All posts by Loretta George

Business, Government, Kansas

Fort Scott Radio Station Recognized by Kansas Dept. of Commerce

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Tim and Deb McKenney at the recent awards ceremony. Submitted photo.

A local business was recognized during the recent ceremony by The Kansas Department of Commerce held in Wichita on Oct. 12.

To The Stars: Kansas Businesses Awards is an annual awards program that recognizes businesses across the state for the valuable contributions they make to the Kansas economy and to the well-being of their communities, according to https://www.kansascommerce.gov/kansasbusinessawards/.

Fort Scott Broadcasting Co. Inc was recognized as the Southeast Kansas Regional Winner in Retail and Service. Tim and Deb McKenney are the owners of the business.

The award plaque was received by the McKenney’s. Submitted photo.

“Deb submitted the information,” Tim McKenney said.  “It was really just a statement about the station’s 70th birthday under the same family ownership and management coming up next year.  She mentioned some of our programs we air regularly such as the city, county, and school talk shows to keep folks in tune with current happenings in the area.”

“The award was for 69 years of community service to our community,” Deb said.

 

The order of the awards at the ceremony. Submitted photo.

The categories were:

  • AgriBusiness – companies that stand out in the agribusiness industry – including agricultural production, products and services, and agri-tourism
  • Apprenticeship Champions and Partners – companies and other entities that excel providing registered apprenticeship programs in Kansas
  • Business Innovation – companies from any sector incorporating innovative technologies in their business
  • Healthcare/Nonprofit – noteworthy services provided by either healthcare facilities or nonprofit organizations
  • Manufacturing/Distribution – outstanding achievement for companies large and small involved in manufacturing and distribution
  • Non-Traditional Talent Pools – companies that have gone above and beyond to hire those with prior involvement in the justice system, youth, seniors or individuals with disabilities
  • Retail/Service – exceptional performance by businesses selling goods, products and/or services
  • Under 30 Entrepreneurs – young entrepreneurs achieving business success under the age of 30
  • Welcome Back – entrepreneurs and businesspeople who once left Kansas but have returned to make their mark in the Sunflower State.

Businesses and individuals from across the state were honored for their outstanding contributions to Kansas communities and the state’s economy at the ceremony, according to a press release.

Governor Laura Kelly announced at the ceremony that Atwood-based SurePoint Ag Systems has won the 2023 Governor’s Award of Excellence and Tank Connection in Parsons earned the Governor’s Exporter of the Year Award, according to the press release.

A record 297 businesses, organizations and individuals were nominated in nine categories for this year’s To the Stars: Kansas Business Awards, according to the release. Nominees were reviewed and scored for various criteria such as business expansion, employee recruitment and retention practices, training and educational programs, capital investments, and support of local community events. A total of 245 Merit Awards and 43 Regional Awards were presented at the event. Additionally, one nominee in each category was designated a Statewide Winner, making them finalists for the Governor’s Award of Excellence.

To view the list of award winners: https://www.kansascommerce.gov/kansasbusinessawards/#h-merit-award-winners

In the regional award winners division for retail/ service across the state, the winners were:

From the Southeast section of the state,  the regional winner was Fort Scott Broadcasting All Hit 103.9 fm, 98.3 fm, and 1600 am.

East Central
JT’s Grill

Northwest
Shores Napa Auto Parts

Northeast
Lumber House True Value

South Central
Country at Heart

Southwest
Jetmore Veterinary Service

 

Business, Youth

Young Entrepreneurs: Luke and Natalie Lehman

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This is part of a series featuring young people who have started selling a product or service. If you know of a young business person, send their email or phone number to [email protected]

Luke and Natalie Lehman are twins. Both are young entrepreneurs.

Luke Lehman sold his horseshoe creations at the Fort Scott Farmers Market on Sept. 30.

Luke Lehman,15, started a horseshoe-inspired gifts business in August because of the availability of materials.

“I sell small trinkets, made out of horseshoes, such as pumpkins, napkin holders, and Christmas ornaments,” he said. “I chose this to sell because my grandpa had a lot of horseshoes from auctions, and needed something to do with them. My dad had also made a few things out of them before.”

He calls his business Farmhouse Metalworks.

“I attended the Children’s Business Fair classes and learned about things like marketing, pricing, and target customers,” he said.

Natalie Lehman. Submitted photos.

Natalie Lehman, 15, is an artist by passion.

“I love to paint, watercolor, and use oil pastels,” she said.
The idea of her business started at Christmas last year.
“I got a box of blank cards and envelopes as well as some supplies to decorate them,” she said. “I made a few cards here and there but never thought it would turn into a business.”
Then Natalie and her brother Luke started attending the Children’s Business Fair seminars.
“When we started attending the business seminars, I was trying to think of what I would do for my business,” she said. “That night at dinner, my Grandma made a comment that she was having a hard time trying to find a card to give for the occasion of a baptism and asked if I would be interested in making her a custom card for that. And that’s where I got the idea to make cards for my business.”
The name of her business is Blessings Abundant (Designs of Devotion).
She creates custom cards and keychains.
Some of Natalie Lehman’s creations. Submitted.
She said the Children’s Business Fair gave some valuable information.
“It helped me understand more how to manage my money better, and how to get out of it the profit that I needed to pay for all the work and expenses I put into it,” she said.
Luke and Natalie are the children of Jacob and Amanda Lehman, Girard.
The Children’s Business Fair seminars are made available by the Pittsburg State University Small Business Development Center and the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, Fort Scott.
The Pittsburg State University Small Business Development Center and the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team were sponsors of the Children’s Business Fair on Sept. 30 at the Fort Scott Farmers Market.

 

Business, Youth

Young Entrepreneur: Gunner Keylon

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This is part of a series featuring young people who have started selling a product or service. If you know of a young business person, send their email or phone number to [email protected]

Gunner Keylon preparing some of his products to sell. Submitted photo.
Gunner Keylon, 12, owns his own business called The JG Store.

He sells homemade treats: such as rock candy, brownies, rice krispy treats, peanut butter fudge, trail mix, etc.

In addition, he sells his artwork:  sketches.
An example of Gunner Keylon’s sketches. Submitted photo.
” I like to draw and get requests sometimes, so I thought they might sell well,” he said. “I also thought rock candy sounded fun to make and you can’t buy it just anywhere.”
Gunner Keylon at the Fort Scott Farmers Market on Sept. 30 selling his product: homemade sweets and art sketches. Submitted photos.
“I’ve been thinking about starting the business for a long time but I actually put it into action a couple of weeks ago,” he said.
He didn’t attend the Children’s Business Fair classes at the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team in Fort Scott but joined the business fair just before it took place at the Fort Scott Farmers Market on Sept. 30.
“At the fair, I learned that owning your own business is hard work but it’s worth it!” he said.
His parents are Jared and Ashley Keylon
Government, Health Care

Healthcare in Bourbon County: Amberwell

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The emergency room in 2019 prior to Ascension Via Christi assuming operations.

Ascension Via Christi is stopping their emergency department services in Fort Scott at the end of this year.

But a new healthcare system is coming to replace the services.

At this week’s special City of Fort Scott Commission meeting, Mayor Matthew Wells said “It is public knowledge at this point that Amberwell is the company that we are partnering with, their home office is in Atchison, Kansas.”

The city approved $600,000 for its part in the new E.R. services in a Memorandum of Understanding.

Other entities

At a special Bourbon County Commission meeting this week the commissioners approved $500,000 towards the new E.R. services.

“The administration and Board of Trustees at Fort Scott Community College recognize the importance and need for there to be an active emergency room in the county,” Dr. Jason Kegler, President of Fort Scott Community Colleges said. “We understand the benefit this provides to our guests, students and staff. The college remains mindful of the financial responsibility we have to the citizens of this county. We will have internal discussions about how best for us to partner with other entities to ensure the continued presence of an emergency room in this county.”

Because of public school finance laws  USD 234 is unable to help financially, Destry Brown, Superintendent said. “We do support it, but we can’t help with it financially.”

About Amberwell

Amberwell Health has a mission to sustain and strengthen rural healthcare, through affiliation with clinically integrated organizations that share services, expertise, and group savings while retaining local operational management,  according to its website.

As of January 2022, Amberwell had 650 employees serving across seven locations in six communities in northeast Kansas, according to the website.

Problems in healthcare

“Kansas has 104 rural hospitals – and more than 80% of them are losing money, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, a nonprofit think-tank,” Mayor Wells said. “More than half are deemed to be at risk of closing this year.”

“The biggest problems for rural hospitals (are) a combined high percentage of Medicare and Medicaid patients and payments from private insurance companies that, like those from government programs, don’t cover the cost of providing services, Wells said.
“Under the new federal program, we could qualify for a subsidy of approximately $2.2 million a year plus a 3% increase in Medicare payments by becoming a federally designated Rural Emergency Hospital. However, we must be a functioning rural hospital that meets these conditions. To qualify, this organization we are partnering with will provide these services.”

“The Kansas Hospital Association (https://www.kha-net.org/) estimates that Kansas would have received an additional $6.2 billion in federal funding if it had expanded Medicaid when the opportunity arose in 2014,” Wells said. “I ask you to start pressing the state legislature to make this happen, for our community, for our people.”

 

“We are so thankful that Ascension has helped provide the E.R. to date, but they too have been subsidized with free rent and free utilities by Legacy Health,” Wells said.

Amberwell will also receive this benefit, he said.

“On top of the E.R., this is one of the greatest needs: primary care doctors for us citizens,” Wells said. “We are also told that Amberwell has the ability, because of the way it has set itself up to create single-payer systems, that allow people to pay directly for services without having to have insurance. Many of the businesses showed extreme interest in this model, and one said it would save them a lot of money.”

 

Bourbon County, Business

Heartland Creates Solar Farm To Generate Energy For Local Members

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The Devon Solar Farm is located at 135th and Range Road in Bourbon County.
 Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative, Girard, is a distribution cooperative that has members in Bourbon County.

“What we do is buy wholesale power and distribute it to homes, farms, and businesses over our poles and wires,” said Doug Graham, Communication Specialist for Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc. “So we don’t do much in the realm of generating electricity.”

Heartland provides service to around 11,250 meters, with around 1,700 located in Bourbon County, said Graham.

Heartland Adds Solar

“Within the last few years, it became apparent that we could reduce our wholesale power bill by using some locally generated solar energy,” he said. “We worked with our power supplier (KEPCo) to amend our contract so we and other cooperatives would be allowed to generate or otherwise procure up to 15% of our peak power demand, with 5% of that amount specifically allowing for the addition of solar.”
“The way we’ve approached solar has been to work with a company called Today’s Power, Inc. (TPI) to build solar farms on sites very close to our distribution substations,” he said. “We buy the land and lease it to TPI, and then TPI builds, operates, and maintains all the solar equipment.”
“We have long-term agreements with TPI to purchase the electricity generated by the solar farms at a set rate, which reduces how much energy we have to buy off the market,” Graham said. “This is especially beneficial during peak times when electricity is most expensive.”
In May 2021 Heartland built two  1-MW solar farms, one at Greenbush and the other at Urbana.
“The solar farm has a direct benefit to Heartland members in that it helps keep rates stable by reducing our wholesale power cost,” Graham said. “Having it be a clean and locally generated source of energy is a nice bonus.”
After they came online, the solar farms proved very effective at reducing costs, he said.
“We decided to pursue two slightly smaller (750 kW) solar arrays near our Devon and Linn substations,” he said. “The Devon array came online in the spring of 2023, while the Linn array is still in development. We have no other solar projects in development.”
The one in Bourbon County is located at 135th St. and Range Rd., just east of Heartland’s Devon distribution substation.
The 750 kW solar array powers around 130 homes.
The solar array panels in rural Bourbon County. Submitted photo.
These arrays are relatively small in utility terms, with a footprint of around seven acres for each, he said.
“The energy generated at each solar farm is used right away by the members on those substations,” he said. “It’s all local. In fact, we’re not allowed to push energy back onto the transmission grid, which is why it’s very important that we size our solar systems just right to match what our members served on those substations can actually use.”
“These solar farms are part of a larger statewide initiative called the Kansas Cooperative Sun Power Program, a partnership between TPI and 11 other Kansas co-ops. Joining forces with the other cooperatives helped everyone secure better pricing,” Graham said.
Solar Has Saved On Wholesale Power Bill
“So far this year, our three solar farms have saved us roughly 2.5% off of our wholesale power bill versus what we would have had to pay if we didn’t have solar in place to reduce the peak demand,” he said. “It’s a small thing we can do to help control costs while staying within the parameters of our contract with our power supplier. In a way, it’s a lot like what we ask our members to do on peak days in the summer: make small adjustments to your usage and save a little bit on your bill, which in turn adds up to significant savings for the co-op as a whole. That helps keep rates from climbing as fast as everything else these days.”
Is There a Sound Issue?
For neighbors the sound of the arrays is minimal.
“There’s a bit of a hum from the inverters that turn the DC power generated by the solar panels into AC power that can be used in homes, but it’s not very loud,” he said. “You could carry on a conversation at normal volume right next to the inverters. We haven’t had any complaints whatsoever.”

 

Bourbon County, Food, Government, Schools

Hydrophonics is Coming to a Local School System

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A photo of hydroponics taken from a USDA website.

Hydroponics is coming to Uniontown’s school district.

Hydroponics is the technique of growing plants using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil,  according to https://www.nal.usda.gov/farms-and-agricultural-production-systems/hydroponics

“USD 235 is excited to be the recipient of a hydroponic shipping container farm through a grant awarded to the Kansas Division of Children and Families,” USD 235 Superintendent Vance Eden said.  “It was announced on September 11th, 2023 that Community Green Farms of Pittsburg Kansas would receive just over $1,000,000 to bring seven southeast Kansas counties vertical hydroponic container farms.”

Vance Eden, superintendent of USD 235. Photo from the school district’s website.

“Uniontown Schools has been selected to be the recipient for Bourbon Couty,” Eden said. “These shipping containers use state-of-the-art technology to efficiently produce hyper-organic products in significant quantities within a minimal footprint.”

The greens grown will be consumed at the two school building’s cafeterias in the district.

“Not only will this space serve as a hands-on learning environment that will be used across the spectrum of ages and courses, but it will also provide produce that can be consumed in our cafeterias,” he said.  “We believe this opportunity will serve students and their futures in dynamic and tangible ways.”

The container has been ordered and will be placed on the school campus during the last week of November.

“Then, the setup of the farm and training for key staff will take place in December,” he said. “This means that it will be in production and available for student and teacher use during the second semester.”

“Mrs. Delta Pollock will be a leader, helping staff and students step into this new experience with confidence while Mrs. Shayla Knight will manage the food-service portion of vegetable production for our cafeterias,” he said.

Learning and adjusting will be part of the process of integrating hydroponics into learning experiences for the students in USD 235, he said.

“We eagerly jump into this opportunity with dreams and excitement for the impact that can be realized,” Eden said.

Once the container farm is established, community members will be invited to an open house “to see and taste what this new opportunity looks like in person,” Eden said.

“We want to publicly acknowledge Community Green Farms in their selection of USD 235 as the recipient and commend them on their commitment to bringing these opportunities to southeast Kansas schools at no cost,” he said.

 

The USD 235 Board of Education Office is located in Uniontown High School.

 

Bourbon County, Fort Scott, Health Care, Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center

Clinic Offered This Saturday For Those Seeking Mental Health Services

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A  mental health clinic is offered to the community this Saturday, Oct. 14 at the former Mercy Hospital building.

Suite B of the SEKMHC at 401` Woodland Hills Blvd.

Those who are interested in initiating therapy services and seeing if other services are desired must make an appointment by Oct. 12

“This (clinic) is for anyone wishing to start services with us, “Dawne Burchett Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center Manager of Prevention and Promotion said “Anyone who would like additional support for any reason.”

An appointment can be made by calling 620.223.5030.

The office staff will ask for your name, date of birth, address, Social Security Number, insurance information, and reasons you are seeking services.

On the day of your appointment, proof of income, insurance card, and Social Security Number are needed.

The hours of this clinic are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Oct. 14.

The location is 401 Woodland Hills Blvd., Fort Scott.

SEKMHC moved into the building on Sept. 11 and shares the clinic facility with Ashley Clinic.

SEKMHC and Ashley Clinic joined to create a more accessible, efficient, and effective model of care for the citizens of Kansas, according to a previous press release. The focus: leading integrated, whole-person care and breaking down barriers for patients.

To see a prior story:

Former Mercy Building Now SEK Mental Health and Ashley Clinic

401 Woodland Hills Blvd. houses offices of the  Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center.

About SEKMHC

Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center, established in 1961,  is a not-for-profit organization that provides, advocates and coordinates quality mental health care, services, and programs, according to its website https://www.sekmhc.org/about/.

Core services include:

  • Outpatient psychiatry
  • Therapy
  • Consultation
  • Chemical abuse counseling
  • Case management
  • Educational and skill-building groups
  • Specialty training
  • Physical healthcare coordination
  • 24/7 crisis intervention services
Fort Scott, Fort Scott Community College, Jobs

FSCC New Nursing Instructor: Sara Holder

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Sara Holder and her family. Submitted photo.

Sara Holder is a new nursing instructor at Fort Scott Community College’s Nursing Department. This is Holder’s first semester of teaching.

Her nursing experience includes emergency room, same-day surgery, and a school nurse position.

Holder graduated from William Jewell College in 1999.

She became an educator “through encouragement from friends and family,” she said. “They supported and encouraged me to make a difference in the lives of students in this community.”

“I am Inspired by all the excellent nurses I have worked with over the years,” she said. “I want to teach nursing students to be like them.”

The best part of teaching for her is encouraging students to become safe, compassionate, caring nurses.

The greatest challenge is the transition from expert at the bedside to classroom instructor, she said.

The Fort Scott Community Nursing Department is located at 810 Burke.

The Fort Scott Community College Nursing Department offers students an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Nursing for students who have completed prerequisite courses and four semesters of nursing courses. Graduates are eligible to take the national licensing exam for registered nurses (NCLEX-RN) and to apply for state licensure as a registered nurse. Our program prepares students for beginning staff nursing positions and delivering nursing care to individuals and groups as members of a healthcare team to promote health and wellness.

Holder has been married to Bret for 24 years,  and is Mom to Jet, a Marine and sophomore Razorback; and Kate, a freshman Razorback. “Woo Pig!”

In her spare time she enjoys providing hospitality for others,  she said. “From our home to our restaurant, Pizza Republic, and this nursing department. I live to serve God, our family and friends, fellow military families, our staff, and nursing students.”

Her hometown is Kansas City, Missouri.

About the Nursing Program

The Fort Scott Community Nursing Department is located at 810 S. Burke.

The Fort Scott Community College Nursing Department offers students an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Nursing for students who have completed prerequisite courses and four semesters of nursing courses, according to the department’s website. Graduates are eligible to take the national licensing exam for registered nurses (NCLEX-RN) and to apply for state licensure as a registered nurse. The program prepares students for beginning staff nursing positions and delivering nursing care to individuals and groups as members of a healthcare team to promote health and wellness.

 

 

 

 

 

Entertainment, Fort Scott, Youth

Third Street Park Has New Playground Equipment

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New playground equipment was recently installed at Third Street Park.

Third Street Park is ready for the community to enjoy.

New children’s play equipment with mulching and new stairs leading to the ballpark on Third Street was recently completed.

“This is a $92,000 project that was funded by the Patterson Family Foundation, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Pathways to a Healthy Kansas, and a contribution from The City of Fort Scott,” Rachel Carpenter, director of the Healthy Bourbon Action Team (HBCAT), who is spearheading the project, said.

“The playground is open to the public!” she said.

Bouncers were part of the playground equipment installed at Third Street Park recently.

The need for Third Street Park’s improvement project was identified by the community through public forums, surveys, and a steering committee, according to Carpenter, in a prior press release.

A Building Up Our Neighborhoods Placemaking project has already repaired the bathrooms and existing structures, including the basketball goal. Last month stairs were made from the upper level of the park to the lower level.

Rachel Carpenter. Submitted photo. 2023

 

Community members were able to develop priorities that they wanted to see happen at the park, Carpenter said in a  prior press release. Those priorities:

  • Repairing the bathrooms
  • Repairing the existing structures
  • Repairing the basketball goal
  • Adding additional playground structures
  • Adding stairs

  • Tyler Sharp, Marbery Construction, Fort Scott, lays straw to prevent erosion following the building of the concrete stairs from the upper-level playground to the lower-level ball field at Third Street Park on Sept. 15.

“Fort Scott Kiwanis provided volunteers to fix the existing structures, the basketball goals, and paint the bathrooms,” she said. “The City of Fort Scott provided an additional $10,000 that will go towards fixing up the bathrooms, fixing the pavilion floor, and surfacing for the existing structures.”

‘We are still collaborating with the City of Fort Scott to update the fixtures of the bathroom and fix the pavilion floor,” Carpenter said.

Last week, Playscapes, Yates Center, installed the new playground structures and put down the rubber mulch surfacing.

The playground structures include a Temple Trolley, a Swizzler, and two bouncers.

A new piece of equipment at Third Street Park.
Bourbon County, Fort Scott

Scam Thwarted at Landmark Bank

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A recent fortscott.biz advertisement for a driver almost wrested money from a scam victim.

However, a trained teller at Landmark Bank stopped the transaction.

“This was a typical refund scam,” Gregg Motley, Southeast Kansas Regional Manager of Landmark Bank, said.  “The victim replied to the ad and a $6,000 check was sent to the person who responded. The check was from San Diego, from a Texas company, on a Colorado bank. The next day the person was asked to send him $2,000 to secure a rental car for the person to drive.”

The Landmark Teller Supervisor Kalia Lamb, caught the suspicious transaction, Motley said.

“The teller prohibited him taking the $2,000 out,” Motley said.  This was to see first if the $6,000 check was legitimate. “We spend time training our employees on scams,” he said.

“We got the check back, it did bounce,” Motley said.

His bank always reports scams to federal authorities.

When the advertiser wasn’t willing to provide additional information, his payment was refunded by fortscott.biz.

The ad was deleted and his contact information was removed from the fortscott.biz Facebook post.

“Refund scams are worth billions of dollars in the U.S.,”  Motley said.

“It’s good to get the word out about the scam,” said Fort Scott Chief of Police Jason Pickert. “To be aware this happened.”

Chief Pickert said he understood fortscott.biz’s position.

“You can’t vet everyone who purchases an ad,” Pickert said.

 

Romance Scams

The worst cases are romance scams, Motley said.

This is where people meet online and a relationship develops.

The victim is asked to send a large sum of money, say $2,000, so that, for example, the romantic interest can purchase an airline ticket to come and see the victim.

“We deal with it every week,” Motley said. “It’s very hurtful to people because emotions are involved.”

 

 

 

 

 

Bourbon County, Business, Youth

Young Entrepreneurs: Prizes and Grants

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An info banner at the Fort Scott Farmer’s Market last Saturday.

The Fort Scott Farmers Market showcased some young business people on September 30.

“Most of the children that had booths had attended at least one workshop at Healthy Bourbon County Action Team (office) before Saturday’s event,” said Dacia Clark, Pittsburg State University’s Small Business Development Center.
The SBDC partners with HBCAT in Fort Scott.
“We held two different workshops (for the young entrepreneurs) before Saturday,” she said. “One was about business planning and just introducing business terminology to the kids and the other workshop talked about pricing and expenses.”
“We ended up having 20 kids participate on Saturday and gave out $340 in prize money,” she said.
 1st Place received $50, 2nd Place received $25 and 3rd Place received $10.
There were four different age groups: 5-7, 8-10, 11-13, and 14-16 year-olds.
5-7 Age Group
1st Place – Adelaide Bowman
2nd Place – Judah Whitson
3rd Place – Ethan Nilges
8-10 Age Group
1st Place – Jonathon Howard
2nd Place – Camren lamb
3rd Place – Asher Whitson
11-13 Age Group
1st Place – Gunner Keylon
2nd Place – Anabelle Nilges
3rd Place – Isabelle Nilges
14-16 Age Group
1st Place – Natalie Lehman
2nd Place – Luke Lehman
3rd Place – Devlin Cole
There is the possibility of another Children’s Business Fair at Fort Scott Farmers Market next spring, she said.
For more information or to become involved with the Children’s Business Fair, please email Rachel Carpenter at [email protected]
FortScott.Biz Grant Recipients Tell of  Plans
Several children received $50 grants from a fortscott.biz reader who wished to remain anonymous.

The subscriber who had been reading the Young Entrepreneur Series on fortscott.biz this summer was touched by the efforts of the children and wanted to support each young entrepreneur’s business.

This is what he wrote:

“I always stop at the local kids’ lemonade stands. When I was growing up in Fort Scott, I remember the postman buying a cup of lemonade from me. For some reason that stayed with me.

“Selling Grit Magazine door to door, making birdhouses and selling them door to door, having a Tribune newspaper route back when you paid for your batch of papers up front, delivered them, and then collected monthly. If anyone stiffed you, you were out the dough. All of those things were great life lessons for me growing up in Fort Scott. That’s why I really like your program of highlighting young entrepreneurs”

The Young Entrepreneur Series features youth under 18 years old who have a business in product or services.

To recommend a young entrepreneur in our community, please send contact info, email, or phone number to [email protected]

 

The following are the recipient’s comments about how the grant was spent:

Devlin Cole, 16,  sells handmade leather crafts at the Fort Scott Farmers Market on Sept. 30.

“I’m purchasing more supplies for my leather crafts, Devlin Cole said. “I’m very appreciative for the money. Thankfully there is someone wanting to do that for kids wanting to make a name for themselves.”

Malachi Whitson, jewelry maker, at the Fort Scott Farmers Market on September 2023.

“I  bought different things for my jewelry business,” Malachi Whitson, age 10, said. “It was a big boost. I’m so glad he did it, it helped a lot.”

Camren Lamb shows a placard explaining where he spent his Young Entrepreneur Grant. He had a booth for his artwork and guitar playing at the Fort Scott Farmers Market on Sept. 30, 2023.

“The funds went directly to Answers in Genesis 2024 Vacation Bible School Program Kit,” Melanie Lamb, Camren’s mom said. “It will be used over and over. Camren’s first priority is to do it at youth homes and places with children in need. But he also plans to collaborate with kids near his age to do the program here in Fort Scott.”

Camren, 10,  also purchased four Samaritan’s Purse and Bible Workbook Kits, his mom said.

Asher Whitson, a young entrepreneur, makes cards and decorative art.

Asher Whitson, whose business is Art by Asher,  spent his grant money “to help a single mom and the rest towards buying new items for his business,” Maria Whitson, his mom said.

Judah Whitson at his shop at the Fort Scott Farmers Market, September 2023.

“Judah gave a little to help the single mom (his brother Asher also did this) and he saved the rest to buy a cow,” Maria Whitson, his mom said.

 

 

 

Bourbon County, Entertainment, Fort Scott, Fort Scott National Historic Site, History

Murder and Mayhem at the Fort on Halloween Night

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Looking for some added Halloween fun?

Tuesday, October 31, 2023, join Fort Scott National Historic Site guides for a special candle lantern walk called the Murder and Mayhem at the Fort Lantern Tour, according to a press release.

There is no cost to the public.

Tour guides from the 1840s-1860s, will share some of the lesser-told tragedies and macabre events that were far too common in Fort Scott’s 19th century.

“There was violence and tragedy that happened at the fort during the 1840s to the 1860s,” Carl Brenner, FSNHS Chief of Interpretation and Resource Management, said. “The fort was the whole town during this time, and there were 1,000s of soldiers here during the Civil War.”

They will talk, in period costume, about some of those events.

Tour guides are Carl Brenner, Barry Geertsen, and Jessica Nielsen-employees at the Fort, and Matthew Wells, a member of the Friends of Fort Scott National Historic Site.

These four special Halloween lantern tours will start every 30 minutes beginning at 6:30 pm at the visitor center.

Space is limited and required reservations will open Friday, October 13, at 8:30 a.m. Contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit the website at www.nps.gov/fosc.

Those with reservations, please arrive 10 minutes early to allow time to park and get oriented, according to the press release. Participants are advised to please dress for the weather and conditions, as the entire tour will be outside and on sidewalks.

“We’ve been planning this for several years,”  Brenner, said. “But staff turnover precluded us from moving forward. All our pumpkins are in a line now and we can move forward.”

Carl Brenner.

Fort Scott National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service, exhibit areas and visitor center are open daily from 8:30 a.m. to  4:30 p.m. The park grounds are open daily from a half hour before sunrise until a half hour after sunset. To find out more or become involved in activities at the Fort, please contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/fosc.