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Category Archives: Bourbon County
No Bourbon County Commission Meeting on Dec. 29
Agenda
Bourbon County Commission Room
1st Floor, County Courthouse
210 S. National Avenue
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Tuesdays starting at 9:00
Date: December 29, 2020
1st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________
2nd District-Jeff Fischer Corrected: _______________
3rd District-Clifton Beth Adjourned at: _______________
County Clerk-Kendell Mason
MEETING WILL BE HELD IN COMMISSION ROOM. ANYONE ATTENDING THE MEETING WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A MASK PROVIDED BY THE COUNTY. MUST MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING.
NO MEETING
Starlite FCE Minutes of Dec. 17
Starlite FCE held its December meeting on the 17th at the Yeager building on the fairgrounds. President Glenda Miller called the meeting to order. Joyce Allen led the club in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and the Club Collect. The eleven members in attendance reported twenty-five and a half volunteer hours and that they had recycled 115 pounds of paper.
The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. Glenda Miller announced that Helen Carson will be one of our County Counsel representatives, she also informed us of information she had received from Joy Miller.
It was announced the Marge Stringer had passed and that her visitation will be on Sunday. Karen Peery moved that we donate $25 to her Memorial Fund and do the same for any other member that passes. Joyce Allen seconded the motion, motion carried.
Before the meeting, the members assembled gift bags decorated as reindeer for Tri-Valley. Each bag contained a pair of socks, gloves, a Christmas mug, an ornament, fruit snacks, rice crispy treats, popcorn a candy cane, and a Christmas card. Cards were also signed for Clarice Russell and Nolene Whiteside.
Deb Lust moved that the meeting be adjourned, Helen Carson seconded the motion, meeting adjourned.
Club members enjoyed a variety of finger food provided by members.
Prepared by
Terri Williams
American Legion Donates Service to Salvation Army
Many thanks to the American Legion family members who stepped up and “Ring The Bells” for the Salvation Army on December 18 and 19. This is what the American Legion is all about: community service. 100% of all donations will stay in Bourbon County.
Also, thanks to the many Fort Scott Walmart shoppers who took a moment and donated to this fundraiser. When I turned in the kettle at 5 pm, it was definitely full, and the volunteers had to keep pushing the donations into the kettle to make room for other donations.
These are the Post 25 members who braved the Kansas wind and cold weather to give back to the community: Ken Armenta, Ron Beltz, Steve Dean, Michel Lyon, Marvin Taylor, Garyl Coleman, Darrell Spencer, Jeannie Hart, Karen Hansen, Shirly Wilmon, Mike Call, Leslie Montee, Carl Jowers, Mike Hansen.
Thanks to Dorothy Taylor for providing some of the photos.
Submitted by Carl Jowers
Bourbon County Commission Minutes of Dec. 8
December 8, 2020 Tuesday 9:00 am
The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with all three Commissioners, the County Counselor and the County Clerk present.
Also present were the following; (some were present for a portion of the meeting, some were present for the entire meeting), Jason Silvers with the Fort Scott Tribune, Mr. & Mrs. Clint Walker, Anne Dare, Mark McCoy and Michael Hoyt,
Road & Bridge director Eric Bailey met with the Commissioners; he presented the 2021 bridge inspection proposal from Schwab Eaton. Jeff made a motion to approve the Schwab Eaton bridge proposal of 23 structures not to exceed $5,175.00, 1 fracture critical inspection for $1,500 and 5 low water crossing inspections for a total of $475, Clifton seconded and all approved and the Commissioners signed the agreement.
Eric Bailey reported the motor had gone out on the rock crusher; he said they are getting quotes and said a high estimate would be $35,000 if the engine needs replaced, but said they are still getting quotes and opinions.
Eric reported the County had hauled 69 loads of gravel to an area where the fiber optic had been installed; he said he is working with the contractor that did the install. Lynne complemented the County’s work to repair those roads.
Eric said they are working on roads near 115th & Poplar/Quail.
Jeff Fischer reported that Shirley Hurd asked the County for help removing large cedar trees that needed removed in the Lath Branch cemetery; Lynne said in the past the County has given cemeteries gravel or moved dirt. He said cemeteries are taxing entities that operate on a limited budget, he said in the past they have given the public works director the discretion to do work in the cemeteries. Eric said the County will help with the work, he said it would be a joint effort between the County and an individual that wants the wood from the trees.
Jeff made a motion to go into a 10 minute executive session for personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel in another office and reconvene at the Commission room, Clifton seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners and Patty Love). After the session, Lynne said they would have further discussion on the topic later today.
Jody Hoener gave a SPARK update; she said they will do a report to the State by Thursday this week, she said William Wallis needed to earmark $5,000 of the SPARK money received for the cost of a single audit.
Jody said BWERC is helping businesses with State reporting as well as helping businesses complete applications for revolving loans. She said Health Bourbon County is now a partner with BWERC. Jody reported BWERC will be hosting the Chamber coffee on 12/10/20; she said they will be requiring masks and social distancing, and said if someone feels uncomfortable doing this they should reconsider attending the coffee. Jeff made a motion that the Commissioners be able to attend the coffee, Clifton seconded and all approved.
Jody Hoener met with the Commissioners to discuss the OMNI lockbox option; she said OMNI has waived all fees for the lockbox (the lockbox is a bank account where ambulance payments would be made). Jody said the payments would be applied to patient’s accounts in a timelier manner with a company that has the knowledge of customer service, OMNI has a HIPPA compliance policy in place and OMNI could streamline the payment process. She said the lockbox would close the gap between the billing company and the customers. OMNI would collect a % of the money collected for their service. Lynne said they had temporarily fixed the EMS receivables problem, Jody suggested considering a long term solution. Lynne said they needed to work through issues before making a decision on the OMNI lockbox. Jeff made a motion to amend the agenda at noon today for an executive session for non-elected personnel, Clifton seconded and all approved.
Lynne made a motion to amend the agenda to discuss an annexation from the City of Fort Scott, Jeff seconded and all approved. Jeff discussed the adopted Resolution 19-2020 from the City of Fort Scott annexing Peerless property into the city limits; Peerless requested that the City annex some of their land into the City of Fort Scott, this land is located east of the hotel. Jeff made a motion to approve annexation from Resolution 19-2020 from the City of Fort Scott, Clifton seconded and all approved.
Terry Sercer met with the Commissioners regarding the 2020 budget amendment; he said the Landfill and Public Safety had large expenses in November and said the Landfill and the Jail were down in revenue. Terry said he will add the SPARK grant funds to the amendment. Terry said there was a coding error in the Road & Bridge Sales Tax and said a transfer will need to be made. Lynne said they would use approximately $75,000 of the Special Machinery money for Road & Bridge expenses. Clifton made a motion to approve the 2020 amended budget for publication, Jeff seconded and all approved.
Bill Martin, Ben Cole, Bobby Reed and Lesley Herrin (filming) met with the Commissioners. Bill Martin said he appreciated the major and the captain getting a raise after not getting one for 7 years; he said now his #3 employee is making more than his #2 employee (the undersheriff). Bill said in 2017 he requested open communication with the Commissioners; Bill said he sent emails to other Sheriff departments on how they met with their Commissioners, Bill said other Sheriff’s talk to their Commissioners outside of the Commission room so they can understand the issues they are dealing with; Bill read some of the responses he received. Lynne said the Commissioners no longer represent the County when they step outside the Commission doors. Justin said it is a KOMA violation to meet with two Commissioners @ two separate times about the same issue; he said this is called streaming. Bill said once again he is reaching out to the Commissioners and said he was willing to meet any of the Commissioners outside of the Commission room to discuss issues that are going on; Lynne questioned what was wrong with meeting publicly in an open forum about those issues, Bill said it becomes a fight publicly. Bill said a former Commissioner used to go office to office to find out elected officials concerns. Michael Hoyt gave the Commissioners documentation on advisory boards; He suggested developing a citizen’s advisory board to bring issues to the Commissioners. Jeff made a motion to give Clifton the authority to talk to the Sheriff when needed so they can better understand their needs, Clifton seconded and all approved. Lynne said he would entertain the discussion of a raise for the undersheriff; a raise was not discussed.
Anne Dare met with the Commissioners to discuss BEDCO; she requested a detailed copy of the BEDCO budget, Lynne said she should ask Greg Motley for a copy of the budget. Anne discussed the County giving money to BEDCO and said if a County employee was hired as the BEDCO director it could eliminate a job at the City or vise versa. Lynne said that BEDCO is not a County organization. Lynne discussed what BEDCO is trying to accomplish and compared it to Thrive Allen County; he discussed what Thrive Allen County has done for Allen County economic development. Lynne said BEDCO is looking for someone with experience and someone with grant writing abilities; and said everyone has the opportunity to apply for the position. Clifton said he believed in the BEDCO program and said he would be watching the program carefully. Anne questioned if the County could afford to give $130,000 to BEDCO: Jeff said they compare Bourbon County to other counties and said it is evident of counties that don’t have economic development as a priority. Anne asked that the Commissioners consider all options so that they still were funding BEDCO in five years, Lynne said the County has helped fund BEDCO since it was established. Anne discussed Justin Meeks and his position and the Commissioners discussion over hiring another person to handle different duties; she said if he couldn’t handle the position then maybe the Commissioners should return the position to a full time job. Lynne said Justin’s contract if for part time County Counselor; he said changes with our organization (with EMS, emergency room, HR issues and others) a business manager could handle internal issues and said the County could save enough money to pay for this position. Lynne said Justin doesn’t charge for additional hours worked over his contracted time. Justin said he is the County Counselor (he said his current salary is $64,000 + benefits), but said he has worked on other issues and has volunteered his time, he said he sees the organization changing and said there are changes that he doesn’t have the skill set for.
Jeff Fischer said the COVID cases were up nationwide; he said people’s behavior will determine how severe the economic impact COVID will be on our community. Clifton said as a nurse, they are getting tired. Clinton Walker discussed the impact to businesses where business owners had gotten COVID or had died from COVID. Anne Dare said some people are mad that the mask ordinance isn’t being enforced.
Jeff made a motion to go into a 10 minute executive session for personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel, to meet in another location and to return to the Commission room at 11:27, Clifton seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners and David Neville). After the session, the Commissioners requested from Kendell what was done regarding carrying over vacation time from 2019 to 2020; the Commissioners will address this issue on 12/15/2020.
Jeff made a motion to go into a 60 minute executive session for confidential data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts and individual proprietorships, to meet in another location and to return to the Commission room at 12:28, Clifton seconded and all approved. The session included the Commissioners, Justin Meeks and Jody Hoener. No action was taken.
Lynne made a motion to go into a 15 minute executive session for personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel in another location and to reconvene in the Commission room, Clifton seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners and Justin Meeks). After the session, Lynne made a motion that he attend a meeting with the City of Fort Scott on 12/9/2020, Justin Meeks said he would also like to attend the meeting, Clifton seconded and all approved.
At 12:50, Clifton made a motion to adjourn, Jeff seconded and all approved.
THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS
(ss) Lynne Oharah, Chairman
(ss) Jeff Fischer, Commissioner
(ss) Clifton Beth, Commissioner
ATTEST:
Kendell Mason, Bourbon County Clerk
December 15, 2020, Approved Date
County Commission Agenda for Dec. 22
Agenda
Bourbon County Commission Room
1st Floor, County Courthouse
210 S. National Avenue
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Tuesdays starting at 9:00
Date: December 22, 2020
1st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________
2nd District-Jeff Fischer Corrected: _______________
3rd District-Clifton Beth Adjourned at: _______________
County Clerk-Kendell Mason
MEETING WILL BE HELD IN COMMISSION ROOM. ANYONE ATTENDING THE MEETING WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A MASK PROVIDED BY THE COUNTY. MUST MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING.
9:00 – 9:05 Eric Bailey, Road & Bridge
9:05 – 9:08 Eric Bailey, Executive Session, Consultation with an attorney for the body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship
9:15 – 9:30 Lynne Oharah, Executive Session, Personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel
9:30 – 9:45 Spark
9:45 – 9:50 Millie Lipscomb, asking approval for reappraisal of property
10:00 – 10:30 2020 Budget Amendment Hearing
Bourbon County Treasurer’s Office Closed Until Dec. 28
The Bourbon County Treasurer’s Office in the courthouse closed Monday afternoon Dec. 14, because employees were COVID-19 quarantined.
The office will remain closed until Monday, Dec. 28.
Residents who need to do business with the office have some options.
Taxes
“We cannot extend the due date for taxes, they are still due Dec. 21 which is Monday,” Bourbon County Treasurer Patty Love said. “People can pay online by going to the bourboncountyks.org clicking on government, then treasurers, there is a link on that page.”
Another option is bringing the taxes to the courthouse entrance.
“There is a dropbox that people can put payment in, on the right wall by the double glass doors coming into the courthouse entrance,” she said.
They can also be mailed but time is of the essence.
“They can also mail them in, we are accepting postmark of December 21, 2020 to process them as on time,” Love said.
Vehicle Tag Renewals
“Renewals for tags can be dropped in the same dropbox along with payment and proof of insurance and we will mail out the sticker,” Love said. “
“If you need to register and title a vehicle we have a title-work-by- mail-form that is in a box next to our dropbox they can fill it out and put it in dropbox along with their paperwork, title and proof of insurance,” Love said. “We will call them when we get a total. Once we receive payment we will mail the tag to them. “
“They can also call our office at 223-3800 x 803 and we will email or mail forms to them,” she said.
“We realize this couldn’t happen at a worse time for our office,” Love said. “We appreciate everyone’s patience and are sorry for the inconvenience.”
Health Dept. Reducing Active COVID-19 Case Count During the Holidays
The SEK Multi-County Health Department will only be reporting our COVID-19 active case count once per week on Wednesdays starting next week (12/23) and going through January 6th, to allow our staff to take time with their families during the holidays. We will resume reporting our active case counts Monday-Thursday starting on January 11th.
We will still have staff working on disease investigations and contact tracing during this time when new COVID-19 positive lab results are sent to us, but will not be working with a full crew during the next few weeks.
We appreciate our resident’s patience with their county health department during these trying times and hope you understand the needed time off.
We would like to remind residents to stay home when possible, wear a mask over your mouth AND nose, avoid crowds-stay 6 foot away from others and wash your hands often!
If you are sick, stay home.
If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, we recommend you get tested. While waiting for test results, please isolate yourself in your home and have your household members self-quarantine.
If you test positive, continue to isolate for 10 days from symptom onset. You must be symptom/fever free for 72 hours prior to release from isolation.
Tell your household members to self-quarantine-they should be released back to normal activities 10 days after you are released, as long as they are and have remained symptom/fever free and have not tested positive.
Tell your other close contacts (friends, family, co-workers, etc.) to self-quarantine for 10 days from last day of exposure-they may be released after 10 days as long as they are and have remained symptom/fever free and have not tested positive.
Please also notify your employer of your positive test and your child’s school if your child tests positive or is a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case.
Thank you for all of your continued support. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe, happy and healthy New Year.
Heartland Electric Adds Solar Project
Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative is adding solar power to its business.
“All of Heartland’s consumer-members will benefit from the two solar arrays that we are building,” Ron Graber, Heartland’s Director of Member Service andCommunication said.
The electric cooperative is joining with 11 other Kansas rural electric cooperatives to invest in 20 Megawatts of solar power to be built across the state, and power 80,000 homes across rural Kansas, according to a press release from Heartland.
“Even though the solar arrays will directly feed only two of our 17 substations, the arrays will provide affordable power that helps us keep power costs low for everyone,” Graber said. “In addition, the arrays are being designed to produce power during peak hours late in the day. That peak usage plays a big part in the price the co-op pays for power. So lowering that peak use will help us manage overall power costs for everyone.”
The solar panels will reduce the business’s amount of greenhouse gases and specifically carbon dioxide emitted.
“Because solar power is renewable and carbon-free, building these two arrays helps us reduce our carbon footprint, and that helps everyone,” Graber said.
Heartland’s portion of the project consists of two solar arrays of 1 Megawatt each, according to the press release. Preliminary work has already begun on the two tracts of land purchased by Heartland for the project. Groundbreaking was held on Tuesday, December 8. Construction should be completed by June of 2021.
One Heartland 1-MW array will be located in Crawford County, just west of Girard near Greenbush along Highway 47, according to the press release. The second Heartland 1-MW solar array will be built in Neosho County between Erie and Chanute along 160th Road (Shaw Road.)
The two Heartland solar arrays, and the 18 other arrays in Kansas, will all be built and owned by Today’s Power Inc, a North Little Rock-based company established by rural electric cooperatives in Arkansas, according to the press release. Today’s Power Inc. has successfully installed more than 25 solar projects totaling more than 40 Megawatts over the last five years in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Heartland has signed a purchased-power-agreement with Today’s Power Inc. to buy the solar energy produced by the two arrays for the next 25 years.
This opportunity began when the wholesale power contract between all participating cooperatives and their forward-thinking generation and transmission cooperative, Kansas Electric Power Cooperative, was recently modified to provide Kansas electric cooperatives with the ability to self-procure up to 15 percent of peak demand – with 5 percent of that amount specifically allowing for the addition of solar, according to the press release.
By joining together in the Kansas Cooperative Sun Power Program, all of the participating Kansas rural electric cooperatives were able to negotiate very competitive long-term pricing, according to the press release. In addition, the solar arrays will be customized in the design process to maximize output during the cooperative’s peak demand hours, when power is most expensive. These factors will all help Heartland control power costs and keep power affordable for those served at the cooperative’s 11,200 service locations.
Heartland currently has more than 60 members with almost 700KW of solar panels installed on their own property, according to the press release.
Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative provides power to more than 11,000 locations in Southeast and Central Eastern Kansas, according to the press release. Heartland’s service area includes consumer-members in 12 counties, including Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Cherokee, Coffey, Crawford, Labette, Linn, Miami, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson counties. Heartland REC traces its roots back to three original rural electric cooperatives, Cooperative Electric Power & Light Company, Sugar Valley Electric Cooperative Association, (which came together to form United Electric Cooperative in 1975) and Sekan Electric Cooperative Association (which combined to become Heartland in 1996.)
UNIONTOWN HS BASKETBALL RESULTS GAME 4 vs Yates Center
Tuesday was a successful night for the Uniontown Eagles. Both Varsity teams, as well as the girls’ JV, were victorious against the Yates Center Wildcats.
The Varsity Lady Eagles won their match against the Wildcats 57-25. Karleigh Schoenberger scored 21 points and had 4 boards. Danielle Howard followed with 14 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 8 steals. Laney Covey, Gwenyth Fry, Sammie Hampton, and Kaydra Woods each scored 4 points, and Fry had 5 rebounds. The JV girls won 37-24, with Rylee Coulter leading the team with 14 points.
“Proud of the effort, attitude, and toughness that was displayed by the team tonight. Both the Varsity and Junior Varsity took care of business!” says Coach Miller. “We will get back to work tomorrow on those fundamental skills that make the game of basketball fun to play.”
The Varsity boys won their game 63-45. Jake Harvey scored 32 points and had 8 boards and 3 assists. Clay Sutterby followed with 20 points and 6 rebounds. Luke Perry also had 6 rebounds, as well as 4 assists. Drew Perry had 4 assists and 4 steals.
“The boys put together a complete game tonight. They got after it on the defensive end and played well together on offense. This was a great way to start league play,” said Coach Hays.
-Adelay Martin, UHS Sports Media Reporter
Imagination Station Receives SPARK Grant For New Flooring
Childcare during the COVID-19 Pandemic has been essential for working parents.
Imagination Station Daycare, 678 Maple Rd., has received SPARK funds to update the daycare’s worn flooring, which helps with cleaning and keeping the daycare healthier, Marla Oharah, owner and operator said.
Oharah was one of over one-hundred Bourbon County businesses who applied for the SPARKS grant in July 2020.
” I applied for $25,000 and was awarded $17,500,” she said. “Two projects were identified on the application that would qualify for helping reduce the effects of COVID along with some administrative cost.”
“Receiving only part of the requested grant, I was only able to complete one project,” she said. “I chose to replace the extremely worn floor covering in my 3,400 square-foot facility to help with keeping the daycare’s environment clean and virus free. The grant was awarded in September. The floor covering was purchased in mid-September and installed in mid-November. At the same time, I also replaced a worn water heater that wasn’t working properly and purchased/replaced a new carpet cleaner at my own expense.”
“The grant was very much needed and appreciated,” Oharah said. “The kids at the daycare love the new carpet and I appreciate the new carpet and hard vinyl plank floor covering for the ease of keeping the center environment cleaner and healthier.”
Marla and her husband, Lynne, purchased the daycare business in 2006 and have operated the facility as a Kansas State Licensed Child Care Center since.
“Child care is a business that is in demand and does fill a need of parents needing a quality place to have their children cared for,” she said. “I fill the need to provide safe, loving and learning service to the community.”
“We were closed for a very short time when COVID19 first was declared a pandemic and most of our clients had to honor the stay at home order,” Marla said. “Even though our numbers were greatly reduced I reopened in hopes that the children would return.”
About SPARK
The Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) Taskforce is charged with leading Kansas forward in recovery from the far-reaching effects of COVID-19 and is responsible for the statewide distribution of the federal coronavirus relief fund, according to its website.
Bourbon County Commission Meeting Agenda Dec. 18
Agenda
Bourbon County Commission Room
1st Floor, County Courthouse
210 S. National Avenue
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Tuesdays starting at 9:00
Date: December 18, 2020
1st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________
2nd District-Jeff Fischer Corrected: _______________
3rd District-Clifton Beth Adjourned at: _______________
County Clerk-Kendell Mason
MEETING WILL BE HELD IN COMMISSION ROOM. ANYONE ATTENDING THE MEETING WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A MASK PROVIDED BY THE COUNTY. MUST MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING.
9:00 – 9:30 Executive Session, Personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel
9:30 – 9:50 Executive Session, Confidential data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts and individual proprietorships