A splash pad is coming to town, thanks to some leaders who took the initiative.
“This idea has been in strategic plans and will add to the revitalization of downtown Fort Scott,” said Bailey Lyons, who along with Josh Jones and Kelly Barr have spearheaded the drive for funds.
Last week at the Fort Scott City Commission meeting, Lyons announced that with the help of two big donors, they are within reach of the project.
“We plan to break ground in the Spring and open by Summer 2023,” Lyons said. “We thought it would be a wonderful addition to our community. It will be a wonderful outdoor recreational amenity that offers a fun play option for all. It will be a gathering place accessible to people of all abilities, ages, and backgrounds. We saw other communities like ours installing splash pads with great success, and wanted to bring one to Fort Scott.”
For those who might not know, a splash pad is a recreational outdoor play area with sprinklers, fountains, nozzles and other devices that spray water. Also known as a spray pool, there is little to no standing water in the space.
It will be placed at the west end of Skubitz Plaza, off of North National Avenue.
The site was picked because of accessibility, parking, and infrastructure and also is at the north end of the historic downtown area with dining, shopping and other attractions.
Fort Scott Parks and Recreation Department will provide maintenance, with the city also providing water and electricity.
So far, about $180,000 has been raised for the space, with $20,000 more to fund raise.
Two of the biggest donors have been a Timken Foundation Grant of $75,000 and a Walmart Foundation Grant of $40,000.
From Facebook.
Chicken Mary’s, a well known restaurant north of Pittsburg, is the latest to help with fundraising.
On Wednesday, Dec. 7, one can pick up a chicken dinner or supper in Fort Scott that must be pre-ordered by Dec. 4. The meal is $10 per plate and tickets must be ordered by calling 620.224.7795.
“We also have the comedy show, and we are about to roll out a fundraiser to raffle off an ATV,” Lyons said. ‘We will be pushing out regular donation giving levels…that will allow people to donate to get us to the finish line.”
The River Room Event Center is located on the second floor of the building at the corner of Oak Street and National Avenue on Fort Scott’s north side.
On November 1, Luther’s BBQ Restaurant at 3 W. Oak, closed.
The building’s second story business, the River Room Event Center, has a new phone number and will honor any reservations that were made, according to Al Niece, owner of the building.
The River Room new phone number is 620.820.0536 and their email is [email protected]
“There were some reservations in place for some events (at the River Room), I am honoring them all,” Niece said. “The River Room is one of the largest event centers in the area.”
New Business Soon
Niece feels confident that the lower floor restaurant space will be leased soon, he said.
“We are weighing options for a business there,” Niece said. “We are talking with several groups.”
To view the prior story on the opening of Luther’s:
On November 1, 2022, agents from the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) accompanied by the Fort Scott Police Dept. and the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Dept. executed tax warrants and seized the assets of Luther’s BBQ LLC for nonpayment of Liquor Enforcement Taxes and Sales Taxes: totaling $38,783.96, according to a press release from the KDOR.
The warrants were filed in Bourbon County. The types of assets seized include all known bank accounts, on-site cash, business inventory, as well as personal property belonging to the owner. The business was sealed closed with a public notice posted on the outside.
“Luther’s BBQ LLC has paid all outstanding judgements and assets have been released to the business,” according to an email from KDOR on November 9.
KDOR’s policy and practice is to work with taxpayers in delinquent status to voluntarily enter into repayment agreements, according to the press release. It is only after these efforts and multiple failed collection attempts that the Department is forced to execute a tax warrant, utilizing such actions as bank levies, till taps, and ultimately asset seizure to ensure compliance with the law.
KDOR’s responsibility to recover delinquent taxes not only ensures fairness for individuals and business owners who do pay their taxes, but also ensures that money is lawfully collected to fund state and local programs on which Kansans depend, according to the press release. These programs include education, highways, public safety, and human services.
Customers, employees or others that may have items at the business may contact the agent assigned to this case at 785-250-5084.
Linda Minor-Hammond Community Center Board Member, Doug Graham-Heartland Communication Specialist -, and Alice Helton-Hammond Community Center Board Member.. Submitted photo.
Linda Minor wrote a grant that was awarded for the Hammond Community Center$2,000 from Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative for roof and HVAC repairs.
“I am a Hammond Community Center board member,” Minor said. “The building has been struggling financially with upkeep.”
The Hammond Community Center, 2275 Soldier Road, rural Fort Scott, is about 30 years old.
“Hammond Community Center is the only community center left in the Osage Township of Bourbon County,” she said. “The facility has been serving the Hammond area since the closing of the Hammond School. The center is often used for birthday parties, reunions, and wedding receptions along with the monthly meetings of the Northeast Scott 4H Club.”
The Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative’s Concern for Community Program provides grants of up to $5,000 for capital improvement projects throughout the cooperative’s service area, according to a Heartland press release. Applications are accepted during a defined application period each year.
The Hammond project was one of 10 selected to receive a funding boost through Heartland’s Concern for Community grant program, according to a Heartland press release.
“I often say that we’re not in the business of selling electricity, we’re in the business of powering rural lifestyles,” said Mark Scheibe, Heartland CEO. “Part of that is supporting the communities our consumer-members live in and around. This grant program is a great way to do just that.”
The Concern for Community program provides grants of up to $5,000 for capital improvement projects throughout the Heartland service area, which covers parts of 12 counties in eastern Kansas. Capital improvement projects are those that involve investment in structures or equipment that will last for many years.
As a non-profit, member-owned cooperative, Heartland issues capital credits to members each year, but sometimes those capital credits go unclaimed. Because those monies were intended to be returned to the communities from which they came, Heartland’s Board of Directors decided to use those unclaimed funds for community grants and started the Concern for Community program in 2019.
This year, 10 applications out of 26 received were approved for funding by the Heartland board. Heartland distributed a total of $37,000 in Concern for Community grants this year.
Other Heartland REC projects selected for funding are as follows:
Cato Historical Preservation Association, Inc. was awarded $2,500 for painting at the Cato Christian Church between Fort Scott and Pittsburg.
Crawford County Fair Association was awarded $5,000 for new lights and wiring at the fairgrounds outside Girard.
Crawford County Fire District # 4 was awarded $5,000 to help purchase a virtual fire extinguisher training system to be shared with area fire departments and businesses.
Fairview Chapel outside Moran was awarded $2,500 for new bathrooms.
Hammond Community Center in rural Fort Scott was awarded $2,000 for roof and HVAC repairs.
Jayhawk USD 346 was awarded $2,500 for new curtains for the auditorium.
Linn County Fair Association was awarded $5,000 for new animal pens at the fairgrounds in Mound City.
Moran-Marmaton/Osage Fire Department was awarded $2,500 for new hoses and nozzles.
Mound City Historical Society, Inc. was awarded $5,000 for roof repairs on historical buildings.
Woodson County Fair Association was awarded $5,000 for renovations to the swine barn at the fairgrounds in Yates Center.
Applications were accepted in the month of September and selected by the Heartland Board of Directors in October. Heartland plans to reopen applications in summer 2023 for the next round of funding.
About Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc.
Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc. powers rural lifestyles throughout more than 11,000 locations in eastern Kansas. Heartland’s service area includes consumer-members in 12 counties, including Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Cherokee, Coffey, Crawford, Labette, Linn, Miami, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson.
Heartland REC traces its roots back to three original rural electric cooperatives: Cooperative Electric Power & Light Company, Sugar Valley Electric Cooperative Association, and Sekan Electric Cooperative Association. Cooperative Electric Power & Light Company joined with Sugar Valley in 1975 to form United Electric Cooperative; United Electric Cooperative joined with Sekan Electric Cooperative Association in 1996 to form Heartland.
Marjory Schwalm has been preparing a Thanksgiving meal for the community for 27 years. She and her some of her family, about 25 people, show up to help her.
Thanksgiving Day all family members help in different ways: some cook, some assemble the foods in take-away containers, some help with the delivery, then there is clean up.
This year they will continue the drive-through or delivery service for their Thanksgiving meals.
There is no charge for the meals, she said.
Most years, she gets enough in free will donations to cover all the supplies.
The family serves out of the Elk’s Club building at 119 W. 19th, with Elk Club members helping to deliver the meals.
Thanksgiving day, her son, stands at the east side door and partakers line up in their cars inside the orange cones that direct traffic to the pick up site.
“People drive up and tell how many meals are needed,” she said.
They also deliver meals.
“We send a lot to the high rise apartments,” Schwalm said.
“There are a lot of one-to-two people families that can’t cook big turkey dinner…so we provide,” she said. “Some elderly can’t drive so we deliver to anybody that needs it.”
They make about 700-800 meals for the community.
“Everyone has found out that this is a pretty good way to get a Thanksgiving meal without having to do all the work,” she said.
To call Schwalm, 620.224.6769.
The hours of service on Thanksgiving Day are from 11 a.m. to about 1-1:30 p.m.
She starts making to-do lists and lists of items to buy for the meal, months ahead.
Usually she goes to Sam’s Club in Joplin, MO for supplies, but this year, she is so thankful that Sam’s Club delivered to her.
After the meals are delivered or picked up on Thanksgiving Day, the family sits down for a meal together, she said.
“My family always got together for Thanksgiving, but now we fix for anyone that needs a meal,” Schwalm said.
Marjorie and her son, David Schwalm, who is in charge of giving all the delivery drivers their routes. Submitted photos.
Nancy Maze is charge of all desserts. Submitted photos.
Pictured are Marjorie Schwalm and Diane Lloyd (who is in charge of the delivery meals being correct and accounted for) and Cash Davis in the front with the servers (Schwalm family) and some of the Elk’s Club members that helped deliver meals from last year. Submitted photos.Aria and Charlee Davis help with desserts and taking meals to the drive-through. Submitted photos.
The serving assembly line – Cindy Stanely Schwalm, Sara Schwalm, Zack Schwalm, Danielle Minor, Daren Lloyd down the left side, and Tanner Schwalm, Dylan Lloyd, Diane Lloyd, Hunter Minor down the right with Lane Minor and Jeremiah Dawson helping transfer plates to the delivery tables. Submitted photos.Cindy Ziegler Schwalm, holding the plate, does all of the cooking. Submitted photos.
A shopper looks over wares of a vendor at a prior Fall Extravaganza. Submitted photo.
The season of craft and small business vendor sales is in full swing.
Monday November 21 from 5-8 p.m. at the Fort Scott Middle School will be the annual Fall Extravaganza, a 40-plus craft/vendor fair.
Fort Scott Middle School, 1105 E. 12th.
Madeline Martin, Fort Scott High School Counselor and swim coach, is organizing the event this year.
“We took it over from (Fort Scott Middle School Teacher) Stephanie George and the VIP’s (organization) at the middle school,” Martin said. “Stephanie knew that the swim team was looking for more fundraising opportunities so she reached out to us asking we were interested in organizing it for this year.”
“The purpose of this event is to continue the holiday shopping tradition,” Martin said. “This has been a popular event in the community for over 10 years and we want to keep this tradition going. We have 40+ vendors that are joining us this year and we are super excited.”
“The swim team hopes that the funds raised through this event will help us purchase swim parkas for each participant as well as help offset costs for the year,” she said.
The FSHS Swim Team will be selling a pulled pork dinner also as a fundraiser.
The vendors scheduled to set up are:
KNM Clay
One of a Kind Wood Creations
TSM Creations & Decor
Amy Maxwell
Better in Bourbon
Jessee Cox
Maria Whitson
Arbonne- Lindsay Hill
TFI Family Services
Donna Jo Beerbower
Mary Kay- Lauren Hardwick
Mmm Flavor Shop
Our Little Village
Redbud Farms & Nurseries
Desert Bloom
Gentry Warren Art
Twigs & Berries
Anita Moore
Sugar Bakery/Walker’s Bakery
WellSpring Acres Alpaca Farm
SOS Grad Party
Grazing Fort Scott
Perry’s Porkrinds
FSHS Industrial Arts
The Sister’s Oven
FSHS FCCLA
Tin Man Alley
JP Custom Leather
Tiiger Threads
Be-You-tiful Designs
The Lavender Patch Farm
Locust HIll Lamachas
Micki Kraft
Sunshine Boutique
Buckin A’ Ranch
Wilbur Fleming
Funky Junktiques
Paparazzi Jewelry & Norwex- Brenda Hunter
The Purse Lady
Happy Little Candle Factory
Tupperware- Shawn O’Brien
Sassy’s Grandmas Stencils
Bids & Dibs/ Angie Dawns
About the swim team:
The Fort Scott High School boys swim team had their first season in the winter of 2019. The girls swim started the spring of 2020, but their season was cancelled because of the COVID 19 Pandemic.
“This past year we grew as a team and added some members through a cooperative agreement with area schools,” Martin said. “Last year the boys team took 3rd in the league and Bobby Kemmerer went to state where he brought home two medals for the two events he swam. The boys have also sent one other swimmer, Oliver Witt, to state in the past.”
“Girls season last year hit a huge goal of winning the league and Fort Scott sent their first female swimmer, Avery Stewart, to state. Along the way we have had swimmers from Frontenac, Pittsburg, Chanute, Northeast-Arma, Humboldt, and this year we are adding St. Mary’s Colgan and Uniontown to our girls team. I love that Fort Scott is setting a standard of providing kids the opportunity to compete in a sport that they love.”
“This year, for boys season, we have three young men joining us from Pittsburg and four young men joining us from Frontenac,” she said. “Girls season we have individual swimmers joining us from Arma, Uniontown, Humboldt, and Colgan. We will have a few girls join us from Frontenac and Pittsburg as well.”
They drive each day to the Pittsburg YMCA to practice.
“Our swimmers are very dedicated and our out-of-town kids drive up to an hour just to get to practice each day,” she said. “I am looking forward to another successful season and for Fort Scott to continue to make a big splash in the SEK and in our League.”
The Bourbon County Commission room, at the courthouse.
The Bourbon Country Commission transferred ownership of the former Mercy Hospital Building at 401 Woodland Hills on November 17, 2022 to Legacy Health Foundation.
Editors note
The agreement document was originally sent by the Bourbon County Clerk to fortscott.biz for publication on Nov. 17 but an email from the clerk said her office was just notified that there was an error in the document and was asked to pull the document off of the Bourbon County site. Fortscott.biz also pulled the document out of the story until the corrected document was available.
Here is the corrected agreement document between the county and Legacy Health Foundation.
“We have been in negotiations with them for six months,” Commissioner Clifton Beth said. “We transferred the building to them to develop. The building is the responsibility of Legacy Health Foundation as of today.”
In addition, the commission gave Legacy Health Foundation a combined $2 million dollars, he said. Mercy Hospital gave the commission the building and $600,000 after the hospital closed in December 2018.
This bill provided additional relief to address the continued impact of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses.
The Knights of Columbus are continuing their fundraising efforts to help rebuild the Mary Queen of Angels Church.
The church suffered extensive damage on the evening of August 29, 2022 and will be rebuilt.
Mary Queen of Angels Church. November, 2022.
“No plans yet,” Mark McCoy, church member said. “We are in the conceptual phase. We are hoping to come to an accepted position on how to rebuild.”
Meanwhile the Knights of Columbus group at the church are having monthly meals in the Kennedy Gym, at 705 S. Holbrook as a fundraiser for the rebuilding of the church.
Founded on the principles of charity, unity and fraternity, the Knights of Columbus was established in 1882 by Father Michael J. McGivney, in New Haven, Conn., and a group of parishioners, according to https://www.kofc.org/en/who-we-are/our-story/index.html Their intent is to bring financial aid and assistance to the sick, disabled and needy members and their families.
This month, it is Friday, November 18, and the meal is homemade chicken noodle soup and cream of potato soup, with the desserts prepared by the Catholic women of the church.
Tea, coffee or water goes along with the meal, with a suggested free will donation of $7 per meal.
The meal is from 5-7 p.m.
“The community has been so supportive,” McCoy said. “All proceeds will go to the rebuild of the church.”
The Knights of Columbus Fish Fry March 2022. The set up will be the same for all the meal fundraisers. Submitted by Calvin Barr.
Gunn Park, on Fort Scott’s west side, will be closed the morning of the December 10th in preparation for the annual Christmas in the Park. The event is sponsored by Buck Run Community Center and other donations from the community.
At 5 p.m. the park opens, with parking off site and a shuttle to be provided for park visitors.
At 6 p.m. Santa will arrive at the park to speak with the children who attend. The events will end at 8 p.m.
Included in the park events is a live nativity scene, live music by Bourbon County Revival, the visit with Santa and THE GRINCH, a cookie decorating site for the kids, chili, hot chocolate and popcorn.
The event is free to the public.
The Bourbon County Angels, a local helping organization, will be accepting children’s gifts to distribute to those in need of them.
The purpose of Christmas in the Park is to spread Christmas cheer to the residents of Bourbon County and surrounding areas, according to Josh Jones, one of the organizers.
The planning committee is comprised of: Josh Jones, Suzette Torres, Devin Tally, Craig Campbell, Bailey Lyons, Shannon Johnson.
From left: Jane Campbell, president of the Gordon Parks Museum Board, Executive Director Kirk Sharp and Fort Scott Community College President Alysia Johnston. The museum is housed on the FSCC campus. From the museum’s Facebook page.
A recent honor was awarded those who worked on a local trail project that tells of Gordon Park’s life in Kansas.
From left: Jane Campbell, Carl Brenner, Aly Turvey, Kirk Sharp, Shane Walker, Kassie Fugate-Cate, Arnold Scholfield and Janice Fewins were part of the planning committee for the Learning Tree Sign Trail. Picture from the museum’s Facebook page. (2019)
In late October, 2022, Gordon Parks Museum Executive Director Kirk Sharp, was notified that a recent project,“The Learning Tree” Film Scene Sign Trail had garnered the Award of Excellence from the Kansas Museum Association.
The award is presented annually by the Kansas Museum Association during the organization’s yearly conference, this year on November 7-9, to an institution whose project or achievements are worthy of special recognition.
“This is an amazing honor for us to receive such a prestigious award from the KMA,” said Sharp said. “This award is something that not only both of the communities of Fort Scott and Mound City can be proud of, but also the entire state of Kansas.”
The film trail is a series of signs situated at the different filming locations for “The Learning Tree,” written and directed by Parks. The signs also include QR codes along with a virtual tour of the identified scene locations for the film.
“In 1989 The Learning Tree (A Warner Bros. – Seven Arts Inc. Production) was one of the first 25 films selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant,” Sharp said.
The recent project received funding from Humanities Kansas and the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation.
NEH for All spotlights more than 260 projects funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities through its website NEHforAll.org.
Established in 1965, the NEH recognizes the unique role the humanities play in fostering the wisdom, vision and knowledge required to participate in a thriving democracy.
To this day, the NEH supports excellence in humanities research, teaching and lifelong-learning opportunities that provide millions of Americans the knowledge of their history and culture. NEHforAll.org highlights that excellence. Visit the website at http://nehforall.org/.
Kirk Sharp, left, and Rachelle Meinecke, the chairperson of the Kansas Museum Association’s award committee, pose with the Award of Excellence bestowed recently upon the Gordon Parks Museum for it’s “The Learning Tree” Film Scene Sign Trail.
About the Gordon Parks Museum in Fort Scott
Parks spent some of his childhood in Fort Scott and later went on to be an internationally-known photographer, filmmaker, writer, and musician.
A museum to honor Gordon Parks is located on the campus of Fort Scott Community College.
The mission of the Gordon Parks Museum in Fort Scott is to use his remarkable life story to teach about artistic creativity, cultural awareness, and the role of diversity in our lives, according to the museum’s website.
Since its inception in 2007, the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes has hosted visitors from around the world, including 104 countries and all 50 US states. On November 4, 2022, the center reached a new milestone with its 12,634th visitor for 2022. That number marks the highest number of visitors the Center has had in one calendar year.
81-year-old John Hammes from Bangor, Wisconsin was the honored visitor for 2022. He is a Vietnam veteran, who visited the Center on his way to a veteran’s celebration in Branson, Missouri with his wife and children. They enjoyed learning the stories of all of the LMC’s Unsung Heroes and could relate to those about Harry Hue and Douglas Hegdahl, both Vietnam veterans themselves. While John was awarded with special gifts from the Center to mark this milestone day, he also gifted the LMC staff with his own special stories about his four tours of duty in Vietnam. The Center thanks John for his service to our country and congratulates him as the 12,634th Visitor for 2022!
Visitors like John and his family continue to help the mission of the Center grow, as they learn about and share the featured Unsung Heroes’ stories and their important impact on the history of our country and the world.
As interest in the Center grows, the number of projects entered in the Discovery Award and ArtEffect competitions grows as well. Consequently, new Unsung Hero exhibits are continually being added to the Lowell Milken Center’s Hall of Heroes, the Lowell Milken Park, and the Center’s website. These unsung heroes become role models that inspire all who learn about them to seek to make a difference in the lives of others.
About the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes:
The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes works with students and educators across diverse academic disciplines to develop history projects that highlight role models who demonstrate courage, compassion and respect. Through our unique project-based learning approach, students discover, develop and communicate the stories of Unsung Heroes who have made a profound and positive impact on the course of history. By championing these Unsung Heroes, students, educators and communities discover their own power and responsibility to effect positive change in the world. Visit www.lowellmilkencenter.org to learn more.
A telescope will be an added attraction at the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes at the corner of First and Wall Street in downtown Fort Scott.
“The telescope will be used to educate the community on… amazing unsung heroes of the stars,” Ronda Hassig, funding developer for the center, said.
Ronda Hassig. Taken from the Lowell Milken Center Facebook page.
Hassig wrote the $2,500 grant proposal for the telescope and carrying case and the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation awarded the grant last month.
“The telescope is remote and GPS controlled,” Hassig said. ” We had an astronomer from Nebraska stop by the center and we found out he is the director of the Stargazing Project in Nebraska! He is so excited for us, that he has agreed to come back down as soon as the telescope arrives and help us get used to using it. There’s a definite learning curve but he thinks we can handle it!”
“The telescope will be used in the Lowell Milken Park (adjacent to the center) for viewing of the moon and planets,” she said. “For deeper space, we are hoping to be able to use it at the Fort (Fort Scott National Historic Site) along with their telescope!”
“We hope to get both young and old excited about seeing the stars and the heavens so we will be having star parties here at the center in the Lowell Milken Park,” she said. “The parties will contain stargazing along with guest speakers and expert astronomers from all over the country. Everyone will be invited!”
“I think no matter how old you are, if you have ever looked through a telescope and seen the moon up close, or the actual rings of Saturn, you are hooked forever,” she said.
The telescope has been ordered and the center staff hope to have it sometime this week.
“Then I’ll get to start planning our first star party,” she said. ” I’ll be paying special attention to moonless nights and hopefully cloudless nights and we may get lucky and get to have a party in the next several months. It will be cold but if you’re bundled up you won’t care! There will be warm drinks and treats for everyone!”
“Stay tuned for dates and please plan to come enjoy our newest device at the Lowell Milken Center provided with the gracious funds of the Fort Scott Community Foundation,” she said.
“We are really trying to educate the community on all of the different unsung heroes here at the Lowell Milken Center, by having fun and having educational activities around those heroes,” she said.
Two of the astronomy heroes that are featured at the center are:
“Henrietta Swan Leavitt was born right after the Civil War and was educated at Oberlin and Radcliffe,” Hassig said. “She got excited about astronomy after taking a course on it. When she graduated she began volunteering at the Harvard College Observatory and after 14 years she was paid for her work at $.30 an hour. She was essentially 1 of 20 women computers. Through her work, Leavitt earned graduate credit towards her degree but never completed it. She did however make an amazing discovery – she figured out how to measure objects in space. This discovery led to the launching of the Hubble Telescope and more recently the Webb Telescope! As she aged, her health got worse and a bout with cancer caused her to lose her hearing. She died at age 53, but her dedication to astronomy has given us some of our most advanced knowledge about space!”
“Gene Shoemaker was the founder of astrogeology,” Hassig said. “The first person to determine the origin of the famous Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona, the first director and creator of the Astrogeology Research Program of the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Arizona, and along with David Levy discovered the Shoemaker-Levy Comet.
“Shoemaker worked for NASA preparing himself and the other astronauts to walk on the moon. Gene was to be the first geologist on the moon. But after all his hard work he was unable to go to the moon because he had Addison’s Disease. He commentated the moonwalk with CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite during the live flights. Although he was horribly disappointed not to go, he kept looking for impact craters and space rocks. He searched for craters and rocks all over the world. He was looking for craters in Australia when he was tragically killed in a car accident. NASA wanted to honor this amazing scientist so they called his family and asked for some of his ashes. They put the ashes in a space probe and crashed it on the moon. Gene Shoemaker is the only human buried on the moon and just one of two buried in space.”
Dr. Russ Baxley purchased the Gorman Animal Hospital in March 2022.
Renamed the Southeast Kansas Veterinary Center, it is located at 1251 240th St., Fort Scott.
The SEK Veteraninary Center is located at 1251 240th St., Fort Scott. Submitted photo.
Hours of operation are Monday – Thursday: 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday: 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, closed.
The phone number is (620) 223-1171
Dr. Baxley is a veterinarian and a veteran.
All together he has served in three wars, Baxley said.
“As a youngster, I was in the Air Force,” he said.
He started as a veterinarian in the U. S. Army in Afghanistan where he worked on dogs that detected explosives and narcotics.
He then left the army and returned to Kansas and worked for a mixed animal veterinarian.
A hankering for more adventures led him to Afghanistan, Iraq, Morocco and Egypt, as a contractor for the U.S. State Department, again working with detection dogs.
Returning to the U.S., he worked in Destin, Florida for a year and a half until the COVID 19 Pandemic restrictions made the job “undesirable,” he said.
Returning to Kansas, he traveled the state filling in at clinics for manpower shortages. It was then that he came to Fort Scott to the clinic he purchased in March 2022.
Dr. Baxley loves animals and the best part of his career is “returning a sick animal to health, seeing how happy the animal is and pleased the owner is.”
He is concerned about the misinformation for the care of animals that is on the internet and recommends that people look to information on academic or government sources.
The best source for veterinary advice is a veterinarian, he said.
In the industry there are new drugs coming for small animals that will help minimize pain and many new diagnostics for detecting and treating them.
For livestock, there have been new scientific studies for treating parasites, which helps decrease disease in cattle, while lowering production costs. “The hard part is getting people to change from old to new ways,” he said.
Coming in 2023, cattle producers won’t be able to buy common antibiotics over the counter.
“There is a paradigm shift coming to the livestock business in 2023,” Dr. Baxley said.
“They will need to get these (antibiotics) from a veterinarian, which requires a Veterinary-Client-Patient-Relationship,” he said. “This means that your vet has sufficient knowledge of a producers animals to make diagnosis.”
“I love helping people…save money and make money,” he said.
Kennel/Vet Assistant Needed
SEK Veterinary Center has an immediate opening for a Kennel/Vet Assistant. The position is part time- possibly more, if wanted/needed. Please apply in person at :
