County students to receive honors

A group of Bourbon County students will soon reap the rewards of showing dedication to their schoolwork.

A total of 19 seniors from Fort Scott High School and Uniontown High School will be among 40 seniors from high schools in Allen, Bourbon and Woodson counties who will be recognized for their academic achievements and named Kansas Honor Scholars during a dinner program at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8, at FSHS, 1005 S. Main St.

The Kansas Honors Program has honored more than 107,000 students since it began in 1971. Scholars rank in the top 10 percent of their high school senior classes academically and are selected regardless of occupational plans or higher education goals.

"These are our top students," USD 234 Superintendent Rick Werling said. "It's a wonderful thing to put on an application for any college and it looks great for scholarships."

Werling added, "It's a chance for these kids to understand they are being recognized for their hard work and honored for their efforts."

FSHS students who will be honored include Cody Cannon, Christopher Clay, Craig Davenport, Shelby Fleming, Evan Heiser, Kenda Lee, James Lipscomb, Nathan Ly, Samantha Miller, Jacob Ruhl, Charlie Sercer, Kai Simmons-Mims, Nolan Stark, Grant Stucky and Laura Tholen. UHS students who will be honored include Ithaca Marlier, Taylor Rathbun, Jessica Schaaf and Abigail Smith.

During the ceremony, each student will receive an American Heritage Dictionary, in both hardback and electronic versions, presented by Marcus Hicks, the coordinator of alumni programs for the KU Alumni Association.

Ken Audus, dean of the KU School of Pharmacy, will speak to the students and their parents and guests. Honored students will be guests of the alumni association and KU Endowment; parents and area alumni are welcome to attend at a cost of $15 each.

Community volunteers collect reservations, coordinate details and serve as local contacts for the event. Local residents Gary and Sally Cullor will serve as Bourbon County coordinators for the event. Jim and Karen Gilpin, Iola, will be the site coordinators. Wade Park, Iola, is the Allen County coordinator, and Sharon Suske, Yates Center, is the Woodson County coordinator.

The Kansas Honors Program is made possible through KU Endowment and proceeds from the Jayhawk license plate program.

Students from other high schools who will be honored include Brett Hauser, Mary Hauser, Nick Miller and Glendolyn Neely from Humboldt High School; Aaron Cheung, Madison Ford, Christopher Heffern, Seth Kristalyn, Baley LaHaye, Ryan Latta, Alec Peterson, Stephanie Stahl, Skylar Strickler, Kent Toland and Ryan Weir from Iola High School; Joshua Kale, Kurtis LaRue and Broklyn Trollope from Marmaton Valley High School; and Molly Baker, Maggie German and Kassy Reynolds from Yates Center High School.