Fort Scott, Schools

Press Release from U234

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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

NEWS RELEASE

Monday, November 14, 2022

 

Members of the USD 234 Board of Education met at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, November 14, 2022, for their regular monthly meeting at the board office.

 

President Danny Brown opened the meeting.

 

The board approved the official agenda, and the consent agenda as follows:

 

  • Minutes from October 10, 2022, Board of Education meeting
  • Financials – Cash Flow Report
  • Check Register
  • Payroll – October 20, 2022 – $1,572,916.54
  • Activity Fund accounts
  • Parent/Teacher Conference Statistics
    • FSPC – 92%, Winfield Scott – 94%, Eugene Ware – 89%, FSMS – 56%, FSHS – 63%

 

Scott Kimble, Fort Scott High School Principal, introduced Anna Laubenstein, a senior at FSHS, who provided an update on the varsity Cinematography Challenge at the 4-State Academy of Scholastic Broadcasting Film Festival in Springfield, Missouri.  Anna, along with FSHS students Lily Brown, Elena Robison, and Zaida Gomez, all competed in the festival with 30 other schools. In total, eleven students from FSHS were able to attend.  The students shared information with the board on the competition and the Digital Media program at the high school that they are a part of.

 

Terry Sercer, CPA, with Diehl, Banwart, Bolton CPAs, P.A., presented the financial audit for 2021-22 year.  There were no violations.

 

Superintendent Destry Brown noted that the final Visioning Session hosted by Bourbon County REDI will be Wednesday, November 16th at 5:30 p.m. at the Liberty Theater.  Mr. Brown discussed the district’s preschool expansion project to take place at the old Mercy Hospital and how the current location on Judson will then be utilized for an elementary school specific for behaviors.  Mr. Brown updated the board on the delivery and installation of the air purifiers purchased with KDHE grant funds.  Superintendent Brown closed with discussing the “40 Developmental Assets” that help young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible and how these are things our community can take part in to support our students.

 

Assistant Superintendent Dalaina Smith thanked the board and community for their support of PLC time.  Mrs. Smith discussed conversations happening regarding attendance at PLC conferences or whether that training should be held in-house.  Mrs. Smith provided an update on the cases purchased to protect student technology devices and the Science adoption that will come to the board for approval in March.

 

Gina Shelton, Finance Director, reported on the workers compensation renewal, federal funds, open enrollment for employee benefits, and staff retirements.

 

The board received an update on District Communications from Superintendent Brown.

 

The board approved the following items:

  • ESSER III Budget – information, including the budget can be found on the USD 234 website.
  • Contract with Benchmark Inc. for a full-time project management service for the roof replacement project in the amount of $178,000.
  • Resolution to join Kansas Municipal Investment Pool and investment of funds into the KMIP for 180-days, with an interest rate of 3.96%.
  • Acceptance of quote from City State Bank for a 90-day CD, with an interest rate of 3.13% with revaluation in 90 days.
  • RPS Benefits by Design, Inc Consulting Agreement for health insurance broker services.
  • Premium Rate Schedule for 2022-23.
  • District Benefit Committee Recommendation with no increase to health insurance premiums, increase in Wellness Stipend to $350.00, and change in accident/cancer policy options.
  • Personnel Report – following

 

The board went into an executive session for personnel matters and the superintendent evaluation process.

 

President Danny Brown adjourned the meeting.

 

 

 

PERSONNEL REPORT – APPROVED EMPLOYMENT

RESIGNATIONS/TERMINATIONS/RETIREMENTS:

  • Amy Lybarger – Early retirement as Eugene Ware third grade teacher, effective at the end of the 2022-23 school year
  • Chris Sather – Early retirement as Winfield Scott physical education teacher, effective at the end of the 2022-23 school year
  • Rachel Patton – Resignation as Eugene Ware paraprofessional, effective Oct. 19, 2022
  • Kaylie Harper – Resignation as Winfield Scott paraprofessional, effective Oct. 26, 2022
  • Elizabeth Rose – Resignation as FSHS paraprofessional, effective Nov. 11, 2022
  • Amaiya Terry – Resignation as FSHS paraprofessional, effective Nov. 11, 2022
  • Bethany Higgins – Eugene Ware teacher, leave of absence
  • Andi Heckman – FSPC teacher, leave of absence
  • Francis Torres – Winfield Scott paraprofessional, leave of absence

EMPLOYMENT/REASSIGNMENTS – FOR THE 2022-23 SCHOOL YEAR

  • Brad Wright – Central Office HVAC Maintenance
  • Kathryn Harrington – FSMS paraprofessional
  • Robert West – Eugene Ware/FSPC custodian
  • Belinda Pitts – FSHS paraprofessional
  • Billi Jo Shoemaker – Winfield Scott 7.5-hour paraprofessional
  • Amanda Jamison – Winfield Scot 7.5-hour paraprofessional
  • FSHS newspaper sponsor change from Brian Pommier to Bethany Anderson for the second semester
  • Langdon Giddens – Tech Department paid intern
  • Sara Schnichels – FSMS paraprofessional
  • John Metcalf – FSHS assistant wrestling coach
  • Colin Downey – FSHS assistant freshman boys basketball coach
Bourbon County, Food, Jobs

Lack Of Agriculture Workforce Is Inhibiting Growth

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A lack of a skilled agriculture workforce is a top inhibitor of growth and expansion for many Kansas agriculture entities. To help support growth in agriculture, the Kansas Department of Agriculture seeks to help the industry better understand workforce needs among agricultural employers in the state. To link the supply of human capital to the needs of Kansas agribusiness enterprises, KDA conducted the second Kansas Agriculture Workforce Needs Assessment Survey in 2022. The survey was analyzed by the Agricultural Land Use Survey Center at Kansas State University.

The survey was emailed to over 25,000 businesses with 1,192 choosing to participate. Participating businesses employ 27,466 individuals in Kansas and 9,244 outside of Kansas. Respondents were asked to self-select the major category that applied to their business.

“We are committed to growing agriculture in Kansas, and that centers around a reliable and capable workforce,” said Secretary of Agriculture Mike Beam. “We know recruiting and retaining skilled, talented workers to fill critical roles is a priority of the agriculture industry in our state.”

The survey findings will be used along with action items developed at the Kansas Summit on Agricultural Growth, which was held in August, to help direct KDA’s vision in serving the farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses of Kansas. Employers and state agencies need to work together to find or develop programs so that businesses may implement successful on-the-job training. By working with secondary schools and postsecondary educational institutions, the agriculture industry can develop beneficial partnerships that will help teach the skills and content needed by employers and will help the industry gain access to trained future employees.

To view the final report from the survey, go to agriculture.ks.gov/workforce. For more information, please contact Russell Plaschka, Director of KDA Ag Marketing Division, at 785-564-7466 or [email protected].

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Agriculture Workforce Survey Results Complete.pdf

History

“Langston Hughes & Gordon Parks Story Board Collection” Lunch and Learn

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Guest Speaker: Bill Martin
Wednesday, November 30, 2022, from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Gordon Parks Museum
FREE Attendance
Please feel free to bring your lunch and drinks.
Birthday Cake will be available.
Come and celebrate Gordon Parks 110th birthday as Bill Martin, Diversity Archivists for the Langston Hughes Cultural Society in Joplin, Missouri, will share the story board collections of
Langston Hughes & Gordon Parks along with his research with the help from the Library of Congress and Ancestry.com and historic African American Newspapers.


For more information contact the Gordon Parks Museum at 620 -223-2700 ext 5850 or
email: [email protected]


The Gordon Parks Museum Presents
“Langston Hughes & Gordon Parks
Story Board Collection”
Presentation Explores The Story
Board Collection of
Langston Hughes and Gordon Parks
Celebrating Gordon Parks110th Birthday
Lunch & Learn Event

Gordon Parks Museum

Free Instruction on Digital Photography Nov. 30

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On Wednesday, Nov 30, 2022, 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
at the Gordon Parks Museum, Professional photographer, Veretta Cobler will give a free photography instruction on
working with digital photography.

This in-depth workshop is designed to help the
beginner and the novice learn how to get the most out of their digital camera. More experienced photographers can learn some techniques to improve and enhance
their shots.


Veretta lived and worked in New York City as a professional photographer for over four decades. She has recently relocated back home in Fort Scott, Kansas. Her work is in fine arts, fashion, portraiture, still life and journalistic cultural study. Her fashion images are seen in various U.S. magazines including Bride, Modern Bride, Bridal Guide, Elegant Bride, Martha Stewart Living, The Knot, Seventeen, Prom and New York Magazine.


Veretta’s fine arts photography has resulted in exhibitions and publications of her work throughout her career. Published works include New York Underground (2004), a coffee
table photography book depicting the nightlife in New York City in late 1970’s and early 1980’s.

Her most recent book about the life and teachings of a Lakota spiritual man, “Teachings From A Chief ”, is in the publishing process.

She received her BS degree of Photojournalism from the University of Kansas in 1974.


For more information contact the Gordon Parks Museum at 620 -223-2700 ext 5850 or
email: [email protected]

 

The museum is located on the campus of Fort Scott Community College.


Celebrating Gordon Parks,110th Birthday
Digital PhotographyDigital Photography
Workshop

Food, Gordon Parks Museum, History

Gordon Parks Birthday Celebration Nov. 30

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A panel in the Gordon Parks Museum.


 The Gordon Parks Museum at Fort Scott Community College will celebrate the anniversary of Gordon Parks’ birthday on Wednesday, November 30th with presentations, workshop and the showing of films throughout the day. The events are free of charge and the public is invited to attend.


The schedule throughout the day will include:
8:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. — Gordon Parks Museum will be open for extended hours.
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. — Showing of the film Criterion Collection The Learning Tree.
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. — “Langston Hughes & Gordon Parks Story Board” (Lunch and Learn Event) Bill Martin, Diversity Archivists for the Langston Hughes Cultural Society in Joplin, Missouri, will share the story board collections of Langston Hughes & Gordon Parks along with his research with the help from the Library of
Congress and Ancestry.com and historic African American Newspapers. Feel free to bring your lunch and join
us. Birthday cake.


1:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. – Showing of the film Leadbelly.
5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. — “Digital Photography Workshop” Veretta Cobler, Professional Photographer will provide free instruction on working with digital photography. This in–depth workshop is designed to help the beginner and the novice learn how to get the most out of their digital camera. More experienced photographers
can learn some techniques to improve and enhance their shots.
Parks, born in Fort Scott on November 30, 1912, would have been 110 this year. He died in March 7, 2006 at the age of 93.

The events and films will be shown in the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center.
For more information contact the Gordon Parks Museum at 620– 223–2700, ext. 5850 or by email at
gordonparkscenter@fortscott.edu
###

Fort Scott, Schools

USD 234 Preschool Screening

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Unified School District 234
424 south Main
Fort Scott, KS 66701-2697
www.usd234.org
520-223-0800 Fax 620-223-27 60
DESTRY BROWN, Superintendent


November 15,2022


USD 234 will provide preschool screenings for children up to the age of5 years on December 2,2022. Children may have vision, hearing, speech/communication, motor skills, socialization skills, and general development screened.
The purpose of the screenings is to locate and identify children with
possible developmental delays who may need special education preschool and/or related services.
Appointments may be scheduled by calling Tammy Catron, Fort Scott Preschool Center,223-8965, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The deadline for scheduling an appointment is November 22,
2022

Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes

   The Lowell Milken Center Reaches an All-time Record for Visitors

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Since its inception in 2007, the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes has hosted visitors from around the world, including 104 countries and all 50 US states. On November 4, 2022, the center reached a new milestone with its 12,634th visitor for 2022. That number marks the highest number of visitors the Center has had in one calendar year.

81-year-old John Hammes from Bangor, Wisconsin was the honored visitor for 2022. He is a Vietnam veteran, who visited the Center on his way to a veteran’s celebration in Branson, Missouri with his wife and children. They enjoyed learning the stories of all of the LMC’s Unsung Heroes and could relate to those about Harry Hue and Douglas Hegdahl, both Vietnam veterans themselves. While John was awarded with special gifts from the Center to mark this milestone day, he also gifted the LMC staff with his own special stories about his four tours of duty in Vietnam. The Center thanks John for his service to our country and congratulates him as the 12,634th Visitor for 2022!

Visitors like John and his family continue to help the mission of the Center grow, as they learn about and share the featured Unsung Heroes’ stories and their important impact on the history of our country and the world.

As interest in the Center grows, the number of projects entered in the Discovery Award and ArtEffect competitions grows as well. Consequently, new Unsung Hero exhibits are continually being added to the Lowell Milken Center’s Hall of Heroes, the Lowell Milken Park, and the Center’s website. These unsung heroes become role models that inspire all who learn about them to seek to make a difference in the lives of others.

About the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes:

The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes works with students and educators across diverse academic disciplines to develop history projects that highlight role models who demonstrate courage, compassion and respect. Through our unique project-based learning approach, students discover, develop and communicate the stories of Unsung Heroes who have made a profound and positive impact on the course of history. By championing these Unsung Heroes, students, educators and communities discover their own power and responsibility to effect positive change in the world. Visit www.lowellmilkencenter.org to learn more.

 

The Lowell Milken Park. Submitted photo.

 

Food, Fort Scott

Thompson-Harkey American Legion Post #25 Chili Cook-off Nov. 19

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Who: Thompson-Harkey American Legion #25

When: November 19th, 2022. Doors Open at 11:00 a.m. Judging will begin at 1:00 p.m., There will be two categories “Hottest” and “Most flavorful.”

Where: Memorial Hall, 1 East Third Street, Fort Scott, KS 66701.

The General Public is invited to participate and attend.

Entry Fee is $10.00 per Category. There will be prizes for the top three Winners in each Category.

 

Media Contact: Jessica Allison, Commander, American Legion Post #25. 620-224-4733, [email protected]

 

Fort Scott

Reading With Miss Val: Kansas Reads to Preschoolers Month

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Schedule a Reading with Miss Val for
Kansas Reads to Preschoolers Month

In honor of Kansas Reads to Preschoolers Month, Miss Val, Youth Librarian at Fort Scott Public Library, would like to read “Not a Box” by Antoinette Portis to local preschool children. If you run a daycare or teach at a preschool and would like to schedule a reading, email Miss Val at [email protected] or call (620)223-2882.

The story “Not a Box” is a simple tale about a rabbit who uses its imagination to turn a box into many different things, including a rocket ship, racecar, burning building, and a mountain peak.

According to the State Library of Kansas website, “Kansas Reads to Preschoolers is an annual event that promotes reading to all Kansas children from birth through age five.
Through the statewide program, parents, librarians and caregivers are encouraged to read the chosen title during a selected week and month.”

Entertainment, Fort Scott, History, Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes

Star Gazing Parties in the Future For the Lowell Milken Center Fort Scott

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The Lowell Milken Park. Submitted photo.
A telescope will be an added attraction at the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes at the corner of First and Wall Street in downtown Fort Scott.
“The telescope will be used to educate the community on… amazing unsung heroes of the stars,” Ronda Hassig, funding developer for the center, said.
Ronda Hassig. Taken from the Lowell Milken Center Facebook page.
Hassig wrote the $2,500 grant proposal for the telescope and carrying case and the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation awarded the grant  last month.
“The telescope is remote and GPS controlled,” Hassig said. ” We had an astronomer from Nebraska stop by the center and we found out he is the director of the Stargazing Project in Nebraska!  He is so excited for us, that he has agreed to come back down as soon as the telescope arrives and help us get used to using it.  There’s a definite learning curve but he thinks we can handle it!”
“The telescope will be used in the Lowell Milken Park (adjacent to the center) for viewing of the moon and planets,” she said.  “For deeper space, we are hoping to be able to use it at the Fort (Fort Scott National Historic Site) along with their telescope!”
“We hope to get both young and old excited about seeing the stars and the heavens so we will be having star parties here at the center in the Lowell Milken Park,” she said. “The parties will contain stargazing along with guest speakers and expert astronomers from all over the country.  Everyone will be invited!”
“I think no matter how old you are, if you have ever looked through a telescope and seen the moon up close, or the actual rings of Saturn, you are hooked forever,” she said.
The telescope has been ordered and the center staff hope to have it  sometime this week.
 “Then I’ll get to start planning our first star party,” she said. ” I’ll be paying special attention to moonless nights and hopefully cloudless nights and we may get lucky and get to have a party in the next several months.  It will be cold but if you’re bundled up you won’t care!  There will be warm drinks and treats for everyone!”
“Stay tuned for dates and please plan to come enjoy our newest device at the Lowell Milken Center provided with the gracious funds of the Fort Scott Community Foundation,” she said.
“We are really trying to educate the community on all of the different unsung heroes here at the Lowell Milken Center, by having fun and having educational activities around those heroes,” she said.
Two of the astronomy heroes that are featured at the center are:
“Henrietta Swan Leavitt was born right after the Civil War and was educated at Oberlin and Radcliffe,” Hassig said.  “She got excited about astronomy after taking a course on it.  When she graduated she began volunteering at the Harvard College Observatory and after 14 years she was paid for her work at $.30 an hour.  She was essentially 1 of 20 women computers. Through her work, Leavitt earned graduate credit towards her degree but never completed it.  She did however make an amazing discovery – she figured out how to measure objects in space. This discovery led to the launching of the Hubble Telescope and more recently the Webb Telescope!  As she aged, her health got worse and a bout with cancer caused her to lose her hearing.  She died at age 53, but her dedication to astronomy has given us some of our most advanced knowledge about space!”
“Gene Shoemaker was the founder of astrogeology,” Hassig said.  “The first person to determine the origin of the famous Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona, the first director and creator of the Astrogeology Research Program of the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Arizona, and along with David Levy discovered the Shoemaker-Levy Comet.
“Shoemaker worked for NASA preparing himself and the other astronauts to walk on the moon.  Gene was to be the first geologist on the moon. But after all his hard work he was unable to go to the moon because he had Addison’s Disease. He commentated the moonwalk with CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite during the live flights.  Although he was horribly disappointed not to go, he kept looking for impact craters and space rocks.  He searched for craters and rocks all over the world.  He was looking for craters in Australia when he was tragically killed in a car accident.  NASA wanted to honor this amazing scientist so they called his family and asked for some of his ashes.  They put the ashes in a space probe and crashed it on the moon.  Gene Shoemaker is the only human buried on the moon and just one of two buried in space.”
 

Bourbon County Local News