Presidential Preference Primary Election
(All advance ballots by mail must be received by the close of polls.)
This is a one-time presidential preference primary
The Fort Scott Kiwanis Easter Egg Hunt is this Saturday, March 23 at 11 a.m. sharp at Gunn Park Shelter #2. The event is for children preschool through fifth grade, with participants bringing their own Easter baskets to gather the goodies in.
The Kiwanis-sponsored event is always the Saturday before the Easter weekend.
“We recommend people get there at 10:30 a.m.,” Kiwanis President John Crain said. There is always a crowd and it may take a while to get to the child’s age-designated area.
“It’s over at 11:07,” said event coordinator Bob Eckles with a chuckle.
The Easter Bunny will be there, so parents can get a snapshot of their children with him.
“Kiwanis packs the goodies on Thursday at 6 p.m. before the event,” Eckles said. “We get help from the Key Club at the high school.”
They usually spend several hundred dollars on candy, but this year “Candy is more expensive, especially chocolate,” Eckles said.
In some of the eggs are coupons from local businesses: Hedgehog Book Store, Dairy Queen Restaurant, McDonalds Restaurant, NuGrille and Flowers By Leanna.
Cash donations for the event are from: R and R Equipment; Diehl, Fletcher and Banwart CPA;Don’s Spirits and Wines; Merle Humphrey Insurance and Photography; Iron Star Antiques; Big Sugar Lumber; Bids and Dibs Consignment and Walmart.
“Excavation/demolition is being donated by Brian Stewart and Jason Koch.” Vance said. “The (concrete) replacement is being done by Tri-state Building of Pittsburg. The project was bid by several contractors and they had the winning bid.”
The major part of the community improvement project is through the Recreational Trails Program by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, he said.
The former Fort Scott Manor Nursing Home, 736 Heylman Street, will soon be 24 standard market apartments.
Shane Lamb, president of Rural Asset Management and Rural Redevelopment Group, De Soto, KS. decided to take on the development project, even after not receiving grants to help.
“We didn’t receive any state or federal grants or funds,” he said. “We did apply for them but did not receive any. I am doing this on our own.”
“The rental complex hasn’t been named yet,” he said. “We will in the coming weeks.”
The building is approximately 20,000 square feet. “It’s been completely gutted and new everything,” Lamb said.
Lamb purchased the Fort Scott Manor property in January of 2022, he said. “It was closed down by the state several years ago, then went through bankruptcy proceedings. I believe it had been closed for three years.”
The Fort Scott property will not be low-income apartment rentals but instead will be for the standard market.
“We focus on rural towns and rural housing,” he said. “Typically, we purchase nursing homes, schools, hospitals…single-use vacant properties we convert to housing.”
“We should have the majority of the repairs done in the next six months and plan to have it 100 percent completed and occupied by winter,” Lamb said.
Lamb said he always tries to use qualified local contractors and buy materials locally.
“I always try to keep the money local,” he said. “It doesn’t work 100 percent of the time. Sometimes you can’t find local partners to meet those deadlines…because they are so busy.”
Lamb said there was a glitch in the Iola project that paused it for several years.
“W had a neighbor that was on a city council that blocked rezoning for almost 4 years,” Lamb said in a later interview. “The project has since started and is being remodeled as we speak. The project is slated to be done within a year.”
Fort Scott High School Floriculture Teacher Sydney Cullison’s students plan to create and sell some of the products they have learned to make.
“Students in floriculture are looking to create Easter-themed centerpiece arrangements,” she said. “This is a learning experience for students and each arrangement may vary slightly.”
This is the first year for floriculture in FSHS.
“Our source of flowers is Flowers By Leanna,” she said. “She sells them wholesale to us. We have done a workshop there with her.”
“It’s the first time we’ve ever sold arrangements,” Cullison said. “We are testing the waters.”
“We plan to make corsages and boutonnieres,” she said.
“We are lucky to have several floral shops in town, some rural towns don’t, but we want to give the kids the experiences at the same time,” she said.
“The proceeds will be used for future floriculture things,” she said.
Orders for the Easter arrangements are due by March 17.
Each arrangement is $30. Flowers to be possibly included are: white easter lilies, tulips, stock, carnations, static, and leather leaf in a 5.5″ tall tin bucket with ribbon.
Cash or Check to Fort Scott FFA. Venmo @Sydney-Cullison
Delivery inside city limits is available for $5.
Pick up at FSHS Ag Shop.
Delivery and pick up on March 27 by 4 p.m.
Order Link: https://forms.gle/
Sydney Cullison has taught agriculture at FSHS for three years and is also the FFA Advisor. She graduated from FSHS in 2015.
Saint Martin’s Academy is a Catholic boarding school for boys that combines classical academics with a practical work program on a sustainable farm. and is located southwest of Fort Scott.
It seems they have some athletes as well.
“We are the reigning Kansas State Rugby Champions, ” said school headmaster Daniel Kerr. ” Currently, we are ranked #9 in the country for all schools of any size according to the Goff Rugby Report.”
“To be a rugby player at St. Martin’s Academy is to be part of something larger than yourself,” said Coach John Prezzia. “It’s to be a band of brothers; a small group of young men united in the forge of intense battle amongst each other, where they are truly, ‘ironing sharpening iron’. This creates a bond amongst them that is so tight, that every one of them is completely willing to sacrifice all of himself for the sake of each brother next to him, and the team as a whole”
“This unity of purpose and toughness is how we continually punch above our weight, and with only 68 boys total enrolled at the school, we can compete with the very best teams in the country,” he said. “We have just been invited to the National Tournament…and are currently in the planning and fundraising phase. The boys have worked unbelievably hard to get to this level, and are incredibly excited to compete with the best.”
We got the invite last Tuesday, and when I announced it to the boys, they just about brought the house down with their hooting and hollering,” Prezzia said. “It was a pretty special way to kick off this journey to try and bring a Rugby National Title back to Fort Scott.”
“Rugby, a “barbarian’s sport played by gentlemen”, was invented in Rugby, England in 1823 when William Webb Ellis picked up a soccer ball and ran with it,” Kerr said. “It is the progenitor of American football. For example, the name ‘touchdown’ comes from the rule in rugby where you have to physically touch the ball down in the endzone for the score to count. Rugby combines the fluidity and continuous play of soccer with the physicality and roughness of American football. There are 15 players on the field and like soccer, they play both offense and defense as the ball changes possession. Like American football, the aim is to carry the ball across the opponents goal line and touch the ball down in the opponents end-zone or ‘try zone’. A ‘touchdown’ is called a ‘try’ in Rugby. A try is worth 5 points and the subsequent conversion kick is worth 2 points.”
Scott Cain is a Science and Math teacher at Christian Learning Center, Fort Scott.
Recently, a team of boys that he taught won the top prize at the first-ever SunPowered Student Challenge, a statewide solar energy competition founded by the Kansas Electric Cooperatives, Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative, Ten80 Education, and Pitsco Education.
Sam Love (16), Ethan Hill (17), James Kobernat (17), and Ryan Koch (18) were the students who were a part of the CLC team, each winning a $1,000 scholarship.
Sam’s parents are Kelly and Jason Love, Fort Scott; Ethan’s parents are Garrett and Kaleigh Hill, Nevada, MO; Jame’s parents are Dan and Amy Kobernat, Fort Scott; and Ryan’s parents are Jason and Holly Koch, Uniontown.
Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative sponsored the team.
The boys were taught in a curriculum before the competition: how to wire circuits in series and in parallel, how types of circuits affect amps and volts, how to evaluate a site for optimal placement of solar panels, how to use latitude, time of year, and nearby obstacles, such as trees to angle solar panels for maximum output, how to consider the day-time usage of a household to calculate number of panels, where they should be located, and cost of installation.
“The competition involved several categories of scoring, said teacher Scott Cain. “The highest total point scored was the winner.”
What the students were judged on:
About the private school, taken from its website:
The Christian Learning Center (CLC) was founded in 2000, by Mr. Harold Kraft.
MISSION STATEMENT
“To educate and encourage students to live a Christ-centered life; to impart necessary skills to meet the demands of an ever-changing world; and to develop mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical strengths so that each child may live up to his or her God-given talents in the surroundings of a stable, Christian school environment.”
We fulfill this mission by assisting Christian parents in performing their Biblical responsibility to “train up a child in the way he should go” and “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Proverbs 22:6, Ephesians 6:4). All subjects are taught from a Biblical worldview. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7).
The Board of Bourbon County Regional Economic Development Inc. recently added a new member: Matt Ida, president of Extrusions, Inc. in Fort Scott.
According to a press release from REDI, the mission of the organization is as follows: They ” are committed to uniting community voices, forging strategic partnerships, and securing pivotal grants. From fostering business growth and tourism to championing development initiatives, we are the nexus of vibrant community transformation. Here, you’ll find the resources, leadership, and opportunities essential for a prosperous and resilient future.”
Ida joins the following members of the board:
“Since our inception, we’ve achieved remarkable milestones,” according to the press release, including:
According to the press release, looking ahead, the group is focused on:
The REDI office is now located at 401 Woodland Hills Blvd., downstairs, just south of the stairwell and elevators.
To reach the REDI team call the following numbers:
For more information
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Evergy provides electrical service connection and repair to most of Bourbon County.
The company has acquired the property needed for the new Fort Scott substation which has frontage on North National Avenue.
Dirt work has begun at the new site, adjacent to the former equipment site.
“We have relocated conflicting utilities and are preparing the site for construction,” said Kaley Bohlen, Evergy Communications Manager.
The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.
“The upgrades will enhance electric reliability and support growth in the area, as well as strengthen the regional power grid,” Bohlen said. “The new equipment will be stronger, more efficient and incorporate technology that can help reduce power outages, both in frequency and length.”
“Because the project will benefit Evergy customers, costs will be reflected in customer rates,” Bohlen said.
The Kansas Corporation Commission has been sending out press releases to explain the process of the rate increase to upgrade electric services. To learn more, see the end of this story for the links to the press releases. The public was requested to comment during the process.
“The average monthly impact to residential customers will be an increase of $4.64 per month for Evergy Kansas Central customers and a decrease of $6.07 per month for Evergy Metro customers. The new rates will take effect based on the customer billing cycle date beginning December 21, 2023,” according to a press release in November 2023 : Evergy/KCC Settlement Announced
Bourbon County is in the Evergy Kansas Central service area.
Evergy Kansas Central serves 736,000 customers in Topeka, Lawrence, Olathe, Leavenworth, Atchison, Manhattan, Salina, Hutchinson, Emporia, Parsons, Wichita, Arkansas City, El Dorado, Newton, Fort Scott, Pittsburg and Independence, among other towns and rural areas, according to a KCC press release. Evergy Kansas Metro serves approximately 273,000 customers in Lenexa, Overland Park and other communities near the Kansas City metro area.
The contractor for the Fort Scott project is Wolf Construction, Bohlen said.
The new Infantry Substation will be about 1.75 acres and will replace the former Fort Scott Substation that was damaged by fire in August 2022., according to Bohlen in a prior interview.
“The new substation will provide additional capacity to enhance electric reliability for the Fort Scott area, as well as strengthen the regional power grid,” she said in a prior interview. “Automated switching capabilities and grid automation will help improve outage response times.”
“Construction has begun and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024,” she said in the prior interview. “Once the new substation is operational, we will decommission the current Fort Scott Substation and remove all structures and equipment that are no longer in use. The existing Fort Scott Service Center utilized for personnel and offices will remain. Once the new Infantry Substation is built and operational, the existing Fort Scott Substation equipment and poles will be removed.”
To view the prior story:
Evergy Will Move Substation Equipment and Poles
To view prior press releases on Evergy within the last six months:
1.66 Percent Increase Justified to Provide Electricity to Evergy Central Customers.
Evergy Rate Increase Request July 27
A crew from T.L. Steel, Burrton, KS, has been installing the new welcome sign on Wall Street for the last several days.
The welders finished yesterday and the painters will finish today, then the electrical work to light the sign will start, T. L. Steel’s Project Manager Levi Robillard said.
Following that work, Jess Milburn of JCM Restore, LLC, Fort Scott will complete the stonework, using Bandera Stone from Bourbon County.
The new sidewalk and curb will then be poured, by Marbery Construction, Fort Scott, who did the demolition of the site and will replace the sidewalk and guttering after the sign is complete.
The total cost of the arch is $120,000, which was paid for by grants from the Patterson Foundation and also Blue Cross and Blue Shield Pathways to a Healthy Kansas, through the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, said Rachel Carpenter, HBCAT Executive Director. The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Fort Scott also aided the project.
“We went through surveys and meetings, public input, which was very important for this project,” Carpenter said.
“An arch of this type has been a vision of the Chamber for several years to welcome locals and visitors to our community and establish the Downtown Historic District as a destination,” said Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lindsey Madison in a prior interview.
“We were ecstatic that the opportunity came about for the arch to be a placemaking project through the Blue Cross Blue Shield Pathways grant spearheaded by the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team,” Madison said.
“Several public meetings were held to gather community input on the design, culminating with approval from the Design Review Board of the City. The aesthetics of the arch will complement nearby historic structures including the beautiful Bandera limestone from right here in Bourbon County. This has truly been a group effort by all of the entities involved and we are excited to see it come to fruition,” Madison said.
