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Category Archives: Bourbon County
Labor/Housing and Retail Studies To Be Conducted By Bourbon County Eco Devo
There is a shortage of workers and also quality housing in the county.
The Bourbon County Regional Economic Development Inc. (REDI) organization is working to address that problem.
“We are conducting a labor and housing study that will be used to help create programs that will allow REDI to help our current employers and the communities within Bourbon County to attract people,” Robert Harrington, director of REDI said.
“We know that there is a shortage of workers and quality housing within our county,” he said. “We are hopeful that after these reports are published we will get a lot of information that we can use to help find solutions for both issues.”
Looking for Retailers That are Needed
REDI is also facilitating a retail survey at the same time.
“We will use (this study) to help give us an idea of what new retailers the citizens of Bourbon County would like to see and the information we would need to attract such retailers,” he said.
The retail survey can be viewed at:
REDI Consultants Conduct Interviews, Send Surveys
REDI recently hired Goldstone Consulting, Moberly, Missouri, and O’Brian and Associates, Joplin, Missouri, who will be conducting the interviews and putting together the studies after they accumulate all of the information, he said.
“They will also be giving the REDI Board a strategic plan based on the data we receive,” he said REDI is paying for the study
“The consultants that we hired will be conducting interviews with several of our business owners in the upcoming months as well as surveys being sent out to Chamber members and citizens across the county,” Harrington said.
“We are also hopeful that we will be able to send these same surveys out to students in the two high schools and the community college so that we can get a perspective of our younger generation on their needs and wants as well as hopefully entice them to stay and live and work here at home,” he said.
“The studies are being paid for by Bourbon County REDI and the results will be given to my board of directors by August of this year,” he said.
CASA Training Begins
Youth Entrepreneur Challenge Tradeshow March 8
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Young Mom Turns Creative Outlet into Business
Genna Gilbert, 23, is a stay-at-home mom who is turning a creative outlet, arts and crafts, into a business to benefit herself and her family.
The business is called Made With Love by Genna.
She started doing artwork at 16-years-old to “get away from reality,” Gilbert said. “Painting/crafting helped me escape and get away from all the negativity that was going on in my life at the time.”
Then people started noticing her art and asking her to do some painting for them.
That began the process of selling her work. This year she made it an official business, she said.
She paints on metal, resin, glass, clay, and wood, creating items from earrings, drinking cups to windows. “A lot of things, custom artwork,” she said.
She does most of her work at her dining room table, with her husband Dante assisting her with paperwork and “cutting wood,” she said.
In the near future, she is hoping to put items online and in addition, have painting sessions for children and adults.
To contact her see her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MadeWithLoveByGenna or email her at [email protected]
Get Ready for Walk Kansas
Southwind Extension District
Spring is around the corner, and that means it’s almost time for Walk Kansas! This is a team-based health initiative program that will encourage you to lead a healthier life by being more active and making better nutrition choices.
Through Walk Kansas, you are part of a six-member team which selects a goal and then supports one another in reaching that goal during the course of the 8-week healthy lifestyle challenge. Teams can be made up of family members, coworkers, friends, community organization members, neighbors, or members of a faith-based community. You don’t have to be in the same town, county, state, or even country. If you don’t have a team, we can assign you to one or you can fly solo!
We promote walking because almost anyone can do it and it is good for your heart. However, other types of exercise are beneficial as well so they also count towards Walk Kansas minutes. This includes any moderate or vigorous activity. This physical activity will help boost your mood, sharpen your focus, reduce your stress, and improve your sleep. No matter who you are, you can find safe, fun ways to get active by moving your own way.
By participating in Walk Kansas, you gain support in working towards leading a healthier life, including support from your teammates and exclusive membership in a closed Walk Kansas Facebook group. Success increases with supportive relationships. You will also receive weekly newsletters filled with motivational healthy lifestyle information, resources, and recipes. This year, the newsletters will include a focus on healthy eating for the mind, since eating a certain way can help protect brain function and reduce your risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s. Furthermore, you will qualify for HealthQuest credits if you are a State of Kansas employee participating in this program!
So, what are you waiting for? Registration for Walk Kansas opens on March 1st. Register by March 26th online at WalkKansas.org or by contacting your local K-State Research and Extension office. For more information, please contact Clara Wicoff, Nutrition, Food and Health Agent, at [email protected] or by calling 620-365-2242.
Healthy Bourbon County Action Team Feburary Newsletter
Click below to view the newsletter
Fresh Produce Can be Delivered to Your Door: 1553 Plants and Produce Farm
A local entrepreneurial farm couple has been planning and planting during this dormant season time planning their new products and services.
1553 Plants & Produce is a local farm started by Kenny and Kerry Wunderly in November 2020. The farm is located at 1555 205th St., Fort Scott, KS 66701.
The couple sells many farm-related services and products that they are willing to deliver.
“This past year our biggest seller for our produce was our variety harvest baskets,” she said. “We featured these on our Facebook page weekly and they sold out very quickly. We delivered these to our customer’s doorstep that day and we will continue this again this year. These will be starting again around late May. We are currently working on a website for ordering but as of now it’s all still through text, call, or Facebook message.”
The phone number is 785-422-5770.
“This year we will have a full line of garden vegetables. Celery, Tomatoes, zucchini, squash, beans, sweet corn, lettuce, broccoli, peppers, radishes, beets, cucumbers, watermelons, and cantaloupe just to name a few,” Kerry said. “We are making these available in weekly harvest baskets in season along with our on-farm u-pick section and on our self-serve veggie trailer. And if you’d like, we’ve entered into a wholesale agreement with a local restaurant, La Hacienda, so you can get them already cooked!”
“We are expanding our herb offering and will have a large variety of fresh herbs, dried herbs, and herb salts,” she said.
They will also be growing winter squash, pumpkins, ornamental corn, sorghum, and cotton, and some ornamental cabbages to use in fall decorative vignettes they create, which they call fall bundles.
“Our fall bundles are delivered the first week of October and consist of straw hay bales, pumpkins, gourds, cornstalks, and ornamental corn ears and mums. This year we will be adding dried cotton plants, sorghum stalks, and ornamental cabbage as available. Mostly grown on our farm, but some items will be locally sourced from other small, family-owned operations.”
“For Christmas this past year we wrapped hay bales in ribbon to look like large presents, made an evergreen basket complete with boughs, berries, and Christmas balls for ornaments, and finished it off with a homemade wooden snowman. Nearly all of these things are upcycled from the farm. We’re going to be doing this again for 2022 with some small changes. These were and will be again, delivered the first week of December. We also do just the wooden snowman for those interested.”
“The wooden Easter bunnies are new this year and we plan to have them ready by mid-March,” she said.
The couple added a hoop house on the property to extend providing products, she said.
They also provide landscaping services.
“We didn’t intend to be in the landscaping business but had the opportunity to work with some great clients,” she said. “We did a lot of flower bed maintenance and rescue and it was awesome to see the look on our client’s faces when they saw the finished product.”
“We built and installed lots of raised flower/vegetable beds and even built a small retaining wall,” Kerry said. “And we picked up a few lawns for mowing. None of these things were on our radar to begin with, but we were happy for the opportunity and will continue to provide those services where needed.”
Next on the Horizon
“We are exploring a couple of “on-farm” experiences for folks that might be interested,” she said. “The first is our Dinner On The Farm (event). We are working to develop a menu that’s been completely produced on our farm. You will be able to bring your family or friends out for dinner cooked by us on the farm. You can see exactly where your chicken was hatched and raised and see the exact bed where your broccoli and tomatoes were grown!”
“We will be building the seating area in the next few months and hopefully will have our first dinner served by late spring,” she said.
They are in the planning phase for a fishing pond on their property.
” Our pond will have a dock for easy access and be stocked for those wanting to (fish),” she said. But if you catch a giant you have to release him…HAHA just kidding, kind of!”
“Kenny has been a hobby photographer for years and has taken thousands of photos on our farm,” Kerry said. “We will be planting a small plot of sunflowers this year and opening our farm up at times for other local photographers to photograph these and all the other flowers we grow.”
“We are also in the planning phase of building some photo blinds in strategically placed spots on the farm,” she said. “These will be sets with a water feature, feeders, and native plants and bushes for bird photography.”
The couple is looking for another source of protein being produced on their farm, and this project is expected to be in place by fall.
They offer free garden consults and build raised beds gardens.
“We will be adding a couple more beds to our community garden section and those are available to rent for the season right now,” she said.
Is Vertigo Contributing to Your Fall Risk?
Falling is a concern for anyone. However, as we age, falls may happen more frequently, and as my grandfather used to say, “we just don’t bounce as well as we used to.”
Several factors may contribute to the more frequent falls, such as medications, chronic disease, vision or hearing loss, loss of strength, foot problems, and sometimes we just don’t pick up our feet as well as we should. Keeping physically active and doing strengthening exercises on a regular basis can reduce our risk for falls. If balance is an issue for us, we are likely not to keep up with the physical activity needed to help reduce the fall risk.
Vertigo is a common falls risk that creates a sensation of dizziness that leads to balance problems and ultimately makes a person a higher risk for falls. Nearly 40% of Americans experience vertigo sometime during their lifetime. It can happen at any age, but is more common in people over 65. Women may experience vertigo more often than men. It can also be a side effect of pregnancy.
Dizziness is more of an overall feeling of being unbalanced. For those experiencing vertigo, it can feel like they are moving and the environment around them is spinning in circles. Some compare vertigo to motion sickness, as they are feeling as if they are spinning or tilting.
Vertigo is not considered a disease. It can be scary, but is not considered serious. However, it may be a symptom of other serious health conditions. It is important to visit with your health care provider when experiencing recurring vertigo attacks. Tests can be performed to more correctly pinpoint the cause.
Most common instances of vertigo are related with hearing and the ear — particularly a problem within the inner ear, known as peripheral vertigo. The inner ear is associated with helping us keep better balance. However, there is also central vertigo that occurs when there is an issue with the brain. Causes for this version of vertigo can include infection, brain tumors, traumatic brain injury or stroke.
Vertigo attacks may last several seconds to minutes. In severe cases, those spells may be experienced for several hours, days, weeks or even months.
In many cases, vertigo goes away on its own. There are also several treatments that may successfully manage vertigo. Medications may be needed to treat an infection or relieve nausea or the sensation of motion sickness.
Taking extra time to stand, turn your head, or rolling over in bed may help reduce your risk for vertigo. Other steps in reducing risk include sleeping with your head elevated, sitting down as soon you feel dizzy, or squatting instead of bending over to pick something up.
Don’t let vertigo contribute to your risk for falls. Identifying the root cause of your vertigo can be determined by your health care provider and a personalized treatment option may be established to help you get back to a normal life.
There are some specific exercises that can be done to help improve balance. For more information on those exercises, contact your local Southwind Extension District Office.
K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
HBCAT Awards Local Grants
The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team to Award $42,000 in Grants
Fort Scott, KS: Health is economic stability. The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, Inc. (HBCAT) aims to increase access to wealth building opportunities to Bourbon County residents through our local and regional partnerships at the Action Team’s Centers for Economic Growth. Providing local businesses expertise and guidance, particularly in these very turbulent times, has shown to be a critical resource to increase the number of business start-ups and number of available quality jobs.
HBCAT will be awarding six grants totaling $42,000 on March 7th in their office at 104 N Nation Fort Scott, KS 66701 at 12 pm. The event will be broadcast live on Facebook and is also open for the public to attend in person and celebrate the grant awardees. With the support of the Patterson Family Foundation, the HBCAT will award a total of $145,000 to low-income, minority owned, women owned or food-based businesses over the next two years. Each grantee is a client of the Pittsburg State Small Business Development Center (PSU SBDC) at the Action Team’s Center for Economic Growth. There will be a total of four grant cycles in the next two years.
Please join us in congratulating following businesses:
Two farmer/rancher recipients ($10,000 each):
Freedom Farms
The Palmers are taking an innovative approach to sustainability by developing a farm co-op business model. They are able to help Bourbon County residents increase access to healthier food by allowing them to buy directly from the producer. It is important for them to educate their customers on where their food is coming from, they have opened their farm for visitors through agritourism. HBCAT is excited to share their vision of seeing a healthier Bourbon County.
1553 Plants and Produce
The Wunderlys are removing the barriers for their community to access healthier food by establishing a weekly delivery system. Through this process they create relationships with their customers and understand their target market. They now have a wholesale relationship with a local restaurant to incorporate their produce in their menu.
Restaurant/Food Retail Recipient ($7000):
Dry Wood Creek
Martin Elton is former president of the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association. With this experience he is able to bring a unique perspective to his business model and the relationships with other restaurants. He is increasing access to healthy food by having a wholesale relationship with a local farmer and incorporating it in his menu.
3 Low-Income, Minority, or Women Owned Startup Businesses Recipients ($5,000 each):
Eighteen65
Bailey Lyons, along with her husband Nate, purchased the historic McDonald Hall building downtown with a plan to restore the building and create commercial and residential spaces that will be available for rent. There is a strong need in the community for quality rental spaces, and a high demand for these in the historic downtown area. Bailey is wanting to help meet this need. More businesses operating downtown, coupled with more people living or staying downtown, will generate increased spending in the area, more foot traffic, and overall increased vitality.
Made With Love: By Genna
Genna Gilbert is turning her creative hobby into a business. She sells tumblers, earrings, pens, signs, and she even does custom orders. She is wanting to work with other artists to hold craft workshops geared towards children. She is excited to create her own wealth and provide for her family.
Writers Edge
Kim Carpenter decided to take a step of faith and use her experience and education to create a proofreading business. Marketing and getting the message across clearly is essential to nearly every business. Kim is wanting to help businesses by providing her professional skills of copy editing and proofreading to help support the local economy.
The HBCAT Grant program is funded by the Patterson Family Foundation with the intention of increasing access to resources that will provide opportunity for economic stability, reduce poverty, and instill hope for upward mobility in employment. Each applicant is required to enroll with the PSU SBDC at the Center for Economic Growth and work with a local team to develop a sustainable business plan with financial projections.
Food retail/restaurant and farmer/rancher grants have an additional eligibility requirement to build and document wholesale relationships.
Some of the most common reasons for advancing programs that support local foods are that local food production:
- Provides incentives for entrepreneurship and innovation;
- Expands consumer choice and fresh food access;
- Improves negotiating power to local producers;
- Supports rural economic revitalization; and
- Protects the food system against severe shocks through decentralization of production.
According to Smart Growth America, in today’s world business growth is driven by collaboration among many types of entities, private, companies, universities, and others, that must interact frequently and work together creatively. HBCAT’s Center for Economic Growth is the epitome of this new model. The HBCAT’s Center for Economic Growth is a multi-partner collaboration of the HBCAT, Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, PSU Small Business Development Center (PSU SBDC), Southeast KANSASWORKS, Fort Scott Community College, and multiple local business owners.
PSU SBDC is available to businesses to provide the technical assistance needed for economic planning of rural businesses to obtain capital, develop marketing strategy, and more. Southeast KANSASWORKS is the Local Workforce Development Board (LWDB) that serves 17 counties in Southeast Kansas, including Bourbon County. Southeast KANSASWORKS contributes to economic growth and business expansion by ensuring the workforce system is job-driven, matching employers with skilled individuals.
if you want to know how to become eligible, please contact Rachel Carpenter by emailing [email protected]
Find us on social media! On Facebook, Instagram and Twitter #healthybbco
Background of The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team:
The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team is a Blue Cross Blue Shield Pathways to Healthy Kansas Community. Its mission is to increase access to healthy food and physical activity, promote commercial tobacco cessation, enhance quality of life and encourage economic growth. The problems of health inequity and social injustice are complex in nature and inextricably linked to key economic indicators. A healthy workforce is a prerequisite for economic success in any industry and in all cities.
Contact information:
Jody Hoener, President and CEO
The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, Inc
620-215-5725
Rachel Carpenter, Program Coordinator
The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, Inc
620-215-2562
Mary Hunt, Interim Operations Director
Southeast KANSASWorks
Desk: 620-232-1222
Cell: 620-670-0006
Website: www.sekworks.org
Dacia Clark, Assistant Director, PSU SBDC
785-445-2537
Lindsay Madison, President and CEO
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce
(620) 223-3566
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:
(1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
(2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or
(3) email: [email protected].
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
- Exceptions to Including the Full USDA Nondiscrimination Statement
Bourbon County Commission Agenda For March 1
County Commission Room
1st Floor, County Courthouse
210 S. National Avenue
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Tuesdays starting at 9:00
Date: March 1, 2022
1st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________
2nd District-Jim Harris Corrected: _______________________
3rd District-Clifton Beth Adjourned at: _______________
County Clerk-Ashley Shelton
MEETING HELD IN THE COMMISSION ROOM
Call to Order
• Flag Salute
• Approval of Minutes from previous meeting
• Eric Bailey – Road and Bridge Report
• County Counselor Comment
• Susan Bancroft, Finance Director Comment
▫ Grants
▫ 2022 Calendar of Events
▫ Executive Session – KSA 75-4319(b)(2) for consultation with an attorney for the public body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship
▫ Executive Session – KSA 75-4319(b)(6) for the preliminary discussion of the acquisition of real property
• Public Comment
• Elected Officials Comment
• Commission Comment
Justifications for Executive Session: KSA 75-4319(b)(1) To discuss personnel matters of individual nonelected personnel to protect their privacy KSA 75-4319(b)(2) For consultation with an attorney for the public body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship KSA 75-4319(b)(3) To discuss matters relating to employer-employee negotiations whether or not in consultation with the representative(s) of the body or agency KSA 75-4319(b)(4) To discuss data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trust, and individual proprietorships KSA 75-4319(b)(6) For the preliminary discussion of the acquisition of real property KSA 75-4319(b)(12) To discuss matters relating to security measures, if the discussion of such matters at an open meeting would jeopardize such security measures.
To view the county’s calendar:
What’s Happening in Fort Scott Feb. 25 Newletter
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