There will be a Special Meeting of the Fort Scott City Commission held at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 10th, 2021. This meeting will be held to consider the Interim City Manager proposed contract.
The work session will begin at 6:15 p.m. or immediately following the special meeting. The work session will be held to discuss the remainder of the 2021 street maintenance program.
This meeting will be held at 123 S. Main Street in the City Commission meeting room. This meeting will be broadcast on the City’s You tube channel. This meeting is open to the public.
Kansas Gas Service is hosting an “11 Days of
Giveaways” contest on Facebook to celebrate Safe Digging Day and promote awareness about calling 811.
Beginning Aug. 1, the company starts challenging customers’ knowledge about safe digging and natural gas safety with daily prizes.
The contest will run through Aug. 11, 811 Day.
In support of National 811 Day (Wednesday, Aug.11), Kansas Gas Service reminds customers and contractors to call 811 before any digging project to have underground utility lines marked.
Digging without calling can result in damage to underground utility lines, harm to yourself and others, and unnecessary disruption of service in your neighborhood.
According to national industry statistics, every six minutes an underground line is damaged due to someone deciding to dig without calling 811 first.
“We hope that the 8/11 date on the calendar will serve as a natural reminder to put safety first by using the free 811 services before digging,” said Trey Pool, manager of Public Awareness
and Damage Prevention for Kansas Gas Service. “It’s the safest way to know where utilities are buried in your area before breaking ground.”
No matter how large or small, every digging project warrants a call to 811 at least two full working days before digging begins.
Underground utility lines may be found in yards or below sidewalks, driveways or streets.
When you call before you dig, the Kansas One-Call System notifies Kansas Gas Service and other operators of underground facilities to mark their buried assets within two full working days of the request.
The lines will be marked with flags or nonpermanent spray paint to let you know to stay clear of that area when digging. It’s important to keep these markers in place until all digging is complete.
Visit BeADigHeroKansas.com for more information about 811 and safe digging practices.
About Kansas Gas Service
Kansas Gas Service provides a reliable and affordable energy choice to more than 645,000 customers in Kansas and
is the largest natural gas distributor in the state, in terms of customers.
Headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas Gas Service is a division of ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE: OGS), a 100-percent
regulated natural gas utility that trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “OGS.” ONE Gas is included in the S&P MidCap 400 Index and is one of the largest natural gas utilities in the United States.
For more information and the latest news about Kansas Gas Service, visit kansasgasservice.com and follow its social
channels: @KansasGas, Facebook, Nextdoor, LinkedIn and YouTube.
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“I am excited to announce that we WILL be able to have our annual Business Expo this year!,” Kassie Cate, Fort Scott Community College Director of Strategic Communications said. “It will take place on August 18th from 8:30 am to 11:30 am in Bailey Hall. If you know any businesses, churches, or organizations that would like to participate, please send them my way; space is limited.”
Dennis Lee “Denny” Quick, age 86, a resident of Ft. Scott, Kansas, passed away Sunday, August 8, 2021, at Country Place Memory Care in Ft. Scott. He was born June 3, 1935, in Mapleton, Kansas, the son of Fred Quick and Angie Dennis Quick. He married Eleanor Lucile Endicott on January 23, 1960, in Ft. Scott. Denny loved spending time with his family. He was a dedicated husband, father and grandfather.
Survivors include two sons, Phil Quick and wife, Jennifer of Ft. Scott and Rick Quick also of Ft. Scott and four grandchildren. Zach Quick, Gabe Quick, Peyton O. Quick Gibson and Taylor Quick Brasfield and five great-grandchildren, Sidney Brasfield, Layne Quick, Oktavea Brasfield, Hayes Quick and Freya Lucile Brasfield. Denny’s wife, Lucile, preceded him in death on April 19, 2018. He was also preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, Lyle and Harold and two sisters, Norma Jean and Nelda.
Dave Nickelson will conduct funeral services at 10:00 A.M. Thursday, August 12th at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Burial with military honors will follow in the U. S. National Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 P.M. Wednesday evening at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Memorials are suggested to the Alzheimer’s Association and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
There are several new instructors at Fort Scott Community College this year. This is part of a series to feature them.
Classes start on August 12.
Sara Holder, left, and family. Submitted photo.
Sara Holder, 44, is a new Fort Scott Community College Nursing Instructor. She will teach at the Burke Street Campus.
She is a graduate of William Jewell College in 1999 and has emergency room, same-day surgery experience, and has worked as a school nurse.
Her hometown is Kansas City.
Holder has been married to Bret for 22 years and has two high school-age students: Jet, a senior, and Kate, a junior.
In her spare time, she loves to watch her children compete in sports.
” I also love to decorate,” she said. ” My family serves veterans and actively fights against human trafficking.”
She was inspired to be a nurse “by all the excellent nurses I have worked with over the years,” she said. “I want to teach nursing students to be like them.”
For Holder, the best part of teaching is encouraging students to become safe, compassionate, caring nurses, she said.
What is the greatest challenge for her?
“The transition from being an expert nurse at the bedside taking care of patients for over 22 years, to a brand new instructor in the classroom teaching nursing students,” she said.
Rachel Stauffer. Submitted photo.
Rachel Stauffer, 40, is the new biology, anatomy, and physiology instructor. Her office and classroom are in Bailey Hall.
She earned an associate of applied science in veterinary technology from Maple Woods Community College, a bachelor of science in animal science from Missouri State University, a master of science in education with an emphasis in biology from the University of Nebraska-Kearney, and a specialist in education in educational leadership from Arkansas State University.
“I have taught middle school and high school science for 12 years,” she said. ” Most recently I taught biology, dual credit biology, and anatomy/physiology at El Dorado Springs High School.”
Her hometown is Stockton, MO but currently resides in El Dorado Springs, MO.
“My husband Matthew and I own a small cow/calf operation outside of El Dorado Springs,” Stauffer said. “My daughter, Macy, is active in 4-H and FFA showing cattle and goats. My son, Marshal, is also active in 4-H and enjoys showing cattle and pigs.”
“Following my kids to their activities and helping with the farm, in addition to teaching, keeps me busy,” she said. In addition, she has served as a county extension council member, president of the local teachers association, and a 4-H leader.
She found she enjoyed educating people while working as a veterinary technician.
Several people inspired her to teach.
“I have been blessed to have some great teachers and mentors as I have grown as a teacher and person, Stauffer said. “I had a fantastic high school biology teacher that inspired me.”
The best part of teaching for her is connecting with students and helping create an interest in science, she said.
“I like to find things that apply to their everyday lives and help them to understand those concepts better,” Stauffer said.
The greatest challenge in teaching is the current pandemic.
“Right now the greatest challenge facing us all of the uncertainty with COVID, she said. “Plans often need to be re-evaluated and changed week by week as the situation unfolds. It is up to us to try to maintain a routine for the students and provide them with an excellent educational experience.”
Kim Boyer. Submitted photo.
Kimberly Boyer, 52, is a new Fort Scott Community College English Instructor.
She earned a masters of arts in English from Emporia State University; a bachelor’s in education, 7-12 grade language arts; and speech communication from Chadron State College, Chadron, NE.
She has I5 years of experience teaching high school English, speech, and drama, most recently at St. Patrick’s Jr./Sr. High School in North Platte, NE. She was also the play production director and speech coach there.
For the past three years, she was a full-time writing lab assistant at Mid-Plains Community College in North Platte, NE.
Her hometown is Stapleton, NE.
Her family includes her husband, Bud, ” Who is continuing to run our ranch and trucking business in Nebraska.” They have three daughters, Brianna, Jennifer, and Nikki.
Outside of her job she loves to garden, listen to audiobooks, and bake.
She has been a judge for speech and play production competitions in Nebraska for the past 15 years.
“I attended small one-room country schools for most of my elementary school years…and was inspired by those teachers and originally intended to teach elementary school,” she said. However, she became involved with speech and drama and decided to teach high school so she could coach these activities, settling on a language arts career.
When her daughters began taking dual credit and online college courses in high school, she decided to pursue a master’s degree and search for a job in higher education, she said.
The best part of teaching for Boyer is getting to know the students and watching them succeed in the classroom or extra-curricular activities, she said.
In a previous job, she was able to work with traditional, non-traditional, and international students in the writing lab, student success center, and library, Boyer said. “I loved being able to show all these students how to improve their writing and research skills. However, I am looking forward to the opportunity to have my own classroom again.”
The greatest challenge in teaching for Boyer is engaging students who are in the class because they have to take English, she said. “However, English courses are more than just learning how to write complete sentences or organizing an essay. It involves critical thinking, research skills, sharing of ideas, and learning how to communicate effectively in several modalities.”
Ralph Carlson introduces the Friday Night Concert musicians May 2019.
This week’s Friday Night Concert will be presented by Jerry Bahr and Randy Brasuell, Fort Scott members of Bourbon County Revival. The duo will feature Bahr on vocals, guitar and banjo, and Brasuell on vocals, guitar and mandolin. Both have played The Good ’Ol Days Red Garter Saloon for many years and numerous other venues.
“These gifted musician friends will perform a variety of folk and country songs in a style that will make you tap your toes and grin from ear to ear,“ concert series organizer Ralph Carlson said. “Come out and join us for an enjoyable opportunity to see friends and hear some great talent. There’s a possibility that some of the other Bourbon County Revival band members may join Bahr and Brasuell. These local guys are a crowd favorite and we are pleased to welcome them back to the park pavilion.“
The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Heritage Park Pavilion at First and Main streets. The shows, sponsored by the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, are free and open to the public. Dave Oas of Parsons serves as sound technician each week. Due to limited seating, attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be moved to the Common Ground Coffee Co., 12 E. Wall Street.
The Fort Scott Area Community Foundation is pleased to announce that we will begin accepting applications for the 2021 grant cycle beginning August 2. The deadline for submission will be August 31. The maximum grant is $5,000.00.
The regular meeting of the Bourbon County Democrats will be held next Sunday, August 15 at 2 p.m. in the Heritage Room of the Administration Bldg. on Fort Scott Community Campus.
The meeting will last one hour. Please wear masks.
A group of concerned citizens has worked to obtain a sufficient petition from the Bourbon County Counselor to repeal and revoke the 1% City-Wide sales tax.
Attached is a fact sheet surrounding this effort.
The citizen’s group have sought to negotiate a reasonable solution with the City Attorney who would then make a recommendation to the City Commission a solution that would not require a special election and the loss of sales tax of at least (1) quarter of revenue if the Electors vote “not to continue the 1% City-Wide sales tax.”
Any negotiated solution would be similar to the 1983 resolution and “sunset” every 10 years; the group recognizes that Fort Scott City Management has, in their opinion, misdirected the majority of the monies collected to the general fund and a “weaning off” period might be required.
When I was in my teens, my folks had some friends drop in for a visit. (It was common for family and friends to come over unannounced back then, and I miss that custom nowadays.) Since my mom and dad were chatting with the couple, I decided to make a batch of mom’s scratch brownies. When they finished baking, I joined the foursome outside and we ate our warm treat. Although I hadn’t added any nuts to the recipe, I kept noticing something crunchy as I chewed. This was such a mystery to me that I went into the house, looked in the mirror, and discovered white stuff embedded on top of my jaw teeth. I was horrified when I realized it was eggshells! Obviously, I wasn’t paying close-enough attention and a tiny piece of eggshell had sneaked into the batter.
It was just a minuscule piece of eggshell, but it completely ruined my brownie-eating experience! Let’s compare eggshells to compromise. Going just a little bit below what you know to be right is compromise. It seems like the world is going out on a limb to compromise. The devil will tell you that it doesn’t matter — everybody does it. The devil is a liar and God tells Christians to live differently from unbelievers. “Happy are all who search for God, and always do His will, rejecting compromise with evil, and walking only in His paths“ (Psalm 119:2,3 TLB).
The dictionary’s definition of compromise is: to accept standards that are lower than desirable; something midway. When I was growing up, I learned, “Do it right, or don’t do it at all.” Grandma Jennings taught my brother how to fold laundry. She had a certain way she wanted it done, and that’s the precise way it had to be. If he did it wrong, he had to do it all over again the right way. This life lesson taught him to follow instructions and be consistent in his endeavors. Grandma refused to let him do something halfway right — what a tremendous lesson on compromise. Just don’t do it!
The Bible is our primary source of instruction, authority, and ethical standards. “How can men be wise? The only way to begin is by reverence for God. For growth in wisdom comes from obeying His laws” (Psalm 111:10 TLB). The ways of the world are in opposition to the ways of God. Christians are clearly instructed to fully obey God and not compromise His standards. God’s moral compass always leads us in the right direction.
Jesus understands the temptation to compromise because He’s been there, done that, and successfully rejected it. “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15 NLT). When the devil offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, all He had to do was fall down and worship Satan one time…just once. But Jesus answered Satan with these words: “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve‘” (Matthew 4:10 NKJV). Quoting God’s Word when tempted to compromise worked for Jesus, and it will work for us too.
Pay close attention to your daily lifestyle because you’re representing Jesus in a world of compromise. Exhibiting high moral standards will make you stick out like a sore thumb, but that’s OK.
The Key: The tiniest piece of compromise can ruin your witness. Just don’t do it!
