Thumbs up... to the Fort Scott Community College construction trades program, which was chosen as the recipient of the Leon V. and Dorothy M. Skubitz Foundation grant. The program will receive $36,500 to help endow a foundation to provide financial assistance to students in the construction trades program at FSCC.
Thumbs down... to a recent report from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment that more than 30 percent of K-12 schools throughout the state were reported to have 10 percent or higher absenteeism the week ending Oct. 16. KDHE officials say the absences are largely due to students becoming ill during flu season.
Thumbs up... to St. Mary’s Colgan High School students who punched their ticket for 2009 Kansas ECO-MEET, a statewide competition that tests students’ knowledge of Kansas wildlife and plants.
Thumbs up... to a grant that the Catholic Charities of Southeast Kansas Emergency Services recently received. The $9,515 grant will help the agency provide greater access to the Food Assistance Program for the newly unemployed, under-employed, families with children living at or near poverty level and seniors living on a limited income.
Thumbs up... to Pittsburg singer/songwriter Dustin Treiber, whose music video of his song “Take Me Drunk, I’m Home” was one of 64 selected for Country Music Television’s Music City Madness competition. Those interested in voting for Treiber’s video should go to http://madness.cmt.com/ and click on “Vote Now,” then go to the “Justin Moore” bracket.
Thumbs up ... to this Saturday’s football matchup between Fort Scott Community College and Butler County. The game at 1 p.m. features the No. 3- and No. 4-ranked teams, respectively, in the country and has the potential to be a very good junior college football game — in addition to determining the KJCCC regular-season champion — at Frary Field in Fort Scott.
Jacob W. Brower, for The Morning Sun
PITTSBURG —
