Will The Celebrity In The Room Please Stand Up by Patty LaRoche

Patty LaRoche. 2023.
Author: A Little Faith Lift…Finding Joy Beyond Rejection
www.alittlefaithlift.com
AWSA (Advanced Writers & Speakers Assoc.)

An aging man, living in New Jersey, annually planted a tomato garden, his pride and joy.  His only son, Vincent, helped him till the soil, but this year, Vincent was in prison and not there to help.  The father wrote his son.

“I am afraid that I will not be able to have my garden this year because I am unable to till the ground.  After relying on you for years to help me with this, and knowing you were happy to help, I am sad you are not here.  Love you.”

Not long afterward, the father received a letter from his son.  “Dear Papa,” he started, “Please do not dig up the yard.  That is where I hid the bodies.”  The next day, the F.B.I. and local police showed up at the elderly man’s home.  They came with excavating machines and immediately dug up the back yard, finding nothing.

A few days later, the dad received another letter from his son.  “Dear Papa, go ahead and plant the tomatoes now.  That’s the best I can do under the circumstances.”

Last week I wrote about the Olympics and mentioned that there was a good chance none of us would ever compete at that level.  Most of us are not destined for stardom.  We will not pastor a mega-church, become a best-selling author, star on Broadway or perform in the Boston Symphony.  We will not hit three-pointers like Stephen Curry, sing like Celine Dion, vault like Simone Biles, throw a backward pass like Patrick Mahomes (Was that not impressive?), find the cure for cancer or even be as clever as this imprisoned son.

Actually, we might not even win the grand prize for the best pie at the county fair or be recommended as a church deacon or        have our kids compete to care for us in our old age.

If we all were renowned celebrities, life would be boring.  God knows that.  So, He creates us to use our giftedness in other ways, and yes, we all have gifts. The ones lacking fame are all around us, and in my mind, they make life so much easier.  This past week, Dave and I relied on people who changed and balanced our minivan tires and others who replaced a windshield and an antenna that had broken off deep inside the truck.

I needed a chipped tooth repaired and Dr. Patterson, as usual, did his magic. Left to my own ability, a Chiclet would have substituted.  Pilots flew me to KCI, and the flight attendants…well, let’s just say that they were there in case of an emergency.  (How times have changed since I had that job years ago!)  Sonic employees served my hamburger well done with pickles and ketchup only, just like I ordered it.  Famous?  No.  A blessing?  Yes.

While talking to Judy, the woman organizing a ladies’ retreat in Iowa where I will be speaking next month, she filled me in on the details of the theme, the organizational plan and her design for table decorations: pumpkins and autumn leaves in plaster of Paris with lights running through them. (I cannot tell you how gaudy that creation would be, had I been entrusted with those three ingredients.  No doubt hers will be spectacular.)

She shared that she had been her husband’s caretaker after a disease left him unable to speak or walk, so daily she looked for ways to brighten his day. After he died three years ago, God encouraged her to use the gifts He had given her to bless other people…which is why she loves “making the women of her community feel special.”

This past week, Judy, and the other “less famous” people in my life, made me rethink my definition of the word “celebrity.”   After all, in God’s eyes, anyone who uses the gifts He has given them deserves that label.  I just need to do a better job of recognizing it.

Fort Scott High School Announces Auditions for Disney’s Frozen Jr.

 

Fort Scott High School is holding auditions for students in ninth through twelfth grade for Disney’s Frozen Jr. musical.

 

Auditions are from 6:30-9 p.m. on either September 3 or 5 in the FSHS Auditorium. Students only need to attend one night of auditions. Rehearsals are Monday through Thursday from 6:30-9 p.m. Performances are Nov. 12, 14, and 16 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 16 at 2 p.m.

 

A separate audition for female students at Eugene Ware Elementary for the roles of Young Anna and Elsa is 6-7:30 p.m. on Sept. 13 in the FSHS Auditorium.

 

The music and lyrics for Frozen Jr. are by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez with a book by Jennifer Lee. It is based on the Disney film written by Jennifer Lee and directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee.

 

Frozen Jr. is directed by Theatre Director Angie Bin, Music Director Taylor Jones, Choreographer Abby Stepps, and Assistant Director Mesa Jones.

 

Students who want to audition for a solo role need to prepare a song ahead of time. Sheet music and accompaniment are available from Bin at the high school.

 

Technical crew members are needed in the areas of sound, lighting, set design, costuming, make-up, stage management, and stagecrew. Applications are available from Bin at the high school.

 

For additional information, please contact Bin at [email protected] or 620-719-9622.

 

# # #

 

Obituary of Lois Bunn

Lois Ann (Query) Bunn, 83, resident of Hallsville, Missouri, passed away Monday evening, August 26, 2024, at The Stuart House Nursing Home in Centralia, Missouri. She was born on September 8, 1940, in Fort Scott, Kansas, the only child of L.B. “Dick” Query and Ida Mae (Wolf) Query. She married Phillip Ross Bunn in March of 2015 at the Clarksburg Valley Chapel (Clarksburg Church of God Holiness) in Fort Scott, Kansas, and he survives of the home.

 

Lois Ann was passionate about her missionary work and her work as an educator. She spent many years in the mission field from 1968 through 1981, teaching and ministering. She served in the U.S. Virgin Islands in the 70’s and 80’s. She also taught Bible School in Fort Scott. She later focused her efforts on the Clarksburg Church, and she and Phillip served there for many years.

 

In addition to her husband Phillip, Lois Ann is also survived by her step-children, Edlyn Fay Donnovan of Hallsville, Missouri, and Gregory Bunn of Ava, Missouri; three grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren, and many cousins on both the Wolf and Query sides of her family. She was preceded in death by her parents.

 

Rev. Harold Martin and Rev. Kevin Allred will officiate funeral services for Lois Ann at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, August 31, 2024, at the Clarksburg Valley Chapel under the direction of the Konantz Cheney Funeral Home.

The visitation is at 1:00 p.m. at the church prior to services. Burial will immediately follow funeral services at the Clarksburg Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Clarksburg Valley Chapel and may also be left in the care of the Konantz Cheney Funeral Home, 15 W. Wall Street, P.O. Box 309, Fort Scott, KS, 66701. Friends and family may sign the online guest book and share memories at www.konantzcheney.com.

 

Fort Fest 24: Blues Music and More at Riverfront Park on Sept. 27-29

 

The annual Fort Fest is September 27-29 at Riverfront Park on Fort Scott’s North National Avenue.

Blues singers entertain during the Fort Fest 23 event.

The event is an entertainment weekend that features Blues Music and brings in donations for a local cancer survivor group, Care to Share.

Care to Share/ Sharing Bucket is a grassroots volunteer organization providing support to members of the community impacted by cancer, with financial or emotional support, and even driving individuals to and from doctor appointments out of town.

To learn more more about Care to Share: C2S One Page Highlights
Teresa Davenport is the President and can be reached at

(620) 238-0902

Teresa Davenport, president of Care to Share, and Cory Bryars, vice president, hold the organization’s banner in front of the front desk area for the organization at 401 Woodland Hills Blvd.

Music begins at 6 p.m. on September 27 with Two Lane Highway, Linn County; and at 8 p.m. with Tim Hoggard and the Two-Legged Rooster, Jonesboro, AR.

On Saturday, singing starts again with Big Luke and the Soul Disciples at 1 p.m.; Alyssa Galvan, from southwest Missouri at 3 p.m.; Hamilton Loomis from Louisiana and Texas at 5 p.m., and the Divas on Fire from northwest Arkansas at 7 p.m.

In addition, there will be food and art/craft vendors, a corn hole tournament, and an ax throwing area around the park.

“There is also a MUCH IMPROVED Kidz Korner including the train that Lavetta Simmons (one of the founders of Care to Share) used to have at her house, bouncy houses, the petting zoo again, giant jenga games, a cakewalk, face painting, and much much more,” Cory Bryars said.  “We did a poor job last year, and we want the community to know that we are taking huge steps to have a great kid component of the event, We have a dedicated volunteer already rounding everything up and a PLAN!!! Last year we slipped in the kid area, and we would love the community to know that we know it and are correcting it.”

The organizers are asking that no pets be brought to the festival.

Please bring chairs/blankets/bug spray/small coolers for the event and there will be shuttles to the parking areas nearby.

New this year is the addition of another day with a switch of music genre.

“Sunday is a Gospel celebration and car show, Cory Bryars, spokesman for the Care To Share organization

Starting at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 29, there will be biscuits with gravy, donuts, coffee, juice, pop, and water available until 1 p.m.

At 1 p.m. the gathering will hear local choir musicians, soloists, and piano musicians along with prayers, a Scripture reading, a speaker and testimonies of cancer survivors interspersed in the event.

The event will end at 2:30  p.m. and the car show will start in the park at 3 p.m.

The car show was Saturday last year, and there was no Sunday activity, Bryars said.

 

 

A small segment of the car show at Fort Fest 23.

Bo Co Commission Holds Special Meeting on August 30

 

 

Bourbon County Courthouse

210 S. National Ave Fort Scott, KS 66701 Phone: 620-223-3800

Fax: 620-223-5832

Bourbon County, Kansas

Brandon Whisenhunt

1st District Commissioner

Jim Harris, Chairman

2nd District Commissioner

Clifton Beth

3rd District Commissioner

 

 

Bourbon County Commission Agenda 210 S. National Ave.

Fort Scott, KS 66701

 

August 30, 2024 9:00 a.m.

 

A special meeting of the Board of Bourbon County Commissioners will be held on Friday, August 30, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. in the Commission meeting room of the Bourbon County Courthouse.

 

  1. Call Meeting to Order
  2. Flag Salute
  • Executive Session KSA 75-4319 (b)(2)
  1. Executive Session KSA 75-4319 (b)(1)
  2. Adjourn Meeting

 

 

Executive Session Justifications:

 

KSA 75-4319 (b)(1) to discuss personnel matters of individual nonelected personnel to protect their privacy.

KSA 75-4319 (b)(2) for consultation with an attorney for the public body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the

attorney-client relationship.

KSA 75-4319 (b)(3) to discuss matters relating to employer/employee negotiations whether or not in consultation with the

representative(s) of               the body or agency.

KSA 75-4319 (b)(4) to discuss data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trust and individual     proprietorships

KSA 75-4319 (b)(6) for the preliminary discussion of the acquisition of real property.

KSA 75-4319 (b)(12) to discuss matters relating to the security measures, if the discussion of such matters at an open meeting

would jeopardize such security measures.

 

CFSEK Presents a Free Nonprofit Marketing Workshop

The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas (CFSEK) is hosting a free Nonprofit Marketing Workshop on Thursday, September 19th from 1:00-3:00 p.m. With presentations from Andra Stefanoni, Director of Media Relations at Pittsburg State University, CFSEK is offering this free workshop for nonprofit staff and volunteers to help increase their marketing capacity and skills.

“We are so excited to offer this for our nonprofit partners around the region,” said CFSEK Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Matthew Buck. “Andra Stefanoni has so much experience and insight, and I think it will be really valuable to everyone who attends!”

Some of the topics being discussed are:

  • The four kinds of nonprofit communication and best practices for each
  • How to write a press release that will get noticed by media
  • Storytelling on your own channels and how it can help you advance your organization
  • Communication and promotional tools for your tool kit

 

The free Workshop will take place via Zoom on Thursday, September 19th, from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Registration is available online at SoutheastKansas.org/npm24.

For questions or more information,  contact Matt at (620) 231-8897 or at SoutheastKansas.org/Contact/Matthew.

Interested in a Good Read?

The SEKnFind Newsletter
August 2024

We hope you enjoy this newsletter sent as a courtesy to adult patrons of a southeast Kansas library using the SEKnFind catalog.
This selection of titles are NEW at a SEKnFind library and available for a hold.
Need assistance? Your local librarian can show you how!
Happy Reading!

New Fiction

After Oz : a novel
by Gordon McAlpine

Accused of murder after going missing for four days and returning with tales of a fantastical land, a young Dorothy must convince a psychologist of her innocence in 1896 Kansas, in a retelling of The Wizard of Oz.

The best lies : a novel
by David Ellis

Diagnosed a pathological liar with unimaginable skeletons in his family’s closet, crusading attorney Leo Balanoff, when his fingerprints show up on the murder weapon used to kill a ruthless drug dealer, is forced to go undercover for the FBI, finding himself backed into a corner, but has a few more cards left to play.

The perfect son
by Freida McFadden

When a high school girl vanishes from her quiet suburban neighborhood and her teenage son, Liam, was the last one to see her alive, Erika, who has always sensed something dark and disturbed in her seemingly perfect older child, must decide how far she’ll go to protect him. Original.

Five-star Stranger : a novel
by Kat Tang

A New York gig economy worker who makes a living renting himself out as a pretend fiancé, wingman or extra funeral mourner confronts his own longing for connection when a client blurs the line between what’s real and what’s fake.

Zero stars do not recommend : a novel
by M J Wassmer

When the apocalypse plunges the world into darkness during their vacation at an all-inclusive resort, professional underachiever Dan Foster and his girlfriend, as the island falls under martial law, find a way to escape, but Dan has second thoughts about abandoning the burgeoning revolution he might-have-kind-of-sort-of single-handedly started. Original.

The truth according to Ember
by Danica Nava

A Chickasaw woman who can’t catch a break serves up a little white lie that snowballs into much more. A first novel. Original.

Do what Godmother says
by L. S. Stratton

“A dual-timeline psychological thriller about a sinister white patron of Harlem Renaissance artists known as “Godmother” and a contemporary young Black woman who has inherited what may be a cursed painting”

Dungeon crawler Carl
by Matt Dinniman

Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game-like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon.

The mercy of gods
by James S. A. Corey

When the Carryx decimate the human population, taking the best and brightest of Anjiin society to serve on their homeworld, Dafyd Alkhor, swept along with them, is forced to compete against the other captive species with extinction as the price of failure.

Burn : a novel
by Peter Heller

Longtime hunting buddies Jess and Storey stumble out of the woods and into a post-apocalyptic Maine after their two-week, off-the-grid moose hunt, forcing them to fight their way home amidst bewildering secessionist violence and a shocking discovery.

The chamber : a novel
by Will Dean

Locked inside a hyperbaric chamber, six experienced saturation divers, when one of them is found dead in his bunk, must always watch one another’s backs and when another diver is discovered unresponsive, they must discover what—or who—is taking them out one by one. Original.

The journey south
by Reavis Z. Wortham

When a friend who’s in jail for murder in a small Oklahoma town needs his help, Texas cowboy Cap Whitlatch, while escorting him through Indian territory, faces bloodthirsty Cherokees, outlaws after the gold in his saddlebags and a marshal hell-bent on bringing every lawbreaker in—dead or alive. Original.

New Audiobooks

Dog Day Afternoon
by David Rosenfelt

A retired lawyer and dog rescue operator investigates after one of his recent adopters is implicated in a mass shooting at his workplace in the latest addition to the series following‘Twas the Bite Before Christmas. Simultaneous.

The Burning
by Linda Castillo

Discovering the charred body of an Amish man, chained to a stake and burned alive, in the woods, newlywed Chief of Police Kate Burkholder, at odds with everyone around her, uncovers a secret legacy that shatters everything she thought she knew about the Amish themselves?—?and her own roots.

The lost coast
by Jonathan Kellerman

PI Clay Edison, when a case of simple fraud explodes into an elaborate con game stretching back decades and involving countless victims, follows the evidence to a tiny town on California’s remote Lost Coast where he discovers the price of truth is higher?—?and deadlier?—?than he ever could’ve imagined.

New Nonfiction

That librarian : the fight against book banning in America
by Amanda Jones

Part memoir, part manifesto, the inspiring story of a Louisiana librarian advocating for inclusivity on the front lines of America’s vicious culture wars. Illustrations.

The Metaverse : Building the Spatial Internet
by Matthew Ball

“In this substantially revised and updated edition of his internationally best-selling book, pioneering theorist and entrepreneur Matthew Ball goes beyond the hype cycle to present a definitive account of the future of the internet. The Metaverse, according to Ball’s industry-shaping definition, is a persistent and interconnected network of 3D virtual worlds that will eventually serve as the gateway to most online experiences and underpin much of the physical world.”

The incorruptibles : a true story of kingpins, crime busters, and the birth of the American underworld
by Dan Slater

Drawn from never-before-seen sources and peopled with unforgettable characters, this epic and often brutal saga of crime and redemption, set in the early 1900s when a strictly off-the-books vice squad called the Incorruptibles waged war on the sin they saw as threatening the future of their New York City community. Illustrations.

What Happy Teachers Do : The Three-step Self-care System to Support You Inside and Outside the Classroom
by Michelle Auton

It’s a cliché but it’s true: teaching is the best job in the world. So why are more teachers leaving the profession than ever before? Thanks to staff shortages, accountability pressures, and heavy workloads, teachers are burning out fast. This raises the question: How do you stay happy and keep teaching?

Light : The Visible Spectrum and Beyond
by Kimberly Arcand

A visual exploration of the power and behavior of light across the entire electromagnetic spectrum reveals how types ranging from radio waves to X-rays affect life on earth and throughout the universe. –Publisher.

Puppy kindergarten : the new science of raising a great dog
by Brian Hare

The New York Times best-selling authors of The Genius of Dogs, to find out what it takes to raise a great dog, enrolled 101 puppies in the Duke Puppy Kindergarten to understand the secrets of the puppy mind to help them grow up to be the best dogs they can be. Illustrations.

What to cook when you don’t feel like cooking
by Caroline Chambers

“With three little boys less than two years apart and a packed schedule as an online creator, Caroline Chambers often doesn’t feel like cooking. Inspired by her wildly popular Substack newsletter of the same name, this book is brimming with efficient recipes that take the guesswork out of dinner-in fact, each one is a complete meal: protein, veg, starch, done! The recipes are organized by the amount of time they take to cook, so whether you have 15 minutes to throw together something or a little bit moretime on your hands, dinnertime is totally doable. On top of that, Caro gives you more ways to choose, so you can search by protein (chicken thighs waiting in the fridge? Make White Chicken Chili. Nothing but beans in the pantry? Cannellini Caprese with Burrata is it!) or mood (Tomato Farrotto is perfect for a cozy craving, and Crunchy Honey Harissa Fish Tacos are an excellent way to show off). Most importantly, these recipes include Caro’s famously extensive swaps, riffs, tips, shortcuts, and more to be sure they work best for you, helping you save money, improvise, and even learn a thing or two”

Bourbon County Local News