During their meeting Tuesday morning, the Bourbon County Commission approved a request for $9,400 from Schwab-Eaton engineers to complete a study on a bridge just south of Fulton in need of repairs.

The money, which public works director Jim Harris said will come from the special road and bridges budget, will include a site visit, a cost estimate for replacing the bridge, investigation of a grant opportunity, the possibility of repairs instead of replacement and the alternate routes available for during bridge closure.

“I don’t believe we have much choice, do we?” commissioner Harold Coleman asked.

Harris said the bridge, which goes over the railroad tracks and was built in 1939, is on the critical list along with about four other bridges in the county. For those bridges, Harris said it is likely fruitless to spend a couple thousand dollars just to refurbish them when they are in need of a more drastic overhaul.

“You can’t just go in and do some repairs,” Harris said.

Schwab-Eaton has said they are prepared to begin immediately, which commissioner Lynne Oharah agreed “the sooner the better,” so decisions can be made concerning how to react to the study.

The commissioners also voted unanimously to adopt a resolution to approve the sale of certificates of participation for the equipment lease purchase for the new law enforcement center.

The certificates cover $1,753,000 of the $1,788,000 needed to purchase the jail cells, including an interest rate of 3.42 percent. Oharah pointed out they will probably not get a lower interest rate since those rates have begun to move upward again after months of record lows.

The county will not make their first payment until March 1, 2018. The remaining $34,000 not covered by the certificates will be paid for by the county, likely from the revenue generated by the sales tax approved for the project.

During the weekly Chamber Coffee held Thursday morning, the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation gave a total of $21,000 to local organizations to support their causes in Bourbon County.

Chairperson of the foundation Blake Hudson and member Patty LaRoche distributed the checks, which went to organizations including the Mercy Health Foundation, the Gordon Parks Museum, the Riverfront authority, Friends of the Fort, Bourbon County Inter-agency Coalition, Fort Scott Middle School, CASA, Bourbon County Senior Citizens, Care to Share, Partners in Change, USD 234 and the Lowell Milken Center.

The foundation has been in existence since 2007 and continues to give grants to non-profit organizations each year, using a selection process to decide who will receive funding. This year the money was given specifically for causes such as the hospital’s new mammography equipment, fares for Pitt-Taxi for the senior citizens, the schools’ art and mentor programs and even for Buck Run Community Center and pool passes for low income families.

Hudson said they are constantly seeking donations toward the endowment fund that provides the money they distribute. Currently they are nearing the end of a fundraising campaign which is trying to take advantage of a $75,000 matching gift. About $10,000 more is needed by early December.

After months of campaigning on the local as well as the state and national level, new leadership as well as incumbents were again voted into office after Bourbon County residents turned out to vote.

The non-official results were slow in coming Tuesday evening as votes from nine different poll stations in Bourbon County were brought to the courthouse, with a group of people watching local and national election news together at the courthouse waiting until almost 9 p.m. before local results were announced.

While many of the candidates for Bourbon County positions ran unopposed, the sheriff’s position and 3^rd District County Commissioner were decided, with Sheriff Bill Martin being reelected, receiving 3,552 votes to opponent Mike Feagins’ 2,352, and Nick Ruhl being selected over incumbent Harold Coleman for the commission seat, receiving 961 votes to Coleman’s 577.

More than 6,000 of the 11,643 registered voters in Bourbon County cast votes, more than 1,000 taking advantage of early voting while more than 4,000 voted on Election Day. Results will become official after canvassing, which will likely be accomplished by the end of the week.

Other approximate results from Bourbon County included presidential nominee Donald Trump receiving 71 percent of the votes, United States Senate incumbent Jerry Moran receiving 72 percent, United States House of Representatives incumbent Lynn Jenkins receiving 76 percent, Kansas Senate District 12 incumbent Caryn Tyson receiving 76 percent and Kansas Senate District 13 incumbent Jake LaTurner receiving 63 percent of the vote.

With the local, state and national elections just a few weeks away, the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a candidate forum Thursday evening for any candidates interested in sharing their ideas and goals with the Fort Scott community.

Local candidates running for positions such as county offices participated as well as candidates running for places in the United States Senate and House of Representatives. Each participant was given the opportunity to give a statement and to answer questions if they are not running unopposed.

Questions submitted by the public covered a wide range of topics including second amendment rights, the national debt, education in Kansas, Guantanamo Bay, the local law enforcement center project, immigration, county budgets and the Affordable Care Act among others.

Early voting began Monday and will continue through noon on November 7. Election Day is Tuesday, November 8.

See below for some of the statements from different candidates and their opponents:

Patrick Wiesner (D), U.S. Senate:

“I am the ‘get us out of debt’ candidate…My mission is paying off our national debt.”

“They need to apply for citizenship.” [On letting undocumented immigrants receive welfare, adding children and emergencies should be exceptions.]

Joshua Berg, on behalf of Jerry Moran (R), U.S. Senate:

“Jerry believes that the number one thing that the federal government must do is protect us and keep us safe.” [Through military spending, immigration control and caring for veterans.]

Britani Potter (D), U.S. House of Representatives:

“My goal is to put people before politics.”

“Healthcare’s a huge passion of mine… The Affordable Care Act did not make healthcare affordable…One of the big things that we can do to address this is by getting special interest money out of our politicians’ pockets.”

“Debt is a terrible, terrible burden and I would work in any way possible to reduce that debt and not incur any future charges. I think we have to address our tax system. It isn’t working. There are far too many loopholes.”

Lynn Jenkins (R), U.S. House of Representatives:

“Many people in Washington don’t share our Kansas values.”

“Obamacare has been a disaster. It’s not working. It’s time the Democrats on Capitol Hill recognize that.”

“Our tax code is broken…we need to throw it out and start over. We have a plan to do just that, it grows the economy. You can’t cut your way out of 19.5 trillion dollar’s debt, you have to grow your way out of it. So fix the revenue side and then fix the spending side.”

Caryn Tyson (R), Kansas Senate District 12:

“I am tied to my constituents, not the governor, not the lobbyists.”

“You can count on me to work hard, to know the issues and to work with both sides to come to a solid conclusion for the state. I will continue to fight for limited government, individual freedom, traditional values and economic development.”

“I think we need to protect our schools. I fought very hard for our rural schools.”

“We have a budget process that promotes wasteful spending.”

Lynn Grant (D), Kansas Senate District 13:

“The Medicaid expansion will actually end up paying for itself… There’s money to be made by creating jobs.” [On her statement that she will increase spending on education and Medicaid.]

Jake LaTurner (R), Kansas Senate District 13:

“We didn’t have a lot of good alternatives looking at us… We were looking at a situation where we could cut K-12 schools, higher education, community colleges, or we could vote for a tax plan.” [On tax increase that put Kansas at a disadvantage to Missouri.]

“I’m clearly open to revisiting the 2012 tax cut, I think we must in Kansas, but I will not do that on the backs of the middle class and the working poor.”

Harold Coleman (D), County Commission District 3:

“The county is limited. We have taxes and fees, that’s the only income that we receive.”

Nick Ruhl (R), County Commission District 3:

“We need to cut back on some of our spending to grow the budget back.”

Mike Feagins (D), Bourbon County Sheriff:

“I want to make a change to the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office. I want there to be integrity brought back, dedication and honesty. I want to keep the budget low.”

“The policy needs attention and it should’ve been changed a long time ago instead of now.” [On recent ride-along policy questions.]

“I would implement a hiring process.” [On the issue of employee attrition.]

Bill Martin (R), Bourbon County Sheriff:

“I believe in working for you. As I’ve said before, performances not promises.”

“I can assure you that there is nobody that is in that patrol car that’s going to bring harm to anybody in this community as they ride around with the deputies.” [On recent ride-along policy questions.]

“It’s one of the lowest paying jobs in the county [referring to correctional officers]… We have to be more competitive in our pay.” [On the issue of employee attrition.]

Once again, the local no-kill, animal shelter is again preparing for a fall festival for the community that also serves as a fundraiser to raise the money needed to keep Lee’s Paws & Claws serving the community.

On Saturday, October 15, the shelter will hold their third annual Pet-toberfest event from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., providing a variety of events such as a blessing of the animals at 11 a.m., dog agility run demonstrations, a pet costume contest, bake sale, silent auction as well as pet adoptions and micro-chipping. Grand prizes, face-painting, bounce houses and concessions will also be available.

The shelter, located at 721 240^th Street, accepts dogs and cats from Bourbon County as well as some from Linn County, providing shelter for them at their current facility that was donated to them, allowing them to be debt-free. But while they own the structure and 20 acres of property, there are still fees to keep the shelter running each year.

“It’s a beautiful facility,” board member Marti Wells-Smith said. “People are really trying to help us keep it going.”

The facility includes a play yard, heating and air, indoor areas for the cats and dogs to play and other amenities and services provided by volunteers and generous donors.

Other fundraisers held during the year included the Dancing with Our Stars and the town-wide garage sale.

In preparation for the upcoming local elections, the Young Professionals League hosted a Bourbon County Commission candidate forum Tuesday evening, inviting anyone from the community to attend and hear the current and campaigning candidates discuss issues and concerns in the county.

YPL members and others submitted questions to be discussed in advance and the candidates were then given about a minute each to answer each of the 10 questions. Many of the questions focused on finances and budgets in the county.

“We’ve got to do more with less money,” 3^rd District candidate Nick Ruhl summed up the issue.

Candidates discussed how to save money in the county, how employees could be impacted, the budget for the new law enforcement center, the commissioners’ own salaries and benefits, property values and taxes and the possibility of adding a county manager to help deal with financial topics.

The candidates also discussed the status of economic development in the county.

“I do think we need a strategic plan,” 2^nd District candidate Jeff Fischer said, while 1^st District candidate Lynne Ohara added the county needs to have a business-friendly climate that focuses on important issues such as education, crime rate and taxes that can draw or drive away businesses and residents.

When asked what the biggest selling point and drawback is for Bourbon County, the candidates agreed the taxes are the most significant negative point, while positive aspects included the education system, public safety and the fact that Kansas City seems to be growing south.

The state of the county roads were also addressed, with Ohara pointing out the increase of gravel from local quarries and the county’s ability to haul it with more equipment. But Ohara and 3^rd District candidate Harold Coleman both said it is nearly impossible for the county to constantly stay on top of road conditions with the employees, equipment and resources available to them.

The final question asked the candidates what they think the county will look like in 50 years and what they can do now to prepare for that future. While the candidates agreed the county would probably still be a chiefly agricultural area and not look like New York City, they also said it is important to invest in the equipment, roads, services and economic development now in order to encourage the younger generation to remain in Bourbon County.

“Regardless of who’s sitting in the commissioner’s seat, this is kind of like a roller coaster ride,” Coleman said of the role of the commissioner.

During their meeting Tuesday, the Bourbon County Commission received an update on the bids and budget for the Bourbon County Law Enforcement Center from the construction and architecture teams.

Steve Smith of Universal Construction Company, Inc., said the larger portions of the structure have been put to bid and it is important for the commission to agree to the estimated total construction cost so they could move forward in finalizing those bids before the contractors move on to other projects. With just concrete, masonry, drywall and a few other smaller construction items remaining to go to bid, Smith said the total construction cost will be about $6 million.

“It’s been a bit of a struggle to get bidders of late,” Smith said, saying there are billions of dollars worth of projects being worked on in the Midwest that are keeping contractors busy and away from the local project. “Construction costs are continuing to rise.”

Kevin Rost of Goldberg Group Architects pointed out that in just the past year of delays, due to the difficulty in finding property and having to complete land surveys, the cost of construction has gone up about 17.4 percent because of the rise in material prices and the trouble of finding contractors.

The commissioners agreed to a guaranteed maximum price of $6.25 million for the construction costs, with the price of land acquisition and architect fees alone bringing that total to the initial goal of $6.85 million. The remaining cost of about $1.7 million will be reached through lease purchasing items such as the cells and some electrical work, not costing taxpayers any more than was promised at the beginning of the bond project.

“It is disappointing,” commission chairperson Barbara Albright said of the unexpected rise in expenses, despite their efforts to decrease costs. “It’s more than we anticipated.”

Already, changes had been made to the plans to decrease the square footage and cut out other features the commission decided they could do without, but Albright pointed out that they still have to make sure the facility is functional.

“We’ve been committed since day one to make this project happen for you,” Rost said, saying they hope to have the remaining bids in place in the next few weeks, allowing work to begin before winter weather arrives. “We’re trying to stretch the dollars as much as we can.”

Once construction does begin, the project will likely take just over a year. Already, the building on the property has been removed so just a concrete slab and some debris such as bricks remain.

A month after members of the community and artists gathered to enjoy and purchase art, the Bourbon County Arts Council is again holding an Art Walk on Friday at the Liberty Theatre Courtyard, from 5 to 8 p.m.

The downtown Fort Scott event is still accepting artist entries to set up their wares at no cost, providing an opportunity for artists to show and sell their art. Those interested in registering as an artist can contact Deb Anderson of the BCAC at 620-224-8650 or [email protected] for a registration form.

The event is also free to the public, with some appetizers and drinks provided by Crooners as well as the chance to see and purchase numerous different forms of art, including photography, paintings, crafts, pottery and ceramics and a variety of others.

A project whose planning stages began years ago came a step closer to having visible results with a groundbreaking ceremony held Thursday morning for the new Bourbon County Law Enforcement Center.

On April 7, 2015, the public’s vote gave the county approval to move forward with their plan to construct a new building to serve as the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office as well as the county’s detention center.

“It’s a special day for the county,” commission chair Barbara Albright said, saying the new center will provide more space as well as a safer environment and improved conditions for the inmates and the staff.

With work beginning soon on clearing and beginning construction on the property located just east of the Briggs Auto Group off Highway 69, the commissioners stated they hope it will be complete in about a year.

“It’s been a long journey,” commissioner Lynne Oharah said. “It’s going to be a good project for the community and I’m excited to see the ground start moving and the land get cleared.”

Commissioner Harold Coleman admitted it was a long and often difficult process to get to this point—facing hurdles such as getting the project approved by the county citizens, finding suitable property and deciding on the building design—but that work was well worth it as they begin to see work being done on the new law enforcement center.

Sheriff Bill Martin expressed his appreciation to the county and city officials as well as the citizens for making the new center a reality. Martin pointed out that a lot of the hard work was completed by his own staff and leadership.

Lindsay Madison, executive director of the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, said during the ceremony that there are numerous projects going on around the city of Fort Scott, and that the new center is another key project that will build up the infrastructure of the county for years and generations to come.

“We are leaving a footprint on our history,” Madison said of those projects, including the new law enforcement center.

County, city and sheriff’s office leaders participated in the groundbreaking ceremony as did representatives from the architecture and engineering firms that took part in the planning and design process of the center.

With the budget hearing for the new fiscal year coming later this summer, the Bourbon County Commission began accepting proposed budgets from individual departments during their meeting Tuesday.

With the general fund being tight in Bourbon County in recent years, with carryover often being used up the following year, and other expenses such as courthouse security changes approaching, the commissioners expressed appreciation to the department heads they met with Tuesday when many of them came with budgets unchanged or lower from previous years.

“Thank you for being frugal on your budget,” commission chairman Barb Albright said to emergency management director Will Wallis when he presented a budget that was lower than the previous year.

The emergency preparedness budget requested $66,464, which included line items such as wages, phones, maintenance, office supplies and other fees and dues. A second emergency budget consists of a $17,000 grant from the government that is also used to pay for some equipment and other items such as the Code Red weather alert system.

Eric Bailey of the Local Environmental Protection Program presented two proposed budgets, one that totaled the same as the previous year while the second added an extra $20,000 for the purchase of a new vehicle, since the current one has needed a significant amount of maintenance work done to keep it operational and has about 136,000 miles on it. With a new vehicle included, the proposed budget totaled $64,821.

Rhonda Cole and Judge Mark Ward of the district court proposed a budget of $242,293, with no increase over the previous year’s budget. The commissioners expressed their surprise and appreciation that the courts were able to keep the budget the same despite heavy case loads in recent months.

Tim Cunningham of Tri-Valley Developmental Services also presented a proposed budget to the county commission, requesting $55,000, down from the almost $55,500 they received the previous year. From their total, more than $5 million budget, Cunningham said cuts in their number of employees and other changes decreased their budget by about $.5 million.

“You have always been good to us,” Cunningham thanked the commissioners, while the commission expressed their positive opinions concerning the importance of the services Tri-Valley provides.

Director Jim Harris of the road and bridge department also presented a budget proposal, with the key difference from previous years being a three percent wage increase. Areas and their requests within the department included: $152,598 for noxious weed; $217,426 for bridge and culvert; $20,585 for special bridge; $225,019 for the landfill; $26,931 for Elm Creek; $2,197,773 for road and bridge; and $1,018,124 for the road and bridge sales tax.

County Clerk Kendell Mason requested $98,462 for her department as well as $90,450 for the election budget, both numbers very similar to the previous fiscal year’s budgets.

Further departments will continue to present proposed budgets to the commissioners so the commission can approve the numbers in a budget hearing, scheduled for the end of August, so those requests can then be submitted to Certified Public Accountant Terry Sercer, who will form the budget before the fiscal year begins January 1.

Bourbon County participated in the nationwide and even international Relay for Life event Saturday evening at the Fort Scott Community College, raising more than $20,000 locally for the American Cancer Society.

“This is an amazing gathering,” organizer Allison Daly said in the opening ceremony, saying the reason they come is to finish the fight against cancer by remembering cancer victims, celebrating the survivors and thanking caregivers.

The event began with guest speaker Patsy Smith, a Fort Scott native and fifth-year cancer survivor , despite her diagnosis of a rare cancer in her appendix.

“I’m really feeling very blessed to be here,” Smith said, adding she was especially pleased when she learned they would honor caregivers as well as those with cancer. “Through this journey, that is both physical and mental, I have never walked alone.”

Smith said cancer is a disease that affects entire families, not just the individual, and it takes that family or a strong support group to help the victim both physically through the cancer treatment as well as mentally when they become discouraged.

The relay kicked off with a cannon fired by Velocity Tactics and then a lap for the survivors followed by a lap honoring those caregivers.

Local businesses, organizations and families formed teams to raise money and participate in the overnight relay event, including FSCC, Mercy Hospital, Future Farmers of America, FirstSource and area churches among others. The groups also sold food items, raffle tickets or other items around the track to continue to raise funding.

Other festivities included bounce houses, a luminary ceremony, performance by Signing of the Divine and music provided by a DJ. Calendars are also for sale.

Leaders, volunteers and participants in the upcoming Relay for Life shared information about the event during the Thursday morning Chamber Coffee, inviting people to participate in Saturday’s event held in honor of cancer victims and survivors.

“It’s an opportunity for everyone,” survivor lead Janderon Harrison said. “Because all of us have been touched by cancer in some way or in some form in our lives, either directly through a loved one or ourselves, or friends and other people we may know.”

The relay will be held Saturday in the Arnold Arena parking lot at Fort Scott Community College, from 6 p.m. until midnight, beginning with a survivor lap followed by a caregiver lap before other individuals and teams join in. Festivities will also include features such as a cannon fired by Velocity Tactics, bounce houses and games for children, a DJ and information distributed on health and cancer prevention.

Harrison explained the event is an overnight one because cancer never sleeps, and the relay serves as an opportunity to celebrate survivors and remember those lost while raising awareness, bringing those impacted by cancer together and collecting funds for research against the many forms of cancer.

The weekend events will begin with a survivor dinner Thursday evening at 6 p.m., hosted at the First Presbyterian Church. There is still room available for cancer survivors as well as caregivers interested in attending the dinner.

The Relay for Life team is also selling calendars for $12 each and luminary bags in honor of those lost to cancer in the last year for $5 each. A luminary ceremony will be held at 9:15 p.m. Saturday followed by a performance by Signing of the Divine.

Teams as well as individuals are invited to participate in the Relay for Life. Some teams already formed represent families, local businesses, organizations and others such as FSCC and Mercy Hospital.