Young Professionals League provides Career Fair for students

For a fourth year, the Young Professionals League of Bourbon County hosted a career fair at the Fort Scott High School, giving junior and senior students a chance to learn about area businesses and other entities.

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Jason Hogue of Fort Scott Community College and Angela Meyer of Reynolds Law Firm helped organize this year’s event, which students attended in a rotation between classes.

“It’s a great event for juniors and seniors,” Meyer said.

Although some of those students have already decided on where they will attend college or what career field they will pursue, Meyer said the fair still gives them a glimpse of where they can be after finishing their college education.

Local and out-of-town entities were present to provide information of their businesses, including FSCC, Peerless, Medicalodges, Mercy Hospital, Fort Cinema, Pittsburg State University, Ward/Kraft, the city of Fort Scott, the Fort Scott fire and police departments, the United States Marine Corps and Army as well as other organizations and businesses.

City Commission honors City Attorney, receives project updates

The Fort Scott City Commissioners presented a framed certificate to City Attorney Bob Farmer for his 40 years of service to the community during their final October meeting Tuesday evening.

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“Thank you, Bob, for all you’ve done,” mayor Cindy Bartelsmeyer said.

The commission also approved New Wave Broadband’s tower to be built near the lake, on property leased to the Kansas Parks and Wildlife, in order to provide internet coverage to that area.

Commissioner Jim Adams said he has heard from residents who live near the lake that they are excited about the tower coming to their area.

Already, New Wave Broadband is using Fort Scott’s three water tower locations to provide internet services to area businesses and residents within line of sight of those towers. The new tower will allow them to broaden their reach.

“One of our concerns has always been reliability,” Harry Lee of New Wave Broadband said, saying they frequently have backup systems in place in case something goes wrong and also strive to “over-provide” their services rather than not provide a strong enough signal.

Work on the tower will begin in the near future.

Director of Finance Jon Garrison also gave an update on the clubhouse being built at the golf course, asking that the commissioners allow him to look for a contractor to help complete the interior of the building so it could be ready by March.

“I think we need to speed that up,” Garrison said of the project, which would not be complete by the spring without other assistance. “I think it very critical to get the clubhouse done.”

With the exterior of the building complete, Garrison said it could serve as a winter project for a contractor. Projects remaining include the wiring, plumbing, insulation, sheetrock and painting.

The commission agreed that Garrison should meet with contractors to discuss what the remaining work would cost.

Bourbon County Courthouse to be renovated

By the Homes for the Holidays Tour in early December, the first floor of the Bourbon County Courthouse will have a different appearance as it receives a new coats of paint and new additions over the next couple months.

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County Treasurer Rhonda Dunn described to the county commissioners their goal to put in historical items and photos on each of the courthouse floors so it would become a museum featuring the history of Fort Scott, Bourbon County and the courthouse itself.

“It’s going to be really neat,” Dunn said of the plans for the courthouse.

Instead of using county dollars to complete the project, the commissioners voted Tuesday morning to accept the offer of $1,500 from the Historic Preservation Commission.

Because of an unused closet discovered in the courthouse that had not been repainted, the new colors will match those used when the courthouse was first built more than a century ago.

The first floor will likely include 4×16 foot murals of historical photos of Forts Scott and other historical items while other cities and communities of Bourbon County will be featured on the second floor and the courthouse itself on the third floor. One hall will also be reserved for honoring Bourbon County veterans.

“It’s our plan to complete a floor before we move on to something else,” Dunn said.

Some items to be featured will include historical ledgers and blueprints, a tommy gun, wagon, desk, bookshelves, china and photographs. The HPA and county would gladly accept other donated items from members of the community to put on display.

“That’s exciting,” commissioner chairman Barbara Albright said of the project, expressing her gratitude to the HPA for their donation.

Mercy Hospital hosts Wellness Fair

Members of the community had a chance Saturday morning to receive free testing and services from the Mercy Therapy Services team.

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Visitors to the fair were able to participate in flexibility, balance, posture and body mass testing as well as receive free chair massages and golf swing tips from PGA golf instructor Zac Gazlack. Each test showed participants where they could make adjustments to improve their physical health, such us by simply sitting or standing up straighter.

The team also gave out information on how to recognize a stroke as well as informed visitors of the services offered in the hospital’s own fitness center, which provides exercise equipment as well as classes and fitness assessments from instructors. The hospital also provided mammograms Saturday.

Local Italian restaurant closes suddenly

Bella Roma, an Italian restaurant that came to Fort Scott less than a year ago and shared a building with Fort Scott Inn, closed its doors on Oct. 5, a move that came as a shock to some employees and the owners of the Fort Scott Inn.

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“We were actually surprised,” Fort Scott Inn owner Alex Desai said of the restaurant’s sudden closing.

Desai said he was out of town when the restaurant closed and he returned to find items from the building being packed up.

“I never got to truly speak to the owner himself,” Desai said, saying though his attempts to contact the restaurant owner Giovanni Elezi were unsuccessful, Desai was able to speak with the owner’s brother.

That brother said they had opened too many restaurants at one time, and slow business and not enough manpower led to their decision to close their Fort Scott, Iola and Nevada restaurant locations.

Desai said he has begun contacting others he believes may be interested in opening another restaurant at the same location.

SEK Financial Chamber Coffee discusses fall events

The weekly Chamber Coffee event hosted by SEK Financial Thursday morning gave representatives from businesses in Fort Scott as well as some high school students the opportunity to learn about SEK Financial and what other businesses in the community are doing in upcoming weeks.

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“We work with twenty-something different school districts,” representative Jim Sather said of SEK Financial located in the Industrial Park south of Fort Scott, but added they do much more than just working with schools, such as helping others through investments, insurance, IRAs, 401K plans, rollovers and other financial advice.

“We are able to stay plenty busy,” Sather said. “We love what we do.”

They have also held social security seminars, informing community members of Medicare and Medicaid facts. Businesses interested in inviting them to come speak on that or other financial topics can contact them.

“When we give advice, we just try to do the very best that we can here,” Sather said, saying their doors are open to those who would like to chat with one of their representatives.

Other announcements included:

  • The new Bleeding Kansas and Civil War exhibits at the Fort Scott National Historic Site are almost ready as final inspections are completed.
  • The Gordon Parks Celebration will begin next Thursday and will include videos, speakers, tours and other events such as a concert by a jazz band from Kansas City Friday evening.
  • The Halloween Parade will make its way through downtown Fort Scott Saturday Oct. 24, at 11 a.m. Families and businesses are invited to participate.
  • On Friday the 30th, the city will host a speaker who works with small businesses and will be discussing topics such as staying relevant to the changing customer and art as a business, giving business owners new ideas to help grow their company.
  • Tickets for the Forks and Corks: Taste of Fort Scott event, which will be held Nov. 7, continue to be sold around the city.

Public Library provides reading time to toddlers

Each Tuesday morning, the Fort Scott Public Library invites families with toddlers not yet in school to come for a story time at 10 a.m., which includes books, songs, crafts and snacks for the children.

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“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for preschoolers and toddlers to get used to sitting down and listening,” youth librarian Valeta Cannon said, adding it also prepares them for learning to read themselves.

Cannon said it gives the children as well as the mothers an opportunity to meet each other and socialize.

Each week, Cannon selects children’s books according to themes the children said were their favorites. In recent weeks those themes have included whales, trains and cowboys. With each theme, “Miss Val” often dresses the part as well as plans crafts, songs and snacks that also fit the topic.

“It’s wonderful,” Cannon said of the time each week, though she admits it can also be a challenge because of how young some of the children are. “I really like it.”

Though the story time started off slowly with the beginning of the school year, in recent weeks Cannon said they have had more than 20 children come with their parents.

“The group keeps growing, which is nice,” Cannon said.

The story time continues each week throughout the school year before being suspended during the summer for the summer reading programs. Cannon said she does not hold to a specific age limit for the weekly gathering, having welcomed children as young as just a couple months old to older students.

USD 234 sets curriculum goals, gives construction update

During their October meeting, the USD 234 school board members received a report on the plan to create a district-wide curriculum, a project which began with the start of the new school year.

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Curriculum director Nicki Traul said it has been more than a decade since the district made an effort to create a curriculum for each of the Fort Scott schools, adding that those plans often fell short of their goal.

“There has been several times in the past that we’ve got started on processes,” Traul said. “I don’t know if we ever hit the ending in the last ten years or so.”

But Traul said they recognize the magnitude of the project and are considering it to be a five-year plan, not one that could be utilized immediately. To achieve that goal, she said they will make sure teachers also understand that goal and are not discouraged by yet another attempt.

In just recent weeks, Traul and Superintendent Bob Beckham met to set goals for the curriculum as well as walk through the schools to witness different teaching methods to be encouraged in the curriculum.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am about that,” Beckham said of the walk-through and plan for school curriculum, which will include a committee, coaches and continued Literacy First training.

Traul said their curriculum will have horizontal goals in each classroom, making sure each grade finishes the school year at the same level, as well as vertical goals so each grade learns what is needed for the curriculum of the next grade.

“We want to make sure that each kid in every grade level is getting the material that they’re supposed to be taught,” Traul said.

Such a curriculum would provide that continuity among the schools as well as accountability between classes as they are held to specific standards.

Beckham also gave an update on the construction included in the $40.8 million school bond issue, saying the contractors have sought input from teachers and found ways to get projects done while remaining within the limits of the budget.

Beckham said the contractors will begin accepting bids for interior and exterior projects with those bids due in mid-November. Work will begin shortly after that decision is made

Beckham added the priority will be the high school, since some of those students have been displaced, but said they hope several areas of work can be done simultaneously by those awarded the bids for the projects.

“We’re all getting antsy,” Beckham said. “They hope to see dirt being moved the first of December.”

Runners, cyclists, kayakers take part in Triyakathon

For a third year, local and out-of-town athletes competed in the Triyakathon held at Gunn Park Saturday, featuring routes that forced participants to run, kayak and cycle through the park as individuals or members of a team.

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“We love doing it,” said Frank Halsey, who helped organize the event as well as create the bike trails at Gunn Park over recent years. “It’s a fun course.”

Halsey admitted they are still trying to find the best time of year to hold the event, going back in forth between the fall, when numerous other activities are going on, and summer when it is hard to rent enough kayaks.

This year, though with a smaller crowd that included about 20 individual participants and approximately eight teams, the participants got to experience the event with near-perfect weather with a backdrop of trees with leaves already changing.

Though Halsey said they had feared the river would be too low for the kayaks, recent rains and the opening of the river to let water in made conditions suitable for the event.

Each individual or team was timed, with the fastest coming in at less than two hours for all three portions, which included 3.8 miles of running, 2.5 miles by kayak and a 6.9 mile bike ride through the trails.

Participants ranged in age from 14 to 73 years. Volunteers from Fort Scott Community College and Christian Heights helped with the event.

Fort Scott crowns royalty at Homecoming

A large crowd from the community attended the 2015 Homecoming festivities Friday evening, which included the crowning of the Homecoming King and Queen, the Tigers’ football game against the Independence Bulldogs and performances from the band and dance team as well as young Tigers fans.

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Prior to the game, Marcus Stepps and Grace Willis were named the Homecoming King and Queen from among the 10 candidates. Other candidates included Karleigh Arndt, Katie Gorman, Emma Reeves, Cassidy Westhoff, Kaleb DeLaTorre, Josh Hudiburg, Brody Southwell and Wyatt Tourtillott.

“I’m in a lot of shock still,” Willis said after she was crowned, saying she was both surprised and excited when she was first named a candidate a couple weeks before. “But it’s great.”

After accepting the crown, Stepps went on to help the Tigers beat the Bulldogs, even credited with an interception with less than two minutes in the game, which would lead to the final touchdown of the 31-14 final score.

Both teams got off to a slow start, struggling with penalties, but the Tigers struck first with a touchdown with just over six minutes remaining in the first half. A field goal gave them a 10-0 lead at halftime.

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While the Bulldogs threatened to come back late in the game, completing a 49-yard touchdown run with less than four minutes to go in the game, the Tigers held on to give them a 5-1 record for the season.

Students and others in the community also provided a chili feed, face-painting, photo booth and other activities during the Homecoming evening. The Fort Scott High School graduating class of 1965, celebrating its 50th year since graduating, was also recognized.

G & W Foods holds ribbon-cutting ceremony

Formerly Gene’s Heartland Foods, G & W Foods continued its Grand Opening weeks with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday afternoon, despite being delayed briefly when power in the store and the neighborhood went out.

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“The store looks fabulous,” Chamber of Commerce executive director Lindsay Madison said. “So thank you already for your investment in the community. We are very excited.”

Chris O’Hara said this is the 24th G & W Foods branch and the 10th in Kansas, with others located in Arkansas and Missouri. O’Hara said they are appreciative of the “wide open arms” the community has put forward in welcoming the new store to the area.

O’Hara said most of the employees are the same from when it was Heartlands except for the addition of the new manager, Will Rayburn. Each of the employees introduced themselves as well as noting how long they had been with the store, ranging from a few weeks to 20 years.

“I’m looking forward to a lot of great years here,” Rayburn said.

The store provides United States Department of Agriculture choice beef, a wide variety of organic foods as well as custom meat smoking and cake decorating. Starting next week, store ads will include coupons and fuel gas-savers cards will be available within the next 10 days.

They also have the Partners for Education program which allows customers to give their G & W receipts to their school, who can then return them to the store for one percent of those sales.

“It can be a very good thing for the community,” O’Hara said.

The ribbon-cutting event also included free hot dogs and refreshments for participants. The store continues its training for employees and organization of the store itself.

Fort Scott kindergarteners visit Shead Farm

For a third year, Larry and Vickie Shead invited students from the Fort Scott public schools to come and visit their farm located south of the city, where the children got to experience different aspects of farm life.

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More than 150 students, visiting the farm in two shifts Thursday, got to feed animals including goats, a pig and a donkey, learn how to milk a cow, taste homemade butter and take a hayride while also participating in other interactive activities.

Vickie Shead said they were not sure at first what they would do with the farm after their four children grew up and moved out, but decided to continue using it to help others in the community and even from out of town.

“We just gave it back to God,” Vickie said. “Whatever you give to God, you don’t know what He’s going to do.”

Starting in 1994, the Shead Farm began welcoming college students who could bunk at the farm as a retreat, often helping with some of the work. Since then, thousands of similar students, including international students, have visited as well as others for occasions such as weddings, reunions, birthday parties and holidays, usually at no cost.

Vickie said they hope to continue inviting students and other guests to visit the farm as long as they can.

“What would we do with the farm if it wasn’t used for others?” Vickie said.