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Category Archives: Business
The Artificers offers a school year art curriculum!
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The Artificers Newsletter For August
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Human Resource Roundtable Hosted by the Chamber on July 29 at Labconco
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Bourbon County Veterinary Clinic Is Open For Business
From the business Facebook page.
Bourbon County Veterinary Clinic, LLC is fully open for business at 1251 240th Street in Fort Scott.
Owners are Dr. Trent Callahan and Dr. Joely Roe Johnson.
Dr. Callahan and Dr. Joe (Joely Johnson) both come from an agricultural background and share a love for providing veterinary care to rural communities, Dr. Callahan said.
The new business is just over the Bourbon County line in Bates County, Missouri, where the two are vets at the Bates County Veterinary Clinic in Butler.
The two clinics will share goals, clients, veterinarians, and patients.
Their core values are “Keeping your pets happy and healthy and your livestock profitable!”
Dr. Joe and her family also call Bourbon County home, with her husband’s family having deep roots in the area, she said.
“We will have a broad range of experience and knowledge,” said Dr. Joe. “We will provide large animal and small animal services ranging from routine vaccines, surgeries, herd work, consulting, and much more. We are excited to serve Bourbon County and surrounding areas.”
Dr. Callahan earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Missouri with the class of 1998. He opened his first practice in 2008 in Bates County after practicing for eleven years as an associate veterinarian in Butler, Missouri.
Dr. Joe earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Purdue University, class of 2023
In 2021, Bates County expanded and remodeled its facility, offering the newest technology and expanding the veterinarians on staff. In 2023, Dr. Joe joined the Bates County Veterinary Clinic team.
They will have a rotation of four veterinarians with support staff at the Kansas clinic. Other vets who will be rotating are Dr. Levi Cade and Dr. Megan Westerhold.
Contact info: phone:620-223-1171, email: bourboncountyveterinary@gmail.
Hours of operation: Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m., Friday, 8:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.
Happenings At the Artificers
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Let’s Flamingle Shopping Event Downtown & Around Fort Scott, This Weekend
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Evergy Is Allowed to Recover Costs, From Customers
KCC approves settlement agreements allowing Evergy to
recover costs to build two gas plants and a solar facility
TOPEKA – This afternoon, the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) approved two settlement agreements which allow Evergy Kansas Central (EKC) to recover the cost of three new generation facilities intended to meet increasing electric demand and improve reliability. Last fall, the utility announced plans to build two gas plants and a solar facility. Evergy filed an application with the Commission in November, requesting a determination of how costs incurred will be recovered from customers.
The application generated a great deal of interest. In addition to Evergy and Commission Staff, 31 parties sought and were granted the right to intervene and formally participate in the proceedings. As a result of their work, the Commission was presented with two settlement agreements for consideration: a unanimous settlement agreement regarding the solar facility, and a non-unanimous settlement agreement on the gas plants.
Evergy is proposing the new solar facility (Kansas Sky) to be located in Douglas County and owned 100% by Evergy Kansas Central. The estimated cost of construction is $228.1 million. After careful review, the Commission found the unanimous settlement agreement related to Kansas Sky was supported by substantial, competent evidence, will result in just and reasonable rates, and is in the public interest. In making this finding, the Commission found the arguments regarding resource diversification compelling. To date, very little utility-scale solar generation has been successfully developed in Kansas, and the profile and attributes of solar energy, if developed, will be complimentary to existing generation in the region, including wind generation.
Evergy’s gas plant proposal calls for two 710 MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants. The Viola plant will be located near Evergy’s Viola Substation in Sumner County and is expected to operate by January 1, 2029. The McNew plant will be built in Reno County and is expected to operate by January 1, 2030. Evergy Kansas Central and Evergy Missouri West will each have 50% ownership in the gas plants. The cost of construction to Evergy Kansas Central is estimated at $788.75 million for the Viola plant and $800.52 million for the McNew plant.
The Commission finds approving the CCGT Settlement is in the public interest. The Commission believes the CCGT Settlement is an efficient and reliable plan to add generation capacity to Evergy’s fleet. Furthermore, the Commission believes the CCGT Settlement contains sufficient safeguards and guardrails to protect customers in the event of cost overruns.
The CCGT settlement will not immediately impact rates. Other than the Construction Work in Progress (CWIP) rider recently authorized by the Legislature, which Evergy can begin utilizing 365 days after construction begins on each plant, no other costs will be added to rates until Evergy files a subsequent rate case.
The frequency of rate cases is also addressed by the Commission in today’s order.
“The Commission is troubled by the frequency and magnitude of rate cases and strongly encourages Evergy to focus on pacing investment to better align with load growth and mitigate large rate increases. The Commission understands new investment is needed to support reliability and economic development in Kansas. However, affordability must be a major priority and proactively pursued as Evergy addresses a seemingly endless list of “justifiable” projects and initiatives. To meet future capacity needs, for example, the Commission will expect Evergy to demonstrate its serious consideration of less capital-intensive options like demand response, utilization of surplus interconnection sites and grid-enhancing technologies.”
Today’s order is available here.
The Kansas Sky unanimous settlement agreement is available here.
The CCGT non-unanimous settlement agreement is available here.
A recording of today’s Business Meeting featuring comments by Commissioners, is available on the KCC YouTube channel.
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Local Author Levi Qualls Publishes His First Book
Local author Levi Qualls, 29, grew up in Baxter Springs and graduated from Pittsburg State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration. While at P.S.U., he met his future wife, Taylor Schilling, and then earned his Master of Fine Arts in comics and storytelling from the Academy of Art, California, through its online program.
He became an author through the encouragement of an acquaintance.
“My first semester of college, my mom’s coworker saw some of my art and said I should be an artist. I wasn’t enjoying my first degree plan (biology), so I made the switch and never looked back.”
“After I earned my master’s degree and was working on the graphic novel of Calder, I realized that I was more interested in the actual story than I was in illustrating it. I have always loved to read, and it just made sense. I love it and it’s fun.”
“I still love drawing, and it was fun to illustrate a cover and chapter illustrations for this book!”
They moved to Fort Scott shortly before their first son was born, and it is here that he wrote most of this, his first book.
The Book
Qualls sent this synopsis of his book: The Sea and The Sword is
an escape into the world of Aegindus, where the gods of Olympus reign and destiny hangs in the balance. It is packed with fantasy, action, suspense, mythology, and magic. The Sea and The Sword is an adventure for anyone who loves getting lost in a great story.
There is a Parental Advisory with the book because it contains descriptions of battle scenes, but nothing more graphic than video games or even the Bible, he said.
To order the book: https://a.co/d/jbfK20z
Aside from being a full-time stay-at-home father of two and author, he also runs Hercules Hobby, a local trading card store in downtown Fort Scott.
Quadruplet Hair Sheep Born on Brock Farm
Matt and Sally Brock started Brock Farms in Bourbon County in 1994.
On June 23, the farm had its first set of Katahdin Hair Sheep quadruplet lambs born.
Katahdin hair sheep provide a practical option to producers who are primarily interested in raising a meat animal, with great lamb vigor, mothering ability and do not want to shear or are no longer able to find shearers, according to https://katahdins.org/
“In the 1970s, someone bred an African Hair Sheep with an English Suffolk Sheep,” Brock said. “It sheds its hair in the summer. The wool industry became unprofitable, so in America, it changed to meat sheep.”
The recent quadruplet lambs were taken to the barn for extra care and fed for two weeks, he said.
“The decision was made to separate one lamb for bottle feeding. The other three lambs and momma were put back on the pasture with the rest of the herd for grass grazing on July 1. All lambs are healthy.”
“The sheep farm has also raised five sets of triplets, but the ewes normally have twins or singles. Statistically, it is said a quad birth is 1 in 500. Their goat herd has produced two sets of quads from Kiko and Nubian goats in past years as well.”
About the Brock Farm
“The sign on the barn came from the original Kansas Brock Farm established in 1879 in Buffalo, KS. The one on the ground behind Mary came from my Dad’s farm in Humboldt, KS. All three farms had sheep in their livestock history,” Matt Brock said.
Brock Farms comprises 300 acres near Redfield and currently has 100 hair sheep ewes raising around 150 lambs yearly. They have four dairy goats. The family works together to care for the herds.
“We started with cattle and switched to sheep in 2010,” Matt Brock said. “When we sold cattle, we got 30 Kiko breed goats and 30 Katahdin hair sheep. We decided that hair sheep is what we preferred to put on our pasture. The dairy goats are more of a hobby farm.”
They give about two farm tours a month, he said.
The Business Retention and Expansion Survey Summary
Executive Summary
The Business Retention and Expansion Survey (BRES) was
conducted by HBCAT in collaboration with the City of Fort Scott
to assess the local business climate. The survey gathered 34
responses and six in-person interviews, reflecting ongoing
challenges in the region due to business closures.
Key Findings:
• Industry Composition: The largest sectors represented were Services (37.1%), Retail
Trade (22.9%), and Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate (14.3%).
• Employment Trends: 24% of businesses reported employment growth, 59% remained
stable, and 18% experienced declines.
• Workforce Challenges: 73% of respondents struggled with recruiting and retaining
workers, especially unskilled (38%) and semi-skilled employees (35%).
• Business Expansion & Financing: 18% of businesses plan to expand within two years,
while 15% reported forgoing expansion due to lack of financing.
Business Information Needs
Local businesses expressed a strong desire for more information on:
• Small business and entrepreneurial support resources tailored to the needs of startups and
local business owners.
• Workforce and job training programs to improve access to skilled labor and reduce hiring
challenges.
• Local market matching programs to connect businesses with regional suppliers,
customers, and partners.
• Access to capital and financing to support expansion, equipment upgrades, and working capital needs.
• Improved communication between local and state governments and businesses, to increase transparency and responsiveness.
Possible Actions Local Government Could Take:
1. Improve Marketing of the City – Increase promotional efforts to attract new residents, visitors, and businesses by showcasing Fort Scott’s assets, events, and opportunities.
2. Enhance Communication – Create clearer, more consistent communication channels between the City and the business community, including regular updates and outreach.
3. Develop Incentive Programs – Introduce or expand financial and regulatory incentives for new and existing businesses looking to launch or grow in Fort Scott.
4. Increase Workforce Development Efforts – Collaborate with HBCAT and other partners to create stronger pipelines for skilled labor and job training programs.
5. Address Housing as a Critical Need – Prioritize policies, partnerships, and development strategies that expand housing options for workers and families to support long-term
economic stability.
Next Steps for The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team:
1. Launch an Employer Learning Collaborative – Convene local employers to clarify their workforce needs, discuss shared challenges, and identify specific skill gaps, particularly around unskilled and semi-skilled labor. HBCAT may host panel discussions
and is seeking facilitation support to guide this effort.
2. Engage High School Students Through Mentorship and Incentives – Partner with high school business classes to connect students with the RCP Mentorship Program and Community Health Workers, and link them to financial incentives available through the
City’s small business grant program and local community college resources.
3. Explore Soft Skill Curriculum Implementation – Evaluate the existing soft skills curriculum used by SEK KANSASWORKS in other districts to determine cost and feasibility of implementing it in Fort Scott schools, with the goal of aligning with local employer expectations.
Submitted by Jody Love
The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, Inc.
Rural Community Partners
President and CEO
Office: 620-224-2563 Ext. 4
Cell: 620-215-2892
104 North National
Fort Scott, KS 66701
The Artificers July Newsletter
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