Thorene F. Roberts, 93, of Fort Scott, passed away peacefully Monday afternoon, November 8, 2021. She was born February 29, 1928, in Mount Hope, Kansas, one of 4 children to Scott and Dollie (Lumbert) Johnson. She married Kale Lee Roberts on February 1, 1947, in Mount Hope, Kansas, and they had two sons, Kent and Kim. Kale preceded her in death on April 14, 2021.
Thorene and Kale were long-time residents of Wichita, Kansas, and were founding members of West Heights Methodist Church. Thorene and Kale moved to Fort Scott, Kansas in 2012 and have lived here up until the time of their deaths.
Thorene is survived by her children, Kent L. Roberts and wife Becki, of Fort Scott, and Kim A. Roberts and wife Kalyn, of Plano, Texas; three grandchildren, Brooke Roberts-Higgins, of Carthage, Missouri, Scott Roberts, of Longview, Texas, and Ryan Roberts, of Plano, Texas; four great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.
In addition to her husband Kale, she was also preceded in death by her parents, and three brothers, Paul Johnson, Garlan Johnson, and Irwin Johnson.
Following cremation, private memorial services will be held at a later date. The family requests memorial gifts be made in Thorene’s memory to: Care to Share – The Sharing Bucket, 2478 Limestone Road, Fort Scott, Kansas 66701, or may be left in the care of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home, 15 W. Wall Street, P.O. Box 309, Fort Scott, Kansas, 66701. Condolences may be submitted to the online guestbook at konantz-cheney.com.
The Fort Scott Area Community Foundation (FSACF) was launched in August 2007 and serves all of Bourbon County as a partner and resource to non-profit organizations whose goal is to improve the quality of life in our area.
The foundation presented the yearly awards at an After-Hours Chamber of Commerce event, hosted by Landmark Bank on November 4.
Thanks to the generosity of area donors, this year the foundation presented awards to 15 organizations totaling $40,345.
The foundation received 24 qualifying applications requesting over $89,000, Greg Motley, a member of the board of directors, said.
The following is a photo of representatives of the recipients receiving their awards.
The Beacon received $3,000 to upgrade and expand nutritional food items.
Special Olympics of Kansas recognizes the accomplishments of those with intellectual disabilities and received $500 toward that effort.
The Uniontown Saddle Club was approved a $4,000 grant to bring electricity to the recreational vehicle area to facilitate overnight camping at the club’s arena.
The Gordon Parks Museum received $3,000 to bring a professional dance group from Kansas City, the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Alley, to the museum’s planned Martin Luther King Day.
The Food For Kids program provides weekend meals for chronically hungry school children and the foundation presented a $3,000 check to the Kansas Food Bank Warehouse.
The First Presbyterian Church Ramp Pack received $2,500 to build wheelchair ramps to homes of needy Fort Scottians.
The City of Fort Scott and the Kiwanis Club of Fort Scott received a grant to plant new trees in the community, in the amount of $1,000.
Bourbon County Court Appointed Special Advocates received $4,500 to facilitate training for new volunteers and ongoing education for staff.
The Christmas in the Park event will be in Gunn Park this year, thanks to the foundation’s $1,000 grant award.
The Pioneer Harvest Fiesta organization and the Bourbon County 4-H Clubs partnered to receive a $2,500 grant to spruce up the Cloverleaf Event Center at the Bourbon County Fairgrounds and buy some picnic tables.
Fort Scott Compassionate Ministries received a $2,000 grant to fund transportation services, identification documentation, shelter during extreme weather, and space heaters for those in need.
Care to Share, a support organization for those with cancer, received a $3,000 award to ease the financial burden for patients and their caregivers by providing transportation, house cleaning, yard work, meals, and any other personal needs while the patient is focused on the cancer battle.
Winfield Scott Elementary School first grade teachers will use their $2,500 grant awarded to familiarize students with local resources through trips to businesses, non-profits, and government locations to build backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, and math and also help students become community-oriented.
The Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce received a $4,000 grant to upgrade the Christmas decorations for the downtown area.
Fort Scott High School Choir Director Whitley Chesney received $3,845 to purchase appropriate attire for performances at concerts, no matter what the student’s economic status.
“Jenn,” I spoke with urgency to my daughter-in-law, “there’s a terrible storm headed our way. It will be here in the next 30 minutes. Large hail is expected, so people and animals are to find protection.”
It was evening, and Dave and I had returned from Jenn’s house and were watching television when the alarm trailed across the bottom of our screen. There were no phone notifications and no rain in the area, but Bourbon and Vernon County clearly were listed as areas of potential damage. I hustled outside to anchor our deck furniture.
Soon, Jenn called me back, questioning why her television gave no warning. “I don’t know, but I’m reading it right now,” I said. Without delay, I made plans to go to the basement to safety, reminding Dave to grab shoes with solid soles in case a tornado lifted our house from its footings and we had to walk through glass and debris. Dave, also without delay, made no attempt to leave his easy chair where he was watching football replays.
Clearly, my southern California-raised husband had no respect for the death sentence a storm warning could be. One more look at the television caused concern. “Dave, it says this warning is good until 7:00 P.M. But it’s 9:15. How can that be?”
By now, you’ve probably figured out what I had not. Dave and I were watching a DVR of a football game we had taped from a week before. It was an embarrassing retraction to explain my goof to my daughter-in-law who, of course, found it hysterical.
Let’s face it. In this age, warning systems are common. We in the Midwest are not unaware of tornado sirens. Waterfront countries have Tsunami Warning Systems. Amber Alerts and Silver Alerts awaken us in the middle of the night. Irons caution that they are hot, and plastic bags inform that they can suffocate. Never have there been as many warning signs as today.
Starting with the Old Testament, warnings have been common. Prophets such as Ezekiel, Isaiah and Daniel provided writings calling the Israelites to repentance. Noah begged his neighbors to board the ark. Moses gave the Israelites a kajillion warnings to stay true to the one, true God. Jesus admonished his followers against sin and evil by saying, “Watch out! Be on guard.” (Luke 12:15). John 8:24 cautions everyone: “If you do not believe (Jesus is the Savior), you will die in your sins.”
More recently, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, wrote of a danger to our times: “On another level, a tsunami of sin is rising in our world. Old convictions and standards are being swept away right before our very eyes. Behavior that was once considered immoral is now openly flaunted and widely accepted. The winds of change are blowing all around us, and alarming things lie just over the horizon…It is time for us to take our stand, face what is approaching and open our mouths to sound the warning.”
Unlike my false DVR warning, some need to be taken seriously.
Jesus is coming back. Either we are ready or not, and this, dear readers, will be no respecter of the time or day.
The Fort Scott High School Talking Tigers debate team donated items to benefit The Beacon pantry as one of their NSDA service projects. Items were dropped off on Nov. 11.
Ed Townley, Olathe, has purchased the former Books and Grannies store at 11 N. Main, in Fort Scott’s Historic Downtown.
“I bought it with ideas in mind, but that is ever-changing,” Townley said. “At the current moment, I may finish remodeling and rent it out for a few years.”
Local realtor, Barb Albright with H and H Agency, handled the sale of the building to the family.
“I bought rental houses and recently sold those and I always wanted a business downtown,” he said.
“I have lifelong friends from Fort Scott,” he said. “Jerome Mitzner and Brian Love, along with Al Metcalf.”
He and his wife, Susan, own an independent insurance adjuster business, he said.
“We have a side business of antiques in Johnson County,” Townley said.
They are looking forward to moving to Fort Scott, although at this point it won’t be until his youngest daughter graduates, and she is currently in the eighth grade, he said.
The overwhelming amount of books in the former bookstore were consolidated and sold to a company.
“The fastest and easiest way to liquidate the books was to have a company do it,” he said.
Then he had a clean slate to see what he purchased.
What he purchased at 11 N. Main was 1700 square feet with doors to both Main Street and Skubitiz Plaza.
“The front and back doors are appealing,” he said.
Townley has repainted the original ceiling tiles, is working on new flooring and a restroom will be added.
The family worked on a Christmas display on November 6 to spruce up the storefront for the upcoming annual holiday shopping event on November 11-13, sponsored by the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce and businesses.
“We did a vintage Christmas display, to give (the storefront) a little personality,” Townley said.
Following the completion of work on the first floor, the family has the upstairs to renovate.
There is an apartment on the second floor that is the whole length of the store and the family has a goal of making that into a living space, he said.
Fair participants and others using the buildings at the Bourbon County Fairgrounds will soon benefit from improvements to roofing and HVAC systems made possible in part by a grant from Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative.
Heartland recently awarded Bourbon County Fair Association a $5,000 grant through its Concern for Community program.
“I often say that we’re not in the business of selling electricity, we’re in the business of powering rural lifestyles,” said Mark Scheibe, Heartland CEO. “Part of that is supporting the communities our consumer-members live in and around. This grant program is a great way to do just that.”
The Concern for Community program provides grants of up to $5,000 for capital improvement projects throughout the Heartland service area, which covers parts of 12 counties in eastern Kansas.
As a non-profit, member-owned cooperative, Heartland issues capital credits to members each year, but sometimes those capital credits go unclaimed. Because those monies were intended to be returned to the communities from which they came, Heartland’s Board of Directors decided to use those unclaimed funds for community grants and started the Concern for Community program in 2019.
Nine applications out of 25 received were approved for funding by the Heartland board. In total, Heartland distributed around $36,000 in Concern for Community grants this year.
~Kansas Tourism to use funds to revitalize and enhance the tourism industry~
TOPEKA – Today, Governor Laura Kelly announced Kansas has received $3.5 million in grant funding from the United States Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) to distribute to local partners across the state. These funds will accelerate travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation in the state.
“Kansas’ tourism industry is an economic driver for our state, which is why my administration relocated the State’s Tourism Division to the Department of Commerce last year,” said Governor Laura Kelly. “This $3.5 million will accelerate our efforts to boost travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation across Kansas – improving quality of life for Kansans and growing our economy along the way.”
Kansas will use these funds to inject immediate momentum into the Kansas tourism industry. The $3.5 million will be invested in four strategic areas:
“We are using every tool at our disposal to drive new economic growth in Kansas, and tourism is a key part of our approach,” Lieutenant Governor and Commerce Secretary David Toland said. “These dollars will go a long way in showcasing all of the amazing features Kansas has to offer, while also supporting our businesses and tourism industry partners statewide.”
All 59 states and territories were invited to apply for these grants to support marketing, infrastructure, workforce and other projects to rejuvenate safe leisure, business, and international travel. Additional state grants are expected to be awarded in coming weeks and months.
“Of the many revelations we’ve realized as a result of this pandemic, none may be more clear to us than the very real value of Kansas’ state parks,” said Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Secretary Brad Loveless. “This $250,000 investment comes at a perfect time to improve facilities, increase capacity, and to welcome the many who have yet to camp out-of-doors and need a comfortable introduction.”
“Kansas is ripe with opportunity to grow our tourism industry as we emerge from this pandemic,” Kansas Tourism Director Bridgette Jobe said. “Infusing these additional dollars into our statewide marketing and development strategies will bring economic benefits for many years in the future.”
The funds are part of EDA’s $750 million American Rescue Plan Travel, Tourism & Outdoor Recreation program, which provides $510 million in State Tourism grants and $240 million in Competitive Tourism grants that will be awarded to advance the economic recovery and resiliency of communities where the travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation industries were hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
The $510 million State Tourism grants – along with today’s reopening of international travel to the United States – are critical steps in the recovery of the travel and tourism sector from the coronavirus pandemic.
For more about EDA’s Travel, Tourism & Outdoor Recreation and other American Rescue Plan programs, please visit: https://www.eda.gov/arpa/.
“Native plants are best since that is what supports pollinators in their natural habitat,” Bowman said. “They are much lower maintenance due to their long roots and require less water than non-natives and thrive in less than ideal conditions. Each species of butterfly has a specific host plant as well. Monarch’s host plant is milkweed which serves as the only food source for Monarch caterpillars. It is important to have diversity in nectar plants for different bloom times so pollinators will have nectar throughout the entire season.”
Gardening is something Bowman enjoys.
“When we started this project the main goal was to create more natural habitat space free of pesticides in otherwise unused space to support pollinators and encourage more native plantings in our community,” she said. “Native (plant) gardens are not only beautiful- they also serve a purpose.”
