Parkway Church of God’s float in a past Fort Scott Christmas parade.
The Fort Scott Downtown Christmas Parade is today, Tuesday, December 3, 2019, at 6:00 p.m.
The theme this year is Christmas Through the Years.
The parade will celebrate the culmination of the 100th anniversary of Fort Scott Community College with the Class of 1941 graduate Esther Anne Sewell as Grand Marshal.
Prizes will be awarded for 1st($75), 2nd($50), and 3rd($25). There are not prizes for each category.
Parade order pick up is today, Dec. 3 at the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce office until 5 p.m.
The parade order number should be displayed on the right-hand (passenger) side of your entry for the judges viewing.
After 5 pm, numbers may be picked up at the Carriage House at 3rd and Main Streets.
The parade line-up will start at 3rd and Main Streets in front of the Carriage House, entries should be lined up no later than 5:50 pm.
The parade will go north on Main Street ending at Skubitz Plaza for the lighting of the Mayor’s Christmas Tree.
After the parade, Santa will be at the backroom of Papa Don’s to meet with children about their Christmas list and Walgreens will be taking photos.
Aaron Watts works on the flooring in one of the large classrooms at Smallville Crossfit on Nov. 29
After a hiatus finishing up the new facility at 1905 Judson, Smallville Crossfit opens today for classes.
“Our first classes will be held here Monday,” owner Aaron Watts said on Nov. 29. His wife, Lindsey is his partner in the fitness business.
The reconfigured facility, once Fort Scott Lumber, is just off West 19th Street in the southern part of the city. They were formerly in a downtown location but outgrew the space.
Smallville Crossfit has 130 members, Aaron said.
Some of the Smallville Crossfit members, from the business Facebook page.
They now have about 60 percent more space to accommodate those members, Aaron said.
“We now have three large heated rooms for classes, as opposed to two large and an auxiliary room,” he said.
Smallville Crossfit provides regular Crossfit classes, a “sweat class” and a pre-teen class for kids eight to 12 years old, Aaron said.
The Watts are going to add some new classes, a dance fitness class and strength and conditioning classes, in the future.
“We are going to get through a couple of months to determine new equipment that might be needed,” Aaron said.
New showers and bathrooms have been added to the building and Aaron was putting the mat floor down on Friday, while Lindsey was cleaning the walls in one of the new classrooms, with a little help from family and friends.
Lindsay Watts cleans the wall of one of the new classrooms at Smallville Crossfit on Nov. 29.
Smallville Crossfit classes are Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 5 a.m., 6 a.m., 7:15 a.m., 8 a.m. 11:15 a.m., the 4 p.m. pre-teen class to the last class at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday classes are at 5 a.m., 6 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Saturday there is an open gym which starts at 9 a.m.
For more information contact Lindsey at 620-619-9602 or Aaron at 620-719-7554.
A grand opening at the new facility will be after the first of the year.
Aaron Watts stands in front of the newly remodeled Smallville Crossfit, 1905 Judson.
“O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.”
1 Chronicles 16:34
Years ago, my wife, Amanda, talked me into going shopping with her. Shopping with Amanda is dangerous and stressful enough, but, we went shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving. We went shopping on Black Friday.
The name “Black Friday” sounds awful. It brings to mind being blackmailed, the black plague, and the black death. It sounds bad.
Black Friday has always puzzled me. Why is it that on Black Friday Americans are willing to kill over materialistic items just one day after celebrating what they are already thankful for?
I have heard that the term “Black Friday” refers to the pattern of pedestrian and vehicle traffic that hits large cities. However, that is not true. Retailers actually coined the term to describe the day of the year when their shops go from being in the red to going into profit or into the black.
Black Friday has become the largest day of shopping both on the internet and in retail stores. Last year on Black Friday, Americans spent an average of $938.58 per shopper, and Americans spent $655.8 billion overall.
Anyway, years ago, before our children were born, Amanda talked me into going shopping with her on Black Friday. And I went shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving for the first and last time in my life.
At first, I thought it would be fun. I thought it might become a family tradition. I thought we might do a little shopping. Then we would hang out and have breakfast. I thought it would be a nice way to spend time with my wife, but I was wrong.
The day started out okay. We got up early before dawn. We had coffee. Then we went to Walmart at 5 in the morning. I have never seen anything like what I saw that morning. Three-hundred people lined up waiting for Walmart to open. I can’t get three hundred people to get up that early and come see a new believer get baptized. Man! I can’t even get thirty people to get up that early and come see a new believer get baptized. To tell the truth, I can’t even get three people to get up that early and come see a new believer get baptized.
When they opened the doors, I was almost trampled by a wild pack of shoppers. Inside the store wasn’t any better. I made the mistake of standing in front of a door-buster sign. People pushed me out of the way to get to a video game that was on sale.
They wheeled out a blue flashing light. Grown men and women ran from all over the store to the blue light to get a Tickle Me Elmo Toy.
Two women almost got in a fistfight. They were both going after the last coat on a 50% off rack. All over the store people were running, pushing, shoving, fighting, and cussing. I’m telling you, those people were crazy.
The point is: We have lost our way. On that Black Friday, I realized America has become a nation which has slipped away from worshipping God to a nation that worships material things. One day after giving thanks to God for all their blessings, Americans fight over TVs and toasters. On the day that kicks off the Christmas season, Americans act anything but Christ-like.
As we celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday this week, let us pause and give thanks to almighty God for all His blessings. Let us reflect on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as we decorate for Christmas. Let us spend quality time with family and friends. It is okay to go shopping, but don’t let shopping come between you and your relationship with God.
Besides, I have discovered that Black Friday equals Broke Saturday.
James Collins is the pastor of Fort Scott’s First Southern Baptist Church. His latest book, “The Nativity” is available on Amazon or by calling (620) 223-2986.
The residential development at 1st and Main Street is now on track for a summer 2020 opening. This is a 2018 photo.
Though there has been no activity for months on the building at First and Main Street, that will change soon, said the developer.
“As happens from time to time, we are in the process of switching general contractors,” Tony Krsnich, president and CEO of Flint Hills Holding, 2315 W. 65th, Mission Hills, KS. said.
“We are getting ready to start construction back up in 30 days,” He said.
The three-story building is being converted into 25 “high-end” apartments, he said. “They are for the general public and rent will be based on income.”
“It will be historically preserved,” Krsnich said. “It will pretty much look like it did when built.”
What was known as the Stout Building, adjacent to the west at First and National Avenue was torn down.
“The old Stout Building was endangered and needed to be razed,” he said. “It will be used as green space and a parking area for downtown.”
“The project is fully financed and construction is expected to resume within the next few weeks,” Rachel Pruitt, Fort Scott Economic Director said. “The City looks forward to seeing the construction restarting and is thankful for the additional investment from Flint Hills Holdings. ”
The First and Main building as seen from National Avenue on Nov. 4. The Stout Building was razed on this space and will be made into a green space and parking lot for downtown Fort Scott.
For over 20 years, Marjorie Schwalm has been serving meals on Thanksgiving for people in the community.
“I originated it and run it with my friends and family,” Schwalm said. “I buy the food, take the orders for deliveries.”
There is no cost to the recipient.
“All are welcome to come or we will deliver,” Schwalm said. “We deliver to Meals on Wheels people, Cavalry Crossing Crossing and High-Rise apartments. Those that don’t have a way of comming to the lodge. We deliver. A lot of people help deliver. The most we’ve delivered is 300 people.”
Delivery starts at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving day, then the focus is on those who come to the Elks Lodge, 111 W. 19th to eat the dinner.
She said helpers show up on Thanksgiving morning and ask what they can do to help.
The Elks Lodge members smoke the turkeys and allow her to take over the lodge, to cook and serve the meal to those attending, she said.
Dinner is served from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
And they serve between 600-700 people every Thanksgiving.
Community Christian Church makes all the desserts for the dinner, Cthe hurch of God Holiness pays for all the rolls.
“It is truly a community effort,” she said.
For more information or to order a meal contact Schwalm at 620.223.1521.
Rosie’s Cabin and Event Center, 563 Maple Rd., Uniontown
Rosie’s Cabin Event Center Manager Kelsey Blythe was approached by a local entrepreneur to host a vendor show.
“Kelly Perry from Perry’s Pork Rinds is a very motivated entrepreneur with great ideas,” Blythe said. “She came to me with an idea to have a local vendor show. Since we have space, we were delighted to host.”
The Backwoods Holiday Mart is scheduled for December 7 at Rosie’s Cabin – 563 Maple Road Uniontown, just 20 minutes from downtown Fort Scott.
“Everyone is invited,” Blythe said. “The more support our local vendors get, the better for all of the community in Bourbon County.”
The event is from 9 am – 4 pm on Saturday, Dec. 7.
There will be giveaways, prizes, and samples.
Santa Claus will be available for family photos by Erica George Photography.
“Loads of people will be setting up a booth to sell and advertise their products,” Blythe said. “There are so many different kinds of vendors coming, it’s going to be so fun to look around.”
“There will be hand made jewelry, wines, nuts, knives, Perry’s Pork Rinds, homemade baked goods, homemade dog treats, leather goods, woodworking, Tupperware, homemade Christmas wreaths and many many more. Come support your local business people!! Most of these vendors travel to vendor shows and put their heart into their products.”
Blythe is considering this an annual event and possibly bi-annual
“to give hard-working people a good chance to sell LOCALLY! What would be better than to have one of your best shows be here in Bourbon County,” Blythe said.
Georgia Brown of Sunshine Boutique visits with customers during Fall Extravaganza in a prior year.
FREE childcare and an evening of shopping are offered Nov. 25.
The 10th Annual Fall Extravaganza is next Monday from 5-8 p.m. in the Fort Scott Middle School gym and commons areas. The school is located at 1105 E. 12th Street. The childcare is provided by Fort Scott High School PRIDE.
Don’t miss this opportunity to check out local crafters and businesses.
Homemade articles of cloth and wood, jewelry, locally made food items and other local small business offerings can be found at the event.
With over 60 vendors, there should be something for everyone on the holiday gift list.
There will be a full meal for sale from the 8th-grade Washington Workshop students, and chances to win raffle prizes.
There will also be six $25 cash prize giveaways:
1) Every adult who comes to our event will be allowed to add a middle school child’s name into a drawing. At the end of the night, two student names will be drawn and those students will win $25 cash!
2) Every USD 234 employee who attends will have a chance to be entered into a drawing. At the end of the night, four names will be drawn and those employees will win $25 cash!
The event is sponsored by the FSMS VIPs, which is the parent group at the middle school.
“This is one of about five fundraisers we do every year to raise money for our school,” Stephanie George, coordinator for the event and a middle school teacher. “Teachers and students benefit. Every year we look at the needs of them both and decide what to do with the money.”
” In past years, we have purchased laptops and iPads for student and teacher use, we have given money to the science teachers for lab supplies and to the music teachers for sheet music and instruments, and we give money each year to the teachers to purchase school supplies at the start of the year. We also pay for software that the district wasn’t able to afford when budgets were cut years ago: we have paid for Accelerated Reader (a reading supplement) for over five years now and we pay for video subscriptions that teachers want like Flocabulary and BrainPop.”
“The first year of our event was 2009,” George said. “We had 29 vendors and we held it all in our commons. By year 3, we had so many vendors we had to expand into our gym. This year we have 69 spots sold, plus a few booths manned by middle school student groups (Washington Workshop and the 8th Grade Technology Class), which is bigger than last year by one vendor.”
Approximately 400 people from the community come to shop during the event each year, she said.
The annual Historical Preservation Association Stocking Stuffer, after skipping a year, will be the weekend of Dec. 7 and 8.
Several area crafters will be offering their wares, along with some small business owners.
“We didn’t have it last year, and this year I have a couple of gals who have stepped up to help,” Carolyn Crystal, event coordinator said. ” Julie Norris and Charlotte Kite.”
On Saturday, Dec. 7 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. vendors will sell homemade crafts, home decor, jewelry and fashion accessories at the Fort Scott Middle School Commons Area, 1105 E. 12th Street.
The 2014 Stocking Stuffer in the gym of the Fort Scott Middle School.
Admission is free.
The Sharing Bucket organization will serve lunch as a fundraiser to provide support for local cancer survivors.
“I invite you to come back and see what all the vendors have,” Crystal said. “There are lots of new things.”
There are currently 30 vendors signed up, and Crystal is seeking more.
The booth space is 10 feet by 10 feet and costs $45. Vendors must provide their own tables. Electrical sites are available.
“If electricity is needed, I need to know ahead of time,” Crystal said.
For more information contact Crystal at 620-215-1969 or Kite at 620-224-0931.
The big rock shelter house at Gunn Park is lit by Christmas as part of Christmas in the Park in 2017.
Christmas in the Park 2019 organizers hope to provide the community with a great holiday experience, according to Tom Robertson, one of the event coordinators. Robertson is the director of the Fort Scott Recreation Center. He and Diana Mitchell are spearheading the annual event.
Food, entertainment, crafts, and photo opportunities are provided with help from the City of Fort Scott many community volunteers who donate time and materials.
“If you haven’t been before, come,” Mitchell said. “It’s a wonderful evening. Where else can you go and spend three hours and it cost nothing.”
The event will take place on December 7th from 5 – 8 p.m. at Gunn Park.
The activities include chili for the family, a live band by Danny Brown Christmas music, real reindeer for viewing, a live nativity by Bethel Community Church, Christmas crafts for children to make, and a visit with Santa, portrayed by James Wood.
New this year is a coffee/hot chocolate bar with all the fixings and a selfie bar for fun family photos.
“The selfie bar will be provided by the Terrell Vann family,” Mitchell said. “You can hold crazy things up with a backdrop.”
Bring the camera for many other photo opportunities with Santa and real reindeer, Mitchell said.
All participants will be bussed into Gunn Park from parking lots at the Fort Scott Community College Nursing Department at 8th and Burke Street and the Fort Scott Professional Building at 8th and Osbun Street. Fort Scott Community College, USD 234, and some nursing homes are providing busses.
“We bus for the safety of participants,” Mitchell said. “Traditionally, there are about 1,600 people there.”
Some adventurous people walk into the park, she said.
“And that is acceptable, it is three-fourths of a mile to the center of the park,” Mitchell noted.
There will be long lines to some of the activities and patience is asked of participants.
The event is coordinated by members of the community in conjunction with the City of Fort Scott, according to Robertson.
The Fort Scott Police Department, the Fort Scott Fire Department, Fort Scott Community College, individual families, Winfield Scott Elementary School first-grade teachers and the Eye Center all are a part of the annual event.
“We want to provide a great holiday experience in a beautiful park in Fort Scott,” Robertson said. “It will allow our patrons to eat, listen to Christmas music, make crafts, decorate a sugar cookie, pet a live reindeer and of course… see Santa.”
Gunn Park will be closed to the public from Wednesday, Dec. 4 until the event to prepare for the event, Mitchell said.
The following is where the activities are scheduled:
Park at parking lots and buses will pick up attendees at those sites.
Shelter 1-chili will be served.
Outside of a tent near this shelter will be the live band, provided by Danny Brown playing Christmas music. Inside the tent will be the hot chocolate/coffee bar and kids can decorate a cookie.
Shelter 2- the selfie bar is provided for photo opportunities, bring your camera.
Outside of the selfie bar will be live reindeer from Towanda, KS.
Shelter 6-Santa will be available for listening to Christmas requests.
Shelter 7-Christmas crafts for children sponsored by Buck Run Community Center.
Buses will transport attendees back to the parking lot to their cars.
A board has been formed to help the local government entities keep informed of safety and other issues at Lake Fort Scott.
The chairman of the board will be determined at the first meeting, according to Robert Uhler, Fort Scott Community Development Director.
“The chairman will be determined at the first meeting. I am sending out a Doodle Poll this week to plan for the first meeting.”
“We thought it would be a good idea to start an advisory to help guide the city in all things happening at the lake,” he said. “Just like we have the design review board for the downtown historic district and the airport advisory board for the airport.”
Robert Uhler
The Fort Scott Lake Advisory Board had its organizing meeting at the Sleep Inn Hotel Meeting Room on Oct. 17, 2019.
Fort Scott City Manager David Martin called the meeting to order and explained that he is getting the group started, but would have Uhler facilitate the lake advisory board meetings, according to a press release from the city.
Uhler then had the attendees introduce themselves and give a brief explanation of their interest in serving on the advisory board, according to the press release.
He explained the system of voting for the candidates for the board.
After a brief discussion, the attendees then voted to complete the board as per city ordinances.
After counting the votes, the following names were submitted to the Fort Scott City Commission on Nov. 5 for approval to serve on the board:
The east side lake representatives are Nancy Van Etten and Shane Wood; west side representative’s are Tom Brink and Dean Striler.
The at-large representative is Nancy Maze.
Other representatives are Jolynne Mitchell, Fort Scott City Commissioner; Jeff Fisher, Bourbon County Commissioner; Don Banwart and Marcy Myer, both city/county residents.
Others who attended the meeting: Becky Howard, Richard Clark, Valerie Graham, Tom Graham, Harold Martin, Jon Eden, Bob Talbot, Debbie Talbot, Dana Davis, Kerry Van Etten, Bourbon County Sheriff Bill Martin, Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Major Bobbie Reed and Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Director Lindsay Madison.
Lake Fort Scott is located on Indian Road, southwest of Fort Scott.
“Inspiration for the site came from Ryan Sparks in Iola,” he said. “He has www.growiola.com. However, there have been many people involved with the development of the (GrowFortScott) project. Local landlords and business owners have contributed. And most importantly Isaac Robinson, formally from Uniontown, facilitated the website construction. YouAreNowOnline.com.”
“I am the main developer of the site functionality and concept. I have spent many hours making sure that all of the functions were “User-Friendly” before launching the platform to the community,” he said.
There are three core components to the service: rentals and renters, local businesses and local job openings.
“We have been developing relationships with local landlords and businesses to find out what some of their needs and wants would be,” he said. “We identified the biggest needs and have developed around them.”
When fully functional, the website www.GrowFortScott.com will consolidate rental properties, from multiple landlords, that are available now.
“You can search for rent, bedrooms, bathrooms and if it is pet-friendly,” he said. “View multiple photos and read the description of the rental. All from the comfort of wherever you may be. Then once you have determined what rental you would like to inquire about, you fill out an on-line application to the landlord. They will receive it, review it and respond to you. You will then be able to schedule a time to meet at the rental and finalize the renting of the property.”
“Access to local businesses and local jobs just fit as an intricate part of the community,” Adamson said. “We have made it simple for the local businesses to join and provide simple access to their business location, basic information, and potential job openings they may have.”
Frank and his wife, Cheryl Adamson are the owners of the Courtland Hotel and Spa.
FSHS Talking Tigers competed at Independence High School Saturday, November 16.
The Talking Tigers placed 2nd overall.
In the open division Mark Adams and Hannah Vann placed 8th with a 3-2 Record, Elizabeth Ngatia and Zoe Self placed 4th a 3-2 record and Jorden Willard and Jessden Kiwan placed 3rd with a 4-1record.
In the JV division Landon Doherty and Thade Yates placed 3rd with a 4-1 record.
In the novice division Gavin Warfield and Isaiah Self placed 3rd with a 5-0 record.
