All posts by Loretta George
New Store Coming To Hwy. 54, Bronson
Passersby on Hwy. 54, going through Bronson, may have noticed the demolition of an old filling station.
The land is owned by K&T Enterprises LLC, Thaddeus and Kelly Perry, owners.
Local entrepreneurs, the Perry’s are in the process of building a general store on the site.
“We have purchased the land, all nine lots, to the edge of the (Bronson) city limits along with the station but have already demolished the station,” Kelly Perry said. “We started working on this project in March of 2019 with Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment doing soil samples, etc., to make sure there were no contaminations on the property from the fuel tanks. Next to go will be the awning and the underground tanks. Then we will be building our new general store and pork rind production plant.”
“We have many requests for EBT and to accept EBT we also have to sell other items such as bread, milk, eggs, etc,” Kelly said.
Kansas Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) is the benefit delivery system for public assistance via electronic access to their cash and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, according to its website: http://www.ebtcard.net/state/kansas.html
The proposed general store will provide basic necessities plus small family business goods.
“The general store plans are to have bread, milk, eggs, tea, coffee, soda fountain and can soda as well as other small family goods from the state of Kansas, like Topeka based Stumpy’s Smoked Cheeses, Cashmere Popcorn, and of course in-house-made-fudge that will eventually be sold online as well,” Perry said. “I took a fudge making class to learn how to make old fashioned fudge. We will also have saltwater taffy from Branson MO. Mostly novelty foods. We also plan to have bagged ice and offer odds and ends such as toilet paper soap etc.”
” We hope to have construction up and going by late September,” she said.
“The new facility will have a front covered porch with picnic tables for guests to stop and enjoy,” she said. “We plan to have a large 40×60 ft. building. We plan to have public restrooms and free wifi as well.”
The Kelly’s are known in Bourbon County for their pork rinds.
“We have outgrown our home-based business after working for the last three years,” Kelly said. “Our online sales have increased as the customer base has broadened.”
“We have never received any grants for our business,” she said. “We save and once we have the money we just pay for it in cash.”
Perry’s Pork Rinds is currently having a sale.
“We are running a free shipping special, right now, for Christmas in July,” Kelly said. See their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/PerrysPorkRinds
They have marketed themselves by selling at every function, festival and fundraiser they could, she said.
” At one point not having a single weekend off in nine months,” Kelly said. “Now we have a loyal and supportive base and we want to support our home town and the county that has been behind us since the beginning.”
“Our customers are family to us,” Kelly said. “They have been with us since the beginning selflessly sharing posts and buying bags, sometimes to only give away to others, and we not only wanted the store but we wanted it in our own home town.”
“The plan in the back of our mind was to always have our own building,” she said. “We are proud of our customers, employees and ourselves for starting something with little to no money, no generational money backing us, just hard work and dedication.”
“We currently have four full-time employees working 30+ hours a week,” Perry said.
They have some long term goals for their highway property.
“We hope to bring even more jobs to the community and the long term goal is to have RV hookups on the site for hunters, who can bring their game to the Bronson Locker, and folks fishing and enjoying the Kansas Rocks and Recreation as well as any pipeline/windmill employees needing accommodations. The highway frontage should bring in several visitors.”
Coffee Drive-Through Store Coming to South Fort Scott
Scooter’s Coffee is coming to Fort Scott.
The store will be located in the strip mall on Main Street, which is also 69 Hwy on the south end of town.
“We are very excited to open in Fort Scott,” said Demi Bouwens, director of operations for the franchise in Pittsburg and Fort Scott.
Firstsource Transitions Employees to Work From Home And Plans A Move
At a recent Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Coffee event, Micheal Bryant announced that Firstsource Solutions USA, 4500 Campbell Drive, is transitioning to work-from-home for its employees.
The business leadership is also devising a plan to move from the industrial park to the city of Fort Scott and add more employees.
Bryant is vice president of operations for the business which provides for its’ clients services of claims adjudication, data entry and customer service calls.
“Firstsource has been deploying work-from-home for several years within the Fort Scott location,” Bryant said in an email interview with fortscott.biz. “The opportunity for employees to work-from-home has been very well received by our team members.”
” The transition is a business decision that will improve our retention rates, employee satisfaction, and performance of our team members,” Bryant said.
“The entire Fort Scott office will be involved in the migration,” he said. “There are other offices within Firstsource that are migrating to a work-from-home environment but (it is) not a company-wide initiative.”
“The work-from-home staff will be providing services of claims adjudication, customer service, and data entry for our existing customers,” Bryant said.
At the Chamber Coffee, Bryant said the business would have a smaller footprint in Fort Scott.
“Firstsource is currently in negotiations on a small facility for training and meetings,” he said. “We hope to finalize the lease in the next couple of weeks. Once we have finalized the lease we will be able to communicate the new Firstsource location. The move is currently scheduled for late December of this year.”
The business will be moving from the industrial park.
“The current facility that we are negotiating with is within the city of Fort Scott,” Bryant said.
The business will also be adding more employees shortly.
“The alternative facility will be leveraged for the training of existing employees as well as new employees,” he said. “The facility will enable Firstsource to continue to grow with the Fort Scott area. We have plans to add a significant number of additional staff members in the next several months.”
New Winfield Scott First-Grade Teacher: Alexandra VanSickle
View The Candidate Forum Last Night Here
Shaunn Pytlowany: Candidate for Bourbon County Treasurer, Candidate Forum Is TODAY
This is part of a series of features on the candidates running for offices in Bourbon County. The Bourbon County Primary Election will be held, Tuesday, August 4, 2020.
Today, July 20, is the candidate forum at Ellis Fine Arts Center, on the campus of Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for a meet and greet with candidates. The forum starts at 6 p.m. in the order of federal, state, then local candidates.
Shaunn Pytlowany, 49, is a candidate for Bourbon County Treasurer.
He graduated from LaVista High School, Fullerton CA. He was a graduate and graduate assistant of Dale Carnegie training, a General Motors Mark of Excellence award winner, business management and financial training through Toyota, Ford, General Motors, Dodge.
” Professionally I have over 19 years experience in leadership and team building,” Pytlowany said. ” I’ve been a successful local business owner since 2006. Also, being that I’ve lived and have been active in the community for 26 years it’s given me the opportunity to develop strong working relationships with city and county officials.”
” If elected my past experience in the automotive industry along with operating a business would be a benefit,” he said. “From inventory control, building and developing teams, and expense management.”
What would be your day one priority if elected?
“Analyze the current structure in the office,” he said. “Are the correct people in the correct positions? Develop a plan to increase the amount of daily transactions that are currently processed during the pandemic. Keep the office on budget by reducing the amount of times an outside auditor is needed in turn saving the taxpayers money.”
The following is information provided on the Bourbon County Kansas website.
Not sure if you’re registered to vote or where to vote?
You may register to vote online, through the Kansas Secretary of State’s website.
Check your voter registration status, the location of your polling place and view a sample ballot at VoterView by the Secretary of State.
Advance Voting is available prior to each election. You may advance vote in one of two ways: By mail, by filing an application for a ballot to be mailed to you OR in-person, beginning at least one week prior to any election.
Breann Eden: New Winfield Scott Elementary Art Teacher
Julie Saker: Candidate for Bourbon County Sheriff
This is part of a series of features on the candidates running for offices in Bourbon County. The Bourbon County Primary Election will be held, Tuesday, August 4, 2020.
Monday, July 20, is the candidate forum at Ellis Fine Arts Center, on the campus of Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for a meet and greet with candidates. The forum starts at 6 p.m. in the order of federal, state, then local candidates.
What skills do you bring to the position if elected?
The following is information provided on the Bourbon County Kansas website.
Not sure if you’re registered to vote or where to vote?
You may register to vote online, through the Kansas Secretary of State’s website.
Check your voter registration status, the location of your polling place and view a sample ballot at VoterView by the Secretary of State.
Advance Voting is available prior to each election. You may advance vote in one of two ways: By mail, by filing an application for a ballot to be mailed to you OR in-person, beginning at least one week prior to any election.
Walmart Donates Plants To Community Endeavors: Volunteers Needed To Plant
“Many people were contacting me via (Facebook) Messenger asking questions,” she said. “I referred them to the Bourbon County Health Department and City of Fort Scott Facebook page, however, the messages kept coming. I created the page and then asked a few people to assist in replying.”
Kendell Mason: Candidate For Bourbon County Clerk
This is part of a series of features on the candidates running for offices in Bourbon County. The Bourbon County Primary Election will be held, Tuesday, August 4, 2020.
Monday, July 20, is the candidate forum at Ellis Fine Arts Center, on the campus of Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for a meet and greet with candidates. The forum starts at 6 p.m. in the order of the federal, state, then local candidates.
Kendell Dawn Mason, 48, is the current Bourbon County Clerk and is running for re-election.
Mason is a graduate of Fort Scott High School and Fort Scott Community College.
She has worked for over 15 years in the Bourbon County Clerk’s Office, over seven of those years as the county clerk.
What skills do you bring to the position if re-elected?
“The knowledge and experience of working in the office for 15 ½ years.”
What is your priority on day one?
“To continue to work hard for the taxpayers of Bourbon County.”
The following is taken from the Bourbon County website:
Not sure if you’re registered to vote or where to vote?
You may register to vote online, through the Kansas Secretary of State’s website.
Check your voter registration status, the location of your polling place and view a sample ballot at VoterView by the Secretary of State.
The County Clerk is elected in November of Presidential Election years to a term of four years. There are no term limits to this elected office.
The Bourbon County Clerk/Election Officer is responsible for a wide range of things under Kansas Law. Some of those are listed here.
Advance Voting is available prior to each election. You may advance vote in one of two ways: By mail, by filing an application for a ballot to be mailed to you OR in-person, beginning at least one week prior to any election.