By the Homes for the Holidays Tour in early December, the first floor of the Bourbon County Courthouse will have a different appearance as it receives a new coats of paint and new additions over the next couple months.
County Treasurer Rhonda Dunn described to the county commissioners their goal to put in historical items and photos on each of the courthouse floors so it would become a museum featuring the history of Fort Scott, Bourbon County and the courthouse itself.
“It’s going to be really neat,” Dunn said of the plans for the courthouse.
Instead of using county dollars to complete the project, the commissioners voted Tuesday morning to accept the offer of $1,500 from the Historic Preservation Commission.
Because of an unused closet discovered in the courthouse that had not been repainted, the new colors will match those used when the courthouse was first built more than a century ago.
The first floor will likely include 4×16 foot murals of historical photos of Forts Scott and other historical items while other cities and communities of Bourbon County will be featured on the second floor and the courthouse itself on the third floor. One hall will also be reserved for honoring Bourbon County veterans.
“It’s our plan to complete a floor before we move on to something else,” Dunn said.
Some items to be featured will include historical ledgers and blueprints, a tommy gun, wagon, desk, bookshelves, china and photographs. The HPA and county would gladly accept other donated items from members of the community to put on display.
“That’s exciting,” commissioner chairman Barbara Albright said of the project, expressing her gratitude to the HPA for their donation.
For a third year, Larry and Vickie Shead invited students from the Fort Scott public schools to come and visit their farm located south of the city, where the children got to experience different aspects of farm life.
More than 150 students, visiting the farm in two shifts Thursday, got to feed animals including goats, a pig and a donkey, learn how to milk a cow, taste homemade butter and take a hayride while also participating in other interactive activities.
Vickie Shead said they were not sure at first what they would do with the farm after their four children grew up and moved out, but decided to continue using it to help others in the community and even from out of town.
“We just gave it back to God,” Vickie said. “Whatever you give to God, you don’t know what He’s going to do.”
Starting in 1994, the Shead Farm began welcoming college students who could bunk at the farm as a retreat, often helping with some of the work. Since then, thousands of similar students, including international students, have visited as well as others for occasions such as weddings, reunions, birthday parties and holidays, usually at no cost.
Vickie said they hope to continue inviting students and other guests to visit the farm as long as they can.
“What would we do with the farm if it wasn’t used for others?” Vickie said.
Bourbon County’s journey to building a new jail stalled briefly when the county commissioners decided earlier this week not to purchase property they had previously selected for the site, located just south of the city limits on the east side of Interstate 69.
The current jail is located near the Sheriff’s Office and county courthouse.
Sheriff Bill Martin said this is a process that has carried on for six years as he and others in the sheriff’s office advocated for the construction of a new jail, replacing the current one with several structural problems, that could house inmates from outside of Bourbon County as well, offering an extra means of revenue for the county.
“There has been a setback,” Martin said of the decision made Tuesday that forced him to return to the drawing board in searching for a site.
About 30 members of the community attended the commissioners’ meeting Tuesday about the site, expressing their concern since the location of the proposed property was only about 1,000 feet from the Christian Learning Center.
Representatives from the school and others of the community brought signed petitions opposing that location of the jail.
Angela Simon, owner of the Bids and Dibs store downtown, was one such member of the community who opposed the location, even having a petition for shop visitors to sign in opposition of it.
“I’m a child advocate first,” said Simon, a former public school teacher. “I feel that with a little more looking we could do better.”
Commissioner Barbara Albright and the other commissioners agreed Tuesday to continue the search when they heard how much that location concerned members of the community as well as a business located in that area.
“It was apparent that there was going to be quite a bit of discontent over the location,” Albright said.
Martin and the commissioners continue that search for property, a minimum of five acres in size although the sheriff said they would prefer more than that so there is space for potential expansions in the future, such as bringing other criminal justice departments to the same location.
Some members of the community have come forward with suggestions, and Martin said they are looking through them to find a plot that is suitable, saying some mentioned to them have been in the flood plain, which their insurance could not cover.
“We really appreciate the input we’re getting,” Albright said, saying they continue to look at suggested sites. “We really appreciate people’s interest in it. We’re just working together to find a spot for the new jail.”
Both Albright and Martin said they want to find a location as soon as possible, preferably one with utilities available and without buildings that would need torn down, though neither is required.
“The longer we put this off, the more it’s going to cost us,” Martin said.
Originally, Martin had proposed a jail with 110 beds so the county could house inmates from other counties, but with the delay and the rise in construction fees, that number is now down to 70 beds. If it goes much lower, Martin said the project may soon cost more than it is worth.
Martin said any residents with questions, suggestions or concerns about the project can visit with him, saying he has an open-door policy on the topic. Each Tuesday, the commissioners also set aside 9:45-10:30 a.m. for members of the community who might have questions about the project.
Some of the misconceptions Martin said he has heard include the idea that the inmates would have an open yard where they will be outdoors and in line of sight with the surrounding residents, but Martin assures that it will be completely enclosed with inmates unable to see outside the structure.
“Wherever the jail is going to be, it’s going to be the safest place you can be,” Martin says, saying the added security around the perimeter of the jail will also guarantee extra coverage of neighboring areas of the community.
Natural Solutions Agronomics in partnership with Legacy Farm and Garden did a demo for FSCC and the community of their drone technology on Tuesday West of the college. The hexacopter they demonstrated can use GPS to fly a pattern over a field taking pictures that can be used to gather statistics about crops and spot trouble areas that need manual inspection. The images are high enough resolution that they can be used to see mold, fungus and insect damage.
The drone can fly up to 20 minutes on a set of batteries in it’s current configuration. The demo involved flying over a field at 130 feet.
The owner of Natural Solutions Agronomics, Cody Claflin, is a former FSCC student. He pointed out that the future of agriculture involves a lot of new technology in areas that most people don’t think of as being related to agriculture.
Also present from Natural Solutions were Rocky Castlebury and Chris Beerman. Rocky handles sales and service while Chris pilots the drone when it isn’t using GPS for navigation. Cody said they brought on Chris as a pilot because he and Rocky weren’t as good at avoiding crash landings.
Natural Solutions and Legacy Farm and Lawn also have equipment for doing precision soil samples that they demoed for FSCC last week.
Fort Scott, Ks –
The Bourbon County Art Council is hosting their annual art exhibit and sale. This year marks the 23rd year the exhibit has been on display. Yesterday morning community members gathered in the Ellis Fine Arts building to participate in the exhibit and the Chamber coffee.
Over 35 artists contributed to the exhibit this year. Artist ranged in age from 16-82 years old, including various types of media, from 19 cities across the region. Winners have been selected and the prizes have been provided by area businesses who support the arts including: H&H Realty, Landmark Bank, City State Bank, McDonald’s, Union State Bank, H&R Block, The Liberty Theatre, Fort Scott Broadcasting, Ward Kraft and individual donors.
If you haven’t made it out to see the exhibit, today is the last day the art display will be open, Friday, March 13th from noon to 7pm.
Last Friday night, Relay for Life (RFL) of Bourbon County held their KISS OFF event at Common Grounds Coffee Shop. The focus of the event was awareness, fun, fundraising and of course, to gather new supporters to the cause.
Reaching out to a younger generation is important to all organizations and gathering at the local coffee shop was a great idea. RFL events included a Karaoke competition and music by interactive elective device musician, David Cedillo.
Karaoke was judged by Sarah Mae Lamar and Jeremy Culbertson, awarding prizes for first, second and third places. About 75 folks from around Bourbon Country came out the sing and have a good time. The organizers were very grateful for the outcome but also for Common Ground stepping up and donating a lot of time, energy and planning for this event.
Another main reason for this event is to highlight their upcoming Relay. Allison Daly, the Community Manager, remarked, “there will be notable changes for this year’s event.” One of those changes will be moving the date from Summer to April 25th. Also, the location will be in the FSCC East parking lot rather than the walking trail. Daly also mentioned they are always looking for volunteers to help in a variety of capacities.
For more information or how you can become involved, please contact Allison Daly, [email protected] or 620.215.3865. Also, you can check our their web page here and the Facebook here!
Fort Scott, KS — Last Friday, February 6th Young Professionals had their monthly meeting at Papa Don’s.
The guest speakers for this meeting were High School students who attended the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Conference, affectionately referred to as, “HOBY.” Two students, Camden Stiles and Olivia Houston, were sponsored by Rotary and YPL, respectively.
The students spoke about their experiences last summer and demonstrated their enthusiasm for the program. Ms. Houston has applied and been accepted for ‘JStaff’ for next summer to help run the program. HOBY takes place during the first week of June on the Kansas State University Campus.
YPL President, Heather Griffith reported on activity YPL had been involved with and upcoming events. Some notable activities were hosting the Chamber coffee and assisting with Career Day at the High School.
Membership Dues are $35 per year and due April 1st. Don’t forget to check out their Facebook page and if you are interested in joining, please contact Heather Griffith: [email protected]
Fort Scott, KS — Last weekend the Historic Preservation Association of Bourbon County (HPA) was very busy and most likely recuperating this week. You can visit their full web page here.
Friday night, Moonlight and Mistletoe, an event hosted by Bob and Denise Duncan at their renovated corporate building into a beautiful 8,000 square foot living quarters. Saturday and Sunday, the holiday homes tour were going on – allowing visitors to tours some of Fort Scott’s older homes.
Also, HPA hosted the annual Stocking Stuffer craft fair at Fort Scott Middle School. Rhonda Dunn, coordinator, reported 36 vendors were on site to offer a wide variety of crafts and stocking stuffers.
These events are the main fund-raisers they do once a year. The HPA is responsible for maintaining many of the historical sites in the county and often match grants from the city to assist in restoration projects of down town Fort Scott.
For more information or questions of how you can be involved, contact:
Fort Scott, KS — On December 5th and 6th, Fort Scott National Historic site hosted their 33rd Annual Candlelight Tour. Actors and tour guides take you back through a re-creation of what was going on many, many years ago. Following the tour, there were light refreshments and social with actors who continued to carry the theme of the evening in costume, music and games.
Each year, the Fort selects a different time period in which to re-enact. This year’s focus was 1864 and Fort Scott’s weary eye upon General Price’s advancement in Missouri and procurement of the Fort’s vast supplies.
At the Fort, over 700 candles were lit and over 100 actors including community members and students from Fort Scott High School. Fort Scott is a National Historic site with over 20 historic structures, a parade ground and five acres of restored tallgrass prairie. The Fort is open for self-guided tours and is a wealth of historical information. Many thanks to volunteers who have put in countless hours to help preserve the rich history in our community.
For more information:
Fort Scott NHS
Old Fort Blvd.
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Visitor Information
620-223-0310
Fort Scott, KS – Since the elections for Bourbon County where Bill Martin has retained his position of Sheriff, addressing the county jail is high on his list of priorities. Tuesday, November 18th the Sheriff office was giving tours of the jail from 2p-8p showing the condition of the jail.
Originally, the jail built in 1977, was made to accommodate 27 inmates. However, the average census is around 40 inmates, almost twice the original capacity. The aging facility has many issues that are not a quick fix, but would require extensive repair to satisfactorily fix the issue. A few issues are original plumbing, fixtures, wiring, cameras, electric gates, security and communication systems.
Obviously, there is much to discuss in the conversation about the best way to go about providing an adequate facility for our county jail. Undoubtedly, the conversation comes about that inmates do not need a nice place. The repairs needed at the county jail are beyond the comforts of the inmates, but are affecting the safety of the corrections officers and the energy expenditure of the aging building.
If you missed the tour, the Sheriff’s office will be offering tours again in the Spring. In the meantime, click along on the pictures below for a narration of the condition of the jail.
Phone system in the janitorial closet
Outdated phone system for inmates
Visitation room, currently there is only one
Current holding cell, orginally designed for one person
Shower that inmates currently use
Recreation room (and additional cots when not enought bed space)
Different angle of the rec room
Back side of the rec room
Outside recreation area
Booking area
Booking area, which currently also serves medical, attorney visitation, isolation and video court
Breathalizer room / booking
Attorney consultation
Main office for booking and in the corner is the video camera for the video court
Detox room, isolation for those who need to sober up
Shower in detox room
Cell, orginally designed for one.
Security door
Kitchen
Another holding pod
Original windows
Inmate insulation
Plumbing issues
Many blind spots with current camera system
For further questions, contact the Sheriff’s office:
204 S National Ave
Fort Scott, KS
620.223.1440
Residents gather at Bourbon County courthouse to watch election results
The end of elections in Bourbon County is coming quickly to an end. There are some very interesting races happening in the county and our state. Throughout the evening will be at the courthouse posting results as they come in.
Updated: 12:27am
KANSAS – STATE RESULTS Unofficial FINAL
US Senate
Pat Roberts, R 53%
Greg Orman, I 43%
Randall Batson, L 4%
US HOUSE, District 2
Lynn Jenkins, R 57%
Margie Wakefield, D 39%
Christopher Clemmons, L 4%
Governor
Paul Davis, D 46%
Sam Brownback, R 50%
Keen Umbehr, L 4%
Secretary of State
Jean Schodorf, D 41%
Kris Kobach, R 59%
Attorney General
Derek Schmidt, R 67%
A.J. Kotich, D 33%
State Treasurer
Ron Estes, R 68%
Carmen Alldritt, D 33%
Commissioner of Insurance
Ken Selzer, R 61%
Dennis Anderson, D 39%
State House, 4th District
Lucas Cosens, D 32%
Marty Read, R 68%
Allow Charitable Gaming
Yes 75%
No 25%
BOURBON COUNTY – Unofficial FINAL Ballots counted: 5,012, all precincts reporting
Sheriff Mike Feagins, D — 28%
Bill Martin, R –77%
County Commissioner, 1st District Lynne Oharah, R — 73%
Clinton Walker, D — 26%
Garland, KS — On October 15th, one hundred thirty Fort Scott Elementary kindergarten students traveled to the Shead Stead Farm in rural Garland to enjoy the beautiful fall weather and experience many farm related activities.-
All photos credit: Mark Shead
The eight classes were accompanied by their teachers and a number of parents. Four of the classes participated in the morning activities and the other four in the afternoon, crossing over with both classes being at the farm for lunch around the picnic tables.
The various activity stations were attended as each teacher rotated her students around the farm. This gave the children opportunity to explore different aspects of farm life and fun that can be created with a little imagination.
The Indian camp with a teepee was hosted by Benjamin Shead who was dressed in full Indian attire. Children sat on mats and wore headbands and feathers as they learned several Indian songs and rhyme.
Teachers then moved on to the animal area where each child was able to pet and feed the donkey, the pot-belly pig, the goats and pet the horse. Chickens, guineas, ducks, cats, dogs and friendly turkeys could be observed wandering around.
A favorite to all of the students was the barn swing and hay ride. Teachers and parents helped the students take turns swinging. Raymond Kalm, a nearby farmer, drove the hay wagon to the delight of the students.
The chicken yard story time was hosted by Katy Shead who read the story of Henny Penny and showed the students live baby chickens and guineas. Each student was able to gather eggs from the metal nest boxes.
The apple harvest station was run by a parent and Haley Shead. Students learned about the comparison of a bushel basket, a half bushel and a peck. They also learned how to pick apples from the tops of the trees with an apple picker. They were able to watch how one can peel apples quickly with an electric drill, core and slice them and then sample the tasty crisp apples.
Another activity station included finding feathers in hay and then matching them with the picture of farm poultry.
Butter making was another area of interest as the students learned about how to make butter the old fashioned way and the new quicker way of doing it in the blender. Treats of crackers with butter were shared with the students. Teacher, Mrs. Melissa Tatro and Haley Shead helped with this activity.
During the afternoon, Fort Scott Community Rodeo Cowboys came to help the students learn to rope. Also on display were various collections of insects and bird habitats. Class pictures were taken on the old tractor.
Story submitted by farm owners, Larry and Vickie Shead.
