Youth engage in a game of cornhole on Tuesday afternoon at the Bourbon County Fair.
Judging continued at the Bourbon County Fair on Tuesday and in the evening, sheep and goats were shown in the livestock arena.
Tabor Foster holds “C.J.” and Davina Foster holds “N.J.” two new kids that were born on their farm on July 4th.
The Vendor Mart at the Merchant Building is open from Tuesday through Thursday evening, from 5-8 p.m.
Julian and Dustin Carpenter man the family’s business booth in the Merchants Building at the fair. Emma Carpenter creates goat milk products from the Carpenter farm.
Wednesday starting at 8:30 a.m. judging of dairy cattle bucket calves, dairy cattle, dairy goats, beef cattle, and bucket calves will happen.
Owen Brown leads his sheep “Flair” to the wash area, in preparation for showing in the arena on Tuesday evening.
Thursday, a Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Coffee will take place in the Hubenett Pavilion at 8 a.m. followed by swine judging, Round Robin Showmanship, a public 4-H Fashion Revue at Fort Scott Community College and the Uniontown FFA Cornhole Tournament.
With this dress, Makiah Woods is a grand champion in the textile division. The fashion revue will be at 5:30 p.m. at the Fort Scott Community College Campus in the Round Room in Bailey Hall.
On Friday, a livestock judging contest, and 4-H Club Barnyard Olympics are highlights.
Reegan McDaniel clips his cow, “Ralph” in preparation for the cattle show on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Saturday is check-out and clean-up day at the fair.
Laura George and Terri Williams look over quilts in the Myers Building on Tuesday afternoon.Dalayni Foulk is a grand champion in the welding division with this creation.
The new insulation in the Muddy Water Farm shop. Submitted.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it partnered with rural Kansans on clean energy projects to lower energy bills, expand access to clean energy, and create jobs in rural Kansas communities, according to a press release.
These investments are made through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), according to the press release. The REAP program helps agricultural producers and rural small business owners expand their use of wind, solar, geothermal, and small hydropower energy and make energy efficiency improvements. These innovations help them increase their income, grow their businesses, address climate change, and lower energy costs.
Last month’s REAP announcement includes projects in 38 other states and Puerto Rico.
In Bourbon County, Muddy Water Farm’s Kevin Stark, Dave Carney, Brady Schindel and Mike Vandelogt were announced as the awardees of a $19,088 grant that has helped their farm/ranch business make energy-efficient improvements to its operations. The project is estimated to save 44,659 kilowatt hours per year, enough energy to power four homes, according to the press release.
The farm staff heard about the grant opportunity last summer, Stark said.
“We needed to make some improvements to our shop anyway,” he said. ” Improving the energy efficiency of the shop just made sense. We were going to do it a step at a time over a few years but the grant helped us complete it all at once.”
They had help with the tedious grant process from Clint Morris with Cleaner Greener Energy, Parsons KS.
The grant money was used to add insulation to the shop and replace the shop doors with an insulated door, he said.
Since the installation, the farm’s utility bills have been lower.
“The working conditions in the shop are much better,” Stark said. “Cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. ”
Muddy Water Farms LLC produces corn, soybeans, and wheat.
Daniel Zywietz, SEK Solar, Chanute, also helps with the grant process for this program.
The next round of grant application deadline is September 30.
Former Fort Scott City Commissioner Josh Jones and Fort Scott Water Distribution Supervisor Bill Lemke discuss the splash pad project in this April 19, 2023 photo at the site on North National Ave.
Joshua Jones Candidate for Kansas House of Representative District 4
As election time approaches, I want to emphasize the need for candidates to remain active even after the election is over.
Too often, elected officials only engage with the community during election periods. As an eighth-generation resident of Bourbon County, I have a deep connection to this area and believe that community service and consistent involvement are key to our success.
Over the past few years, I have had the pleasure of working on projects such as refurbishing the high school tennis courts, helping acquire and donate a historic property to the Gordon Parks Museum, organizing events to raise awareness for Memorial Hall, and assisting in the development of a community splash pad.
.Josh Jones helped the Gordon Parks Museum receive the AME Church property in June 2023. Photo Courtesy of and Copyright by The Gordon Parks Foundation (left to right) Josh Jones, Kirk Sharp, Gordon Parks Museum and Sarah Smith, Fort Scott Community College Foundation.
As your representative, I understand that we are all in this together and recognize the dedication required to be a positive and active elected official year-round.
John Crain and Josh Jones paint the bathroom at Third Street Park in this October 2022 photo. Submitted photo.Josh Jones was part of a committee that helped bring the splash pad to Fort Scott. This is opening day in 2023 from the Fort Scott Splash Pad Facebook page.
My Promises to You
**Give Back My Salary**
My belief is simple: if the people I serve benefit, then I benefit. We are all in this together. I am giving back my salary because your tax dollars should work for you.
**Year-Round Accessibility and Transparency**
How often do you only hear from politicians during the election? During my time as Mayor/City Commissioner, I was the first to hold public forums to get citizens’ input.
This ad paid for by Joshua Jones Candidate/Treasurer
The newly formed Bourbon County Community Theatre performs its first production – Holy Mother of Bingo! by Patrick Walsh.
Performances are at 7 p.m. on Aug. 2 and 3 in the lobby of the Ellis Fine Arts Center at Fort Scott Community College. The immersive murder mystery allows audience members to play five full rounds of Bingo with prizes donated by local businesses.
Pioneer Drama describes the show this way, “An innocent bingo fundraiser at the Our Mother of Mercy church goes awry when parishioners mysteriously drop dead! The evidence suggests well-calculated murders, but who is to blame? Tensions rise as everyone begins identifying suspects. Past feuds rear their heads as the members of the parish try to state their innocence one by one. Who could be behind the elaborate spree? The disgruntled choir director? The magician turned youth minister? The ex-convict that has recently turned to the power of prayer? It couldn’t be one of the Cookie Cadets selling their beloved cookies! Everyone’s a suspect… even the audience in the zany comedy that takes interactive theatre to a whole new level!”
Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for children and Senior Citizens. A purchase of an entire table of 7 or 8 gives audience members a discount of $2 on each adult ticket. Tickets are at bcct.ludus.com, at the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce, or at the door, but seating is limited and advance purchase is suggested.
More information can be found on the Bourbon County Community Theatre Facebook page. BBCO Community Theatre, LLC is a non-profit community organization formed last year whose mission is to bring education, community, and culture to southeast KS through threatre.
The production is directed by Angie Bin along with Assistant Director Mark Bergmann.
This Friday evening, July 19, at 7 p.m. the Hemphill Family Band will perform for the Chamber of Commerce concert series.
The band plays a variety of music and will highlight music of some specific country performers such as Bob Wills and Merle Haggard. Performing in the band will be Jack Hemphill on keyboard, Sandy Hemphill on fiddle and keyboard, Brad Hemphill on guitar, and Kristen Hemphill Weeks playing percussion.
In addition, Floyd Feezell will perform a song accompanied by Ralph Carlson. The hour-long program will occur at the Heritage Park Pavilion at First and Main Street in Fort Scott.
Ralph Carlson, Event Coordinator, suggests that because of limited seating, audience members bring a lawn chair.
The week of July 22, the Kansas Department of Transportation plans to begin replacing guardrail on the northbound lanes of U.S. 69 in Bourbon and Linn counties. The 27-mile project area starts at the south U.S. 69/U.S. 54 junction and continues north to Pleasanton.
The speed limit will be reduced to 60 miles an hour in the work zone, with alternating lane closures for northbound traffic. The ramp from westbound U.S. 54 to northbound U.S. 69 in Fort Scott will be closed to traffic between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, July 24-25. Use alternate routes during the closure.
KDOT awarded construction contracts totaling $1 million to Bettis Asphalt & Construction Inc., Topeka. Weather permitting, the work should be finished by the end of 2024. Check KDOT’s updated traveler information website, www.Kandrive.gov, for more highway condition and construction details. Persons with questions may contact Construction Manager Warren Ebberts at (620) 901-6549 or Public Information Officer Manager Priscilla Petersen at (620) 902-6433.
A meeting of the Industrial Development Research Committee will be held on July 15, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. in the main lobby of the Bourbon County Courthouse, 210 S. National Ave. Fort Scott, KS 66701.
There are two school districts in Bourbon County, USD 234, Fort Scott, and USD 235, Uniontown.
This is part of a series featuring new teachers in the districts.
Uniontown schools have enrollment for the 2024-25 year on July 25-26 and the first day of school is August 15.
Uniontown has four new teachers and one new principal.
The school has a new telephone number: 620.224.2350.
Caitlin Shrewsbury and family. Submitted photo.
Caitlin Shrewsbury, 31, is a new third-grade teacher at West Bourbon Elementary School, Uniontown.
“I received my Bachelor’s of Science in Education at Pittsburg State University, as well as my Master’s of Science in elementary teaching,” she said. “I did my student teaching at WBE and I am now back in the very same classroom! I taught 3rd grade at Eugene Ware for 8 wonderful years.”
“I enjoy coaching my daughter’s t-ball team as well as teaching summer school for several years. My husband and I love to attend local fundraisers and charity events.”
Her husband, Weston, runs his own small cattle business and they have two daughters; Zaley (5) and Sway (2).
“The best thing about being an educator is the relationships you build with your students and colleagues. These relationships last a lifetime!”
“The biggest challenge I have seen lately is what they call teacher burnout. It is no easy job!”
Susan Harris. Submitted photo.
Susan Harris, Hepler, will be the 7th and 8th-grade math and high school speech, debate/forensics teacher at Uniontown Junior High School for the 2024-25 school year.
Susan has a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Education, Speech, Drama, Forensics/Debate; a Master’s in K-12 Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL); and a Master’s in K-12 Special Education. She has endorsements in 5th-9th Math, English, Social Science, and Science. She just completed her 25th year of teaching.
Prior to her twenty-five years in education, she was a hair stylist for sixteen years, owning her own salon in Hepler until she and her husband, Brian, received a grant to attend college.
It was grant designated for farmers who were suffering through the farm crisis of the 80s and 90s.
It was challenging for her and her husband to manage a farming operation while raising their three children, attending college, and working, she said.
Harris’s response to any student who says they don’t think they can attend college is that they “might surprise themselves at the challenges they can overcome.”
She says the best thing about being an educator is building up your students’ faith in their own abilities until they can overcome their own challenges.
Harris currently serves on the Hepler Library Executive Board; she was the teacher representative for the USD 101 Site Council; and she served as the local Vice-Chair and Chair of the ANW-Kansas-National Education Association (KNEA) where she attended many leadership trainings and Representative Assemblies in Topeka, Wichita, and Washington DC.
She has three children, eight grandchildren, “and one grandbaby angel.” She enjoys attending her grandchildren’s plays, and ball games, and ” just hanging out with them while they are young.”
Harris states that though she will miss her former students and co-workers, she is proud to say she is a Uniountown Eagle and looks forward to building relationships with her new students and co-workers.
