Category Archives: Area News

Fort Scott Area Chamber Holiday Parade

December 3, 2014 Clayton Whitson Leave a comment

Fort Scott, KS — Tuesday night hundreds of people gathered to the Historic Downtown Fort Scott to watch the annual Holiday parade hosted by the the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce. The parade started at 6pm on Main Street from 3rd Street to Skubits Plaza.

Following the parade, the Mayor’s Tree Lighting ceremony commenced. A few remarks were made by Cindy Bartelsmeyer in Skubits Plaza before several prizes were given away. Local businesses, Walgreens, Radio Shack and Walmart, were kind enough to donate prizes for the drawings. The lighting of the tree wrapped up the outdoor activities.

During the parade, everyone was able to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate provided by the Fort Scott Recreation Commission and after the Tree Ceremony, kids were welcomed by Santa at Papa Don’s. The first 200 children were given a free book donated by Greenbush. If you weren’t able to make it, here are a few pictures to tide you over until the next Fort Scott Parade!

Area News, Fort Scott

Fort Scott Christmas Parade

November 20, 2014 Clayton Whitson Leave a comment

Fort Scott, KS – The holidays are nearly upon us and many are gearing up for all the festivities. One event you need to make sure and have on your calendar is the city Christmas parade happening December 2^nd, downtown. The parade starts at 6pm on Main Street and ends at the Skubitz Plaza. At the plaza will be Santa and drawings for prizes.

If you are the creative type and interested in putting a float in the parade, there is still time to get your entry submitted!! There are cash prizes for the top three entries and you can submit your entry to the Chamber.

If you have questions, contact the Fort Scott Area Chamber and Tourism Center
231 E. Wall
620.223.3566
[email protected]

Area News, Fort Scott

Chili Feed Today – United Methodist Church

November 14, 2014 Clayton Whitson 2 Comments

Fort Scott, KS — If you are wondering what to do for lunch today, the United Methodist Women will sponsor the “Friendship Soup Lunch” in the church’s fellowship hall from 11:30a – 1:30p. The menu will include Chili, Potato Soup, Hamburger Soup, a variety of pies and a drink! There’s no charge, but you are welcome to make a donation! They will also be having a bake sale starting at 11am.

Also, next weekend (November 22), First UMC is sponsoring a concert at FSCC in the Ellis Fine Arts Center at 7pm. No charge for the concert, but there will be a offering to help cover expenses. Two bands will be playing, Among the Lost and Greater than Fables will be performing.

Check out their Facebook page here.

You can keep up with all that’s happening at First UMC at their website here or you can ‘like’ their Facebook page here

Contact:
Address: 301 S National Ave, Fort Scott, KS 66701
Phone:(620) 223-1950

If you have an event coming up or think you know of something we maybe interested in covering, please email us: [email protected]

Area News, Business, Fort Scott

Sleep Inn & Suites Grand Opening

November 6, 2014 Clayton Whitson Leave a comment

Fort Scott, KS — On November 5th, about 70 community members showed their support for the newly opened Sleep Inn & Suites in Fort Scott.

The Chamber held a ribbon cutting ceremony and many of Fort Scott and Bourbon County officials were present and a few made brief remarks and congratulations to Bill and Jennifer Machaud.

“The sign is going up today and looking forward to open doors and serving Fort Scott, ” Bill Machaud commented as he addressed the crowd and covering the amenities the hotel has to offer. These include 59 rooms, wi-fi, full complementary breakfast, indoor pool and weight room. Doors are open and they will be happy to take your reservations for the upcoming holiday season.

For more information or reservations:
Sleep Inn & Suites
302 E Wall St.
Fort Scott, KS, 66701
(800) 424-6423

Area News, Fort Scott

Lowell Milken Center Groundbreaking

November 4, 2014 Clayton Whitson Leave a comment

Fort Scott, Ks – Last Thursday the Lowell Milken Center for unsung heroes had their groundbreaking ceremony at 6^th and Wall Street. Back in September, Fort Scott city commissioners voted 5-0 to transfer the land at the corner of Main and Wall to build a 6,000 square foot venue to honor, display, promote, engage and further the message of the unsung heroes.

Exterior-Rendering-Lowell-Milken-Center-for-Unsung-Heroes — Exterior Rendering – Courtesy Lowell Milken Center

Interior-Rending-Lowell-Milken-Center-for-Unsung-Heroes — Interior Rendering – Courtesy Lowell Milken Center

According to Heather Griffith, Director of Economic Development, “The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes is truly one of the great assets of Fort Scott and enriches our entire community.” The Lowell Milken Center is an educational non-profit, the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes discovers, develops and communicates the stories of Unsung Heroes.

The LMC locally has hosted over 25,000 visitors from every state in the country and has impacted over 1,000,000 students through their various programs. The LMC was established in 2007 and did not want to limit its reach nationally, also has international programs and visitors from 68 countries have visited the LMC in Fort Scott.

Due to growth and rising demand for its services, LMC was in need of a new headquarters. The construction of the new 6,000 square foot building will serve for the international headquarters and exhibit space. Construction is expected to be completed in the summer of 2015. You can visit their web page here and for current events and announcements, check out their facebook page here.

For more information you can contact:

Heather Griffith, Director of Economic Development
City of Fort Scott
620.223.0550

Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce
620.223.3566

Lowell Milken Center
[email protected]
620.223.9991

Area News, Bourbon County

Shead Farm Host Elementary Day at the Farm

October 30, 2014 Clayton Whitson 1 Comment

Garland, KS — On October 15th, one hundred thirty Fort Scott Elementary kindergarten students traveled to the Shead Stead Farm in rural Garland to enjoy the beautiful fall weather and experience many farm related activities.-

20141015-DSC_2226 — All photos credit: Mark Shead

The eight classes were accompanied by their teachers and a number of parents. Four of the classes participated in the morning activities and the other four in the afternoon, crossing over with both classes being at the farm for lunch around the picnic tables.

The various activity stations were attended as each teacher rotated her students around the farm. This gave the children opportunity to explore different aspects of farm life and fun that can be created with a little imagination.

The Indian camp with a teepee was hosted by Benjamin Shead who was dressed in full Indian attire. Children sat on mats and wore headbands and feathers as they learned several Indian songs and rhyme.

Teachers then moved on to the animal area where each child was able to pet and feed the donkey, the pot-belly pig, the goats and pet the horse. Chickens, guineas, ducks, cats, dogs and friendly turkeys could be observed wandering around.

A favorite to all of the students was the barn swing and hay ride. Teachers and parents helped the students take turns swinging. Raymond Kalm, a nearby farmer, drove the hay wagon to the delight of the students.

The chicken yard story time was hosted by Katy Shead who read the story of Henny Penny and showed the students live baby chickens and guineas. Each student was able to gather eggs from the metal nest boxes.

The apple harvest station was run by a parent and Haley Shead. Students learned about the comparison of a bushel basket, a half bushel and a peck. They also learned how to pick apples from the tops of the trees with an apple picker. They were able to watch how one can peel apples quickly with an electric drill, core and slice them and then sample the tasty crisp apples.

Another activity station included finding feathers in hay and then matching them with the picture of farm poultry.

Butter making was another area of interest as the students learned about how to make butter the old fashioned way and the new quicker way of doing it in the blender. Treats of crackers with butter were shared with the students. Teacher, Mrs. Melissa Tatro and Haley Shead helped with this activity.

During the afternoon, Fort Scott Community Rodeo Cowboys came to help the students learn to rope. Also on display were various collections of insects and bird habitats. Class pictures were taken on the old tractor.

Story submitted by farm owners, Larry and Vickie Shead.

Area News, Fort Scott

Sleep Inn & Suites Hosts Chamber Coffee

October 24, 2014 Clayton Whitson Leave a comment

Fort Scott, KS – Thursday morning, the Chamber coffee was hosted by Bill and Jennifer Michaud in the new Sleep Inn & Suites hotel that will be soon opening their doors. The coffee was to show off the new lobby and hotel, complemented by a nice breakfast, that will be available for guests staying in the hotel.

_MG_9653 — Bill and Jennifer Michaud, owners Sleep Inn and Suites

The official grand opening and ribbon cutting is November 5^th at 11am. However, if you need a place to stay, they will be able to make accommodations for you and family that maybe coming in this weekend. Reservations will be available online November 1^st through Choice Hotels.

They are finishing up some small details and putting all the final touches on the hotel. There are 59 rooms (combo of doubles & king suites), fitness center, pool, small meeting room, wireless internet and breakfast.

Contact information:
Sleep Inn and Suites
302 E Wall St.
Fort Scott, KS 66701
620.223.2555
[email protected]
sleepinn.com

Area News, Bourbon County

Young Professional League of Bourbon County host Sheriff Candidates

October 15, 2014 Clayton Whitson Leave a comment

Fort Scott, KS

It goes without saying, but one of the greatest impacts on a community is who the people vote into office. This November, there will be important decisions to be made. One of which, will be the county Sheriff.

At the last Young Professional League of Bourbon County, YPL hosted those who will be on the ballot for County Sheriff. Mike Feagin and the current Sheriff, Bill Martin shared their thoughts and responded to a few questions. (in case you don’t make it to the end of the article, there will be a candidate forum Oct 20th, hosted by the Chamber at Fort Scott High School).

Here are the general remarks:

Mike Feagin:

Ramp up efforts to address the drug problem
Build unit cooperation / collaboration
On site working with the drug enforcement
Increase grant research for equipment / maintenance

Bill Martin

Shortfalls due to budgetary restrictions. Need new radios, budget has been approved. Working closely with Fire Chief to ensure radio systems will be compatible.
Won 40K Grant for video systems in all patrol cars
Need more personnel – final decision is left with the commissioners
Drug cases – more difficult than property theft. Have to build a case, determine probable cause, etc
Have a strong working relationship with FSPD.
Open door policy / transparency

Another major issue – jail. Invitation for all to come and visit and see what is going on. Two bonds are going on – taking a step back until school bond is passed.

Questions:
If bond issue to build new jail (increase tax) fails, what is the plan?

BM – I don’t want a new tax, but to pull from sales tax. Also, housing other inmates to bring add’l revenue to pay building. Will not go after prop. tax 40-55 inmates per day. Need to have room for 15 more. Current jail is designed for 26 inmates. Wyandotte Co and surrounding Co are very interesting.

Moderator stop discussion here due to limited time to allow for additional questions. Mike did not get to answer.

If population of inmates is growing, but the population is not, why?

BM – job force is low, laws are changing that are more aggressive

MF – There are alternatives to dwindling job force, need to focus on prevention as well as prosecution ie cadet program

What is the biggest drug contributor?

BM – meth; K2 is growing because not illegal in surrounding states

MF – agreed

If you know you there is a drug problem, what can a citizen do?

BM – keep reporting it, manpower is down, we can partner with KBI, but need to have the case built before much can be done.

MF – agreed, keep watching and be vigilant.

Which is more important, prevention or enforcement:

BM – both are important, sometimes getting arrested is the only way to get them into treatment programs

MF – (general discussion started and MF did not get a chance to respond.

Important dates for the upcoming elections:

Oct. 14 – Last day to register to vote in general election
Oct. 15 – Advance voting begins
OCT 20: Chamber Hosts Candidate Forum at the Fort Scott High School
Oct. 31 – Deadline for advance ballot application
Nov. 3 – Noon deadline to cast advance voting ballot in person at county election office
Nov. 4 – Advance ballots must be received in county election office by the close of the polls, polls are open from 6am to 7pm

Area News, Bourbon County, Business, Fort Scott

Project 17 and Kansas Leadership Center Offer FREE Workshops

October 14, 2014 Clayton Whitson Leave a comment

Fort Scott, KS – Have you been looking for a way to make a real impact on your community on multiple levels? If so, you might want to do learn more about Project 17. Project 17 was born out of a large community meeting to address socio-economic, health care and industry in 17 counties in South East Kansas.

The mission statement is to improve the economic opportunities and qualities of life of those who live, work, and play in the 17 counties of South East Kansas. One of the key indicators of low performance is the lack of high impact civic leadership. Towards this goal of increasing networking and leadership, Project 17 has joined with Kansas Leadership Center and is putting together one day (FREE) leadership conferences in area counties to address these issues.

During the conferences, there will be actions points where leaders can get involved as well as discussion topics such as: Diagnosis Situation, Intervene Skillfully, Energize Others and Manage Self. These conferences are focused on developing leadership skill in the civic leaders in the area. Registration deadline is October 15, click here to register. Here are the dates of conferences in the area:

October 28:
Fort Scott Community College, Ellis Family Fine Arts Center (2108 S. Horton, Fort Scott, KS 66701)

October 29:
Neosho County Community College, Ottawa Campus(900 East Logan St., Ottawa, KS 66067)

October 30:
Independence Community College West, Woods Family Community Center (2615 West Main St., Independence, KS 67301)

Another conference in conjunction with Project 17 is the “UnConference” that will be hosted at Pittsburg State University, Thursday, October 16th, 9-4pm. “Topics will include things like how to support existing business and entrepreneurship, economic development, health education and how to improve the regions workforce,” Project 17’s Executive Director, Heather Morgan commented. Ken Brock and Joe Bisogno will be speaking and will further the discussion of how we can make Project 17 counties more economically productive. Click here for more information and to register (deadline today).

For more information about Project 17
Heather Morgan
Project 17
Executive Director
785-323-7001
[email protected]

Area News, Bourbon County, Fort Scott

Brownback, King make major SEK announcement

October 13, 2014 Clayton Whitson Leave a comment

Fort Scott, KS – A major announcement for SEK came this morning (October 9^th), an announcement that has been debated for a decade. Governor Brownback and Secretary of Transportation, Mike King, was in town to announce the final stretch of highway 69, from Arma to Pittsburg, will be widened to a four lane highway.

It will be a $23.5 million project that has been a long time coming. Brownback cites the reason for being able to do this now is other projects in the state coming in under cost. Already announced and funded is the stretch from Fort Scott to Arma, although construction has not started. The total project will cost about $70 million and will cover about 18 miles. Construction is expected to begin in 2017 and will be completed 2019.

Following the announcement Governor Brownback continued to visit local places in SEK, part of campaigning for the upcoming elections. He didn’t make any remarks but used the time to connect with local people at Papa Don’s pizza in downtown Fort Scott.

Area News

Crawford State Park Hosts Country Music Jamboree

September 26, 2014 Clayton Whitson 1 Comment

Crawford State Park (Farlington Lake), KS – Do you have an award winning chili recipe? Maybe it’s time to put it up to the test! This weekend, September 27^th, Crawford State Park host’s Country Music Jamboree and annual Chili cook-off. This is the last big activity planned at the state park this year.

Cooking starts at 12:30 and judging starts at 4:00pm. If you are not the cook, but enjoy sampling the bounty of good cooks, tasting will take place at 4:30pm. If you think you have what it takes to compete, you can contact Kevin Smith, the chili commissioner: 620.362.3237 or [email protected]. The park is offering free park entrance for this event and if you decide to stay and do a little camping you can register at www.reserveamerica.com or visit the park office.

Also, included in the festivities, are live music and a pot-luck “end of season” dinner at 6:30pm. Bring a covered dish and join in. Live music starts at 3:30pm and includes performances by The Duling Band, Jeff Simpson, Kinley Rice, Jason Richison and more. All activities will be in the Oak Point Campground.

Crawford State Park

If you haven’t had a change to visit the lake, take some time before the winter weather comes to go and visit. The park is located 9 miles north of Girard on Hwy 7 and contains an 150 acre lake. The whole park comprises 530 acres, six campgrounds, five modern cabins (for rent), two boat ramps, a swimming beach and three bathhouses. Also, the park offers four hiking trails, a 9-hole disc golf course and a Civilian Conservation Core (CCC) Memorial Museum (when open).

You can click here to visit their website.

_MG_6581 — Curator Aggie Keeling (right) and friend Dorothy

We will do a more complete story on the historical activity of the CCC in a future article. The lake was constructed in the 1930’s by the CCC and shortly after, the hatchery was built. The Museum contains many artifacts retrieved from the CCC camp which was located were the park sits today. The museum is curated by Aggie Keeling and her friend Dorothy, both who are actively involved in the “Friends of Crawford State Park.” The two of them are diligently working to preserve the history and legacy of the men who built the park. They are also working hard to enhance the experience of visitors today, including raising fund to install storm shelters for park campers. There is an outdoor exhibit as you enter the park, make sure you take some time to observe the memorial and learn some of the history of this park.

Crawford State Park
1 Lake Rd.
Farlington, KS 66734
(620) 362-3671
[email protected]
www.ksoutdoors.com

Area News

Produce Auction in Barton County

September 24, 2014 Clayton Whitson Leave a comment

Lamar, MO – If you are looking for fresh produce in larger than farmer’s market quantities and up for a nice drive, the Barton County Produce Auction is the place for you. Located in Lamar, MO off NW 30^th Ln, has auctions April through October on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 10am. To see the online calendar schedule, click here.

The auction is primarily for farmer’s market vendors or grocery stores, but individuals are welcome to attend as well. This auction is primarily designed to bring local growers and buyers together to sell large quantities of produces for re-sell or consumption.

Of course, the selection is seasonal, currently pumpkins, mums and fall decorations fill the sale bill. Buyers and sellers are both welcome to participate, however, BCPA has a few requirements like growers must be within 100 mile radius, some package restrictions and no minimum bid requirements.