The new Gordon Parks Museum sign, located on north Hwy. 69, on the outskirts of Fort Scott. Submitted photo.
A grant from the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation helped
support the replacement of the Gordon Parks Museum billboard on North U.S. Highway 69 on the town’s outskirts.
The billboard, which sustained extensive wind damage last spring and summer, is completely different than the previous version with less text and more “eye-catching” graphics, said Kirk Sharp,
the museum’s executive director.
“The new billboard is a great attraction for visitors not only for the museum but also creates great attention and welcome to the community,” he said.
The Fort Scott Area Community Foundation hosts individual charitable funds created by donors who have a passion for giving back to their community. Grants from these funds assist people throughout Fort Scott and Bourbon County. Call the Foundation at (620) 224-6500 with questions about the Community Foundation or go to https://fsacf.com/.
“We are very thankful to be part of this grant,” Sharp said. “This grant allows us to not only replace and install the billboard, but to enhance it and make it easier to see and read while drivers are
traveling and coming into town.”
“We would also like to thank CDL Electric for help with the artwork and installation and replacement of
the new billboard.”
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The Fort Scott Recreation Center is facilitating an event to help a local Fort Scott High School in her battle with cancer.
“Piper Weeks is a high school student here in town who is diagnosed with bone cancer,” said Lucas Kelley, recreation director. “She is currently undergoing treatment. All proceeds from this race will be donated to the Weeks family to help with treatment costs.”
Lucas Kelley is the director of Fort Scott Recreation Center. Submitted photo.
This Halloween-based 5k Run/Walk is on Saturday, October 28, 2023 at 9 a.m.
“It is called the Spooky Scurry,” he said. “The route begins at Frary Stadium (at FSHS, 1005 S. Main) then goes south on Main Street, east on East National, south all the way to the end of Cooper Street and back. The total route is 3.1 miles. We are encouraging all participants to wear their Halloween costumes for a chance to win the prize of tickets to the Enchant Christmas Light Show in Kansas City this winter.”
“The purpose of all our 5k Run/Walks is to help provide for a need in the community,” he said. “The cost is $30 per participant. Participants can register at Buck Run Community Center (735 Scott Avenue) or the day of the race starting at 8 a.m.”
The recreation staff has created a Venmo account to accept donations for the Weeks family. To make a contribution you can do that on Venmo with the following QR code.
A reminder that 100% of the money raised will go to help Piper Weeks with her cancer treatments.
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce announces this year’s Halloween Parade will be held Saturday, October 28th at 11:00 a.m. in Downtown Fort Scott.
Prior to the parade, starting at 10:00 a.m., there will be special activities including pictures with a spooktacular backdrop at the City Scales building on North Main and face painting by Fort Scott High School Thespians.
The parade trick-or-treats merchants along Main Street, starting at La Hacienda, south to 2nd Street, crossing the street then heading north back to Skubitz Plaza. Any businesses or organizations in the community not located along Main Street are also welcome to set up a table on the sidewalk providing treats, coupons, or other handouts for kids. Children are encouraged to bring a sack or bag to collect treats along the parade route.
Following the parade, a free slice of Papa Don’s pizza and a drink will be served to kids in costumes.
The Chamber is currently seeking sponsors and donations for the pizza lunch following the parade.
Contact the Chamber if interested at 620-223-3566
Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce | 231 E. Wall Street, Fort Scott, KS 66701
MANHATTAN, Kansas — The Kansas Department of Agriculture Division of Conservation (KDA–DOC) is pleased to announce the availability of funds in the form of cost share assistance and incentive payments to assist landowners with irrigation efficiency technology. The funding is provided by KDA–DOC through appropriation from the State Water Plan Fund and the program is administered by Conservation Districts across the state.
This initiative is designed to promote irrigation efficiency by providing cost share assistance to landowners for automated mobile drip irrigation systems, autonomous pivot systems, water meter monitoring software subscriptions, bubbler nozzle packages, and remote monitoring systems (soil moisture probes included as part of system).
Eligible projects must be located within Kansas groundwater management districts 1 through 5. Applications are currently being accepted, and projects will be approved beginning on November 1, 2023, until all funds have been allocated. Equipment purchases and subscriptions made before application approval by KDA–DOC are not eligible for this initiative.
Applications for this irrigation technology cost share funding must be made through local Conservation Districts. For application assistance and details about funding eligibility, along with more information concerning other available services, please contact your local Conservation District office. A directory of Conservation Districts can be found at agriculture.ks.gov/ConservationDistricts.
Patty LaRoche. 2023. Author: A Little Faith Lift…Finding Joy Beyond Rejection www.alittlefaithlift.com AWSA (Advanced Writers & Speakers Assoc.)
Award-winning author/historian/speaker Dr. Rebecca Price Janney was contacted by a Moms for Liberty local representative to speak to a group of children about the U.S. Constitution. The venue would be a local public library. Dr. Janney, dressed as Martha Washington, would present her original rendition of the Constitution to a group of elementary students at the public library to promote a positive platform for children to learn about American history. How fun, and how exciting for those little ones, right?
Apparently not. Protestors, finding this teaching inappropriate because Moms for Liberty backed it, planned to block her performance. (MfL promotes parental authority and opposes public schools having pornography in their libraries and teaching sexuality to young children, especially apart from parental consent.) Prayers encouraged this brave woman to continue to do what she knew was God’s work. The last email we received from Dr. Janney addressed her experience:
“I had been informed a few days ahead of the library event that there would be four police forces on hand, including undercover law enforcement. The protestors, led by one very vocal local woman, sort of our version of the 1960s Madeline Murray O’Hair, promised there would be between 75-100 of them. The police designated a place where they could stand, and I was so relieved when they said none of them, or the media, would be allowed inside for my presentation. One of my biggest concerns was being shouted down, having the kids be scared, and having the event turn ugly. Moms for Liberty requested that there not be a counter-protest, but some private citizens turned up to support us, without signs, just their presence.”
Dr. Janney shared that her husband Scott and a friend, Jen, to avoid the protestors, arrived at the library early. God was at work. The weather, cold and rainy, kept many of them away. Most of the library staff were cordial. Three local police officers stood near the presentation room, so Dr. Janney struck up a conversation with them, thanking them for being there. They responded that it was an honor to protect her and the children. The story continues: “Scott positioned himself just outside the entrance and, dressed in a colonial outfit, played colonial tunes on his fiddle. When the protestors arrived with their hate-filled signs and their banners, all 20 of them, and they started chanting as people brought their children into the library, Scott would play ‘Yankee Doodle’ loudly, and the children’s attention was on him, not these protestors, many of whom appeared quite bizarre.”
After recruiting children to dress in colonial outfits and help with readings about the Constitution, Dr. Janney felt encircled by prayer and good will. The event had reached the library’s capacity of 30 people, and everything went better than planned. The kids were energized by what they had learned.
When the event was over, Dr. Janney, her husband and her friend were escorted out a back door so they did not have to face the protestors. We on the prayer chain celebrated that Dr. Janney had persevered and not caved to those who disagreed with her. Her prayers before that day touched many of us as we saw her great love for those protesting: “I do pray they will have eyes to see and ears to hear how much God, who made them in His image, loves and affirms them as His created ones… But it is also a huge privilege to stand for truth, and I pray I’ll be everything He desires me to be in this, to the praise of His glory!”
Amen and amen. May we all be as convicted and loving when God moves in our hearts.
Dave Gillen, director of The Beacon Food Pantry of Bourbon County. Submitted photo.
The signup period has been extended to November 3 for the Beacon Food Pantry.
Hours will be on the following days Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday through November 3rd.
Normal business hours from 9:15 am to 12:45 pm
Sign-ups must be done by November 3rd No Exceptions
You will need to call in advance to the Beacon to set an appointment for one of these days. We will start taking calls for appointments beginning October 2nd our phone number is 620-223-6869.
You will need to bring with you to qualify for a food card:
Picture ID for all adults in the household
Social Security card for all in the household and Birthdates, all dependent children with different names must show full-time parental custody, and adoption papers, and must live with you to be on your card.
Proof of income, pension, retirement, social security disability, VA benefits, unemployment, child support/alimony and any other income
If you receive any services from DCF please bring the verification letter.
Please have your information with you when you come or you will be turned away and will have to reschedule an appointment
WE WILL ALSO BE DOING SIGN-UPS FOR THE ADOPT-A-CHILD AND THE ELKS FOOD BASKET AT THAT TIME.
PLEASE WEAR A MASK IF YOU HAVE A COUGH OR COLD OR HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO COVID-19 FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR VOLUNTEERS AND STAFF. WE ARE ASKING ONLY 1 PERSON PER FAMILY IN THE BUILDING AT THAT TIME.
IF YOU ARE ALSO GETTING FOOD THAT DAY YOU WILL NEED TO CALL IN ADVANCE AND YOUR ORDER WILL BE PUT ON THE BACK PORCH FOR PICKUP
Adopt a Child pick-up and food baskets will be at Community Christian Church on December the 15 from 10 am to 1 pm. Pick-up will be a drive-thru like last year.
Elk’s baskets will be delivered the Sunday before Christmas.
PLEASE CALL TO SET UP YOUR APPOINTMENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
Subsidizing emergency room care is a direct investment in critical services to secure our community’s safety and wellbeing. Recently, concerns have been raised about resources used to sustain the existing hospital building as an asset for future medical/community services. That is a legitimate debate. Let’s remember though how we got here and then consider the difference between support for a building and support for needed ER services.
Following Mercy’s departure, a combined city/county task force contacted multiple hospital systems. There was no viable path forward to re-establish an acute care hospital. The county subsequently negotiated with Mercy for ownership of the building and funds representing demolition expenses. Based on public opinion, the county commission and their economic director chose to keep the building and attempt to establish a “medical mall.” The ongoing county decisions to use financial resources to engage Noble Health and subsequently Legacy Health is directly related to this “medical mall” decision. We now have a building available for expanded health or community services, a building with Legacy Health responsible for utilities and maintenance at no ongoing tax payer expense. This building houses our current and hopefully future ER services
The prior support for a building is different from support for emergency room services. The community needs to understand we are on the verge of losing our emergency room. Without subsidizing ER care it will not be available. Here is the issue. Emergency Rooms lose money. In a traditional system, the ER loss is made up by down stream revenue through admissions to the supporting/receiving hospital. This system has allowed Ascension Via Christi -Pittsburg (AVC-P) to do our ER services and we should recognize the excellent job they have done. However, the adverse financial impact of Covid on health systems across the nation has changed the dynamics of AVC-P ability to continue our ER services. To their credit, Legacy Health has engaged Amberwell. Amberwell has an innovative business, health care approach with proven success in rural Kansas. However, to insure long term, stable ER services, a subsidy is justified and reasonable. Based on the critically important need for ER services and the high risk of completely losing these services altogether we should not view the subsidies as expenses but as investment in our future.
An investment in our personal health and wellbeing. People you know will die unnecessarily without access to a local ER. An investment to avoid increasing the cost of EMS transport for emergencies that don’t require transport to regional hospitals. An investment in maintaining our current population as well as attracting new people to live in Bourbon Co. People will leave and others won’t come because of no ER. An investment in supporting our current businesses and manufacturing and demonstrates support for services that will attract new industry. An investment in future overall economic development. Basically, an investment in sustaining our vitality and overall quality of life. We stand at a crossroad.
Many communities have traditionally subsidized their health care systems. With over 50 hospitals in Kansas at risk for closure, many more will have to do the same. For 150 years we were not faced with this decision. Now we are and our elected officials have stepped up to financially support ongoing ER service. We need to support that decision or suffer the consequences. Arguing about past handling of the building is a fatal distraction.
One last topic. Although, subsidies are needed right now, we need to pursue and encourage two sources of outside funding that could dramatically reduce or eliminated our subsidies all together. First is expanded Medicaid. Expanded Medicaid would reduce the amount of unpaid services delivered in the ER and thereby reduce ER financial losses. We need state legislation to become involved. Expanding Medicaid simply gives us access to federal tax dollars we are already paying and 40 other states are spending on their healthcare. It’s just common sense. The second, and possibly more important source, is Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) designation. REH is federally funded through a bill introduced by Republican Senator Grassly. Reimbursement is made on a cost plus basis for emergency services and expanded 24 hour observation beds. Efforts are currently under way for acceptance into this program. There are some stumbling blocks but it is realistic to think in time this can be accomplished. Calls and letters to our elected state and federal officials in support of these funding opportunities would be helpful. To support expanded Medicaid contact state representative Trevor Jacobs. To support REH contact Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall as well as representative Jake LaTurner.
The Voices from the Grave Tour produced by the Bourbon County Community Theatre scheduled for Oct. 28 has been postponed to Nov. 4 due to the possibility of inclement weather.
Bourbon County Community Theatre Presents Voices from the Grave Tour
The newly formed Bourbon County Community Theatre, LLC presents their inaugural production entitled Voices from the Grave.
Voices from the Grave takes place from 6-9 p.m. on November 4 at Riverfront Park in Fort Scott, KS. Guests will enjoy a guided walking tour of short acting vignettes centering around stories of murder and mayhem in Fort Scott. Scenes were written by the students in the Advanced Drama class at Fort Scott High School and are based off of stories from local author Brian Allen’s books about Fort Scott.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students and are available from the Chamber of Commerce in Fort Scott. Tour times must be pre-scheduled and run every 10 minutes. Parents must accompany children under the age of 14.
More information can be found on the Bourbon County Community Theatre Facebook page or by contacting Angie Bin at 620-729-9622 or [email protected].
