and hundreds of rides and meals every year. WE COULD NOT DO WHAT WE DO WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND BUSINESSES!”

We now have intake coordinators for each county. Leah Lewis and Debbie West for Bourbon. Richard Long for Linn and Greg Scott for Crawford. We also have a meal coordinator, Whendi Martin, a cleaning Coordinator, Karis Poyner, a Transportation Coordinator, Dadle Cathey, and our prayer chain and grants coordinator, Kathy Clark. We have other coordinator positions open as well if someone is interested in giving up their time. We are looking for a media person and people to pick one of our events as a year to be the coordinator for that one event one time a year. Being spread out in three counties, it would help us grow to find volunteers to head these events. We are also looking to grow our events in Linn and Crawford Counties, so if anyone has any ideas for a fundraiser, they are welcome to give us a call!!!!! We can be reached at 620.644.9090 or they may call me directly at 620.238.0902.
Upcoming Events
“Our next big event is the Pre-Spring Fling, February, 15 at the River Room featuring The Piano Man. Tickets and information can be found on our Facebook page. Something new to our organization is The Community Concert Series that we are collaborating with the City of Fort Scott.”

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “When you’re at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on.” If you’ve ever prayed for something and God appears unconcerned or absent, you’re in good company. Well, not good company because His faith-full children know that life is all about His timing, not theirs.
In the Zoom Bible study I attend, last week we discussed God’s timing by listening to a sermon by Pastor Craig Groeschel. He addressed three reasons why God was silent for 400 years between the writings of the Old and New Testaments.
(1). Learning was no longer done by a teacher speaking while students remained silent; rather, the Socratic method was introduced whereby students were allowed to participate and question.
(2). Rome developed roads and travel flourished.
(3). Alexander the Great conquered the world and Jewish people spread out.
According to Groeschel, all of that needed to happen to prepare for Jesus’ coming. God’s timing is perfect, even though it might not seem that way if we spend weeks/months/years praying for something and are hanging onto that knotted rope.
My son, Adam, recently recovered two Haitian orphans, a seven-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy, and delivered them to their adoptive, Canadian parents who met them at the airport in Miami, Florida. His safety and theirs depended on God’s timing.
A year ago, Adam’s sex-trafficking team rescued a missionary family in Haiti and returned them to the U.S. That family was contacted by two Canadian couples who had spent five years trying to adopt two Haitian orphans, and now that the papers were signed, it was too dangerous for the kids to get out of Port Au Prince. Did they know anyone who could help? The missionaries put them in contact with Adam. This time our son went alone.
A colleague Adam had met in Ukraine knew a helicopter pilot in Haiti who could help in the rescue. When travel to the U.S. was postponed (Flights to Port Au Prince had been suspended by all airlines due to violence in the country), an acquaintance of Adam’s knew a pastor who hid them until they could leave. Had Adam not met these people (God’s timing), this could have had a very different outcome.
Adam knew that God had orchestrated this rescue, so when he was grilled for hours at the Embassy, he did not fret. After all, here was a white, tattooed, bearded male, attempting to leave Haiti with two young black children, and even though he had all the legal paperwork, he looked suspicious. At the airport and on the plane, he felt the looks and heard the murmurs. (I’m sure I would have been one of those judging, except I, in my dramatic flair, probably would have made a scene and had him arrested.)
Psalm 18:30 (NIV) is a verse worth memorizing: As for God, His way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in Him.
Adam will attest to that.

Sharon Kay Miller,81, of Fort Scott, most recently Tallahassee, Florida passed away on February 4, 2025. She was born in Fort Scott, Kansas on June 11, 1943, to loving parents Kenneth Wilson Simons and Veda Fern Wheeler Simons. She graduated with the Fort Scott High School class of 1961. Sharon married George Kepley (G.K.) Miller on June 23, 1962, in Mapleton, Kansas.
Sharon loved doing things with and for her family, friends, and community. She was a member of Olive Chapter #13 Order of the Eastern Star. She was a Bluebirds, Campfire Girl and Cub Scout Mom, and a Mother Advisor for the Fort Scott Rainbow Girls. She was a proud and supportive Navy wife. She made lasting friendships while working at Western Insurance in Fort Scott. And she was a great fan of Kansas Jayhawks basketball!
Sharon liked to sew and crochet, much to the benefit of her family and friends! She also liked to fish and to work in her flowerbeds. Most of all, she loved and fiercely supported her family.
Sharon is survived by her husband, G.K. of Tallahassee, her daughter, Denise Dawn Miller and son-in-law Bryan Baker of Tallahassee, her son John Jay Miller, and daughter-in-law Lori Reesor of Middleton, Wisconsin, her son-in-law Charlie Elliott of Fort Scott, Kansas, and her sister, Charlotte Ann Owen and brother-in-law Ronald Owen of Basehor, Kansas. She is also survived by granddaughters Candace Corrine Martin and husband Anthony, Kayla Nicole Hall and husband Dustin, Sarah Alice Miller, grandson Andrew Neal Miller Baker, seven great-grandchildren, Alyssa and Makenna Martin, Gavin and Logan Smith, Mallorie, Libbie and Grayson Hall, two nephews, Kenneth Lee Owen and Brian Owen, an aunt, Katherine Scott, and a host of treasured cousins.
Sharon is greatly loved and missed.
Following cremation a memorial service with burial in the U. S. National Cemetery in Ft. Scott, Kansas will be held at a later date. Arrangements are under the direction of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, Ft. Scott, Kansas. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
|
The Beacon Year in Review 2024
Community Needs Assessment Survey 2025
February 5, 2025
FosterAdopt Connect Kinship Navigation is a free program for people caring for children who are not their own, especially youth at risk of entering or reentering foster care. Kinship care can be anyone with a previous relationship to the child. Prefer to work on the informal side- no legal recognition- before the courts are involved. Also will work with formal cases where DCF or other agencies are involved. FosterAdopt Connect offers support in the following areas: basic resources (food pantries, clothing), childcare/education support, advocacy systems and applications support (food stamps, mental health, TANF, etc.), can help navigate the foster system, limited emergency financial assistance is available, and can partner with Kansas Legal Services. There are a few requirements: biological parents cannot live in the home, income cannot exceed 200% of the poverty limit, and must live in Bourbon or Crawford County. Kinship Navigation can refer to other programs within FosterAdopt Connect. FosterAdopt Connect is funded by a TANF 2Gen grant. Referrals can be made through IRIS or at FosterAdopt Connect.org. The Bourbon/Crawford County office opened in January 2024 and is currently working with two families in Crawford and Bourbon County.

Feb. 4, 2025
Fort Scott High School Thespians presents the play “And Then They Came for Me – Remembering the World of Anne Frank” by James Still.
Performances are at 7 p.m. on Feb. 20-22 in the FSHS Auditorium.
The production is a multi-media performance with live sound bytes and videos from the actual Holocaust survivors portrayed in the play as well as real video footage from the time period.
In addition to the performance, the lobby will feature many items of interest to the audience. A collection of Holocaust memorabilia from local historians Ronda and Rob Hassig will be on display in the Art Gallery. Students in the Advanced Drama class are displaying research on groups of oppressed peoples and plays that have been written to speak up for those groups, much like how “And Then They Came for Me” speaks for victims and survivors of the Holocaust. Students in Jon Barnes’ Government and Current Events classes, after reading and listening to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” wrote “A Letter From a Fort Scott Classroom” about a time in their lives that they felt discriminated against. Many of these letters will be available to read. The Technical Theatre class also built white models of set designs for the play that are on display.
Cast and crew members of the play were educated about the real lives of their characters through research and a presentation by Ronda Hassig. Hassig has personally visited sixty concentration camps and she shared her knowledge and photos with the students to help them better understand their characters and the world of the play.
Senior Kaiden Clary plays one of the Holocaust survivors, “Performing Young Ed gave me a chance to look into how a Jewish person was treated during WWll, how this person had to hide from SS guards to even be with his grandparents, how he had to try to escape time and time again. After learning about and discussing him, it is hard to believe that people actually had to go through many of these things, especially not seeing his parents for almost four years.”
Tickets for “And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the Life of Anne Frank” are $5 for students and $7 for adults and available at fortscotthighschool.ludus.com or at the door. Doors open thirty minutes prior to showtime.
The play is directed by FSHS Theatre Director Angie Bin with Mesa Jones serving as Assistant Director. It is produced by special arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois. Please contact Bin at [email protected] or at 620-719-9622 with questions.
# # #