Gordon Parks Museum to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration will be held next week, with several events planned in Fort Scott.
The event begins on Wednesday, January 15th at the Gordon Parks Museum. The day will include three film showings at 9:00am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm. A Lunch and Learn event will also be held at 11:00am featuring a dramatic reading of ‘Letters from Birmingham Jail’ by FSCC students and members of the community. A reception will follow with birthday cake. Participants may bring their own lunch.
On Thursday the community is invited to the Fort Scott High School for a Martin Luther King Jr. assembly program. The program will include presentations by the Project Based Learning students, and the Advance Placement Government class.
The celebration will wrap up with a 12:00pm Lunch and Learn at the Gordon Parks Museum on Monday, January 20th. This community discussion will be moderated by Rev. George Proctor of the United Missionary Baptist Church. Lunch will be provided by Luther’s BBQ. Films will also be shown throughout the day Monday at 9:00am, 10:30am, and 1:30pm.
A full list of film showings can be found at www.visitfortscott.com/events. For more information call the Gordon Parks Museum at 620-223-2700 ext. 5850.
New agency to include DCF, KDADS and KDOC Juvenile Services
Governor Laura Kelly today announced her intent to submit an executive reorganization order to the Kansas Legislature creating the Kansas Department of Human Services (KDHS). The new agency will include the current programs at the Department for Children and Families (DCF), Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) and the juvenile services division of the Department of Corrections.
Current Secretary of DCF and KDADS, Laura Howard, will lead the new KDHS.
“I ran for office, in part, to ensure that our most vulnerable citizens were protected and that somebody in Topeka was advocating for them,” Kelly said. “One of my key priorities since taking office has been fixing our broken safety net and ensuring that we have a system that is worthy of our citizens. The creation of this new, combined agency reinforces my commitment to our children and families in need and ensures they have access to critical services.
“The creation of the new agency allows us to focus on prevention, so that we can get to these families before their situation becomes a crisis,” Kelly said. “The Department of Human Services will partner with communities across the state to create a single point of entry for those who need access to services for things like child welfare, mental health, economic support and juvenile justice.”
Programs included in the new agency will include:
Adult protective services
Adult behavioral health
Long-term services and supports
Economic supports
Employment supports
Children’s mental-health supports
Child protective services
Juvenile justice and crossover youth
Foster care
Prevention
Licensing, credentialing, survey and certification
Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex
Larned State Hospital
Parsons State Hospital
Osawatomie State Hospital
Kansas Neurological Institute
Governor Kelly recognizes juvenile justice reform has resulted in a reduced need for incarceration while at the same time improving county community corrections case management. Including juvenile services in the new agency continues the improvement process.
“Given the needs of families for community collaboration and overlap, it makes sense to organize juvenile services and child welfare resources under one agency,” Kelly said.
“This is not going to be business as usual,” Howard said. “This combination of services gives us an opportunity to think differently about service delivery. We want Kansans to have seamless access to programs and services that will allow them to thrive. KDHS will be known for its innovation and willingness to work with community partners.”
“Secretary Howard is the perfect person to lead the new agency,” Kelly said. “I am confident that she has the vision and experience to launch an organization of this magnitude and ensure that all Kansans are well served by a commitment to continuous improvement and accountability.”
Governor Kelly will submit the ERO to the legislature within the first 30 days of session. The ERO becomes effective on July 1, following its transmittal to the Legislature, unless either the Senate or the House takes action on the ERO within 60 calendar days after submission.
Meaghan Russell meets with a student for lunch on Jan. 7 in the conference room at West Bourbon Elementary School, Uniontown. Russell is a school counselor and facilitator of the district’s mentoring program, TeamMates, that will be starting soon.
USD 235 staff have been working on the details of a mentoring program for the district’s students since August 2019.
On January 15, the school district will implement the program with training for mentors.
Mentors and mentees will meet during the student’s lunch period to eat and talk. There is a conference room available should the mentors/mentees want a little quieter space to talk.
Permission slips will be sent home with students for parents to agree to their child having a mentor.
“Once the forms come back signed, we will begin to match mentors with mentees, and the program will officially be up and running,” Meaghan Russell, one of the TeamMates USD 235 facilitators, said.
“We work with Michael McCambridge out of Greenbush (Education Service Center),” she said.
“We also have an advisory committee consisting of… Mike Reith (JH/HS principal), Vance Eden (elementary principal), Bret Howard (superintendent), Jeanne Camac (JH/, HS counselor), Marty DeWitt (Uniontown Baptist Church pastor), Chad Holt (banker), Sally Johnson (city clerk), Jeff Feagins (HS business teacher and pastor of Marmaton Church),” Russell said.
“The TeamMates Coordinators are out of Nebraska, and they will be here on January 15th to conduct the training,” she said.
The following is an interview with Russell:
What is the purpose of the program?
“The purpose of the program is to build interpersonal skills in our students by having them talk with an adult from the community at lunch once a week. This should not only help to build their communication skills, but also their confidence in talking with adults and having to get to know someone new.”
If one becomes a mentor, what are the expectations?
“Mentors must be 18 years of age, willing to provide three references, able to pass a background check, and willing to attend a one-time, two-hour training. After that, it just comes down to making the commitment to come and eat lunch with a student once a week. We are very much in need of mentors, so if you are someone that has a flexible lunchtime, and you could sit with a student for twenty to thirty minutes once a week, we would love to have you participate! Our students can easily keep you entertained as they are full of stories!”
Who is paying for the program?
“This year, the school has paid the initial fees to get this program started. That money covers the cost of the background checks, training, and all communication and support provided by the TeamMates coordinators and Greenbush.”
Initially, Third Through Fifth Grade
“The TeamMates program recommends third through twelfth grade have mentors and trying to get as many students matched as possible. This program is not intended for a certain demographic of students. Initially, the plan is to begin with third through fifth-grade students, but then add grades as the program grows and expands. Mentors will be matched with the same gender of students, and the matching will be based on interests and hobbies as much as possible. One of the aspects that makes this program special is that all communication between the student and the mentor is to be done through the school.”
Why start a mentoring program?
“When students leave our district, we want them to be as prepared as possible for what lies ahead for them. We may not know what they are going to face, but we do know that relationship will be a part of it. Any skills that they learn from talking with adults will definitely be beneficial to them in the long run. Also, from a social/emotional perspective, we want to ensure that all students have connections to people. Life has ups and downs, and it is nice to have a slightly larger circle of people to help listen to you in good times and in bad. The benefit of going through the TeamMates organization to start this program is that they have already completed the research to successfully implement this in different schools, and they are a great support system to help launch this here at USD 235.”
TeamMates Mentoring Program began in 1991 with the vision of the University of Nebraska Head Football Coach Tom Osborne and his wife Nancy. Osborne felt that the athletes in his program could make an impact on the middle school students, and twenty-two football players began meeting with middle school students in the Lincoln Public Schools. Of the 22 original mentees, 21 went on to graduate from high school while one left school early to pursue a successful Motocross career. Eighteen of the original mentees also obtained some form of post-secondary education.
The program has changed quite a bit since then. Now thousands of boys and girls across the Midwest are served, and mentors come from all walks of life. One thing, however, remains the same-mentors just have to be there. It’s that simple.
A meeting of area residents in Bourbon and Crawford counties who oppose the Jayhawk Wind Farm development will be held Thursday, January 9, 6;30 pm at Rodeway Inn, Ft Scott, Ks.
On the agenda will be the organization of a formal opposition group, assistance from successful opponents of previous wind farms, and a discussion of potential and political avenues to stop the Jayhawk development.
The meeting is open to the public. Anyone concerned about the impact on their home values and damage to our community’s natural rural vista by the Jayhawk development is urged to attend.
WICHITA – Kansas bowhunter, Brian Butcher, 38, harvested a whitetail buck in Chase County last October that he knew was something special. It wasn’t until the buck’s rack was measured by Boone and Crockett Club certified measurers on Friday, Jan. 3 that Butcher confirmed just how special the deer was. Butcher’s whitetail earned an unofficial net non-typical score of 321 3/8 inches. If accepted and verified by the Boone and Crockett Club – an internationally recognized non-profit conservation organization that maintains native North American big game records – the deer Butcher harvested would rank fourth in the world for non-typical whitetail deer. As for the Kansas record books, Butcher’s buck will be the largest non-typical whitetail ever taken, surpassing the current state record for a non-typical whitetail harvested with archery equipment by 57 2/8 inches.
“When I first saw it, I thought it had some branches or grass tangled up in its antlers,” said Butcher. “But when I looked at him with binoculars, I realized it was all antlers.”
Butcher released his arrow when the giant buck was just 25 yards from his treestand and the shot was true. After waiting only 5-10 minutes, Butcher tracked the deer to a spot 50 yards away.
“I had the most opposite feeling of ‘ground shrinkage’ possible,” Butcher said of the big whitetail with 67 scorable points. “I was in complete shock.”
After sharing photos of the buck with friend Brian Crowe, the duo got together and attempted to score the deer.
“We added it up five times because it didn’t make sense,” Butcher laughed. “We had it at 341 inches gross, and 316 inches net.”
According to Boone and Crockett guidelines, the rack could not be officially measured until it had dried for at least 60 days. On January 3, Boone and Crockett measurers Marc Murrell, Newton, and Ken Witt, Burleson, Tex., took on what would become a nearly five-hour-long task of scoring the deer. Murrell and Witt came up with a pending net non-typical score of 321 3/8 inches.
The score sheet and entry materials on Butcher’s buck have been mailed to the Boone and Crockett Club headquarters for verification and acceptance. Because of its high ranking, the rack will be scored again by a panel of measurers at the Boone and Crockett Club’s next awards ceremony in 2022.
If it stands, Butcher’s buck will rank fourth in the world of non-typical whitetails. Boone and Crockett’s top two non-typical whitetails were found dead in Missouri and Ohio and scored 333 7/8 inches and 328 2/8 inches, respectively.
The largest hunter-harvested non-typical whitetail was taken by bowhunter Luke Brewster in Illinois in 2018 and scored 327 7/8 inches.
The current Kansas state record firearm non-typical whitetail was taken in 1987 by Joseph Waters in Shawnee County and scored 280 4/8 inches. The current Kansas state record archery non-typical whitetail was shot by Dale Larson in 1998 in Pottawatomie County and scored 264 1/8 inches.
The Lake Fort Scott Advisory Board will meet on Saturday, January 11th, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. at the City Hall Commission Meeting Room at 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas. This meeting is open to the public.
Sharon A. Price, age 79, passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones at her home in Ft. Scott, KS, on January 5, 2020. She was born in Corning, CA, on September 30, 1940, the daughter of William and Lois Stark Jackson. She married Joe Price in 1957. He preceded her in death on January 21, 2016. Sharon worked at J.C. Penney in Lenexa, KS, until she retired. Sharon enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren, taking them to the swimming pool. She enjoyed crocheting blankets and doll clothes, baking and cooking for holidays and birthdays and having the family with her. Sharon also liked watching cooking shows and loved her some Steve Harvey and Wayne Brady.
Survivors include a daughter, Sarah Riggs and husband James, Ft. Scott; two sons, Joseph Price II and fiancé Patty, Springfield, KS, and Patrick Price, Otisville, NY; two brothers, Steve Jackson, Red Bluff, CA, and Albert Jackson and wife Charlie, Spokane, WA; a sister, Mary Lee Sterwood and husband Skip, WA; one grandson William J.C. “Billy” Gooderl and wife Stacy, Ft. Scott; great grandchildren, Kayla and husband Kyle Purdy, and Cheyenne, Selena, and James “Fred” Gooderl; along with her fur babies Buddy, Abby, Sadie Sue, Gracey, Man 2, Chica, Ralph, Bdog, Reilly, Nina, and lastly Lucey. Also surviving are many nieces and nephews and many family by choice, including Jim and Renee Calovitch, Kristen, Daeshone Bohrn and Doug Bohrn.
Graveside services will be held at 1:30 PM Friday, January 10th, in the Centerville Cemetery, Devon, KS. Services are under the direction of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, Ft. Scott, KS. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
