Richard L. “Rick” Nation, age 54, resident of Fort Scott, KS, died Wednesday, April 5, 2023, at Menorah Medical Center, Overland Park, KS. Services for Rick Nation will be announced by the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main.
Monthly Archives: April 2023
Bronson Declared a Disaster After the Storm on April 5
Editors note: the Bronson area was declared a disaster this afternoon and Kelly Perry sent this information:
If you have a claim please contact
BRIAN ALLEN via e-mail: [email protected]
Please try to include the following details
-Your Name
-Your Address
-Contact Number
-Photos of damage (if possible)
-Any estimates of damage (if possible)
Questions please call Brian at (620)223-3800 x278
A storm passed through western Bourbon County in the early morning on April 5, 2023.
“I heard a roaring outside,” resident Kayla Greenway said. “My window was open and the air was going in and out, suctioning. The wind had dust in it.”
When the storm abated she went out side and took pictures.
Bronson City Clerk Danielle Minor said there were trees toppled over, all across the small town of approximately 300 people.
“There were power poles down,” Minor said. “There was a lot of electrical issues.”
The City of Bronson purchases electricity wholesale from Evergy (an electric utility company), but runs its own utility.
“Our superintendent, John Stokes, (was) out since 12:30 a.m. trying to restore electricity,” Minor said. “The Bourbon County Public Works helped remove debris from the streets.”
“The Bourbon County #3 District Fire Department was here making sure all the electric wires were OK,” Ellen Harper, a resident said.
“Two firetrucks and a Bourbon County Sheriff’s car were going around town assessing power line damage and making sure everyone was OK,” Minor said.
In addition, there was a reported gas leak, because of the storm.
“There was a gas leak at Charles and Wright Streets,” John Stokes, maintenance superintendent for the City of Bronson said. “The Bourbon County Fire Department tried to patch it and evacuated residents around that area. They called the Kansas Gas Service and they came and fixed it.”
Bronson City Councilwoman and business owner Kelly Perry heard a sound about 1 a.m.
“I thought it was a water line burst,” she said. “We knew we had multiple power lines down and could smell the rotten egg smell outside.”
“The crews went out and made repairs on a regulator setting that was damaged by a fallen tree, due to bad weather,” Kansas Gas Service Manager of Public Relations Dawn Tripp, said.
Other residents had first hand knowledge of the storm.
“We had a tree hit the window and broke it and woke me up,” Harper said.
Resident Helen Bolling said “The wind shook our house like a cracker box.”
Greenway said before the storm, the family turned the children’s trampoline upside down and put logs on it in hopes of making it secure.
“My trampoline flew into a neighbors tree, and I don’t know where the logs went,” she said.
Bronson Locker had its roof torn off, Bolling said.
As of this morning, April 6, the town still has clean-up going on, Perry said.
“The street in front of City Hall and the Bronson Locker is still closed,” Perry said. “But there is good headway on the clean-up.”
The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Daily Reports April 6
Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg adds new imaging technology
Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg has recently added a PET/CT scanner, which can help detect the early onset of diseases before other imaging tests can.
The new scanner uses small amounts of radioactive materials, a special camera and a computer to evaluate organ and tissue functions. By identifying changes at the cellular level, the test helps detect cancer or make a diagnosis, determine if a cancer has spread, assess the effectiveness of treatment, evaluate prognosis, determine the effects of a heart attack, evaluate brain abnormalities and more.
“The installation of the PET/CT scanner at our hospital speaks to our continued commitment to provide the most technologically advanced quality care to our patients”, says Chris Stevens, Nuclear Medicine Lead Technologist.
An important test made possible by the PET/CT scanner is a PSMA prostate study. This test uses a diagnostic imaging agent together with PET/CT imaging to detect prostate cancer for both initial staging and suspected recurrence, typically sooner than other types of imaging scans.
“It’s a blessing to have the availability of PET/CT for our patients and physicians”, says Stevens. “Our list of available exams is now equivalent to those at the largest hospitals in the biggest towns.”
The new imaging technology allows the hospital to continue to provide advanced care close to home.
To learn more about services at Ascension Via Christi, visit ascension.org/pittsburgKS.
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About Ascension Via Christi
In Kansas, Ascension Via Christi operates seven hospitals and 75 other sites of care and employs nearly 6,400 associates. Across the state, Ascension Via Christi provided nearly $89 million in community benefit and care of persons living in poverty in fiscal year 2021. Serving Kansas for more than 135 years, Ascension is a faith-based healthcare organization committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. Ascension is the leading non-profit and Catholic health system in the U.S., operating more than 2,600 sites of care – including 145 hospitals and more than 40 senior living facilities – in 19 states and the District of Columbia. Visit www.ascension.org.
Fort Scott Kiwanis Annual Easter Egg Hunt
On April 1, the Fort Scott Kiwanis Club sponsored their annual Easter Egg Hunt in Gunn Park.
Kiwanis members distributed over 1,500 eggs filled with candy, prizes, and coupons from area merchants into the park in areas designated by age groups. Approximately 75 children participated in the event.
The Kiwanis sponsors who donated either money, or coupon’s from their place of business are as follows:
Big Sugar Lumber Iron Star Antiques & Such
Dairy Queen Marsha’s Deli
Diehl, Banwart, Bolton, CPA’s PA McDonald’s
Don’s Spirits & Wines Merle Humphrey Photography
Fort Cinema NuGrille
Flowers By Leanna R&R Equipment
Heidrick’s True Value Wal-Mart
Submitted by John Crain.
Bourbon County Commission Agenda for April 6
Bourbon County Courthouse
210 S. National Ave Fort Scott, KS 66701 Phone: 620-223-3800
Fax: 620-223-5832
Bourbon County, Kansas
Nelson Blythe
1st District Commissioner
Jim Harris, Chairman
2nd District Commissioner
Clifton Beth
3rd District Commissioner
Bourbon County Commission Agenda 1st Floor County Courthouse
210 S National Avenue
April 6, 2023, 9:00 AM
- Call Meeting to Order
- Flag Salute and Prayer
- Consent Agenda
- Approval of Minutes from 3/30/2023
- Approval of Payroll totaling $211,174.87
- Approval of Accounts Payable totaling $302,712.05
- Approval of Miscellaneous Disbursement Checks totaling $13,719.41
- Department Updates
- Public Works Director
- Susan Bancroft-Executive Session KSA 75-4319 (b)(1)
- Resolution 10-23 Proclamation of a State of Local Disaster for Bourbon County
- Public Comments
- Commission Comments
- Meeting Adjourn
Executive Session Justifications:
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 the security measures, if the discussion of such matters at an open meeting
would jeopardize such security measures.
Downtowners Share Projects and Events at Chamber Meet and Greet
Business owners and others interested in downtown Fort Scott met on April 4 at City State Bank to discuss upcoming events and projects.
The Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce hosted the Quarterly Downtown Meet and Greet, with President and CEO Lindsay Madison, leading.
Following are the highlights:
The Fort Scott National Historic Site Civil War Encampment is April 15-16: Army re-enactors portray different parts of the war with live music, an author talk, horse and sabre drills to name a few.
Visitor numbers are up this year at The Fort and there is a goal of 30,000 visitors this year to the site.
Upcoming Chamber events in the next few months are the Town Wide Garage Sale on May 5-6, the farmers market starts May 6 with the garden club plant sale.
There will be no downtown clean-up this year.
There will be a new mural to replace the one facing Skubitz Plaza at the north end of Main Street. The current one, the Star Emporium, will be replaced with a historical one: depicting the Kansas 1st Colored Infantry.
A multi-purpose pavilion, which will house the twice weekly farmer’s market, was presented to the city’ design review committee for approval but was tabled until an artists rendition could be presented.
A welcome arch will be put up on Wall Street near the Chamber of Commerce office.
The Christmas Parade will be November 30, with the theme: Candy Land Christmas.
Christmas on the Bricks will be the first weekend in December, and will include classic Christmas booths/vendors, photo backdrops for families, and later hours for downtown shops. This weekend also includes the candlelight tour at Fort Scott National Historic Site and an art sale at the Artificers. This new event will replace the Christmas in the Park event. Elevate Fort Scott is organizing the new event.
Trolley tours have started back for the season: Fridays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A back up driver is needed to give the narrated tour. Contact the Chamber.
A Community Connection Panelist luncheon was April 5 at the Empress Event Center to help distribute government and local entities’ information.
There will be a job fair April 13 at the Ellis Fine Arts Center from 3-6 p.m.
The annual Chamber Dinner and Awards Celebration will be April 20 at the River Room Event Center.
Dare to Dream Women’s Entrepreneurship event is April 5 from 5-7 p.m. at the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team Office. At this office is also the Small Business Development Center.
Grants available to small businesses through the Chamber: E-Community Loan and Grow Kansas.
Riggs Chiropractic is having its ribbon cutting on May 4, at a Chamber After Hours gathering.
Open Mortgage will have its ribbon cutting on May 11 along with a ribbon cutting and open house.
110 S. Main (former Scottish Rite Temple) has doubled its retail space this week. The owners are waiting on Evergy to repair the electric service to the building to open the cafe.
The Kitchen, located in the McDonald Hall building, is nearing completion and will offer retail space, four kitchen pods for rent and an outdoor eating space in back of the building when completed.
Hedgehog INK owner Jan Hedges said a visitor “was impressed with how the businesses are working together.”
The Iron Star owner Barbara Trimbur said one of her large windows was broken during the recent wind storm.
Memorial Service For Allen Dale Soverns Jr.
Allen Dale “AJ” Soverns, Jr., age 40, resident of Fort Scott, KS, died Thursday, March 30, 2023, at his home. There was cremation.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM Saturday, April 15th, at Gunn Park Shelter House #6.
In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to the AJ Soverns Memorial Fund and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, PO Box 347, 201 S. Main St., Fort Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
CHAMBER ANNUAL CELEBRATION PLANNED FOR April 20th
FORT SCOTT – The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce announces their 2023 Annual Dinner & Awards Celebration will take place Thursday, April 20th at the River Room Event Center, 3 W. Oak Street in Downtown Fort Scott. The theme this year is “Let’s Get Fired Up and Celebrate Our Community!” where the event will be a fun evening of recognizing businesses, organizations, and individuals who make a great impact on Fort Scott and Bourbon County.
All are welcome to attend, and reservations can be made online at fortscott.com/events or by calling the Chamber at 620-223-3566. The deadline for reservations is Friday, April 14th. The evening will begin with a social hour and silent auction at 5:30pm, followed by dinner, awards, and live auction at 6:30pm. Reservations are $40 for individuals and table pricing for a table of eight is $360. Dinner will be catered by Brickstreet BBQ.
The Chamber is accepting businesses and organizations to decorate tables for advertising and promotion and is also accepting donations for the silent and live auctions. Contact the Chamber at 620-223-3566 or email [email protected] by Friday, April 14th to make reservations.
Creating a Healthier Park with Fire
Prescribed Fire Planned in April
Fort Scott Kan. – Park managers at Fort Scott National Historic Site, in coordination with Fire Managers at the US Fish and Wildlife Service from Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge, plan to burn the five-acre restored prairie this April 2023. The soonest date will be this Friday, April 7, if conditions are safe and will meet the park’s goals. The specific date and ignition will depend upon weather conditions and the burn may be postponed or canceled if conditions are unfavorable.
“We are looking forward to implementing this prescribed fire (Rx) project with the assistance of our interagency neighbors. Our ability to treat the tallgrass prairie with fire enhances the resilience of the ecosystem, results in a more diverse prairie, and provides a better habitat for migratory birds and pollinators.” said Jill Jaworski, Superintendent, Fort Scott National Historic Site. Like all prescribed fires, the plans for the tallgrass prairie Rx contain a set of parameters which define (among other things) the expected weather and fuel conditions under which the fire can be initiated. Prior to implementing the burn, fire managers will evaluate current conditions and will only ignite the fire if all of the prescribed conditions are within those parameters.
During typical Rx fire activity, daytime smoke disperses to the northwest, up and over the highway. Coordination with the City of Fort Scott, Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas State Highway Patrol, and Kansas Department of Transportation is already underway for this prescribed fire. Smoke impacts or traffic delays on Highway 69 are not expected during the burn.
-NPS-
Credit Photo: NPS Photo/M. Brenner
The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Daily Reports April 5
Young Couple Expands Farm Business
Noah, 25, and Bradie Terry, 24, purchased their Bourbon County property in December 2020, after moving from Oregon.
“We were motivated to look further into the homestead lifestyle and wanted to take the knowledge we gained to pass it on to others in the community,” Bradie said. “We quickly realized the importance of knowing where your food comes from and how it is raised or grown. We both did not grow up with any background in agriculture or farming, so everything that you see us doing is learning-as-we-go and applying our time we spent studying these things to gaining hands-on knowledge.”
The name of the homestead business is The Shire, LLC.
“The name, The Shire, derives from a region in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fictional book, The Lord of the Rings,” Bradie said. “In this fictionist world, The Shire is a peaceful, fruitful, community that focuses on agriculture. Which is symbolism of the type of community that we want to build upon in Bourbon County. We are also both pretty short, so we also have the whole ‘hobbit’ thing going for us.”
“Currently, we have a flock of free-ranged chickens that allow us to sell delicious eggs to the community,” she said. “We are also growing cucumbers to produce pickles for a local restaurant.”
The farm is located on the southeast side of Fort Scott near Ellis Park.
“We both work on the farm when time allows,” Bradie said. “Currently, my husband is in school and I work a full time job from home. Our goal is to transition one or both of us to working full time on the farm as we grow.”
They are the recipient of a Healthy Bourbon County Action Team (HBCAT) $10,000 Farmer/Rancher Grant.
“Our plans for the $10,000 farmer/rancher grant is to expand to our bee and dairy cow operation as well as expanding our garden for produce,” she said. “We will have bee hives and will breed our Jersey dairy cows by April of 2023, which will produce honey and raw milk by fall of 2024. The expansion of our garden operation will be done over the course of a couple of years and we hope to have a big greenhouse built by that time. The grant funds will also help us expand our chicken operation in order to have more eggs available to sell.”
“We will jump into the world of beekeeping and milking our dairy cows within a year, which are two huge farm changes because we haven’t experience this before,” she said.