Come to the Fort Scott Public Library on December 18 at 4 pm for a family holiday party! Enjoy holiday stories, songs, games, snacks, crafts, prizes, and gifts. Teens will have their own games & activities upstairs. Adults will have their own craft table! Everyone will have something fun to do.
Kids 1st grade & under must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Activities include holiday stories & singalong, cookie decorating, candy cane hunt, “snowball fight,” teen games, and crafts. All children and teens will receive at least one gift and a free book!
The library is seeking volunteers to help supervise the activities and groups, and donors to help provide food. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/Nofhf7aYuChp1aRL8 if you’d like to help.
After stories and songs, the event will be split up by family groups rather than age groups (with the exception of 4th-12th graders, who will remain upstairs for the majority of the event), although age-appropriate activities will be offered for each level. If you will have your children with you and would like to volunteer to help, you may stay with your family or group the entire time while helping to keep the event supervised and activities running smoothly. Email [email protected] or fill out the form linked above to volunteer or donate.+
Want to donate food but aren’t sure what to give? See this list for suggested items: Holiday Party Food Donation List Happy Holidays!
Jan and Dick Hedges, owners of Hedgehog.INK! in 2018.
Jan and Dick Hedges opened Hedgehog INK! on October 31, 2018, because they wanted to support the community, encourage others to invest in downtown Fort Scott and provide a market for local vendors and authors.
“I’ve decided I have one more ‘moving on’ left in me”, Jan Hedges said. “I knew this day would come but had hoped not yet. I knew I would know when it was time and the time is now.”
She will be actively pursuing selling Hedgehog.INK! in the next few months.
Hedgehog INK is located at 16 S. Main in historic downtown Fort Scott.
“Please know that we will stay open with our regular hours until that transition takes place,” she said. “We will definitely give you advance notice.”
Dick died in the spring of 2022, but Jan said “He would be so impressed to see the difference (in the downtown) and knowing we had a part in it happening.”
“Since before we opened the store, there has always been construction going on in this block, ” Jan said. “Always a dumpster, product being unloaded, extra dirt and noise. The beautiful sounds of progress. Soon every building in this block will be filled with a viable business.”
The Store’s Staff
The bookstore staff “is amazing…(and) has helped me through some difficult times,” she said. “I could not do it without them.”
Employee Sheryl Bloomfield has been with her from the very beginning, she said “She is our window decorator among her many other jobs.”
Lynn Pallaske began working at the bookstore in 2020. “She handles the social media, and book displays, is super organized, and can help you find the perfect book.”
” Rylan Mason joined us during her sophomore year in high school, as a volunteer,” Jan said.” She became an employee when she turned 16, she is now a freshman at Pittsburg State (University).”
About the Store
Hedgehog.INK! started basically in one storefront at 16 S. Main with almost 10,000 books.
“We have expanded into a children’s room, the great room, and the reading loft with nearly 30,000 books.”
“We also carry a variety of bookstore-type items: bookmarks, bookends, journals, and art supplies. We host 11 vendors and 32 local authors, both sold on consignment,” she said.
The bookstore’s events include storytimes, author talks, Wednesday Writer’s group, and an annual writing seminar. The great room is available for rent for the evening and Sunday afternoon groups.
‘My hope is that someone will step up and take Dick’s and my dream to the next level,” she said. “It has turned into an active business and is one I know can continue to grow.”
Jan Hedges wants to give a special thank you to Dacia Clark and the staff at SEK Economic Development.
“They have walked me through the steps of opening and running a business, including this last step,” she said “And to Jared Leek, my landlord and Ed Lundberg, who I’m sure rolls his eyes when he sees my number on his phone.”
Hedges said she has had many jobs through the years.
“In college, I worked in the circulation department at then Farrell Library at Kansas State University,” she said. “I learned a lot about books and book systems. I spent 40 years in education, working as a teacher, building administrator, and district-level administrator.”
She also owned and operated a preschool for two years, worked for an educational technology company for one and a half years, and spent several years as a coach through the Kansas Educational Leadership Institute.
“Of all my jobs over the years, owning and operating this bookstore has been my greatest love,” she said. “I always say, we are a store full of books, but the best stories are the ones who walk in our doors. Fort Scott and Hedgehog.INK! has made my story so much richer.”
“The bookstore has provided an amazing way to meet people and to hear their stories,” she said. “We have out-of-town customers who have become regulars anytime they are in the area. Locals bring their visiting families over holidays and special occasions. It is so rewarding when a young child enters the store and heads straight to the kid’s room. Being a gently used bookstore, the books are affordable and just a little bit already loved.”
Lynn Pallaske, left and Jan Hedges stand in front of the mural that directs children to a reading room just for them in 2022.
Her retirement plans?
“To finally, really retire,” she said. “I’ve retired three times already. I will stay in Fort Scot for the short term, but will be moving closer to family.”
Hedges wants to thank the community for making Hedgehog INK! the business they became in five short years.
“And if you know anyone who might want to own an awesome bookstore, send them my way,” she said.
Fort Scott Washateria has teamed up with Healthy Bourbon County, SEK Community Health Center, Community Organizing to Promote Equity, and Bourbon County Health Equity Action Teams to assist folks with washing their clothes and bedding this Saturday, December 16 at the laundry mat located at 501 S. National.
“Since November 1st we have made machines available from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. every Wednesday for folks free of charge,” Washateria manager, Lori Lovelace said. “The Washateria provides laundry soap and dryer sheets for folks that don’t bring their own.”
“In honor of the holiday season, we are hosting our first Wash Wednesday Weekend on Saturday, Dec 16th from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. and all machines are free,” she said. “We are not limiting people to one machine.”
“Those that come at 8 a.m. probably won’t have to wait to put their laundry in,” she said. Noting later in the morning, there will probably be a wait for the machines.
“We do have some guidelines,” she said. “We are limiting, depending on the size of the washing machine. Up to four small machines, up to two 40-pound machines, up to one 60-pound machine, and up to one 80-pound machine and the corresponding dryer. One dryer per machine.”
Some of the washing machines that will be available for the program.
Lovelace and the staff want to prevent people from “stuffing it too full,” she said. “If they need more than one dryer, they will have to pay for that.”
The larger machines are designed for bedding, “but if nobody is using them, I will let someone with a big load of clothes use them,” she said.
That day also, the Community Day will happen in the clothes closet that the Washateria provides for those in need.
From left: Carol Oakleaf, owner, and Lori Lovelace, manager of Fort Scott Washateria.
The Community Closet is full of donated items that have been washed at the Washateria and made ready to give away.
“We … want to sincerely thank St. Mary’s Catholic Church who have once again had an Advent Clothing Drive and provided us with much-needed coats, bedding, and clothing,” Lovelace said.
“The Community Closet is having our Community Day in conjunction with this (free washing machine availability) event on Saturday and will have our clothing out and available to anyone in need,” she said. “The coats will be pulled out to make them more accessible.”
In the last month, Lovelace has added vintage kiddie rides that range from 50 cents to $1 per ride, including Dino, a train, and a pony. These are for customer’s children while waiting to clean their clothes.
She has also added massage chairs for those who wish to relax during the wash/dry time. “It takes dollar bills or cards, and has been popular since they came in,” she said.
On Saturday, Christmas music and free popcorn will be added to the experience.
In addition, her husband will have backpacks for homeless people with socks and food put together. “Let us know if you need one, we’ll have a backpack.”
Those elected in the last November election will be sworn in sometime in December, because of their duties starting in January, said Bourbon County Clerk Jennifer Hawkins.
Also in January, the Bourbon County Commission will choose a chairman for the year amongst themselves, she said.
This year the county elections were done on newly purchased election equipment, Hawkins said, with few glitches.
“We had a representative from the company on site, Clear Ballot, of Boston, Massachusetts,” she said.
The prior county clerk purchased all new equipment before she resigned, Hawkins said.
The following are the newly elected officials from the November 7, 2023 election:
For the City of Fort Scott Commission: Tracy Dancer, Matthew Wells, and Dyllon Olson.
For the Bronson City Council: Michael Stewart, Christy O’Brien, and Kayla Greenway.
As Mayor of Fulton: Misty Adams
On the Fulton City Council: Lawrence Paddock, Ronald Marsh, and Stephanie Smith.
On the Uniontown City Council: Danea Esslinger, Bradley Stewart, and Mary Pemberton.
On the the Redfield Council: L.D. Morrison, Brandy Corriston and Mel Hunt.
On the Mapleton Council, Michael Hueston, Tayler Northcutt* and Woody Brown*.
*These candidates were chosen by lot on November 20, 2023
to break a three-way tie, with the Bourbon County Chairman Jim Harris pulling a name out of a hat, supervised by the county clerk, she said.
For the Fort Scott USD 234 Board of Education:
Position 1: James Wood
Position 2: Mike Miles
Position 3: Doug Hurd
At-large: Stewart Gulager
For the Uniontown USD235 Board of Education:
Position 1: Troy Couchman
Position 2: Rhonda Hoener
Position 3: Seth Martin
At-Large: Matt Kelly
For the Southwind Extension District: Trent Johnson and Deb Lust.
For the Fort Scott Community College Board of Trustees: Ronda Bailey, Douglas Ropp, and Chad McKinnis.
Fort Scott Fire Fighters bell ring for the Salvation Army at the Christmas on the Bricks, December 1, 2023, taken from Fort Scott Compassionate Ministries Facebook page.
All the money given to the Salvation Army Bell Ringers in our ,stays in Bourbon County to help those in need.
The needs provided: utility, rent, prescriptions, temporary lodging, gasoline for work/doctor appointments, eyeglasses, “basically financial aid,” Allen Schellack, Director of Fort Scott Compassionate Ministries, said.
“Since 2016, we are the service unit of the Salvation Army in Bourbon County,” he said.
“Things happen in life,” he said. “Someone has lost their job and never had a need before, or the death of the breadwinner in the family. I have clients who need gas to go to Pittsburg for a doctor’s appointment. They need proof of need (to receive help).”
He said there is a great need for volunteers to ring bells to raise funds for those needs, stationed at the entrances of the local Walmart store.
“A lot of times there are just one to three people a day, somedays there is no one to bell ring,” Schellack said.”I can always use bell ringers.”
“Today I have a fifth-grade class from Eugene Ware (Elementary School) coming for an hour to Walmart,” he said. “Kiwanis has come in for a day to bell ring. Last week for two days, one-half day each, the Fort Scott High School FFA came. That was good for us.”
Individuals, families, groups, and organizations have helped in the past.
“I would like for a group to come in and perform music (while bell ringing),” he said. “That would be neat.”
Fort Scott Compassionate Ministries Outreach Center also offers free space heaters, blankets, bedding, towels, homeless/transient assist packs, Christmas for teens and families, and school supplies for middle/high school students as some of its outreaches.
To bell ring, calll Schellack at 620.223.2212.
If you would like to donate directly, a check can be sent to Salvation Army, P.O. Box 774, 2nd Floor Suite, Fort Scott, KS 66779, and write Salvation Army in the memo part of the check.
Allen Schellack, director of Fort Scott Compassionate Ministries, at his desk in the outreach center at 26 N. Main, 2nd Floor Suite.
About the ministry:
Fort Scott Compassionate Ministries is a 501(C)3 volunteer organization. There is no paid staff. Services are provided through the generosity of local churches, grants, and community partners.
The ministry started in January 2014, under the name of My Father’s House. In October 2016 the ministry became a joint effort of community leaders and area churches and is sponsored by Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene.
Among the services provided are family outreach services with CarePortal, homeless outreach services, hygienic services, medical supplies (diabetic and durable medical equipment), and fellowship.
The Bourbon County Fair Association’s 3rd Annual Jingle Bell Holiday Mart is this Saturday, December 9 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Emelia Whiteacker is the organizer of the event for the fair board that raises funds for maintaining the fairgrounds year-round, said Addie Foster, one of the vendors.
Foster is a sister to Whiteacker and they have spice products to sell in their M M Flavor booth.
Leanna Leatherman, who had organized the event in the past, died earlier this year and the fair board asked Whiteacker to take over the duties, Foster said.
The event is in two buildings: the Cloverleaf Event Center and the Yaeger Building on the Bourbon County Fairgrounds. The Yaeger Building is adjacent to the poultry building and the Cloverleaf is where meals are served during the fair.
There will be food, clothing, crafts, and other possible Christmas present items to purchase.
Foster and her sister Emelia Whiteaker are the owners of MMM Flavor Shop which sells spices.
In addition, Care to Share, a local helping organization for cancer survivors, will have pancakes, biscuits and gravy, and a baked potato bar available for purchase in the Cloverleaf Event Center.
Housed in the Yaeger Building will be Mrs. Claus’s Kitchen featuring: Mrs. Claus’s Coffee Shop, Hamilton’s Artisan Bakery, Donna Jo’s Homemade Fudge, Peace Acres Freeze Dried Candy, and Mmm Flavor Shop.
The Cloverleaf Event Center will have vendors: Locust Hill Lamancha Goat Milk Products, Sally Kraft, Tessie’s Trendy Nails-Color Street, Flying P Ranch, Write On, Bear’s Nectar LLC, Mary Kay-Lauren Wagner, Scentsy-Laken Brittain, Happy Little Candle Company, All Things Cute and Cuddle, On the Farm, Kitty’s Kitchen, Turkey Forge, Gyp and Jo, Cattywampus Creations, and Art by SueP.
Blue Dog Wine Co. will also be in the Cloverleaf Event Center with their locally made wines.
“There are more vendors this year with many hand-crafted items under $10 for the tight budgets,” Whiteacker said.
Two Bourbon County cemeteries will be a part of Wreaths Across America, a national program to honor U.S. Military Veterans with wreaths on their graves.
According to its website, the mission of Wreaths Across America (WAA) is to remember the fallen, honor those who serve, and teach the next generation the value of freedom. Volunteers work year-round to share this mission and inspire others to join.
Submitted graphic.
Diann Tucker is the WAA Location Coordinator for Fort Scott National Cemetery.
Tucker said for the last five years, there have been enough funds raised to place wreaths on all the veteran’s graves at the national cemetery.
A submitted graphic from Tucker telling of the speaker and the agenda for the ceremony.
“About 6,800 wreaths will be placed on December 16,” she said. “The ceremony starts at 10 a.m., immediately followed by the laying of the wreaths.”
“A youth group will be driving golf carts to pick up and take them back to their cars,” she said.
The Wreaths Across America transport truck will arrive from Columbia Falls, Maine, at 8 a.m. driven by a veteran.
“We can always use volunteers to off-load from the truck,” Tucker said.
Fundraising for the project is all year round.
“At $17 a wreath and 6,800 graves, it is $115,600 (in funds raised) this year,” Tucker said.
For more information contact Tucker at 620-224-7054 or 620-223-6700.
Uniontown Ruritan Club has initiated a project this year to place wreaths on the veterans in the Uniontown Cemetery.
“We began discussing this in the summer and a couple of months ago decided to move forward with it,” Mary Pemberton, spokesperson for the club said. “It is headed up by Mark Warren, Larry and Judy Jurgensen and myself.”
“Wreaths Across America started in 1992 in Arlington Cemetery and expanded from there,” Pemberton said. “Local cemeteries can participate as well. Funding is from donations and volunteers do the ceremony and lay the wreaths.”
The Uniontown ceremony will be on December 15 at 1:30 p.m.
“Schools gets out early that day and several students will help lay the wreaths,” Pemberton said. “The Uniontown High School band and choir will perform. Mark Warren will be the speaker.”
The names of the veterans will be read as the wreaths are laid.
“The public is invited and encouraged to attend,” Pemberton said.
“If any relative of a veteran in Uniontown Cemetery would like to lay the wreath on their vet’s grave they just need to let us know before to that.”
For more information contact Pemberton at 620-224-9654.
The architect’s rendition of the future Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church. Submitted graphic.
The area south and west of St. Mary’s Catholic School is a hub of construction.
The August 2022 lightning-strike fire at Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church destroyed the structure.
“Fr. Yancey Burgess, the pastor, said the destruction was too great to repair the old church,” according to a news article in https://catholicdioceseofwichita.org/new-church-planned-for-fort-scott/. “The engineers have said it would be cost prohibitive to try to rebuild it because the church would lose its ‘grandfather’ status and would have to meet modern building codes.”
Simpson Construction Services, Wichita, is the general contractor for the new church building and has two employees on site, Howard Thome, superintendent, and Tyler Fox, field engineer.
The new church site is located at 702 Eddy, in approximately the same spot as the old one.
Fox said there are approximately 26 sub-contractors from start to finish on the project.
Construction began in November 2023.
“The church will be a little over 7,000 square feet,” Fox said. “The owner occupancy is expected to be November 2024.”
On December 5, R2 Concrete Construction, Fort Scott, was pouring the footings.
The gate to the construction site of the new Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church.
“We had to go down to bedrock,” Thome said. “We put in a lean concrete to bring it up to bedding. The footing is on top, so should be stable.”
“We should pour the slab in the next couple of weeks,” Fox said. “Then start erecting steel in late January.”
The project is being funded partly through insurance because the church was struck by lightning in August 2022, according to Bo Casper, a church member and also a sub-contractor on the rectory building.
Above 95 percent of the original stained glass windows was saved from the fire/water damage and will be reinstalled in the new church, according to Mark McCoy, who is on the parish building committee.
It is also being funded by a capital campaign that the church parish is doing, McCoy said.
The church will be ADA-accessible with a zero-entry to the church.
The cost of the church rebuild is approximately $6.5 million, McCoy said.
The banner on the outside fence of the construction site.
“The church was one of those founded by Italian-born Fr. Paul M. Ponziglione who helped establish many churches after he arrived in 1851 at the Osage Mission in Kansas” according to the article https://catholicdioceseofwichita.org/new-church-planned-for-fort-scott/“Because of the Fort Scott fire, St. Francis Church in St. Paul is now the oldest church in the diocese.”
Church Rectory
Looking east from the new church rectory at 720 Holbrook to the construction site of the church. St. Mary’s Catholic School is to the left in the photo.
Casper Enterprises, a local company, was working on the church rectory, at 720 Holbrook, west of the new church building on December 5.
The Catholic Rectory of Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church is being framed. The location is 720 Holbrook.
Bo Casper said the crew started the framing in November (2023 )of the 1,634 square foot home the church’s priest will live in. It will have three bedrooms, two baths, a large garage and a saferoom.
The rectory should be completed by the end of February 2024 “If the weather cooperates,” Casper said.
The lot where the rectory is being built belonged to the church.
The rectory was torn down and the site moved “because the church was totaled and had to be ADA compliant and needed more parking spaces,” Casper said. “We had to gain footage and tear down the rectory. It was just as old as the church. Bats were coming in through the chimney area. It was a three-story high brick building.”
The new rectory will have a brick facade and regular siding on the rear and sides of the building, Casper said.
The concrete has been poured at the rectory, and the three-man crew is currently framing, which will be done by the end of the week, Casper said.
Bo Casper left, and Frank Casper work on framing the rectory.
The cost of the rectory is approximately $325,000, McCoy said.
Diane Striler, chairperson of the Elevate Christmas on the Bricks Festival, enjoys a ride with her husband, Dean, in one of the horse-drawn carriages in historic Downtown Fort Scott, taken from her Facebook page.
Diane Striler said she is overwhelmed by the positive feedback she has received from the community about the Christmas on the Bricks Festival this past weekend.
Striler was the Elevate Fort Scott Christmas Chairman who facilitated the first annual event.
“While planning this event, my goal was to have a variety of activities available throughout the weekend so everyone could find something they would enjoy doing,” she said. “I wasn’t sure how things would fall into place, but was just hoping that people would show up and have a good time.”
“The best part for me is hearing that businesses profited, the community had fun, people traveled to attend the event, our downtown looks beautiful and people are already talking about next year,” she said.
There were some challenges to creating the event.
“Any time you plan something like this, you will run into some challenges,” she said.
Even though the weather was cold and damp, “People still showed up,” she said. “As for other challenges, I did a lot of praying and things just seemed to fall into place.”
” Lindsay Madison…was my main sidekick in this and I couldn’t have done this without her,” Striler said.
“We are compiling a list of people we want to thank, and we don’t want to miss anyone who supported us,” she said. “We’ll be publishing the list once we have that complete.”
The committee is planning a wrap-up meeting at the Chamber office this Friday from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.
“We welcome feedback from those involved,” she said. “We’ll use this info to tweak next year’s event to make it even better!”
Next year Christmas on the Bricks will be Dec 6- 8th, staying consistent with the first weekend in December.
Jessica Nielsen leads a group to each historical vignette at Fort Scott National Historic Site on December 2, 2023.
The 42nd Annual Fort Scott National Historic Site Candlelight Tour, December 1 and 2 was entitled Glowing Heartbeats of History.
The vignettes of local history focused on the physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health of the soldiers and local townspeople.
The temperatures in the 40s and damp weather did not stop people from attending the tour this year.
1,000 candle lanterns illuminated the site with a peaceful ambiance and reenactors helped bring 1860s history alive at the fort.
During the tour, participants were immersed in ways people have historically been provided the opportunity to be well, despite their circumstances, according to a press release from the fort.
The Fort Scott High School Drama Club wrote the scene at the hospital tent for the tour, the other vignettes were written by the FSNHS staff, Carl Brenner, Program Manager for Interpretation and Resource Management said.
About the Fort
From November 1-March 31, Fort Scott National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service, will be open for its winter hours of operation.
The site exhibit areas and visitor center are open daily from 8:30 am-4:30 pm.
The park grounds are open daily from ½ hour before sunrise until ½ hour after sunset.
For more information about Fort Scott National Historic Site programs or to become involved in the candlelight tour, or other activities, please contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/fosc.
From left, Dwayne Gentleman, Dee Young, Skip Thomas, and Jan Elder converse about life in the community in the 1860s. Submitted by Carl Brenner/NPS. This vignette was at the Officers’ Quarters No. 2 and was a discussion of the budding romance of John Little and Sene Campbell and the growth of the town amidst conflict. Photo credit: Carl Brenner/NPS.
The fort’s well is in the center of the Fort Scott National Historic Site compound.From left to right, Cassie Edson, Susan Anderson, and Chris Morgan depict hospital treatment of injury and disease during the Civil War.Left to right, Justin Hall, Chris Schafer, and Amanda Clark are a group of performers called the Homes Brigade Minstrels, who portrayed the benefits of music during the Civil War. The trio led the group in singing a few Christmas carols.From left, Luke Leighsing and Matthew Wells tell of the health of the horses and survival needs for patrolling the overland trails. Photo credit: Carl Brenner/NPS.
The welcome page of the first session of Grief Share journal workbook. Submitted.
A first session to introduce people who are grieving loss is offered to the community on December 5 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic School, 705 S. Holbrook in room 203.
“This first December session will have hot teas, hot cocoa, and a sack lunch provided and participants will be given a helpful journal workbook to support their journey,” said Laura Meeks, the group’s facilitator.
Grief Share is built around three components: a 30-minute video, small group discussion, and a personal workbook,” Meeks said. “Grief Share provides a comforting place with others who are also on this path.”
“All are welcome,” she said. “It is non-denominational.”
Please pre-register to Meeks at 740.317.6379 or email at [email protected].
Ashley Heathman, 32, started her new job as assistant director at The Beacon in May 2023.
“The Beacon is a not-for-profit food bank that helps families and individuals facing food insecurity, ” she said. “We also do some financial assistance to help pay utilities and certain necessities.”
“I answer the phones, process The Beacon applications, and help our members find other resources,” she said. “Along with day-to-day activities to keep The Beacon running smoothly.”
She and Beacon Director David Gillen are the only employees of the helping organization.
“The best thing about my career is being able to help families in need and seeing the relief on their faces when they realize you care!” Healthman said. “The most challenging aspect of this position is not being able to do more to help in certain situations, but we do the best we can!”
Heathman is currently in the process of getting an associate’s degree at Fort Scott Community College for business management.
“I have worked in health care most of my life which really prepared me for this position, as opposite as they are, you need a big heart to fulfill the duties in both career paths.”
“The Beacon is always looking for and accepting food donations,” she said. “Seems like winter is the biggest season for food drives but we accept donations year round of in-date food items, hygiene necessities, and women’s feminine products.”
Call 620-223-6869 for more information or visit 525 E 6th St. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday between 9 am and 1 pm.
