Category Archives: Bourbon County

Bourbon County, Fort Scott

Garden Club Adds Beauty to Fort Scott

Leave a comment
The Bourbon County Garden Club 2019. Front, from left: Leah Lewis, Barb McCord, Cheryl Bloomfield, Deb Lust, Sharon Campbell; back row: Priscilla Sellers, Ronda Hassig, Judy Wallis, Clara Scholfield, Karen Billiard, Jan Hedges and Rita Emmerson.

The Bourbon County Garden Club beautifies the town of Fort Scott.

“We do the flower baskets downtown,” Deb Lust, spokesperson for the group told the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Coffee attendees on June 20. “The city pays for them and we provide the labor.”

“We also do the three flower beds at the swimming pool and the planter in front of the city office,” she said.

“Barb McCord is the landscape architect,” Lust said.

There are several Kansas Master Gardeners in the club who are available to answer gardening questions from the public, she said.

Also available for questions is Krista Harding with the K-State Southwind Horticulture Agent, she said.

In years past, the club has organized The Secret Garden, a showcase for area gardeners.

“We need gardens for that,” Lust said, noting that task has become increasingly difficult.

The club meets the fourth Thursday of each month, except in the winter months.

“We encourage men and women to join us,” she said.

 

 

Bourbon County, Fort Scott

Fort Scott American Legion Thompson-Harkey Post 25 Scuttlebutt

Leave a comment

 

 

Due to a Fort Scott Post 25 baseball game on July 1, July’s general meeting is moved to Tuesday, July 2 at 7 pm. Come to Laroche Field and support your Post 25 baseball team.

 

The new Legion year begins July 1. You will be receiving renewal notices in the mail. Your support for the American Legion and it’s programs are very important to our Veterans. The American Legion has been instrumental in pushing two congressional bills relating to Agent Orange and Blue Water Navy and the Legion Act to make all Veterans who served since December 7, 1941 eligible to join the American Legion.  Without your membership, the American Legion would not have had the legislative clout necessary to have these bills heard in Congress.

 

Your support for the Fort Scott American Legion baseball team is needed. This is our 1st Legion baseball team in several years and we are literally starting from scratch on equipment. Myra and I will match $1.00 for every $10.00 donation. Our fundraising goal is $3,000. Registration, insurance, baseballs and other incidentals are expensive.

 

Our goal in Fort Scott is to build an American Legion baseball program based on integrity and develop young men of character for our community. and our nation.

 

Please mail your donation for the Fort Scott American Legion baseball team to

 

American Legion Post 25

PO Box 25

Fort Scott, Ks. 66701

 

You can make a donation at https://www.gofundme.com/fort-scott-american-legion-baseball/donate/?upsell=cpgn_share.

 

Call me at 620-215-1688 to arrange local pick up of your donation.

 

 Upcoming Events

 

June 26 @ 6 pm.  American Legion Post 25 baseball team versus Columbus at LaRoche Complex.

 

June 28. Graveside services with military honors for Post 25 Legionnaire David Dwight Bishard will be held at 11:00 A.M. Friday, June 28th at the U. S. National Cemetery in Ft. Scott. Friends and family will meet at the cemetery. Services are under the direction of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, Ft. Scott, KS 66701.

 

July 1 @ 6 pm.  American Legion Post 25 baseball team versus Pittsburg at LaRoche Complex.

July 2. Post 25 meet and greet at 6:30 pm in Memorial Hall. Come and enjoy the fellowship of other Veterans. Bring an eligible Veteran to visit our Post.

 

July 2. Post 25 general membership meeting at 7 pm in Memorial Hall. Our membership meetings are open to all. SAL members are strongly encouraged to attend. Tonight’s meeting will include the installation of Post Officers for the 2019 – 20 Legion year. 2nd District Commander Marri Krupco will conduct the installation.

 

July 4. Post 25 Hot Dog giveaway at Fort Scott Wal-Mart from 11 am – 2pm or the dogs run out.  Stop by for a free hot dog, bag of chips and a drink.

 

July 8 @ 6 pm.  American Legion Post 25 baseball team versus Iola at Iola.

July 11. American Legion Post 25 Color Guard meets in Memorial Hall at 7 pm this month. The Post 25 Color Guard is open to all Post 25 Legionnaires and SAL members.

 

July 15 @ 6 pm.  American Legion Post 25 baseball team versus Iola at LaRoche Complex.

July 19 – 21. American Legion Zone Tournament. Location to TBA.

July 31 – August 4. American Legion State Tournament. Location to TBA.

 

Remember to check out Post 25 on Facebook. It contains current information pertaining to Veterans and their families.

VA Shuttle July Schedule

 

Mondays. Fort Scott/Topeka VA Medical Center shuttle departs Pete’s Convenience Store, 1920 South Main Street, parking lot. Vets needing a ride for a medical appointment must call 785-925-0261 to schedule a seat. The shuttle will make stops in Pleasanton, Louisburg and Ottawa to pick up scheduled riders

 

Tuesdays. Fort Scott/Topeka VA Medical Center shuttle departs Pete’s Convenience Store, 1920 South Main Street, parking lot. Vets needing a ride for a medical appointment must call 785-925-0261 to schedule a seat. The shuttle will make stops in Pleasanton, Louisburg and Ottawa to pick up scheduled riders

 

Wednesdays. Fort Scott/Kansas City VA Medical Center shuttle departs Pete’s Convenience Store, 1920 South Main Street, parking lot. Vets needing a ride for a medical appointment must call 785-925-0261 to schedule a seat. The shuttle will make stops in Pleasanton, and Louisburg  to pick up scheduled riders

 

The shuttle will make stops in Pleasanton, Louisburg and Ottawa to pick up scheduled riders.

 

Carl Jowers. Commander

Fort Scott American Legion Post 25

Telephone: 620.215.1688

Email: [email protected]

Bourbon County, Government, Kansas

Bourbon County Portion of 69 Hwy. Complete

Leave a comment
Governor Laura Kelly, Secretary of Transportation Julie Lorenz and numerous officials and highway advocates prepare to cut the ribbon. A view of Hwy. 69 is in the background.

Supporters of the continued U.S. Hwy. 69 expansion efforts gathered Monday morning for a celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The event was held in the yard of the Cherry Grove Baptist Church, which lies at the crossroads of Hwy. 69 and Cavalry Roads in Bourbon County.

 

The project expanded six miles of U.S. 69 south of Fort Scott to a four-lane upgradable expressway.

 

“Kansas Department Of Transportation will let the six-mile Arma Connection (in Crawford County) this fall and plans to let the remaining 5.5-mile Crawford County Expansion in the fall of 2020,” Priscilla Petersen, KDOT Southeast Kansas District Public Affairs Manager, said. “Once completed those two projects will (provide) four-lane U.S. 69 from Kansas City to Pittsburg.”

“Hwy. 69 beyond south of Pittsburg, remains in the study phase,” Petersen said.

 

 

 

Bourbon County, Government

Bourbon County Commission Agenda June 25

Leave a comment

Agenda

Bourbon County Commission Room

1st Floor, County Courthouse

210 S. National Avenue

Fort Scott, KS 66701

Tuesdays starting at 9:00

Date: June 25th, 2019

1st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________

2nd District-Jeff Fischer Corrected: _______________

3rd District-Nick Ruhl Adjourned at: _______________

County Clerk-Kendell Mason

COMMISSIONER’S MEETING FROM 1:00-4:00!!!!

1:00-1:45- Jim Harris

1:45-2:00-Jody Hoener-Economic Development

2:00-2:45-Justin Meeks

Executive Session- Privileged in the attorney-client relationship contracts and ongoing litigation-15 min.

Executive Session- Personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel-15 min.

Update on KORA/KOMA-10 min.

Legislative Update-5 min.

3:00-3:15-Dave Bruner-EMS Update

Justifications for Executive Session:

          Personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel

          Consultation with an attorney for the body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship

          Matters relating to employer-employee negotiations whether or not in consultation with the representative(s) of the body or agency

          Confidential data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts and individual proprietorships

          Preliminary discussions relating to the acquisition of real property

          Matters relating to the security of a public body or agency, public building or facility or the information system of a public body or agency, if the discussion of such matters at an open meeting would jeopardize the security of such public body, agency, building, facility or information system

Bourbon County, Business, Fort Scott, Jobs

Express Employment Professionals: Help With Recruiting Employees

Leave a comment
Kai Runnells, Express Employment Professionals Business Developer in her office at 119 S. Main, June 2019.

All across America, unemployment is low.

Nationally, total nonfarm payroll employment went up in May 2019 with approximately 75,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate remained at 3.6 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdfon June 9. Employment continued to trend up in professional and business services and in health care.

 

In Bourbon County, the unemployment rate is 4.1 percent, according to the website https://klic.dol.ks.gov/admin/gsipub/htmlarea/uploads/Map%20April%202019%20LAUS.jpg

 

A recent business opened an office in Fort Scott to help other businesses find suitable employees in this era where job seekers have diminished.

 

In April 2019, Express Employment Professionals opened an office in Fort Scott at 119 S. Main.  The franchise is based out of Independence,  since 2004.

The location of Express Employment Professionals, in between Fort Scott City Hall and  Crooner’s Lounge on Main Street.

“The staff and company provide businesses with their workforce needs,” Kai Rannells, business developer with EEP and the local representative, said. Rannells can be reached at 620-644-5050.

“There is a small fee for businesses,” she said. “This covers payroll burden liability. (The fee) varies on types of jobs.”

Because of the low employment rate, candidates without jobs need more coaching, Rannells said.

“Businesses are afraid of what it could cost to train and then retain employees,” she said. “That cost will fall on us. When a company brings in a new employee it costs a fair amount of money and if the employee doesn’t end up lasting, they are out that amount.”

EEP provides temporary or contract staff and do temporary to hire staffing.

“That’s where they start out temporary, and after probation is met, the company is able to hire them as a permanent employee,” Rannells said. “A lot of companies do that to make sure it’s a good fit for their team. We also do direct hires and professional searches.”

“We like to focus on helping people find the right candidate and job seekers find good careers,” she said.

“If someone is looking for a job, we do interviews to see what company would be a good fit of those hiring and we try to place them,” Rannells said. “It is a free service for job seekers.”

For more information about the services and EEP: https://www.expresspros.com/

Bourbon County, K-State Extension

Children’s Cooking Classes Offered in June

Leave a comment
Ft. Scott Cooking Classes

Summer Cooking Classes by K-State Research and Extension will begin on June 25 and continue through June 27 at the First United Methodist Church basement in Ft. Scott.  The classes will include students that have completed 2nd-5th grade.

The classes will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 11:30 a.m.

Bronson Cooking Classes
The Bronson cooking classes will begin on June 25 and continue through June 27 at the Bronson Community Center.  Classes will be from 2:00-4:30 PM if you would like to cover the event.
During each class all students will prepare and then consume the different dishes.
Again, the first 60 minutes of the class on the FIRST day will be instruction.
Bourbon County, Government, Kansas

U.S. 69 expansion in Bourbon County celebrated June 24

Leave a comment

 

 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the U.S. 69 expansion in Bourbon County will take place at 10:30 a.m. Monday, June 24, at the Cherry Grove Baptist Church, south of Fort Scott. The church is on the east side of the U.S. 69 and Cavalry Road intersection.

 

Governor Laura Kelly, Secretary of Transportation Julie Lorenz and Highway 69 Association President Ken Brock will speak prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Blake Benson of the Highway 69 Association is master of ceremonies.

 

Construction on U.S. 69 began in the spring of 2017. The project, part of the T-WORKS transportation program, expanded six miles of the highway to a four-lane upgradable expressway from south of Fort Scott to the Bourbon-Crawford county line.

 

The event is open to the public.

Bourbon County, Sports

American Legion Post 25 Baseball

Leave a comment

 

American Legion in Fort Scott has a goal to build an American Legion baseball program based on integrity and develop young men of character for our community and our nation.

 

Post 25’s 2019 baseball team:

Austin Lee Clemens, Zachary Joseph Colvin, Ian Davis Combs, Garen Trevor Demott,

Brayden Tucker Engstrom, Hunter James Killion, Cody Merrill McNeil, Nicolas Thomas Norris, Grayson Matthew Quick, Garrett James Seely, Nicolas Clarke Shelton, Brian James Stumfoll and Ian Nathaniel Taylor.

Post 25’s 2019 baseball staff:

Earl Adams, Manager. Matthew Quick,  Assistant Manager. Robert Killion. Head Coach. Scott Engstrom, Assistant Coach. Alex Fink, Assistant Coach. Carl Jowers. Volunteer. Myra Jowers. Volunteer.

Game Schedule

Monday.  June 24 @ 6 pm. Practice at LaRouche Complex

Wednesday.  June 26 @ 6 pm.  Post 25 versus Columbus at LaRouche Complex.

Monday.  July 1 @ 6 pm.  Post 25 versus Pittsburg at LaRouche Complex.

Monday.  July 8 @ 6 pm.  Post 25 versus Iola at Iola.

Monday.  July 15 @ 6 pm.  Post 25 versus Iola at LaRouche Complex.

Friday. July 19 – 21. American Legion Zone Tournament. Location to TBA.

Wednesday. July 31 – August 4. American Legion State Tournament. Location to TBA.

Your financial support is needed! We are still about $1,500 short in properly funding the team through Zone Playoffs.

Please mail your donation for the Fort Scott American Legion baseball team to

 

American Legion Post 25

PO Box 25

Fort Scott, Ks. 66701

 

You can make a donation at https://www.gofundme.com/fort-scott-american-legion-baseball/donate/?upsell=cpgn_share.  If you use GoFundMe, they ask for a platform “service” fee. It is up to you to adjust the “recommended” fee by selecting other.

 

100% of your donations go to support the American Legion Baseball Team. Post 25 does not have any paid staff. All of the baseball team staff are volunteers, committed to teaching our players citizenship, sportsmanship, loyalty and team spirit.

 

Carl Jowers. Post 25 Commander.

Bourbon County, Government, Kansas

Bourbon County Not Approved Yet For Major Disaster Declaration

Leave a comment

President Approves Major Disaster Declaration for Kansas

 

President Donald Trump approved a request from Governor Laura Kelly today for a major presidential declaration which will help supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, flooding, landslides and mudslides.

 

“It was important for the president to approve our Major Disaster Declaration,” Kelly said. “The Major Disaster Declaration will assist jurisdictions with rebuilding damaged infrastructure and put our state back on the path to recovery.”

The President’s action makes federal funding available to state, eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and repair or replacement of facilities.

Counties included are Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Barber, Barton, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Cowley, Doniphan, Elk, Ellsworth, Franklin, Geary, Greenwood, Harper, Harvey, Hodgeman, Jefferson, Kingman, Leavenworth, Lincoln, Linn, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Montgomery, Morris, Nemaha, Neosho, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Rush, Russell, Saline, Sumner, Wabaunsee, Washington, Wilson, and Woodson counties.

Counties listed in the Governor Kelly’s request to President Trump were:  Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Barber, Barton, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Comanche, Cowley, Crawford, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Edwards, Elk, Ellsworth, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Gray, Greenwood, Harper, Harvey, Hodgeman, Jefferson, Kingman, Leavenworth, Lincoln, Linn, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Montgomery, Morris, Nemaha, Neosho, Norton, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Riley, Rush, Russell, Saline, Sumner, Wabaunsee, Washington, Wilson, and Woodson; however damage verification and validation has not occurred in all of the counties requested by the Governor, so additional counties will be approved based on damages being validated by FEMA.

Federal funding for the hazard mitigation grant program is also available on a cost-sharing basis for actions taken to prevent or reduce long-term risk from natural hazards statewide.

The request was made under the provisions of Section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5208 (Stafford Act), and implemented by 44 CFR § 206.35.