Spyder, Inc, Fort Scott, KS has launched a rebranding scholarship program that is open to Kansas Colleges and Universities. The project runs through September with the winning individual or team winning a $1000 scholarship.
Spyder has made the decision to rebrand with a new name going forward says CEO Nedra Barr. “While we love the Spyder name, we are unable to get all of the social media handles needed as well as Spyder is a pretty common name. We need to move to a name that is more unique and representative of who we are and what we provide in the market.”
Letters with project definitions and guidelines went out Tues, Sept 6th. We’d like to have the individuals or teams known to us by the end of this week or at least by Monday, Sept 12th.
The project entails coming up with a new Company name, checking to make sure we are able to secure the domain as well as the social media handles, and creating a graphic logo by Sept 30th. Winners will be announced at the end of October.
This is truly exciting to work with local Kansas Colleges & Universities on our rebranding project, says CTO, Mike Upright. Our solutions will be running in the market for years to come so we want the business leaders of tomorrow to help come up with a cool, fun name for our Company.”
This project provides the students with a real-life Company branding exercise. This experience will be valuable to the students in their future business endeavors. We welcome any and all, college students who wish to participate. Interested participants may respond with their intent to participate to [email protected]
Good luck to all and we can’t wait to see what our new name will be!
Uniontown had a cool, cloudy day on Labor Day for their annual Old Settler’s Picnic, which has been going on since 1905.
The weekend was full, with a fishing derby, community church service and games preceding the day of the picnic, along with Uniontown High School all-school reunion.
On Labor Day a parade, picnic, games and the traditional recognition of Old Settlers took place along with a large car show in memory of Dale Jackson, a long-time business owner.
Girls race in a contest during the Old Settler’s Picnic.
The following results of some of the contests were provided by Becky Shinn, treasurer/secretary of the Old Settler’s Picnic Committee.
On Sunday night, the corn hole contest was won by Tyler Walker and Chase Ermel, with second place going to Corey Chandra and Dillion Weddle.
“The Sunday Family Fun night was well attended,” Shinn said.
“The activities went very well and everyone had a chance to see old friends.”
The children’s parade always preceeds the bigger parade and the following kids won prizes for:
Best Theme: Harper and Holden Bunnell,
Best Costume: Josie Miller and Bennett Miller, and
Best Battery Operated Child’s Vehicle: Jett Troutman with Sadie and Molly Troutman.
The following groups won prizes in the parade:
Best Church Float: Bethel Community Baptist Church
Bethel Community Baptist Church in the Old Settler’s Parade.
Best Theme Float: The Class of ‘62
Best School Floats:
1. UHS Sophomore Class and UHS Football players.
The Uniontown High School football team in the parade.
Second place: Fort Scott Community Cheer and Dance Team.
The traditional recognition for oldest woman at the park – Natalie Comstock, oldest gentleman at the park – Glen Post;
the couple married the longest -Jerry and Betty O’Harah at 62 years and the former Uniontown resident that traveled the farthest- Dean and Shirly Meyers.
Special recognition was given to Suzie Franklin for all the help she has given the Old Settlers Picnic through the years.
The Uniontown High School Cheerleaders.
The winners of the drawing for cash prizes were:
$100 – Jessica Hagon; $75 – Zach Franklin and
$50 – Michael Ireland.
The Old Settler’s Picnic Committee members were Shayla Knight, Rhonda DeWitt, Nancy Holt and Becky Shinn.
The Uniontown High School Band marches in the parade.Horses are always a part of the Uniontown Old Settler’s Picnic Parade.The Uniontown City Park was full of people enjoying food, friends and family for the annual picnic.The turtle race is a kid favorite at Old Settler’s Picnic.
August 30, 2022,Tuesday, 6:00 pm The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with three Commissioners and the County Clerk present. Susan Bancroft, Michael Hoyt, Bernita Hill, Patty Ropp, Shane Walker, Euna Blythe, Anne Dare, Clint Walker, Debra Dawson, Matt Quick, Rachel Walker, Jackie Pruitt, and Chase Turner were present for some or all of the meeting. Susan began the meeting with an opportunity for people to ask questions regarding Revenue Neutral Rate. The County is going to exceed the RNR as there are some unfunded things due to increases on insurance and the other is for some things going on upstairs with County Attorney and District Court.I talked with Commissioner Harris about looking for an area we might be able to drop the levy that we had proposed when I did the last budget.There is a way that we can but if we do this it will be forever so that is one thing I want to drive home is that we are using some sales tax dollars to maybe fund some operations and by doing that you can reduce what you were proposing by 1.2 mils.We were proposing that we would do a 62.51 mil levy this would lower it to 61.25 and your RNR is 59.907.If you were to take this recommendation we would have a reduction in the mil levy since 2019 of 5.36 mils. Since 2019 you have levied for $114,000 more in property taxes to cover expenses. We would take $150,000 going on until the sales tax falls off in 2035 to fund operations in the jail and public safety.Once this sales tax is off the rolls you will have to levy at that time for those expenses.This is a temporary fix if you want to reduce the levy right now.Jim stated that if we were to have growth we could make the sales tax up. Clint Walker stated it doesn’t matter who is setting in the commission chairs and it’s doesn’t matter who the county assessor is.It’s not his fault, they are bound by rules and regulations that you will bring your property values up to 90% of what it’s worth. It’s nice the mil levy went down, but anyone who looks at their tax bill will see that they are paying more than last year.It’s hard to keep taxes down.Expenses have gone through the roof. Nelson stated if we go over the RNR, we will be cutting out $311,000 from the County budget; if we didn’t, property taxes will go up.It’s up to the publicto decide if they are willing to let $311,000 be cut from the county budget; the less money the county is levying to more money the people are keeping, but also services can be lost too. A gentleman asked how much money is owed in back taxes and EMS bills.He stated if you could collect that you might make up the $311,000.Things are getting more expensive. David Scharenberg–people’s income is not increasing.Would like taxes to not increase so people can afford to live.
Clinton Walker–Other entities raise taxes not just one.If one lowers and others raises taxes; taxes still go up. Anne Dare–People should have attended the college and schools hearings.We need x-amount of money cut from where?Or more funds somewhere. Chase Turner, Deputy for Bourbon County employee but here as a citizen.I moved from Frontenac to Bourbon County.When was the last time Bourbon County was allowed to have economic growth that has impacted us?Clifton stated that the commissioners are working on multi-year deals.He puts in 20–30 hours per week that the public doesn’t see.Chase stated the negativity of the RNR process now is clashing withthe idea that we are trying to have economic development.I’m concerned ifwe cave to the negativity in the temporary you’re going totorpedo the growth in the future. Is the increase today, this year or for the next few years and the things we are asking for worth it to sustain that growth and suffer in our taxes today.I can’t answer that for everyone, but I just hope we can ask that question of ourselves.Nelson stated that so many people think it’s the county and local government to increase economic development to make us prosperous.I fundamentally disagree with that.Ibelieve it’s the county government job to enforce laws and keep people safe but ultimately it’s the people.We have the freedom to bring businesses in, make smart business decisions, wake up early and go to work and if you can do that without being overly taxed and if you can do that without rules and regulations that are hindering you, then maybe you can be more prosperous. Mary Pemberton: we understand the challenge of staying revenue neutral.It’s very difficult when the price of everything you buysgo up and you’re trying not to spend any more money.One thing I noticed almost every department head that came up and presented their budget, time after time I heard the statement “we didn’t budget for raises, we only gave the 3%”.No one here asked orcommented that a 3% raise is a raise.If they gave 3% raises and didn’t increase their budget they obviously have padding so to speak in their budget to begin with.Mary said she wanted to address another statement that we can only control road & bridge and appraisers.You guys have the budgeting authority; you set the budgets for all departments.You are required by law to give them enough money to effectively operate their department but what that means is that if you know the sheriff has the opportunity to cut $50,000 worth of fuel costs by buying in bulk.Take $50,000 out of their budget and say we aren’t saying you have to buy it but we are not going to fund you not to.If they go over their budget, I know that has some repercussions for you but it might be the only way that people in the county will wake up and realize what’s going on and the hostage holding that is occurring within some of the departments in their budgets could lead to a recall or an election of someone different next time. Instead of the way it works now when people go to the poll and they are very uninformed, most of them,and they are just checking off a name they know.If they don’t know any of the names, they just look to see who the incumbent is and they check that.People need to be aware.Nelson stated it was explained to him that if the elected official
asks for something we have to give it.We give it by default then if we think it’s unreasonable we have to go to a state hearing later and we may or may not win. Michael Hoyt stated that Revenue Neutral is a very deceiving term. It sounds like a good thing but it may not be. Clifton made a motion to close the RNR hearing.Nelson seconded. All approved. Clifton made a motion to amend the agenda to add Fire District #3 notice of hearing to exceed Revenue Neutral Rate and budget hearing for Fire District #3 of Bourbon County.Nelson seconded.All approved. Clifton made a motion to open the RNR hearing for Fire District #3. Nelson seconded. All approved. Lou Howard requested a small budget increase that will raise our property taxes $4.00/$100,000 home.We have no intentions of raising property taxes ever.Fire District #3 covers 508 square miles of Bourbon County.We are Uniontown, Bronson, Hiattville, Devon, Mapleton, Fulton and Redfield.Scott Township Fire Department and Garland Fire Department are separate from us.We have 7 stations and 25 volunteers.We do our very best with tax dollars to provide gear and equipment but this year it did exceed.Clifton stated speaking as a citizen, not a commissioner, that he was a volunteer years ago and he remembered someone told him that we have to spend this money or we won’t get it next year.I don’t know if that mind set is still there.Clifton asked Lou to please stress that with her crew.Lou stated that they are very careful until the end of the year and see where they are with fuel expenses and then if there are funds remaining they look at what they have to have for the following year.We are also first responders and EMT’s.Susan stated that there proposed budget was $333,200.Last year it was $328,940.Clifton made a motion to close the RNR and budget hearing for Fire District #3.Nelson seconded.All approved. Clifton made a motion to adopt resolution 12-22 a resolution for the County of Bourbon, Kansas to levy a property tax rate exceeding the Revenue Neutral Rate. Nelson seconded.Clifton clarified that we are not voting on the budget, this is a resolution that has coming out of a senate bill that is absolute nonsense.All approved.Clifton made a motion to adopt resolution 13-22 a resolution for the Fire District #3, Bourbon County, Kansas, to levy a property tax rate to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate. Nelson seconded.All approved. Clifton made a motion to add to the agenda the budget adoption of Fire District #3. Nelson seconded.All approved.Clifton made a motion to adopt the budget of Fire District #3 in Bourbon County.Nelson seconded.All approved. Clifton made a motion to approve the minutes from August 23, 2022.Nelson seconded.All approved.
Eric Bailey stated they completed asphalting in the Uniontown area last week and have moved out to 215thstarting at Indian and went south 1.2 miles and will make it down to Grandand turn around and come back to finish that.Then we’ll look at doing Grand from 39 to 39.Last Friday we had two big trees go down on 125thjust south of Mapleton.Got them cleaned up Friday night and roads back open.We submitted two applications to the Off System Bridge Program; bridge #19.2Q-0 between 195thand 205thon Jayhawk; and the other is at 60th& Grand bridge 5.0S.9. Bridge 518 on 215thwas in the KOBIP program and I believe it has been submitted as well.Eric stated the soybean permit has been signed and is in the mail.We can proceed forward with building a pad for composting of soybeans.Eric stated that the asphalt oil that they use has gone up $7,000 per load this year.Nelson asked about working on a section of Yale Rd. between Mapleton and Hidden Valley Lake.Eric stated that the section needs to be taken back to gravel and rework the base and then repave it to do it right. County Counselor Comments: No Comment Chief Financial Officer Comments: No Comment Chief Information Officer Comments: No Comment Public Comment: Michael Hoyt quoted Clifton Beth from the newspaper.“People need to show up”he said.He encouraged people to provide commissioners with input regarding the budget.Beth talked about the limited number of people who attend the meeting or were watching the livestream online.Michael continued with, please consider how frustrating it is when 50% of the content of a meeting is coming where we can’t hear you.It’s either made at the back door here or commentsmade from the audience.So we need microphones up there, another podium over there.The agenda this evening said to be here at 9:00am; but then we change it to 6:00pm.So which is it 6:00pm or 9:00am?We get confused.Nobody shows up.Justin Meeks stated that according to the Kansas Open Meetings Act does not require for the meeting to be videoed.This is a service to tax payers.Shane Walker stated that YouTube is a technology that we do not own or control. If you want me to record these meetingsand broadcast them to work 100% all the time it’s $60– $70,000.We are not going to raise taxes to do that.Michael read from a ballot from April 7, 2015 regarding the jail sales tax.Michael stated that the jail sales tax is set to end in two years.Justin Meeks stated he and Mr. Hoyt have had discussions regarding this issue. It is statutory.If the sales tax went up we could pay the jail off sooner, but we are years away from this occurring.Michael Hoyt stated that we have paid on this for 8 years and the ending balance is still over 6 million dollars.Justin stated that the bond goes out to 2035.Susan clarified that we refinanced the bond, so if we are talking just about bonds, there is 5.2 million on the refunding part of it and $565,000 on a couple of certificates thatit didn’t make sense to refinance and so those two together is $5.7 million.What you have to understand about the debt service and how it’s structured is you pay interest and you pay your principal at the end and it continues to get higher each year. Normally debt service you will pay higher at the beginning and it will get lower or it stays relatively the same but this is structured so that we are paying more as the years go on because I think the idea is that our sales tax revenues will go up. Sometime after, I wasn’t here at that time, they must have determined that the sales tax was going to generate enough money to buy additional jail pod and equipment. This is not a bond. This is a lease purchase and there is still $1.5 million owed on that. So when Michael says it is exceeding $6 million, the bonds aren’t exceeding that, the bonds have been paid down but you still have total debt service in excess of the $6 million because I think there were some pods and stuff added after the fact. Michael stated that whether the sunset date is 2025 or 2035 we should be very careful how we spend this money and not use it outside of the jail. Susan stated the money is being used for public safety. It is being used for equipment, cars and paying down the debt. Justin Meeks stated that there are two different types of sales tax and how they are on the ballot. In this case it doesn’t have the sunset, it’s open sales tax until the bond is paid off. Commission Comment: Nelson stated that if the point of the conversation is that we pay our debts off quicker if possible, I agree. Clifton stated last year we refinanced the debt and was able to save about $100,000 per year. Nelson made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Clifton seconded. All approved.
Bourbon County Carpool Tour is Saturday, September 10:
Miracle Mile of Barnesville, Fort Lincoln, Freedom Colony and Guthrie’s Mound
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, Old Fort Genealogical Society, and Historical Preservation Association of Bourbon County announce another carpool tour that will be on Saturday, September 10th at 8:30am. The format of the tour will be by carpool where attendees provide their own transportation, depart together from the Old Fort Genealogical Library, and stop at designated locations of the tour to learn historical facts of Bourbon County by local historians.
During the tour on the 10th of September, hear the story of the Civil War Veterans who are buried at Barnesville Cemetery and the action in the surrounding area. Drive the Miracle Mile (MILITARY ROAD) north of Barnesville and experience it as it was during the Civil War. Stop at Fort Lincoln and hear the story of the fort and the Little Osage River below the bridge. Travel on to the Freedom Colony and LEARN how they could have changed Bourbon County into the first Boeing Air facility. Finally, meet at the Mapleton Park to hear about Guthrie’s Mound and the history of Mapleton.
The tour will leave The Old Fort Genealogical Society at 221 S. National Ave. (Memorial Hall) at 8:30 am and will finish by 10:30 am. The cost is only $5 per person and pre-registration is required on a first-come, first-serve basis. Those interested may register online at fortscott.com, click on Events, then Bourbon County Tour. For questions or more information, contact the Old Fort Genealogical Society by calling 620-223-3300 or emailing [email protected].
August 23, 2022Tuesday 9:00 am The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with the three Commissioners and the County Clerk present. Clint Walker, Don Hutchison, Rob Harrington, Susan Bancroft, Shane Walker, and Matt Quick were present for some or all of the meeting. Jim announced Clifton had a flat while driving in.He will be in momentarily.Nelson made a motion to approve minutes from the last meeting.Jim seconded.Both approved. Eric Bailey gave an update on asphalt.We have ½ mile left in the Uniontown area. The water pump went out in the laydown machine.Should have it fixed and be back out there later today if not tomorrow.We moved the rock crusher last Thursday to Blake.While our dozer was being repaired; and having the landfill kit put under it, we rented a dozer.We took that dozer out to Shepherd Quarry and cleared out some overburden.We are almost ready for another blast.Culvert crew had a great week last week.145thbetween 54 and Osage they went in and re-ditched and added some culverts and got the area cleaned up a little bit.Tomahawk and 185thto 195thwe did some more ditching and built the road up.145thand Poplar, they did some culvert and ditch work there. 145th& Range culvert and ditch work there. 135th& Range and 135th& Tomahawk and then Poplar & 95thculvert and ditching in that area.Andy Johnson, in our Noxious Weed Dept, has resigned and taken another position pursuing another career.We’ve got some interest internally.We have a shipment of chemicals in if anyone needs to get their fall chemicals.BNSF called yesterday and they are going to closing 230thbetween Grand and Hackberry tomorrow from 8am to 5pm to do some crossing maintenance.We had our field check on the bridge at 160th & Fern and everything went well with that. We are moving forward with that project. KOBIP Program with funding to be able to repair bridges that are located on RS roads and off system roads.Rob and Emily have worked hard to get paperwork put together for bridge 518 which is between Valley and 215ththat goes over the railroad tracks. With this program it is a 90/10.Our part would be the 10%.We are clarifying some information that we heard from some of the KDOT people that were there for the field check and we have some bridges on our inventory program that are old metal truss bridges that actually have bridges located right next to them. We have 4 identified now.They are on Yellowstone between 35thand 65 Highway; 225th between Poplar and Quail; 255thand Yale; and 265thbetween Xavier and Wagon.With this program they have an incentive to remove the bridges from the inventory list and they will provide $1,000 per linier foot per bridge.This would include bridge 2.0 B.1 Yellowstone 35thand 65 Highway; bridge 21.0 J.8 on 225thbetween Poplar and Quail; bridge 24.0 B.0 255th& Yale; bridge 25.0 D.0 265thbetween Xavier and Wagon.I think we may have more but those are the ones we would be interested in at this time. Clifton made a motion to remove the bridges from inventory as stated by Eric.Nelson seconded.All approved.Jim asked about the money on the big bridge if that is Federal or State money.Eric stated Federal brought down through the state.Jim
asked about the off system roads is the also 90/10.Eric stated that off system is 100%.We would like to look at the one at 160th& Grand for sure as the farmers have made a path to the west of it to get around. Eric stated there is no guarantee we would be awarded the grant but I believe we should apply.Jim stated that once we get the big one locked in money-wise I would like to look for money to rehab the metal one on the blacktop down by Garland. Eric stated this is going to be an ongoing program.Clifton made a motion that the money received from the inventory bridges be used toward other bridges.Jim seconded.All approved.Nelson asked if Public Works would be responsible for dismantling the bridges.Eric said we will take them off of our inventory list and then he would need to work with Justin and see if we can find someone who may want to purchase the bridges. Greg Post asked about the possibility of annexing Timberhill into Mapleton so that we can get some revenue. Justin stated if the landowner and the city agree then they need permission from the commissioners.Justin stated that legally we would have to have a resolution to do this.Justin stated it would mean additional taxes for the landowner.The commissioners were ok with working on the annex. Bob Reed stated that as of last Friday, at 5pm, all inmates are back.Hopefully, in two weeks we will be fully staffed.Jim stated he appreciated the hard work from Bob Reed to make this happen.Bob thanked his employees, those that stayed and rode out the storm.Thank you to those who have come forward and taken a job. Clifton thanked Bob Reed. Matt Quick stated that he has 3 vehicles in his fleet right now.Was going to try and make it through this year with the 2007 brown chevy.The field appraiser was out in it and stepped on the brakes and heard a clunking noise and brake pedal went to the floor.She found the brake pad on the ground.It’s wore out.Want to get approval to purchase another vehicle to replace that one.We have the money in our vehicle reserve. Jim stated that we want to shop local.Nelson asked if they buy brand new. Matt said new or as close to new so that there is a warranty on them.Also, want to buy something we can work on local.The brown chevy has been in our fleet for over 10 years.Stock is hard to find.They are just getting their 2022 vehicles and they should be getting the 2023’s.Nelson asked if the equipment reserve account county wide.Matt said this account is just for his office.Clifton made a motion to approve Appraisers to use his equipment fund to purchase a vehicle up to $35,000.00.Nelson seconded.All approved. Rob Harrington asked for executive session. Clifton made a motion for executive session KSA 75-4319(b)(4) to discuss data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trust, and individual proprietorships for 20 minutes including 3 commissioners, Justin Meeks, Rob Harrington, Susan Bancroft, and Shane Walker returning here at 9:49am.Nelson seconded.All approved. Clifton made a motion to resume normal session at 9:49am.Nelson seconded.All approved.Clifton made a motion to go back into executive session KSA 75-4319(b)(4) to discuss data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trust, and
individual proprietorships including 3 commissioners, Justin Meeks, Susan Bancroft, Rob Harrington, and Shane Walker for 10 minutes returning here at 10:00am.Nelson seconded.All approved.Clifton made a motion to return to normal session at 10:00am.Nelson seconded.All approved. Justin Meeks asked the commissioners to make a motion to allow Rob Harrington to start negotiations for acquisition or sale of real property.Any contracts would come before the commissioners in an open session. Clifton made a motion as stated by Counselor Meeks.Nelson seconded.All approved.Justin asked for executive session. Clifton made a motion for 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 including 3 commissioners, Susan Bancroft and Shane Walker for 5 minutes returning here at 10:08am.Nelson seconded. All approved. Clifton made a motion to return to normal session with no action. Nelson seconded. All approved.Clifton made a motion for executive session KSA 75-4319(b)(1) to discuss personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel to protect their privacy including 3 commissioners, Justin Meeks and Susan Bancroft for 7 minutes returning here at 10:16am.Nelson seconded.All approved.Clifton made a motion to return to normal session in this room with no action.Nelson seconded.All approved. Susan Bancroft stated that securities are on track.Sales tax is down $15,000.00 this month but is still up $132,000.00 for the year.Everything else is coming in where it should be.I’m watching the Medical Building & EMS Services.EMS seems to be back on track to what it was in 2020.The sewer district is run through the monthly bills at the water dept at the city and they forward over to us.Our bond payment is due the middle of the year for principal.We don’t have enough cash flow in that fund to pay for it.I’ll have to pay for it out of the general fund and then move it back over. Shane Walker–CIO: Cost estimates for the parking lot is between $75,000 and $90,000 from two different contractors that Ag Engineering contacted.They are going to tear everything out and build a whole new drainage.The city will come back in after we’re done and re-index all the bricks and fix the hole which is due to drains that was covered by asphalt.Nelson asked how long it will take.Shane said he thought several weeks.Susan said the money will come from the sales tax fund. Clifton made a motion to allow Shane to go out for bid on the parking lot on the north side.Nelson seconded.All approved.Shane stated David Lee from Nuwave is an Allen County Commissioner and they are working on a grant called the Middle Mile Grant for fiber expansion.They are going to get fiber in the ground all the way out to Mildred.He wants to apply for the grant here and we would have to be the sponsor because it’s a county private thing to get ground-based fiber out to Hidden Valley Lake. Public Comment: Clint Walker thanked Shane.Devon and Mapleton need high-speed internet.Clint stated regarding the annexation for Mapleton that you need to be careful what you wish for.Clint stated he is glad we are going for grants to get things done.
Commissioner Comment: No Comment Clifton made a motion to allow the commissioners to attend the REDI Visioning session at the River Room.No county business will be conducted.Nelson seconded.All approved. At 10:31am, Clifton made a motion to adjourn.Nelson seconded. All approved. THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS (ss) Jim Harris, Chairman (ss) Nelson Blythe, Commissioner (ss) Clifton Beth, Commissioner ATTEST: Ashley Shelton, Bourbon County Clerk August 30, 2022, Approved Date
August 16, 2022Tuesday 9:00 am The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with all three Commissioners (including newly appointed Commissioner Dist #1 Nelson Blythe) and the County Clerk present. Robert Harrington, Anne Dare, Jason Silvers, Susan Bancroft, Bill Martin and Clint Walker were present for some or all of the meeting. Jim started the meeting by welcoming Nelson Blythe, the newly appointed Commissioner for District #1. Clifton made a motion to approve the minutes from August 9th. Jim seconded.All approved. Eric Bailey stated that the information he read states the commissioners shall sign for new culverts.It was determined that the culvert permits would be brought in once a month for signature from the commissioners.Eric stated they had a surprise inspection in the Noxious Weed Department and passed with flying colors.Andy has done an outstanding job.Eric continued discussion with asphalting.We are west of Uniontown.We did not asphalt yesterday due to three dump trucks being down.We got one back up and going so we are asphalting today.It probably will be the middle of next week before we are finished in that area.Eric thanked Commissioner Blythe for coming out last week and helped lay some asphalt and rode the screed. Eric continued stating we are experiencing several breakdowns.It is diesel, exhaust, & fluid (DEF) related.We are not able to repair those DEF issues so we have to send them off.We’ve got two dump trucks and a side-arm mower down with it.Our other side-arm mower has the gear drive bearings out on it but are in the process of getting that put back together.Grader #14 dropped a valve.It’s at Foley getting repaired. The lay-down machine was delivered to Van Keppel.Regarding the belly dump, I will hold off till late fall to see where we are with the budget.Eric gave a copy of the fuel cost spreadsheet to each commissioner.Jennifer has done an outstanding job putting this together for us.Bulk fuel saves us.We are doing a field check meeting Friday on the bridge project at 160th& Fern. KDOT, Schwab Eaton will be there.Eric stated the sign requested for the “s” curve on 207thoff of Jayhawk is in the process. Eric said they would use a side-arm mower to get it trimmed up and ready for the sign.Nelson stated he received a call regarding Hackberry Road between 80th& 95th the low water bridge is bad on the south side.Eric said they would take care of it. Jim asked about the bus route regarding mowing.Eric said they are on it. Lynne Oharah talked about one of the agreements we do every year.Another discussion regarding the chillers at the hospital.Design Mechanical services our chillers every year.Last year our total package for servicing the chillers was $10,806.00.It’s down this year because we are not servicing as much equipment. The price for this year will be $$6,940.00.Nelson asked if this was the same people who have taken care of it in the past.Lynne said yes.Clifton made a motion to
approve the service agreement paying a quarterly payment.Jim seconded.All approved.Lynne continued discussion regarding the chillers and stated that every 5 or 6 years they crack them open and actually clean the coils.If you don’t, there is build up and it starts deteriorating.The last time it was done was well over 6 years ago.Lynne said he would come back at a later date and have a serious discussion on whether we are going to do this or not. Anne Dare spoke about EDF Energy stating they are coming to NW Crawford County. Anne was contacted by someone from Crawford County and wanted to know what could be done to fight this.I was given a few paragraphs of the contract and it was shocking to read that if the leased land is ever sold, EDF has first rights at buying it among other things.Anne asked the commissioners to seriously consider implementing a special use permit for new industry coming to the county.Clifton stated that previously the commission was asked to sign something that we would not infringe on people’s property rights at all.“I agree with that.Are you asking me to infringe on people’s property rights?”Anne stated that she did not believe asking industry, whatever it might be, in this case wind energy, the land owner that is approached would still have the right to put this in place, but it also establishes something for the protection of commissioners and something stronger to establish a negotiating process.Jim stated that he has been a supporter of special use permits and still are somewhat because I understand, being a codes guy and zoning administrator for the City of Fort Scott for many years, but by doing this special use permit we have the option of saying yes or no.If we say no, we are going back on what we voted on just a few months ago.Nelson stated he doesn’t even like the sound of special use permit just from it doesn’t sound very conservative.I understand your concerns, I will look at it, but I don’t know how you can only target it toward the wind industry and if put in place any other industry would have to go through that as well.I don’t want any more barriers to bring industry into Bourbon County.Clifton stated that we have setbacks already.Justin Meeks stated that there were already setbacks.Justin stated that youcan’t restrict one industry and not another or you would run into lawsuits.Anne asked that the commissioners take a look at and consider a permit. Transient Guest Tax (TGT)–Nelson stated that he contacted one of the businesses in the county and they weren’t even aware thatpeople were talking about the TGT. Nelson stated that he would want to meet with the people that own the Airbnb’s to ask their opinion.Jim stated that he would like Susan to look into it to see how it can be structured to help the County.Jim stated I would be in favor of it if the property owner supported it and if the money stayed in the County to be used to promote tourism.Mark McCoy stated the Tourism Director should market and merchandise and advertise not just the city of Fort Scott, but the entire County.As a former business owner, we survive together, not alone.The subject was off set for 60 days. Sheriff Bill Martin–a couple of weeks ago a citizen put through a KORA for an ammunition report.Nick Trim will present this information.Nick gave information regarding his previous experience and training certificates.Nick stated that he is a
less lethal instructor. We teach taser and pepper ball.I am thankful for the progressiveness of the sheriff’s office asit has changed in a positive manner during my tenure.We have trained law enforcement agents only to see them leave.The positive thing about that is they have gone to other agencies and made those agencies better.We have one of the best firearms training programs out there due to Sheriff Bill Martin’s understanding of the importance of such training.We have three phases of training: preparation, fight and aftermath.Ammunition is expensive.It is a necessary cost.Training is expensive and time consuming.Law Enforcement is about doing the right thing to the right person at the right time.Everything we do has to be legal, ethical and within department policy. That takes training, time and experience.Our training is so good here that we have outside entities coming to us and asking how do you do it.How are you providing such a quality product?It’s through time, training and money that gets it done.The sheriff’s office maintains three weapon systems: Glock pistols, AR rifles and 12-gauge shotguns.We have 18 weapons-certified officers under my charge. Three admin, 1 jail major, 1 school resource officer, two detectives, 8 road deputies and 3 part-time, including myself. Everyone of these individuals must be responsibly trained in each one of these weapons as they may never know which weapon system they are going to have. Everyone has to be trained because we owe to them to survive.We have to stay ahead of ordering ammo.Sometimes you can’t get it.We use one ounce slugs, double-aught buckshot and number 8 birdshot.Double-aught buckshot will beat you up.After four hours at the range most people are ready to go home.That’s why I use number 8 birdshot.Twenty-five rounds of this cost $8.00.Twenty-five rounds of double-aught is $27.00.I can still teach the same cost-saving manipulations in training for this ammo.We live in a rural community and everyone has shotguns in their homes.Our biggest threat is number 8 birdshot.I need our guys to understand you can survive this and how to counter it and what can I use this for to make my day better and get me home.This is why we use number 8 birdshot. It’s not out wasting ammo.We are very fortunate to have the ranges that we use and available to us at no cost.We do competition shooting, stress level shooting.There are only 8 of us that work the road.There’s only 13 or 14 of us total.Way less than aquarter of the population.Training is based on the four pillars of self-defense: mind set, tactics, skill and right gear.We owe it to our community to provide a level of law enforcement that is trust-worthy and proficient in all we do.Law enforcement is an expensive service to provide.Ammunition is one of those costs.If I have only 8 to 16 hours per year to teach an officer something that can save their life or another then I believe we owe to them the time, money and effort to get them home.Bill Martin stated that there is a major health system in Kansas who has reached out to Deputy Trim because of the training he puts on for the sheriff’s department.They are wanting this type of training to this health system.That is a major kudos for Deputy Trim.Nelson commended Deputy Trim for the training he provides.Mark McCoy has attended multiple training sessions in different states with different law enforcement present.In regards to Columbine and Uvalde, the lack of training and mindset of the officers; there is a failure that took place there.Training is so important.I’ve been present when the FSPD and our guys are training.They train together because if something goes on here in Bourbon County,it’s going to affect Bourbon County.We
survive together.Jim stated that the presentation was by a citizen submitting a request.This commission has never questioned your training.Bill stated in regards to the fuel update, I submitted an updated fuel cost for the 2023 year.Five Corners has offered a 5 cent per gallon discount to the sheriff’s office. Jim asked if Bill felt that was an adequate discount considering the savings that could be had with Public Works.Clifton stated that today a gallon of gas is $3.61/gallon and bulk fuel is $3.18/gallon.That’s a 40 cent/gallon savings.Jim stated that a report that was given to him by Eric Bailey on July 27ththe fuel pump rice was $4.30 or $4.40 and bulk price was $3.46.There is no discussion on savings by buying fuel at Public Works or providing you a tank, but the savings can’t be argued. Bill stated that I live local and buy local to help people.Jim stated that our bulk is purchased from a local dealer. Justin Meeks gave an update on tax sale.The date is October 13that 10:00am.We have a meeting set up next week to have discussions regarding the future of the land bank and how the county and the city can work together to move that forward. Susan Bancroft requested permission to publish the RNR Hearing Notice scheduled for August 30that 6pm.The proposed tax rate is 62.514 which keeps us levy flat.I would like to schedule a budget workshop between the commission and myself and go through the budget.It was determined that the budget workshop will be held on Friday, August 19that 9am.Ashley remarked regarding the RNR that people are going to get the letter; they’re going to see them in the newspaper.The RNR rate, just like the counties you see it going up, that is an estimate.And if you think you’re going to be close,you want to put that you’re going to go above and publish that because otherwise you can’t exceed that.So, in November when the valuations, if they change, if they would happen to go down, you won’t get x amount of money you asked for because you can’t go over that rate if you didn’t publishthat and hold a hearing.Clint Walker commented that he was glad Ashley brought up the RNR because the public needs to know thatthis isn’t the county’s deal.This is the state come in and said if you exceed this not only do you have to publish these hearings in the newspaper.They estimated that it would cost $20,000.00 to send this out. For the first two years,the state is going to pay for that.Then after that it’s up to the county to pay for it.Ashley stated that it cost Bourbon County approximately $10,000.00 to send the letters out.Ashley stated she has the representative’s information if you would like to contact them if anyone would like to give their opinion. Shane Walker–CIO: gave a report on the towers.What we are doing with the towers is going to add three repeaters to law enforcement and then we’re going to put EMS on the same repeaters.Someone went out to work on something and ended up cutting a service loop out of the cable that we would use to take the antennae down or to service it.That all goes back to having one vendor service all this equipment and we put that entirely in the cities hands. When this is done, we should have 97 to 99% coverage, even in Hidden Valley; having two towers up there will help.Jim asked if this would provide most everyone with internet.Shane said internet is more line of sight.Ring built on east side and Fort Scott Fire Station #2 tied back in.
Public Comment: Clint Walker asked Commissioners what town in Kansas is the top 52 to visit?The answer was Humboldt.Clint suggested they look at what Humboldt is doing and it might pay for us to take a look.Anne Dare stated that she appreciated Eric and Susan staying on top of the Public Works budget.Anne asked Ashley for an RNR explanation (printed) and would also like a tutorial.Anne asked how many different types of things the County does have charge of,that maybe we don’t need to have charge of.The hospital comes to mind.What expense is happening out there?The cell towers; I don’t know about the ambulance service.Does the County run that?Susan stated by law the County has to run it.Anne asked about the subject being brought up to privatize the jail.Shane stated that by law, the sheriff has to run the jail.Jim stated that could be one room. Anne added that she is in favor of the transient guest tax being applied to the county.Anne stated last week there were some officers here talking about the meth weight.She stated that she discovered on the 11ththat all charges against those two gentlemen have been dismissed due to lack of evidence.Clifton stated that state statute states that we have to make sure ambulance service is available to the county.We don’t have to ownit.We could do like Linn County and have AMR come in and run it and pay them a large sum of money.We have subsidized EMS in this county since 1995.Regarding the hospital building, we still want to get rid of it, but to the right people.That is still being worked on daily and lots of hours have gone into that over the last year by myself, Rob Harrington and multiple people.Clifton also stated that he believes the RNR is an absolute joke and I’m sure they had good intentions at the state level butit is all on them.Call your state representatives. Susan stated it is costing us more money. Nelson Blythe requested the budget workshop on Friday, August 19thbe moved to the afternoon if that would work for the others.The meeting was rescheduled to begin at 1pm. Clifton addressed the radio towers.ARPA funds were used for the radio towers for internet, dispatch and EMS.Shane stated its part of the 911 system and we have no choice.Clifton stated he voted yes because he believes the county needs those services.Jim stated he agreed with Clifton. Jim stated that during the work session he will be looking for any place we can cut a penny.We have to do it because of unfunded mandates this year. Jim read a letter from SEK Substance Misuse Prevention Coalition asking to come and promote recovery month on September 7thon the courthouse lawn with a table, a banner and some recovery handouts.We would like to leave the banner for the month.Discussion was had that indicated the commissioners would like to find them another location to set up. Rob Harrington reminded that there will be a vision meeting at the River Room on Tuesday, August 23rdat 5:30pm.There will be a meal, but only those who are invited will be allowed to participate.The public is invited to the meeting.We’ll have another meeting at the end of September to follow up.
At 10:56am Clifton made a motion to adjourn.Nelson seconded. All approved. THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS (ss) Jim Harris, Chairman (ss) Nelson Blythe, Commissioner (ss) Clifton Beth, Commissioner ATTEST: Ashley Shelton, Bourbon County Clerk August 23. 2022, Approved Date
August 9, 2022Tuesday 9:00 am The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with two Commissioners (Jim Harris and Clifton Beth) and the County Clerk present. Susan Bancroft, Michael Hoyt, Teri Hulsey, Trace V. Evans, Austin Bahr, Alvin Metcalf, Kevin Davidson, Bill Martin, Jason E Silvers, Mark McCoy, Matt Quick and Brian Allen were present for some or all of the meeting. Clifton made a motion to approve meeting minutes from July 18th, July 26thand July 29th. Jim seconded. All approved. Eric Bailey stated that the asphalting on 55thto Yellowstone to Zinc is finished. We are now up on Maple 45thand Native area west of Uniontown. We are working on base coat and then we’ll put the leveling coat on. Update on compost permit. I got an e-mail from Emery and he said I received no comments regarding the addition of the compost facility so he is going to begin the processing the application to go through concurrence to get signed permit which requires 8 signatures plus the signed permit. If he forgets to update me on the signature process, he said to feel free to contact him. That tells me we are going to be a little while yet. Prairie Pathways have been in touch with me regarding signs. You approved the signs going west and now they are ready for the signs going east. Clifton made a motion for sign placement. Jim seconded. All approved. Eric provided an updated map of roadside mowing and an update of where they are with that. Eric stated between Tomahawk 205thand 185thhave done some crossroad tubes and are working on some ditching. Kansas west of Hwy 3 is the same thing with crossroad tubes, one entry tube and ditching there as well. The stop sign at 240th& Jayhawk has been replaced. Jim thanked Eric for including him in on the meeting with Van Keppel Equipment we are on our way to a new engine for our paver at a very reduced cost. Jim asked Eric what his thoughts were on a belly dump. Jim statedthat when you’re asphalting, you’re not hauling any gravel. We’ve been lucky but if we get into a wet winter, we’re in trouble. Eric said he had no problem with buying another belly dump but wanted to set down with Susan and see where we are with the budget. Fuel has been very hard on us this year with the fluctuating prices. Clifton said that he was in Crawford County on gravel roads recently and our roads are no better but no worse. Our roads are as good or better than the roads I was on. Bill Martin stated a couple of weeks ago there was an individual questioning the investigation in regards to some drugs that were seized and questioning the ability. I’ve invited Deputy Metcalf and Kevin Davidson that are the drug detectives for the sheriff’s office and they will explain how this process works. Kevin Davidson said he was here to clear up the fuzzy number’s information. We’ve brought documentation to clear up the fuzzy numbers. I have the KSOR (Kansas Offense Report). This report is open to public record. At the bottom it lists the property that was seized. You can verify that there was 8.4 pounds enlisted in the property. The second is the compliant information on the case. I brought a copy of the Kansas Statutes where it can be verified through KSA statutes. The charging and what it’s for and quantities for charges listed. The incident originated just inside the Bourbon County line approximately a mile inside of Bourbon County it did end inside the city limits of Fort Scott. I can’t go into much more detail than that. As far as official weight on any drug seizure, it’s not official until the KBI weighs it.
Anything and everything are presumptive positive until it is verified through the KBI. Any drug seizure falls under that. We weigh it here, but KBI gives the official testified weight. They also give the final say on whether it’s meth, marijuana, we send it as a white crystal substance, clear liquid or green leafy substance. We don’t pretend to be chemist or botanists. Kevin statedthat it is very frustrating to be perceived as slandering when it’s said a certain department has fuzzy numbers when you don’t know how the department operates. Jim thanked them for coming forward and answering questions and taking care of the KORA request. Kevin stated that Deputy Trim will be here next week to address the ammunition concerns. Bobby Reed stated no promises but I’m hoping by the end of the month all of our Bourbon County inmates will be back in Bourbon County. We’ve hired some people; acouple back. We will lose another one soon. He’s been with me for 2 ½ years. If we keep on the same track that we’re on we should be pretty good employee-wise; have everybody trained and get the inmates back. Teri Hulsey, Director of EMS gave an update. July call activity we had 210 calls for service; 78 were 911 transports; 7 to other ER’s (going directly from the scene to other ER’s); two were flown from the scene; 35 transfers that went straight to Pittsburg from our ER here; 21 transfers went to other facilities; 55 dry runs (12 were cancelled prior to arrival on scene). At this point for this month, we’ve already had 56 calls. If things continue, we are on point to have 200+ this month. We made an update and change to our transfer policy. At this point, we are not taking any non-emergent transfers after the hours of 0300 to 0700. We will only be taking stat transfers during those hours. I have updated the policy and Dr. Burke, our Medical Director, signed off on it. If it is a true stat transfer, they need to be contacting flight services. I and Jon Lowery have offered, if they are busy, we will contact flight services for them. If flight services are grounded due to weather or pilot out of hours, we will take the transfers. At this time, I want to introduce you to Trace Evans and Austin Bahr. They recently graduated Paramedic school and have passed their test and are now operating as Paramedics. They’ve also been in touch and been working closely with Osage and they are going to discuss with the possible remount of two of our trucks. Austin stated that a lot of people don’t know the difference between EMT and Paramedic. EMT is a basic level providing basic life support. ALS is advanced life support. More of a level of an RN. We can actually bridge to RN back and forth. We can hand off to a nurse and receive from a nurse. It’s a great asset to the community and hope to do a good job for you.Clifton expanded on the paramedics. I am a nurse. EMT’s are great, but Paramedics are better; they can literally save your life. More so than probably most RN’s to be honest. Austin stated that we are only as good as our equipment. We have two ambulances that are getting up in miles; less reliability. One of them has been in the shop 3 times already this month. Three times in approximately a week. What we are looking at are remounts. You can get a remount which is where they take the box and refurbish and put it on a new chassis. New engine, new frame and get more life out of your box. Some boxes can be remounted 4 or 5 times depending on taking care of it. We take very good care of our boxes. The guy from Osage that has come and talked with us has expressed that as well. They give you a kick back from that. Susan stated that approval from one remount was made previously. I told them it is good for us to discuss it and we’ll see if the funding is available through ARPA funds. Trace stated that they did approve one but that bid is outdated. They only last around 30 days. Austin stated they are looking at three possible options. One is upgrading from a type 3 chassis to a type 1 chassis. Trace stated the
main difference between type 1 and type 3 is the chassis is a truck chassis and 4 wheel drive. The type 3 is a 15 passenger van chassis. Austin stated type 1 will be four-wheel drive, gasoline and safety wise they are a longer wheel base. They’ve got a larger front-end to absorb more impact if you were in an accident. The front end is a lot stronger and more durable to stand up to gravel roads. Suspension on the type 1 truck will be upgraded to a liquid spring suspension; it auto-levels and is much safer. They use these in RVs and commercial vehicles to make them easier to handle. It makes for a smooth ride for the patient and safer ride. It will be four-wheel drive which will make itmuch better; we’ve had to go out into pastures before to pick up the patient. Also, will help in the winter time. The ease of maintenance on the type 1 trucks is a big thing. We’ve talked with Tom who does our maintenance on all of our trucks and he would be ecstatic to get them. Instead of the engine being mounted in between the cab of the truck and the front. It would be all out front. Would be looking at less labor time for maintenance. If we get these and do future remounts on those trucks it will be cheaper than the initial cost. The initial cost will be more but, in the future, will be less. Life expectancy of these trucks are longer due to upgraded suspension and everything. Jim asked how long before another remount would be needed. Austin estimated at least 10 to 12 years. A remount is when they remove the box and completely refurbish it; put everything new back in it. There is a savings of $25 to $50,000 savings by keeping your box. You take the refurbished box and mount it on a new chassis. We have pricing for remounting two of our trucks, EMS 1 and EMS 3. One is a Chevrolet Duramax with roughly 233,000 miles; the other is EMS 3. It’s a 60-power stroke which has a lot of emission issues and is in the shop right now. Each of those with an upgraded power load cot system we priced those in there because they are a lot safer; that is the industry standard now. Kansas doesn’t regulate it but in Missouri any remounted box has to have that system. You basically push the cot up and it locks in, you push a button and it loads the patient versus us standing there having to lift the patient in. These prices are with that $42,000-$43,000 cot system. The remount EMS 1 it would be $199,594.05. The remount of EMS 3 would be $198,889.05. The third option is upgrading to a type 1 chassis. If we want to get into a type 1 chassis, we have to get rid of our boxes; our boxes structurally can’t mounton the truck chassis. We have to sell our boxes to them $8,000 per truck and then would buy an Osage supply box that they have bought back from another company making sure it is safe and structurally fine. They would gut it, refurbish it and do the same thing they would do with our box and then it would be mounted on the truck chassis. An F550 with a 73-gas four-wheel drive. That cost would be $250,374.05. You are looking at roughly a $50 to $52,000 difference. However, looking at longevity, safety and suspension and stuff like that I think it would be well worth it. In the future, remounts would not be that expensive. Trace stated that with the Stryker power cot system is going to have their price raised 9% by October. They said we could go ahead and order them now and store them in the back building for the price that they have us locked in at. That would save us approximately $8,000.00 by ordering two systems now. Trace said this is a lengthy process. We would be looking at 2024 before we got the trucks. One of the reasons we went with Osage is they’ve manufactured these trucks from the get go. They offer lifetime warranty on their box. If we went with someone else that is cheaper, they would not offer the warranty. They are a local company in Linn, Mo, about 3 to 3 ½ hours. That way if we do have any trouble, they are close. We are asking for approval of two, or at least one, of the type 1. The total for the two ambulances with the cot system included would be $500, 748.10. You don’t pay for the ambulances until you receive them. We would be locking in the price now. Clifton
asked they get a price to bullet-proof the ambulance with OEM parts, not aftermarket parts. Jim stated they would visit with Susan and find out if the funds are there. Ashley presented a renewal cereal malt beverage permit for KC Mart. Clifton made a motion to approve the license permit for KC Mart for cereal mart beverage. Jim seconded. All approved. Susan presented a gas line contract for the Medical Building. A few months ago we signed a contract with Hamlin and they basically do all of our bidding for us for gas contracts. Our contract was up at the Medical Building, we were with Symmetry, but they have come back with Clear Water Enterprises as being the lowest at this time. We are asking that you approve this contract so we can move forward with getting a better price. Clifton made a motion to approve the Clear Water Contract for the transportation of gas to the Medical Building. Jim seconded. All approved. Justin asked for a 30 minute for several things. Personal matters, contract negotiations and other things that will be going on this week. It is attorney-client privilege. He requested Nelson Blythe, even though he is not a commissioner yet, he has expertise in this area. Clifton made a motion for 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 including 2 commissioners, Justin Meeks, Susan Bancroft and Nelson Blythe returning here at 10:19am. Jim seconded. All approved. Clifton made a motion to return to normal session in this room at 10:19am. Jim seconded. All approved. Susan discussed Pilot Funds. We received our first distribution last April and we allocated all those funds with about $100,000.00 left over. We have started allocating for this year but the problem is our funding from the Jayhawk Wind will not come to us until December. We are really a year behind. We had this set up as a separate fund but I would like to move it back to the general fund and run everything through the general fund and put that as a department. Then you can make your allocations and use the cash that is available in the general fund and then in December when you get your distribution from them then that helps pay back what you have allocated. We probably should have waited a year before we started making allocations but I didn’t know how the contract read until this week. I wanted to let you know how I’m organizing that and putting the funds together. I’m hoping to have a budgetwork session next week as I get everything put together. Shane Walker–CIO (Not present) Public Comment: Michael Hoyt stated that Nelson Blythe will be able to jump right into the budget and he needs to understand that he’s going to own it as much as you two do. He needs to be involved and if he has any problems understanding Susan needs to help him. Commission Comment: Clifton congratulated Nelson on his primary win. Ashley announced Canvass is Thursday at 10am. Clifton made a motion to allow myself and Chairman Harris to do the election canvassing on Thursday at 10am. Open to the public. Jim seconded. All approved.
Clifton made a motion to adjourn at 10:26am. Jim seconded. All approved. THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS (ss) Jim Harris, Chairman (ss) Nelson Blythe, Commissioner (ss) Clifton Beth, Commissioner ATTEST: Ashley Shelton, Bourbon County Clerk August 16, 2022, Approved Date
Resources and Action Steps for Suicide Prevention Month
By Clara Wicoff
Southwind Extension District
Two weeks ago, I attended an agent update in Manhattan where I was presented with some sobering statistics about youth depression and suicide in the state of Kansas. According to a 2022 report from the Kansas Communities That Care student survey, nearly one in three youth surveyed in Kansas responded “yes” when asked if they had ever seriously thought about killing themselves. Youth are not alone in this.
According to that same report, suicide is the ninth leading cause of death in our state (and the second leading cause of death for those aged 15 to 34).
With the month of September designated as Suicide Prevention Month and September 10th designated as World Suicide Prevention Day, it is an appropriate time to review some of the wellbeing and mental health resources available to you as well as some of the action steps we can all take to help prevent suicide.
First of all, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline if you or someone you know is in need of immediate assistance. You can call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org/chat. This free service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States.
Kansans working in agriculture may also benefit from the resources available at KansasAgStress.org. This webpage has a list of resources compiled to help Kansas farmers, ranchers, and their families with their wellbeing.
In addition to being aware of available resources, what else can we do to help prevent suicide this month and beyond?
According to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, we can all take action by talking about suicide and following up with loved ones.
#BeThe1To is the Lifeline’s five-step message for communicating with someone who may be suicidal.
The five #BeThe1To steps are: Ask, Be There, Keep Them Safe, Help Them Connect, and Follow Up. Start by asking if they are thinking about suicide. Listen to their answers, while never promising to keep their thoughts of suicide a secret. Secondly, be there for them. Next, help keep them safe by putting time and distance between the individual and their chosen method for a suicide attempt. Help them connect with ongoing supports (such as the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline as well as resources in their community). Finally, follow up to see how they are doing.
While this is a brief overview, you can learn more about these five crucial steps at bethe1to.com.
Tom Havron, Fort Scott Community College Vice President of Student Affairs and Foundation Director, had the idea to hold a fall golf tournament.
Tom Havron is the FSCC Vice President of Student Affairs and Foundation Director. Submitted photos.
“I thought it would be fun to do something a little different,” Havron said. “I used to play night golf when I was a high school kid in Montana and we always had a great time. After doing a little research, I thought we could make this a really special event.”
The event will be a fundraiser.
The Twilight Open Golf Night is a four-person scramble teeing off at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 29 at Woodland Hills Golf Course, just down Horton Street from the community college.
Woodland Hills Golf Course, 2414 S. Horton, Fort Scott.
“The proceeds will go towards establishing a new golf driving range on campus,” Havron said. The short-term goal of the first annual Twilight Open Golf Night, set for Oct. 29 at Woodland Hills Golf Course in Fort Scott, is a design for long distances.”
Proceeds from the event, sponsored by Fort Scott Community College’s Foundation office, will go directly to the creation of a driving range on the FSCC campus, Havron said.
Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton is the site of the annual Independence Day fireworks event.
“College golfers need a driving range to work on different shots they will see on courses across the state throughout the season,” said Jeff Tadtman, head golf coach for the Greyhounds. “It has been an obstacle we have faced since the start of the golf program in 2019. We hope a driving range on campus will appeal to potential recruits looking to continue their golf career.”
Jeff Tadtman. Submitted photo.
The presence of a range in “their own backyard” is an immediate advantage for college golfers, said Havron, but the plan includes eventually opening the facility to community members.
“I think the community would really love to have a place to go and hit some balls,” said Havron. “Woodland Hills is an excellent course and I believe they would also see the benefits of a driving range close to their course.”
The future driving range, which is to feature a ball machine, is to be maintained by the FSCC golf team, and will provide a venue for fund-raising opportunities, Havron said.
“We would love to also be able to provide the facility to our area high school teams for practice, as well,” he said. “Details on the course are still being investigated and may take a few fund-raisers to get up and going.”
The night of the golf scramble will also include food and a silent auction.
“I’m working on having some food available for people to have during the silent auction period,” Havron said. “I will provide more information on this as soon as arrangements are finalized.”
“We will have FSCC staff and students assisting players throughout the round,” Havron said. “We will also have headlamps so players can make their way safely around the course. I have some other ideas which will provide safety features but make the event unique. I’m going to hold that information so it is a surprise at the event.’
What about inclement weather?
“We always will concern ourselves with weather in Kansas, but we are hopeful,” Havron said. “In my opinion, there is no better time to live in Kansas than October. The leaves will be turning and we hope the weather is kind to us.”
Cost of the event:
$500/team – this price includes cart and glow-in-the-dark ball
$475/team – with one cart included
$450/team – with no cart included
“To ensure safety and space between groups, we will be limited to the first 18 teams to RSVP,” Havron said.
