Monthly Archives: August 2021

Bourbon County, Entertainment, Fort Scott

Friday Night Free Concert: Matt Harper

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Ralph Carlson introduces the Friday Night Concert musicians May 2019.

This week’s Friday Night Concert will be presented by Matt Harper of Nevada, Missouri. Harper sings and plays guitar and harmonica, and performs a variety of music including country, folk, jazz, inspirational, blues, and original tunes.

“Performing since the early 1990s, Harper is a musician of excellence and is a jack of all styles,” concert-series organizer Ralph Carlson said. “Harper has a wife and four kids and is a busy guy, so we really appreciate his willingness to return to the park pavilion and entertain our crowd of music lovers. Come out and join your friends for an enjoyable evening.”

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.

Obituary

Obituary of Henry Ericson

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Henry Emmanuel Ericson, a resident of Hiattville, Kansas, passed away Friday, August 27, 2021, at the age of 91.  Henry was born on March 1, 1930, in Salina, Kansas on his mother’s birthday, to Clarence Cornelius and Amelia Gladys Helena (Hanson) Ericson.

In 1940, his family moved from Assaria, Kansas to Savonburg, Kansas to farm with his grandfather.  Henry graduated from Elsmore High School in 1948.  He was a lifelong member of Friends Home Lutheran Church in Savonburg, where he married his lifelong companion, Doris Graham, on December 24, 1952.

He served in the United States Army during the Korean War from 1953 to 1955 serving at Sault Saint Marie, Michigan.  They returned to Elsmore and then moved to Hepler working for farmers in those areas.

In 1962, they purchased their own farm near Hiattville.

As a young 4-Her in the Happy Hustlers in Allen County, he started his Angus cattle herd under the Double X Bar brand.

At Hiattville, he started the Cloverdale Angus Farm but kept the brand.  He was a member of the Kansas Angus Association, the American Angus Association and helped form the Southeast Kansas Junior Angus Association so his grandchildren could begin their own herds.  He was also a member of KLA, served on Bourbon County Extension Board, Bourbon County Fair Board and was a 4-H swine leader for the Hiattville 4-H Club.

In 1990, he and Doris were inducted into the Kansas Master Farmer Homemaker group for their Extension, agriculture and community involvement.

In 2007, his family was recognized as the Kansas 4-H Family of the Year.  He served as the President of the organization.

He served on the board of the Friends Home Lutheran Church, USD #235 School Board, and Craw-Kan Telephone Board.

For sixty-seven years he was a Free Mason attached to the Virginia Lodge #315 and a thirty-five-year member of the Thompson-Harkey Post #25 American Legion.

Henry is survived by his wife of sixty-eight years and seven months, Doris, his daughters, Debra Lust, Ft. Scott, Karen Ericson, Riley, Kansas, Susan Jones (Roger), LaHarpe, Kansas and Brenda Peacock (Terry), Golden, Missouri; his sons, Kevin Ericson (Donna), Frisco, Texas and John Ericson (Ellaine), Ft. Scott, Kansas, seventeen grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren.  He is also survived by a sister, Gloria Crowley, of Frontenac, Kansas.

He was preceded in death by a son, George Russell “Rusty” Ericson, his parents and two brothers, Gordon and Dale Wesley Ericson.

Henry will be remembered by his family and friends as a fun loving, hardworking, God-fearing man that will be missed.

Rev. Chub Bolling will conduct funeral services at 2:00 P.M. Sunday, September 5th at the Friends Home Lutheran Church west of Savonburg, Kansas.

Burial with military honors will be in the Elsmore Cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 P.M. Saturday at the Cheney Witt Chapel.

Memorials are suggested to the Elsmore Alumni Scholarship Fund or the Bourbon County Fair Association and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS.  Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.

Bourbon County, Fort Scott

Butterfly Habitat Is Shrinking: Enthusiasts Meet This Evening

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Bridal Veil Park on West Second Street, Fort Scott.
A small group of people is putting together a non-profit 501 (c) (3) called “The Butterfly Weed Club of Southeast Kansas.”
“Our purpose is to restore habitat for the Monarch Butterfly in an effort to slow or reverse its decline,” David Everett, an organizer, said.
Monarch Butterfly populations have been decreasing, according to authorities: https://www.fws.gov/savethemonarch
Everett appeared before the Bourbon County Commission to announce the existence of the group and its’ purpose.
“Susan Bancroft, the finance director for city and county, spoke up and told me there were interested people on the parks commission,” Everett said.
The group is having a meeting this evening
at 7 p.m. at 501 E. Third Street in Fort Scott to view a butterfly garden by the railroad tracks, he said.
Resident Alison Leach has one butterfly habitat restoration project at Gunn Park, he said.

“We want to help with that,” Everett said. “But the area of intense interest to me is the riverfront area at Bridal Veil Park (off of West Second Street).  I’ve been evaluating that area in hopes of meeting criteria for Kansas University’s Monarch Watch program.”

Everett has begun documenting existing pollinators and existing butterfly populations, he said.
“I’ve been a gardener for decades and have experienced two Monarch migrations,” he said. Recently I have decided that I can do more than my small-scale efforts, so far, in support of restoring Monarch Habitat. I’ve long been dedicated in my heart to various public service activities.”
“In the early 80’s I saw the Monarch migration twice while living on our family farm,” Everett said.  “I first saw them coming and mistook them for a dark storm cloud over the horizon, but when they arrived it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen–just thousands of butterflies in every direction for hundreds of yards.  During one of these migrations, the Monarchs decided it was time to take a rest and they landed everywhere–carpeting the fields, the trees and bushes, and even landing on me.  It’s my hope that everyone can have the opportunity for such an experience, and that’s why we’re doing what we’re doing.   It had a very deep spiritual impact on me that I think everyone should have.”
Butterfly populations have been declining, he said.
“The primary cause of the decline is that various species of milkweed are the sole host plant for the Monarch caterpillar,” he said. It eats nothing else. Because milkweed is poisonous to vertebrates, farmers eradicated it without understanding or perhaps caring what they were doing to the Monarchs.”
 “This left marginal areas as largely the only possible place for milkweed to grow,” Everett said.  “This was still enough habitat for quite some time, but today county and state  governments mow and spray roadsides too, and that has left very little habitat for the Monarch, which is becoming quite precious.”
“Our purpose is to restore such habitat, to educate the public, government, and businesses on the matter, and hopefully we will eventually be able to maintain a seed bank as a community resource for appropriate native milkweed and other pollinators,” he said.
Government, Kansas

Grants For Non-Profit Arts Organizations Announced

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Governor Laura Kelly Announces New Grant Program to Support Non-Profit Arts Organizations

TOPEKA – Today, Governor Laura Kelly announced new grant program designed to help non-profit arts organizations in Kansas recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These grants will provide immediate help for non-profit arts organizations across Kansas,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “My administration will continue supporting our arts community to create new tourist opportunities and recruit new families and businesses to Kansas. I encourage any organization that would benefit from these funds to apply now.”

The Short-Term Operational Support program provides immediate on-time grants to arts non-profits facing financial hardship due to unforeseen circumstances beyond their control. Funding for this program comes from the National Endowment for the Arts through the 2021 Federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Nationally, $54 million has been allocated for 62 state and regional agencies to grant.

Grant funding can be used for:

  • Salary support;
  • Fees to support the services of contractual personnel for specific activities required as part of annual organizational operations;
  • Facility operational costs such as rent and utilities;
  • Costs associated with health and safety supplies for staff and/or visitors;
  • Marketing and promotion costs.

“These grants will help ease this financial burden for Kansas’ arts community,” Lieutenant Governor and Commerce Secretary David Toland said. “This funding is designed to assist with day-to-day operations that are critical to any organization. If you think that your organization might benefit from this program but aren’t sure how to start, reach out to the Commerce team and we’ll be happy to help.”

Applications are open through September 4, 2021. For more information, including qualifications and how to apply, click here.

Applications will be reviewed by a committee of Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission (KCAIC) and Kansas Department of Commerce staff. Grant recommendations and reviews will be presented to the full KCAIC Board, which will make final determination based on available funding and size of qualified applicant pool.

KCAIC will notify all applicants of the final decision in early October.

About the Kansas Department of Commerce

As the state’s lead economic development agency, the Kansas Department of Commerce strives to empower individuals, businesses and communities to achieve prosperity in Kansas.  Commerce accomplishes its mission by developing relationships with corporations, site location consultants and stakeholders in Kansas, the nation and world.  Our strong partnerships allow us to help create an environment for existing Kansas businesses to grow and foster an innovative, competitive landscape for new businesses. Through Commerce’s project successes, Kansas in 2021 was awarded Area Development Magazine’s prestigious Gold Shovel award and was named Site Selection Magazine’s Best Business Climate in the West North Central region of the United States.

Fort Scott, Government

FS Offices Closed For Labor Day

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The City of Fort Scott Administrative Office will be closed on Monday, September 6th, 2021 in observance of the Labor Day holiday. The offices will reopen on Tuesday, September 7th, 2021.

The City’s tree and brush dump site located on North Hill will also be closed on Saturday, September 4th, 2021 for the Labor Day holiday. It will be open again on Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Bourbon County, Government

Bourbon County Commission Agenda for Sept. 1

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Agenda

Bourbon County Commission Room

1st Floor, County Courthouse

210 S. National Avenue

Fort Scott, KS 66701

Wednesdays starting at 9:00

 

Date: September 1, 2021

1st District-Lynne Oharah                                                                Minutes: Approved: _______________

2nd District-Jim Harris                                                                      Corrected: _______________________

3rd District-Clifton Beth                                                                              Adjourned at: _______________

County Clerk-Kendell Mason

 

   

MEETING HELD IN THE COMMISSION ROOM

 

Call to Order

 

  • Flag Salute
  • CDBG CV Close Out Hearing

 

Justifications for Executive Session:

          KSA 75-4319(b)(1) To discuss personnel matters of individual nonelected personnel to protect their privacy

          KSA 75-4319(b)(2) For consultation with an attorney for the public body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship

          KSA 75-4319(b)(3) To discuss matters relating to employer-employee negotiations whether or not in consultation with the representative(s) of the body or agency

          KSA 75-4319(b)(4) To discuss data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trust, and individual proprietorships

          KSA 75-4319(b)(6) For the preliminary discussion of the acquisition of real property

          KSA 75-4319(b)(12) To discuss matters relating to security measures, if the discussion of such matters at an open meeting would jeopardize such security measures.

Area News

Red Cross Volunteers Needed

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American Red Cross
Red Cross disaster volunteer
When disasters strike, strike back as a Red Cross volunteer! Join our Disaster Team and do something great by supporting one of our most vital volunteer roles.

Shelter Support
All forecasts point to a higher-than-average hurricane and wildfire season. We need volunteers like you to ensure families don’t face tough times alone. Compassionate and committed individuals are needed to support sheltering efforts this disaster season. Shelter volunteers support the day-to-day activities within a shelter which may include working in reception, registration, feeding, dormitory, information or other vital areas within a shelter. Train now to be a Red Cross Shelter Volunteer so you can answer the call directly help those affected by disaster.
After entering your zip code, enter “Shelter” in the search box to view opportunities.
Healthcare Professionals
Are you a licensed health care professional? If so, you can join the cadre of healthcare professionals who have served as the core of the Red Cross since the very beginning of the organization. Provide quality care in disaster shelters to help assess people’s health and provide hands-on care in alignment with your professional licensure in our RN-led model. Duties include assisting clients with activities of daily living, providing health education and helping to replace medications, durable medical equipment or consumable medical supplies. Daily observation and health screening for COVID-19-like illness among shelter residents may also be required. If you are an RN, LPN, LVN, APRN, NP, EMT, paramedic, MD/DO or PA with a current and unencumbered license, please consider volunteering. You’re one step closer to making the world a better place!
After entering your zip code, enter “Disaster Health” in the search box to view opportunities.
Your help is priceless — sign up today!

Sincerely,

Your Red Cross Volunteer Services Team

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Area News

SEK Foundation Announces New Director

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Devin Gorman. Submitted photo.

The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas is Pleased to Announce Devin Gorman as New Executive Director

Following the recent retirement of Kit Parks, the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas is pleased to announce the hiring of Devin Gorman as the new Executive Director, effective August 16, 2021.

Devin comes to the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas (CFSEK), and affiliates Fort Scott Area Community Foundation and Girard Area Community Foundation, with a wealth of experience and a unique skill set.

As a southeast Kansas native, Devin earned both Bachelor and Master of Business Administration degrees from Pittsburg State University. The majority of Devin’s career has been in nonprofit work in the southeast Kansas area. Most recently he held the position of Executive Director of the Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Devin has shown he is engaged and committed to SEK through a variety of volunteer roles and positions locally, regionally, and at the state level. He has served as president of Pittsburg Area Young Professionals, president of the Pittsburg Public Library Board of Trustees, treasurer for the Mount Carmel Foundation, vice-president of the SEK Tourism Region, and spent six years on the Mosaic Foundation’s National Board of Directors.

When asked about his new position, Devin stated “The CFSEK has a tremendous legacy of supporting our community, and I truly appreciate the board for providing me with the opportunity to lead such a great organization and team. I am excited to build upon that legacy and to grow the resources the Community Foundation provides back to the citizens of southeast Kansas. I look forward to collaborating with so many great individuals and organizations that work each day to enhance our community.”

The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas is a local public charitable foundation which awarded $1.9 million in grants from all foundation funds in 2020 and has facilitated $16.9 million in grants since its inception in 2001. The Community Foundation serves the region by providing donors with a wide variety of charitable interests and encouraging charitable giving which addresses present and future needs in our area, and recently surpassed $53 million in fund assets.

Connie Kays, CFSEK Board of Trustees President, shared this statement “The Foundation Board of Directors and staff are pleased to welcome Devin Gorman to the CFSEK team. He comes to the Executive Director position with the education, experience, skills, and passion to do the work of ‘benefiting the common good and quality of life’ in SEK. We have no doubt Devin is a great fit to assist CFSEK in our mission to serve our community.”

Devin will join Community Foundation staff Kim Lynch, Office Administrator, Joshua McCloud, Donor Relations & Community Outreach, and Sherri Stephens, Program Coordinator.

Devin resides in Pittsburg with his wife Misty and son, Finn.
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Bourbon County, K-State Extension

Starlite FCE Minutes August 19, 2021

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The August meeting of Starlite FCE was held in the Yeager Building on The Bourbon County Fairgrounds August 19, 2021.  The meeting was called to order by President Glenda Miller.  The Flag Salute and Club Collect was led by Joyce Allen.

 

The minutes of the previous meeting were read and corrected.  Thirteen members were in attendance and they reported that they had volunteered 334 hours and had recycled 521 pounds.

 

Doris Ericson presented the treasurer’s report.  She announced the Starlite had received first place in the Scarecrow contest and third place in the hay bale decorating contest and had earned $130.  There was no council report.

 

Jackie Warren gave a report on the fair, she reported that 57 people had entered the King Arthur Baking Contest this year and that the new categories of Lego’s was very successful.  There was a total of 913 exhibits from the 165 exhibitors.

 

Terri Williams informed the Club that John and Cindy Bartelsmeyer had donated five beautiful display cases to the open class building.

 

It was announced that Deb Lust’s daughter-in-law had made it to Kuwait.

 

Old Business consisted of everyone bringing snacks for the first responders in memory of 911 20th anniversary.  Glenda Miller will be delivering then in September.

 

Glenda announced that the FCE State Convention will be in Topeka this year and that the Fall Follies will be held in Bronson October 19th.

 

Our next project will be to honor Veterans.

 

Betty Johnson moved that the meeting be adjourned, Deb Lust seconded the motion, motion carried meeting adjourned.

 

After the meeting Letha Johnson presented the lesson on Diabetes you are in control.  She informed us on how to know if you are at risk and how to manage it.  Healthy eating, activity and monitoring is a big part of self-care.

 

Refreshments of tortilla rolls, deviled eggs, health snack bars and water were provided by Del Parks and Betty Johnson and enjoyed by all.

 

 

Prepared by

Terri Williams