During a work session held Wednesday morning, the Bourbon County Commission met with Kansas Department of Transportation employee Darrin Petrowsky to look over plans for the Highway 69 widening project and ask questions.

The commissioners looked at plans for the six-mile project in Bourbon County, specifically asking questions about new and existing access roads. Commissioners said they had received questions from residents asking if they would still be able to access or cross the highway at existing points, and Petrowsky said they would.

Commissioners also asked how those roads would be paved, with gravel or asphalt, since they will be given to the county for maintenance upon completion.

“Our major concern is what we’re going to have to maintain,” commission chairman Lynne Oharah said, pointing out the county may not have the funds to keep up with another asphalt road.

Petrowski said there is one section of access road that will be asphalt, due to its need for curbing and gutters to help with drainage. Petrowski said he would pass along the commissioners’ request for it to be gravel, but added he did not believe the plan could be changed.

“Anything’s better than what we have right now,” Oharah said of the overall project, saying he currently does not feel comfortable driving that highway at night.

Work has begun on the project, but Petrowsky said it has slowed because of the recent rains. The project is scheduled to be completed by Nov. 16, 2018, with cleaning, striping and other tasks fully completed by the following March. During that time, travelers should be alert to workers and shifting lanes, though two lanes will always be available.

“It’ll be a great highway for Bourbon County,” public works Director Jim Harris said.

Petrowsky said the continuation of the four lanes into Crawford County has been delayed indefinitely until the funding is available, despite the plans already being drawn.

Starting Friday evening, visitors to and residents of Bourbon County are encouraged to visit the Fort Scott Home, Sport, Farm and Garden Show hosted by KOMB-FM radio in the Arnold Arena at Fort Scott Community College.

“It’s a fun event,” Tim McKenney said during Thursday morning’s Chamber Coffee hosted at FSCC. “It’s a neat way for all these vendors to meet folks.”

The event has been held since the 1980s, with the broadcasting company running it for the past six years. McKenney said they are grateful to both FSCC and the City of Fort Scott for their support of the event that draws in hundreds of visitors.

This year, 63 vendors will be present, including local businesses such as Ruddick’s Furniture and Briggs Auto Group as well as other products such as Scentsy.

The show begins Friday, welcoming visitors 5-8 p.m., and will be open again Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A number of giveaways will be awarded at different booths throughout the weekend.

On Saturday, FSCC will simultaneously host a community children’s fair from 9 a.m. to noon, and will include a number of games and other activities such as a teddy bear clinic, a bounce house, carnival and minute-to-win-it games and hair styling by cosmetology students.

The Bourbon County Landfill is now accepting old tires as part of a tire program, allowing county residents to drop off the tires at no cost to them.

The program, whose goal is to clean up the county as well as remove potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes and the diseases they carry, will continue at the landfill through April 23, with specific weekends scheduled for other towns outside of Fort Scott.

“It’s off and running,” Eric Bailey said of the program during Tuesday’s county commission meeting.

Public Works Director Jim Harris said he believes they will be able to collect a number of tires, and said he hopes people get involved.

“We want everyone to bring them out because we don’t want them in the ditches,” Harris said of the old tires. “It’s an excellent program.”

Only passenger vehicle tires will be accepted and no more than seven tires at a time, except with a signed affidavit proving they are owned by the individual and not by any retailer or automotive business.

The landfill will be open its normal hours, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon. Other collection points will be held on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the fire stations in other communities including Bronson on April 1, Uniontown on April 8, Mapleton on April 22, Garland on April 29, Hiattville on May 6, and Redfield on May 13.

State and local leaders took part in a groundbreaking ceremony Monday morning at Cherry Grove Baptist Church in preparation for the Highway 69 widening project that is set to begin this week.

“It’s a big day for us to be here and to actually be turning dirt,” said Ken Brock, the volunteer leader of the Kansas Highway 69 Association who played a key role in making the project a reality.

Governor Sam Brownback attended the event and said he is glad the project is underway after it “hit a rut” in recent years because of budget issues.

“There’s a lot of people who have fought for this for a long period of time to make this a reality,” Brownback said.

Brownback explained the state is currently focusing on the maintenance of roads instead of new constructions, but added the Highway 69 project is key to commerce and safety and is a priority of the state.

“It is one of the major arteries of the state that needs to be finished,” Brownback said of the six-mile project that will make it four lanes to the county line, adding he plans to have that project continuing to Pittsburg before he finishes his time in office. “Today is the beginning of a nice victory lap.”

Kansas Secretary of Transportation Richard Carlson, appointed to his position just in the last year, said he looks forward to the completion of the project and how it will bring a boost to the entire state.

“It’s an important corridor for the area for the expansion of 69,” Carlson pointed out. “It’s another important step in moving our four-lane highway system further south…We at KDOT are proud to be a part of this important project and certainly look forward to the completion of it all the way south.”

Carlson also encouraged drivers to be cautious when driving on the highway during periods of construction in order to avoid any dangerous situations for the drivers or the construction workers.

“There’s a lot of people that go into making a project like this happen,” Brock said, saying the governor and Senator Jake LaTurner invested great effort into the project. “It doesn’t just happen and it doesn’t happen quickly.”

LaTurner pointed out he was not the individual who began the process, as a number of bipartisan senators and representatives invested time into it over the past 30 years. The first portion of the project is expected to be complete by the end of 2018.

This Week on the House Floor

Submitted by Representative Adam Lusker

This week, an elections bill passed through the House 120 votes – 0. The bill is in regards to the special election to be held on April 11, 2017, to fill the Congressional seat in Kansas’ District 4 vacated by Mike Pompeo. Pompeo was appointed CIA Director by Donald Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

A Congressional seat in Kansas has not been vacated since 1950. The rules and regulations of a special election that are not specified must be drawn. This particular bill from the Senate, (SB 43), deals with setting forth those updated rules and processes.

Brownback Tax Plan Dead in Senate

On Tuesday, the Kansas Senate took up Governor Brownback’s tax plan for a vote. The tax plan included more unsustainable fixes to plug the budget deficit, like doubling the alcohol and tobacco taxes across the state. The process was long and drawn out, as the Senate divided the bill into separate parts, voting each one down in turn.

Senate Creates Education Budget Committee

Following the Kansas Supreme Court ruling in the Gannon case, which deemed the school finance system both inadequate and unconstitutional, Senate President Susan Wagle created a special committee to address the school funding issues that the Kansas Legislature must solve and prove adequate by June 30, 2017.

The committee is composed of 9 Republicans and 2 Democrats. The Kansas House had already established such a committee at the beginning of the 2017 session.

International Women’s Day

Wednesday, March 8th, we celebrated International Women’s Day – a day to honor women across the world, recognizing their great contributions to our history, to our present and to our futures. This day also spotlights the inequality that women face in many aspects of their lives, and emphasizes the need for solutions to those issues. Kansas has a long history of showing respect for women’s rights.

Happy International Women’s Day!

It is a special honor to serve as your state representative. I both value and need your input on the various issues facing state government. Please feel free to contact me with your comments and questions. My office address is Room 50-S, 300 SW 10th, Topeka, KS 66612. You can reach me at (785) 296-7698 or call the legislative hotline at 1-800-432-3924 to leave a message for me.

Additionally, you can e-mail me at adam.lusker@house.ks.gov. You can also follow the legislative session online at www.kslegislature.org.

During a work session held Wednesday morning, the Bourbon County Commission discussed how the current jail building will be used once the inmates and Sheriff’s Department moves to the new law enforcement center later this year.

“We’ve got to get this going,” commissioner Nick Ruhl said. “October will be here before you know it.”

A number of county employees attended the work session to share ideas on how the building could be utilized.

Commissioners first mentioned that moving the offices currently on the second floor, including the treasurer’s and clerk’s offices, could be moved to that first floor area so members of the public would not have to climb the stairs to the second floor. The second floor could then be used by the county attorney, making the second and third floors used only by the judicial system, and thus more easily secured.

Further discussion revealed that plan could end up being costly, as walls would have to be added in those second floor offices to accommodate the attorney’s staff, which currently works out of a separate building across the street from the courthouse.

Instead, the commissioners decided it made more sense to have the attorney’s office move directly into the old jail, where the rooms are already arranged to serve as offices, storage rooms, the law library and a conference area.

“It shouldn’t take a lot of money,” commission chairman Lynne Oharah said, adding the area would likely only need paint and new carpet.

Other options that arose during the work session, some of which could be done in conjunction with the attorney’s move, included turning portions of the old jail into storm shelters. Certain office areas may also be available to lease, such as to the city codes and community correction departments, who have already expressed interest. The building could also be sold entirely.

In upcoming weeks and months, the commission will continue to listen to ideas and begin to form a plan for how the building will be used. The remaining funds from the tax increase for the law enforcement center project are to be used to fund those changes and other courthouse improvements.

Regardless of how it is used, the commissioners said they will likely save money by not having to use the utilities in that building all the time as they did when housing inmates. They also plan on closing off that entrance for security purposes and repairing the east entrance to make it handicap accessible.

Almost 100 pieces of art are on display at the Ellis Fine Arts Center, as the Bourbon County Arts Council hosts the 25^th Annual Fine Arts Exhibit.

“It really speaks well of the community and the arts council itself,” Ray Streeter said of the 25 years of hosting the event.

Through Friday, members of the community can visit the exhibit to view and purchase a variety of pieces, including paintings, photographs, ceramics, jewelry and others. Prizes were awarded to the first place pieces of each category, donated by individuals and businesses of Fort Scott.

The exhibit includes 95 pieces from 42 artists. Nineteen of those artists are from Bourbon County while the others are from surrounding cities and into Missouri. Items from the Fort Scott High School art class students are also displayed.

The exhibit will be available from noon to 7 p.m., Thursday and Friday. The arts council is also asking its members to renew their memberships and encourages other members of the community to join.

“We think we do a lot for the community and we need your support to do it,” Streeter said.