Aeron A. Hicks, age 74, a resident of Ft. Scott, Kansas, passed away Thursday, September 19, 2024, at the Via Christi Village in Pittsburg, Kansas.
She was born September 29, 1949, in Pittsburg, Kansas, the daughter of Edward Slutter and Ruby Shelley Slutter. She grew up in Pittsburg and graduated from St. Mary’s-Colgan High School with the Class of 1967. Following high school, Aeron worked as the assistant director of medical records at Mt. Carmel Medical Center in Pittsburg.
Aeron was united in marriage to Harold W. Hicks on August 29, 1978. After their marriage, Harold was a commissioned officer with the United States Navy and they were stationed in San Diego, California. During this time, Harold was stationed onboard the USS Ranger. Aeron served as the Social Chairperson for the ship’s Officers’ Wives Club. Some of her responsibilities included helping prepare the ship for Queen Elizabeth II’s royal visit and serving as the family liaison after a serious fire onboard the ship. While in California, Aeron took the opportunity to further her education and obtained her BA Deree in Psychology from the University of San Diego.
In 1992, Harold and Aeron moved to Harold’s hometown of Ft. Scott, Kansas to help care for his elderly father. While in Ft. Scott, Aeron worked with the Adult Education Program at the Ft. Scott Community College. She also served as the online education coordinator for the college. This was at the time when online learning was in its infancy.
Aeron had a desire to help others, and in addition to her work at the college she also played a key role with the Bourbon County Network for Families program. Aeron and Harold became active with the First Christian Church in Ft. Scott. They went on to become Commissioned Ministers through Education for Ministry. Together, they co-pastored the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Yates Center, Kansas from 2008-2018.
As her health failed and Covid set in, Aeron became more and more homebound. In spite of this, Aeron continued supporting Harold’s ministry at the Disciples Christian Church in Nevada, Missouri. During Covid, Aeron played a vital role in maintaining the church’s online presence. Throughout her life, Aeron did her best to serve God and humanity. The world was made a better place because of her endeavors.
Aeron is survived by her husband, Harold, of the home in Ft. Scott and her cousins, Brent Richey and Jan Brimm and husband, Jerry, all of Joplin, Missouri.
Rev. Laura Agee will conduct a service of remembrance at 10:30 A.M. Friday, September 27th at the Cheney Witt Chapel.
Music will be provided by Janie Aita.
Burial will follow in the Evergreen Cemetery
Memorials are suggested to the Ft. Scott Community College Endowment Association and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main St., P.O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
Weather permitting, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, the Kansas Department of Transportation plans to replace a crossroad pipe on K-31 within the city limits of Blue Mound. The work zone will be closed to traffic between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Drivers should use alternate routes around the daylong highway closure.
Persons with questions may contact KDOT Superintendent Shawn Denny, (785) 433-6115, or Public Information Officer Priscilla Petersen at (620) 902-6433.
A Flight 1st Place team was comprised of Todd Fox, Gerald Katner, Jan Remington, and Randy Vanwyck. Below is a photo of the raffle items. Submitted photos.
Saturday, September 14th was a perfect day for the Friends of Tri-Valley Foundation to hold their 5th Annual Fort Scott Golf Classic at the beautiful Woodland Hills Golf Course. It was fantastic golfing weather. Play began at 9 am with 12 teams.
Prizes were given out to 1st and 2nd places in A, B, and C Flights. The winners were: A Flight 1st Place – the team of Jan Remington, Gerald Katner, Todd Fox, and Randy Vanwyck; A Flight 2nd Place – the team of Dustin Hall, Caleb Hall, Nathan Mintz, and Reese Roberts; B Flight 1st Place – the team from Labconco made up of Kurtis Camp, Michael Harper, Ronnie Marsh, and Shawn Marshall; and B Flight 2nd Place – the team of Tanner McNutt, Jason Bauer, Kane Rogers, and Derek Bycroft; C Flight 1st Place – the team from Brent See, Braden Robinson, Bill Fiscus, and Matt Kay; and C Flight 2nd place – the team of George Robinson, Terry Sizemore, Paul Bearden, and Steve Stanfield.
Along with the three flights, prizes were handed out for Closest to the Pin and Longest Drive. Michael Harper won Closest to the Pin and Kevin Krokstrom won the Longest Drive contest. Players also had the chance to play a few hole games on the course such as Paul Bunyon and Betcha Can’t Get on the Green. New to the tournament was the orange ball contest. Each team was presented with an orange ball. The ball was to be used on all 18 holes and brought back at the end of the tournament. Six teams returned their orange balls and were entered into a drawing for Tri-Valley tumblers. The Orange Ball winners were Dustin Hall, Caleb Hall, Nathan Mintz, and Reese Roberts.
At the end of the tournament, door prizes were given out to several lucky golfers. The door prizes included: candles from Heidrick’s True Value; Igloo Coolers and Umbrella courtesy of SEK Financial; T-shirts and tumblers courtesy of Labconco; Gift Certificates to Miller Feed and Common Ground Coffee; and tickets to The Duttons in Branson courtesy of Fort Scott Broadcasting.
For the second year in a row, a raffle drawing was held. This year, three prizes were given away. The prizes were: a fire pit donated by Niece Products of Fort Scott; framed KC Chiefs Poster donated by Brigg’s Auto; and turkey fryer donated by Heidrick’s True Value. The winners were: Fire Pit – Paul Bearden; KC Chiefs – Tyler Cook; and Turkey Fryer – Shawn Marshall.
The tournament’s sponsors were: American Family Insurance – Jenny Collins; Bourbon County Cars; Brigg’s Auto; Cheney Witt Chapel; Don’s Spirits and Wines, LLC; Diehl, Banwart, & Bolton; Konantz-Cheney Chapel; Mid-Continental Restoration; Peerless Products; Radell Underground; and Wise Accounting. G & W Foods of Fort Scott, SEK Financial, and Modern Woodman were goodie bag sponsors.
All money raised from the event goes toward the Foundation’s mission of providing quality and affordable homes for our neighbors with intellectual/developmental disabilities in the eight counties of Allen, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Elk, Greenwood, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson. Since 2001, the Foundation has built six houses and acquired eight houses and a duplex. Four of these homes are located in Fort Scott and are home to 24 of our neighbors with intellectual/developmental disabilities.
“Without the generosity of our communities, this fun event could not have been held. Thank you to all the golfers who participated as well as to our event sponsors: corporate, hole, and in-kind. This tournament would not have been possible without the support of our sponsors. It is friends like you that allow us to provide services to our neighbors with I/DD and to help them achieve the quality of life they seek. Thank you” stated Special Projects Coordinator, Tricia Campbell.
Governor Kelly Announces 14 Grant Recipients for Rural Champions Program
TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly announced today the 14 grant recipients of the Rural Champions program’s second cohort. The selected Rural Champions will join a growing statewide network of grassroots individuals tackling critical projects in their respective rural communities.
“Since day one, my administration has been focused on the needs of our rural communities and the quality of life in every region of the state,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Creating the Office of Rural Prosperity was only the beginning of our support for rural Kansans and their needs. By developing the Rural Champions program, we are assisting communities to find local solutions to specific local challenges.”
Inspired by a Kansas Sampler Foundation report, the Office of Rural Prosperity, in collaboration with the Patterson Family Foundation, created the Rural Champions program as a way for rural communities to move the needle in areas where a lack of capital or other resources hinders necessary progress. The Rural Champions program provides a one-year wage stipend of $20,800 to each community, along with training and resources. Communities also will receive up to $25,000 at the end of the year to move into the implementation phase of their projects.
“The diverse challenges rural communities face are much easier to resolve when you have an individual specifically dedicated to their particular issues, which is why the innovative Rural Champions program is so important,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “Investing in our rural communities means investing in our people, which benefits the entire state and elevates their towns in ways that might otherwise not be possible.”
The 2024-25 Rural Champions include:
Organization
Community
Project area(s)
Cardinal Community Foundation
Nemaha County
Community/Economic Development
Cheyenne Community Development Corporation
Cheyenne
Housing
City of Herington and CVB
Herington
Downtown Revitalization
Comanche County Economic Development
Comanche County
Grant Writing/
ED Regionalization
Grinnell-Promoting Pride & Progress
Grinnell
Downtown Revitalization
Harvey County United Way
Harvey County
Childcare
Healthy Bourbon County Action Team
Bronson
Placemaking/ Recreation
Hodgeman County Economic Development
Hodgeman County
Housing
Lane County Community Foundation
Dighton
Food Access-Rural Grocery
Legacy Regional Community Foundation
Cowley County
Food Access
Rooks County Healthcare Foundation
Rooks County
Workforce Recruitment
Stafford County Economic Development
Stafford County
Childcare
The Building Community
Fredonia
Community/Economic Development
United Way of the Flint Hills
Emporia
Homelessness
“The first round of Rural Champions provided a great opportunity for progress and impact in the communities and organization. We again received many outstanding applications — making the selection of these 14 projects very competitive,” Director of the Office of Rural Prosperity Trisha Purdon said. “We are excited to continue the development of the program and add to our network of learning with the new group of Rural Champions.”
Rural Champions will work with the Office of Rural Prosperity through project completion. At that time, information will again be compiled in the form of guidebooks to add to the library of projects and be made available to provide learning and support to additional communities.
More information on the Rural Champions program is available here. The guidebooks developed by the first cohort of Champions are available to review here.
Tim and Deb McKenney at the KS Department of Commerce 2023 awards ceremony. The McKenney family has operated the radio station in Fort Scott for 70 years. Submitted photo.
Seventy years ago, KMDO1600 Radio signed on the air in Fort Scott.
From October 7 through 11, the station will celebrate its 70th anniversary featuring the music of the 50s through the 90s.
The McKenney family has owned and operated the local radio business for the past 70 years, providing contemporary hit music, news, weather, sports, and public service announcements to the community.
Celebration Week at The Radio Station Oct. 7-11
In October 2024, music of the different decades will be featured, and some former disc jockeys will be on the air in the studios again.
During the week of October 7-11, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., the radio station will play special music from the different decades in which it has served the community.
On Monday, music from the 1950s will be featured, Tuesday will feature 60s music, Wednesday, 70s music, Thursday, 80s music and Friday, music from the 1990s.
The Trading Post is a daily program where one can buy, sale, trade or give away items.
Special Trading Post program for the anniversary celebration will be Tim Mckenney and Ron Palmer on Monday, Oct. 7; Charlene Keating, Becky Allen, and Kirby Ham, on Tuesday Oct. 8; Gary Palmer and Deb Mckenney on Oct. 9th, and Larry Gazaway and Pam Hutchison on Friday Oct. 11th.
The Beginning
Jim McKenney. Submitted photo.
Lloyd James (Jim) McKenney built several stations in the late 40s and early 50s, including the first stations in Carthage, Monnet, Cassville, and Branson, MO, and Iola, KS.
Jim McKenney built KMDO-AM radio station in Fort Scott, signing on for the first time on Oct. 7, 1954, in the vicinity of where Tractor Supply is today, with six employees.
The old radio station. Submitted photo.
“Jim had five sons and a daughter,” Deb said. “Several of the sons worked at KMDO in the early years, however, Tim, after starting on- air in 1969, worked there on and off until 1980, when he returned full-time and built 103.9FM (KOMB). Tim has been manager of the radio stations since 1980 and owner since 1996.”
“The studios and transmitters were south of town on Hwy. 69 originally in the area of Tractor Supply,” Deb said. “In 1990, we moved the studios and offices to the building we are now located in at 2 N. National and moved the tower and transmitters to a site where Walmart is presently located. In 2006, we moved the towers from that site to two separate sites. The KMDO tower is now located south of town in the industrial park and the 103.9FM tower is located about seven miles northwest of Fort Scott on 7 Highway.”
Deb started on the air at the station in the early 1980s and has worked with her husband in almost every function of the business since that time.
Serving the Public
They regularly broadcast city, county, and school talk shows in the Fort Scott area to keep people informed about current happenings in the area.
The radio station’s goal has been to serve the public interest, she said.
“We do that by broadcasting things of interest and/or service to our listeners,” she said. These include local news, weather, sports, music and public service announcements. We air weekly programs that inform listeners about what’s going on in our school systems, talks with our city manager about things going on in the city and talks with our county commissioners about what’s going on in the county. Broadcast Tiger games! And of course, we play music for folks too!”
Through the years, technology has changed, “but our clients and staff have been faithful,” she said.
The rest of the current broadcast crew besides Deb and Tim is Darla Ramsey, the office manager; Deana Wade, Angie King, and Angie Martin, sales executives; on-air personnel include “Downtown” Keith Brown, Charlene Bolinger, Carlos Muniz, and Jonah Cooke and they also have contract engineers.
Fort Scott Broadcasting is located at 2 N. National in Downtown Historic Fort Scott and can be reached at 620-223-4500.
State Recognition
In 2023, Fort Scott Broadcasting Co. Inc was recognized as the Southeast Kansas Regional Winner in Retail and Service by the Kansas Department of Commerce.
To The Stars: Kansas Businesses Awards is an annual awards program that recognizes businesses across the state for the valuable contributions they make to the Kansas economy and to the well-being of their communities, according to https://www.kansascommerce.gov/kansasbusinessawards/.
Fort Scott Broadcasting is the parent company of KMDO-AM, and KOMB-FM and is located at 2 N. National Avenue.
The money from sales goes to help with the dues of the children.
If there is money left over from paying their dues, it goes to purchasing their awards and camps. If you are interested in supporting the troop they will be having their weekly meeting at First United Methodist Church at 3rd and National tonight at 6 p.m.
“We will have some popcorn with us for sale. If you have a child interested in joining scouts feel free to stop by and check it out,” said Mandi Widder, who submitted the item.
