Mercy Clinic staff in Fort Scott welcomed Amanda Stice on August 5, 2017 as a new nurse practitioner.
As a registered nurse, Stice decided to take on a bigger role in patient care and went on to become a family nurse practitioner.
Specializing in family medicine, she is board certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and earned her master’s degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, according to a press release from Mercy.
She offers routine health care, management of chronic diseases, wellness exams, well woman exams, sports and school physicals, vaccinations and immunizations, treatment of minor illness and injuries and more.
Experiences in her practice have created many rewarding moments, Stice said.
“These experiences are what keep me passionate about my career and role in my patient’s health,” she said.
Previously, she worked for nearly six years at University of Kansas Hospital as a registered nurse in acute care units.
After earning her master’s degree, she worked in urgent care in Independence, transitioning into primary care at the same location.
She and her husband live in Fort Scott with their two children.
Stice will see patients at Mercy Clinic Suite A, located in the hospital.
Zoe Self reacts to the surprise announcement that she is a winner of the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes 2017 Discovery Award.
Local Fort Scott High School student Zoe Self was the recipient of an award that gifted her with $7,500 in unrestricted funds Friday.
Prior to the announcement, students and staff gathered in the school’s media room, where Lowell Milken told the audience that the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes “considers ourselves incubators of history.”
The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes Discovery Award is an international competition that awards creative projects highlighting role models whose positive impact on history remains largely unnoticed.
Self created a performance which depicted the story of Lilla Day Monroe.
Monroe was a Topeka-based suffragette who advocated for women’s rights. She established and edited The Club Woman and The Kansas Woman’s Journal. In addition, she served as the president of the Kansas State Suffragette Association.
“Lilla Day Monroe was the first female lawyer in Kansas,” Self told the audience. “She helped pass the Nineteenth Amendment…she was determined to effect change by working through the court system. She was an incredible woman.”
“This unsung hero project changed my life,” she said.
Fort Scott High School staff along with Lowell Milken Center staff pose with Discovery Award recipient Zoe Self. From left are FSHS Principal Shawn Thomas, Lowell Milken, Self, LMC Program Director Megan Felt, USD 234 Superintendent Bob Beckham, FSHS Gifted Instructor Angie Kemmerer and LMC Director Norm Conard.
Fort Scott High School students and staff listen to Lowell Milken preceding the surprise announcement of Zoe Self’s winning the Discovery Award.
In the Discovery Award process, students in fourth through twelfth grades are invited to use their creative talents to develop projects that feature people from history who demonstrate that one person can make a positive change in the world. Projects can take the form of documentary/multimedia, performance or website. Projects must show potential for the ability to inspire people to take sustainable actions that carry out the legacies of their subjects, according to an LMC press release.
Domino’s Pizza opens in Fort Scott Monday, September 18 at 1709 S. National.
The franchise is owned by Emily and Dan Elwell, Jasper, Mo.
Owner Emily Elwell, right, works the front during the soft opening Friday. Employee Nathan Carey is at left.Matt Ebert, assistant manager; Emily Elwell, owner; and Kevin Knippelberger, manager pose in front of the store Friday. The ribbon cutting for the business is 10:15 a.m. Monday September 18.
The Elwell’s looked at different markets when deciding where to expand their business and through happenstance discovered the abandoned building on National Avenue.
They just happened to pull off Hwy. 69 at the strip mall site, she said, saw the for sale sign and a drive-through window and went directly to the real estate agent next door to the property to inquire.
“It’s been eerie how it worked out,” Emily Elwell said. “We are supposed to be in Fort Scott.”
They currently have 17 employees, all local.
Hours for the pizza eatery are 10:30 a.m. to midnight, Sunday through Thursday; 10:30 a.m.to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Manager Kevin Knippelberger visits with a drive-through customer Friday.
Lowell Milken speaks during the 10th Anniversary of the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes.
Art, dinner, and a movie is the way The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes celebrated their tenth anniversary Thursday evening.
“We are at the top of the second inning of what we want to accomplish,” Founder Lowell Milken told the audience about the future of the center.
At the exhibition gallery, at Wall and Main Streets, the founder and staff showcased six ArtEffect Project winners and four new Unsung Hero Exhibits.
From left: teacher Nathan McAlister and students Luke Boyden, Colin Caviness and Colin Everts from Royal Valley Middle School, Mayetta, stand in front of the Unsung Hero project the students are exhibiting in the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes. The title of their project “A Light In The Darkness: The Emma Darling Cushman Project.”
Later, dinner in the courtyard of the Liberty Theater happened to be on a perfect Kansas weather evening, with temperatures in the 70s.
Local author and retired Fort Scott teacher, Cathy Werling, was showcased with her new children’s book “Why Did Grandpa Cry?”
Children’s book author Cathy Werling sells her first book at the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes dinner party. Purchasing the book and giving a hug is Kelly Nelson. At right, LMC Administrative Assistant Mary Kerr assists at the sales table.
Since her retirement a few years back, Werling has been employed by the center.
One thing led to another and Werling was asked to write a children’s book about some of the unsung heroes.
“I saw this as an opportunity to move this (story) down to their level of understanding,” Werling said.
“Why Did Grandpa Cry?” is about Unsung Heroes Ken Reinhardt and Ann Williams, who were a part of the American story of desegregation in the late 1950s.
It is first in a series of 12 children’s books that Werling has been asked to write about unsung heroes.
Books can be purchased through the center and other online sources.
“If purchased through the center, it’s matched by the Lowell Milken Family,” she said. Those funds help the local center.
A documentary film “Teach Us All” by Sonia Lowman followed the dinner.
Film director Sonia Lowman speaks with members of the audience following the showing of the documentary “Teach Us All.”
Lowman is director of Communications for the Lowell Milken Family Foundation in Santa Monica, Calif.
She came to Milken with an idea about racial inequality, Milken said.
The film was created to “inspire and activate young people to understand the legacy of The Little Rock Nine and why they need to act on that legacy,” Lowman said.
The film also focuses on the need to support teachers and schools, she said.
The film will debut on Netflix on September 25, which marks the 60th anniversary of The Little Rock Nine desegregation battle.
Local Fort Scott teachers and retirees enjoy conversation at the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes 10th Anniversary Dinner.
The premier of the documentary produced by the Lowell Milken Center followed the dinner party at the 10th anniversary celebration.
Director Sonia Lowman speaks to the audience at the premier of “Teach Us All” at the Liberty Theater Thursday.
If all goes as anticipated, the recently moved John Deere Tech Program at Fort Scott Community College should have all parts of the facility completed in December.
The facility is located at 2223 S. Horton, formerly the Kansas National Guard Armory.
“They are building a bigger shop for big machinery,” Kent Aikin, one of the program’s two instructors, said Wednesday. A second instructor is Dale Griffiths, hired around one month ago.
The building being constructed is just to the east of the current tech program facility. The general contractor for the project is Tri-State Building, Pittsburg.
The current building is used for instruction on smaller machines and classrooms, Aikin said. The instructor’s offices are housed in this building as well.
The auditorium of the current facility is used for instruction on smaller engines.
“John Deere sends us three to six machines every year, for training purposes,” Aikin said.
Renovation of the current building started a month ago with the addition of new air lines and electrical lines.
Even though all is not completed in the facility, classes began in August with 13 first-year students and 10 second-year students.
Three first-year John Deere Tech Program students work on lessons in a classroom Wednesday.
Students who fulfill all requirements for the program have options of electrical, hydraulic or service advisor certification.
The program’s students must be sponsored by a John Deere dealership, and go through an interview process, Aikin said.
Aikin and Griffiths help the students through the whole process.
“We help locate a dealership to sponsor them,” Aikin said.
“There is a high demand for these jobs,” Aikin said. “The job prospects are good. I’d say over 90 percent have a job waiting for them.”
The move from Frontenac to the repurposed facility on the FSCC campus was precipitated by the selling of the building they were leasing, FSCC Director of Public Relations Heather Browne said.
Students have more accessibility for living in the dorms now, Browne said.
They also have easier accessibility for completing their general education classes, Griffiths said.
An open house for any interested students will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, November 2 and 8 a.m. to noon, Friday, November 3.
Following completion of the new part of the facility in December, a grand opening for the public will be in February, Aikin said.
A whole power-train for a John Deere 8300 tractor is used in instruction during the tech program.
Fort Scott Community College’s Ellis Arts Center is the venue for the 14th annual Gordon Parks Celebration. The Gordon Parks Museum is located in the arts center.
As part of the annual Gordon Parks Celebration
scheduled for October 12-14, at Fort Scott Community College, there will be a “Parks Poetry Out Loud” contest this year. Participants will pick one of seven selected poems written by Gordon Parks and will present it in front of an audience at noon on Friday, October 13 in the Gordon Parks Museum in the Ellis Fine Arts Center on campus.
“I have wanted to do this for years,” said Jill Warford, Gordon Parks Museum Director. “We hope a lot of people take part in the poetry contest, it will be a lot of fun.”
There is no fee to enter and participants will be judged on how they present the poem through voice, diction, and interpretation. Cash prizes will be awarded: first place will win $100; second, $75 and third, $50.
“You don’t have to register to enter,” Warford said. “Just show up.”
It is open to anyone and both students and adults alike, are encouraged to take part, she said. The seven poems are available on the Gordon Parks Museum website: gordonparkscenter.org .
Select poems from the website, then print them out for use, she said.
A private aircraft sits in front of two hangars at Fort Scott Airport. The airport is set to have a new aircraft maintenance business in the near future.
A full-service aircraft repair station will soon be available at Fort Scott Municipal Airport, 1869 Indian Road, southwest of the city.
Spectra Jet, Inc., Springfield, Ohio, will start a maintenance facility at the airport in the next two months, according to Kenny Howard, the airport manager.
“They will start with four to five employees,” Howard said. “They hope to be up to 10 employees in a certain amount of time.”
The company will lease part of a hangar at the airport for their business until they can build one of their own, Howard said.
Currently, there are eight hangars at the airport, two privately owned and six owned by the City of Fort Scott.
The desired outcome of this new business is to bring more airplanes to the airport, Howard said.
Currently, there are 45 airplanes in a week, he said.
“Some come to town to look at the community,” Howard said. “Some have family here.”
In addition, Fort Scott Airport is a good refueling stop for those traveling cross-county, he said.
Fort Scott Municipal Airport is southwest of the city at 187th Street and Indian Road.The front entrance to Fort Scott Municipal Airport office.Pictured is hangar no.5, which is owned by the City of Fort Scott. Spaces are rented to pilots for their aircraft.Several aircraft are parked in hangar no. 5 at Fort Scott Airport.Pictured is the new parking areas in front of hangars at Fort Scott Municipal Airport. The night beacon tower sits in between two hangars.Pictured is the largest hangar at Fort Scott Municipal Airport which is owned by Ward Kraft, Inc.Fort Scott Airport has two onsite fuel tanks: a 10,000 gallon Jet A gas tank and a 9,000 gallon AV gas tank.A plaque at the entrance to the office of the Fort Scott Airport commemorates the airports history.
Construction work is being done out of public sight at the new Price Chopper Grocery Store at 2322 S. Main.
The store, the former Woods Super Market, is slated to open before the holidays, said Barry Queen, owner/ operator of the Price Chopper Fort Scott grocery store.
Crossland Construction, Columbus, is the general contractor for the new Price Chopper Fort Scott. The owner anticipates the store to open in November. Once completed the store will employ around 100 people.
“The goal is to open November 10, 2017,” Queen said. “There’s a lot of work going on. Don’t know whether we’ll make that goal or not.”
“We are excited to get there, but there is a big challenge ahead. There is a lot that has to happen. We’d love to get open before the holidays.”
A big plus for the community is the store will be hiring 100-120 employees Queen said, with the number depending on the volume of customers the store will have.
“We’ll be setting up a trailer for interviews in the next few weeks,” he said.
Some features of the new store will be a major focus on fresh food, he said.
Produce , a salad bar, food service, a grill, a smoke house, a full service floral department, catering and online shopping, to name a few.
A drive-through Dunkin Donuts will be located on the southeast corner of the facility.
An overlay for the parking lot and adding more light poles will be coming.
The new owner, operator is no stranger to Bourbon County.
“My dad, Jim Queen, was born in Hammond,” he said. “My mom is from the Linn County/Bourbon County area. I have a lot of relations around here.”
Queen has had a vacation home at Lake Fort Scott for 16 years, which will become his part-time home he said. He lives in Paola.
Associated Wholesale Grocers own the real estate the store is on, Queen said.
Crossland Construction, Columbus, is the general contractor and is doing the demolition work; CDL, Pittsburg is doing the electric work and AAA, Kansas City is the framer for the project, said Brad Vinardi, superintendent with Crossland.
Inside the Price Chopper Grocery Store a five-man construction crew is currently working . At right is the old administration office.Matt Foster, Oswego, left, talks to co-workers on the large scissor lift at Price Chopper Fort Scott. On the lift are Jose Deleon, Kansas City, left, and Josh Powers, Pittsburg, right. The Crossland Construction crew was working on the facade of the building.Matt Marshall, Kansas City, preps the roof deck for painting at the new Price Chopper Fort Scott.
Western Senior Living apartment complex has a designated unit for a homeless person.
Homelessness in Fort Scott is being addressed, at least for one person at a time, by a local business.
Western Senior Living apartments at 8 East First Street, opened in January 2017 and has 35 apartments for lease, with one designated for a homeless/ transitional individual in the community.
When renovated and re-purposed, the old Western Insurance Building became apartments that were designated for individuals who have income at 60 percent or 50 percent or 40 percent of median income level, said Diane Kelsey, regional manager for Flint Hills Management.
“In addition, there is one homeless unit,” Kelsey said. “You have to be designated homeless by an agency. At that point, rent is 30 percent of their income, or $100, whichever is greater.”
There is currently an individual living in the homeless designated unit.
“They sign a year lease when they move in,” she said. “Then at the end of the year, we re-evaluate their circumstances. The maximum they can stay is two years. This is to give them a more stable place to stay.”
The individual has to meet the same criteria as other residents: pass a background check and have credit, she said.
Kelsey said she has apartments available for lease currently that are not designated for the homeless. Prices range from $370 to $550 a month for a one bedroom apartment and $610 to $710 for a two bedroom.
Kelsey said 80 percent of the apartments have requirements of income.
“Twenty percent are market rate,” she said. “Which means no
income requirements.”
The bedroom closet in the apartment currently available at Western Senior Living.A single bedroom unit currently empty at Western Senior Living apartment complex.The bathroom of the one bedroom apartment currently available at Western Senior Living.Western Senior Living is located at 1st and Main Streets in downtown Fort Scott.
For more information call 620-223-1718 Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Physical Therapist Meredith Tucker opened a clinic in June 2017.
Physical Therapist Meredith Tucker opened No Limits Rehabilitation Clinic at 18 N. Main in downtown Fort Scott in June, 2017.
Her specialty is pediatric physical therapy.
“For 12 years I’ve been doing mostly pediatrics,” Tucker said.
For insurance to provide coverage for her services, a doctor must provide a script to her, she said.
Her clinic exists not just to serve the patient, but the caregivers as well, so they can provide the best care for their loved ones at home, according to her website.
Tucker was ready for a new challenge following 9.5 years of working for Mercy Hospital.
During those years she did pediatric physical therapy and physical therapy for inpatients at the hospital.
“They closed the acute inpatient rehab unit,” Tucker said. “They still offer outpatient service and acute bed services.”
“I was ready for a new change and challenge. It’s been a good change,” she said.
Meredith Sewell Tucker is a Fort Scott High School graduate, then graduated from Kansas University with a children’s with disability and autism degree, then a masters degree in physical therapy.
She is married to Brad Tucker.
The physical therapy clinic phone number is (913) 406.8040.
Mike Cheney gets a treatment from Physical Therapist Meredith Tucker.
A mother-daughter business opened recently in downtown Fort Scott.
Dakota Isaac in front Vette’s Rerun Clothing Shop, 15 N. Main
Vette’s Rerun Clothing, 15 N. Main, opened July 24, 2017.
Tracy Isaac, the mother, has another job, while her daughter, Dakota works in the shop.
Dakota Isaac enjoys being able to spend time with her children while at the resale clothing business she is helping her mom to establish.
Tracy Isaac assumed ownership of the north Main shop in July from Connie Harper, but had previously owned a used clothing shop further south on Main Street, then moved to 605 National.
“I offer cheap clothing,” Tracy said. “And I’ve got lots of clothing, from sizes infants to 5 extra-large women. I’ve got prom dresses and wedding dresses.”
Many people can’t afford new clothes, Tracy said, and she sees that as her niche in the community.
They have lowered the prices of the clothing since assuming ownership, Dakota said.
“Currently, we are switching from summer to winter stuff,” Dakota said.
Sometimes the shop is closed because Dakota has to take her two-year-old son, Jacob, to a hospital in Kansas City.
“My grandson has spina bifida and has to go the Children’s Mercy,” for appointments, Tracy said.
The shop is open not open on Sundays and Tuesdays, but is open from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, with Saturday hours of 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information contact Dakota at (620) 215-6958.
Dakota Isaac with her children, Jade, 4, and Jacob, 2, in the playroom at the family’s used clothing shop, where she works to help to mom.Dakota Isaac works on getting winter clothing switched out at the shop.
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