Arent, Nicholas Ray (Age 43) — Arrested 6/11/2026 2:51 AM by Fort Scott Police Department. Charges: Possess Opiates/Opium/Narc Drug and Certain Stimulants, Use/Possess Drug Paraphernalia/Human Body. Bond: $0.00.
Lotterer, Joseph — Released 6/11/2026 8:00 AM via Probation (Self).
Ludeman, Samantha Joy — Released 6/11/2026 7:03 AM via Transferred Out (KDOC).
Total Inmates Released: 2
Documents:
Bourbon County Community Theatre Auditions for Willy Wonka TYA
Bourbon County Community Theatre (BCCT) is producing its first ever musical this summer, open to all ages.
Auditions for Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka (TYA – Theatre for Young Audiences) version are 6:30-8:30 p.m. July 6 or 7 at the Fort Scott High School Auditorium.
“The delicious adventures experienced by Charlie Bucket on his visit to Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory light up the stage in this captivating adaptation of Roald Dahl’s fantastical tale. Featuring the enchanting songs from the 1971 film starring Gene Wilder, and new songs by Leslie Bricusse (Jekyll & Hyde, Doctor Dolittle) and Anthony Newley, Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka TYA is a scrumdidilyumptious musical guaranteed to delight everyone’s sweet tooth,” according to Music Theatre International.
Those who audition should plan to stay for the entire time period on one evening of auditions. They should prepare to sing a 16-32 measure portion of a song. Auditioners should bring an accompaniment recording to sing along with.
Rehearsals are 6:30-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday at FSHS. Performances are at 7 p.m. on Aug. 7 and at 2 and 7 p.m. on Aug. 8 at FSHS.
Those who are cast in the show are asked to donate a $25 participation fee with a maximum of $50 per family. Parents who are not in the show with their children should also volunteer to supervise on a performance night.
BCCT is also looking for a Lighting Designer and Sound Designer for the production as well as Stage Crew. The show is directed by Angie Bin with musical direction by Taylor Jones and choreography by Abby Stepps.
“We are so excited to finally be able to offer our community our first ever musical production. This will be such a fun venture for all ages and we have an incredible artistic staff eager to get started,” said Bin.
BCCT is seeking sponsors to help make their first musical successful. Please see the BCCT facebook page for more information on how to become a financial sponsor or contact Bin for more information.
Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka TYA has music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. It is adapted for the stage by Leslie Bricusse and Timothy Allen Mcdonald and is based on the book “Charlie And The Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl. It is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI, www.mtishows.com
Anyone with questions should contact Bin at 620-719-9622 or at [email protected].
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Rodriguez, Ashley Katherine (Age 32) – Arrested 6/9/2026 12:30 PM by Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office. Charge: Warrant – Fort Scott Municipal. Bond: $500.00 Cash. Released 6/9/2026 1:15 PM.
Rodriguez, Ashley Katherine – Released 6/9/2026 1:15 PM via Cash Bond (Self).
Sawyer, Emily A (Age 41) – Released 6/9/2026 2:49 PM via Surety Bond (Able Bonding).
Total Inmates Released: 2
Documents:
The County Clerk and Election Officer Susan Walker and Deputy Clerk Amber Page walked FortScott.biz through the election process showing the procedures their office uses to take in, track, and reconcile every ballot cast in a Bourbon County election.
This article shows the order that an election unfolds, starting with building the ballot weeks before Election Day and ending with the canvass after Election Day.
Important Terms:
KNOWiNK Poll Pad: The electronic tablet voters sign in on at the polling place. KNOWiNK is the vendor; Poll Pad is the device.
ePolls: The Clerk’s office shorthand for the electronic pollbook export from the Poll Pads. The data feeds into ELVIS after the election.
ELVIS: Election Voter Information System. The Kansas Secretary of State’s statewide voter registration and credit system.
Clear Ballot: The scanner system voters insert marked ballots into at the polling place.
ClearDesign: Clear Ballot’s ballot-design software. Used by the Clerk’s office to build each election’s ballot manually, race by race and precinct by precinct.
UOCAVA: Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. Federal law governing absentee ballots for military and overseas voters.
Manual pollbook: Paper backup pollbook used when Poll Pads fail. Voters sign by hand and are credited in ELVIS afterward.
Provisional ballot: A ballot cast under questioned circumstances (e.g., wrong polling place). Whether it counts is decided later, at the canvass.
Chain-of-custody sheet: Daily log signed by both Walker and Page when retrieving and validating mail-in advance ballots from the office mailbox.
Canvass / Board of Canvassers: Post-election review by the Board of Canvassers (typically the county commissioners) that decides which provisional ballots count and finalizes results.
Supervising judge: The election worker overseeing a specific polling place on Election Day. They serve once a year.
Precinct part: A sub-unit of a precinct that votes on slightly different combinations of races, created by redistricting.
Designing a Bourbon County ballot is a weeks-long process, handled primarily by Page. She uses Clear Ballot’s design software, called ClearDesign. Every piece of information has to be typed in manually: the name of the election, the date, every race, every district, every precinct, which races appear on each precinct’s ballot, which voter groups can vote on each race, and which polling places each precinct’s ballot is available at.
Primary elections add another layer. Every contest has to be mapped to the parties that will appear in it, and every candidate has to be linked to the correct party, so they show up on the right party’s ballot.
Recent redistricting in Bourbon County added significantly to that complexity by creating more precincts and what Page called “precinct parts.” These are sub-units that vote on slightly different combinations of races. The Clerk’s office relies heavily on the district map to determine which precinct or precinct split a given voter belongs to.
Walker said that last year, after an issue discovered with the early voting ballots forced Page to rebuild an entire election configuration, work that would normally have taken several weeks, in hours to have them ready in time for voting day.
The Clerk’s office uses multiple internal and external reviewers to look at the ballot before it goes live, including people outside the office checking for spelling and other errors. Walker said the goal is to keep iterating on the process, “we keep trying to do everything better. We keep doing new processes to make it simpler.”
Once the ballot is finalized and printed, every ballot the Clerk’s office sends to a polling place is sealed with a numbered seal. The supervising judge at each polling place is required to keep those seals and return them. If a seal has to be broken, a new seal goes on and is logged. All seals are audited against the equipment they were applied to.
The Clerk’s office also manually counts every ballot before sending it out. On the morning of Election Day, the polling-place staff recount what was delivered and validate the count with the Clerk’s office. At the end of the day, the polling-place staff recount the unused ballots before sending everything back.
When a voter walks in to vote, they sign in on a Poll Pad — an electronic check-in tablet running software from a company called KNOWiNK on an iPad. The Poll Pad captures the voter’s signature and identifying information.
If the Poll Pad system goes down, there is a paper backup with the manual pollbook. Voters sign the manual pollbook, and the Clerk’s office later enters those records into the state voter system by hand. Walker described one recent example: on the first day of early voting before the November 2025 election, the Poll Pads malfunctioned, and 29 voters signed the manual pollbook. All 29 were later manually credited with voting in the state system.
If a voter shows up at the wrong polling place, they sign a separate provisional pollbook and fill out additional provisional paperwork. Whether that ballot ends up counting is decided later, at the canvass described below.
Some voters cast their ballots by mail rather than in person. Mail-in advance ballots are checked every single day during the advance-voting window. Walker and Page personally retrieve ballots from the mailbox together, count and validate them, log them on a chain-of-custody sheet, and both sign off. The log records how many ballots came in that day but not the voters’ names.
The office tracks who was mailed an advance ballot and who has returned it. If something is wrong — for example, a voter and their spouse have signed each other’s envelopes — the office returns the ballot for correction. Some ballots come back from the post office because of bad addresses. Those, too, are handled manually.
Kansas recently changed the law on advance-ballot returns. Previously, ballots could arrive up to three days after Election Day and still count. Under the new rule, advance ballots must be in by 7 p.m. on Election Day to count. Walker noted the new deadline is currently the subject of litigation, but the Kansas Secretary of State has directed county election officials to plan as though the 7 p.m. deadline is final.
Military voters and overseas voters are tracked separately under federal UOCAVA (Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act) rules. Walker said Bourbon County typically sees about two UOCAVA ballots a year.
When a voter inserts a filled out ballot into the voting machine at the polling place, they’re using a system called Clear Ballot. At the end of the day, the Clear Ballot machine produces a report listing how many ballots passed through it.
Occasionally there are anomalies. Walker described one example: a voter who was issued a provisional ballot can sometimes tear the ballot off and run it through the regular scanner instead of returning it to the supervising judge. Those anomalies are noted at the end of the day.
After Election Day, the Clerk’s office reconciles every election against three independent systems:
Walker said all three numbers are expected to tie out. If they don’t, the office investigates. In her experience, when the numbers don’t match, the discrepancy is almost always in advance ballots or provisionals — what she called “the most room for human error.”
As a concrete example, in last year’s election the office processed 36 provisional ballots, of which 12 didn’t count, and 13 advance ballots.
After the initial reconciliation, a Board of Canvassers — typically the county commissioners themselves, though they can appoint someone else to do it on their behalf, which Walker said has happened on many occasions — meets to go through every provisional ballot and decide which ones count.
Provisional ballots are evaluated against specific statutory standards. Ahead of the canvass, Page goes through each provisional and identifies which statute applies and whether the ballot likely qualifies, in order to speed up the commissioners’ review. The commissioners make the final call. Once the canvass is complete, the results are entered into ELVIS.
Voters interested in verify their own voting history can go to the Kansas Secretary of State website and enter their name and birthdate. That lookup queries ELVIS.
Walker described cases of voters who had voted but couldn’t find a record on the state site. The cause was usually a name-entry error from years earlier — for example, an entry that placed a voter’s first name into the middle-name field, so the lookup didn’t return a match. The Clerk’s office can fix those records once notified. Walker said voters who can’t find their record on the state site should call the office. (620-223-3800 ext. 100)
Each polling place is overseen by a supervising judge — election workers who are on duty only once a year. Walker said training has historically been short for that reason. The Clerk’s office is planning longer training this year to walk supervising judges through specific responsibilities and procedures.
The Clerk’s office was recently awarded an $8,500 election-security grant from the state.
Walker said the office plans to use the grant to:
Walker said the grant had been approved just the week before the May 22 walkthrough.
This article is based on a May 22, 2026 demonstration at the Bourbon County Courthouse. The videos of the walk through of the process are shown below.
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Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office
Daily Reports — June 9, 2026
SAWYER, EMILY A (Age 41) — Arrested by Fort Scott Police Department on 6/8/2026 at 9:04 PM.
Charge: Criminal Threat; Unknown Circumstance — No Bond ($0.00)
LITCHFIELD, LESLIE LEE (Age 62) — Arrested by Fort Scott Police Department on 6/8/2026 at 11:13 PM.
Charge: Warrant – Fort Scott Municipal (Warrant No. E0012596) — Cash Bond $150.00
GIER, CHRISTIAN LEE — Booked 05/25/2026. Released 6/8/26 at 11:17 AM. Release Type: Time Served.
MATTHEWS, EVAN ANDREA — Booked 06/07/2026. Released 6/8/26 at 3:30 PM. Release Type: Surety Bond (A+ Bail Bonds).
STATEN, MADISON JANE — Booked 05/07/2026. Released 6/8/26 at 3:30 PM. Release Type: Time Served.
Total Inmates Released: 3
Documents:
Due to a lack of quorum for 06/08/26 the Bourbon County Commission meeting will be canceled.
Submitted by:
Susan E. Walker
Bourbon County Clerk
Williams, Alexis Ann (age 22) – Arrested 6/5/2026 by Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office. Charges: DUI (misdemeanor), Reckless Driving. Bond: $2,500. Released 6/7/2026.
Carr, Randle R. (age 45) – Arrested 6/5/2026; held for Douglas County. Charge: Other Agency Hold. No bond.
Curtiss, Jaystyn Jaymes (age 20) – Arrested 6/5/2026; held for Douglas County. Charge: Other Agency Hold. No bond.
Jackson, Ontareo (age 23) – Arrested 6/5/2026; held for Douglas County. Charge: Other Agency Hold. No bond.
McQueen, Paul Jearrette (age 49) – Arrested 6/5/2026; held for Douglas County. Charge: Other Agency Hold. No bond.
Burns, Randy Dale Jr. (age 46) – Arrested 6/5/2026; held for Douglas County. Charge: Other Agency Hold. No bond.
Garcia, Silva Joeddy (age 27) – Arrested 6/5/2026; held for Douglas County. Charge: Other Agency Hold. No bond.
Tucker, Sky Marie (age 30) – Arrested 6/5/2026 by Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office. Charge: Warrant Bourbon County (Failure to Appear). No bond.
Eisenbrandt, Jonah Isaiah (age 46) – Arrested 6/5/2026 by Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office. Charge: Sanction. No bond. Released 6/7/2026.
Reisman, Robert Ryan (age 34) – Arrested 6/6/2026 by Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office. Charges: DUI (misdemeanor), Possession of Certain Illegal Drugs, Transporting an Open Container, Use/Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Bond: $10,000. Released 6/7/2026.
Haynes, Raya Lashay (age 18) – Arrested 6/6/2026 by Fort Scott Police Department. Charges: Aggravated Escape from Custody (use of violence), Criminal Threat (unknown circumstance), Domestic Battery (knowing/reckless bodily harm), Interference with LEO (obstruct/resist felony). Bond: $5,000.
Villazon, Vincent J. (age 28) – Arrested 6/7/2026 by Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office. Charges: Aggravated Burglary, Domestic Battery (knowing/reckless bodily harm). No bond.
Matthews, Evan Andrea (age 20) – Arrested 6/7/2026 by Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office. Charges: DUI (misdemeanor), Fleeing or Eluding a LEO, Liquor Purchase by Minor, Possession of Certain Stimulants. No bond.
Black, Carla Mae – Released 6/6/2026 via Cash Bond.
Eisenbrandt, Jonah Isaiah – Released 6/7/2026, Time Served.
Ladish, Clay Matthew – Released 6/5/2026, Transferred Out (Douglas County).
Reisman, Robert Ryan – Released 6/7/2026 via Surety Bond (Able Bonding).
Surguy, Nikita – Released 6/6/2026, Time Served.
Williams, Alexis Ann – Released 6/7/2026 via Surety Bond (Larry Lamb).
Inmates at Bourbon County Jail: 49
Inmates at Osawatomie State Hospital: 2
Charges are accusations only. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Documents:
Meeting Date: June 8, 2026, 5:30 PM
Location: 210 S National Avenue, Fort Scott, KS 66701
I. Call Meeting to Order (PDF Page 1)
II. Pledge of Allegiance (PDF Page 1)
III. Prayer (PDF Page 1)
IV. Introductions (PDF Page 1)
V. Approval of Accounts Payable 06.05.26 ($184,461.59) (PDF Page 1)
VI. Approval of Minutes 06.01.26 (PDF Page 1)
VII. Special Appearances (PDF Page 1)
a. Planning Commission Presentation – Tran
VIII. Public Comments (PDF Page 1)
IX. Department Updates (PDF Page 1)
a. MOU grant – Melissa Trim – Tran
b. Website Access – Walker
c. Tusa – Sheriff/Tran
X. Old Business (PDF Page 1)
XI. New Business (PDF Page 1)
a. Budget discussion – Milburn-Kee
b. CIC remote access for Baker Tilly – Milburn-Kee
c. Real-estate extension – Tran
XII. Future Agenda Topics (PDF Page 1)
a. 06.22.26 Jarred Gilmore Phillips 2026 Audit Engagement
b. 06.22.26 SEK Regional Juvenile Detention Center Discussion
c. 06.22.26 Resolution for Cancellation of Warrant/Checks KSA 19-320 – Walker
XIII. Commission Comments (PDF Page 1)
XIV. Adjournment (PDF Page 1)
The total open invoices pending approval for the June 5, 2026 review batch is $184,461.59, comprising 142 total invoices across county departments.
Departmental Cost Breakdown:
Non-Departmental (Combined Funds): $135,316.63 (PDF Page 7)
General Fund (Payroll Clearing): $0.00 after balancing special payroll credits and KPERS tracking. (PDF Page 2)
Appraisers Fund 016: $29.06 for monthly contract copier items and cooler rentals. (PDF Page 2)
County Treasurer Motor Fund 052: $385.46 including a title fraud training mileage reimbursement of $217.50 and office copy paper. (PDF Page 2)
Election Fund 062: $87.21 for contract copy services. (PDF Page 2)
Employee Benefit Fund 064: $1,128.19 covering social security processing and RPS Benefits health management. (PDF Pages 2-3)
Special Law Enforcement Fund 097: $1,000.00 for a Platinum Level Sponsorship of the Bourbon County Fair Association. (PDF Page 3)
Landfill Fund 108: $5,230.07 paid to Allen County Public Works for municipal solid waste processing between May 21 and May 27. (PDF Page 3)
County Sheriff/Correctional Fund 120: $38,948.88 total. Major line items include $16,271.22 for May inmate meals, $9,966.19 in combined fuel bills through Wex Bank, $5,736.44 in vehicle wrap graphics by Signco Inc., and $3,003.60 for emergency plumbing fixes. (PDF Pages 3-4)
Noxious Weed Fund 200: $1,397.72 for customized desktop setup and software implementations via Stronghold Data. (PDF Page 4)
Road and Bridge Fund 220: $35,868.95 total. Includes heavy equipment parts and hydraulic repairs through Murphy Tractor ($11,310.18) and Foley Equipment ($3,620.46), alongside a $9,126.40 combined standard grader lease payment to John Deere Financial. (PDF Pages 4-6)
Road & Bridge Sales Tax Fund 222: $26,712.61 highlighted by a $14,611.80 procurement order of AC-20 asphalt mix materials from Wright Asphalt Products. (PDF Pages 6-7)
Road & Bridge Special Improvement Fund 224: $10,977.50 specialized contractual engineering cost for county-wide bridge inspections conducted by Schwab-Eaton PA. (PDF Page 7)
Sheriff Trust Forfeiture Fund 257: $13,500.00 used for upgrading field operations laptops through Turn-Key Mobile, Inc. (PDF Page 7)
Offender Registration Fund 398: $50.98 for basic commodities. (PDF Page 7)
County Commission: $116.27 spent on general personnel folders and copier leases. (PDF Page 8)
County Clerk: $255.16 covering standard copy paper and contract copy costs. (PDF Page 9)
County Treasurer: $48.83 for recurring monthly cooler leasing and copy services. (PDF Page 10)
County Attorney: $3,728.17 total. Key allocations include $1,019.00 for annual website hosting through Advantage Computer Enterprises, $1,178.96 for digital Westlaw subscriptions, and a series of mandatory public legal notice publications in the Fort Scott Tribune. (PDF Pages 11-12)
County Register of Deeds: $29.81 for minor contractual copy usage. (PDF Page 12)
Courthouse Maintenance: $648.00 allocated toward building maintenance hourly payroll. (PDF Page 13)
District Court: $1,049.19 including a $449.50 travel mileage reimbursement for Claire Clark and recurring Pitney Bowes postage machinery leases. (PDF Page 14)
Emergency Preparedness: $165.11 for dedicated telecom line billing by Craw-Kan Telephone. (PDF Page 15)
Information Technology (I T): $39,647.55 paid primarily to Stronghold Data LLC, including a $17,900.00 flat fee for the network “Separation of County” IT infrastructure project, combined with standard monthly service fees. (PDF Page 16)
Ambulance Service: $1,562.26 supporting operations through Craw-Kan EMS data lines ($392.78), pharmaceutical supplies from Morris & Dickson ($386.35), and utility power through Evergy. (PDF Page 17)
Noxious Weed (Department 30): $952.84 for seasonal bulk chemical treatment items (Plateau, Remedy, and GrazonNext) from Van Diest Supply Company. (PDF Page 18)
Courthouse General: $941.77 for central operations, split between municipal facility water utilities ($360.41), regular service supplies from Cintas ($381.47), and institutional water treatments ($170.00). (PDF Page 19)
Attendance & Openings: The session was called to order by Chairperson Mika Milburn-Kee at 5:30 PM. Commissioners Motley, Tran (attending via phone), and Allen (attending via Zoom) were present; County Clerk Susan Walker was absent. (PDF Page 23)
Agenda Alteration: Prior to starting business, a presentation regarding TUSA was dropped from the schedule due to an attendance shortfall from the presenter. The shortened agenda passed 4-0. (PDF Page 23)
Minutes Corrections: While reviewing historical minutes (May 11 and May 18), Commissioner Milburn-Kee formally flagged text blocks from May 11 that inaccurately stated she had spoken on records she did not say. The documentation was amended to expunge those false narrative attributions, passing 4-0. (PDF Page 23)
Financial Approvals: Standard April 2026 financial records and ongoing localized tax corrections advanced cleanly with 4-0 votes. (PDF Pages 23-24)
Accounts Payable Dissent: AP batches from May 22 ($139,611.15) and May 29 ($456,069.98) faced procedural objections. Commissioner Tran forced a revision to the initial voting call, pointing out that he was abstaining rather than voting in favor, because he had not been allowed or given an opportunity to look over the relevant check ledger documents. The motions ultimately passed 3-0 with 1 abstention. (PDF Page 24)
Check Endorsement Emergency: Because Commissioner Allen was away from physical chambers, the board approved an emergency authorization 4-0 empowering Commissioner Motley to sign local warrant checks that night to keep county payments moving forward. (PDF Page 24)
Listing Agreement Change Form: Formal paperwork finalized on June 4, 2026, details a contractual listing time extension for the county-owned office building at 108 W. 2nd St., Fort Scott, KS (MLS #2592426). The arrangement with broker Diann Tucker of Stewart Realty Company shifts the original contract deadline from June 17, 2026, further out to December 17, 2026, keeping the base asking price solid at $170,000.00. (PDF Page 25)
Asset Breakdown: The property comprises a single-level commercial office building tracking at 3,552 square feet on a corner lot, structured originally in 1963, featuring multi-tenant space division options, a small operational kitchen space in a partial basement, and open on-street parking access. (PDF Page 28)
Comparable Local Property Data: The board is cross-referencing this property profile against comparable sales data to measure local asset valuations:
1621 S Main St: Commercial space sold for $180,000 on April 28, 2026, requiring just 7 days on the active market. (PDF Page 26)
102 S Judson St: Local office layout featuring 8 individual private suites. It brought in $180,000 on April 3, 2026, following 4 days on the market. Local notes mention that the seller bought a replacement roof for the buyers as part of closing concessions. (PDF Page 26)
322-324 S State St: Multi-unit commercial enterprise space locked into an active commercial lease through July 2029. It sold for $225,000 on March 19, 2026, spending 7 days on market. (PDF Page 26)
1502 Scott Ave: Industrial daycare infrastructure totaling 5,000+ sq. ft. that closed for $237,000 on August 21, 2025, after 38 days on market. (PDF Page 27)
ROLL CALL: ___ Kyle Knight ___ Amber Kelly ___ Mary Pemberton ___ Savannah Pritchett
___ Bradley Stewart
CITIZENS REQUESTS
Betty Dennis-Leash Law
FINANCIAL REPORT
Sally Johnson – Financial reports
APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA
DEPARTMENT REPORTS
Codes Enforcement: Doug Coyan
Superintendent: Bobby Rich
Clerk Report: Haley Arnold
Donation
Memorial Stone Repair/Replacement
TextMyGov Proposal
Councilman Knight –
Councilman Kelly –
Councilwoman Pemberton –
Councilwoman Pritchett –
Councilman Stewart–
Mayor Jurgensen –
FEMA Flooding
Dog Ordinance No. 85 Review and Discussion
ADJOURN Time ____________ Moved by ______________, 2nd ___________________, Approved ___________
A crowd of 172 attended the 2026 Friends of Tri-Valley Foundation annual spring fundraiser on Friday, May 1st. Doors at the SEK Impact Center opened at 5:30 pm. Décor was provided by Lisa Wolverton of Hitch and Hoedown Rentals. Approximately $15,000 was raised during the evening from stretch, silent, and live auctions. Following last year’s successful appearance, Robbie Bell once again provided entertainment throughout the evening.
Attendees were treated to a delicious meal of barbecue chicken, pulled pork, potato salad, baked beans, lettuce salad, and roll furnished by Mark Hall. Dessert was cobbler, provided by Brenda Harrison of Sassy Chef’s. Neosho County Community College students helped serve the meal. Door prizes were courtesy of the TVDS greenhouse in Fort Scott and Jennifer Deitsch State Farm.
As in year’s past, the live auction was the highlight of the evening. Dave Petersen served as auctioneer and did a fantastic job. For 2026, our featured trips were courtesy of Monarch Cement and included a trip for two to Nashville and a trip for two to San Antonio. Other items auctioned off include: a Breckenridge CO vacation package courtesy of Home Savings Bank; a Branson MO vacation package courtesy of Community National Bank; a full-size recliner courtesy of Ruddick’s Furniture in Fort Scott; and Dinner for 10 courtesy of Brenda Harrison. Thank you to the local merchants that provided gift baskets for both the silent and stretch auctions. Thank you to Larry Holman for serving as the evening’s photographer. The pictures are amazing.
All money raised from the evening will go towards the Friends of Tri-Valley Foundation projects. Since 2001, the Foundation has built six homes and acquired nine additional homes and a duplex. The houses are located in our communities of Buffalo, Chanute, Fort Scott, Humboldt, Iola, Moline, and Neodesha. These houses are home to 92 of our neighbors with intellectual and developmental disabilities served by Tri-Valley Developmental Services.
“The evening was fantastic”, said Bill Fiscus, CEO. “The food, drawings and conversation were phenomenal. Thank you to everyone who attended. We hope you had an enjoyable evening and look forward to seeing you all in 2027.”
A big thank you goes to the evening’s sponsors. Promenade Level: Monarch Cement Company
Colonnade Level: Acrisure; Cardinal Drug Store & Gifts; Community National Bank – Chanute; Hofer & Hofer & Associates; Larry Holman; IMA; Dave Peterson Auction Services; and Smith Law Office, LLC
Esplanade Level: Ash Grove; Hitch & Hoedown; and Jarred, Gilmore & Phillips, CPA
Arcade Level: Bank of Commerce; CASA of the 31st Judicial District; Cheney Witt Chapel; LeRoy Coop; Mertz Tax Service; SEK COOP; and Shields Motor Company
On Friday, April 10th, Tri-Valley Developmental Services held their 2026 Award Ceremony celebrating achievements from individuals and community support in Allen, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Elk, Greenwood, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson Counties. The ceremony began at 1 pm and was held at Central Park Pavilion in Chanute. Awards were presented to the following:
Business of the Year – Arby’s of Chanute, McDonald’s of Fort Scott, Mertz Tax Service, Fort Scott
Achievement Award – Dylan Lawrence, Bryan Packard, Josh Wilson
Ed Bideau Advocacy Award – Daniel Smith
Jenny Masterson Family Award – Tiffany Tiegreen
Friends of Tri-Valley Foundation Visionary Award – Mike Hofer
Winfred Jent Board Award – Joel Norris
Lifetime Achievement Award – Mike Reid
Employee of the Year Award – Laurel Hall
CEO Award – Jim Jesseph
During the ceremony, Ginger Jakee, Kelsey Meza, and Wendy Henderson were recognized as graduates in the DSP+ Apprenticeship Program.
Refreshments were served following the ceremony.
