I am Aaron Portmann, my wife is Meagan and we have two wonderful kids; Emma, who is in the 4th grade and Evan, who is in 1st grade. I am an air traffic controller at Kansas City Center in Olathe, Kan. I moved to Pleasanton my junior year in high school and we have lived all over this wonderful country but Pleasanton has always been called my home.
1) Why are you running for school board?
I want to continue to serve this great community and continue to make it better.
2) What do you hope to accomplish if elected to this position?
I would like to focus on replacing our roads. I know it cannot happen overnight but if we can get a few here and there it’s a step in the right direction.
3) What skills and/or experience do you have that will aid you in this position?
I have served on the council for the last 4 years. I have always put the interests of the citizens first when it comes to my votes and they will continue to be that way.
My name is Rochelle Schreckhise and my husband, Jackie, and I have two daughters, Madison and Jaclyn.
My field of work has been in the mental health field, formerly working at Lakemary Center for over nine years. I am still employed in the mental health field. Those with special needs and disabilities are very important to me. I was born and raised here and it is my family’s home. It is important to me that our citizens have a good quality of life and that someone cares when they have concerns.
1) Why are you running for school board?
I have been a lifelong resident of Pleasanton and care about our town and our citizens. I want to work as a team with others who are like minded and help improve our infrastructure and needed upgrades in many areas of our city. I will use a common sense approach to spending because it’s important to me that our taxpayers’ dollar are spent wisely.
2) What do you hope to accomplish if elected to this position?
I would like to see several areas of improvement, such as upgrades on our streets and repairing our city pool as it’s very important to our children and our community. I would like to see water and sewer upgrades made as we can afford the improvements and to help seek job opportunities for our community. I am very supportive of the new vocational opportunities that our school will be providing for our community and feel that it will be very educational for our youth. I am willing to listen to ideas because I think these things are very important to others, as well.
3) What skills and/or experience do you have that will aid you in this position?
I have common sense and care about our citizens and will try to do my very best to serve our citizens with each decision that I make. I am not afraid to ask questions and to research any new issues that come before me. I am honest, dependable, and responsible and will try to serve the people fairly and in the best manner that I can.
Kenny Stark is running as a write in candidate for city council.
I grew up in La Cygne and am a graduate of Prairie View High School class of 1982.
After high school I joined the Coast Guard and had various duty stations around the United States. After seven and half years in I was medically discharged in 1990.
Upon being discharged I moved to Texas where he worked in the oilfield industry working his way up to being the driller's helper in a short time frame. After leaving Texas I returned to Kansas and started working for Johnson County Basements, where my construction career started. In 1995, I moved to Utah where he learned the trade of carpentry while working for a family business for several years. I met his wife of 20 years in Provo, Utah, and we have two great boy's, one a Pleasanton High School graduate and the other a senior this year. During our time in Utah we started our own construction company building residential homes and commercial buildings, we even tried our hand at building log homes.
We moved to Anaconda, Mont., in 2008 to support a family member and lived there until 2015 and then moved to Pleasanton.
1) Why are you running for school board?
I'm running for the open council position because I believe the citizens of our town need a voice on the council, which in my opinion many of the members of the council have forgotten that we, the citizens, elected them to be our voice.
2) What do you hope to accomplish if elected to this position?
If elected I hope to bring back the trust the people are deserved as well as their voice on the council.
3) What skills and/or experience do you have that will aid you in this position?
I hope to bring what I have learned in all my years as a business owner, as well as a parent, to the table to help get positive input from the people who elected us into office.
These are the responses received to our questions for this election.
NEWS
Linn Valley imposes moratorium on new water and sewer construction

The Linn Valley City Council held a special meeting on Thursday, March 13 to impose a six-month moratorium on new hook-ups for water and/or sewer service. On a motion by Council Member John Weers, the council approved Ordinance Number 268 suspending the issue of new water and... [More]
Wind and fire damage dots county

Burn ban in effect next several days Friday turned out to be what was expected, high winds, low humidity and lots of out-of-control fires and wind damage. Linn County Fire Chief and Emergency Management Coordinator Randy Hegwald told the commissioners Monday that... [More]
County hears from Tanglewood residents during public comment

Concerns voiced on judges alleged ruling Reporter’s Note: The Linn County News has confirmed that a Linn County District Court judge has ruled that the roads in Tanglewood Lake are public roads. We will continue to follow this story as it develops. During... [More]
More News
- Commissioners discuss new option for Devlin Road
- Board votes to extend Meik contract
- Resident questions legal opinion on approved minor plat
- Pleasanton Council moves forward with street grant process
- La Cygne leaders approve water plant maintenance
- Blue Mound hears updates on possible water tower project
- Linn Valley eyes potential economic development opportunity
- Pleasanton council discusses compactor contract
SPORTS
A season in review: Jayhawk Linn wrestling

The Jayhawk Linn wrestling season has concluded for both the boys’ and girls’ teams and both can boast of some great accomplishments. The girls’ team placed third overall at Regional and qualified an impressive seven wrestlers for State. The boys’ team... [More]
A season in review: Prairie View wrestling

The wrestling season for the Prairie View girls’ and boys’ teams have concluded and the teams and multiple individuals accomplished some good things this year. Let’s first look at the teams. The girls’ team placed third in the Pioneer League and 12th... [More]
More Sports
- Prairie View girls’ basketball ends season against Neodesha
- Case leads Prairie View girls’ wrestling with a second-place finish
- McCarty leads Lady Hawks with a fourth-place finish at State
- Blu-Jays win sub-state shootout
- Jayhawk boys’ wrestling sends five to State
- Prairie View boys’ wrestling sends three to State
- Blu-Jays defeat two Missouri foes
- Jayhawk girls’ wrestling places third at East Regional as seven qualify for State
COMMUNITY
Jayhawk Linn to present ‘Maid to Order’ for spring play

Students from Jayhawk Linn Junior High and High School will present their spring play, ‘Maid to Order’ on Thursday, March 27 and Saturday, March 29. The play, under the direction of faculty member Dawn Carlson, is a comedy set in the mid-to-late 1940s in the... [More]
Students surprise teacher with bell ringing

In an effort to honor a teacher who recently completed his chemotherapy treatments, students at Pleasanton High School worked with educator Melinda Dent to organize a “fire drill” on Thursday of last week in order to surprise that teacher. PHS teacher Norman Jones,... [More]
Shillito selected for Heartland Youth Tour

Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative recently announced that homeschool sophomore Louis Shillito has been selected as one of several young persons to participate in their annual Youth Tour this summer. Louis is the son of Chris and Carissa Shillito who operate the Shalom Retreat... [More]
More Community
- 60 years of friendships and memories
- Baby birth, voting… almost rolled into one package
- Kellstadt opens new business in Mound City
- PVHS holds Career Day
- Powells named BC Farm Bureau Farm Family of the Year
- Across Kansas on a spiritual journey
- Prairie View FFA wins 2024 East Central District Dairy Cattle CDE
- JLHS cheerleaders to perform in Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade