Standing at the bottom of a wind turbine looking up at the clear Kansas sky.
The Bourbon County Commission voted on March 13, 2020, to approve a wind energy project submitted by Apex Clean Energy, Charlottesville, Virginia. There was some community protest, but the commission moved forward with the project that will produce energy from wind turbines.
The development of the Jayhawk Wind Project continues to advance, according to Helen Humphreys, Public Engagement Manager for Apex Clean Energy, the parent company of Jayhawk Wind.
The land is currently being inspected on proposed sites.
“We are in process of conducting (and) completing micro siting efforts, a process which involves a physical inspection to verify that the site meets all requirements,” she said in an email interview. “Once micro siting is complete, engineering studies will be conducted to further evaluate the sites on which facilities might be located.”
“Once this work is complete, we will share the locations of the planned facilities with landowners and collect their feedback, before a map is finalized,” she said.
“There are 74 participating landowners in the Jayhawk Wind Project,” Humphreys said. As things stand now, construction will begin in late 2020 and the project will be operational in 2021.
The Apex Clean Energy company has been building connections in Bourbon County, as well.
“Finally, and importantly, the Jayhawk team has continued to build connections in the community,” Humphrey’s said. “Guided by community leaders, Jayhawk has provided grants to a number of community organizations, including The Beacon food pantry and Feeding Families in His Name.”
Julianna Pianelli, Apex Development Manager, explained that “early in the pandemic response, Jayhawk connected with community non-profits and church leaders to identify the organizations positioned to meet community needs. We are humbled by the commitment of so many to their neighbors and community and are very pleased to support their work.”
For more background on Jayhawk Wind in Bourbon County:
Downtown Historic District held at the Empress Event Center
Attendees may wear mask at their own Discretion
Let’s talk about: SPARK FUNDING
The Bourbon County Commission received $2.9M in CARES Act funds through the State of Kansas SPARK funding. This funding is designed to help the county with the health and economic emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information about the funding, visit https://www.bourboncountyks.org/spark/.
Kelly and Thaddeus Perry are the owners of Perry’s Pork Rinds and plan to open a general store in Bronson in 2020. Submitted photo.
Passersby on Hwy. 54, going through Bronson, may have noticed the demolition of an old filling station.
The land is owned by K&T Enterprises LLC, Thaddeus and Kelly Perry, owners.
Local entrepreneurs, the Perry’s are in the process of building a general store on the site.
“We have purchased the land, all nine lots, to the edge of the (Bronson) city limits along with the station but have already demolished the station,” Kelly Perry said. “We started working on this project in March of 2019 with Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment doing soil samples, etc., to make sure there were no contaminations on the property from the fuel tanks. Next to go will be the awning and the underground tanks. Then we will be building our new general store and pork rind production plant.”
“We have many requests for EBT and to accept EBT we also have to sell other items such as bread, milk, eggs, etc,” Kelly said.
Kansas Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) is the benefit delivery system for public assistance via electronic access to their cash and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, according to its website: http://www.ebtcard.net/state/kansas.html
The proposed general store will provide basic necessities plus small family business goods.
“The general store plans are to have bread, milk, eggs, tea, coffee, soda fountain and can soda as well as other small family goods from the state of Kansas, like Topeka based Stumpy’s Smoked Cheeses, Cashmere Popcorn, and of course in-house-made-fudge that will eventually be sold online as well,” Perry said. “I took a fudge making class to learn how to make old fashioned fudge. We will also have saltwater taffy from Branson MO. Mostly novelty foods. We also plan to have bagged ice and offer odds and ends such as toilet paper soap etc.”
” We hope to have construction up and going by late September,” she said.
The Perry site in Bronson in the demolition phase of the old filling station on Hwy. 54. Submitted photo.
“The new facility will have a front covered porch with picnic tables for guests to stop and enjoy,” she said. “We plan to have a large 40×60 ft. building. We plan to have public restrooms and free wifi as well.”
The awning is next to be demolished on the Perry’s business property.
The Kelly’s are known in Bourbon County for their pork rinds.
“We have outgrown our home-based business after working for the last three years,” Kelly said. “Our online sales have increased as the customer base has broadened.”
“We have never received any grants for our business,” she said. “We save and once we have the money we just pay for it in cash.”
They have marketed themselves by selling at every function, festival and fundraiser they could, she said.
” At one point not having a single weekend off in nine months,” Kelly said. “Now we have a loyal and supportive base and we want to support our home town and the county that has been behind us since the beginning.”
“Our customers are family to us,” Kelly said. “They have been with us since the beginning selflessly sharing posts and buying bags, sometimes to only give away to others, and we not only wanted the store but we wanted it in our own home town.”
“The plan in the back of our mind was to always have our own building,” she said. “We are proud of our customers, employees and ourselves for starting something with little to no money, no generational money backing us, just hard work and dedication.”
“We currently have four full-time employees working 30+ hours a week,” Perry said.
They have some long term goals for their highway property.
“We hope to bring even more jobs to the community and the long term goal is to have RV hookups on the site for hunters, who can bring their game to the Bronson Locker, and folks fishing and enjoying the Kansas Rocks and Recreation as well as any pipeline/windmill employees needing accommodations. The highway frontage should bring in several visitors.”
The store will be located in the strip mall on Main Street, which is also 69 Hwy on the south end of town.
“We are very excited to open in Fort Scott,” said Demi Bouwens, director of operations for the franchise in Pittsburg and Fort Scott.
“The store will be located in the parking lot near the Hibbett’s Sports Store,” Bouwens said. “We are aiming for a November 2020 opening.”
“As we were building our location in Pittsburg last year we began to notice the community in Fort Scott,” she said. “We loved the warm, friendly environment as we spent time in the community. Because of this, we knew this community would be a great fit for Scooter’s brand.”
Not just coffee will be offered but other snack items will be sold at the drive-through only coffee store.
“We offer a variety of options from coffee, smoothies, teas, lattes, blenders, muffins, breakfast options, to cookies and our famous cinnamon roll,” she said. “This is a drive-through only model where you can count on amazing drinks served to you amazingly fast!”
What is the history of Scooters?
“In 1998, Scooter’s Coffee was born,” Bouwens said. “Co-founders Don and Linda Eckles began an amazing journey when they opened their first drive-thru coffeehouse in Bellevue, Nebraska. Their keys to success: find a great location and stay committed to high-quality drinks, speed of service, and a BIG smile. Scooter’s Coffee is fortunate to have over two decades of success due to its commitment to the original business principles and company core values. Amazing People, Amazing Drinks…Amazingly Fast!”
Firstsource is currently located in the Fort Scott Industrial Park. but is moving the office to town.
At a recent Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Coffee event, Micheal Bryant announced that Firstsource Solutions USA, 4500 Campbell Drive, is transitioning to work-from-home for its employees.
The business leadership is also devising a plan to move from the industrial park to the city of Fort Scott and add more employees.
Micheal Bryant, Firstsource Solutions Vice-President of Operations. Submitted photo.
Bryant is vice president of operations for the business which provides for its’ clients services of claims adjudication, data entry and customer service calls.
“Firstsource has been deploying work-from-home for several years within the Fort Scott location,” Bryant said in an email interview with fortscott.biz. “The opportunity for employees to work-from-home has been very well received by our team members.”
” The transition is a business decision that will improve our retention rates, employee satisfaction, and performance of our team members,” Bryant said.
“The entire Fort Scott office will be involved in the migration,” he said. “There are other offices within Firstsource that are migrating to a work-from-home environment but (it is) not a company-wide initiative.”
“The work-from-home staff will be providing services of claims adjudication, customer service, and data entry for our existing customers,” Bryant said.
At the Chamber Coffee, Bryant said the business would have a smaller footprint in Fort Scott.
“Firstsource is currently in negotiations on a small facility for training and meetings,” he said. “We hope to finalize the lease in the next couple of weeks. Once we have finalized the lease we will be able to communicate the new Firstsource location. The move is currently scheduled for late December of this year.”
The business will be moving from the industrial park.
“The current facility that we are negotiating with is within the city of Fort Scott,” Bryant said.
The business will also be adding more employees shortly.
“The alternative facility will be leveraged for the training of existing employees as well as new employees,” he said. “The facility will enable Firstsource to continue to grow with the Fort Scott area. We have plans to add a significant number of additional staff members in the next several months.”
7/16 – Seniors 60+ Farmers’ Market Voucher Signup Program, 1-4pm, Bourbon County Senior Citizen Center, Downtown, Income Requirements, click here for details.
Join us for the Quarterly Downtown Meet & Greet, Tuesday, July 7, 2020!
8:30 am to 9:30 am
hosted by the Chamber at Courtland Hotel & Spa
Rita Schroeder, Administrative Assistant
Lindsay Madison, President & CEO
620-223-3566
These informal, quarterly meetings are hosted by the Chamber for downtown business owners, representatives and community members to network and share ideas on events, promotions and anything related to downtown. Coffee, juice and light refreshments will be served.
Special Note from the Chamber Board:
Following KS state safety recommendations & health practices ~subject to Bourbon County’s continued advancement through the reopening phasing plans.
Join us for the Quarterly Downtown Meet & Greet, Tuesday, July 7, 2020!
8:30 am to 9:30 am
hosted by the Chamber at Courtland Hotel & Spa
Rita Schroeder, Administrative Assistant
Lindsay Madison, President & CEO
620-223-3566
These informal, quarterly meetings are hosted by the Chamber for downtown business owners, representatives and community members to network and share ideas on events, promotions and anything related to downtown. Coffee, juice and light refreshments will be served.
Special Note from the Chamber Board:
Following KS state safety recommendations & health practices ~subject to Bourbon County’s continued advancement through the reopening phasing plans.
