There will be a Special Meeting of the Fort Scott City Commission held together with the Bourbon County Commission on Tuesday, May 28th, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. This meeting will be held in the Bourbon County Commission Meeting Room at 210 S. National. It is anticipated that they will adjourn into an executive session to discuss personal matters of non-elected personnel.
Category Archives: Bourbon County
New Uniontown Math Teacher: Mike Durnell
” I retired after 28 years but really wanted to get back into the classroom,” Durnell said. “If I stay in Missouri, I am limited to part-time ( 550 hours) or going to a private school. Teaching in Kansas allows me to teach full time. It is a financial decision.”
“Suzan has another two or three years before she can retire,” he said. “I plan on commuting until she retires. It will be a longer drive than my current 10-minute commute, but that has spoiled me.”
Suzan is the elementary librarian for El Dorado Springs.
The Durnells have two daughters:
Jenna Vickers and her husband, Quade, live in Springfield, Missouri. Jenna is an accountant and Quade is an emergency room nurse, he said.
Tessa is finishing her Junior year at Ft. Hays State University and is a speech pathology major. “She runs track and cross country for the FHSU Tigers,” Durnell said.
Flood Warning In Effect For Bourbon County

Bourbon County
American Legion Post 25 Update
Post 25 Update
May 23. Thursday. 6:00 pm. Legion Women’s Auxiliary meet and greet in Memorial Hall. Open to female family members of Veterans. This meet and greet will continue the process of reestablishing the Fort Scott Auxiliary Unit 25.
May 25. Saturday. 4:00 pm. Enjoy patriotic music at The Fort National Historic Site.
May 26. Sunday. 2:30 pm. Dedication of the U.S. Navy Memorial at Fort Scott National Cemetery.
May 27. Monday. 9:30 am. Prayer at the Courthouse steps in Honor of all American War Veterans.
May 27. Monday. 10:30 am. Memorial Day services at the Fort Scott National Cemetery. This event will be moved to Memorial Hall in the event of inclement weather.
May 27. Monday. 3:00 pm. A “moment of silence” at The Fort National Historic Site.
May 31. Friday. 6 pm. Good Old Days Parade. All Post members and their families are invited to walk or ride as part of the Legion family.
June 3. Monday. 6:30 pm. 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.
June 3. Monday. 7:00 pm. 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. Bring an eligible Veteran to visit or join our Post.
June 6. Thursday. Skipper Higgins, the oldest living grandson of Andrew Jackson Higgins, will be at the Milken Center throughout the day and available for visiting. At 3:00 pm will be a special Q and A time with him and Jerry Meyer. All veterans in attendance will receive a very special gift from the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes. See attached flyer.
June 9. Sunday. Aspen Dental is offering free dental services to veterans from fillings, extractions, to even denture repair. Veterans can call 844-277-3646 now to locate the nearest Aspen Dental office and make an appointment for free dental services.
June 14. Friday 7:00 pm. Flag retirement ceremony at The Fort National Historic Site. This event is open to the public and anyone with torn, tattered or unserviceable flags can bring them to The Fort for a dignified retirement.
VA Shuttle Service
The shuttle service is free to any Veteran who needs transportation to the VA for their medical appointments.
Mondays: Fort Scott to Topeka VA Medical Center. Stops in Pleasanton, Louisburg and Ottawa.
Tuesdays: Fort Scott to Topeka VA Medical Center. Stops in Pleasanton, Louisburg and Ottawa.
Wednesdays: Fort Scott to Kansas City VA Medical Center. Stops in Pleasanton and Louisburg.
Veterans must have an appointment scheduled between 9 am and 1 pm on the day they ride the shuttle.
The shuttle will depart from the Fort Scott’s Pete’s 66 service station on Main Street and will return to Fort Scott after the last Veteran has completed their appointment. The departure time is based upon the time of the first appointment of the day at the VA Medical Center day. Riders will be notified of the shuttle departure time the evening before their ride.
Veterans living along Highway 69 or near Louisburg and Ottawa can also schedule a ride to the VA by following the below process. Veterans scheduling rides must be at one of our predetermined stops to ride the shuttle. This is a shuttle service, not a taxi service.
The VA shuttle holds five passengers and riders must preregister for a seat. Seats on the shuttle are open to any area Veteran on a first come, first served basis.
The shuttle does not accommodate wheelchairs or pets. Only certified service dogs are permitted on the shuttle. Oxygen tanks are not permitted on the shuttle. Oxygen concentrators are allowed.
Family members may not ride with the Veteran on the shuttle. However, those Veterans who need a caregiver to accompany them must have a signed note from their doctor attesting that the Veteran requires a caregiver to accompany them to and from their appointment.
To register for a shuttle seat, the Veteran must
· Have an appointment at a VA Medical Center between 9 am and 1 pm for the day they schedule their shuttle seat.
· Call 785-925-0261 or email [email protected] to schedule their seat. All seat reservations must be scheduled by 5 pm, the day prior to their appointment.
Please don’t hesitate to call or email me with any questions you might have.
Carl Jowers. Commander
Fort Scott American Legion Thompson-Harkey Post 25
Bourbon County Leadership Class Graduates
Chamber Celebrates LEAD Bourbon County Class with Graduation
The 2018-2019 LEAD Bourbon County group wrapped up their training with a graduation ceremony at Liberty Theatre Thursday, May 9 at 5:30 p.m. The group consisted of individuals nominated by their employers to participate in the leadership training program called “LEAD Bourbon County.” They have been meeting every month, starting back in September of 2018.
Trainers/Facilitators for the Lead Bourbon County Training were:
Lindsay Madison, Executive Director, Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce
Deb Needleman, SPHR, IPMA-SCP, Director of Human Resources, City of Fort Scott
Robert Uhler, IOM, CAE, Community Development Director, City of Fort Scott
Participants in the LEAD Bourbon County Program included –
- Zach Adams, Marketing and Customer Service Manager, Craw-Kan Telephone

- Kellye Barrows, Culture and Customer Experience Officer, AVP, Marketing, Landmark Bank

- Thomas Cook, Production Scheduler, Timken

- Lewis Dunkeson, Site Coordinator, Fort Scott High School (Communities in Schools)

- Scott Flater, Superintendent, Water Production, City of Fort Scott

- Daniel Koppa, USD 234 Facilities Director

- Dustin McClure, Vice President of IT, Union State Bank

- Virgil Peck, Pastor, Fort Scott Nazarene

- Allyson Turvey CVB, Group & Convention Sales, City of Fort Scott

- Hope Workman, SAP Data Clerk, Timken

- Russ Souza, Director of Advising and Retention, Fort Scott Community College

During each monthly session the LEAD Bourbon County group learned new techniques and models of leadership, that leadership is not a position but an attitude, and that everyone can lead. The purpose of the curriculum was to stretch the boundaries of thought regarding leadership and to help each individual learn how to get the most out of meetings, individuals, resources, and circumstances.
The past few months the group has also been working on a community project collecting donations towards purchasing park benches for key locations in the area. The group collected a total of $2,687.50, which was enough to purchase 5 park benches for the following locations: three benches in Fort Scott at Riverfront Park and two benches in Uniontown at the Walking Trail.
The LEAD Bourbon County group would like to thank the following businesses and organizations for their most generous donations towards the purchase of these benches –
- City of Fort Scott
- Cheney Witt Funeral Home
- CrawKan
- Kiwanis
- Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial Chapter 514
- Timken
The plan is to have the installation of the new benches completed by the end of June.
Paint Creek Realty Welcomed by Uniontown Ruritan

Paint Creek Realty owner Linda Wilson was welcomed to the community by Uniontown Ruritan on May 11.
Wilson specializes in agricultural listings and offers client support, financial assistance, market analysis, drone aerial photos, and has been in the business since 2005.
“The market is very strong at the present time,” she said. “We have a demand for sellers with a home on a small acreage outside city limits.”


Bourbon County Commission Agenda May 20 Special Meeting
Agenda
Bourbon County Commission Room
1st Floor, County Courthouse
210 S. National Avenue
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Tuesdays starting at 9:00
Date: May 20, 2019
1st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________
2nd District-Jeff Fischer Corrected: _______________
3rd District-Nick Ruhl Adjourned at: _______________
County Clerk-Kendell Mason
3:00-Special Meeting-Executive Session-Personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel
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
No Bourbon County Commission Meeting May 21
The Bourbon County Commissioners will be gone to a meeting tomorrow so there will be no commission meeting on May 21. The next commission meeting will be May 28 starting at 9 a.m.
New Bourbon County EMS Facility

The new Bourbon County Emergency Medical Services Station at Woodland Hills is nearly complete.
“A new sign will be coming,” EMS Director Robert Leisure, “It will be seen from the street out front, Woodland Hills.”
“Mercy Hospital donated the building,” Leisure said. “The city runs the day-to-day operations. The trucks and facility are owned by the county.”
Inside the station is housed four EMS vehicles.
“Two duty and two transfer trucks,” Leisure said. “Two ambulances are at the Fort Scott Fire Department (on National Avenue).”

There is a dayroom to “relax and get off our feet in between calls,” Paramedic Mike Krieger said.

There is one large room that the main office, day room and kitchen are located in.




There are four separate sleeping rooms for shift employees.
“The EMS schedule varies on which days are worked,” Leisure said. “But the goal is two 24 hour’s (shifts) per week or 48 hours per week.”


EMS Director Robert Leisure indicated the new ambulance service is doing well.
For an earlier feature on the service, click below:
Bourbon County Ambulance Service Starts Today, April 1
“We’ve seen a month coming in…We started billing to Bourbon County in February…We are making money,” he said. The goal is to break even for the year.
“My operational budget will be in August,” Leisure said. “It was guesstimated using input from Mercy.”
New Ambulance Director: Robert Leisure

Robert Leisure was chosen as the new Bourbon County Emergency Services Director, with an official starting date of April 29.
“Robert has been a Paramedic/RN with the service for the past 23 years. Christi Keating had decided that she was no longer going to serve in the capacity of EMS Director earlier in the year,” Dave Bruner said.

Bruner is a representative of the City of Fort Scott on a task force that was given the job of transitioning the services from Mercy Hospital. Keating was a representative of Mercy Hospital and there were also representatives from Bourbon County on the task force that was formed following the announcement of the closure of the hospital in October 2018.
“We opened the position up and Robert expressed interest as well as three other candidates,” Bruner said. “Robert was chosen to fill the EMS director position.”
“I was already a Mercy employee and transitioned over to county with the rest of the staff,” Leisure said. “I was asked and encouraged to step up and fill a void left by the late Danny Hall.”

He has several decades experience in emergency services.
“I’ve been a Kansas paramedic for 23 years or since 1996,” he said. “Most of my EMS career was spent in this general area and mostly with Mercy.”
Leisure is a registered nurse with 16 years of experience with Mercy Hospital.
“Nearly all (nursing experiences)have come in the ER setting with the exception of a brief stint of flight nursing with Eagle Med,” he said.
Leisure believes he has a good mix of employees.
“I’m currently fully staffed with 10 full time and 15 part-time employees” Leisure said. “It’s a good mix of paramedic and EMT’s. Some with vast experience and some just getting started.”
Leisure is learning the director job with help and has been challenged and motivated by this new position in a good way, he said.
“My duties are very fluid to me right now as I’m learning the position which is a new position, with no predecessor to really follow,” he said. “I’m being helped greatly by both Christie Keating and Dave Bruner in this transition. Christie has an extensive background in management mostly inter-hospital. And Dave is very knowledgeable about the inner workings of governmental processes.”
His duties include: “ordering and maintaining medical supplies and medications, ensuring billing of the runs we do is done accurately and on time, ensuring compliance with all state policies and procedures for ambulance operations, configuring a schedule of work for staff that see’s all shifts are covered with two crews on a 24/7 basis,” he said.
In addition, “duties include quality assurance where run reports are reviewed to assure a certain level of care is maintained, hiring and maintaining a full staff, facilitating regular maintenance of the six ambulances, meeting with the medical director and reporting to both county and city commissions since the service is run by the city and owned by the county,” he said.
The partnership between the City of Fort Scott and the Bourbon County administration has worked well.
” I have nothing but great things to say about both commissions as they’ve worked together exceptionally,” Leisure said.

To view earlier stories on the Bourbon County Ambulance:
Bourbon County Ambulance Service Starts Today, April 1
Ambulance Service For Bourbon County
Bourbon County Commission Minutes of April 30
April 30, 2019 Tuesday 9:00 am
The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with all three Commissioners and the County Counselor present.
Nancy Van Etten was also present.
Mary Newport, Robert Lefever and Ryan Linn met with the Commissioners; Mary was presented with a road closure petition and had concerns with the potential road closing at 260th between Deer and Cavalry Road. Her concerns were with fire safety and limiting access to farmed areas. She said it is a low frequency road with minimal maintenance, she said there currently is an electronic gate and a cable stretched across the road there. Ryan farms land in the area and was concerned about the access to the field. The Commissioners directed Jim Harris to survey the area and devise a plan to reopen the road.
Lynne made a motion to go into a 3 minute executive session for consultation with an attorney for the body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship, Nick seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners and Justin Meeks). No action was taken.
Shane Walker, Lora Holdridge and Justin Meeks met with the Commissioners and Jim Harris to discuss roads in Bourbon County; Justin said that Lora had found roads that were County roads. Justin said that the County needs to adopt roads to maintain, he suggested looking at valuations and population. There was discussion over legal issues, developing a Matrix as well as the 1 cent sales tax for hard surface roads. Lora discussed subdivisions; she said if it is not platted it is not an addition. Shane discussed the reappraisal process in 1986 and said in 1998 due to the 911 addressing, the County adopted or named roads (the County named Marco Estates and Rocher Addition). Shane suggested if the County named it then the County should maintain it. Shane discussed issues with mapping; he explained how three other counties classify their roads. Jim Harris said he was concerned that we will have a plan, but not follow it. Lora said when a road gets closed the book should be updated; she reviewed the minutes from 1993 to 1977 for road closings and openings.
Don George with KDWP met with the Commissioners to discuss a 10 or 15 year contract with KDWP for Elm Creek. Lynne made a motion to accept and sign the contract for 10 years, (beginning in 2019), Jeff seconded and all approved.
Cathy Cooper with the Sixth Judicial District met with the Commissioners; she presented a grant for $464,356.96 to be used for KDOC juveniles. Nick made a motion to give Lynne permission to sign the document, Jeff seconded and all approved. Cathy presented a grant document for $305,409.41 to be used for the KDOC adult division; Nick made a motion for Lynne to sign the document, Jeff seconded and all approved. Cathy presented a grant for $147,484.61 to be used for adult behavioral health, (for care coordinator and substance abuse), Nick made a motion for Lynne to sign this, Jeff seconded and all approved and Lynne signed all of the grant documents.
Lynne made a motion to go into a 5 minute executive session for preliminary discussions relating to the acquisition of real property, Nick seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners and Justin Meeks). No action was taken.
Jim Harris presented a culvert application from Jerry Daylong for a culvert near 35th north of Bronson; Lynne made a motion to accept the application, Nick seconded and all approved.
Jim Harris presented a utility permit from Craw-Kan for two areas; one at 240th between Arrowhead & Birch and one on 250th on Arrowhead going north. Jeff made a motion to approve the permit, Nick seconded and all approved.
Jim Harris discussed an invitation by Murphy Tractor to Forsythe, Missouri for the Commissioners to attend an operator tour and demonstration of a crusher on May 7th; Lynne made a motion that the Commissioners attend this, Nick seconded and all approved.
Kevin Allen and Josh Jones met with the Commissioners; Kevin suggested having evening Commission meetings in Fort Scott.
Lynne made a motion to go into a 10 minute executive session for consultation with an attorney for the body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship, Jeff seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners and Justin Meeks). After the session, Lynne made a motion to appoint Gil Gregory as the Guardian Ad Litem for the Tax Sale, Jeff seconded and all approved.
Lynne made a motion to go into a 5 minute executive session for personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel, Jeff seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners and Justin Meeks). After the session, Jeff made a motion for Justin to meet with the Hidden Valley Lake Director, Nick seconded and all approved.
At 11:58, Nick made a motion to break for lunch and reconvene at 1:30, Lynne seconded and all approved.
Carla Nemecek with the Southwind Extension District met with the Commissioners; she discussed and upcoming livestock judging trip to Scotland & Ireland. She said they are raising funds by selling stock in the livestock judging team, the stockholders will be invited to a shareholders meeting where students will present shareholders a presentation on the return on their investment.
Jeff made a motion to go into a 10 minute executive session to discuss personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel, Lynne seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners and Justin Meeks). No action was taken.
County Appraiser Clint Anderson met with the Commissioners; he said the 1st quarter sales seemed strong and said that may indicate that there is a potential for valuations to appreciate. Clint said he has an environmental meeting with Sugar Valley/Hidden Valley Lakes.
At 4:05, Jeff made a motion to adjourn and Lynne seconded.
THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS
(ss) Lynne Oharah, Chairman
(ss) Jeff Fischer, Commissioner
(ss) Nick Ruhl, Commissioner
ATTEST:
Kendell Mason, Bourbon County Clerk
05/14/2019, Approved Date
Bourbon County Commission Minutes of May 7
May 7, 2019 Tuesday 9:00 am
The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with all three Commissioners, the County Counselor and the County Clerk present.
Tammy Helm with the Fort Scott Tribune and Nancy Van Etten were also present.
Jim Harris said they had postponed the blast at the Blake Quarry until next week due to the rain. Jim said his goal is to begin the asphalt season on May 20th. He said they are installing culverts and patching; Jim said once the overlaying season starts they will be done patching for a while due to staffing.
Jeff questioned using the milled portion of the roads as chips; Jim said it would cost $300,000 to adjust the asphalt plant to do this and said it wasn’t economical to do this.
Jim said KDOT has been using haul roads south of Fort Scott; KDOT will be doing repair work to the haul roads in the next few weeks.
Nick made a motion to go into a 10 minute executive session for personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel, Lynne seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners, Jim Harris, Jerad Heckman, Justin Meeks and Kendell Mason). No action was taken.
Nick made a motion to go into a 5 minute executive session for consultation with an attorney for the body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship, Jeff seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners, Justin Meeks, Jim Harris and Jerad Heckman). No action was taken.
Jody Hoener and Robert Uhler met with the Commissioners to discuss wellness; Jody said State Farm has a $25,000 grant available for safety, education or community development. Jody said she planned to apply for the grant to be used for the ABC Trail plan. She said June 5th is the deadline to apply and only 1,000 grant applications will be accepted. Those 1,000 will be narrowed down to 200 and then the community votes on the winning applicant. Jody asked if the County is awarded the grant if the County could be the fiscal agent for the grant money; Jeff made a motion to allow Bourbon County to be the fiscal agent if awarded the State Farm grant, Lynne seconded and all approved.
Jody said there will be a County department head meeting on May 9th; Nick and Lynne agreed to give Jeff permission to share data at the meeting regarding wages, and the benchmarking that has been done with other counties.
Jeff Fischer said the work at the Health Department is nearing completion; he said the sheetrock is finished, he said they are painting now.
Justin Meeks discussed the OMNI EMS billing; in April OMNI collected $70,905.13. The Commissioners originally hoped the ambulance would pay for itself, but the current amount collected does not support this. The Commissioners plan to budget money for future ambulance equipment expenses.
Bill Martin and Ben Cole met with the Commissioners, Jim Harris and Jerad Heckman regarding a stop sign that was recently placed at 218th & north National by Max’s Weigh Station. Bill said his request was not for a stop sign at this area, he said he was contracted by a citizen regarding a 30 mph speed limit sign going north and no sign going south (he said since it isn’t posted going south the speed limit would be 55mph since it is a County road). Bill said he discussed posting a speed limit sign there with Jim Harris, he said he later approached Jim Harris and Nick Ruhl regarding posting a 30 mph speed limit sign going south, (he said he did not request a stop sign). Lynne said that Jim’s request was for a speed limit sign; Lynne said a motion was originally made for a speed limit sign, but was cancelled and then a motion was made for a stop sign to slow traffic.
Lynne questioned the posted speed limit off of 54 Hwy going north on 125th verses the posted speed limit going south on 125th.
Larry Sharp with KCAMP met with the Commissioners and discussed services they offer and the usage report of these services for Bourbon County. KCAMP offers Attorney assist, Kansas legal based jail guidelines, KCAMP online University, on-site training and seminars, risk avoidance grants, roads scholar tuition reimbursement program and ThinkHR.
Jeff made a motion to adopt (and gave Lynne permission to sign) a proclamation declaring May 6th – May 12th, 2019 as National Nurses Week in Bourbon County, Nick seconded and all approved.
Justin Meeks met with the Commissioners, Jody Hoener, Jim Harris and Jerad Heckman to discuss an interlocal agreement between the City and the County regarding road work; Justin said the law allows this and said it would be a contract between the entities and would be an agreement to exchange services or equipment. Justin said they would like to have the ability to meet with city officials regarding this.
Lynne made a motion that all three Commissioners attend lunch with a Cat representative today, Nick seconded and all approved.
Jeff made a motion to go into a 17 minute executive session for consultation with an attorney for the body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship, Nick seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners and Justin Meeks). No action was taken.
Jeff made a motion to go into a 10 minute executive session for personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel, Nick seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners and Justin Meeks). No action was taken.
Lynne made a motion to go into a 5 minute executive session for consultation with an attorney for the body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship, Nick seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners, Justin Meeks and Kendell Mason). No action was taken.
At 12:02, Lynne made a motion to adjourn so the Commissioners can attend lunch as well as travel to Forsythe Missouri to view a crusher, Nick seconded and all approved.
THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS
(ss) Lynne Oharah, Chairman
(ss) Jeff Fischer, Commissioner
(ss) Nick Ruhl, Commissioner
ATTEST:
Kendell Mason, Bourbon County Clerk
05/14/2019, Approved Date






