This is part of a series of features on the candidates running for offices in Bourbon County. The Bourbon County Primary Election will be held, Tuesday, August 4, 2020.
Monday, July 20, is the candidate forum at Ellis Fine Arts Center, on the campus of Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for a meet and greet with candidates. The forum starts at 6 p.m. in the order of the federal, state, then local candidates.
Kendell Dawn Mason, 48, is the current Bourbon County Clerk and is running for re-election.
Mason is a graduate of Fort Scott High School and Fort Scott Community College.
She has worked for over 15 years in the Bourbon County Clerk’s Office, over seven of those years as the county clerk.
What skills do you bring to the position if re-elected?
“The knowledge and experience of working in the office for 15 ½ years.”
What is your priority on day one?
“To continue to work hard for the taxpayers of Bourbon County.”
The following is taken from the Bourbon County website:
You may register to vote online, through the Kansas Secretary of State’s website.
Check your voter registration status, the location of your polling place and view a sample ballot at VoterView by the Secretary of State.
The County Clerk is elected in November of Presidential Election years to a term of four years. There are no term limits to this elected office.
The Bourbon County Clerk/Election Officer is responsible for a wide range of things under Kansas Law. Some of those are listed here.
Advance Voting is available prior to each election. You may advance vote in one of two ways: By mail, by filing an application for a ballot to be mailed to you OR in-person, beginning at least one week prior to any election.
MEETING WILL BE HELD IN THE COMMISSION ROOM. ANYONE ATTENDING THE MEETING WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A MASK PROVIDED BY THE COUNTY. MUST MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING.
This is part of a series of features on the candidates running for offices in Bourbon County. The Bourbon County Primary Election will be held, Tuesday, August 4, 2020.
Monday, July 20, is the candidate forum at Ellis Fine Arts Center, on the campus of Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for a meet and greet with candidates. The forum starts at 6 p.m. in the order of federal, state, then local candidates.
Patty Love is the current Bourbon County Treasurer and is running for re-election.
Love received an associate’s degree from Fort Scott Community College, a certificate of completion from Fort Hays State University as Certified County Treasurer, a Certified Kansas County Finance Officer and will receive her third certification at the September state treasurer’s meeting.
“I have worked for Bourbon County for nine years,” Love said. ” I started as a temporary employee in the register of deeds office, this led to a full-time position as a floater between with deeds office and the county clerks office, then I transferred to the county treasurer’s office.”
” I was deputy treasurer for five years before being appointed treasurer when Rhonda Dunn resigned,” she said. “I was elected treasurer in 2018 to complete Rhonda Dunn’s term.”
What skills do you bring to the position if re-elected?
“I have worked in the other offices in the courthouse and understand how they work together. I have eight years of experience in the treasurer’s office and am familiar with all operations of the office.”
What is your priority on day one?
“My priority is the same as it has been in the last 2 1/2 years which is to make sure that tax collection and vehicle registrations are carried out in an accurate, courteous and efficient manner while keeping office expenses within budget and to cut expenses where possible.”
The following is information provided on the Bourbon County Kansas website.
You may register to vote online, through the Kansas Secretary of State’s website.
Check your voter registration status, the location of your polling place and view a sample ballot at VoterView by the Secretary of State.
Advance Voting is available prior to each election. You may advance vote in one of two ways: By mail, by filing an application for a ballot to be mailed to you OR in-person, beginning at least one week prior to any election.
Bourbon County Sheriff Bill Martin. Submitted photo.
This is part of a series of features on the candidates running for offices in Bourbon County. The Bourbon County Primary Election will be held, Tuesday, August 4, 2020.
Monday, July 20, is the candidate forum at Ellis Fine Arts Center, on the campus of Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for a meet and greet with candidates. The forum starts at 6 p.m. in the order of federal, state, then local candidates.
Bill Martin, 54, is the current Sheriff of Bourbon County and is running for re-election.
His education includes Uniontown High School, an associate’s degree from Fort Scott Community College, a bachelor’s degree from Pittsburg State University, and he attended graduate school at Missouri Southern State University.
Martin’s experience includes National Sheriff’s Institute, Aurora, CO; Executive Level Management Education and Training Rural Executive Management Institute; a management education and training program designed to prepare rural law enforcement executives for the unique challenges, Session XLIV, St. Louis, MO; Kansas City Missouri Police Dept. Regional Training Center, over 3,000 hours of in-service training in the criminal justice and administration fields; Kansas Sheriff’s Academy 2020 Professional Development and Leadership Academy and FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association.
Martin, in addition to being the current Bourbon County Sheriff, has served on the Kansas City, MO Police Department, the Pittsburg, KS Police Department, and the Fort Scott Police Department.
Martin served in the military in the following capacities: U.S. Army (Active Service), Kansas National Guard (Military Police), Primary Leadership Development Course, and Basic Non-Commissioned Leadership Course.
What skills do you bring to the position if re-elected:
“I have maintained the same skill set, demeanor and decorum for the past eight years as the current sheriff, and even prior to my current position as the undersheriff for six years.”
What is your priority on day one?
“To continue to oversee and direct county law enforcement to the citizens of this jurisdiction, in the same effective matter has I have exhibited during my tenure.”
The following is information provided on the Bourbon County Kansas website.
You may register to vote online, through the Kansas Secretary of State’s website.
Check your voter registration status, the location of your polling place and view a sample ballot at VoterView by the Secretary of State.
Advance Voting is available prior to each election. You may advance vote in one of two ways: By mail, by filing an application for a ballot to be mailed to you OR in-person, beginning at least one week prior to any election.
The Old Fort Genealogical Society, along with help from the Historic Preservation Association of Bourbon County and the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce are presenting a social distancing history event for Bourbon County residents, on August 1.
It is a guided carpool tour around the county with local history lovers leading and speaking at designated spots. It is the first of many by the group of local history enthusiasts.
The title of the inaugural car tour is Ghost Towns and Early Legends of Northern Bourbon County.
Stops will be the Barnesville Cemetery, Fort Lincoln and Freedom Colony, Wagon Road Bridge, Guthrie’s Mound, U.S. National Cemetery No. 1, and Eugene Ware Elementary School.
The tour will begin at 8:50 a.m. at Old Fort Genealogical Society located in Memorial Hall, Third Street and National Avenue, and end at approximately 11:50 a.m. at the National Cemetery.
Park vehicles on National Avenue in front of the Bourbon County Courthouse or across the street in front of Memorial Hall. The Old Fort Genealogical Library is located in the basement of Memorial Hall on East National Avenue.
National Cemetery, Fort Scott.
The event costs $5 and registration is at fortscott.com. There is a limit of 45 participants.
“Pete Allen comes to visit the Old Fort Genealogical Library and we talked,” Ann Rawlings, the librarian said. “He said I should contact Fred Campbell…..The next thing I know we had a meeting to set up a tour again.”
Historial Preservation of Bourbon County did bus tours years ago, she said.
“Bourbon County is fortunate to have local men and women presenters whose love of history and the preservation of that history for future generations drives them to work endless hours to fulfill their mission of historic preservation,” Pete Allen said. “Fred Campbell and Don Miller started the tour years ago. They are being joined now by Reed Hartford, Brian Allen and Ralph Carlson. Ann Rawlins, whose enthusiasm sparked the revival and Lindsay Madison has offered invaluable help in getting the tour organized.”
The following is from an email interview with Ann Rawlings:
What is the plan for future tours?
“The tours will change each month covering the whole of Bourbon County,” Rawlings said. “There are many places to show and tell the stories all over the county and this is the way to get first-hand information from well-seasoned historians.”
“Some of the areas we plan on visiting are Bronson and the aluminum statue; Hell’s Bend Railroad, engine and cemetery; Garland and the coal mines on the Old Hwy; Cato, the town that moved; the west side of Bourbon County where ‘Africa Colony’ once thrived; cemeteries – those that are active and those forgotten; travel the path of the Military Highway, and more to be defined,” she said.
Who is invited to attend?
“Anyone who has an interest in history. Most sites will be handicapped accessible as long as they can get in and out of vehicles,” Rawlings said.
Why a car tour offering?
“The plans in the future will be bus tours, but due to the six-foot distancing of the COVID guidelines, we felt the attendees would be willing to go via carpool,” she said. ” Families can still attend and not be concerned about contamination.”
“We will require all to have a mask when out of their vehicles, observe the six-foot distancing protocol and make sure all are healthy before coming on the tour.”
What is the history of the genealogical society?
“Old Fort Genealogical Society (OFGS) started in 1984 and has expanded over the years until it is a large Library packed with original documents, newspaper microfilm, hundreds of researched history notebooks and self-published works, old and new printed works, several filing cabinets full of family histories and topic histories as well as computer access to newspapers.com and ancestry.com and many other sites,” she said.
“We have researchers working on several projects at this time. Some are working on genealogy, others on local history. We have so many projects we need help. Anyone who would be willing to research at the Library or at home is welcome to contact us”
“The purpose of the Historic Preservation Association of Bourbon County, Inc. is to preserve historic sites.
“We promote public interest in matters of historical importance to Bourbon County and each year, we match several $500 City of fort Scott grants to downtown Fort Scott business owners for the purpose of restoring their historic building facades. In addition, we sponsor and sometimes co-sponsor history-related events and invite an entertaining and information speaker to each of our annual meetings.”
“We can be found on facebook by typing in HPABC or online at hpaofbourboncounty.weebly.com.”
Give a brief history of the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce
“The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce is a membership organization serving Fort Scott and Bourbon County with a focus on being a support to our members including businesses, agri-businesses, non-profit organizations, and individuals who belong to and support the work of the Chamber and are engaged in the community.”
“The Chamber strives to be a valuable resource in many ways including referrals of members, supplying relocation packets, housing options, event information and promotion of job opportunities.”
“We can be contacted via our website fortscott.com, call 620-223-3566 or come by and visit at 231 E Wall St just west of the Hwy 69/Hwy 54 interchange.”
MEETING WILL BE HELD IN THE COMMISSION ROOM. ANYONE ATTENDING THE MEETING WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A MASK PROVIDED BY THE COUNTY. MUST MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING.
This is part of a series of features on the candidates running for offices in Bourbon County. The Bourbon County Primary Election will be held, Tuesday, August 4, 2020.
Monday, July 20, is the candidate forum at Ellis Fine Arts Center, on the campus of Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for a meet and greet with candidates. The forum starts at 6 p.m. in the order of the federal, state, then local candidates.
Nick Graham, 40, is a candidate for Bourbon County Clerk.
Graham has an associate’s degree in network administration from Labette Community College.
He has 20 years in information technology experience for local small businesses and education providers. He is a former Fort Scott City Commissioner.
What skills do you bring to the position if elected?
“I love helping and interacting with people, which is not particularly common among IT guys, and the clerk’s office provides a ton of opportunities to help improve and streamline county services and communication that we can implement quickly and at little or no cost.” “I also think I’m a strong coalition builder – there is a lot of silo mentality going on inside (and outside) the county government right now, and when that happens, the biggest loser is the taxpayer, as they get fragmented service and fragmented communication. I’ve sat down with several elected and non-elected officials on the county level (and the city level) sharing my ideas and plans on ways we can make everyone’s job a little easier and provide a much smoother experience for our customers, the taxpayers.”
“Lastly, having worked in the technology side of public education and for small businesses with very limited budgets, I’ve learned how to improvise and innovate without spending a lot of money. In a rural county like ours, that’s going to be more and more critical as time goes on, especially in economic times like these.”
What is your priority on day one?
“I have two main priorities for when I am sworn in as clerk:
1) Build a useful online presence for the county – provide quality online broadcasts of the meetings, start building an easily accessible and easy to use system so people can pull up public records online, and making it as easy as possible for people to do their business with the county without having to take a trip to the courthouse if they don’t want to.
2) Education. The county clerk’s office is incredibly multifaceted, from taking minutes at commission meetings, to handling accounts payable, to overseeing all local elections, to being co-guardian of the budget with the treasurer. And that’s just four of the fourteen core responsibilities. It’s a critical position, and I intend to immerse myself in all the training and resources available to the clerk. I’ve also established good working relationships with both current and former county clerks in the southeast Kansas area, so I feel like I’ve got a great support team in place.”
You may register to vote online, through the Kansas Secretary of State’s website.
Check your voter registration status, the location of your polling place and view a sample ballot at VoterView by the Secretary of State.
The County Clerk is elected in November of Presidential Election years to a term of four years. There are no term limits to this elected office.
The Bourbon County Clerk/Election Officer is responsible for a wide range of things under Kansas Law. Some of those are listed here.
Advance Voting is available prior to each election. You may advance vote in one of two ways: By mail, by filing an application for a ballot to be mailed to you OR in-person, beginning at least one week prior to any election.
“Allen County has 2 new COVID-19 cases this morning and Bourbon County has 4,” Rebecca Johnson, SEK Multi-County Health Departments Administrator, said. “Of Bourbon County’s 4, 2 are presumptive positive.”
Allen County
Current Positive Cases
3
Current Recovered Cases
5
Total Positives Since Testing
8-1 removed-out of state and to remain there
Deaths
0
Anderson County
Current Positive Cases
11
Current Recovered Cases
4
Total Positives Since Testing
15
Deaths
0
Bourbon County
Current Positive Cases
26
Presumptive Cases
3-1 listed on KDHE website, tested negative
Positive Out of State/County-staying in Bourbon
11
Total Hospitalizations
5-1 still remaining in hospital
Current Recovered Cases
29-includes presumptive case
Total Positives Since Testing
54
Deaths
1
Woodson County
Current Positive Cases
0
Total Hospitalizations
1-0 remaining in hospital
Current Recovered Cases
10
Total Positives Since Testing
10
Deaths
0
Recovered cases are based on dates of onset of symptoms, not on day testing results are received.
MEETING WILL BE HELD IN THE COMMISSION ROOM. ANYONE ATTENDING THE MEETING WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A MASK PROVIDED BY THE COUNTY. MUST MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING.
10:30 Executive Session, Consultation with an attorney for the body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship
This is part of a series of features on the candidates running for offices in Bourbon County. The Bourbon County Primary Election will be held, Tuesday, August 4, 2020.
Monday, July 20, is the candidate forum at Ellis Fine Arts Center, on the campus of Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for a meet and greet with candidates. The forum starts at 6 p.m. in the order of federal, state, then local candidates.
Mike Feagins, 46, is a candidate for Bourbon County Sheriff.
He attended Fort Scott Community College.
“I am running for Bourbon County Sheriff to bring many positive things to the table. As a citizen, I do not want my taxes to continue rising. I want citizens to see patrol vehicles in their areas. I want to establish programs that involve children. Children are our future. I feel strongly that they are educated regarding the proper process of law enforcement. I believe that I have the knowledge, education and experience to be your next sheriff. I want to lead this community in the right direction.”
“I bring with me 18 years of law enforcement experience and well over one thousand hours of continuing education, strictly towards law enforcement. Part of those educational hours are for extensive training in drug interdiction, taser instructor certification, field training officer certification, and many others. I have also obtained many hours for leadership and supervision management and have overseen a reserve deputy training program for many years.”
“My experience ranges from reported threats, domestic situations, battery reports, burglary/theft reports, helping those who have mental health issues, investigating minor to fatality accidents, sex crimes, child abuse cases, battery reports, suicides, attempted murders, murder investigations, just to name a few. I also have experience with upholding laws and developing safety plans within school systems.”
What skills do you bring to the position if elected?
“I will bring honesty, dedication, experience, positive moral, and good ethics to the sheriff’s office. I have been concerned regarding the on-going negative relationship between the sheriff’s department and the Fort Scott Police Department.”
What is your priority on day one?
” I have been concerned regarding the on-going negative relationship between the sheriff’s department and the Fort Scott Police Department,” he said. “My intention, if elected, is to sit down with the Fort Scott Police Chief, discuss the current issues at hand, and develop a remedy for establishing a positive relationship. I believe local agencies need to work together in order to better fight crime and educate citizens regarding any issues that may arise in different jurisdictions. It is also imperative to have a good working relationship with surrounding jurisdictions.”
“The next five years will definitely be a challenge due to restructuring the current budget. If elected, I will immediately need to go over the current budget as well as look into the full year of spending. Things arise unexpectedly, and one should be prepared for them. If elected, I want to be able to make cuts appropriately so I can budget in yearly raises for the deputies.”
“Public leadership experience is something that is demonstrated by every law enforcement officer daily. It is our duty to guide and teach the community based on the situation that we encounter.”
Feagins is a life long resident of Bourbon County.
The following is information provided on the Bourbon County Kansas website.
You may register to vote online, through the Kansas Secretary of State’s website.
Check your voter registration status, the location of your polling place and view a sample ballot at VoterView by the Secretary of State.
Advance Voting is available prior to each election. You may advance vote in one of two ways: By mail, by filing an application for a ballot to be mailed to you OR in-person, beginning at least one week prior to any election.
COVID 19 Pandemic restrictions have affected many aspects of our culture.
More so for graduating 2020 graduates at all levels of education.
The Uniontown High School Class of 2020 is having their graduation ceremony this weekend, a full two months later than normal.
The event is not something that is open to the general public due to COVID 19 Pandemic crowd number restrictions that Kansas has in place, said Bret Howard, superintendent of USD 235.
“Each graduate will be allowed to invite up to nine people and those people will be allowed into the home bleachers,” Howard said.
“Phase 3 of the governors’ plan still limits the amount of crowd we can allow,” he said. ” In consultation with the Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department, we have created this plan and it was approved. We apologize for not being able to accommodate everyone who would want to attend but due to the current circumstances, we are doing the best we can.”
On July 11, seniors and their families will be having an outdoors ceremony on the football field. The event is usually held in the West Bourbon Elementary School gymnasium.
“The tough spot we are in is that to get it approved we had to agree to only have people sit in our home bleachers,” Howard said. “The (running) track (that surrounds the football field) is being worked on as well so we can’t have people all over the football field or even on the track.”
“We will be having our graduates give us a list of up to nine people to sit in the bleachers together,” he said. “If some graduates don’t have nine people then we will give others the option of bringing more.”
“We are going to have people sit on every other row in the bleachers, Howard said. “We have set up seating in the bleachers. There will not be anyone allowed inside the fence or on the field other than graduates and board members.”
“We are planning on live streaming the graduation on our school Facebook page,” he said. ” We have our information technology personnel setting this up right now. Once we know that it will work we will post a link on our website and social media accounts.”
The following is information provided on the Bourbon County Kansas website.
