Obituary of Joseph Rash
Joseph Wayne Rash, age 43, a resident of Garland, Kansas, passed away unexpectedly, Tuesday, January 23, 2024, at his home. He was born June 26, 1980, in Kansas City, the son of Wayne Cecil Rash and Donna Mae Cole Rash.
Joseph enjoyed reading about history, collecting comic books and movies, and spending time on the computer.
He attended the Hannon Freewill Baptist Church in Liberal, Missouri. Joseph loved his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and had read the entire Bible.
Survivors include his mother, Donna Rash; three sisters, Rosemary Harris of Ft. Scott, Kay Wallace of Pittsburg, Kansas and Donna Hassan of Cady, Texas and three brothers, Glenn Rash of Ft. Scott, Cecil Rash of Topeka, Kansas and Roy Rash of Independence, Missouri.
He was preceded in death by his father, two brothers, Wesley Wallace and Henry Rash and a sister, Sherry Palmer.
There was cremation. A memorial service with burial in the Dayton Cemetery will be held at a later.
Memorials are suggested to the Joseph Rash Memorial Fund and may be left in 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.
Father Knows Best by Patty LaRoche
Author: A Little Faith Lift…Finding Joy Beyond Rejection
www.alittlefaithlift.com
AWSA (Advanced Writers & Speakers Assoc.)
Last week, I wrote about how we Little League mothers were asked by our sons’ fathers if we would like to coach our nine-year-old boys in this, the last game of their season. This was not, I might add, because our hubbies considered us knowledgeable. This was payback for how we had questioned the way they had handled the team throughout the season.
In an effort not to follow their lead, we shuffled the positions. The boys were thrilled. The right-fielder moved to third base. The utility player pitched. Who knew what talent had gone unnoticed by the dads who never did anything unpredictable! When Toby, a small lad who came in only when we were slaughtering the other team, asked to be catcher, we agreed.
Poor little guy couldn’t catch a pitch. But that wasn’t the only problem. When we moms noticed a bulge in his uniform behind his thigh, we realized his cup, a protective device for the groin, had slipped from his jock strap. None of us felt comfortable addressing the problem, so we asked for some help from the dads…who obviously found this hysterical and something we “coach-wannabe’s” needed to handle ourselves.
Fine. No problem. I was appointed. Between innings, I took Toby aside and asked him if he realized that something was caught in his pant leg. He did. He even referred to it by name.
“Do you know what you’re supposed to do with your cup?” I asked.
He smiled and nodded. “Yes…but it won’t stay there.”
“Toby, it goes inside your jock strap.”
“But I don’t have one on.”
I could feel every dad’s cynical ear straining to hear.
“Well then, just…just…just stick it down inside your underpants.”
“I don’t have those on, either.”
With that, Toby traded places with the right fielder, Greg, who had never caught, either, but at least he had on a jock strap.
Leading effectively isn’t easy. This coaching thing always had looked so simple from the bleachers. Even Toby probably could have managed better than we did.
The term “arm-chair quarterbacks” was created because of people like me. Second-guessing decisions coaches make is one of my talents, and right now, with the K.C. Chiefs vying for a Super Bowl spot, I am in high gear. The problem is, whenever I voice my objections, Dave explains to me why that decision was made…something I never considered.
I wonder how many of us do that with God. We ask for a “yes,” but He has other plans. Please let me get that job. Please heal my child. Please let me meet the right guy/gal. Please get me out of debt. Please fix this relationship.
We, lacking the infinite knowledge God has, think we know best, forgetting that God’s ways are not our ways, and many times, God’s silence forces us to get on our knees and realize that He is the only One who sees the big picture. Isaiah 55:9, NIV (God speaking to the prophet Isaiah): As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. He already knows who will win the Super Bowl. I’m guessing He probably doesn’t care. Players and fans on both sides are praying for a victory. The only thing He wants is that we give Him the glory, no matter what.
As for Toby, I have no idea what became of him, but, no thanks to the dads, I imagine he still brags about his catching debut. He has us moms to thank for that.
Local Food Producer Workshops Offered from the KS Department of Agriculture
MANHATTAN, Kansas — The Kansas Department of Agriculture and K-State Research and Extension (KSRE) will offer four regional Local Food Producer Workshops to assist farmers’ market vendors and managers, and for those wanting to sell food products directly to consumers.
Kansas farmers’ markets not only provide a fresh food source, but also stimulate the local economy. In 2023, more than 100 farmers’ markets were registered with KDA’s Central Registration of Farmers’ Markets.
“It’s part of our mission to provide education to Kansas farmers’ markets and agricultural businesses to help them grow,” said Russell Plaschka, KDA marketing director. “These workshops will support them in their endeavors to provide safe and abundant food to Kansas communities.”
Workshop topics will vary slightly by location. Highlighted topics include:
- Marketing
- SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks
- Food Safety
- Regulations on Selling Meat, Eggs and Poultry
- Sales Tax for Vendors
KDA’s weights and measures program will also offer free scale certification at the workshops for attendees.
Dates and locations for the Local Food Producer Workshops are as follows:
Friday, Feb. 9 — Olathe: K-State Olathe
Saturday, Feb. 10 — Hutchinson: Hutchinson Community College
Friday, Feb. 23 — Parsons: Southeast Research–Extension Center
Friday, March 1 — Hays: K-State Agricultural Research Center
Registration for the workshops is now open and is $20 per participant. Registration forms can be found at FromtheLandofKansas.com/
For more information, contact Robin Dolby, KDA’s From the Land of Kansas marketing coordinator, at 785-564-6756 or [email protected]. The workshops are funded by the Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops, Kansas Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, and sponsored by KSRE and KDA.
KDA is committed to providing an environment that enhances and encourages economic growth of the agriculture industry and the Kansas economy. The Kansas Ag Growth Strategy has identified training for small companies via workshops as a key growth outcome for the specialty crop sector. The Local Food Producer Workshops will provide education through partnerships to help make Kansas farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses more successful.
###
FSCC Community Conversation: Cuts Will Need To Be Made
Fort Scott Community College’s Dr. Jason Kegler led a conversation with approximately 85 interested community members about the state of the college on January 24 in the Ellis Fine Art Center on the campus.
He began by explaining that last year they saw that FSCC would have depleted all but $300,000 of its savings by November of 2023. They made drastic cuts to spending to prevent needing to lay anyone off in 2023. FSCC’s payroll is approximately $800,000 per month.
Kegler said that the primary driver of the spending was the scholarship program that gives around $1,000,000 per year in academic scholarships. Toward the end of the year, the college made a change to limit academic scholarships to in-state students because those students would result in payments from the state. The administration is also going to make some changes to limit the number of scholarships to a budgeted amount to make planning easier.
Audience member Larry Shead asked if the college has significant debt it is making payments on. Dr. Kegler answered that the college has bond payments that total $1.4 to $1.5 million per year and they have been making payments. He said that the school is carrying too much debt and that they should be at about half of that. The current market isn’t a good time to refinance, and recent events have probably impacted the college’s credit standing.
Audience member Anne Dare asked how the college is navigating the salaries for faculty and staff. Dr. Kegler said there is a study every year that shows the salaries for other community colleges and FSCC has salaries at the lower end of the range. He said they need to get the salaries up, but the way to do that is to bring in more students. The college has lost 27% of the student population since 2018. The current numbers for this spring are 5.9% lower than it was a year ago, but with late start classes, he hoped they could get that to 3%.
The FSCC Nursing Program was previously one of the top ones in this area, but it is now on conditional approval which means that no new nursing students can be accepted. Dr. Kegler said that nursing is one of the top five career paths in the world.
He went on to talk about how the college is trying to make sure they are funding activities that will keep students engaged and enjoying their time here so other students will want to come.
Audience member Chad Cosens asked what the impact of the current situation was on athletics and if the college is looking at adding any new athletics programs. Dr. Kegler said 76% of the current athletes are from out of state and on scholarships. Therefore the majority of athletes are not students who are bringing in state funds. He said he wants strong athletics teams, but FSCC can’t keep the doors open through sports. He pointed out that when a coach leaves, the athletes that are from out of state don’t have ties to the local area and leave.
Cosens said he doesn’t see how a community college can get students without sports because the local draw of higher education isn’t very strong without it.
Dr. Kegler said that while he recognizes the role of athletics and doesn’t want to cut sports, he does want to be sustainable. He said that the school is doing things in the name of sports that don’t have a return on investment and the college can’t continue doing that.
He pointed out that the college has an athletic facility across town (that students can only get to if they have a car), but the school can’t find a building for technical education. He said that the return on investment in athletics is flat at a minimum.
An audience member suggested adding some current professional football players to the FSCC Hall of Fame to generate some good positive attention.
Attendee Katy Casper said that as a community member, she’d like to see an analysis of what programs bring people from out of state, to stay here in town and pay over $100,000 in property taxes a year. She pointed out that there are celebrities who have come here in the past, but we have people who came for rodeo and have stayed here in the community.
Dr. Kegler said it would appear that FSCC is a very athletic college based on past budgets. He said athletic programs have been the primary place where the college has spent money over the years.
Audience member Steve Williams said the community colleges cut their own throat by focusing on bringing in athletes from out of state.
The decision to move the conference that FSCC participates in, into Division 2, hurt programs like FSCC according to Dr. Kegler. With Division 2, they were only competing against other schools that could scholarship tuition and books whereas Division 1 could also pay for room and board and other expenses. He said more schools are recognizing that Division 1 isn’t sustainable for Kansas community colleges.
Audience member Jerry Witt said that the FSCC football alumni are looking for ways to get the college back on its feet, but that was the focus before looking for ways to bring football back.
Attendee Lindsey Madison said this afternoon a future student was looking for housing this summer and wondered what the occupancy was like on the FSCC housing. Kegler said the college has vacancies in the on-campus housing, but the on-campus students don’t have a way for students to cook for themselves other than the off-campus housing options. He said they are not planning to add any new housing at this time.
An audience member asked if the county and state money is going to give the college what it needs through 2024. Kegler said no it is not. The college is anticipating a deficit in April where they will not be able to make payroll. The college did receive a gift from the foundation to help, but even with the money that is coming in, FSCC will need to make cuts.
The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Daily Reports January 25
Obituary of Linda May
Linda Kay May, age 72, resident of Fort Scott, KS died unexpectedly Tuesday, January 23, 2024, at Freeman West Hospital, Joplin, MO. She was born August 29, 1951, in Fort Scott, the daughter of William and Marilyn Hurd Fowler. She graduated from FSHS with the class of 1969. She was married to Palmer May for 25 years until they divorced. She worked for over 20 years for Labconco in Fort Scott. Linda was always making things with wood such as porch swings. She enjoyed working in the yard and gardening. She also raised chickens. Linda was a wonderful cook, especially baking. Her family was her life. Linda was the caretaker of the family. She loved spending time with her kids and grandkids.
Survivors include her daughter Tracy May, Kansas City, MO; her son, Jeffrey May, Fort Scott, KS; siblings, Shorty Cooper, Mike Fowler (Carla), Rusty Fowler (Johnna), Pam Fowler, Carla Flennigan (Doug), Diana Ballou (Charlie), Sandy Tiri (Mike), and Chris Perry; 8 grandchildren, Jacob May (Leslie), Dalton Davis (Stacey), Bailey May, Xane May (Morgan), Katie May, Zoey May, Brandon Gardner, and Bradley Bernall; 7 great grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and 2 nieces, Shelly Gray, and Jessie Ballou.
Funeral services will be held at 3:30 PM Friday, January 26th, at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Cremation will follow. The family will receive friends from 2:30 PM until service time Friday at the funeral home. Memorials are suggested to Care to Share and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, PO Box 347, 201 S. Main St., Fort Scott, KS, 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted online at cheneywitt.com.
Conservation Reserve Progam Management Workshop on February 1 in Bronson
The Obituary of Gene Richey
Gene Richey, 86, of Fort Scott, passed away peacefully on Wednesday afternoon, January 17, 2024, at Medicalodges of Fort Scott. He was born March 14, 1937, in Bourbon County, Kansas, to John Richey and Lilian (Bailey) Richey. He married Margaret “Peggy” L. Rylander March 25, 1962, in Richards, Missouri. She preceded him in death August 13, 2008.
Gene lived his entire life right here in Fort Scott. He graduated from Fort Scott High School in 1955. He served in the U.S. Army from 1959 until 1961. He retired from the Western Insurance Co. and American States after thirty-plus years in 1998.
Gene is survived by his son Jeffrey and daughter-in-law Pam Richey, grandkids, Denise Engelhardt, Lucas Marshall, and Christopher Richey; great-grandson Carter Richey, and sister Peggy Mason. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews.
In addition to his wife Peggy, of forty-six years, he was also preceded in death by his brother, John Richey, his sister Jackie Peterson, and his nephew, Johnny Richey.
Services for Gene will be at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, January 29, 2024, at the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home.
Private family burial due to inclement weather will be at the Fort Scott National Cemetery following the service. Condolences may be submitted to the online guestbook at konantz-cheney.com.
Local Author Tanya Glessner Completes Second Book
Local author, Tanya Glessner, has written her second book Stand Up Eight.
“The book has personal testimonies of everyday people who have experienced a personal relationship with God through trials of adversity,” she said. “Their stories offer hope, encouragement, and inspiration to all believers.”
The book title was taken from a Bible verse: Proverbs 24:16 “For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,” she said.
“No matter how many times we fall, we always get back up again.”
One may purchase Stand Up Eight on Amazon:
in paperback for $10 and on Kindle for $7.99.
Here is the link to purchase the book:
To view a prior story on Glessner:
*I plan on taking some books to Hedgehog Ink bookstore … mmid-February” she said. “I also want to mention that Stephen Toal did the cover art.”
About the author:
Tanya Glessner was born in Kansas City.
She operates Crooked Cactus Coffee Roasting Company with her husband from their home in Fort Scott.
She volunteers her time mentoring recovering addicts and men and women imprisoned.
Tanya says she finds joy in serving the Lord and also spending time with her grandchildren.
Learn About Radon Risks
Get Ready for Kansas Radon Action Month in January
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), in partnership with the Kansas Radon Program, encourages Kansans to take action this January by learning about radon and how its risks can be lowered.
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, behind cigarette smoking. 1 in 4 homes in Kansas test high for radon. It is a radioactive gas from the breakdown of naturally occurring uranium in the soil. Radon can’t be seen, heard or smelled, so the only way to know if a home has high levels of radon is to test.
The risk of developing lung cancer from radon exposure increases dramatically in people who smoke. People who smoke or are exposed to secondhand smoke and are exposed to radon have a ten times greater risk of developing lung cancer from radon exposure compared with people who do not smoke and are exposed to the same radon levels.
The Cancer Burden Report of 2021 states, on average, each year, more than 1,900 lung cancers are diagnosed among Kansas residents, and more than 70% of them (about 1,350 cases) are diagnosed in late stage. In addition, about 1,500 Kansans die from the disease annually.
There are several ways to lower the risk of lung cancer. The best thing to prevent lung cancer is never to start smoking or to quit smoking and avoid secondhand smoke whenever possible. No matter how long an individual has used tobacco, quitting can reduce their risk for cancer and other chronic diseases. Homes can also be tested for high radon levels and fixed if the radon levels are too high.
Learn more about what Kansas is doing to reduce the risk of cancer among Kansans by reading the 2022-2027 Kansas Cancer Prevention and Control Plan.
Get a low-cost, short-term radon test kit at your local K-State Extension office.
Learn more about the relationship between tobacco and radon here.
###