KCC schedules public hearings
on Evergy’s request to raise rates
TOPEKA – The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) will hold public hearings in Wichita and Topeka beginning next week to give Evergy Kansas Central customers the opportunity to learn more about the company’s rate increase request, ask questions and make comments before the Commission.
Evergy filed an application with the Commission in January seeking a $196.4 million (8.62%) rate increase. If approved as filed, the new electric rates would take effect in September 2025, resulting in an average monthly increase of $13.05 for residential customers.
Attendees may participate in person or virtually via Zoom. Those participating virtually must register by noon the day prior to the hearing using the registration links below. In addition, the hearings will be broadcast live and recorded for later viewing on the KCC’s YouTube channel. Registration is not required to attend in person or view on YouTube.
The Commission will accept written comments through 5 p.m. on July 14. Comments may be submitted online, by mail or by calling the KCC at 785-271-3140 or 800-662-0027.
To register to participate in the hearing via Zoom, make a public comment online or find additional information on the application, go to the Commission’s website (www.kcc.ks.gov) and click on the “Your Opinion Matters” tab.
The Commission will issue an order on the application on or before September 29, 2025.
GIRARD, Kan. — Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative is now accepting applications for its 2025 Concern for Community grant program, which offers grants of up to $5,000 for capital improvement projects that benefit communities within Heartland’s service area.
Applications will be accepted through July 31, and grant recipients will be selected by the Heartland Board of Directors in August. Funds will be distributed in September.
The Concern for Community grant program reflects Heartland’s commitment to strengthening the region through investment in long-term community development. Eligible projects must fall into one of the following categories:
County fairs: Infrastructure and other projects at county fairgrounds that are outside of the scope of what is typically funded through sponsorships
Schools: Capital campaigns for school facilities that benefit Heartland members and families
Nonprofit organizations: Capital campaigns focused on education, the environment, culture and the arts, or civic and community development
Other community improvements: Projects that serve Heartland-area communities and are approved by the board
Preference will be given to collaborative efforts that receive funding or support from multiple sources.
Funding for the program comes from unclaimed capital credit checks—money that was intended to be returned to members. Rather than letting these funds go unused, Heartland’s Board of Directors has chosen to invest them back into the communities the cooperative serves.
“These are dollars that belong to the people in our service area, and we believe the best way to honor that is by using them to support projects that create lasting value,” said Heartland CEO Mark Scheibe. “This program is a powerful example of the cooperative principle of ‘Concern for Community’ in action.”
To learn more or apply, visit heartland-rec.com.
About Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc.
Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc. powers rural lifestyles throughout more than 11,000 locations in eastern Kansas. Heartland’s service area includes members in 12 counties, including Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Cherokee, Coffey, Crawford, Labette, Linn, Miami, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson.
Heartland REC traces its roots back to three original rural electric cooperatives: Cooperative Electric Power & Light Company, Sugar Valley Electric Cooperative Association, and Sekan Electric Cooperative Association. Cooperative Electric Power & Light Company joined with Sugar Valley in 1975 to form United Electric Cooperative; United Electric Cooperative joined with Sekan Electric Cooperative Association in 1996 to form Heartland.
ARTEFFFECT is excited to announce 34 winners in the 10th annual competition. In total, $37,250 in prizes were awarded to the 34 winners across the middle and high school divisions.
In this year’s international competition, students in grades 6-12 explored and championed the stories of LMC Unsung Heroes—role models who made a positive and profound, yet previously unrecognized, impact on the course of history. For their entries, these young artists created original works of art and wrote reflective impact statements to reframe these untold stories in an array of artistic expressions and reflections.
“Through the focus on Unsung Heroes, these young artists make critical connections between the past, present, and future, and come to recognize their own potential to stimulate positive change in the world. The competition invites a range of mediums and artistic expressions. These award-winning projects convey the historical significance of their subjects in burgeoning contemporary styles,” said ARTEFFECT Executive Director Dr. Toni Guglielmo. “We applaud the amazing achievements of the 2025 winners.”
The Fort Scott Community College Board of Trustees will hold a special board meeting on Thursday, June 5, 2025, at 3:00 pm in the Cleaver-Burris-Boileau Agriculture Hall to conduct business needing addressed before the regularly scheduled meeting on June 16. The Board will also adjourn to executive session(s) for the purpose of discussing non-elected personnel.
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce invites members and guests to a Chamber Coffee hosted by the Good Ol’ Days Committee this Thursday, June 5th at 8am, on Skubitz Plaza, Downtown Fort Scott. In case of inclement weather, the coffee will take place at the Chamber of Commerce, 231 E. Wall St. Coffee, juice, and refreshments will be served, and attendees may register to win a special drawing.
Shawn O’Brien, Good Ol’ Days Chairman, and the committee are excited to celebrate the 44th Annual Good Ol’ Days festival with the theme of 44 Years of Crafting Memories.
The 44th Annual Fort Scott Good Ol’ Days will take place June 6th and 7th in Downtown Fort Scott. 44 years of crafting memories is such a fitting theme for this year, reminiscing over the years and celebrating all the great vendors there have been and continue to be each year. There are over 125 booths this year offering a variety of food, fun, crafts, and much more. Plan to attend the parade to kick off Good Ol’ Days, at 6 pm on Friday June 6th. Stroll through Main Street, north of Wall Street, and throughout Skubitz Plaza to see the wide variety of vendors who will open at 5pm. There will be live entertainment on Friday evening at 7pm featuring The KC All Stars on Skubitz Plaza. On Saturday, vendor booths will open at 9 am, including a full schedule of activities and live music planned throughout the day. Visit the website www.fortscottgoodoldays.com or Fort Scott Good Ol’ Days Facebook for more details.
The Good Ol’ Days committee would like to extend a special thank you to the amazing donors for the continuous support year after year. Everyone is encouraged to fill the streets and join the fun this weekend for 44 years of crafting memories.
Contact the Chamber of Commerce at (620) 223-3566 for more information. Visit the Events Calendar and category of Chamber Coffees on fortscott.com for upcoming locations.
Thank you to our Chamber Champion members shown below…
Peggy Anne Gannon, age 81, died May 29 at Sunrise at Cherry Creek assisted living in Denver, Colorado, following a lengthy illness.
Peggy was born February 22, 1944, in Alameda, California to Aubra L. and Mynettia Davis Gannon. In 1947, the family moved to a farm northwest of Fort Scott.
Peggy attended Bethel School through 8th grade. She graduated from Fort Scott High School in 1962 and began a four-year enlistment in the Air Force where she worked as a dental technician. After discharge from the Air Force, she lived in Seattle and then moved to Denver where she worked at Lowry AFB as a civilian accounting technician until retirement.
Peggy was preceded in death by her parents, sisters Betty Welborn and Patricia Hill, and brothers Edgar Gannon and Larry Gannon. She is survived by her brother Jerry Jones and sister Susan Hanzlicek, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Graveside services for Peggy will be held at 1:30 PM Monday, June 9th, 2025, at the U. S. National Cemetery, Fort Scott, KS.
Services are under the direction of the Cheney Witt Chapel. Words of remembrance may be submitted online at cheneywitt.com.
Commissioner Brandon Whisenhunt, District 1, resigned right after the opening prayer of the June 2 Bourbon County Commissioner meeting.
“It’s been a pleasure serving Bourbon County, but effective immediately, I’m resigning,” he said and left the meeting.
Commissioner David Beerbower said, “That’s unfortunate news. I don’t know what to say about it,” before moving on with the meeting.
County Clerk Susan Walker then read a statement saying she is “respectfully declining to perform the employee grievance process in the future due to continual interference in the most recent investigation I performed. I will share my findings with the county counselor and let him present them to the commission at a later date.”
Contractual Services for Municipalities
Commissioner Mika Milburn said she found Dr. Cohen in her search for help as a commissioner and asked him to talk to the commission about what his company does to serve counties and other municipalities.
Cohen has a consulting operation based in Kansas City that specializes in human resources. They serve several Kansas health departments, cities, counties, and ambulance districts as clients, and so are familiar with working with elected officials. They have submitted a proposal to Bourbon County to do HR systems work, including updating Bourbon County’s outdated job descriptions and policy manuals, as well as wage and salary development and implementing a performance appraisal process. As part of their services, they would assist in all investigations and examinations of allegations by employees or elected officials. They have an employee hotline for elected officials and employees to get real-time, effective guidance or recommendations. This is a step county personnel can take for assistance before choosing to call the Kansas Human Rights Commission. The company will also perform governance training and sexual harassment prevention training, reducing the county’s liability in the event of a case. Their objective is to protect the county and employees and to put would-be perpetrators on notice that sexual harassment won’t be tolerated. Cohen said his first priority is to protect the county and help it operate in a healthy way.
The proposal is for an all-inclusive fee. The county would be hiring a company, not an individual, with lots of experience in municipal settings.
“I think it’s really important that we do something, David. Take it very seriously, please,” said Milburn. She also said the fees Cohen’s company charges are “a fraction of what it would cost,” to hire a full time county HR person.
The commissioners put it on the agenda for the June 9 meeting.
Old Business Department Updates Susan Walker-Employee Benefits
Walker talked to the commissioners about raises given on May 27 that were “pretty significant” and impacts the budget, which she said requires some extensive discussion. The fund that the commissioners have charge of, which pays employee taxes will need to increase by at least $12,000 to finish the year, possibly more if the employees work overtime.
Sheriff Bill Martin and Officer Murphy, his advisor spoke to the commission about the situation. Murphy said his department lost two officers since the first of the year, and the current staffing shortage leaves money in payroll and benefits to cover the cost of the raises. He said there’s not a current need for a budget amendment.
He also said his department has lost 20 trained people, at a cost of $1 million dollars, over the last several years, because “we can’t pay enough…so we’ve got to get our starting wages up so we can get qualified people in the door.” The county needs to adjust to be somewhat comparable to other law enforcement in the region.
Past administration made a choice to use sales tax dollars to keep taxes down, said Walker, which affected the sheriff’s department as well as the rest of the county offices.
Commissioners decided to wait to see if a budget amendment would be needed in the future.
Brian Allen-Disaster Proclamation
Allen asked the commissioners to sign the disaster declaration from the storms of May 19. Road damage and other damages met the qualifying threshold. This will allow the county to submit it to the governor, so that if the governor declares a state of emergency, the county can benefit from it.
Allen also told the commission he wants to compile a list of those with safe spaces for tornado events so that first responders can use it to check on folks.
Eric Bailey – Public Works
The May 19 storm caused damage to several roads with washouts, as well as large trees down in the roads. Bailey encouraged county residents to let them know of roads that need his department’s attention.
Bailey said he’s been working with the motor grader operators on a plan to get the crowns back on the roads and lips to guide the water off the roads and into the ditches. This plan will take several weeks of dry weather to implement. Mowing has been delayed by water-filled ditches.
The Elm Creek Lake shelter houses and house have been roofed. Outhouses are under construction. Bailey gave credit to Todd Fox and his family, as well as county public works employees, for volunteering their time to work on the shelters.
Bailey said he had spoken with former commissioner Whisenhunt and Don George about applying for a grant for dam improvements at Elm Creek Lake. The phase two grant application is due June 16. He referenced suggestions of applying for a feasibility study to drain the lake and repair the valve box and the dam. The commissioners chose to wait for the safety study, which means they will probably miss the deadline of applying for the second phase of the grant this year.
A group called Kansa Bonanza is planning to come to Fort Scott this weekend. This group drives side-by-sides on the back roads, cleaning up trash. They have asked for a roll-off dumpster for the trash they will collect. The commission made a motion to approve that use.
Allen County landfill will shut down on days with high wind notifications, per the National Weather Service, because of the trash blowing away, which affects what Bourbon County will do with its trash.
Katy Shead, Fort Scott, has been selected as a finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program.
Katy homeschooled through Veritas Scholars Academy (VSA), which is an online school based in Lancaster, PA. On May 30th, she graduated as valedictorian in her class of 115 other students from all over the world.
Katy Shead speaking as class valedictorian at her school on May 30. Submitted photo.
Her most difficult class was chemistry, she said. “But it was also the most interesting.”
Despite it not being easy, she has chosen it as a major.
Katy will major in chemistry at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan (student population 1400-1800 students) beginning this fall. She will minor in Greek and Classical Education, she said.
Her goal with this education plan:
“I want to read the Greek Bible on my own, and I want to teach chemistry, or something, science or math at a classical school, especially online.”
“I want to study the Greeks and Romans and the original texts, not just the stuff that people wrote about them,” she said.
Katy has had a classical education.
Classical education has three different stages of learning, she said.
“First is grammar and lots of memorization, foundational knowledge. Second is logic, around middle school age, which is how you make a coherent argument with clear and logical thinking, recognizing fallacies. To connect ‘Oh, this happened in this year and it did affect this.’ The third stage is taking the connections in the logic stage, and using information you already have, and communicating it.”
Katy used this education, this past year, to come up with her own research statement and defended it in a paper and a presentation.
A person in Scotland with expertise in the field and a PhD read her paper and asked questions. A professor guided the process and graded it.
Her research statement was Imago Dei Impact on the Church’s Perception of Autism.
“It was about the inherent value that God gave humans when He created them in His image. The paper argues that if the church recognizes autistic people’s intrinsic value, then they’ll be empowered to love them as they should,” she said. “The point of the paper is that sometimes the autistic members are viewed as charity cases.”
Other awards she has received during her high school years: Dean’s List at VSA from 2021 to 2024, a national award at the 2023 Classical Learning Test, Summa Cum Laude on the 2023 National Latin Exam, inducted into the 202Highest Honors Class at VSA, and Cum Honore Maximo Egregio in 2021, a National Latin Exam she took, earning a perfect score.
During high school, Katy has been a student mentor, an independent tutor of maths and sciences, a literature club co-chair, and a volunteer at K-7 Kanakuk Camp, Missouri. She also worked with special needs people at Heartland Therapeutic Riding, Kansas, and Camp Barnabas, Missouri. She also volunteered at her grandparents’ annual Shead Farm Festival near Garland.
She is the daughter of Haley and Mark Shead.
About National Merit Scholars
16,000 semifinalists competed in the 70th annual National Merit
Scholarship Program, according to an NMS press release. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award,
Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition.
To become a finalist, the semifinalist and a high school official must submit a scholarship application, providing information about the semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received, according to the press release. A semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT® or ACT® scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
New virtual self-help center connects Kansans with legal information, resources
TOPEKA—The Kansas judicial branch has launched a new virtual self-help center for people involved in court cases who are not represented by an attorney.
The website, self-help.kscourts.gov, shares information, forms, and tools to help Kansans with district court processes.
“Our goal was to create a reliable electronic resource for people who are navigating the court system on their own,” said Sarah Hoskinson, chief of access to justice at the Office of Judicial Administration. “It’s to help people who don’t understand or aren’t familiar with court processes. It also helps district courts that serve people who come to court without an attorney.”
Benefits for court users
The virtual self-help center homepage has an “I need help with” section that features in-demand resources according to input from the legal community, district court clerks, and data from searches on the kscourts.gov website. Links connect visitors with court forms, where to pay a fine or fee, how to find a court hearing, where to conduct legal research, and more.
If someone needs information about a specific area of law, Hoskinson said the Topics section quickly connects them to key resources, including videos, forms, court timelines, and agencies.
“Bringing these key resources together gives Kansans a central source of information about court processes,” she said. “With general web searches, you must sift through results from many sources that may be out of date, inaccurate, or both.”
Efficiencies for district courts
The online self-help center also benefits district courts, especially those in smaller, rural counties.
“Some district courts maintain their own self-help information, but only if they have staff to manage it,” Hoskinson said. “The statewide virtual self-help center may fill an unmet need for some district courts, while creating efficiencies for others.”
Nyla Rogers, clerk of the Lyon County District Court, said the center will help her court provide essential information and guidance to the public.
“The virtual self-help center video guides are great at helping the public learn the processes for their specific situations to help them file the appropriate court documents,” Rogers said.
Joni Wilson, court administrator in the 18th Judicial District (Sedgwick County), said the center supports both the public and court staff helping them.
“People can’t always take time off work to visit the courthouse to get help with their case,” Wilson said. “The center allows our court to help the public no matter the time of day or day of the week.”
Building the site
Hoskinson said her team gathered information and resources from the Supreme Court Access to Justice Committee and the judges and court employees who serve as local access to justice liaisons in every judicial district.
She said committee members and court liaisons used their experience with access to justice issues to organize the resources and identify areas that needed updates or new resources.
Based on that work, the Information Services team in the Office of Judicial Administration designed and built the online self-help center.
“We shared the first version of the virtual self-help center with others in the legal community, district court staff, and key Supreme Court committees to get their feedback,” Hoskinson said. “Their knowledge and experience in the different topical areas helped us refine and organize the content.”
Chief Judge Kevin Berens of the 15th Judicial District (Cheyenne, Logan, Rawlins, Sheridan, Sherman, Thomas, and Wallace counties) chairs the Access to Justice Committee. He noted that publishing the online self-help center has long been a committee goal.
“The committee discussed the need for this resource for some time. The Office of Judicial Administration Information Services team helped us turn that vision into reality. It is a practical and important resource for self-represented parties and other court users,” Berens said.
Berens also credits support from the Supreme Court Rural Justice Initiative Committee, Ad Hoc Committee on Best Practices for Eviction Proceedings, Advisory Council on Dispute Resolution, and Language Access Committee.
“This was a collaborative effort among many members in our legal community, and, with their continued help, we hope to improve this resource in the coming years,” he said.
May Total Tax Collections Over $657M; 31.7% Above Estimate
TOPEKA – The State of Kansas ends May 2025 with total tax collections at $657.7 million. That is $158.3 million, or 31.7%, above the estimate. Total tax collections were down 0.2% from May 2024.
“Surpassing estimates this month is a positive indicator, but we remain diligent and focused on maintaining long-term financial health,” Governor Laura Kelly said.
Individual income tax collections were $314.7 million. That is $144.7 million, or 85.1% above the estimate, and up 3.1% from May 2024. Corporate income tax collections were $29.2 million. That is $840,880, or 2.8% below the estimate, and down 26.8% from May 2024.
Combined retail sales and compensating use tax receipts were $282.1 million, which is $11.1 million, or 4.1% above the estimate, with no change from May 2024.
