10:00-10:30-Peer review regarding HVAC system at Law Enforcement Facility
10:30-11:00-Jody Hoener-Executive Session
11:00-12:00-Justin Meeks
Executive Session- Attorney Client Privilege-15 min.
Executive Session-Personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel-25 min.
Tax Sale-15 min.
12:00-1:30-Commissioners gone to lunch
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 Arts Council Members present at the Chamber of Commerce weekly coffee on Thursday morning: Steve Floyd, Elaine Buerge, Deb Anderson and Danny Magee.
For the 27th year, the Bourbon County Arts Council has sponsored a fine art exhibit and sale for the community. The venue once again is the Ellis Fine Arts Center on the campus of Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton.
Members of the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce had the opportunity to view the exhibit during its weekly coffee on Thursday morning at the Ellis Center.
BCAC member Danny Magee tells the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce weekly coffee attendees about the art exhibition.Beth Nuss enjoys a photograph in the BCAC Exhibit on Thursday morning at the Ellis Fine Arts Center.Ally Turvey looks over the watercolor artwork of Debbie Reed, entitled Feeling Crabby.Angie Simon views exhibits at the Bourbon County Arts Council Arts Exhibition and Sale.
The free event continues today through 7 p.m. and again tomorrow, Saturday, March 9 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Much of the art is for sale.
The BCAC continues the annual show with the help of the following who provided corporate prizes this year: In Memory of E.C. Gordon, Buerge Art Studio, Landmark Bank, Citizens Bank, McDonald’s Restaurant, Union State Bank, H & R Block, H & H Realty, Fort Scott Broadcasting, Bernita Hill, Ward Kraft and City State Bank.
The BCAC also helps fund art walks, concerts, Bad Art By Good People, music programs at area schools, scholarships, opportunities for Fort Scott students to experience a production in Kansas City, and recently contributed to the Steinway piano repair for use by the USD 234 music programs.
This Saturday, March 9 the BCAC will help sponsor the Blues and BBQ Concert at the Liberty Theater, featuring Missy Andersen and Her One Man Band.
Upcoming Patio Concerts: Charlie Barrale/PDA on May 4 and Whiskey Raccoons on June 22 at the Liberty Theater.
Members of the BCAC are Deb Anderson, president, Elaine Buerge, Deb Halsey, Breann Martin, Terri Floyd, Steve Floyd, Tedena Tucker, Danny Magee, Ray Streeter, Laura Meeks and Chris Woods.
View the Bourbon County FINE ART EXHIBIT AWARD Winners for 2019 in their categories below:
CERAMICS
1ST PLACE, DARIA CLAIBORNE, Joplin, Mo., SPRINGTIME TEA SET with an monetary award of $150**.
** Denotes the artist who won in more than one category in the exhition.
BEST OF SHOW 3D, DARIA CLAIBORNE, SPRINGTIME TEA SET, $200**
2ND PLACE, AL LETNER of Pittsburg, Ks., RAKU POT WHEEL THROWN, $75**
DRAWING & GRAPHICS
1ST PLACE, ROBERT SCHYLER, Rich Hill, Mo., EVAN, $150**
2ND PLACE, JEZERIAH SIMPSON of Fort Scott, MULLET, SWEATER, & SADNESS, $75
FAMILY THEME
1ST PLACE, DEBBIE REED of Fort Scott, THE SISTER, $150**
2ND PLACE, STEVE FLOYD of Fort Scott, RUDY, MY SON IN A FUR COAT, $75.
FIBER ART
1ST PLACE, GLENDA FLANAGAN of Louisburg, IRISES, $150.
2ND PLACE, CAROLINE DAY of Pittsburg, SUNRISE MOONRISE, $75.
JEWELRY
1ST PLACE, CHARLES A AULT of Pittsburg, WHITE BUFFALO BRACELET, $150**.
2ND PLACE, BARBARA GIBSON of Fort Scott, NECKLACE, $75.
MIXED MEDIA
1ST PLACE, RIPP HARRISON of Lawrence, THE RECONNECTION OF GUS, $150.
2ND PLACE, DEE HUTCHERSON of Neodesha, KIMONO, $75.
PAINTING
1ST PLACE, ROBERT SCHYLER, EVENING IN PARIS, $150**.
2ND PLACE, IRENE SCHOMACKER of Spring Hill, SNOWSTORM BUFFALO, $75.
PASTEL
1ST PLACE, SKIP KREIBACH of Derby, BIG GUY ON CAMPUS, $150.
2ND PLACE, DANIELLE YOUNG of Bronson, BETTER TOGETHER, $75.
PHOTOGRAPHY
1ST PLACE, LINDA TEETER of Carl Junction, Mo., SEATTLE COFFEE HOUSE, $150.
2ND PLACE, CURT HEIDE of LaCygne, LAZY RIVER, $75.
SCULPTURE
1ST PLACE, CHARLES A AULT, STARS IN MOTION, $150**.
2ND PLACE, AL LETNER, PORTAL 46, $75**.
WATERCOLOR
1ST PLACE, DEBBIE REED of Joplin, Mo., FEELING CRABBY, $150**.
BEST OF SHOW 2D, DEBBIE REED, FEELING CRABBY, $200**
2ND PLACE, ANITA WILSON of Thayer, HILL SONG, $75.
Workers were busy on Wednesday morning at the Cavalry Road intersection with U.S. 69, south of Fort Scott.
Starting tomorrow, March 8, two more side road intersections with U.S. 69 Hwy. will be closed for reconstruction south of Fort Scott.
This is part of the expanding to four-lanes project of the national highway in Bourbon County.
On Friday, weather permitting, the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) plans to close the Fern Road and Deer Road intersections on the west side of the U.S. 69. The two intersections will be reconstructed during the month-long closures, according to Priscilla Petersen, Public Affairs Manager for the Southeast District Office of the Kansas Department of Transportation.
Fern Road where it intersects with U.S. Hwy. 69, will be closed for a month of reconstruction.
Birch Road won’t be reopened until late May 2019, Petersen said. “The U.S. 69 southbound lanes are closed beyond the Birch Road intersection, and the placement of traffic control devices plus the temporary crossover between the new and existing lanes creates line-of-sight and visibility issues for drivers.”
Birch Road at the intersection with U.S. 69 on March 6.
“The Bourbon County U.S. 69 expansion project should be open to four-lane unrestricted traffic by late May or early June, conditions permitting,” Petersen said.
Next in line for expansion is the 11 miles in Crawford County of Hwy. 69.
“The U.S. 69 expansion projects in Crawford County are the six-mile Arma Connection Expressway and the five-mile Crawford County expansion,” Petersen said. “The Arma Connection is tentatively scheduled to be let in the fall of 2019, with construction starting in the winter of 2019 or early in 2020. The Crawford County Expansion is tentatively scheduled to let in the fall of 2020, with construction beginning in winter 2020 or early in 2021. Both projects would likely cover two construction seasons.”
Koss Construction of Topeka is the primary contractor on the U.S. 69 project, which has a construction cost of $21.8 million. Persons with questions may contact Darrin Petrowsky at KDOT-Iola, (620) 365-2161, or Priscilla Petersen at KDOT-Chanute, (620) 902-6433.
County road intersections on U.S. 69 project to close for reconstruction
Friday, March 8, weather permitting, the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) plans to close the Fern Road and Deer Road intersections on the west side of the U.S. 69 expansion project in Bourbon County. The two intersections will be reconstructed during the month-long closures.
Koss Construction of Topeka is the primary contractor on the U.S. 69 project, which has a construction cost of $21.8 million. Persons with questions may contact Darrin Petrowsky at KDOT-Iola, (620) 365-2161, or Priscilla Petersen at KDOT-Chanute, (620) 902-6433.
Click the links on the legislators’ names above to view the committees on which they serve and their voting records.
The Legislative Update Coffee will be held at The Empress Event Center,
7 N. Main St., Fort Scott,
from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
State legislators Senators Richard HilderbrandandCaryn Tyson will give an update on the current session as well as address any issues or questions presented from the audience.
If you have a particular item you would like to have addressed and plan to attend, you may email the Chamber at [email protected] by 5:00 p.m. Thursday, March 7th.
Coffee, juice & light refreshments will be served. Tell your friends – all are welcome!
The north wing of the Bourbon County Courthouse has been reconfigured to house the county clerk, treasurer and commission offices.
The Bourbon County Commission’s Economic Development Director has launched a survey to gather information from business owners to develop a strategic plan.
The survey began March 1 and will end April 19, 2019.
“Our goal at the county is to make Bourbon County the place people want to live, work, and play,” said Jody Hoenor, the county’s economic director. “By increasing our population we can lessen the weight of taxes on the individual with more citizens sharing these costs. By being strategic in our planning and involving the community in the process, we believe we will be able to lower taxes.”
The survey is sponsored by the Bourbon County Commission, the Kansas Department of Commerce, with assistance from the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, Live Local Bourbon County and the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team.
Survey results will inform the county on how to develop an economic development strategic plan and process.
” We will develop measurable goals with actionable items and report progress to the community through several communication channels,” she said.
“Like any other community, there will be many opportunities that will be identified in the survey,” Hoenor said. ” We do not have the capacity or resources to address every single issue. Through a transparent process of gathering community input through both a community perception and business retention and expansion survey, soliciting feedback from focus groups all over the county, and analyzing primary and secondary data we will be able to articulate how the priorities in the strategic plan were identified and determined by Bourbon County citizens years from now.”
The target people for the Business Retention and Expansion Survey, is Bourbon County business owners, CEO’s, and upper management, she said.
“That is everything from at home, e-commerce, farmers, ranchers, long term businesses, to our new healthcare providers,” Hoenor said.
She listed the objectives of the survey as:
“Obtain a source of primary data to develop a measurable county-wide economic development plan.
Aggregated regional survey results will be used to inform regional strategic planning with the Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission.
Voices of business owners will be used to participate in the process of improving the business climate, validate local needs, and advocate for regional, state, and federal resources.
Build and maintain strong relationships with businesses.
Develop a better understanding of the concerns, problems and opportunities of businesses in the area and leverage perceived strengths with perceived barriers within the community.
Confidentiality: Information will be protected closely so no one will be able to connect responses and any other information that identifies businesses. Responses will be combined with those of other firms to form an overall aggregate result in percentages, sums, or averages at the county and regional levels.
Final Report: A copy of the summary of findings will be available to all firms that participate in the survey.”
Jody Hoenor, Bourbon County Economic Director.
Interested survey respondents should contact Hoenor at [email protected] for a link to complete the survey.
Hoener’s office is located at 210 S National Ave., Fort Scott, KS 66701 and she can be reached at 620-223-3800 or 620-215-5725 Mobile or www.bourboncountyks.org
