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Category Archives: Business
Lawrence Looks to Expand His Business: 4C Lawn Care Company
Clint Lawrence started mowing lawns at age 15 for extra gas money during high school. He is a 2008 Fort Scott High School graduate and a Fort Scott Community College graduate.
Lawrence owns and operates 4C Lawn Care company.
“I offer all of your lawn needs, mowing, weed eating, edging, leaf and limb removal,” he said.
“Family means everything to me so I branded my company name after our family as all of our names begin with C,” he said. “My wife is Chelsea; son is Cole, 8 years old; and son, Chase, 7 years old.”
“After college, I joined the Fort Scott Fire Department,” he said. “Given the shift schedule, I always juggled multiple part-time jobs alongside running my business.”
“This year, I’ve decided to focus solely on expanding my business to spend more time with my wife and kids,” he said.
“With 13 years of experience, I’ve served a wide range of clients in various counties, including commercial, residential, city, and county entities,” he said. “After three previous years of a busy schedule, this year I’m looking to expand my client base.”
“My goal is to grow my business into a reputable company known for exceptional service,” Lawrence said. “I am fully insured and no job is too big or too small. Feel free to reach out to me by phone or text at 620-215-4045 or find me on Facebook at 4C Lawn Care”
The Artificers Newsletter for May 2024
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The Artificers in May!Check out the calendar below for all events happening this month! |
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Encore fromJill Williams: Watercolorist!Thursday, May 9th, 2024 Two exciting Classes! |
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May Classes |
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Come into the studio from 12pm-4pm May 25th, and Glaze all of your pre-made pieces! |
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Don’t Forget us For your Parties! |
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Suzanne Griffin Is Now Creating Goodies at Common Ground Coffee Shop
Suzanne Griffen, former owner of Twigs and Berries Catering, became a part of the Common Ground Coffee Co. team on March 25
as a baker.
“Suzanne will help keep our pastry cabinet full, along with doing any catering and special events,” according to Stacy Racy, a Common Ground volunteer. “We are excited to fill our calendar with fun events for our community.”
“You’re welcome to contact Suzanne directly for any of your catering needs or contact Common Grounds at 620-223-2499, according to Racy. “We are excited to see what God has in store for Common Ground over the next year.”
“I do not have any set hours, but find myself going in almost daily,” Griffin said. “We are combining each of our specialties to work together.”
She said her beginning at the coffee shop is bad news/good news story.
She had been working in her catering business from home and wasn’t licensed to do so.
” I knew I was taking a risk, but I really just wanted to be home,” she said. ” I’ve always been a stay-at-home mom. On March 12th, we were served a notice to cease from the Kansas Department of Agriculture. It was disheartening because it was part of the income we relied upon. It was frustrating that whoever felt strong enough to report us, did so and anonymously. It was confusing because everyone who picked up food from me, knew I was working from my home kitchen and didn’t care.”
Some of her clients in that business were widows who didn’t want to go out to eat alone, families fighting cancer, older couples who didn’t want to cook for just two people, moms who worked and wanted home-cooked meals but were exhausted after working all day, according to Griffin.
“It felt like we were doing more than feeding,” she said. “We were helping fill a gap, building friendships, caring in a way I know how. I really didn’t know what I would do next. Take a job? But I didn’t want to be gone all day. We have two kids homeschooling. Convert the house next door? But then we have additional overhead also.”
” The very next day, Stacy Racy and Heidi Shrakes (the manager)from Common Ground and I chatted,” she said.
“We attend church together at Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene which owns Common Ground and our hearts for the coffee shop align to have a place of ministry and outreach by way of serving our customers and providing a peaceful and encouraging environment to others to gather, study, hang out. For me, to hug as many necks as possible in a day. To put prayers on the prayer wall, to serve delicious food.”
She prays daily for the prayer requests left on the wall in the coffee shop and , “for our foods to stretch, for the calendar to fill up with activites, that God will meet each of our customer’s needs and they will feel loved as they come and go.”
Hours the shop is open: Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
The shop serves coffee, teas, lemonade, drinks, smoothies, and dozens of different syrups which makes the flavor options unlimited, she said.
“You could try something different every day,” she said. “We also have amazing cookies, breakfast sandwiches, wraps, salad, chicken salad, and a mixture of pastries and desserts.”
There are approximately nine employees.
“There are also several that completely volunteer their time,” Griffin said.
Shead Farm Homestead Festival: Learning To Produce What You Need AND More
Since the pandemic, many people have been looking at a lifestyle that includes purchasing local products and growing their food, or at the least, knowing nearby local producers.
The fourth annual Shead Farm Homestead Festival event will happen on May 18, southeast of Fort Scott. This educational and family-fun event has attempted to help those people.
Homesteading is moving towards food security by means of producing one’s own animals and gardens.
Larry and Vickie Shead and their extended family have provided people with an event where people can gather tips on gardening, homesteading, grafting fruit trees, beekeeping, orchard care, and soap-making, and many others.
This year over 50 vendors related to homesteading, along with family activities are scheduled.
Besides new vendors and activities, there will be a speakers’ tent where people can listen to a question and answer time on various homestead topics.
“A chapel is provided for those who may need prayer or just want some Biblical insight,” Vickie said.
Over 150 volunteers have been working to create a memorable time, on Saturday, May 18, from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Tickets are $5.00 each or $25.00 for a family of five or more.
“There will be good old fashion and exciting, memory-making events that young and old will not want to miss,” Vickie said. “There are plenty of places to sit down and relax for a good visit with old friends and neighbors while watching the exciting activities taking place.”
Historical demonstrations to view: blacksmithing, broom making, butter making, wooden spoon making, leather working, rock wall building, and a weaver who demonstrates on an 1864 old barn wood loom, as well as showing how to spin. There will be a Model T Ford and a Model A Ford for viewing with early 1900s music playing on a Victrola nearby.
Educational vendors will share information on growing microgreens, making butter, washing clothes without electricity, creating with macrame, making goat milk soap, milking a cow, making jams and jellies, and creating pictures with pastels. One can also learn about making pottery, sourdough bread, and how to harvest maple syrup. And many beautiful quilts will be on display, she said.
“Children can enjoy the Children’s Center’s huge tent full of new, fun, educational, and exciting activities,” Vickie said. “The little children can gather bugs in their bag and turn them in for a prize. Face painting and a Story Station give a moment of rest for children. New this year will be a huge sand pile with treasures to find. New, also a Kids’ Corner Store with many farm and educational toys.”
An Animal Arena displays donkeys, goats, dogs, cows, sheep, and a pig. Poultry will be roaming the area with peacocks, chickens, guineas, ducks, turkeys, and quail. Children and adults can learn the techniques of roping along with other fun animal activities, and additionally, there will be kittens, rabbits, and quail.
The Food Court has expanded to include pulled pork sandwiches, as well as the festival’s famous Walking Tacos, she said. Snacks are in abundance with kettle corn and homemade potato chips, cotton candy, and bakery bargains. Snack Shack items are dried candy fruits, and many other snacks.
“A variety of refreshing drinks will be available such as hot and cold coffees, cocoa; lemonade, and homemade refreshing root beer,” she said.
“Hope to see you all for this wonderful family and friend’s event,” she said.
Will’s Gutter Service: Outside Handyman
William Billings has been mowing yards since he was a child growing up, and started with a push mower as a kid.
Now he has a truck, trailer, and a zero-turn mower, with chainsaws and weed eaters to tackle any job.
He has over 15 years of experience mowing and worked for LACO Seamless Gutters for four years as a gutter specialist until the company shut down, he said.
Billings started Will’s Gutter Service last year in Fort Scott.
“The services I provide for the community are mowing yards, gutter cleanouts, gutter inspections and maintenance, tree trimming, leaf and debris clean up,” he said.
To contact Billings call 620-418-3491.
Billings started the business last year to make extra money for his family, he said.
He is a Turner High School graduate from K.C., Kansas.
Adamson’s Celebrate 20th Anniversary of Courtland Hotel Ownership
Frank and Cheryl Adamson are celebrating 20 years as hoteliers in Fort Scott.
They purchased the Courtland Hotel, at First and Scott Avenue in the historic district of Fort Scott in 2004.
The hotel is located at 121 E. First St, Fort Scott.
“We purchased the historic hotel here in downtown Fort Scott to expand Cheryl’s day spa business,” Frank said. “She started doing massage therapy as a side gig that grew into the need for additional space. We utilize around 2,500 square feet of the hotel’s ground floor, for the Courtland Spa and Salon.” They employ seven people.
“There have been so many things that have blessed us in ownership and operating the historic hotel in downtown Fort Scott it’s hard to pick out one thing,” he said. “Seeing and being part of the resurgence of downtown has been amazing. We have developed an appreciation for downtown’s impact on the community, what Fort Scott’s history is, and the impact it made on Western expansion. The historic hotel of course is a functioning hotel, circa 1906. With guests coming from all over the world to see it and stay in it. We get to share some of the local history and make a new friend.”
History of the Courtland
The Courtland Hotel was built in 1906 to accommodate people using the railroad traffic through the town.
But today it offers a day spa that includes massage therapy service, a hair salon and manicures/pedicures, and internet service for its customers.
The hotel was recently featured in Kansas Magazine as a historic Kansas hotel, here are a few excerpts from that article:
“The first 50 to 60 years of this business, the lodging was essentially for men only,” Frank says, adding the hotel mostly housed railroad engineers and brakemen who brought the trains into town, spent the night, and reported back to work to replace the crews coming in on returning trains the next day. “The guys staying in these hotels were the same guys all the time.
“The building was originally constructed with six storefronts on the first floor to accommodate retail and wholesale businesses; the upper level had lodging rooms and a tailor shop. When the number of trains declined, the hotel eventually was used as a dormitory for a flight school before slipping into darkness.
“Seeing its potential, the Adamsons awakened the building from its sleep. Today, its exterior remains as it looked in 1906, and the lobby inside retains its 14-foot tin ceilings and other architectural features. Guests and local residents enjoy the main level’s 2,500-square-foot, full-service day spa the couple added in a way that maintains the unique building’s historical significance,” according to the Kansas Magazine article.
The Green Lantern Speakeasy Debuts This Month In Downtown Fort Scott
A new business venture, in the former Scottish Rite Temple, is unique to Fort Scott.
A speakeasy bar was opened by Kathy and Tracy Dancer this month.
One hundred years ago the government tried to ban alcoholic beverages.
In 1919, Congress ratified the 18th Amendment, banning the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcoholic beverages. However, there were no provisional funds for anything beyond token enforcement, according to https://www.atf.gov/our-history/timeline/18th-amendment-1919-national-prohibition-act
“Speakeasy was a term used during Prohibition for drinking establishments and illegal bars,” said Kathy Dancer, owner of the
new Fort Scott speakeasy. “They were usually hidden away in a building and sometimes you needed a password to be allowed to enter. Fort Scott had several speakeasies including The Green Lantern, operated by J.D. McClintock.”
Kathy is the owner and her husband Tracy is the operations manager.
“In recent years, speakeasies (although no longer illegal) have become popular again,” she said. “Some are just regular bars while others are much more elaborate and keep the original spirit of the historic Prohibition-era speakeasies.”
The Dancers, Kathy and Tracy, purchased the old Scottish Rite Temple building at 110 S. Main a few years ago.
They added a retail shop, then a cafe and now are venturing into a speakeasy bar.
“These really are labors of love and we enjoy sharing them with the community,” Kathy said.
“110 South Main was originally constructed in the early 1920s, during the Prohibition era,” she said. “We thought a speakeasy would be a great fit as an additional business for the space. It’s also an opportunity to bring something very unique to Fort Scott. We have named the speakeasy The Green Lantern, after the original Fort Scott speakeasy.”
The Green Lantern will be located inside the 110 South Main building on the second floor.
“The Green Lantern honors the tradition of speakeasies from the 1920s while adding some modern touches,” she said. “We will serve premium cocktails and Kansas-produced wines. The speakeasy space has a very historic look and vibe with 1920s music and occasional visits from flapper girls and gangsters. Patrons will need a password to get in. Clues for the password will be posted on the speakeasy Facebook page: Green Lantern Partners LTD.”
To view the Facebook page:
The space has already been used for private events and the Dancers are doing several previews/soft opening on evenings in April.
“We have not established set days and times yet but we will post them on the Facebook page,” she said.
Significant Grants Are Available for Solar Energy For Bourbon County Businesses
If you own a business in Bourbon County and selected other counties in rural Kansas, you can apply for a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant and get up to 50% off the cost of solar panels.
Add the 50% federal tax credits available for renewable energy installations in Bourbon County, and a business owner could get a solar system for nearly free, according to Daniel Zywietz, founder of SEK Solar, Chanute.
SEK Solar designs and installs solar systems and also helps with the grant application, allowing business owners to drastically reduce their utility bills, he said.
Before starting SEK Solar, Zywietz founded and ran Enerwhere, the Middle East’s largest rooftop installation company and one of the world’s largest microgrid operators. The company started as a provider of temporary power services to the construction industry in 2012 and quickly expanded into the commercial rooftop solar market in Dubai, building over 45 MW of solar over 10 years, including the world’s second-largest solar rooftop system at the time, covering an area of more than 23 football fields, he said
He ended up in the Middle East as a management consultant working for Booz & Company, a spin-off of Booz Allen Hamilton, and one of the best-known management consulting companies worldwide.
With his wife (who is originally from Humboldt, KS) looking to move home after the COVID-pandemic, Zywietz started to look into the solar market in Kansas and was astonished to find that there were hardly any solar panels installed, despite the clear and sunny skies and large open spaces. With over $1 billion in grant funds for solar and energy efficiency available to agricultural and rural small business owners under the USDA’s Rural Energy for America (REAP) program, Zywietz and his wife decided to set up a solar company to service local business owners.
What made the opportunity even more exciting was that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed in 2022, not only refilled the REAP program, which had been running for 10 years with much lower funding levels, but also significantly improved the Federal tax credits available to rural Kansans, according to Zywietz.
According to the EPA website, the credits are structured in three separate buckets, according to information from Zywietz. The 30% base tax credit is available to anyone wanting to install a solar system at the business or home, anywhere in the US. A further 10% “Low-Income Community” bonus is available to projects in disadvantaged areas. (Bourbon County, together with most of South-East Kansas, qualifies). Finally, there is another 10% “Energy Community Bonus” available to areas that previously hosted coal mines or coal-fired power plants, and again, Bourbon County qualifies, according to a map provided by the Department of Energy. Added together, the tax credits can add up to 50% for a renewable energy project in Fort Scott and the surrounding area.
While the tax credits don’t require any special application process, the REAP grants do. It all starts with checking whether a business’s location is eligible based on the USDA’s Property Eligibility site, says Zywietz.
The USDA defines a rural area as an area with a population of less than 50,000 people. The second criterion is the business size. The small business size standard is based on either annual revenue or the number of employees, depending on a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, which is used by federal agencies to classify businesses by industry type, according to http://kansasenergyprogram.org/assessments/REAP-OverviewFAQ
This generally means that if a business has less than $10 million in revenue or less than 100 employees and is a for-profit business, such as a restaurant, hair salon, retail business, or farm business, the owner is eligible to apply, Zywietz said.
“It’s a tedious grant application process,” he said. “The smallest grants of up to $20,000 have a nearly 100% approval rate because $200 million were set aside for these small projects and there aren’t enough applications, as most small business owners find it too time-consuming to fill in all of the forms. Larger grants, which can go up to $1 million, compete with other projects based on a scoring system, so getting the grant application right can make a big difference to the chance of approval. The next application deadline is June 30th.”
“It’s a big opportunity for rural business owners to lower their utility bills and go green. And while filling in government paperwork can be frustrating, I think it’s only fair for them to check if your business is legitimate before they hand you what is essentially free money. I’m happy to answer any questions on solar or the USDA REAP grants and the IRA tax credits as well,” Zywietz said.
To learn more about SEK Solar visit the website at http://seksolar.com
Zywietz can be reached at (620) 431-1122 or email: [email protected].
Zywietz will be in Dubai for two weeks at the end of April.
“I’m mostly done with the handover to the new Enerwhere CEO and summers in Dubai are pretty miserable anyways,” he said.
To view a feature he wrote:
Zywietz plans to attend the Fort Scott Chamber Coffee meetings on Thursday mornings at 8 a.m. to answer questions from business owners., he said.
The Kansas Energy Program is also available to assist you through the entire REAP grant application process, according to its website.
Women’s Entrepreneurship Statewide Conference is June 14-15 in Fort Scott
The Farmers Market Vendors Meeting Starts the 2024 Season This Evening
After several years of planning and execution, the Fort Scott Farmers Market will be under the new pavilion on North National Avenue on May 4.
Tonight is the first vendor’s meeting of the season. This meeting is for returning vendors and anyone interested in becoming a vendor in 2024, Teri Hamilton, president of Fort Scott Farmers Market said.
The meeting is at the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team office at 104 N. National Avenue, across the street from the pavilion, from 6-8 p.m.
At tonight’s meeting, there will be introductions, information about market guidelines, applications, and fees “and a time to get to know each other a little better,” she said.
Vendors are not just farmers, “but we give preference to farmers and agriculture businesses,” Hamilton said.
“There are also baked goods and craft vendors,” she said. “We have 15 returning vendors.”
“We have space for up to 24 under the pavilion,” Hamilton said.
“The vendors will park in the parking spaces under the pavilion and the customers will go around to each vendor in the parking stall,” she said.
If more than that number of vendors want to be a part of the market, the vendor spaces will have to be reconfigured, and will be thoroughly discussed, she said.
The Farmers Market Committee comprises Hamilton, owner of Hamilton’s Artisan Bakery, as president; Ethan Holly, treasurer, of Still Waters Farm; and Leanna Cain, secretary, of Sweet County Farms.
Vendors pay $5 a week for a vendor space, and if payment is given for the whole year, it is $4 a week, she said.
The market is open on Tuesdays from 4-6 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon, starting on May 4 and continuing until the end of October.
There is a Healthy Bourbon County Action Team workshop on April 15 that will focus on how to get a license to sell at a farmers market, food laws and food safety.
“We want our vendors to have access to that resource,” she said.
Hamilton said the group is so thankful for the new space.
“The pavilion is so wonderful,” she said. “We are so thankful for the project and all the fundraising that took place and they didn’t have to give us the priority,” she said.
On opening day, May 4, there will be a ribbon cutting, live music and speakers for the pavilion’s first farmers market, Hamilton said. The Bourbon County Garden Club always has a live plant sale on the first day of the market season as well.
For more information, call Hamilton at 816-491-7884.
To see the latest on the Fort Scott Farmers Market:
https://www.facebook.com/fsfma
Kansans Can Win a Free Tree in Celebration of Safe Digging Month
Kansas Gas Service Promotes Safety and a Greener Community
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – April 2, 2024 – April typically marks the start of the spring planting season, home improvement projects and large-scale excavations. It’s also National Safe Digging Month, and Kansas Gas Service asks residents to commit to always digging safely. As a bonus, participants will have a chance to win a free tree.
“As a utility company dedicated to safety and environmental responsibility, we recognize the importance of safe digging practices,” says Trey Pool, manager of public awareness and damage prevention for ONE Gas, the parent company of Kansas Gas Service. “With our pledge challenge and tree giveaway, we hope to not only emphasize the importance of contacting 811 before digging but also to contribute to a healthier community.”
Dig Hero Tree Giveaway
Kansas residents can prioritize safety by taking the 2024 Safe Digging Pledge at beadigherokansas.com, and recognizing the need to contact 811 before their shovels or excavating equipment hits the ground – regardless of the size of digging project. After taking the pledge, they are automatically entered into a random drawing to win a free tree in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation, the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees in the U.S.
New this year, winners of the tree giveaway contest will pick the tree they wish to plant and receive information about energy savings gained from their tree.
Why Contact 811?
With any digging project, whether planting a tree or repairing a sprinkler system, there is a high probability of underground facilities below the site, such as natural gas pipelines, electric cables or water lines. The best way to avoid damage and injury or loss of service is to contact 811 at least two full working days before digging to learn the approximate location of buried facilities in your area. By calling 811 or submitting a request at Kansas811.com, professional locators will mark the underground facilities within the designated project area with flags and/or paint at no cost to the home or business owner. Once the project is marked, be aware of the tolerance zone: 2 feet on either side of the pipe. Hand or soft dig techniques should be used within this area.
Learn more about safe digging and take the pledge at beadigherokansas.com for your chance to win a free tree.
Digital Toolkit: Access b-roll, Safe Digging Month flyer and graphics here.
About Kansas Gas Service
Kansas Gas Service provides a reliable and affordable energy choice to more than 647,000 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&P MidCap 400 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, Nextdoor, LinkedIn and YouTube.
About the Arbor Day Foundation
The Arbor Day Foundation is the world’s largest membership nonprofit organization dedicated to planting trees with a focus in communities and forests of greatest need. The Foundation — alongside its more than 1 million members, supporters and valued partners — is committed to unlocking the power of trees to help solve critical issues facing people and the planet. Learn more about the impact of the Arbor Day Foundation at arborday.org.