All posts by Clayton Whitson

FSCC to Host Public Forum for President Candidates

Fort Scott, KS —

Fort Scott Community College has been in the process of looking for a new President since last November. The Board has decided on four candidates from a pool of 20 applicants.

The four candidates are: Slade Griffiths, from Arkansas City, James Genandt, from Chanute, Sara Harris from Independence and Alysia Johnston from Edna. Each of these candidates have been scheduled to spend the day in Fort Scott. Part of their scheduled day will be to hold a public forum at FSCC in the Ellis Center at 1:30pm. They will share a few comments and the floor will be open for questions.

Dates candidates will be on campus are: Monday, the 23rd, Thursday the 26th, Friday the 27th and March 2nd.

Relay for Life of Bourbon County hosts event

Fort Scott, KS —

Last Friday night, Relay for Life (RFL) of Bourbon County held their KISS OFF event at Common Grounds Coffee Shop. The focus of the event was awareness, fun, fundraising and of course, to gather new supporters to the cause.

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Reaching out to a younger generation is important to all organizations and gathering at the local coffee shop was a great idea. RFL events included a Karaoke competition and music by interactive elective device musician, David Cedillo.

Karaoke was judged by Sarah Mae Lamar and Jeremy Culbertson, awarding prizes for first, second and third places. About 75  folks from around Bourbon Country came out the sing and have a good time. The organizers were very grateful for the outcome but also for Common Ground stepping up and donating a lot of time, energy and planning for this event.

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Another main reason for this event is to highlight their upcoming Relay. Allison Daly, the Community Manager, remarked, “there will be notable changes for this year’s event.” One of those changes will be moving the date from Summer to April 25th. Also, the location will be in the FSCC East parking lot rather than the walking trail. Daly also mentioned they are always looking for volunteers to help in a variety of capacities.

For more information or how you can become involved, please contact Allison Daly, [email protected] or 620.215.3865. Also, you can check our their web page here and the Facebook here!

Luv-N-Stuff, New Consignment Store

Kids grow so quickly and in their wake they leave many toys and clothes that are too nice to throw away.  Luv-n-Stuff 4 Kids was started by Karla Peterson in August as a place for you to sale such items.   At this kid friendly store, you will be be greeted by a welcoming and friendly environment as you walk through and explore the “gently loved” items that other parents have consigned.

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Being a parent and educator herself, Peterson, wanted to create a store that would serve as a valuable resource to the community and especially to parents, educators, and homeschooling families.

luvnstuff (19 of 21)Before heading to a city to buy sports uniforms, curriculum or kids furniture, stop by or give her a call to see if she has what you are looking for.   If you are in need of maternity clothes or trying to set up a comfortable room for your new little treasure swing by Luv-n-Stuff 4 Kids.  The store also has several custom made items such as doll clothes, hats, little purses, hair bows, tutus, and car seat covers.

Prices compare to ebay prices without shipping and the quality that she accepts is top notch.  If you are always looking for a better deal, the store has a weekly code or riddle on their Facebook page, which can save you an extra ten percent off.

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So if you have been looking for a place to make a little cash while cleaning out your closets, or you have been looking for some good quality kids items without spending too much, stop by Luv-n-Stuff 4 Kids and enjoy exploring the treasures that are waiting for a new home.

Consignments are by appointments only.  It is worth stopping by to get a feel for what type of items are accepted and to pick up a consignment agreement form, before bringing your stuff by.

205 East Third Street
620-240-3977
[email protected]

Bella Roma, New Italian Restaurant

Fort Scott, KS – Have you been looking for a new Italian restaurant that serve authentic Italian dishes in Fort Scott? You need to make sure and stop in for a meal at Bella Roma. Bella Roma was started by Giovanni and Eddie Elezi. The brothers have several other successful restaurants in the South Eastern part of the state. After some consideration, they decided it was time to establish a restaurant in Fort Scott.

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Bella’s has been open almost two months now. Those who have discovered the restaurant already will find Fridays and Saturdays are full and may even end up on a waiting list. Giovanni, one of the Chef’s preparing the fare is from Palmera, Italy and their family has been making food for over 30 years.

Located at 302 East 1st street, they have transformed the space into a cozy Italian dining experience. The wait staff are friendly and enthusiastic about the restaurant and the vision the owners have for the new space.

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This weekend, they are offering a “Lover’s Special” Valentine’s Meal. This includes salad, entrée, drinks and cheesecake dessert for two for $39.95. Make sure and give them a call for all the details!!

Bella Roma
HOURS: 11am – 9:30pm

302 East 1st Street
Fort Scott, KS 66701
620-223-2633

Young Professional League of Bourbon County

Fort Scott, KS — Last Friday, February 6th Young Professionals had their monthly meeting at Papa Don’s.

The guest speakers for this meeting were High School students who attended the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Conference, affectionately referred to as, “HOBY.” Two students, Camden Stiles and Olivia Houston, were sponsored by Rotary and YPL, respectively.

The students spoke about their experiences last summer and demonstrated their enthusiasm for the program. Ms. Houston has applied and been accepted for ‘JStaff’ for next summer to help run the program. HOBY takes place during the first week of June on the Kansas State University Campus.

YPL President, Heather Griffith reported on activity YPL had been involved with and upcoming events. Some notable activities were hosting the Chamber coffee and assisting with Career Day at the High School.

Membership Dues are $35 per year and due April 1st. Don’t forget to check out their Facebook page and if you are interested in joining, please contact Heather Griffith: [email protected]

FSCC Host First Honor Band

Fort Scott, KS —

Michael Dzbenski, FSCC Band Director, launched a new outreach to area high schools this year. Last Friday, February 6th, over one hundred high school students descended upon the Fort Scott Community College campus.

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Music was sent out at the beginning of the year, high school students practiced on their own, came together and with only five hours of practice put on a free, open to the public concert.

With about 100 in the audience, we heard four selections performed by students from Erie, Humboldt, Southeast, Uniontown, Frontenac, Christian Heights and Girard.

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Auditions for FSCC Band Scholarships are February 27 and March 13. Students interested can contact Mr. Dzbenski, [email protected] or 620-223-2700. Also, don’t forget to check out their Facebook page.

Twice as Nice Variety Store, Arma

Arma, KS — If you are shopping on a budget, you are familiar with the thrift store. Everybody loves a good deal, right? In the middle of Arma, KS, Twice as Nice is going on two years at their current location, 301 N West Street, Arma.

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Betty Dehn, (pronounced deen) travels often with her husband and frequents thrift stores and antique malls. Two years ago, she decided it was time to start her own store. Being familiar with a piece of property that once had been a restaurant, made arrangements to move in.

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She started in the front two rooms and continues to expand as work get completed on the building. She has quite an inventory that is changing all the time.

Being a grandmother with over 15 grandchildren, she knows how expensive providing basic items and gifts can be for all the children. She really feels this is a ministry to provide very affordable home wares and clothing to those who may not be able to afford necessary home items.

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Currently, she is only open 10-4pm on Friday and Saturdays. Donations are welcome during those times as well. The best way to keep up with what is going on is to join their Facebook group page.  But if you want to take a peek inside hurry in before the end of the year because she will be closed January and February to catch up with all her grand kids!

Arcadia Sponsors Christmas for the Kids

Arcadia, KS — For many years, a devout few in the city of Arcadia decided that not one child in the city limits would experience a Christmas without gifts. “Six girls and a guy” seem to be the horse-power behind the event that provides the dinner and the gifts.

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Of course, there are many who participate and donate to the cause through various ways. The event costs about $3,000 which is raised throughout the year with bake sales, community concerts, contributions from “Our Gang,” “Autumn Leaves” and anonymous donations.

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December 13th, almost 200 people gathered at the community center to have dinner, meet Santa and every child that signed up at City Hall received as much was possible on their wish list. The organizers even made sure to have plenty of extra gifts for kids who came who weren’t on the sign-up list.

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Fundraising efforts go on through the year, so if you are interesting in helping the kids out next year, contact Arcadia City Hall for more information: 620.639.4344.

 

Tonight! Holiday Shopping and Caroling on Main Street

Fort Scott, KS –The Chamber and area businesses are hosting “Caroling on Main,” TONIGHT (December 18th)

Main Street stores and stores around town, will be open later than usual for the Caroling on Main Street event. Caroling will be provided by the Eugene Ware Elementary students!

Also, if you enjoy a little treasure hunting, there will be 10 mistletoe hung with a special treat. You can redeem your mistletoe for $10 in Chamber Bucks!

Hope you see you out there!holidaychamber

Books and Grannies, Downtown Fort Scott

Fort Scott, Ks — If you don’t get downtown very often, there is a https://fortscott.biz/wp-admin/post-new.phptreasure trove of artisans and businesses providing services you may not have known where there.

Books and Grannies was started in 2001 with a few bookshelves and a dream. Roxine Poznich, chief purveyor of books, has always had a love for books and when a local bookstore was going out of business, she bought their inventory and Books and Grannies was born.

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Of course, launching a business and keeping it running isn’t quite that simple. Over the years, the business has been in different locations before landing where they are now.  In 2007, was there last move to where they hope is permanent – 11 North Main in downtown. However, they have stayed steady and continue to have a very nice selection of books and customer base.

Estimating to have over 50,000 books, you will probably be able to find something you are interested in reading. Owner, Roxine Poznich, said the most common books she sells are children’s books followed closely by  romance and suspense. She carries paperback, hardback, older books and current books. She also has a good size inventory of children’s books. Adult books generally run between $4-5 and children books are generally $1-3.

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If you are looking for a gift for the book lover in your family, you will need to stop and take a look around before Christmas!

Books and Grannies
11 North Main
Fort Scott, KS 66711
620.224.2244

If you have any stories you think we might be interested in writing about, please send us an email! [email protected]

Holiday Lights Tour!

FORT SCOTT – The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce announces the Holiday Lights tours for the 2014 holiday season.  The tours will run from December 12 to January 8 in the evenings (Monday – Saturday) by group reservation only; minimum of 6 riders.  The cost is $7 for adults, $5 for children 12 and under.  Tours are a great activity for groups, businesses, families, and other organizations; maximum of 12 adults per tour. Tours take place on the current trolley substitute, a festive and handicap accessible shuttle. Proceeds from tours will benefit the fund for a new trolley.

The trolley adventure is sure to be entertaining as “Elves” from the Fort Scott Community College theatre department will be leading passengers in Christmas carols and other entertainment, including local comedian Kevin Allen (Skitch) throughout each tour.  Glow necklaces will be presented to each rider and complimentary hot chocolate and cookies will be served before each tour.

Homes, neighborhoods and businesses in the Fort Scott area are encouraged to get in the spirit by festively decorating with Christmas lights and other exterior decorations.  This year the Chamber will have a selected committee that will take the tour prior to December 19th to award the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place light displays.  Contestants do not need to officially enter with the Chamber.  The committee will be judging all properties in the city limits.  Those winners will be presented with a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place award as well as a Chamber Bucks certificate.

To make reservations for the 2014 Holiday Lights tour, contact the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce at (620) 223-3566.