Agenda
Bourbon County Commission Room
1st Floor, County Courthouse
210 S. National Avenue
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Tuesdays starting at 9:00
Date: July 5, 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
1pm – 4pm: Department Budget Reviews (open to the public)
Register of Deeds
Sheriff/Corrections
Public Works
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.
Bronson Day, a local community event of this small town in western Bourbon County, has been revamped.
Bronson Day has typically been held yearly in the spring and led by the Bronson Ruritan, said Kelly Perry.
Perry is part of a new organization in Bronson.
The town held an open town meeting seeking volunteers for the new organization, called the Bronson Pride Committee.
“In the past, we had a larger Ruritan group and several locals realized this was a big task to put on just one or two people in the Ruritan,” Perry said. “After speaking to Terry Johnston, head of the Bronson Ruritan we agreed to all work together to help promote the event.”
“We have a huge day of events planned, from free bounce houses to a mini horse pull, a parade, a color run, Kale Nelson’s State Farm Car Show, a three-on-three basketball tournament,a horseshoe tournament, a cornhole tournament, kids games, over 25 vendors, several food trucks, a street dance, a live DJ, a beer garden and of course our fireworks display,” she said.
“This year we created a bit more buzz by creating not only the committee, but allowing food trucks, doubling the fireworks budget, and bringing back the street dance,” Perry said. “Board members and volunteers were able to get sponsors and received a grant from Bourbon County Regional Economic Development Inc. The funds are not all spent on one single event but are going to be used for overall community improvement and morale which includes The Bronson Day Celebration.”
“Bronson Day is just part of the vision the entire board has for the Bronson Pride Committee,” she said. “In the future, we will continue to meet and grow and make this yearly event better and bigger. We want to unify our community through ideas, efforts, and solving problems and needs. If we can motivate others we can change the community morale and continue to thrive together,” she said.
Kayla Greenway has lived in Bronson for many years and raised her four children here.
“I’ve helped with Bronson days in the past, but this year‘s planning has been ramped up by our new Bronson Pride Committee,” Greenway said. “It’s a committee we started to help clean our town up, bring awareness to community development, and come together in unity with the same goal of helping one another in our town.”
“Teamwork makes the dream work,” Greenway said. “I am excited to see what our future holds. We are always accepting new members and our next meeting is July 6 at 5 p.m. at the city park.”
Learn more: https://www.facebook.com/BronsonPride
Union State Bank, the Fort Scott Branch, is in the final stages of an addition of 1,200 square feet to its building.
“We were running into problems with space,” CEO and President Bryan Holt said. “We looked at every way possible to not expand the foot print.”
But the bank administration decided to add a 20 by 60 foot addition for its growing support staff and also to upgrade security.
The lobby was shortened and reconfigured to have more space for employee work stations, and the addition added five new offices and two new bathrooms.
In October 2021 the project was started.
“It will be 99 percent completed in 30 days,” Vice President of Information Technology Dustin McClure said on June 23. McClure was also the project manager of the expansion.
“We’ve got pods, like cubicles, to build,” McClure said. “This will seat a total of eight people.”
“This will improve accessibility and privacy needs of our customers,” Senior Loan Officer Katie Casper said.
“New offerings with debit card capabilities, improved customer experience and improved card experience are on the horizon for the bank,” Holt said.
The bank building, located at 1009 S. Clark, was completed in 1992, when Union State Bank opened the branch in Fort Scott.
The headquarters of the two banks is in Uniontown, where the business started in 1901.
The bank listed the following businesses who have provided services/products for the expansion:
Project General Manager: Bo Casper (owner of Casper Enterprises)
Casper Enterprises LLC
Alpha Roofing
Big Sugar Lumber and Home Center
Craw-Kan Telephone
Davis Drywall
Geiger Plumbing
Greenwood Plaster Company
Jeff Allen Electric
LACO Guttering
Norris Heating & Air
Peerless Products Inc.
Phillips Flooring
Redbud Farms and Nursery
Ruddick’s Furniture
Stoughton Inc
Thomas Concrete & Construction
Master Gardener Training Offered This Fall
Area plant lovers have a great opportunity this fall to participate in an outstanding horticulture program! The Extension Master Gardener training will be held September 1 through December 15 on Thursday afternoons from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Classes will be a combination of on-line and in person training. The Master Gardener program is a volunteer program in which K-State Research and Extension “trades” classroom training for volunteer time.
Master Gardener training consists of 40 to 50 hours of instruction in all aspects of horticulture. Instructors include state specialists from Kansas State University, local extension agents and local experts. After training is completed, volunteers will donate an equivalent number of hours of service as was received in instruction.
Topics that will be covered in the training include:
Although the Master Gardener program is a volunteer activity, there are some requirements that must be met prior to the selection process. Each individual wishing to participate in the Master Gardener training must meet the following requirements:
The Southwind Extension District currently has an active Master Gardener program consisting of 25 individuals. The Master Gardeners have completed volunteer projects such as demonstration flower beds, vegetable research trials and various other projects in Erie, Chanute, Iola, Humboldt, Moran and Fort Scott. In addition, educational tours and activities are also planned.
Applications are available now and are due to the Southwind Extension District by August 10th. Applications can be found on the Southwind website www.southwind.ksu.edu or can be mailed to you. The fee for the course is $125 which covers the cost of the Master Gardener resource notebook. For more information about the Master Gardener training, please contact the Extension office.
Krista Harding is a K-State Research and Extension agent assigned to Southwind District. She may be reached at [email protected] or 620-244-3826.
K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Governor Declares Drought Emergency, Warnings and Watches for Kansas Counties
The Governor’s Drought Response Team examines conditions; and recommends updates to the Governor
Effective June 27, Governor Laura Kelly has approved updated drought declarations for Kansas counties with Executive Order #22-06. This drought declaration places all 105 Kansas counties either in watch, warning or emergency status.
“A significant portion of the state of Kansas has experienced drought or abnormally dry conditions for the past several months,” said Governor Kelly. “Unfortunately, these conditions are forecast to persist or get worse, so I strongly encourage Kansans to be mindful of drought conditions while we work to minimize the threat of fires across the state.”
The drought declaration placed 34 counties into an emergency status, 8 counties in a warning status and 63 into a watch status. This action was recommended by Connie Owen, Director of the Kansas Water Office and Chair of the Governor’s Drought Response Team. Although most of Kansas has experienced high precipitation this past month, a record-breaking heat wave has been making its way across the area. While most of eastern Kansas is currently drought free, the forecasted hot and dry conditions will likely lead to the rapid intensification of drought conditions in portions of the Midwest over the next few weeks.
“We have watched drought conditions in parts of the state continue to get worse since this past fall or longer in some areas, causing concern with groundwater supplies, crop production, elevated wildfire risk and more,” said Owen. “The Governor’s Drought Response Team will continue to monitor the situation and make recommendations to the Governor as necessary. As future outlooks call for hot and dry conditions to continue into July, the potential for a “flash drought” is likely.”
Through an interagency agreement between the Kansas Water Office, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and Kansas Division of Emergency Management, counties in emergency stage are eligible for emergency use of water from certain state fishing lakes. These counties also become eligible for water in some Federal reservoirs.
Individuals and communities need to contact the Kansas Water Office for a water supply request prior to any withdrawals from lakes. These requests will in turn be referred to the appropriate office to obtain necessary permits to withdraw requested water.
This Executive Order shall remain in effect for those counties so identified until rescinded by Executive Order ending the declaration or revising the drought stage status of the affected counties.
Effective immediately, Executive Order #22-06:
watch, warning or emergency level-drought response actions assigned in the Operations Plan of the Governor’s Drought Response Team.
The Governor’s Drought Response Team will continue to watch the situation closely and work to minimize the effects drought has on Kansans.
For more detailed information about current conditions, visit the Climate and Drought webpage on the Kansas
Water Office website at kwo.ks.gov.
County Drought Stage Declarations:
Drought Emergency: Cheyenne, Clark, Comanche, Decatur, Edwards, Finney, Ford, Gove, Graham, Grant,
Gray, Greeley, Hamilton, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearny, Kiowa, Lane, Logan, Meade, Morton, Ness, Norton,
Rawlins, Scott, Seward, Sheridan, Sherman, Stanton, Stevens, Thomas, Trego, Wallace, Wichita.
Drought Warning: Barber, Ellis, Pawnee, Phillips, Pratt, Rooks, Rush, Stafford.
Drought Watch: Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Barton, Bourbon, Brown, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee,
Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Cowley, Crawford, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Elk, Ellsworth, Franklin, Geary,
Greenwood, Harper, Harvey, Jackson, Jefferson, Jewell, Johnson, Kingman, Labette, Leavenworth, Lincoln,
Linn, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McPherson, Miami, Mitchell, Montgomery, Morris, Nemaha, Neosho, Osage,
Osborne, Ottawa, Pottawatomie, Reno, Republic, Rice, Riley, Russell, Saline, Sedgwick, Shawnee, Smith,
Sumner, Wabaunsee, Washington, Wilson, Woodson, Wyandotte.
The Uniontown fireworks display by Union State Bank is a go, but has moved to Friday, July 1.
That day will see the Uniontown Park fill with residents and visitors to view the fireworks which are purchased by the bank.
Free hot dogs, chips and a drink are provided for free from the bank.
“We usually serve about 500 hot dogs,” USB CEO and President Bryan Holt, said, but the crowd is bigger than that for the fireworks display.
In addition, there will be inflatable jump houses for the kids, a photo station for selfies and food and drink purchases from local vendors/organizations.
Additional food and drink offerings are:
Mimi’s Food Truck (turkey legs and funnel cakes)
Lora Ripper (popcorn)
Uniontown High School Cheerleaders (bake sale)
First Missionary Baptist Church raising funds for kids going to summer camp (pop/drinks)
Uniontown school kids and parents raising funds for Washington Workshop next summer (bake sale)
” We are still open for any organizations or vendors that would like to set up in the park,” said Amy Holt, who is Vice President of Loan Administration at the Uniontown branch. She is facilitating the event for the bank. “They can contact me at 620-756-4305 during business hours or by email at [email protected].”
There will be a disc jockey entertaining the crowd as well.
Since 2005, the bank has sponsored fireworks for the community on July 3, but since it fell on Sunday this year, the the CEO, Bryan Holt decided he didn’t want the employees to work on Sunday.
The bank employees plan the event and prepare and hand out the free hot dogs with chips and a bottle of water.
In addition, they didn’t want to conflict with Fort Scott’s Independence Day celebration on July 3, he said.
This event was originally a fund raiser for improving the Uniontown Park, but it is now “A way to say thanks to our customers,” Bryan Holt said.
Uniontown has been the headquarters for Union State Bank since 1901.
In 1992, the bank expanded operations and started a branch in Fort Scott. This year they have expanded again to accommodate more employees and upgrade security. There will be a feature of this expansion later this week on fortscott.biz.
King Arthur Flour has been sponsoring a baking contest for the open class at the Bourbon County Fair for several years.
This year the adults will be making Cranberry-orange Italian Biscotti and the youth (under 12) will be making simple sugar cookies.
To enter into the contest you will need to fill out the entry form found in the fair paper and mail to Jackie Warren by July 1st, or call her to register.
Jackie’s address is 1906 Maple Road, Fort Scott, KS 66701 and her phone number is 620-224-8161.
The recipes and King Arthur flour will be available to pick-up July 2nd at the Yeager Building on the fairgrounds from 9:00 – 11:00 am Saturday morning.
King Arthur flour will provide winners with gift certificates for their products.
Items can be entered at the fair on Monday July 18th from 2:00 -6:00 pm at the Meyers building.
Judging will by on the 19th.
The King Arthur Flour baking contest has been a popular class, so don’t miss out, register soon.
Agenda
Bourbon County Commission Room
1st Floor, County Courthouse
210 S. National Avenue
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Tuesdays starting at 9:00
Date: June 28, 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 & Bridge Report
• Mary Pemberton/Mark McCoy – Transient Guest Tax
• Justin Meeks – County Counselor Comment
• Susan Bancroft – Chief Financial Officer Comment
• Shane Walker – Chief Information Officer Comment
• Public Comment
• Commission Comment
1pm – 4pm: Department Budget Reviews (open to the public)
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 relatio
In addition to family gatherings, there are some choices for celebrating America’s independence in 2022.
Fort Scott Celebrations
The Elks Lodge No. 579 community fireworks display will be at sundown July 3, as in years past.
“The fireworks show will be 20-25 minutes long,” Millie Lipscomb said.
The best spot is near south Horton Street.
“They can be seen from many spots around the community, but since they are shot from the ball field area behind Fort Scott Community College, prime locations are the fairgrounds, the Nazarene and Community Christian Church parking lots and the college parking lots.”
No personal fireworks can be shot off in those areas, by a City of Fort Scott ordinance.
“We’ve worked with a new pyrotechnics company this year to have higher lift on the fireworks so they can be seen from further away,” she said. “We’ve worked hard to contract a company with local ties that has allowed us to keep the prices achievable, but still it is up about 100% from the past few years. We are fortunate to be able to get the quality we have contracted for.”
Burke Street Parade
The Burke Street Fourth of July Parade is in its 40th year.
The neighborhood of Burke Street has people turn out in patriotic colors and clothing to celebrate the U.S.A. Fourth of July.
Some will be in the parade, some will be sitting in their lawnchairs, enjoying the fun.
Celebrate American independence with history at the Fort Scott National Historic Site.
Enjoy the sights and sounds and immersion in America’s history while honoring the service men and women who have defended the United States through the growth of the nation.
Fort Scott National Historic Site will host the 35th Division Infantry Band on Wednesday, June 29, beginning at 6:30 pm. The performance will be on the bricks in front of the Post Hospital/Visitor Center. Bring your lawn chair to ensure seating. Saturday through Monday, July 2 through 4, Fort Scott NHS will have artillery demonstrations, tours, programs, and living history activities throughout the day.
Wednesday, June 29
6:30 pm – 35th Division Infantry Band performing a kaleidoscope of pops, classical, and patriotic music.
Saturday, July 2
10:00 pm – Guided Tour of the Fort
11:00 am – Artillery Demonstration
Noon – Historic Yard Games
1:00 pm – Guided Tour of the Fort
2:00 pm – Artillery Demonstration
3:00 pm – Flash Flood: Fort Scott and Westward Expansion Discussion
Sunday, July 3
10:00 pm – Guided Tour of the Fort
11:00 am – Artillery Demonstration
Noon – Tales from the Trail: Santa Fe Trader Presentation
1:00 pm – Guided Tour of the Fort
2:00 pm – Artillery Demonstration
3:00 pm – Independence Day II: Fireworks at High Tide Discussion
Monday, July 4
10:00 pm – Guided Tour of the Fort
11:00 am – Artillery Demonstration
1:00 pm – Guided Tour of the Fort
2:00 pm – Artillery Demonstration
3:00 pm – Amputations and Ambulances: Civil War Medicine Discussion
Agenda
Bourbon County Commission Room
1st Floor, County Courthouse
210 S. National Avenue
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Tuesdays starting at 9:00
Date: June 24, 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 AT 9:30AM
Call to Order
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
