Sunshine Boutique owner Georgia Brown stands in front of her storefront on Wall Street.
Long-time store owner Georgia Brown is expanding Sunshine Boutique.
The store will be expanding to the east, through a door in the store to the property at 2 S. Main that the Brown’s also own.
“We are excited about the expansion,” Brown said.
The store is a family affair.
She, her husband-Donnie and granddaughters Rilie Creollo, Kinede Houdashelt and Tucker Ross are all involved with the store.
The door behind the black shelf in the middle of this photo, leads to 2 S. Main and is where the expansion of Sunshine Boutique will be.
“There will be new boutique clothing, a designated wedding planning area and we will make our all-occasion flower section bigger, this includes fresh flowers in a cooler,” Brown said.
“The girls have been wanting to do clothing for several years,” she said.
Sunshine Boutique has been selling new clothing since January 2020.
Donnie is co-owner, Rilie is the assistant manager, Kinede’s wedding cakes will be featured, and Tucker does technology-part time, Brown said.
The Browns own 2 S. Main and 4 S. Main, which were recently vacated by the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes, which had used it for storage the last year, she said.
“We have not used the west side of the street very much, for the past year,” Norman Conard, executive director of the center said.
The new LMC, at 1 S. Main, is across the street from the 2 and 4 S. Main.
“The new building is so popular that everyone, teachers and students, want to be in the new building,” he said.
Rental Opportunity
4 S. Main will be available for rent next week, Brown said.
It is 1,300 square feet, has two areas divided by a half wall, a bathroom and an area in the back that has been used as a staff room, Brown said.
Men from the Catholic Church serve fish, potatoes, spaghetti, green beans, coleslaw, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Women of the church provide desserts.
The Knights of Columbus Fish Fry begins Feb. 28 at the Mary Queen of Angels Kennedy Gym at 705 S. Holbrook.
The meal is served from 5-7 p.m. each Friday until April 3 this year and if past years are any indication there will be a line to get the meal.
The annual community event includes southern fried fish, baked white fish, meatless spaghetti, or grilled cheese sandwiches with sides of french-fried potatoes, a baked potato, green beans, or coleslaw along with desserts provided by the women of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and drinks.
A free-will donation allows the Knights to contribute to local charities and the local Catholic school, said Deborah Skeen, church secretary.
“A lot of people in the community have said it’s good food for the money,” Skeen said.
Community members enjoy visiting at the Fort Scot Kiwanis Pancake Feed at Buck Run Community Center on Tuesday.
Members of the community came to Buck Run Community Center for the annual Fort Scott Kiwanis Club Pancake Feed, starting at 11 a.m. today.
For a $5 donation, attendees are served pancakes, sausage and a drink.
The event is open until 7 p.m. this evening, Feb. 25.
The Kiwanis Club provides support for many local charities and awards scholarships to local students.
Below are photos from the lunch session of the pancake feed:
Buck Run is located at 735 Scott Avenue.
Some of the projects of the Fort Scott Kiwanis Club were showcased on a poster of the gym at Buck Run Community Center.Glenn Newcomer, left, and Dale Johnson, sell the tickets to the pancake feed on Feb. 25.A banner at the pancake feed in Buck Run Community Center.Addisyn Fowler, Fort Scott High School Key Club member, left, along with Fort Scott Kiwanis Club members Bob Eckles and Clyde Stepps serve pancakes on Feb. 25.Sponsors of the pancake feed are featured on a poster during the meal.On the stage in the gym are Ralph Carlson and Wib Mowen on guitars and Carolyn Tucker, keyboard, who entertain the attendees during lunch session at the pancake feed. Helping with the sound system is Dave Oas.
Rita Schroeder and J.T. Heckman make a presentation to the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team of Feb. 6 of the proposed downtown walking trail. Submitted photo.
A local leadership class has taken on a project of creating a walking trail downtown with funding from Healthy Bourbon County Action Team.
Bourbon County Lead Class 2020 heard of the funding opportunity from Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lindsay Madison.
“Lindsay brought the opportunity up to the class of extra funds from Healthy Bourbon County Action Team that we could use for our class project and we came up with a healthy walk downtown with educational fun facts about downtown Fort Scott,” Rita Schoeder, LEAD Class member said. ” What it was and what it is now!”
Rita Schroeder and J.T. Heckman present to the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team on Feb. 6. Submitted photo.
“Our presentation proposed to Healthy Bourbon County Board for approval was held at the Empress Event Center, Thursday, February 6th,” Schoeder said. “I and one other class member, J.T. (Heckman), presented to the board for approval of the design of the signs.”
Also included in the presentation was an example of a fun facts sign with QR code for younger audiences to use cell phones while approaching the sign, then scanning on the phone. It will then show images, reading material and recorded audio of the fun fact, Schroeder said.
“Some signs will show how many feet you have walked as well.,” she said. “At the Feb. 6 meeting, the budget and project were approved.”
The definitive location of the downtown trail is not final but the starting place will be at the Fort Scott Chamber, 231 E.Wall Street, Schroeder said.
There the walkers will receive a brochure of the walking trail, and the statistics of how many feet the walking trail is from start to finish.
The brochure will show the fun fact markers and highlights of the downtown walking trail.
What is the benefit of having a walking trail downtown?
According to Schroeder:
It’s a walk of downtown historic Fort Scott for people who work and live downtown, residents, and visitors of all ages.
The walk promotes retailers, restaurants, and points of interest.
Walkers will learn fun facts about Fort Scott’s history.
The hope is to challenge the next generation of opportunities to continue Fort Scott’s growth.
Small town hospitality will welcome visitors and share what Fort Scott represents and has to offer.
By mid-March/April, the project will be presented to the Fort Scott Design and Review Board and if approved will then go to the Fort Scott City Commission for final approval.
The completion date for the project is in June, Schroeder said.
“Before Good Ol’ Days, fingers crossed,” Schroeder said.
Members of the LEAD Bourbon County 2020 group have been divided into subgroups with the following tasks:
Naming the trail and gathering historical facts
based on the number of mile marker signs along the trail:
Matthew Chaplin, Devin Tally, Tony Tirri, JT Heckman.
Marketing and design of brochures, flyers, and printed maps to be picked up at the Chamber and/or trailhead, designing a welcome sign and mile marker signs, and getting quotes on pricing and installation:
Rita Schroeder, Ashley Keylon, Katie Allison.
Mapping the route, identifying sign placement and number of mile marker signs needed:
Traci Reed, Amy Budy, Kyla Probasco
The public is invited to be a part of planning for community economic and fiscal health on Feb. 25 from 6-7 p.m. and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 26 at the River Room Event Center, located above Luther’s BBQ at National Avenue and Oak Stree.
“Tuesday evening is a presentation and the actual workshop is on Wednesday,” Fort Scott Community Development Director Robert Uhler said.
Smart Growth America is coming to Fort Scott.
Smart Growth America empowers communities through technical assistance, advocacy and thought leadership to create livable places, healthy people, and shared prosperity, according to its’ website:
“We first met the Smart Growth people when we went on our first trip to DC in March of 2019, working with Strategic Implementation plan,” Uhler said.
“Smart growth policy can help communities save money now, reduce their liabilities for the future and use targeted investment to spur economic development,” Uhler noted. “The ‘planning for economic and fiscal health’ workshop draws on successful private and public sector lessons to help local leaders foster smart growth communities that cost their taxpayers less to build, run and maintain.”
“This workshop first brings you the latest lessons in how smart growth saves money for local governments, makes money for businesses and is integral for the long-term fiscal and economic health of the community,” he said. “Using an interactive and hands-on method, the workshop then shows how to apply these lessons in your community.”
The first half of the technical assistance workshop on Wednesday focuses on how approaches save the community money, including increasing tax revenues and reducing tax burdens, attracting new businesses, increasing the efficiency of the labor market, providing greater stability in times of uncertainty and rising energy costs, investing public funds to stimulate private investment, increasing local capital circulation and providing a foundation for long term fiscal and economic health and competitiveness, according to information provided by Uhler.
Participants also learn how to overcome barriers to starting community smart growth including a lack of understanding of the relationship between development and municipal costs and revenues, the importance of growing small and mid-size businesses and the role of nearness to value creation, according to info provided by Uhler.
In the second half of the day, the technical assistance team joins participating community members to look at the community’s economic development plans and projects to evaluate how the current situation compares to smart growth principles.
Working with the community, the team will create specific changes to strategy and identify next steps in planning for fiscal and economic health that makes sense for the community, which may include suggestions for changes to the capital budgeting process, permitting process, regulatory framework and direction of economic development incentives, according to the information provided.
A follow-up memo will measure progress and leave the community with further next steps.
Robert Uhler. Submitted photo.
The hoped outcome is better understanding of how we prepare and plan for growth in our community, Uhler said.
Rachel Pruitt, is the Fort Scott Economic Director.
The local people who have been involved in the presentation and workshop planning process are FS Economic Development Director Rachel Pruitt, FS Tourism Director Alley Turvey and Uhler.
Ally Turvey is the tourism director in Fort Scott. Submitted photo.
Bill Fiscus is the new Chief Executive Officer of Tri-Valley Developmental Services, since January 29, 2020.
He replaces long-term CEO, Tim Cunningham.
Fiscus has been employed by Tri-Valley for 34 years and has been involved in every department under the service’s umbrella, he said.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from Emporia State University.
“Tri-Valley was a good fit from the start for me,” Fiscus said. “Once hired, I knew this was the place I wanted to be. Working at Tri-Valley is very rewarding. If you are having a bad day, just go spend some time with the individuals we provide services to and you will be reminded why you are here.”
“Tri-Valley empowers people with disabilities to realize their potential as full citizens in the community, through supporting them in working and living in the place they call home,” he said. “We help them belong.”
His office is in Tri-Valley’s Administration Offices, 521 W. 35 CH Parkway in Chanute.
Tri-Valley has 172 employees and serves 233 clients.
Fiscus is a member of Chanute Chamber of Commerce, SEKRS Board Member, is active in Communities in Schools, and volunteers for numerous community functions, he said.
Tri-Valley Developmental Services, Fort Scott, is located in the city’s industrial park, south of the city, just off of 69 Hwy.
Fiscus was asked if there was anything new on the horizon for TVDS.
“Tri-Valley just merged with New Beginnings Enterprises out of Neodesha,” Fiscus said. ” We now serve Allen, Bourbon, Neosho, Woodson, Wilson, Elk, Greenwood and Chautauqua Counties.”
To learn more about Tri-Valley, visit its website: www.tvds.org
The new Fort Scott Fire Department fire truck, a 2019 Pierce Saber, sits in No.1 Station at 1604 S. National, ready for service.
A new truck and equipment has arrived and one more truck is on the way to add to the Fort Scott Fire Department’s arsenal for fire protection in the community.
The FSFD received a new 2019 Pierce Saber fire truck in December 2019.
“It will be our main attack truck,” FSFD Captain Jacob May said. “It came to us in December, we put it into service the first of the year, after training.”
At about the same time as receiving the truck, the department received air packs through a grant. Air packs are worn each time a firefighter enters a structure fire, to facilitate breathing, May said.
“The air packs were replaced with the award of an Assistance to Firefighters Grant,” FSFD Chief Dave Bruner said.
Fort Scott Fire Chief Dave Bruner. Submitted photo.
With the new truck they have a thermal imaging camera that aides searching inside structures that are on fire, which could help locate people, May said.
“I would also like to add that we were also fortunate to be able to replace our extrication tools with a donation by the Mercy Health Foundation,” Chief Bruner said.
“We have been training on (the new truck) a bunch,” May said. “It takes a lot of training to catch up on new stuff.”
“We are very fortunate,” May said. “We’ve been working with antiquated equipment for a long time.”
The truck is a 1000 gallon pumper, that can hold six firefighters.
The department has three pumper trucks, a ladder truck and a rescue truck, May said. Also housed is an ambulance if needed.
“The ambulance is staffed by our department as a third out unit for Bourbon County EMS,” Bruner said.
The fire department has two stations in Fort Scott, No. 1 at 1604 National Avenue and No. 2 at 23 S. Franklin on the city’s east side.
The firefighters serve 24 hours on duty, then are off 48 hours.
“We run city-wide full coverage,” May said. “Our rescue truck will run county-wide. We do occasionally assist the county fire departments as requested.”
“Including myself and Deputy Chief Michael Miles we have 14 fulltime staff and three reserve staff,” Bruner said.
New Aerial Platform Truck Coming
At the Feb. 18 Fort Scott City Commission meeting, a new aerial platform truck was approved for the fire department as well, Bruner said.
The city applied for a Community Development Block Grant and was notified in late January that they had been approved for the grant.
The City of Fort Scott recently accepted a $665,303 grant award to help purchase the new fire truck, Rachel Pruitt, Fort Scott’s Economic Development Director, said in a press release.
State and local officials hold the representative check for the Community Development Block Grant. Submitted photo.
“The grant awarded is for a 100’ aerial platform truck,” Bruner said. “This apparatus will replace our existing 1993 75’ aerial truck. By replacing this apparatus, it will not only maintain our ISO status but it also allows our department to continue to provide service to the community as well as safe and reliable equipment for our firefighters to be able to perform their duties.”
Mark Warren, Uniontown Ruritan member, opens the door of the proposed medical clinic just south of the football field.
A community collaboration of Uniontown Ruritan, Girard Hospital, USD 235 School District, Bourbon County Commission, and the City of Uniontown have been working to get a health clinic in the small town in western Bourbon County.
It’s been a long time coming.
Uniontown Mayor Larry Jurgensen had tried to get a medical clinic here several years ago, Mark Warren said. Warren is a Ruritan Governor and member of Uniontown Ruritan.
Mark Warren, Uniontown Ruritan Member and initiator of the most recent medical clinic idea sits at a table in the proposed clinic on Feb. 18, during an interview with fortscott.biz..
“Mercy Hospital had no interest at that point,” Warren said.
Even before Mercy Hospital Fort Scott closed in Dec. 2018, Warren had been thinking about initiating a medical clinic in Uniontown, but when the hospital closed, “I thought this is bad, no hospital, nor a clinic,” he said.
Someone mentioned to Warren that Uniontown resident Holly Koch is the Chief Financial Officer of Girard Hospital and about 1.5 years ago he visited with Koch about the issue. Koch said she would visit with the CEO Ruth Duling and a meeting was set up.
Girard Hospital is 31 miles from Uniontown.
Uniontown is 19 miles from Fort Scott, 25 miles from Iola, both sites of the nearest health care clinics. The clinic would serve western Bourbon County, eastern Allen County, northeastern Neosho County and northern Crawford County rural residents, Warren said.
“They came and we presented some statistics,” Warren said. Since then there have been approximately eight meetings with various Girard Hospital staff and local entities to talk through the idea.
Locally, Warren, Jurgensen, U235 Superintendent Brett Howard, Uniontown Council President Jess Ervin, Uniontown City Clerk who is also U235 Board of Education Member Sally Johnson, Bourbon County Economic Director Jody Hoenor and Bourbon County Commissioner Lynne Oharah have been in the collaboration.
Warren, Jurgensen and Jurgensen’s wife, Judy, along with Bourbon County Commissioner Lynne Oharah, recently went before the Girard Hospital board to give a history of how the idea for a clinic came about.
The board was favorable to the idea, Warren said.
The proposed building for the medical clinic is south of the Uniontown High School Football Field.
On Feb. 17, members of the collaborative group met at the proposed site on the campus of Uniontown High School, just south of the football field. Originally, the superintendents office, of late the building has housed the office of the school’s kitchen manager.
“They came, had the blueprints,” Warren said.
The hospital engineering staff will work on the design reconfigurement of the building into a medical clinic, Ruth Duling, Girard Hospital CEO, said.
Next will be getting materials, estimating the costs and raising funds to make the building into a medical clinic, Warren said.
There is no timeline for opening the clinic, Duling said.
Local volunteers will be helping with the labor of the building reconfiguration.
As soon as everything is in place, the hospital will begin the certification process to become a rural health clinic, Duling said.
Staff at the clinic will include a nurse practitioner and one other staff member, serving as both nurse and receptionist, Duling said.
Initially the clinic will be open 2-3 days a week.
“You don’t know until you do it,” if it will be feasible, Duling said. “It will be dependent on people to use the clinic and make it viable.”
One positive for the community:
“There are a lot of passionate people that want to see this come to fruition,” Duling said.
TFI Family Services of Kansas which has an office in Fort Scott at 710 W. 8th, Suite 203, provides child welfare services to Bourbon County.
There are several current needs of families involved with TFI, Crystal Walker, permanency support worker, said.
“We are looking for good quality foster homes,” Walker said. “Also full-time drivers to transfer kids to court, visitation with families, etc. and furniture for those who may have just found a house and don’t have furniture, some need clothing. It’s on a case by case basis.”
TFI partners with the State of Kansas to provide an array of services, Taylor Forrest, marketing specialist, said.
Besides foster care, adoption services are offered.
This includes recruitment, training and support of the homes.
Family preservation is there “If a family that needs extra help with parenting skills, we work with them to get them on the right track,” Forrest said.
There is a new program called Grow Nurturing Families that is offered, which is a parent-child interaction therapy, Forrest said.
It also offers the Family First Prevention Services Act services, Forrest said.
The following is from an interview with Forrest:
What does TFI stand for, the initials?
The Family Initiative
What services do you provide the community?
TFI Family Services provides an array of services to the community including foster and kinship care, family preservation, domestic and international adoption, counseling support and education, TIPS-MAPP training and visitation and exchange centers.
Where located?
TFI Family Services has locations across the entire State of Kansas, but our CEO office is in Topeka, KS.
What are the needs currently?
The biggest need TFI has is for more foster parents. In Kansas, there are more than 7,600 children placed into out of home care. There are approximately 2,000 foster homes in Kansas. This disparity means that children from your community are being placed outside of their home community, or in shelters. Foster parents are one of our essential partners in providing quality services to children and families.
Additionally, families we serve have many needs, to learn more about how you can support kids, visit www.tfikidsfund.org.
Contact information?
If you are interested in making a difference in the life of a child by becoming a foster parent, please call us at 833-7FOSTER or visiting us online at www.tfifamily.org.
Statistics on number of children in foster care placement and those needing placement in Bourbon County?
All individuals interested in becoming foster parents are required to take TIPS-MAPP training. TFI walks alongside and supports all our foster parents so they can best care for the children in their homes. To learn more about foster parent requirements, visit www.tfifamily.org/start-here/.
TFI Fort Scott Employees, from left to right: Stormi Rosete, Permanency Support Worker,; Crystal Walker, Permanency Support Worker; Jordan Flauding, Case Manager; Taya Drake, Case Manager; and Jordan Johnson, Case Manager. Submitted photo.
The Gordon Parks Museum is bringing an author and entrepreneur to speak on how to choose one’s weapons in the face of adversity on Tuesday, February 18 at 11 a.m. with a “Lunch and Learn” presentation. The museum is located on the campus of Fort Scott Community College in the Ellis Fine Arts Center, 2401 S. Horton.
The guest speaker will be Frank Clay, Jr., author and a member of The National Speaker’s Association.
“We chose to bring Frank Clay as author, business coach, entrepreneur and veteran for his perspective on important figures like Gordon Parks, who helped shaped African American history and inspired others,” Kirk Sharp, director of the Gordon Parks Museum , said.
The presentation titled “Find the Right Weapons and Success is Yours”.
Participants are encouraged to bring their lunch and drinks with them.
Dessert will be provided.
“Find the Right Weapons and Success is Yours” is the presentation reflecting on lessons learned from Gordon Parks and how Gordon chose the right weapons to bring about change in his life and the world, according to a press release.
Clay will also speak on how Gordon’s book The Choice of Weapons, helped to inspire others such as Frank to find the right weapons in life.
Frank Clay, Jr. is also the founder and principal of 2020 Solutions Inc.
Clay holds a bachelor’s in business administration and a master’s in business management.
For more information about “Find the Right Weapons and Success is Your” presentation at the Gordon Parks Museum call 223-2700, ext. 5850 or email [email protected].
Fort Scott American Legion Post Commander Carl Jower. Submitted photos.
Many thanks are due to Post 25 Legionnaire Bobby Matthews who gave of his time and expertise to photograph the recently concluded MidWinter Forum in Fort Scott.
The photos are from Friday night registration, Saturday’s Auxiliary meeting where the theme was the Wizard of Oz, Saturday’s general Legion meeting, Saturday’s Sons of the American Legion meeting held in Memorial Hall, and Sunday’s Four Chaplains ceremony.
There were so many Fort Scott legion family members who contributed to the success of the MidWinter Forum.
The tagline for the 2020 Census is “Shape your future. START HERE.” Courtesy photo.
The 2020 Census is coming on April 1, 2020, and with it comes the opportunity to provide for community needs.
The data used is helpful because it impacts everything from school lunches to libraries to wastewater systems, Kansas Secretary of Commerce David Toland said in an April, 2019 press release.
It is vital to Kansas businesses and communities to have a full and accurate count of people living in the state, Secretary Toland said.
“Census results help determine how billions of dollars in federal funding flow into states and communities each year.
The results determine how many seats in Congress each state gets.
It’s mandated by the U.S. Constitution in Article 1, Section 2: The U.S. has counted its population every 10 years since 1790.” according to the census website.
Per capita income is determined by dividing an area’s income by its population and counts each man, woman, and child, even newborn babies, as a member of the population. Household income counts all people residing under one roof as a household, according to investopedia.com
In Bourbon County, the median household income is $40,733 in 2018, according to the census website.
People living in poverty account for 16 percent of Bourbon County’s population.
Snapshot of Bourbon County
To get a snapshot of the local economic scene, FortScott.Biz asked local business, school and government entities some questions on what their employees earn and what services they provide the community.
The information given is intended to look at the wages in the public and private sectors. It also includes services the entities provide.
The Bourbon County Courthouse.
Bourbon County
The county has a land area of 635 square miles, and in 2019 had 14, 653 people living here, according to the government census website.
The Bourbon County government has 112 employees.
Jody Hoenor is the economic development director for Bourbon County and is the highest-paid employee earning $70,000 a year.
The lowest hourly wage, $8.58 in the county, is for election board workers, according to files provided by Bourbon County Clerk Kendall Mason.
The county provides county law enforcement, emergency medical services (ambulance) in collaboration with the city of Fort Scott, road and bridge repair and maintenance, emergency preparedness, landfill, land deeds, health department services, economic development services, appraisal services, Elm Creek Lake services.
For more information about the county, click below;
USD 234 is the Fort Scott School District that provides education for pre-school through high school students.
It is also one of the biggest employers in the city.
“Currently we have 373 that we consider being full-time employees receiving benefits for our purposes,” Gina Shelton, USD234 Business Manager, said. “Full-time with the school is 630 hours a year or more which is the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System threshold. On a typical month, we run a payroll of 440 employees, which would include subs, recreation hourly, and other part-time help. The recreation department is a part of our budget and their employees are part of our payroll,” Gina Shelton, business manager of USD 234 said.
To view the USD234 Salary Schedule, which is on the website of the district:
Ted Hessong, superintendent of the Fort Scott school district, is the highest-paid employee and earns $118,000 a year, according to the info provided by the district.
The lowest hourly wage in the district is for summer part-time not- on-contract and bus monitor employees, who earn $7.25 per hour, according to the info provided by the district.
Uniontown High School
USD 235
The Uniontown School District serves the area outside the Fort Scott district and the campus is located in western Bourbon County.
USD 235 provides education to pre-school through high school-age children and also has a fitness center for students and patrons in the district’s use.
“We have 123 employees on the payroll, with 79 full time,” Sherri Hartman, clerk for the district, said.
“The entry-level pay varies by position, but the lowest entry-level pay is 80% of $12.27 hourly. The highest entry-level pay is 80% of $19.65 hourly. Teacher placement is according to the salary schedule.”
“The highest earner is the superintendent, Brett Howard, at $95,350,” she said.
For information on the school district, click below:
Fort Scott Community College is a two-year college.
For January the FSCC payroll had 173 faculty and staff, 56 adjunct instructors, and 33 work-study students, Juley McDaniel, human resource director at the college, said.
The lowest entry-level wage for employees at FSCC is $9.50/hr. for full time regular staff employees working at an hourly wage. FSCC has federal work-study students and tutors that are hired at a flat rate of $8.00/hr. and are part time student-filled positions.
“Median faculty salary is $41,967,” McDaniel said. “This does not count adjunct wages as they are paid per credit hour taught. Median staff wage is $37,450 when counting part time assistant coaches. This does not count student workers, but does take into account the migrant grant positions in other states where we serve as the fiscal agent. Median staff wage is $40,050 when not counting part time assistant coaches. This does not count student workers, but does take into account the migrant grant positions in other states where we serve as the fiscal agent.”
To be considered full time for faculty is a bit different at the college level.
“Per the negotiated agreement between faculty and administration, full time entails 32-40 hours a week,” McDaniel said. “Our faculty fall into one of four categories – 169 day, 189 day, 209 day, and 12 month.”
Some of the services the college provides to the community:
The community service of student clubs and athletic teams, reading with elementary students, cleaning, supporting USD 234 activities like Family Fun Night, reading, first day of school welcome, fundraiser product disbursement , etc. Over 6000 hours were clocked from athletics alone in 2018. This doesn’t count student clubs like President’s Ambassadors, Phi Theta Kappa, Student Nurse Organization, McDaniel said.
Other services FSCC provides:
Bourbon county tuition waiver up to 15 credit hours per semester,
Bourbon County High School Waiver for any Bourbon County high school student taking a concurrent class for one KBOR-approved class,
Ellis Fine Arts Center– school programs, community meetings, etc. (multiple use by school district including testing, theater),
Gordon Parks Museum – free to visitors and hosts school field trips to schools,
Student Success Center – computer, internet, and printer access (up to 10 pages free) for students and general public,
Library access,
Host annually Math Relays, Music Contest, National History Day, Aggie Day,
Cosmetology services through Cosmetology Program,
Continuing ed. classes for the public, specialized training for businesses as needed,
Walking trail and old Lincoln Schoolhouse are maintained by FSCC maintenance,
Free Kid’s Fairs twice a year
Home Show help
Kid’s College once a year
Parade participation
Cosmotology provides free haircuts for students
Cosmotology provides free hairstyling and manicures at nursing homes (Pittsburg)
Zumba classes last year
Donations to community events, prom/after proms, and other events
Deb Needleman, Human Resource Director for the city gave the following information:
The highest-paid employee earns $107, 463- City Manager Dave Martin.
Earnings of part-time entry-level positions are for summer seasonal help-life guards and golf cart attendees, Needleman said.
The lowest full-time entry-level employee in the city is $21, 555 per year.
The city has 100 full-time employees.
The city provides police and fire services, emergency medical services(in collaboration with the county government), public water services, public works (including streets), parks, lakes, the LaRoche Ball Park, an aquatic center, a golf course, an airport, community development, economic development, and a tourism office, according to information provided by Needleman.
To learn more about the city of Fort Scott, click below:
The Fort Scott Public Library although not a department of the city, does receive MILL Levy funds which pass through the City of Fort Scott, but the City is a pass-through only for those funds, Needleman said.
Buck Run Community Center (BRCC) is owned by the city and the city provides funds to maintain and operate it, the decisions about activities that are offered operates through the recreation board, Needleman said.
For a private sector view, Ward-Kraft, Inc. gave the following information.
Ward-Kraft, Inc.
Ward-Kraft, Inc. is one of the largest employers in the county and has six companies under its umbrella. It is not a public entity like the others featured.
Ward-Kraft Holding Company, Inc includes Ward-Kraft, Fort Scott Munitions, KW Cattle, Reprologix, 4-States Sanitation, and Christian Learning Center and has 326 employees, according to Gina Staudinger, Chief Business Officer with Ward-Kraft.
Average work hours involve three shifts for production 7 am – 3 pm, 3 pm – 11 pm, 11 pm – 7 am. Office hours vary between 7 am – 5 pm. All full-time members are expected to work at least 40 hours per week, and overtime as needed, Staudinger noted.
The median wage for employees is $15.50.
Entry-level wages are $10.00 – $11.81 per hour base but vary with previous job experience and position filled. For office personnel is it $10.26 – $15.60; off-line production – $10.00 – $16.30; press operators, collator operators, machinists, machine maintenance – $11.60 – $22.20.
Non-government entities are not required by law to supply information and Ward-Kraft said they do not share who the top earner is in the business.
