On June 26, a new sport will be added to the offering at Buck Run Community Center, 735 Scott Avenue.
A roller skating rink will be offered from 6 to 9 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month, in the small gym at the center.
The cost will be $3 if one owns their own skates and $5 if skates need to be rented, according to Fort Scott Mayor Josh Jones.
“It was (Fort Scott Commissioner) Pete Allen’s idea,” Jones said. “The sponsor’s are the City of Fort Scott and the Fort Scott Community Foundation awarded a grant for (purchasing) the skates”
“I think it’s great we are trying something new for the kids,” Fort Scott Recreation Commission Director and Buck Run Community Center Manager Tom Robertson said. “To bring back roller skating to Fort Scott is an awesome thing.”
The recreation center is providing staff for the skating rink.
There will be staff to check people in and those to hand out skates, and additionally a safety person on the floor “to help those who fall and for help following the safety rules,” Robertson said.
While aimed at the youth of the city, there might be older residents who would like to try the sport again for nostalgic reasons, Fort Scott City Manager Jeremy Frazier said.
“Any additional options we can offer the community, make it more attractive,” he said.
“I think we can occasionally step in and partner with another entity such as the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation,” Frazier said.
“A lot of people have worked on bringing this to the community,” he said. “A lot of credit goes to Ally Turvey (Fort Scott’s Community Development Director.)”
“We have a pool, parks, a golf course…I think we are serving our community through these,” Frazier said.