From left, Luke Moore, Hunter Fortenberry, Steve Fortenberry, and Russell Moore are preparing their trebuchets for the competition on April 6. Submitted photo.
On April 6, those passing by Bethel Community Baptist Church on Hwy. 54 saw a group of men and boys together picking up trash.
“We are Troop KS-7777 of Trail Life USA, a ministry of Bethel Community Baptist Church, and are partnered with the national organization,” Troopmaster Josh Gier said. “Trail Life USA is celebrating its tenth year with over 1,100 troops and 50,000 Trailmen nationwide. “
“Trail Life is an easy-to-manage, Christ-centered, boy-focused outdoor adventure program empowering the church to grow boys to become men of character and conviction,” according to the Trail Life website.
There are 19 boys enrolled in Troop 7777, and nine mentors, “mostly dads, grandpas and uncles,” Gier said.
“Our troop is not limited to church members,” he said. “We are open to all.”
“All boys from kindergarten through high school are welcome to join at any time,” Gier said. “Our enrollment focus will be in August at the beginning of our program year.”
They meet every other Monday of the month.
“If anybody would like more information about Trail Life Troop KS-7777, they may contact me through the Find a Troop link on traillifeusa.com,” he said.
From left Russell Moore, Luke Moore, and Josh Gier as the Moores receive the trophy for building the trebuchet with the farthest launch.Submitted photo.
Gier said a total of 101 blue bags of trash were left to be picked up by the Kansas Department of Transportation, which they had made arrangements with.
After that project, the group had a Trebuchet competition.
A trebuchet, taken from the American Association for the Advancement of Science website.
Trebuchets are used as teaching tools in high schools and colleges to learn about load, force, fulcrums, velocity, gravity, and parabolic arcs. They are also used as recruiting tools to lure students into engineering programs. Designing a trebuchet is an assessment of mechanical design and engineering skills. Testing a trebuchet is not only a learning tool, it is also fun, according to https://www.aaas.org/trebuchets-and-their-modern-use
In Troop 7777, six father/son(s) teams were challenged to build their trebuchet to see who could launch a projectile, a golf ball, the farthest.
The winner of the competition was father Russell Moore, with sons Luke and Ben. They launched a golf ball 152.6 inches.
The Bourbon County Commission room, at the courthouse.
On Tuesday, April 16 at the Ft Scott Livestock Market, 2131 Maple Rd, the local Republican party will convene to nominate a replacement for Bourbon County District 1 Commissioner Nelson Blythe who resigned on April 1, according to a press release from Deb Martin, Bourbon County Republican Secretary.
Blythe said he intends to run for Bourbon County Sheriff, according to the Bourbon County Commission Minutes of April 1.
Nelson Blythe resigned as Bourbon County District 1 Commissioner on April 1.
Only District 1 Precinctmen and Women will vote on this appointment, according to the press release.
The voting precinct men and women of District 1 are as follows:
Marion: Brent Smith and Nancy Holt
Franklin: Tony Bradbury and Kaity Bradbury
Timberhill: Dan Laughlin and Jan Laughlin
Millcreek: Michael Keyes and Debra Martin
North Scott: Bill Lalman and Glenda Lalman
Marmaton: Charles Robinson and CJ Robinson
“April 16th we will meet at Ft. Scott livestock market, 2131 Maple Road 6:30 p.m.” Mark McCoy, chairman of the local Republican party, said. “The meeting will start open to the public for introductions of the Individuals wishing to be considered to fill the open 1st district commissioner position.”
Then each candidate will have up to three minutes to introduce themselves and why they should be chosen. The closed
portion of the meeting begins immediately following that introduction.
Each candidate will speak to the precinct people individually with a brief question and answer period, McCoy said.
“After all candidates have completed this portion we will discuss candidates and precinct people will vote,” he said.
Interested Republican residents of Bourbon County District 1 seeking to fill the county commission seat vacated by Nelson Blythe should send a letter stating their interest with reasons why they should be selected to: Mark McCoy, Chairman, email [email protected] or by postal mail to Mark McCoy, 2138 Jayhawk Rd, Ft Scott, KS 66701 by Thursday, April 11, 2024 by days end.
“When the individual resigns, they submit a resignation letter to me and the Governor’s office and I submit the resignation letter to the Chairperson of whatever party they are affiliated with,” said Jennifer Hawkins, Bourbon County Clerk. “The political party then has 21 days to appoint a replacement and send notice of the replacement to the Governor’s office. The Governor’s office will send a certificate of appointment to the replacement who would need to file a copy of the certificate in the Clerk’s office before they can perform any duties as Commissioner.”
“Speakeasy was a term used during Prohibition for drinking establishments and illegal bars,” said Kathy Dancer, owner of the
new Fort Scott speakeasy. “They were usually hidden away in a building and sometimes you needed a password to be allowed to enter. Fort Scott had several speakeasies including The Green Lantern, operated by J.D. McClintock.”
Kathy is the owner and her husband Tracy is the operations manager.
Tracy and Kathy Dancer at the entrance to 110 S. Main. The Green Lantern is on the second floor of the building.
“In recent years, speakeasies (although no longer illegal) have become popular again,” she said. “Some are just regular bars while others are much more elaborate and keep the original spirit of the historic Prohibition-era speakeasies.”
The Dancers, Kathy and Tracy, purchased the old Scottish Rite Temple building at 110 S. Main a few years ago.
They added a retail shop, then a cafe and now are venturing into a speakeasy bar.
“These really are labors of love and we enjoy sharing them with the community,” Kathy said.
“110 South Main was originally constructed in the early 1920s, during the Prohibition era,” she said. “We thought a speakeasy would be a great fit as an additional business for the space. It’s also an opportunity to bring something very unique to Fort Scott. We have named the speakeasy The Green Lantern, after the original Fort Scott speakeasy.”
A conversation area at the Green Lantern. Submitted photos. One can see the lighted Main Street in downtown Fort Scott out the windows. Submitted photos.
The Green Lantern will be located inside the 110 South Main building on the second floor.
“The Green Lantern honors the tradition of speakeasies from the 1920s while adding some modern touches,” she said. “We will serve premium cocktails and Kansas-produced wines. The speakeasy space has a very historic look and vibe with 1920s music and occasional visits from flapper girls and gangsters. Patrons will need a password to get in. Clues for the password will be posted on the speakeasy Facebook page: Green Lantern Partners LTD.”
The Vote Here sign sits in front of the north wing of the Bourbon County Courthouse, 210 S. National in an earlier election. A sales tax question will be on the ballot on May 14, 2024. for voters to decide the issue.
A citizen group working independently of the county commission plans a few community town hall meetings to inform people of the upcoming sales tax question on the May 14 ballot.
The group, Citizens For The ER, is presenting two town hall meetings regarding the one-quarter cent Bourbon County sales tax dedicated to re-opening the local emergency room.
The meeting aims to address questions and concerns about the sales tax.
Meetings are scheduled for:
Fort Scott on Thursday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m. at the Fort Scott Community College Ellis Center.
Uniontown on Wednesday, April 24, at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Meeting Room.
“This is an opportunity to learn how your vote will impact the well-being of our county,” said Charles Gentry, a member of the group.
“Our purpose is to support obtaining an emergency room (in the county) by getting the ¼ cent retail sales tax passed,” said Randy Nichols, another member. “The members are myself, Jamie Armstrong, Craig Campbell, Lynda Foster, Charles Gentry, Mark McCoy, and Doug Ropp.”
McCoy will be the moderator of the meetings.
“We are taking on the issue because we all feel strongly the need to have an ER for both community health and economic well-being,” Nichols said.
Daniel Zywietz and son, Noah on a recent solar installation in Chanute. submitted photo.
If you own a business in Bourbon County and selected other counties in rural Kansas, you can apply for a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant and get up to 50% off the cost of solar panels.
Add the 50% federal tax credits available for renewable energy installations in Bourbon County, and a business owner could get a solar system for nearly free, according to Daniel Zywietz, founder of SEK Solar, Chanute.
SEK Solar designs and installs solar systems and also helps with the grant application, allowing business owners to drastically reduce their utility bills, he said.
Before starting SEK Solar, Zywietz founded and ran Enerwhere, the Middle East’s largest rooftop installation company and one of the world’s largest microgrid operators. The company started as a provider of temporary power services to the construction industry in 2012 and quickly expanded into the commercial rooftop solar market in Dubai, building over 45 MW of solar over 10 years, including the world’s second-largest solar rooftop system at the time, covering an area of more than 23 football fields, he said
He ended up in the Middle East as a management consultant working for Booz & Company, a spin-off of Booz Allen Hamilton, and one of the best-known management consulting companies worldwide.
With his wife (who is originally from Humboldt, KS) looking to move home after the COVID-pandemic, Zywietz started to look into the solar market in Kansas and was astonished to find that there were hardly any solar panels installed, despite the clear and sunny skies and large open spaces. With over $1 billion in grant funds for solar and energy efficiency available to agricultural and rural small business owners under the USDA’s Rural Energy for America (REAP) program, Zywietz and his wife decided to set up a solar company to service local business owners.
What made the opportunity even more exciting was that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed in 2022, not only refilled the REAP program, which had been running for 10 years with much lower funding levels, but also significantly improved the Federal tax credits available to rural Kansans, according to Zywietz.
According to the EPA website, the credits are structured in three separate buckets, according to information from Zywietz. The 30% base tax credit is available to anyone wanting to install a solar system at the business or home, anywhere in the US. A further 10% “Low-Income Community” bonus is available to projects in disadvantaged areas. (Bourbon County, together with most of South-East Kansas, qualifies). Finally, there is another 10% “Energy Community Bonus” available to areas that previously hosted coal mines or coal-fired power plants, and again, Bourbon County qualifies, according to a map provided by the Department of Energy. Added together, the tax credits can add up to 50% for a renewable energy project in Fort Scott and the surrounding area.
While the tax credits don’t require any special application process, the REAP grants do. It all starts with checking whether a business’s location is eligible based on the USDA’s Property Eligibility site, says Zywietz.
The USDA defines a rural area as an area with a population of less than 50,000 people. The second criterion is the business size. The small business size standard is based on either annual revenue or the number of employees, depending on a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, which is used by federal agencies to classify businesses by industry type, according to http://kansasenergyprogram.org/assessments/REAP-OverviewFAQ
This generally means that if a business has less than $10 million in revenue or less than 100 employees and is a for-profit business, such as a restaurant, hair salon, retail business, or farm business, the owner is eligible to apply, Zywietz said.
“It’s a tedious grant application process,” he said. “The smallest grants of up to $20,000 have a nearly 100% approval rate because $200 million were set aside for these small projects and there aren’t enough applications, as most small business owners find it too time-consuming to fill in all of the forms. Larger grants, which can go up to $1 million, compete with other projects based on a scoring system, so getting the grant application right can make a big difference to the chance of approval. The next application deadline is June 30th.”
“It’s a big opportunity for rural business owners to lower their utility bills and go green. And while filling in government paperwork can be frustrating, I think it’s only fair for them to check if your business is legitimate before they hand you what is essentially free money. I’m happy to answer any questions on solar or the USDA REAP grants and the IRA tax credits as well,” Zywietz said.
Tomatoes for sale at Fort Scott Farmers Market in 2018.
After several years of planning and execution, the Fort Scott Farmers Market will be under the new pavilion on North National Avenue on May 4.
Tonight is the first vendor’s meeting of the season. This meeting is for returning vendors and anyone interested in becoming a vendor in 2024, Teri Hamilton, president of Fort Scott Farmers Market said.
Teri Hamilton. Submitted photo.
The meeting is at the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team office at 104 N. National Avenue, across the street from the pavilion, from 6-8 p.m.
At tonight’s meeting, there will be introductions, information about market guidelines, applications, and fees “and a time to get to know each other a little better,” she said.
Vendors are not just farmers, “but we give preference to farmers and agriculture businesses,” Hamilton said.
“There are also baked goods and craft vendors,” she said. “We have 15 returning vendors.”
“We have space for up to 24 under the pavilion,” Hamilton said.
“The vendors will park in the parking spaces under the pavilion and the customers will go around to each vendor in the parking stall,” she said.
If more than that number of vendors want to be a part of the market, the vendor spaces will have to be reconfigured, and will be thoroughly discussed, she said.
The Farmers Market Committee comprises Hamilton, owner of Hamilton’s Artisan Bakery, as president; Ethan Holly, treasurer, of Still Waters Farm; and Leanna Cain, secretary, of Sweet County Farms.
Vendors pay $5 a week for a vendor space, and if payment is given for the whole year, it is $4 a week, she said.
The market is open on Tuesdays from 4-6 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon, starting on May 4 and continuing until the end of October.
There is a Healthy Bourbon County Action Team workshop on April 15 that will focus on how to get a license to sell at a farmers market, food laws and food safety.
“We want our vendors to have access to that resource,” she said.
Hamilton said the group is so thankful for the new space.
“The pavilion is so wonderful,” she said. “We are so thankful for the project and all the fundraising that took place and they didn’t have to give us the priority,” she said.
On opening day, May 4, there will be a ribbon cutting, live music and speakers for the pavilion’s first farmers market, Hamilton said. The Bourbon County Garden Club always has a live plant sale on the first day of the market season as well.
For more information, call Hamilton at 816-491-7884.
To see the latest on the Fort Scott Farmers Market:
John Hill speaks to the Downtown Quarterly Meet and Greet this morning.
The Fort Scott Quarterly Downtown Meet and Greet met today at City State Bank, 202 Scott Avenue, to share projects and happenings in the downtown area.
The bank has been locally owned and has operated in Fort Scott since 1920, and chose to keep a presence in the downtown area, John Hill, president said as he welcomed the group to the facility for this meeting.
Some of the announcements from the meeting:
The Fort Scott National Historic Site has a Solar Eclipse Program planned on April 8. Also, this month is its annual Civil War Encampment Weekend on April 20-21. In addition, there will be a Civil War Dance at Memorial Hall on April 20.
Special retailers events coming up: July 13-Christmas In July, August 2-4 is the sales tax holiday, September 12-Fall Fest from 5-8 p.m., October 26 is the Downtown Halloween Parade, November 7-9 is the Holiday Open House with the main kickoff on Thursday from 5-8 p.m. and December 6-7- the stores stay open for Christmas On The Bricks event.
The Fort Scott Downtown Cleanup is April 22 from 4-6 p.m. with a light dinner provided to volunteers by local downtown restaurants at the Pavilion on North National Avenue. Contact Bailey Lyons, Lyon’s Realty Group to volunteer, this with planning the projects and supplies. Any skill-level worker is invited to help. If business owners provide the plants, there will be help planting them that day. A group of artists is organized to paint a mural that day.
Veterans Banners to be placed on downtown light poles will be for sale (for $300 each) as a fundraiser for new seasonal banners. The veteran’s banners feature the name and face of a local veteran. The banners will be placed for a week on the poles during the Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day holidays. Contact the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce for more information.
The new Welcome to Fort Scott Banner is nearing completion with electricity added and lights that will be placed on the columns. There will be a ribbon cutting sometime soon for the new downtown feature.
The Home, Sport, Farm, and Garden Show is this Saturday at Fort Scott Community College’s Arnold Arena from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The annual Chamber dinner is on April 18 with the theme of Boots and Bling. There is a contest for decorated seating tables and a live and silent auction, and the community is invited to attend. The Chamber is still taking award nominations online under [email protected] or printed forms.
The annual Town-wide Garage Sale is May 3-4.
Opening day of the Fort Scott Farmers Market is May 4 from 8 a.m. to noon under the new Pavilion on North National Avenue.
Good Ol’ Days this year is May 31 and June 1. The parade theme is “Where Our History Comes To Life.” Retailers wanting to register for a booth at fortscottgoodoldays.com
Grants are available through E-Community for 6% for 10 years, $5,000 maximum, and Grow KS for 4% for five years, 6% for 10 years, and $100,000 max. Contact the Chamber for more details.
Diane Striler presented a petition to sign for a skating rink proposal for next winter, including the Christmas On The Bricks event. She is going to the Fort Scott City Commission this evening at 6 p.m. to ask for permission to use the Pavilion for the skating rink since it is covered, will have a bathroom available, and is handicapped accessible. The proposal is for the rink to be offered from Thanksgiving to February – March. The $36,000 rink has had an offer that will pay for one-half the costs and with grants and donations, the rink should be paid for, she said. It comes with 60 pairs of skates and the cost to skate will be $5.
There is still a need for a trolley driver for the Chamber, that has to have a CDL with passenger endorsement.
Some of the attendees of the Downtown Meet and Greet this morning.
KRI President of Operations Joe Tinervin, MSW, stands in the intake room’s doorway near the former hospital’s west entrance.
The western part and administration portion of the former Fort Scott Mercy Hospital is in the process of renovation.
Kansas Renewal Institute, located at 401 Woodland Hills Blvd. is a behavioral healthcare center specializing in treating adults and adolescents. The building has approximately 120,000 square feet.
JG Healthcare Solutions is the parent company that owns K.R.I.
The institute administrators e are Jonathan Gross, Chief Executive Officer; T.J. Denning, Chief Operating Officer, Erik Engebretson, Chief Financial Officer, Joe Tinervin, President of Operations and and Mike Sharpmack, Executive Director.
Kansas Renewal Institute President of Operations Joe Tinervin stands in the southern hall of the former Mercy Hospital.
This group of men has worked together at Universal Health Services, Acadia Healthcare, and most recently Discovery Behavioral Health.
“We worked for years together, but towards the end of our time at Discovery, we said we could do this ourselves, help a lot of people and have fun along the way,” Tinervin said.
“The whole idea is to provide safe, effective care that promotes successful outcomes,” he said. “We hope to have a staff environment where people love to come to work.”
K.R.I. will open with 82 licensed beds across four units. The State of Kansas has told Tinervin that the licensure process will be finished by April 15.
Joe Tinervin shows a patient room that is being made ready for patients.
There is a 50-bed adolescent psychiatric residential treatment facility, with two units, one for males, and one for females.
K.R. I. President of Operations Joe TInervin gives a tour on March 26, 2024, of the new facility. This is a portion of the adolescent unit.
These units are located in the former maternity unit and adjacent hall on the north wing of the building.
The former maternity unit will be used for adolescent residential services at K.R.I. Joe Tinervin stands at the door between that unit and the hall. To the left is one of the many contractors working inside the building in anticipation of the April opening of the facility.
In addition, there are 32 beds in two units for adults: one for adult residential services and one for detoxification services.
This is a wing of the adult residential services unit at K.R.I., down the hall to the left is the detox unit. Work is still being done to prepare for the opening of the institute in April 2024.
The detox unit is located in the former intensive care area of the hospital with the adult residential services in the hall just adjacent.
The former Intensive care unit of Mercy Hospital is now the detox unit of Kansas Recovery Institute.A view of the two corridors in the former waiting room of the emergency department at 401 Woodland Hills Blvd. in March 2024. The steps in the middle lead down to the cafeteria which will be for residents only, and won’t be open to the community.
“We have thrown a significant amount into the renovation so far,” Tinervin said. “Flooring, paint, equipment, and furniture,” he said.
“It’s all happening right now as we get the units ready to go,” he said.
“The State of Kansas has a significant waitlist,” he said. “We will be servicing residents from all over Kansas, not just southeast Kansas.”
“The state was here last week, and licensure might take until April 15,” he said.
“Our job is to reintegrate people back into their home communities,” he said. “If someone is from another place, they will return.”
“We are not opening with an outpatient level of care…only residential,” Tinervin said. “When and if we build an outpatient level of care, patients from the Fort Scott area will be able to commute for services while those who live outside of the Fort Scott area will be transitioning home and will have the opportunity to participate in KRI Outpatient services remotely through a virtual telehealth platform.”
In the administrative portion of the K.R. I. is this multi-purpose room which is currently being used for training employees and will be used for classrooms for residential adolescents in the future. Pictured is a training session.
K.R.I. will be collaborating with USD 234.
“We are excited about the partnership we are developing with Unified School District 234,” Tinervin said. “As part of this partnership, Unified School District 234 is committed to providing general and special education services to KRI residents within school age. These services will be provided on-site at Kansas Renewal Institute and the programming provided will be individualized according to the educational needs and levels of each student served at the KRI.”
This is the reception desk of the Kansas Recovery Institute at 401 Woodland Hills.
Once licensure arrives, people can make appointments at 620-644-1195 and they will also take walk-ins, Tinervin said.
The KRI Team photo, taken last Thursday at the end of orientation. Back Row from left to right: Joe Tinervin, President of Operations; Christopher Edwards, BHT; Lori Storm, Lead Case Manager; Dylan Pike, Nurse; Mark Steward, BHT Supervisor; Mike Sharpmack, Executive Director; Jay Abbott, Director of Quality Improvement and Risk Management; Jaymie Murphy, Nurse Front Row from left to right: Sheila Guinn-Peters, Admissions; Sheila Nami, Admissions; Pamela Johnson, Nurse; Mary Wilson, CMA; Candice Wyatt, BHT; Jessica Whitley, BHT; Tracy Serna, BHT Lead; JoDanna Simon, DON; Makenzie Brown, BHT; Stefani Brown, Nurse; and Jessica Allison, Clinical Director *acronym key: BHT: Behavioral Health Technician; DON: Director of Nursing; CMT: Certified Medical Technician. Submitted photo.
Also housed at 401-405 Woodland Hills Blvd.: Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center, Ashley (Medical) Clinic, Care to Share (cancer family support group), I Am Rehab( physical therapy/fitness center), Regional Economic Development Inc., and Diamonds In The Marketplace ( a beauty salon).
Downtown Fort Scott looking south on North Main Street.
The Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Downtown Committee is sponsoring another spring Downtown Cleanup event. This year’s event will be held on Monday, April 22, to coincide with Earth Day.
According to committee member John Crain, there are several projects being planned downtown, that the committee hopes will make the area a little more attractive for both local residents and visitors. This is the third downtown clean-up sponsored by the committee, the first in 2021, and second in 2022. These included some of the same types of projects this year’s event will have, but also included others, such as the painting of awnings, striping of parking spaces on the streets and parking lots, painting of Skubitz Plaza light poles, and five murals on the sides of downtown buildings.
According to Crain, “This year crews will be cleaning up, and removing stuff from the downtown gutters, sidewalks, alleys and parking lots. Things such as trash, leaves, weeds, and remnants of the winter’s ice and snow treatments. We will also be washing windows of unoccupied buildings, painting street lights on Main and Wall, as well as benches and tables on Skubitz Plaza. New mulch will be put down in a couple of areas, and flowers planted in others. We’re also hoping to get another mural painted.”
“This is the third downtown cleanup we’ve had, and what made the first two so successful and rewarding, was all of the community members that volunteered their time, to come together for a common good,” Crain said. “And we need that same type of volunteer help again this year. The actual cleanup starts at 4 p.m. and goes till 6 p.m., so if you can spare about two and a half hours, from 3:45 to 6:15, we’ll find something for you to do, give you a tee shirt, and feed you when you’re done.”
“We also need some tools, such as flat blade and scoop shovels, loppers and pruning shears, brooms, dust pans, and step stools,” he said. ” If you can volunteer, and or have any of those items that we can use, please call (620) 266-9448, and ask for Katie or Bailey. You can also email them at [email protected]. I promise, when you’re done, you’ll feel good about what you helped accomplish.”
The Clean Up Committee is made up of Chamber Downtown Committee members Baily Lyons, Cathy Bishop, Kate Freeman, and John Crain, Chamber President Lindsay Madison, and Craig Campbell, representing The Good Neighbor Action Team.
Crain said the committee would like to thank the following businesses and entities for their support: Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce, City of Fort Scott, Good Neighbor Action Team, My One Stop, Fort Scott Elks Lodge, Big Sugar Lumber, Bourbon County Arts Council, Bourbon County Garden Club, Holmtown Pub, Papa Don’s, Brick Street Barbecue, Common Ground Coffee, Sharkey’s Pub & Grub, Health Bourbon County Action Team, Fort Scott Community College, and Fort Scott USD 234.
Bailey Lyons is the owner of Lyons Realty Group. Submitted photo.Cathy Bishop is the events coordinator at the River Room Event Center. Submitted photo.Kate Freeman and her husband Trent own the Artificers, a downtown art gallery. Submitted photos.John Crain,is owner of Crain Insurance.Lindsay Madison is the executive director of the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce. Submitted photo.Craig Campbell is the chairman of the Good Neighbor Action Team.
“We’ve had several people volunteer already, but still need lots more,” he said.
The Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church following the fire on August 29, 2022. Submitted photo.
Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church was damaged beyond repair following the lightning event that struck the church on August 29, 2022.
Since then the church members pulled together to design a new building, which is anticipated for completion in December 2024.
Statutes are being restored by an artist
“When I heard about the fire, I immediately contacted Fr. Yancey Burgess ( the parish priest) to offer my help,” Robert Elliot, an artisan specializing in church renovations and statue restoration, said. “Father Yancy …presided over my wife’s funeral mass along with three other priests and this has always meant a great deal to me, so helping him and his community was the only thing to do.”
Elliot’s studio in Wichita. Submitted photo.
He received the Stations of the Cross and other statues last May, he said.
Some of the statues that are being restored. Submitted photo.
“We are restoring the fourteen Stations of the Cross and the following statues: The Corpus Of Christ, Mary Queen of Angels, The Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Joseph with the Infant Jesus, two angels with ribbons, and one free-standing angel.
Elliot anticipates completion of the statue restoration project in mid-September after 16 months of work, he said.
Elliot started his company in 1995 and is located in Wichita.
Looking south on National Avenue, one can see the many trees placed between the street and the sidewalk, some of which were planted by Kiwanis, according to Kiwanis member Craig Campbell.
Among the Fort Scott Kiwanis Club community service projects is a free tree to Bourbon County residents.
The trees were purchased using a Fort Scott Area Community Foundation grant, said Kiwanis member Craig Campbell.
“Sugar Maple was recommended by our area Kansas Forestry expert Tim McDonnell this year,” Campbell said. “Tim is very knowledgeable about what trees thrive in southeast Kansas. Tim also knows the existing tree inventory in Bourbon County and works to ensure we remain diverse to avoid widespread loss due to drought, late freezes, wind, and pests.”
The trees are very hardy 4 to 5 feet tall and in a 3-gallon root ball pail.
“Anyone in Bourbon County who commits to adequately caring for the tree is eligible,” he said. “This requires 5 gallons of water each week regardless of rainfall for the first year. With the drought last year, we asked folks to water every 4 to 5 days.”
The trees will be received by the Kiwanis Club on the last Saturday in April.
“The Kiwanis group will plant trees on the morning of Saturday, May 4th for anyone needing our assistance,” Campbell said. “If the Kiwanis plants them, Tim McDonnell and I will go to each location on April 16th and ‘spot’ the tree for optimum growth, and shade, and to avoid utilities. We do NOT plant under power lines.”
The deadline to request a tree is April 13th.
To apply for a free tree, text your address to Campbell at 620-224-0167.
Fort Scott Kiwanis Club meets at Burris Hall on the Fort Scott Community College campus every Tuesday from 12-1 p.m.
Piles of dirt lay in the new parking spaces of the Kansas Dept. of Children and Families building that is being created at Wall Street and National Avenue. This view is looking southwest from Wall Street.
The exterior framework began on March 22, on the new Kansas Department of Children and Families building project at Wall Street and National Avenue.
If all goes well, the completion date is July 2024, said Mike Anders, job supervisor of Silverrock Ventures.
The 13,000-square-foot building will house offices, several conference rooms, interview rooms, a large central file room, reception/waiting areas, break rooms, and storage spaces. There is a storm shelter built into the plan.
Kendall Schoenrock, owner, and developer of Silverrock Ventures who is building the new office space for the KDCF, spent time in making the facade of the building fit in with downtown Fort Scott, Anders said.
The east side of the building is on National Avenue.
“It will have a red brick face and a limestone three-foot starter around the bottom of the east and north side,” Anders said. “It will have a different roof to fit in with downtown. It will have outside lighting like that of E3 Ranch, right across the street.”
There will be parking on the north side of the building, on Wall Street, which the building will face. They are also leasing parking spaces from the City of Fort Scott for some parking west of the building, on the south side of that lot.
There is a whole slate of tradesmen lined up for the work ahead: electrical, plumbing, HVAC, concrete, framing, masonry, and painting, Anders said.
Skitches Hauling and Excavation, Inc., Fort Scott, was the demolition contractor for the building site.
“He supplied all of our backfill and got our job site ready to build on,” Anders said. “A great guy.”
“We tried to use local contractors,” he said. “A lot are from a 30-mile radius approximately.”
Silverrock Ventures will do the interior finishing he said.
Wall and National Avenue is the sight of the new building for housing the Kansas Department of Children and Families. The building is currently in the exterior framework stage of the project.
About DCF
The Kansas Department for Children and Families is available to assist with child care and child support, employment education and training, food and cash assistance, support for youth who have experienced foster care, and more.
For further information about services to the community:
If you suspect a child or vulnerable adult is being harmed emotionally, physically, or sexually, report it to the Kansas Protection Report Center 24/7 at 1-800-922- 5330 or online.
