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All posts by Loretta George
Today Is The Day For Healthcare Sales Tax Question To Be Decided
People who have been wanting to make their voices heard on a sales tax to establish and operate emergency healthcare in our community will soon have their chance.
The Bourbon County Commission election is today, May 14 for voters to decide.
“It was suggested months ago to put the matter of a healthcare sales tax on the ballot when the subject of subsidizing an emergency room, due to Ascension Via Christi closing the emergency room, was first announced,” said Bourbon County Clerk Jennifer Hawkins.
To view the press release of the closure:
December 20: Ascension Via Christi Closes Emergency Department in Fort Scott
At the March 11, 2024 meeting of the Bourbon County Commission, Commissioner Clifton Beth made a motion to approve a community vote on the idea.
“The original question asked for a one-half cent sales tax, but Clifton made a motion to approve the question changing it to a one-quarter cent sales tax and it was approved by all three Commissioners,” Hawkins said. “The purpose of the sales tax is to be used as needed for the establishment and operation of an Emergency Department in Bourbon County.”
Here is the wording of the question that will be asked of Bourbon County residents:
Shall the following be adopted?
Bourbon County shall adopt a one-quarter cent retail sales tax effective October 1, 2024, and continuing for 5 years. Said tax shall be used as needed for establishment and operation of an Emergency Department in Bourbon County. Upon termination, remaining tax funds shall be used for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and/or property tax reduction as determined by the Bourbon County Commissioners.
Yes
No
Stolen Vehicle Pulled From Fort Scott Lake on May 11
The Fort Scott Police Department was dispatched to Fort Scott Lake on Indian Road on Saturday morning.
“On Saturday, May 11, we had an individual using a fish finder call and say he believed he saw a vehicle underwater with sonar,” Lt. Caleb Bell, with the FSPD said.
The vehicle was located approximately 50 feet south of the dam and 20 feet deep in the water, he said.
“We called the Overland Park Dive Team with the Overland Park Police Department and they came down and dove and advised there was a vehicle,” he said. “There were no people in the vehicle. It was stolen in 2013.”
The vehicle is a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder, a Sport Utility Vehicle.
“We’ve made contact with the owners,” Bell said. “They don’t live here anymore. The case of the stolen vehicle was from 2013 and it is an ongoing investigation.”
“We got dispatched at 10:45 a.m. and the investigation was finished by 5:59 p.m.,” he said.
Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the event.
Headstone/Monument Cleaning Added to Services Provided by Influx Services
Jake Provice started Influx Services a little over two and a half years ago.
“We serve Fort Scott, Joplin, and the surrounding areas,” he said.
“We provide professional exterior cleaning services, and specialize in house washing, window cleaning, and gutter cleaning. We use the ‘softwash’ process…which uses low-pressure and algicides to safely clean your home, without the risk of damage that comes with traditional pressure washing.”
“We provide professional exterior cleaning services, and specialize in house washing, window cleaning, and gutter cleaning. We use the ‘softwash’ process…which uses low-pressure and algicides to safely clean your home, without the risk of damage that comes with traditional pressure washing.”
“At Influx Services we are excited to publicly announce our professional headstone and monument cleaning services, available in Fort Scott, Joplin, and the surrounding areas,” he said. ” We use a specially designed, national cemetery-approved product and gentle cleaning methods to clean headstones and other stone monuments safely and effectively, without the risk of damage or deterioration that can come with other cleaning techniques.”
“The headstone cleaning is a new service,” he said. “I’ve been doing work at Evergreen Cemetery, but this would be the first time publicly announcing it. We use a specialized cleaning product and method that is historically used to clean national cemeteries and the white house.”
“Those interested in our headstone and monument cleaning services and/or our other exterior cleaning services such as house washing, window cleaning, and gutter cleaning, please give us a call or text at (620) 407-3008, or email us at influxservicescontact@gmail.
He takes calls from 9 am to 9 pm seven days a week.
Nominate a Young Entrepreneur For a Feature Story on FortScott.Biz
Fortscott.biz desires to help local entrepreneurs in their business ventures and has featured many on our news service.
We are once again starting a series on young entrepreneurs.
Fortscott.biz would like to feature local, young entrepreneurs under 20 years old, who have seen a need and have started a business to meet it, or who have a talent and turned it into a business.
To nominate a young entrepreneur, email [email protected] with the name, age, email address, and/or phone number of the person, with the business they are doing. Please include who is nominating the person and why.
Relatives, friends and recipients of the product or services are invited to nominate a young entrepreneur.
We also feature local entrepreneurs over 20! If you have started a new business or added a service/product, please email [email protected] with the email address, phone number and tell a little about your business.
New Pet Service Opens By Newcomers From California
Devin and Jalaine Davis moved to Fort Scott from Rancho Murieta, California at the end of April 2024.
“I’m from the Midwest and missed my roots and we wanted to be more central to being able to drive to family,” she said. “We have a military friend from Fort Scott which is what keyed us in to consider this our new home and we love it so far.”
Jalaine is a Navy veteran and her husband is a Marine veteran
She started her pet care service business in California and continues it at their new home. She does pet-sitting, dog walking, and drop-in services available for all pet owner’s needs.
“I started my business in California because I love animals and was tired of being inside all day behind a desk and felt I could serve a better purpose by serving my local community through pet services needs and the business flourished in no time. I left 150 clients to move here and am looking forward to helping others in Fort Scott now.”
“I will be transferring my LLC to Kansas very soon,” she said. “A unique thing about my services is that this is an official, licensed business, unlike other local dog walkers and I provide other services, such as putting out your trash bins while you are away, and returning them the following day, picking up your mail, watering plants, etc. I take my business seriously and do everything I can to accommodate you and your pet(s)! Another unique thing about my dog walking services is that it’s one on one with your pet(s).”
“I DO NOT mix other people’s dog(s) into the walk with yours; allowing your pet to get full attention from me,” she said. “I’m also a runner, so if your pet needs to run instead of walk, I can do it! Send me a text or call to schedule a meet and greet at (916) 753-4733.”
She also takes care of livestock and farm animals.
Her references are available upon request.
Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/
Instagram: @jalainespetservices
Her website at: https://
Her electronic business card at: https://dot.cards/
Jalaine has a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Healthcare Management degree.
Fort Scott Preschool Will Get Bigger Facility in 2025
Fort Scott Preschool Center, 409 S. Judson, has a waitlist of approximately 25 three-year-old students this year.
“We began this school year with 93 students,” said Nick Johnson, the preschool’s principal. “Between students moving into the district and students transitioning from Infant-Toddler services, we are finishing the year with 120 students.”
To solve that problem the USD234 School District has begun the process of renovating a building at 9th and Horton Streets for a preschool center. The building was originally owned by Mercy Hospital.
“The new building will allow our program to expand to five classrooms and all those classrooms will be under one roof,” he said. “Having five classrooms will allow us to increase our enrollment and decrease class sizes. The new building will also provide more space for related services. In our current situation speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, mental health services, and English Speakers of Other Languages services all share very limited space. Having staff in the same location will allow for increased collaboration and more consistency between classrooms.”
“Currently, everything being done is behind-the-scenes planning by the architects and engineers.,” Johnson said.
“Architects and engineers are currently working on plans for the new building,” he said. “The school board held a hearing at the April board meeting to begin the process of hiring a construction manager at-risk. The next step will be to hire a construction manager at risk. We are planning for construction to begin this summer.”
“Construction should be completed during the 2024-25 school year,” he said. “We are planning to be in the new building for the 2025-26 school year.”
Criteria to attend Fort Scott Preschool Center is based on age,” he said. ” The student must be three or four years old on September 1st.”
Students fall into one of three categories: 1) students who qualify for an Individualized Education Program (IEP), 2) students who are at risk of entering kindergarten socially, emotionally, or academically unprepared for success, and 3) peer models.
“All four of our classrooms are blended preschool classrooms, meaning they contain a combination of students from each of these three categories,” he said.
Preschool is offered free of charge to all families.
“Our preschool program receives special education and preschool-aged at-risk funding administered by Kansas Department of Education,” he said. “We also receive funding from the Kansas Preschool Pilot Grant and the Early Childhood Block Grant. These four funding sources cover most of our preschool expenditures and keep the program free for families.”
The mission of Fort Scott Preschool Center is to create a school environment that partners families, the school, and the community to build a foundation for lifelong learning.
There are five preschool teachers – four classroom teachers each licensed to teach early childhood special education and one part-time intervention teacher.
“We have eight classroom paraeducators,” he said. ” Our classrooms are adequately staffed as we finish the school year, but we will need to hire one or two additional paras next fall as some of our current paras transition into other roles.”
Fort Scott Farmer’s Market Until 6 p.m. This Evening
Upgrades on Fort Scott’s East Side Are In the Works
Upgrades to Third Street Park, Nelson Park and the Ellis Park Soccer Field are in the works by the City of Fort Scott.
“The City of Fort Scott is working on upgrades to the 3rd Street Park bathrooms, ” Mary Wyatt, Fort Scott’s Planning, Housing, and Community Development Director, said. “I’ve ordered new bathroom doors, Ron Hurd Construction is going to be framing in the new doors, Stoughton’s Plumbing will be drilling sink holes into the concrete in both bathrooms and installing sinks, we (the City of Fort Scott)are installing motion lights, security cameras, and automatic locks for the bathroom doors. Evergy (the electric utility) has made a donation of a 35-foot pole to the project and CrawKan (Telephone Cooperative) has also been involved in the technology aspect of this project.”
Third Street Park is located at 600 E 3rd St., a few blocks east of Hwy. 69.
The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team received a grant to install new playground equipment and new concrete stairs that have added better access in the multi-level park in 2023.
“Through funding from Patterson Family Foundation and Blue Cross and Blue Shield Pathways to a Healthy Kansas, HBCAT started the Stronger Together: Building Up Our Neighborhoods placemaking projects,” according to Rachel Carpenter, HBCAT Director in a prior interview.
A Building Up Our Neighborhoods Placemaking project through HBCAT repaired the bathrooms and existing structures, including the basketball goal.
To view the prior story:
“HBCAT initially started the 3rd Street Park project in 2023 and had new playground equipment and fall protection installed, the City of Fort Scott promised assistance on the project in the form of upgrading the bathrooms,” Wyatt said. “The City of Fort Scott has paid for the bathroom doors and security equipment and will be paying Stoughton’s Plumbing for their services and Jeff Allen for electrical work and CrawKan for the technology work, Ron Hurd Construction has volunteered to donate their time to frame in the new bathroom doors, and Evergy donated a bare 35-foot pole.”
“The HBCAT 3rd Street Park project was paid for by a grant that HBCAT applied for and were awarded, but the bathrooms portion of the project is paid for by the City of Fort Scott,” Wyatt noted.
The bathroom completion timeline is the end of May.
“There are a lot of moving parts and coordinating of individuals and businesses to make it all come together, but it is my goal to have the bathrooms completed and opened to the public by Memorial Day weekend,” she said.
Wyatt has been working on other projects for youth.
“I am also currently working on a project to make upgrades to Nelson Park, I’ve recently attended several Community Development and Grant Writing workshops and have found many resources that could lead to grant funding opportunities to fund the Nelson Park project,” she said. Nelson Park can be accessed from East Wall Street, turning north on Grant Street
“A few months ago, I completed a project that brought flashing school zone speed limit signs to both Margrave Street on the east side of Fort Scott as well as on National Avenue on the west side of Fort Scott and also just received additional flashing school zone signs that will be placed on Horton Street. The cost of the flashing school zone signs were split between the USD234 school district and the City of Fort Scott.”
“I am also currently looking into a project that could hopefully help resurface the Ellis Park soccer field this summer,” she said. Ellis Park is near the Fort Scott Middle School, on Twelveth Street.
Grace Baptist, First Presbyterian Churches and the Old Mercy Building Will Be Open Should Tornado Sirens Sound
The doors will be unlocked for those seeking shelter tonight should the tornado sirens sound, at the following places:
Bronson, Garland, Mapleton and Uniontown all have storm shelters in their communities.
Fort Scott has three options.
South Fort Scott: 401 Woodland Hills, the northwest employee entrance will be unlocked, should the tornado sirens sound.
Downtown: 308 South Crawford, the First Presbyterian Church will be unlocked for a storm shelter.
East side: Grace Baptist Church, 502 S. Margrave, will have the front doors unlocked this evening for a safe storm shelter.
Hartman’s Celebrate 74th Wedding Anniversary
Leo and Arla (Ater) Hartman were married on May 7, 1950 at the farm home of Roy and Bessie Ater, her parents.
They are celebrating 74 years of marriage.
They raised their children on a farm near Hiatville and Leo just retired from farming a few years ago. Their sons are Dennis, deceased; Mark and Sherri Hartman, Uniontown; and Jerry Hartman, Claremore, OK.
They have six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Cards may be sent to 2152 Irish Road, Fort Scott.
Severe Weather Is Coming This Evening: Be Prepared
There is a possibility of severe weather this evening and the community should be aware and planning in case of emergency.
“Everyone needs to keep informed about the possible severe weather either by TV, phone, or internet,” Bourbon County Emergency Management Director Brian Allen said. “There are storm shelters in Bronson, Uniontown, Mapleton, and Garland. They are opened by someone in their community. If a town has storm sirens, they are also responsible for activating them.”
” Fort Scott Dispatch only has control of the sirens in Fort Scott,” he said.
In Fort Scott there are few public options for getting in a basement during severe weather, but Grace Baptist Church, the former Mercy Hospital building and the Presbyterian Church will be opening a door to the public, if the tornado sirens sound.
Brandi Rhoades, at the Grace Baptist Church on 502 S. Margrave Street, said the front door of the church will be unlocked if the sirens go off in the city.
Matthew Wells, Legacy Healthcare Foundation Director of Plant Operations, said the northwest door of the former Mercy Hospital building at 401 Woodland Hills Blvd. will be open in case the siren goes off in Fort Scott. This was the employee entrance.
The Presbyterian Church basement at 308 S. Crawford will be open should the sirens sound, said Cindy Goebel, church secretary.