New construction is going on at the corner of 6th and Lowman Streets.
Business owner Mike Rogers is hoping his new venture is good for the community.
The venture is building four small rental houses at the corner of 6th and Lowman Streets.
The houses might not be considered tiny, but with each at 782 square feet, they are small.
People just starting out or people at the other end of the spectrum, ” Those looking for a more efficient lifestyle,” Rory Chaplin, the coordinator with 3RK, said.
“They are not big,” Rogers said. “They are the size of an apartment. They’ll have 36-inch doors, so they are wheelchair accessible. They have no steps.”
There will be 18 feet between houses, which allows for a small yard with a privacy fence. Each house will have two designated parking spaces.
Construction began about a month ago on the project. The summer of 2018 is the expected availability dates for the rentals.
Rogers new business, 3RK, is building and managing rental houses.
He also owns R2 Concrete, which is doing all the concrete work for the project. In addition, he is sub-contracting parts of the project to Geiger Plumbing, Jeff Allen Electric, and Casper Enterprises, Rogers said.
“We may have other businesses involved, as well,” Chaplin said.
The amount of rent to be charged per unit is undetermined at this time, he said.
Submitted photo. Aaron and Lindsey Watts, owners of Smallville Crossfit Fort Scott.
Aaron and Lindsey Watts are Superman “nerds”.
That’s why they named their business Smallville Crossfit Fort Scott.
“Smallville is a small town in Kansas, where Superman grew up,” Lindsey said. Aaron was called Clark Kent/Superman while serving in the army, she said. Lindsey was from Fort Scott, Aaron lived in Fort Scott for a while when younger.
In December 2016, Aaron was honorably discharged from the army, following seven years of military service. He was stationed at Ft. Bragg, N.C. and also Fort Campbell, Kentucky and served in Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordan.
“At Fort Campbell, we found Crossfit,” Lindsey said.
Lindsey had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia in the seventh grade.
“Doctors told me all the activities you weren’t supposed to do,” she said. “I was taking 5 to 10 pills, two to three times a day. Nothing was helping.”
“I would sleep all the time.”
When Aaron and Lindsey got married eight years ago, they started “putting on weight,” she said. Aaron then started fitness training and together they started doing bodybuilding-type workouts.
“I found when I put stress on my body I felt better, less pain, less fatigue,” she said. “That intrigued Aaron. He learned about things to do in fitness. We’d go to the gym four to five times a week.”
Lindsey’s health improved.
That inspired Aaron to be a fitness coach in thinking about a job following his army career.
Lindsay always wanted to own a business, someday.
On June 1, 2017, they purchased the fitness business at 13 S. National Avenue. Lindsey is the business manager, Aaron writes the fitness programs and is the gym manager, with both husband and wife coaching the Crossfit members.
There are over 100 members currently.
CrossFit packages are $90 for unlimited contracts, $80 for student unlimited and a 10 class punch card for children for $80.
Two beginners classes will be offered in January. A beginner class is $50 for a one week class.
“We go over nine foundational movements and diagnose our athletes and find restrictions and teach them the movements they are capable of,” Lindsey said.
New hours for the business as of December 1: Monday, Wednesday, Friday classes start at 5 a.m. with the last class at 6 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday have fewer classes offered. Saturday is open gym from 8 to 11 a.m. most Saturdays. Fit Kids is offered Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Aaron writes programming and training for the volleyball and baseball teams at Fort Scott Community College, as well.
For more information contact the Watts at 620-719-9602 or check them out on their Facebook page Smallville Crossfit.
Just in time for the holiday season, Mercy Hospital Auxiliary will host a Holiday Bargain Sale on Friday, Dec. 8 from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. in the main lobby of Mercy Hospital Fort Scott.
The one-day fundraising event is a favorite with the public. Typically the Mercy Auxiliary brings the vendor to the hospital twice a year. The sale will feature over 1,000 items perfect for special occasions or stocking stuffers. These include trendy fashion accessories such as jewelry, scarves, seasonal items, gadgets, gifts and much more.
Many items are name brand, top quality products but priced up to 80 percent below retail.
The Mercy Hospital Auxiliary is a volunteer organization that raises money to benefit the hospital and provides scholarships for students.
Over the past 12 years, Mercy Auxiliary has donated nearly $850,000 to Mercy Hospital for equipment upgrades, program support, supplies and scholarships for nursing students. Proceeds from sales in the Mercy Market Place gift shop and other specialty sales support the Auxiliary. Collectively, auxiliary member’s volunteer the equivalent of almost seven full-time co-workers in hours of service each year to the hospital.
Mercy, named one of the top five large U.S. health systems in 2016 by Truven, an IBM company, serves millions annually. Mercy includes 45 acute care and specialty (heart, children’s, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, more than 700 physician practices and outpatient facilities, 40,000 co-workers and more than 2,000 Mercy Clinic physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Mercy also has outreach ministries in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
The cover sheet for the Price Chopper Fort Scott plans.
Citing “unforeseen issues” at the delayed store opening, Dennis Riley, Chief Financial Officer of Price Chopper, said the new grocery store will open at 9 a.m. Wednesday, December 13, not December 6.
“Barring any other unforeseen issues, we will open Dec. 13,” Riley said. “We wish it would have been sooner… Everything will be open and operating and ready for the citizens of Fort Scott .”
“Late August is when demolition began,” Riley said. “It’s been a top to bottom remodel and a relocation of the flow of the store.”
The store is similar to the Price Chopper in Paola, Riley said.
“We have a heavy emphasis on fresh foods,” he said. “We are proud of our meat department and our produce department.”
There will be a cut fruit and salad bar where people can dine in, Riley said.
The Dunkin’ Donuts area has a drive-up window feature.
Price Chopper Fort Scott currently has 120 employees and is located at 2322 S. Main Street on the city’s south side.
The site was formerly Woods Supermarket.
Barry Queen is the owner of the store and has family ties to the Fort Scott area, Riley said.
Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Administrative Assistant Allison Turvey holds Winnie the elf. ” Where is Winnie” is a promotion for local businesses.
Winnie the elf works for the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce.
Her job is to encourage people to shop in Fort Scott.
“Where is Winnie” is the Facebook page where you can learn more about her.
“The goal is to get people to shop local businesses,” Allison Turvey, administrative assistant at the Chamber said.
Turvey “escorts” Winnie to one of the Chamber member’s businesses and places her there.
A photo clue is given on the Chamber Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/196009193830966
Participants can win a chance to enter a drawing for $100 in Chamber Bucks.
There are two ways to win a chance.
The first is to guess where Winnie is at and post the answer on Facebook.
The second way is to shop at the store Winnie visits then take a photo of your receipt and post it to the discussion board of the “Where Is Winnie” Facebook event page.
All receipts must come from shops where Winnie visited and be posted by December 15.
Each is one entry into the drawing for the $100 Chamber Bucks prize. The bucks can be spent at any of the 55 Chamber businesses.
Anyone unable to upload their receipt photos to Facebook may bring their receipts to the Chamber office, 231 E. Wall.
For more information, contact Turvey at 620-223-3566.
Local author Cathy Werling will have an author reading and book signing of her book “Why Did Grandpa Cry” at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Saturday, December 9 at the Lowell Milken Center, Wall and Main Streets.
For more information contact the center at 620-223-1312
The La Roche Baseball Complex is located south of the city and parallel to U.S. Hwy. 69.
The City of Fort Scott recently annexed the LaRoche Baseball Complex into the city limits at a recent meeting.
The complex is located in the industrial park south of the city on U.S. 69 Hwy.
“The city maintains the complex,” Rhonda Dunn, Fort Scott Community Development Director, said. “They do the mowing, the maintenance, the painting, the lights, etc. It makes sense, that since the city owns the park, it should be within the city limits.”
A board oversees the park, which includes members from the city, Fort Scott’s school district, and the LaRoche family.
Looking northwest from the corner of Jayhawk Road and Liberty Bell Road. This land is being rezoned for future development by Peerless Products and Labconco Corporation on Dec. 5
Land south and east of El Charro Restaurant will be annexed into the city with Peerless Products and Labconco Corporation planning to develop the properties, according to a city official.
The City of Fort Scott will rezone the Emory Arnold Trust land, located on U.S. Highway 69 for redevelopment on Dec.5, Rhonda Dunn, Fort Scott Community Development Director said.
“Part of it is the Emory Arnold Trust, south of El Charro Restaurant, down to Jayhawk Road to Liberty Bell Road,” she said. “Peerless and Labconco are buying the properties for future development.”
The land will be annexed into the city.
Labconco Corporation is located at 2500 Liberty Bell Road, while Peerless Products, Inc. is located at 2403 S. Main Street, parallel to U.S. 69 Hwy.
Emery Arnold’s home in the photo, at right. The Emery Arnold Trust land is being rezoned Dec. 5.
Emory Arnold was a prominent Fort Scottian who died in 2015 at age 98. He served in positions at Fort Scott Community College as the registrar, assistant dean, athletic director and vice president until his retirement in 1981, according to his obituary. The arena at FSCC bears his name.
Westar Energy, Inc. Fort Scott office on Old Fort Boulevard.
Great Plains Energy and Westar Energy Shareholders Approve Merger at Special Shareholder Meetings
Westar Energy, Inc. (NYSE: WR) and Great Plains Energy Incorporated (NYSE: GXP), the parent company of Kansas City Power & Light (“KCP&L”), announced on Nov. 21 at their respective shareholder meetings that shareholders overwhelmingly approved the proposals necessary for the merger between the two companies. More than 90 percent of the shares voted at each company approved the transaction.
“We are excited about today’s approval from shareholders of both Great Plains Energy and Westar Energy. This vote indicates that both companies’ shareholders believe in our combined ability to create a stronger regional energy provider, positioned to better serve all of our customers,” said Terry Bassham, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Great Plains Energy and KCP&L. “This new combined company will ensure we keep ownership of our utility assets in our region to grow local economies.”
“Customers and shareholders will benefit by combining Westar Energy and Great Plains Energy into a strong Midwest utility,” said Mark Ruelle, president and chief executive officer of Westar Energy. “Our geography and history of partnership position us to bring efficiencies and savings by joining our operations. We continue to make progress toward completing the transaction in the first half of 2018.”
Westar Energy and Great Plains Energy announced a revised transaction in July 2017 after the Kansas Corporation Commission denied the companies’ original request to combine in April. This revised agreement involves no transaction debt, no exchange of cash, and is a stock-for-stock merger of equals, creating a company with a combined equity value of approximately $15 billion.
The merger is expected to help maintain reliable, low-cost energy for the company’s 1 million Kansas customers and nearly 600,000 customers in Missouri. Additionally, with one of the largest renewable energy portfolios in the nation, the new combined company will be a clean energy leader, supplying nearly half of its retail sales from emissions-free electricity.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., Great Plains Energy Incorporated (NYSE: GXP) is the holding company of Kansas City Power & Light Company and KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations Company, two of the leading regulated providers of electricity in the Midwest. Kansas City Power & Light Company and KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations Company use KCP&L as a brand name. More information about the companies is available on the Internet at www.greatplainsenergy.com or www.kcpl.com.
About Westar Energy
As Kansas’ largest electric utility, Westar Energy, Inc. (NYSE: WR) provides customers the safe, reliable electricity needed to power their businesses and homes. Half the electricity supplied to the company’s 700,000 customers comes from emissions-free sources – nuclear, wind and solar – with a third coming from renewables. Westar is a leader in electric transmission in Kansas, coordinating a network of lines and substations that support one of the largest consolidations of wind energy in the nation. For more information about Westar Energy, visit www.WestarEnergy.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this communication that are not based on historical facts are forward-looking, may involve risks and uncertainties, and are intended to be as of the date when made. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the anticipated merger transaction of Great Plains Energy Incorporated (Great Plains Energy) and Westar Energy, Inc. (Westar Energy), including those that relate to the expected financial and operational benefits of the merger to the companies and their shareholders (including cost savings, operational efficiencies and the impact of the anticipated merger on earnings per share), the expected timing of closing, the outcome of regulatory proceedings, cost estimates of capital projects, dividend growth, share repurchases, balance sheet and credit ratings, rebates to customers, employee issues and other matters affecting future operations. In connection with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Great Plains Energy and Westar Energy are providing a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the provided forward-looking information. These important factors include: future economic conditions in regional, national and international markets and their effects on sales, prices and costs; prices and availability of electricity in regional and national wholesale markets; market perception of the energy industry, Great Plains Energy and Westar Energy; changes in business strategy, operations or development plans; the outcome of contract negotiations for goods and services; effects of current or proposed state and federal legislative and regulatory actions or developments, including, but not limited to, deregulation, re-regulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry; decisions of regulators regarding rates that the companies can charge for electricity; adverse changes in applicable laws, regulations, rules, principles or practices governing tax, accounting and environmental matters including, but not limited to, air and water quality; financial market conditions and performance including, but not limited to, changes in interest rates and credit spreads and in availability and cost of capital and the effects on derivatives and hedges, nuclear decommissioning trust and pension plan assets and costs; impairments of long-lived assets or goodwill; credit ratings; inflation rates; effectiveness of risk management policies and procedures and the ability of counterparties to satisfy their contractual commitments; impact of terrorist acts, including, but not limited to, cyber terrorism; ability to carry out marketing and sales plans; weather conditions including, but not limited to, weather-related damage and their effects on sales, prices and costs; cost, availability, quality and deliverability of fuel; the inherent uncertainties in estimating the effects of weather, economic conditions and other factors on customer consumption and financial results; ability to achieve generation goals and the occurrence and duration of planned and unplanned generation outages; delays in the anticipated in-service dates and cost increases of generation, transmission, distribution or other projects; Great Plains Energy’s and Westar Energy’s ability to successfully manage and integrate their respective transmission joint ventures; the inherent risks associated with the ownership and operation of a nuclear facility including, but not limited to, environmental, health, safety, regulatory and financial risks; workforce risks, including, but not limited to, increased costs of retirement, health care and other benefits; the ability of Great Plains Energy and Westar Energy to obtain the regulatory and shareholder approvals necessary to complete the anticipated merger or the imposition of adverse conditions or costs in connection with obtaining regulatory approvals; the risk that a condition to the closing of the anticipated merger may not be satisfied or that the anticipated merger may fail to close; the outcome of any legal proceedings, regulatory proceedings or enforcement matters that may be instituted relating to the anticipated merger; the costs incurred to consummate the anticipated merger; the possibility that the expected value creation from the anticipated merger will not be realized, or will not be realized within the expected time period; difficulties related to the integration of the two companies; the credit ratings of the combined company following the anticipated merger; disruption from the anticipated merger making it more difficult to maintain relationships with customers, employees, regulators or suppliers; the diversion of management time and attention on the anticipated merger; and other risks and uncertainties.
This list of factors is not all-inclusive because it is not possible to predict all factors. Additional risks and uncertainties are discussed in the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other materials that Great Plains Energy, Westar Energy and Monarch Energy Holding, Inc. (Monarch Energy) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with the anticipated merger. Other risk factors are detailed from time to time in quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual reports on Form 10-K filed by Great Plains Energy and Westar Energy with the SEC. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement. Monarch Energy, Great Plains Energy, and Westar Energy undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Businesses and homes along National Avenue are encouraged to decorate for the holidays with a lighting contest. Pictured is Eclectica at National Avenue and Wall Street.
A Christmas lighting contest for businesses and homes along Fort Scott’s National Avenue is on.
“It’s open to anyone with a National Avenue address, both commercial and residential,” said Rhonda Dunn, an organizer of the contest.
“No rules,” she said. “The group I got together wanted it to be fun and about the community, not winning the prize. We are looking forward to seeing what we get.”
The contest will be judged by Al Niece on Friday, December 8. His business, Niece Products, will supply a monetary prize for the winner, Dunn said.
“They can contact me with any questions or just do it,” Dunn said.
