Common Ground Coffee to Move Shop Mid-March

Common Ground Coffee Shop will be moved to this location at 12 E. Wall later this week..

Common Ground Coffee shop’s last day of operation at its current, 116 S. Main location will be Friday, March 6.

A new chapter for this local meeting place will then begin.

“We will be closed Saturday, March 7 through 10,” Jennifer LaRoche, a member of the Common Ground board, said.  “We have a tentative date of March 11th to be back in business.”

” We are going to close out the five-year journey with some live music from 7-8 pm by Rick Hite and friends,” she said.

Common Grounds Coffee Company, 116 S. Main.

The coffee shop will be back in business about two blocks away at 12 E. Wall.

There will be no sign on the building at  12 E. Wall, LaRoche said. Pictured is the protective fence that keeps people from getting too near the westernmost LaRoche building which is still being renovated.

The new space has more space, an enlarged commercial kitchen,   a  conference room and meeting space with a stage.

In addition, there will be a drive-up window that will be opened once the staff is “settled in”, LaRoche said.

The stage space will also need a little more work when the business is first moved in.

“It will be heated with portable heaters,” she said.

Signage will be temporary on the door to the new building, until warmer weather when it can be placed on glass, she said.

 

Common Ground Coffee Shop is a ministry of Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene.

 

 

Electrician Kirk Bryant, Jennifer LaRoche and Kasey Gross work on Feb. 25 towards the goal of opening the new Common Ground Coffee Shop in mid-March. LaRoche is the owner of the building that is being renovated at 12 E. Wall. Gross is the coffee shop coordinator, LaRoche said.

May I Be Excused? By Pastor James Collins

But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.Matthew 14:30

Some things are just hard to say.

On my first day of kindergarten, I asked Momma what I should do if an emergency came up. She said, “Raise your hand. When the teacher notices you, walk up to her and whisper, ‘May I be excused?’”

Excused?” That was a new word for me. When I was five years old, I had never heard of asking to be “excused.” The word sounded foreign. It sounded French. I reasoned that “May I be excused?” was French for “Can I go to the potty?”

However, I soon realized that most people don’t speak French. One day, I walked into Kate’s Country Store. An old man smoking a cigar was sitting behind the counter. I said, “Sir, may I be excused?” He blew out a puff of smoke and said, “Sure, kid,” but he never told me where to go. So, I said again, “Sir, may I be excused?” He looked at me and asked, “What’s wrong with you, boy? Are you brain damaged?”

Later, as a teenager, I enlisted in the U.S. Army. I was standing in formation one day and I raised my hand. The drill sergeant looked at me, frowned, and said, “Private Collins, what’s wrong with you now?” I said, “May I be excused?” I never did get to go. I did pushups instead.

Obviously, some people do not understand French.

I used the word “bathroom” for a while, although I never thought about taking a “bath” in the tiny wash basin of a public “bathroom.” Then I noticed “restroom” on a sign. That was a good word, but I was not comfortable using it. I didn’t “rest” in a public “restroom.”

A while back, I was out with some people from church. Someone said, “I need to use the washroom.” That’s perfect. Now, after the waitress takes my order, I look at my hands, turn to her and ask the perfectly logical question, “Ma’am, where is your washroom? I need to wash my hands.”

It would be a lot simpler if everyone knew French.

There is another statement that is hard for people to make, “Lord, save me.”

One night, the disciples of Jesus were sailing across the Sea of Galilee when a strong storm blew up. During that storm, Jesus showed up walking on the water. Peter asked Jesus if he could walk on the water with Him. Jesus said, “Yes,” and Peter stepped out of the boat and walked toward Jesus. But he lost his focus and started sinking. He screamed, “Lord, save me,” and Jesus rescued him.

Today, someone is reading this, and you are going through a storm. Your life and circumstances have not turned out the way you intended. You feel like your boat is taking on water and you are about to go under. As difficult as it may be for you to say, the best thing you can do is cry out, “Lord, save me.” Pray to Him and ask Him to save you.

The point is: Some things are hard to say. Because of stubbornness, pride, self-reliance, it is hard for you to turn to Christ. Eternity depends on you swallowing your pride and saying, “Lord, save me.”

You can ask the Lord to save you in any language, even French, “Seigneour sauve-moi.”

James Collins is the Senior Pastor at Fort Scott’s First Southern Baptist Church. He speaks some French, but with a country accent. For more information on his ministry, check out the website www.fortscottfsbc.com.

Bourbon County Commission Special Meeting March 2

Agenda

Bourbon County Commission Room

1st Floor, County Courthouse

210 S. National Avenue

Fort Scott, KS 66701

Tuesdays starting at 9:00

Date: March 2, 2020

1st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________

2nd District-Jeff Fischer Corrected: _______________

3rd District-Nick Ruhl Adjourned at: _______________

County Clerk-Kendell Mason

1:00 – Executive Session, Consultation with an attorney for the body or agency which would

be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship (Lynne Oharah, Jeff Fischer,

Nick Ruhl and Justin Meeks)

Hwy. 69 Expansion Continues in Two Projects

Expansion work on Hwy. 69 in November 2017.

Travelers to Pittsburg and south will see progress on the expansion of U.S, 69 Hwy. starting Monday, March 2.

Expanding the highway from two-lane to four-lane has been on-going for about three years in Southeast Kansas.

This is the first project slated for U.S. Hwy. 69 to begin in 2020.

When the press release was published yesterday, questions arose on the FortScott.Biz Facebook page about the remaining sections of 69 Hwy. being completed.

Here are the answers from the Kansas Department of Transportation:

Second Project 2021-2022

A second project for the remaining section is scheduled to start in the spring of next year, according to officials.

“Work on both projects will be occurring at the same time,” Priscilla Petersen with the Kansas Department of Transportation said. “With a fall letting, construction on the northern project will likely start in the spring of 2021. We’ll have more information available on the second project later this year.”

The second project will have bid letting this fall.

“KDOT will let a second project this autumn to expand the remaining miles on U.S. 69 in Crawford County to four lanes,” Peterson said.  “The second project will start three miles north of Arma and end at the Crawford-Bourbon county line.”

 

” These two Crawford County projects, when finished, will make U.S. 69 a four-lane expressway from Kansas City south to Pittsburg, * Peterson said.

 

There are currently no projects scheduled to expand U.S. 69 south of Pittsburg, she said.

 

2020- 21  Project

 

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) plans to start the project, which will expand a six-mile section of U.S. 69 in Crawford County to a four-lane divided expressway, during the week of March 2, according to a KDOT press release dated Feb. 27.

 

The expansion project begins north of the U.S. 69/K-47 junction and continues north to end three miles north of the Arma city limits. Two lanes will be added to the existing U.S. 69 alignment.

 

Two-way traffic is being maintained on the existing lanes of U.S. 69 while the new lanes are under construction. Traffic will be switched to the new lanes when the existing lanes are rebuilt. Early project activity includes grading and work on box culverts off the highway.

 

KDOT awarded the $21.8 million construction contract to Koss Construction Co. of Topeka. According to the project schedule, the new expressway will be open to unrestricted traffic by mid-August 2021.

 

Persons with questions may contact Bob Gudgen at KDOT-Pittsburg, (620) 308-7621, or Priscilla Petersen at KDOT-Chanute, (620) 902-6433.

 

U.S. 69 Highway runs from Minnesota to Texas.

 

Unforgiveness by Patty LaRoche

Patty LaRoche

“If you would have dealt with the father I had, you wouldn’t visit him on his deathbed, either.”

“My boss said that I wasn’t needed any more. Thirty years I have sacrificed for that company, and this is what I get!”

“You have no idea what it’s like to have your spouse say that she’s never loved you when she moves on to someone else.”

In last week’s article, I wrote about revenge. Revenge takes unforgiveness one step further. Should we choose to forgive, revenge becomes irrelevant.

No one modeled forgiveness like Jesus. “Father, forgive them. They know not what they do,” he cried while hanging from the cross. His murderers didn’t ask for—or even care about–forgiveness. They made bets on his clothes, humiliated him, mocked him, tortured him and grotesquely disfigured him. Still, Jesus asked his Father to forgive them. I wonder if those words had any impact on their lives. How could it not?

For two weeks, Fred, the pastor at the church Dave and I attend here in Mexico, shared part of his journey bringing Christ to Mexico in the 1980’s. The congregation sat spellbound since, in Fred’s 25 years of pastoring here in Mazatlán, no one had heard this testimony, including the death threats and persecution he endured early on when attempting to introduce Jesus to some of the regions of Mexico.

Fred spoke of details of an almost-fatal car wreck he, his wife and three-month old daughter survived when hit by a drunk driver. Placed in a body cast, Fred and his family were flown to San Antonio, Texas, where Fred’s cast was removed and he was placed in traction for five months. His wife suffered broken bones and a collapsed lung, and his daughter, brain damage. The Christian doctor and his wife who made arrangements for the transportation and medical care later rented hospital beds for their home and moved into a trailer in their back yard so Fred and his family could receive the care they required after being released from the hospital.

At church today we saw a picture of Fred’s totaled vehicle with the junk yard owner standing beside it. After recovering, Fred was able to meet that owner who commented that “no one should have survived that kind of accident.” Fred shared how God allowed him to lead the man to Christ. Over the next several months, that man led his entire family to Jesus, and within a few years, some of the relatives formed a Christian gospel group and toured the United States singing their praises to God.

Fred eagerly told us how he had a chance to meet and forgive the driver who hit his vehicle head on. Many of his stories were about how he became best friends with those who persecuted him and how those men now have become Christians. Fred understands clichés like “Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping it kills somebody else.” He knows that true forgiveness has nothing to do with the other person; rather, it’s about setting ourselves free. It refuses to have to be in control by wishing the offender harm. Instead, it wishes the other person well.

In other words, forgiveness makes us more like Jesus than anything else we can do. Jesus’ own words (Luke 6:37) demonstrate who benefits the most: Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

If that isn’t setting ourselves free, I don’t know what is.

At The Fort: A Most Diverse Army

This Saturday, February 29th, Ranger Barry presents ‘A Most Diverse Army’.

The program explores the challenges and prejudices that African Americans faced in becoming a part of the Union Army during the Civil War. Participants will discuss the pros and cons of joining the Union Army and the First Kansas Colored.

One of the goals of the program is to discuss the issues and biases present at the time and those that pervade society today while maintaining respect for all persons involved.

Meet Your State Officials This Saturday, Feb. 29

Join us THIS SATURDAY, February 29th for a
Legislative Update Coffee
Empress Event Center
9-10:30am
with
Kansas Senators
and
Kansas Representatives
Click the links on the legislators’ names above to view the committees on which they serve and their voting records.
The Legislative Update Coffee will be held at the Empress Event Center, 7 N. Main St., Fort Scott, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m (parking & entrances in both front and back of building).
State legislators Senators Richard Hilderbrand and Caryn Tyson and Representatives Trevor Jacobs and Ken Collins will give an update on the current session as well as address any issues or questions presented from the audience.
If you have a particular item you would like to have addressed and plan to attend, you may email the Chamber at [email protected] by 5:00 p.m. Thursday, February 27th.
Coffee, juice & light refreshments will be served.
Tell your friends – all are welcome!
Thank you to our event sponsors :
Fort Scott Professional Building
Office space available for new
& existing businesses!
Click herefor info.
Empress Event Center
Click here for info.

U.S. 69 expansion in Crawford County to begin March 2

 

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) plans to start a project that will expand a six-mile section of U.S. 69 in Crawford County to a four-lane divided expressway during the week of March 2.

 

The expansion project begins north of the U.S. 69/K-47 junction (620th Avenue) and continues north to end three miles north of the Arma city limits. Two lanes will be added to the existing U.S. 69 alignment.

 

Two-way traffic is being maintained on the existing lanes of U.S. 69 while the new lanes are under construction. Traffic will be switched to the new lanes when the existing lanes are rebuilt. Early project activity includes grading and work on box culverts off the highway.

 

KDOT awarded the $21.8 million construction contract to Koss Construction Co. of Topeka. According to the project schedule, the new expressway will be open to unrestricted traffic by mid-August 2021.

 

Persons with questions may contact Bob Gudgen at KDOT-Pittsburg, (620) 308-7621, or Priscilla Petersen at KDOT-Chanute, (620) 902-6433.

‘SPACE GIRL’ LAUNCHES MARCH 19 AT FSCC

 

There are aliens among us. At least, there will be March 19-21 when the Fort Scott Community College Theatre Department beams “Space Girl,” a new play by Mora V. Harris, to the stage in the Ellis Family Fine Arts Center.

 

Curtain is 7:30 p.m. each night, and there is no admission charge for the show, directed by FSCC theater instructor Allen Twitchell.

 

According to the synopsis from Playscripts Inc., “Arugula Suarez just wants to fit in. But it’s not easy when you’re a 16-year-old lesbian alien from the planet Zlagdor. In an alien world where the only things that make sense are Roller Derby and salad, Arugula and her father, Nancy, must find out what it means to be human before time runs out for Planet Earth.”

 

Jazmin Havens, a freshman from Pittsburg, plays Arugula; Anthony Oneri, a freshman from Gardner, plays Nancy; Grace Keating, a sophomore from Fort Scott plays Charlotte, Arugula’s only human friend; Phoenix Burk, a sophomore from Pittsburg, plays Bruise, Arugula’s roller derby teammate; Abby Sweat, a freshman from Pleasanton, plays the Zlagdorian chancellor; Fayelyn Kmiec, a sophomore from Farlington, plays Ms. Nussbaum, Arugula’s teacher; Kendra Johnson, a freshman at Girard High School from Arma, plays Denise, Arugula’s classmate nemesis; Isabella Loyd, a freshman from Fort Scott, plays Becky, Denise’s friend; and Kaleb Morrow, a sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., plays the planetarium announcer and provides additional voices.

 

Michael Woodward, a sophomore from Fulton, serves as the sound engineer.

 

“The story is one of self-discovery,” said Twitchell. “Essentially, we are all aliens inside trying to find our ‘niche,’ where we can fit in and, the hope is, to enhance society. The political undercurrent of the story deals with climate neglect and how, left to its own devices, mankind is, intentionally or not, targeting its own destruction.

 

“On the surface, the show features aliens, roller derby and salad, lots of salad, so how can it not be fun?”