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

BREAKING NEWS: Leonard sentenced in Missouri case

thumb

Damon B. Leonard, with defense attorney Harold Trull made an appearance in Bates County, Mo., Circuit Court on Friday, May 29 for what was slated to be a sentencing hearing following the guilty plea given in open court previously on May 22, 2026. When court proceedings began... [More]

SPECIAL REPORT: Leonard enters guilty plea in Missouri case

thumb

Damon B. Leonard, who was charged in Bates County, Mo., in December of 2025 with abandonment of a corpse, a class E felony punishable by up to four years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine, entered a plea of guilty in open court on Friday, May 22. The case stemmed from events... [More]

Commissioners hear from Clearway attorney on transmission moratorium

thumb

During the meeting held on Tuesday, May 26, the commissioners heard from Melissa Vancrum with Rouse, Frets, White, Goss Law Firm, Leawood, Kan., who spoke during public comment regarding the moratorium that commissioners opted to put in place during last week’s meeting.... [More]

More News

SPORTS

Prairie View track qualifies three athletes for State

thumb

The Prairie View track team traveled to Fredonia on May 22 to compete in their 3A Regional. The Buffalos did well with multiple top placers and three athletes qualifying for the State track meet in Wichita on May 29-30. The highlight of the meet for the Buffalos was Laramie... [More]

Jayhawk track qualifies eight for State

thumb

The Jayhawk Linn track team traveled to Fredonia on May 22 to compete in their 3A Regional to determine who makes the State track meet in Wichita on May 29-30. The Hawks qualified eight total athletes for State in seven different events. The highlights of the meet were Dominic... [More]

Pleasanton track qualifies six for State

thumb

The Pleasanton track team traveled to Iola on May 21 for the 1A Regional hosted by Waverly to see who would make the State track meet in Wichita on May 29-30.  The Jays qualified a total of six athletes for State in six different events. There were also multiple events... [More]

More Sports

COMMUNITY

Don George: Fish, Lakes, and a Sense of Community

thumb

You may have heard his name spoken at city council meetings, city halls, near the lakes, or you may have just heard of his last name in town. If you hear his name and wonder who he is, I’ve got the answer. Don George is the District Fisheries Biologist III for Kansas... [More]

Summer reading programs kick off

thumb

Summer programs are kicking off nationwide, and so are that of reading programs. You may have noticed that the libraries in Linn County share the same theme. This is because “Unearth a Story” is the official 2026 Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) theme. ... [More]

Debbie Grigsby-Lynch: Art, Music, and Faith

thumb

If you walk into Stonetree Coffee & Pottery, you’ll see canvases lining the walls; fluid pours, pumpkins, flowers, and sweeping landscapes. They’re beautiful, and you might find yourself wondering who created them. Well, I’ve got the answer. Most of the... [More]

More Community

PLEASANTON WEATHER

Today's e-Edition

View Legals for Free