Looking for a college that gives you options? At Fort Scott Community College, students can choose from associate degrees in Arts, Science, Applied Science, and General Studies, along with a variety of certificates that lead straight to rewarding careers. Whether you’re interested in healthcare fields like Certified Medication Aide, Nurse Aide, EMT, Home Health Aide, Manicuring, or Phlebotomy, or want to take on a technical challenge with certificates in Ag Technology (John Deere), Construction, Cosmetology, Criminal Justice, Environmental Water Tech, Farm & Ranch Management, Harley-Davidson Technology, Heavy Equipment Operation, HVAC, Masonry, or Welding we’ve got you covered!
But college isn’t just about the classroom. FSCC offers plenty of ways to get involved through music and performance opportunities (band, choir, theater), student clubs and organizations (like Collegiate Farm Bureau, Phi Theta Kappa, SkillsUSA, STEAM Club, FSCC Media Team, and more), and even competitive judging teams in livestock and meat.
If athletics is more your thing, FSCC is home to intercollegiate sports for both men and women. Compete in basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, rodeo, track & field, or cross country, all while building friendships and representing the Greyhounds.
And the best part? We’re still growing. New programs, degrees, certifications, and athletic opportunities are on the horizon! There’s never been a better time to join FSCC!
Barbara Lou Haggard, age 76, resident of Pittsburg, KS passed away Thursday, November 27, 2025, at Mercy Hospital, Springfield, MO. Services for Barb Haggard will be announced by the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main St.
In the upcoming Storytelling through Art session on December 10,,award-winning Milken Educator Brad LeDuc (KS’ 13) will present strategies for creating narrative visual artworks―from developing storylines to completed artworks.
Brad will unlock the six key components to effectively interpret the story of an Unsung Hero’s Journey: Character, Problem, Heroic Action, Sacrifice, Impact, and Heroic Traits. Use this graphic as a classroom resource and to support students with identifying unique entry points in the Unsung Hero’s journey for their ARTEFFECT projects.
UPCOMING SESSION! Storytelling through Art
Wed. December 10, 2025
4:00-5:15PM Pacific Time
All educators are invited to Storytelling through Art, an interactive and engaging session with teachers participating from across the nation. Brad LeDuc will model a step-by-step process that guides students through novel and effective approaches to visual storytelling about the inspiring stories of Unsung Heroes from history. Various visual analyzing tools, classroom resources, and lesson plan will be provided.
ARTEFFECT online sessions are free to join and registration is required. All registrants receive a session recording and lesson plan. Certificate of Participation available for session attendees.
2026 ARTEFFECT Competition
The 2026 ARTEFFECT competition invites submissions from all students in grades 6-12 interested in making a positive impact through their art. The competition invites students to creatively interpret the story of an Unsung Hero by creating an original visual artwork, accompanied by an artist’s Impact Statement. Various awards are available including the Spotlight Prizes. Learn more about the 2026 ARTEFFECT Competition.
2026 Spotlight Prize – Media Categories
The 2026 Spotlight Prize – Media category encourages students who create artworks in selected mediums and sizes outlined below:
Sculpture/3D: Three-dimensional artworks including assemblage, ceramics, pottery, glass, metals, and textiles.
Large Format: Artworks in any medium that measure 24 x 36 inches or larger.
Spotlight Prizes are $1,000 and there may be multiple winners in this category. Spotlight Prize submissions are eligible for all top awards and prizes but can only win one.
Meet our 2024-2025 Ambassador Dr. Samantha Fields, a Lead Art Teacher in the Dougherty County School System in Albany, Georgia.
Each ARTEFFECT Ambassador culminates their visual arts online fellowship with a capstone project that brings the inspiring stories of the LMC Unsung Heroes into their classrooms and communities. Here is an excerpt from Samantha’s multifaceted Capstone Project report:
“The project exposed me to a wide array of Unsung Heroes—far more than I would have encountered working in isolation. As a district, we encouraged our students to research and select different historical figures to avoid repetition and to enrich the final exhibition.”
Congratulations to Samantha and her colleague Taneisha Whatley (2025-26 ARTEFFECT Ambassador) for their student Adrian Rodgers (Grade 12) being named a Finalist in the 2025 Competition for his projectUnsung Hero “Miriam Makeba”.
Commissioner Mika Milburn brought up a dispute with the cost of a new firewall for the sheriff’s department. Commissioner Samuel Tran said it was “mission creep,” that the commission hadn’t approved. Sheriff Bill Martin addressed the commission, saying that the quotes for new phones and a firewall were approved in the Sept. 25, 2025 meeting, to be paid for from the jail sales tax.
Commissioner David Beerbower moved to table the issue for a week to iron out the disputes as to when the approval was given.
There was also a dispute about which fund should pay for the mapping services needed to redistrict Bourbon County to 5 districts.
Beerbower said it needed to be paid for regardless of where it comes from. Milburn said she wants to be sure the commissioners’ fund doesn’t get spent without the commission’s direct order. They decided to pay for it from the general government fund.
The remainder of the consent agenda was approved.
Emerson and Co. regarding longevity, insurance
Emerson, County Clerk Susan Walker, and Dr. Cohen addressed the commission.
Emerson addressed the need for the commission’s approval of a quote for COBRA administration, FSA, and HSA. The commission so voted.
Emerson also said that they need to address when the new insurance deduction amounts should be collected from the employees. Until now the process has been to collect them the month prior to their due date in order to have the funds on hand to pay at the beginning of the following month. However, with the new employee navigator integration, funds will not be collected in advance, and the start date of the deductions will be the first payroll in January. Manual deduction entries will need to be added in December, 2025. Emmerson recommended making the change.
Blue Cross Blue Shield requires the county to pay a month in advance, per County Clerk Susan Walker. She said that if they don’t do the deductions in the previous month, the county may not be able to pay for their premiums. She said the county had already planned to manually enter everything by the cutoff date of Dec. 3. She said this problem will come about each December.
She said that employee navigator doesn’t allow for automated employer contributions, so they have to be manually entered.
The clerk also said that they would have to change benefits availability to 30 days after first hire date for county employees. Tran and Cohen both said that is standard industry policy. Tran said he had no problem with that.
Emerson recommended finding out what the cash flow amount shortage would be. The clerk told the commission that the amount needed is approximately $8,800.
Milburn moved to follow Emerson’s recommendation. Tran seconded with a discussion.
Handbook — Dr. Cohen
Cohen brought his current copy of the handbook. He asked for the commissioners’ individual input, then plans to take it to the elected officials and department heads, receive their input and comments, and make changes, then bring a final document to the commission for approval by the first of the year.
Cohen also brought a recommendation to the commission to have them fund an administrative assistant position for the commission. That assistant would cover matters related to personnel, records, benefits, and more.
“It’s become abundantly clear that you need a person that’s accountable to you and you only,” he said. He also said that the funding for that position would come from existing funds currently allocated elsewhere.
Milburn said that up until 2025, the commission had that person in the position of county clerk.
Tran does not oppose the position but has concerns about how they would pay for the person.
Beerbower said funding is the number one issue as well. Cohen said he thought they could find the money and that the commission should approve the decision to fill the position contingent upon finding the funding.
The motion was passed to move forward with recruiting for the position, pending funding.
Tran said they should look at the inmate housing fund to pay insurance for employees and for the commission’s administrative assistant.
Beerbower said he was not willing to do that.
Longevity pay — Dr. Cohen
Cohen addressed bridging, which is when an employee leaves and then returns. He recommended not giving them longevity pay, per his recommendation. He said that if the bridged time is shorter, continuing longevity pay may be a good idea, so long as they return to their original position. He recommended that as a consequence for employees who leave and want to come back.
Beerbower, Milburn, and Tran agreed with Cohen. They agreed that if an employee leaves and is paid out, they cannot come back at the same level they left.
Victory Foronberry, from county corrections, asked about a problem with longevity pay. Tran and Beerbower spoke to her. One of the problems was that a funding stream they voted to use to cover it was contested.
Longevity pay approved by previous commission was put into each department’s budget, but most departments didnt have it in their budgets for this last paycheck.
Tran said they did what they thought was best at the time, but within 72 hours of the commission’s decision, the revenue source was contested.
Davis asked the commission to leave the longevity as is and pay it to the employees. He said that their decision to add a new position, although it is pending the ability to find funding for it, was a terrible decision and makes the entire commission look like they put county employees second.
Sheriff Bill Martin said he doesn’t know who would contest using the inmate housing revenue to pay the employees their longevity.
Another audience member asked the commission to use the inmate housing fund to pay employees what they were promised.
Janet Harper, who works in the appraiser’s office, said that the money sent out on that stub, which was not paid by the county, was her grandchildren’s Christmas.
Tran moved to pull the inmate housing fund and put it into the general fund. Milburn gave a second with discussion.
Sheriff Bill Martin said he came to the commission offering them a 60/40 split a couple of months ago, and they wouldn’t take it. Asking to take all of it is an insult to the sheriff’s office. He said they should only take out what it costs to meet longevity pay requirements.
Clerk Susan Walker said that her projections show that a lot of the inmate housing money will be needed for the sheriff’s budget amendment, and the commission should speak with his financial advisor before moving the money.
“Everytime we try to do something, we’re getting our legs chopped off,” said Tran.
Tran then amended the motion to pull $200,000 from the inmate housing fund. Motion carried with Beerbower voting against.
Tran proposed that they take $55,100 from the general fund to pay for the longevity pay.
Beerbower moved to leave 2025 longevity as it has been and make the changes in 2026.
“We didn’t create this mess. We’re trying to fix this mess,” said Tran.
The motion to pay longevity through the end of 2025 carried, Milburn opposing.
Sheriff Martin said that his 2025 budget was created by two other individuals without input from him. The outgoing commissioners at the time told him his budget was “screwed.”
He asked why Tran made the comment about him choosing to sue the commission. Tran replied that he knew Martin had been “done dirty,” in the past and he wanted to help him. However, Martin’s continuous referral to the requirement that the county give his department what it needs to function seemed like a threat of suing the commission.
Tran said that as an executor for the county, he will take care of the county, and give the Sheriff’s department what it needs, but maybe not what it wants.
Sheriff Martin said the conversation should have happened in his office one-on-one. He told Tran that they (the commission) are confusing everyone with the numbers game. He said he appreciated Tran’s honesty.
Tran and Martin each accused the other of not reaching out to communicate about their issues outside of an open meeting.
Lines of Communication – Susan Walker, county clerk
Walker told the commissioners she needs direction from them about how they intend to communicate with her.
“I’m having trouble getting responses, and it’s very difficult for me to do my job,” she said. “It is very hard for me to do my job as clerk if I cannot get a hold of you,” she said.
Walker said she can’t set up meetings if she can’t get a hold of anyone. She asked for clarification about expectations.
“For the most part, I think that communication works well, especially by the email,” said Beerbower.
Solar Litigation
Beerbower said that the commission has been in litigation with solar developers over agreements signed with the 2024 commission. They are working to find a solution outside of court via mediation.
Next week, the commission will be voting on resolutions to change the moratorium that will exempt these two companies from moving forward with their projects. They will also vote to amend the development agreement, including setbacks for battery systems and emergency training.
There have also been some settlements on pilot money that include settlements totaling about $320,000 per year paid to the county for the next ten years.
Counsel will send to the clerk the needed information for the resolutions, which will be voted on in the December 8th meeting.
Jackie Demott with the appraiser’s office spoke to the commission. She said that while folks have issues with solar, bringing businesses into Bourbon County will help solve the county’s funding issues.
“Maybe you need to start thinking about, not just what is best for each individual, but what is best for the county. What’s going to bring this revenue in?” she said. She suggested they form a committee to bring businesses into the county.
Planning Commission — Bob Johnson
County attorney Bob Johnson attended the new Planning Commission meeting before Thanksgiving. They discussed the procedure going forward, as well as hiring a part-time individual who has helped neighboring counties with their planning commissions.
District 3 Vacancy — Bob Johnson
The Kansas Secretary of State’s legal team has said the commission can either have the replacement for the District 3 come from the old district, or from the newly created District 3, which is preferable and makes more common sense, but either option passes statutory guidance.
The commission passed a resolution for the correct political party to appoint a commissioner for the new district 3 when current district 3 commissioner, Mika Milburn, becomes the commissioner for district 5 in January 2026. That commissioner will hold office until January 2027 with the person elected in November of 2026 is seated on the commission.
Presented by the Kansas Department for Children and Families and University of Kansas Center for Public Partnerships and Research
Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025 | 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
You’re invited…
At our previous community gatherings, many of you shared that we need to keep digging into how we see and respond to families’ circumstances. Whether you joined us before or are coming for the first time, this is your chance to be part of that ongoing conversation.
DCF and the KU Center for Public Partnerships and Research are continuing their partnership to bring you Seeing Risk Clearly: Navigating Danger, Poverty, and Perception—a session designed to explore real-life scenarios, challenge assumptions, and strengthen how we respond to families in our communities.
Through interactive activities and discussion, we’ll look at:
What safety really means—and how to distinguish between risk, danger, and safety concerns.
How poverty differs from neglect, and why that distinction is important.
How perceptions influence decisions in child welfare and community response.
Ways to strengthen compassionate, consistent approaches to supporting families.
Your perspective matters. We hope you’ll join us in creating solutions that reflect the needs, strengths, and realities of the communities we serve.
Lunch will be provided, please RSVP using the button below.
Location
Fort Scott Nazarene Church
1728 Horton
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Thank You!
We hope you’ll take this opportunity to learn more about ongoing efforts to help build support for children and families in Kansas. Thank you for being a part of these important conversations!
The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas (CFSEK) and its affiliates in Columbus, Fort Scott, and Girard achieved record-breaking results during Match Week 2025, raising over $1,066,000 in combined donations for charitable funds benefiting Southeast Kansas!
Match Week took place November 10-14, 2025. Thanks to a generous matching challenge from the Patterson Family Foundation, additional matching funds were available for each foundation to amplify community contributions.
CFSEK brought in an outstanding $437,227 in community donations to support 48 local organizations. Columbus donors stepped up in a big way, with over 100 contributors giving $145,992, while Fort Scott supporters raised $67,452 for 13 different organizations. Girard donors kept the momentum going with $72,423 raised for 10 participating funds. And the excitement doesn’t stop there—the Patterson Family Foundation’s matching challenge is adding another $339,875, amplifying the impact for nonprofits throughout our region.
“We were blown away by the generosity of our community,” said CFSEK Executive Director Devin Gorman. “Expanding from Match Day to Match Week significantly increased support for local nonprofits in our area, and we are so pleased to help them grow their endowments while also providing immediate matching funds. We want to extend our sincere gratitude to all of the donors for their incredible generosity and steadfast support of their communities.”
Next year’s Match Week will take place November 9-13, 2026.
Visit SEKMatchWeek.org to see a full list of participating funds and updates about next year’s Match Week!
Libraries with Heart Initiative Expands Access to Blood Pressure Monitoring Across Southeast Kansas
Nearly half of all Americans have high blood pressure, a leading risk factor for heart attack and stroke. In a collaborative effort to improve community health, five local libraries have launched the Libraries with Heart initiative, a program designed to increase access to blood pressure monitoring and education.
This initiative is made possible through a General Funds Basic Human Needs grant from the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas, in partnership with K-State Extension – Southwind Extension Education Foundation, the American Heart Association, and participating libraries.
Libraries with Heart empowers individuals to take control of their health by providing tools and resources to monitor and manage blood pressure effectively.
Program Highlights:
Validated Blood Pressure Monitors for Check Out: Patrons can borrow monitors through the Library of Things catalog.
Educational Materials: Staff and community members are equipped with easy-to-understand resources on how to use the monitors, understanding blood pressure, and how to take steps toward better heart health.
Healthcare Connections: Resources of local healthcare providers for further support and follow-up care.
“This initiative is a great example of how libraries truly serve as hubs for community wellness,” said Tara Solomon-Smith, Healthy Heart Ambassador and Extension Agent with K-State Extension. “By making blood pressure monitoring more accessible, we’re helping individuals take proactive steps toward healthier lives.”
The Libraries with Heart initiative reflects a shared commitment to public health, education, and community empowerment. Each participating library brings its own unique approach, while maintaining core elements that ensure consistency and impact across the region.
For more information about the program or to find a participating library near you, contact Tara Solomon-Smith at [email protected] or 620-244-3826.
Tara Soloman-Smith, Family and Wellness Agent, Sunflower District of Kansas State University’s Extension Office. Submitted photo.
Embrace Winter this Season
Do you find yourself ready for bed as soon as supper is over this time of year? You’re not alone—many of us feel that way after the time change. But winter doesn’t have to be something we dread. With a few simple strategies, we can make the most of the season and enjoy it!
Brighten Your Days with Light Therapy
Light therapy can help combat the winter blues by mimicking natural sunlight. Light boxes or lamps produce bright white light that signals your brain, much like daylight does. When choosing a light box, Harvard Health Publishing recommends:
Look for 10,000 lux exposure. (Lux measures light intensity; a sunny day is about 50,000 lux.)
Position it correctly. Keep the box in front of you or slightly to the side, about a foot away. Don’t stare directly at the light—read, meditate, or watch TV instead.
Use it consistently. Aim for about 30 minutes of exposure daily. You can break this into shorter sessions.
Lifestyle Tips for a Positive Winter
Oklahoma State University Extension suggests creating a plan to boost your mood long-term:
Bundle up and spend 15–30 minutes outdoors for sunlight and exercise.
Maintain a healthy routine of sleep, movement, and nutritious meals.
Take medications as prescribed if managing depression.
Limit alcohol, as it can worsen symptoms.
Stay connected—make plans and follow through.
Practice self-care and kindness toward yourself and others.
Find the Bright Side of Winter
Psychologist and author Kari Leibowitz encourages focusing on what you enjoy about winter. Make a list of things you look forward to—like lighting candles. Leibowitz notes that when you light candles with the intention of celebrating the darkness, it can transform your experience and give winter a new meaning.
Wishing you a wonderful season filled with new ways to embrace winter! For more information, please contact Tara Solomon-Smith at [email protected] or 620-244-3826.
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Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service
Bourbon County CASA has been providing screened, trained community volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children in the court room setting here in Bourbon County for 35 years.
Location
