Category Archives: Business
The Artificers June Happenings
The Artificers In JuneHappy June! Check out the calendar below for all the classes and events happening this Month! |
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Artist Opening ReceptionMaster ArtistPhillip Ortiz, Mixed Media Artist |
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Two Economic Development Projects Moving Forward: Pork Processing Plant, Sports Complex
A meat processing plant is back in the works for Bourbon County.
“I have been working to bring about the meat processing plant, a pork processing plant,” Fort Scott Mayor Matthew Wells said in an interview.
Billy Madison is the owner of the business, S.H. Pork Processing.
“This plant will provide farmers with an outlet for their pork processing,” Madison said. “And provide 15-30 new jobs.”
To view a prior 2021 story on Madison’s pork processing plant coming to Fort Scott:
https://fortscott.biz/news/48890
2023 plans have changed location
In 2021, the project was to be just south of the LaRoche Baseball Complex, but that was changed to a location agreed to by Madison and the City of Fort Scott.
“At this juncture I am not at liberty to say the location,” Wells said.
Wells noted that nothing has been signed, nor no one committed to this yet.
“The city approved to send out letters to respective parties involved (at a special Fort Scott city meeting on May 17) and (will) survey the property to define the boundaries and move forward in the process of securing the land,” Wells said.
Following completion of this preliminary work, the Fort Scott Planning Commission will get involved, Wells said in the May 17 special city meeting.
In the 2021, the pork processing plant site was to be located on 47 acres south of the Kansas Department of Transportation facility on Hwy. 69 south of the LaRoche Ball Park.
“That place didn’t have an entrance and we spent eight months getting an entrance to get on the property to do the engineering of the property,” Billy Madison, owner of the proposed meat plant said in a fortscott.biz interview on May 17.
Madison said that in March 2023, he “received an order to cease and desist in the (pork processing plant) plans from Rob Harrington (Director of the Regional Economic Development Inc.), “because they are going to build a sports complex there,” he said.
Sports Complex
At the May 16 regular Fort Scott City Commission meeting, Rob Harrington asked the city to authorize establishing STAR Bond and TIF District financing tools as part of the sports complex planning.
Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) Bonds are a financing tool that allows Kansas municipalities to issue bonds to finance the development of major commercial, entertainment and tourism projects, according to https://www.kansascommerce.gov/program/community-programs/star-bonds/. The bonds are paid off through the sales tax revenue generated by the development. The intent is to increase regional and national visitation to Kansas.
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is a real estate redevelopment tool applicable to industrial, commercial, intermodal transportation area and residential projects, https://www.kansascommerce.gov/program/taxes-and-financing/tif/. TIF uses the increases in real estate tax revenues and local sales tax revenues to retire the bonds sold to finance eligible redevelopment project costs (K.S.A. 12-1770 et seq.) or to reimburse the developer on a pay-as-you-go basis.
This project will require many steps because they will be working with the developer, the county, the state and the city council.
At the city meeting on May 16, Fort Scott City Attorney Bob Farmer told the Fort Scott City Council that they will have to partner with the Bourbon County Commission, because some of the proposed land is theirs.
The sports complex developer, along with the Kansas Department of Commerce, will look at a list of the developer’s ideas, then the state has to see if it is eligible, Farmer told the city council.
Rural Workforce Summit: June 22
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Recent Industrial Park Business: Jurassic Fireworks
Summer is almost here and the 4th of July is the keystone event of the season for many people
Fireworks are a big component in celebrating the independence from Britain in 1776, that the day commemorates.
Fort Scott has its own distributor of fireworks, since October 2021, in the industrial park just off of Hwy. 69, south of the city.
Jurassic Fireworks, 4500 Campbell Drive, sells both wholesale and retail fireworks. This building is the former site of Firstsource Solutions.
The business is owned by a father-daughter partnership of Frank and Bree Elliot, Colorado.
“This is a family run business, started by his father in 1965,” said Cindy Delise, Fort Scott, who mans the business here, and whose title is distributor.
“I’m the only employee here currently, but we are taking applications for the season,” she said.
The fireworks season is June 26 to July 6 in Fort Scott. During that time the hours are 8 a.m. to midnight.
Regular hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. the rest of the year, Delise said.
Jurassic Fireworks, Fort Scott, can be reached at (919) 369-8710.
They have retail stores in Wyoming, Colorado, Missouri, Texas and Indiana, as well.
Chamber Coffee Hosted by Bobbie Kemna on May 18
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Family Fun Outing: Shead Farm Homestead Festival on May 20
The Third Annual Shead Farm Homestead Festival is Saturday, May 20 at 2468 Cavalry Rd. near rural Garland, south of Fort Scott.
The day is geared toward sustainable living by a family that is doing just that.
“A lot of people were wanting to know about sustainable living,” Vickie Shead, the matriarch of the family, said. “God is good and we are trying to keep up with all He is leading us to do.”
Sustainable living means understanding how our lifestyle choices impact the world around us and finding ways for everyone to live better and lighter, according to the United Nations Environment Programme https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/resource-efficiency/what-we-do/sustainable-lifestyles
The festival will feature 36 vendors or activities that use creative ways to teach garden/farm knowledge.
“There is no charge to vendors,” Vickie said. “This is to benefit entrepreneurs who are wanting to start a business.”
“Come join us for a fun filled educational event for the whole family,” said Vickie, who along with her husband Larry and their children and grand children will be hosting the event. “It’s a great family outing!”
In addition to the Shead family, they have 106 volunteers helping at the festival, for which they are grateful.
On tap will be live music, lots of children’s activities, a farm tour, and farm store, vendor booths and a food court.
The admission fee for a single ticket is $5 or for a family (4+) $20.
To view a map of the Shead Farm vendors/activities:
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1iU4jmeptRhk8mCM4mRgvkluBqMGFbEmW9oPgFOULQ6Q/edit
The Shead’s have a signature product, Veggie Powder, with all the greens grown on the property.
Greens powders are a dietary supplement that aims to help people reach their daily intake of vitamins and minerals, according to https://health.unl.edu/are-greens-powders-actually-beneficial-our-dietitian-weighs
Festival activities include:
Educational garden games/activities
An animal arena
A story station
Learning how to milk cows
Learning how to make butter
Learning how to do laundry without electricity
The farm tour includes the gardens, greenhouse, animals, beekeeping and learning how to graft a fruit tree.
For sale will be animals, worm farms, plants, berries, carts, compost and trees.
Vendors will be selling soaps and salves, honey, eggs, spices, baked goods, baskets, weaving, spinning wool, plant propagations, farm decor and kitchen items.
The Sheads will be selling walking tacos for $5, and Supercharged Cookies for $2. A snack shack will be selling cotton candy, lemonade, ice cream and pastries.
Shead Farm Store items for sale will be Veggie Powder, toys, hats, aprons, books,quilted Items, bouquets, and more.
Contact them at
Sheadfarm.com
M’axe Throw House Ribbon Cutting/Chamber After-Hours on May 25
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Locara – Helping Small Businesses Grow & Succeed
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Your Creations are Here: Artificers
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Your Creations are Here!If you’ve taken a class here and made a piece of art come in and take it home today! They would look so good in your cabinet or on your table instead of on a shelf here! |
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Local Children’s Book Author: Maria Whitson
Maria Whitson, rural Garland, is the mother of five children and married to Clayton.
She is also a children’s book author.
The Process
Her journey as an author began with a college assignment to write and illustrate a children’s book.
“That is when the whole series of books called ‘Lessons for the Least’ was birthed,” she said. “But it was a couple years before I wrote down all the ideas for the series.”
She wrote the main content for all the stories while single, assisted by family in refining and editing her writings.
When she started looking for someone to illustrate her books, she looked to family. She worked on one book and sent another to her Aunt Judy Walters to illustrate. Then a second cousin, Zoe Acuna, got involved in the illustrations.
Every time Acuna sent her preview illustrations, “I was so thrilled with her style and ideas,” Whitson said. “We made a small tweaks and then they sat for a while as life got busy.”
About the same time she and her husband were working on a manual for disaster preparedness, for a class on the subject.
They edited that book, then published it, on their own. This began a business called Swift Word Publishing.
“He loves helping others take their written work and getting it into a tangible product,” she said.
With her husbands help, she published her first book Reuben the Rooster in 2020. It is available on Amazon.com and also can be purchased at the Shead Farm Festival, rural Garland, on May 20.
About the Books
The first book, Reuben the Rooster, tells of a courageous rooster who learns the value of standing up for his friends. Children will learn how courage and empathy can help overcome adversity, Maria said.
About The Author
“My husband, kids and I love being in God’s creation,” she said. “We have a passion for growing in our knowledge of the Kingdom of God and how it operates here on earth.”
“Most of my writings are birthed from that passion and I have so many more books in me, waiting on timing,” Whitson said. “There has been many times that the Holy Spirit will give me an idea that takes a while to figure out how to go about writing it and publishing it.”
Her family lives on a small farm close to her parents Larry and Vickie Shead’s farm, where she grew up. They home school their children.
They launched a family business called The Journey Home that is an umbrella for their whole family’s creations, including two of their children
Book publishing, art, jewelry, cast iron accessories, homeschooling, foraging, homesteading, disaster prep, herbal remedies, are some of the interests of the family business.
“The Journey Home name meaning captures our heart,” she said. “Our company is about everything that is centered on the home life and family, but going even deeper it centers on our eternal home (the kingdom of God) and living life in a way that lives that life out now.”
Prepare For Severe Weather With Simple Natural Gas Safety Tips
Prepare For Severe Weather With Simple Natural Gas Safety Tips
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – May 11, 2023 – May is the month in Kansas when the state typically sees its most severe weather, including tornadoes. Kansas Gas Service wants to remind all customers to keep safety in mind before and after a storm.
“Taking steps to protect your natural gas meter is often an afterthought, but it’s important to keep in mind for the safety of yourself and your community, especially during severe weather season,” said Sean Postlethwait, vice president of operations for Kansas Gas Service. “Preparedness is key, and we encourage our customers to join us in taking a few simple steps to plan for any storm.”
Here are some helpful steps to take in preparation for severe weather:
- Check around your natural gas meter and remove any objects that could be blown into the meter by strong winds or pushed into the meter by heavy rain and flooding.
- Remove any branches or other objects above the meter that could fall onto and damage the meter.
Safety should always be a priority, even after severe weather. Here are some important things to remember once the storm passes.
- If you smell natural gas, usually described as a “rotten egg” odor, leave the area immediately, then call 911 and Kansas Gas Service at 888-482-4950. Be sure not to operate any electrical appliances, including light switches.
- If you don’t smell natural gas, still do a maintenance check around your home by checking all gas appliances for damage and chimneys and flues for any fallen objects.
- If you need to remove any fallen tree limbs or uncovered debris, contact 811 to locate underground natural gas pipelines and other utility lines if this requires digging.
- If your natural gas meter was turned off or your service was interrupted during the storm, call the Kansas Gas Service customer service line at 800-794-4780 to restore your service. DO NOT attemptto turn your natural gas meter back on.
Customers can visit KansasGasService.com/safety for year-round safety tips.
About Kansas Gas Service
Kansas Gas Service provides a reliable and affordable energy choice to more than 645,000 customers in Kansas and is the largest natural gas distributor in the state, in terms of customers.
Headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas Gas Service is a division of ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE: OGS), a 100-percent regulated natural gas utility that trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “OGS.” ONE Gas is included in the S&PMidCap400 Index and is one of the largest natural gas utilities in the United States. For more information and the latest news about Kansas Gas Service, visit kansasgasservice.com and follow its social channels: @KansasGas, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube