Stories from Thursday, June 18, 2009

The Fort Scott City Commission will hold a work session at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the City Commission meeting room. This meeting is being held to discuss the 2010 budget.

Kansas is one of seven states to receive the 21st Century Skills Practice of the Year Award, which commemorates the country's preeminent state-led education reform initiatives, according to a press release from the Kansas State Department of Education...

According to a press release from the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas, the Rita J. Bicknell Women's Health Fund and Giving Circle is accepting applications for its 2009 grant cycle. The grant, which is for programs that address the needs in women's health that are not currently being met in Southeast Kansas, is open to local 501 (c) 3 non-profit organizations and public institutions for programs supporting women's health. ...

ission will be holding a special meeting Monday. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the application for funding through the Kansas Department of Commerce for Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Recovery Act. The money, if awarded, would be used to fund waterline and street improvements...

The City of Fort Scott announced that its street improvement program will begin Monday. According to Fort Scott City Manager Joe Turner, a city crew will begin milling two inches of asphalt from the surface of the streets and APAC-Missouri, Inc. out of Columbia, Mo., will be following behind to lay two layers of asphalt...

Donna Estill brings a variety of professional experience to the table in her new job as dean of instruction at Fort Scott Community College. Estill, who previously worked as the chairwoman for the Humanities Division at Alabama Southern Community College in Monroeville, Ala., began her new job duties at FSCC on Monday...

During a special USD 234 School Board meeting at noon on Thursday, members of the board approved several employment and business actions. After some discussion by board members about a request from the city of Fort Scott for the school district to donate property for a skatepark, board members tabled the item until the July 6 meeting. ...

Two former Fort Scott Community College students recently received special recognition. Jacqueline LaRue, a former student in the FSCC agriculture program, has received a Fulbright Scholarship that she will use to spend one year teaching English to South Koreans. LaRue attended FSCC on a meats judging scholarship and graduated in 2006. She then transferred to Kansas State University and graduated with a degree in agricultural education...

Painted stove burners, an old barrel, baskets, painted tiles, the hood from an old stove and an Indian rock may sound like junk to some people, but for Arlene Adams, they have been essential in the creation of a playful and yet peaceful garden. "One of my friends told me I have a whimsical garden," Adams said. "I said, 'Yeah, when I get a whim, I put something in the ground'."...