Steel is a 2-year-old male mixed-breed dog available for adoption at the Veterinary Treatment Facility. He has already been neutered, microchipped and vaccinated. Call 684-6510 for more information.
Several family-friendly pets are available for adoption at the VTF. Adoption fees vary according to the needs of the pet. The VTF is at 831 McClellan Ave. and is open 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 1-3:30 p.m. Friday.
Pets available for adoption are listed on www.petfinder.com.

Bees are very social creatures that depend on each other for survival, said beekeeper Paula Owen, and humans can learn a lot from them.
“One-third of everything we eat is directly related to honeybees, so they’re pretty important,” she told students at Eisenhower Elementary School.
Owen and hundreds of other presenters visited Eisenhower Jan. 27 for Kansas Day. The day, which celebrates the day that Kansas was founded as a state on Jan. 29, is organized each year by school counselor Debbie Sack. Sack gets help from local organizations, farmers and parent volunteers who work to make the day a special learning experience for the children.

Dr. Bridget Cantrell likes to begin her seminars about mental health surrounding deployments with a quote from David O. McKay: “The greatest battles of life are fought out daily in the silent chambers of the soul.”
Cantrell, a licensed therapist in the state of Washington, has written several books on recovery from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. Her most recent book is “Souls Under Siege: The Effects of Multiple Troop Deployments — and How to Weather the Storm.” Cantrell has a doctorate of philosophy in clinical psychology, works as a private mental health provider and also runs a nonprofit group, Hearts Toward Home International. Through her nonprofit, Cantrell conducts mental health awareness seminars throughout the military.

Amber is a young female domestic shorthair cat available for adoption at the Veterinary Treatment Facility. Call 684-6510 for more information.
Several family-friendly pets are available for adoption at the VTF. Adoption fees vary according to the needs of the pet. The VTF is at 831 McClellan Ave. and is open 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 1-3:30 p.m. Friday.
Pets available for adoption are listed on www.petfinder.com.

Jim Redwine became concerned about his finances when he deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, wondering what might happen to his family if he were killed.
Redwine, then a major, and his wife, Gina, had been frugal with their spending before, but that’s when they really began to worry about money.

Seventh-grader Lawson Smead writes a word on his arm as he thinks through how to spell it aloud during the seventh-grade spelling bee Jan. 19 at Patton Junior High School. The top two spellers from each English class participated in the bee to determine who will represent the school in the county bee next month. Lawson won the seventh-grade spelling bee and will continue on to the county bee. Eighth-grader Gabe Buss will also represent Patton at the county bee. Sixth-grader Kaitlyn Linney and fifth-grader Makenna Brunson will represent MacArthur Elementary School, and sixth-grader Mason Nicks and fifth-grader Ana Golden will represent Bradley Elementary School in the Leavenworth County Spelling Bee.

Tax Assistance Center employee Jennifer Smith prepares taxes for retired Sgt. 1st Class James and Renee Dixon Jan. 20 at the Resiliency Center. The tax center is on the third floor of the Resiliency Center at 600 Thomas Ave.; a lower-level office is available for customers not able to climb the stairs. Call 684-4986 to schedule an appointment. The tax center is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on three Saturdays: Jan. 28, Feb. 4 and Feb. 11. The tax center, which saved the community about $500,000 last year that would have been paid to commercial prepares, offers free preparation of federal and state tax returns for Soldiers, family members and retirees. Documents, such as W2s, interest income papers and receipts, should be organized and brought to the appointment.

Fort Leavenworth officially welcomed home the Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 40th Military Police Internment and Resettlement Battalion, at a ceremony Jan. 25.
The Soldiers and corrections specialists assigned to Camp Cropper, Iraq, deployed for one year in support of detainee operations. The 40th’s stateside role is the care and custody of inmates at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks. The battalion was stood up about two years ago to serve alongside the existing 705th Military Police Internment and Resettlement Battalion, forming a new Army Corrections Brigade to staff both the USDB and the newly-built Joint Regional Correctional Facility.

Chief is a young, energetic dog available for adoption at the Veterinary Treatment Facility. Call 684-6510 for more information.
Several family-friendly pets are available for adoption at the VTF. Adoption fees vary according to the needs of the pet. The VTF is at 831 McClellan Ave. and is open 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 1-3:30 p.m. Friday.
Pets available for adoption are listed on www.petfinder.com.

Results from Wounded Warrior Winter Open Olympic weightlifting Jan. 14 at Gruber Fitness Center.

Twenty-eight years before the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a black man was lynched in Leavenworth, Kan.
Fred Alexander, accused of attacking a woman, was dragged out of a jail cell, tortured and murdered in a ravine near Spruce Street on Jan. 15, 1901, while an estimated 8,000 citizens of the city watched, according to an archived article from The New York Times.

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service’s most senior enlisted service member visited Fort Leavenworth Jan. 9 and 10 to find better ways to serve customers.
Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Jeffry D. Helm also had some tips for Soldiers about how they can better utilize the Post Exchange and www.shopmyexchange.com.

For Sgt. Timothy Finney, a shift worker at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, extra weight was beginning to interfere with his career — most importantly, the chance to work a day job.
The 25-year-old Soldier, a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, USDB, began to gain weight and failed a tape measure test. He decided to take action and joined the Army Move! weight loss support program after consulting with his primary care provider at Munson Army Health Center.

2011 proved to be a year of significant milestones for the Mission Command Training Program.
During 2011, MCTP trained the staffs of 18 brigades, five divisions and nine other units. Observer/trainers traveled to Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington, and also conducted a division-level exercise at Fort Leavenworth. Exercises were also conducted outside the United States in Korea and Germany and individual MCTP members served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Two officers were among the last to leave Iraq once the mission was closed down there.

Photographs of more than 20 past commanders hang on the wall at Combined Arms Center-Training, and Dianna Allen has worked for all of them.
Allen received her 45-year federal service pin Jan. 9, although she’s been eligible for it since July. She’s worked on post for all of those years, beginning with a GS-2 job she began out of high school in 1966.

Big Boy is a friendly, neutered tabby available for adoption at the Veterinary Treatment Facility. Call 684-6510 for more information.
Several family-friendly pets are available for adoption at the VTF. Adoption fees vary according to the needs of the pet. The VTF is at 831 McClellan Ave. and is open 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 1-3:30 p.m. Friday.
Pets available for adoption are listed on www.petfinder.com.

Although Congress began cutting back on the federal voucher that vanpool participants receive beginning this year, Therese Carmack still thinks it’s a good benefit.
The Executive Services employee pays about $15 a month out of pocket to commute to work from Lee’s Summit, Mo., to Fort Leavenworth.

Joy is an adult calico available for adoption at the Veterinary Treatment Facility. Joy is pretty fearful so she might be best suited for life as a barn cat. Call 684-6510 for more information.
Several family-friendly pets are available for adoption at the VTF. Adoption fees vary according to the needs of the pet. The VTF is at 831 McClellan Ave. and is open 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 1-3:30 p.m. Friday.
Pets available for adoption are listed on www.petfinder.com.
 

Spc. C.J. Nichols holds the guidon for Lt. Col. Margaret Neidert and Sgt. 1st Class Lesroy Huggins as they case the colors during the North Plains District Veterinary Command deactivation ceremony Dec. 15 at the Armed Forces Insurance building. Fort Leavenworth and the eight other installations that fell under the North Plains District now fall under the U.S. Army Public Health Command that stood up in July. The deactivation takes effect Jan. 4.
 

Fort Leavenworth prides itself on its history, which really does surround us. Whether we’re on our way to work or the Post Exchange, we pass wagon trails, homes of famous people, even missile sites once top secret but now run down. Main Parade at Sumner Place shows no sign of soldiers’ formations, or caissons near what used to be a dirt road. But what if there is even more to the post yet to be discovered?
It’s not just possible, it’s probable. As a spouse looking for something interesting to do, I started doing research for the occasional history article. At the Leavenworth Public Library, I stumbled across post phone directories dating back to the early 1900s. I thought it might be fun to compile a list of former residents of our quarters in the historic Main Post area.