Governor Laura Kelly Signs Bill Providing $50 Million of Financial Relief to Kansas
Small Businesses
TOPEKA –Surrounded by small business leaders in downtown Topeka, Governor Laura Kelly today signed bipartisan House Bill 2136, which will invest $50 million to help small businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Providing $50 million of financial assistance for small businesses is just one more way my Administration is working to make Kansas the most pro-business state in the country,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “The financial assistance legislation I signed today will support our entrepreneurs by ensuring they can make the investments they need to hire workers, strengthen their product lines, and better serve their communities.”
“Small businesses are what power our economy, and this legislation builds on years of work to ensure they have the resources they need to continue to serve customers and create jobs,” said Senator Tom Holland. “Through bipartisan collaboration, we will be able to continue to make sure that our economy continues to grow a strong base of businesses here in Kansas.”
Governor Kelly was joined at the bill signing by small business owners, the Greater Topeka Partnership, and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce.
“House Bill 2136 is a product of the many people who have shown unwavering commitment to Kansas small businesses,” Eric Stafford, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, said. “On behalf of the Kansas business community, thank you to Governor Kelly and the legislature for supporting this legislation. It will provide relief for the small businesses that make up the backbone of our state.”
Suzanne Griffin had opened her home to feed over 30 high school students on Wednesday evenings before the COVID-19 Pandemic started, which she calls a supper club.
Submitted photos.
The stay-at-home mom of six children had been told she was a good cook and mentioned the idea of a supper club to friends.
In April 2022 Griffin began her business of making homemade, pre-assembled meals to sell.
The name of her business is Twigs & Berries, and the meals are made in her home at 1211 S. Judson. She makes family-style meals ready to pick up, take home, bake and enjoy.
“We are going into our third month and serve between 80-100 orders each Wednesday night,” she said. “Customers place orders ahead of time online through a form, or message me and then pick up curbside.”
Each meal includes a main dish, two side dishes and a dessert.
“We also offer mason jar salads, frozen entrees, full side desserts and once a month a breakfast pickup,” she said. “We have been so blessed to offer meals that are delicious, affordable and family-friendly. It was an answer to prayer to provide for our family at the same time to be a blessing to others.”
Rechelle, Joshua and Julie McClellan. Submitted photo.
Main Street Gallery & Gifts has a new name to rebrand because of additions to the store, located at 23 S. Main in downtown Fort Scott’s historic district.
Since April, it is now called Main Street Vintage and Co.
“We have been wanting to re-brand for sometime now, and we finally made a decision,” said Josh McClellan,one of the owners.
Submitted graphic.
The owners remain the same: Julie McClellan and her son, Josh, and daughter in-law Rechelle.
The family started their store in Oct. 2000.
Since Oct. 2019,Rechelle has been working full time and since then, “We have done a total transformation,” Josh said. “We now have more than 60 vendors.”
“We wanted to reflect our store with a new and improved name.” he said. “We needed something more upscale. We offer several boutique vendors and we have numerous furniture artists. We offer more products also, from DIY chalk paint, to decoupage papers and stencils by Jami Ray Vintage, and transfers, stamps, and molds by Iron Orchid Designs.”
Decoupage papers are now available at the store. Submitted photos.
“We have people that have never been to the store and they come in and say ‘Wow, it’s beautiful here!’ We wanted to show that in our name.”
“We changed our name at the end of April 2022 on all of our social media platforms,” Josh said. “Julie and I have been working on the name change with several vendors for sometime now,” Josh said. “We are proud of all of our accomplishments and wanted to show the public.”
Sports Performance Training – Training designed specifically for an individual to increase general and sport specialized sports performance. It is crucial to improving an athlete’s ability to master the skills of their chosen sport, reduce the risk of injury, and gain a competitive edge. Scheduled individually or in small groups each athlete has training designed specifically to teach proper movement patterns that will improve their speed, power, agility, and more. Athletes from any and all sports benefit from Sports Performance Training.
Sports Performance Training is scheduled on an individual or small group basis Tuesdays to Fridays.
Pricing –
7 to 11 years old – $50 for 12 sessions (2 sessions per week for 6 weeks)
12 years old and older – $75 for 12 sessions (2 sessions per week for 6 weeks)
Monthly pricing is available after the first 12 sessions
Skills Room Access
Volleyball – Utilize the Sports Attack Volleyball Skillz Attack machine. This machine can Serve, Pass, Set, and Hit. It allows any player to train any and all the positions by themselves anytime they want or need to. The Skillz Attack can also be used in small groups. Volleyball will be set-up for scheduling on Wednesdays.
Softball/Baseball – Train like an elite athlete with the Hack Attack Softball and Baseball pitching machine. Both machines can pitch multiple pitches and simulate a live pitcher by throwing balls around the strike zone instead of just straight pitches. 20 minutes against the machine will allow an athlete to see an average of 75 pitches. The Softball/Baseball machines will be set-up for scheduling on Tuesdays and Thursday for individuals and groups of less than 5 players.
All training is by appointment and on a first come first serve basis and will be the following:
Tuesdays – Softball/Baseball
Wednesdays – Volleyball
Thursdays – Softball/Baseball
Sundays, Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays – Skills Room is closed to all scheduling
Skills Room Pricing
30 minutes – $25
1 hour – $40
A loyalty program will be in place for those who qualify
All previously purchased packages will continue to be honored
Emelia Whiteaker, MS, ATC, PES – Owner/Operator/Trainer
A native of Fort Scott, she received her Bachelor’s of Science in Athletic Training from Washburn University and a Master’s of Science in Health Promotion with an emphasis in Sports Performance and Injury Prevention from California University of Pennsylvania. Emelia holds certifications from the Board of Certification in Athletic Training and the National Academy of Sports Medicine as a Performance Enhancement Specialist. Over a 15 year career she has trained athletes ranging in age from 6 years old to the professional levels and sports that include: Football, Distance Running, Softball/Baseball, Volleyball, Track and Field, Basketball, Soccer, Golf, Rodeo, Hockey and more. Many of Emelia’s athletes have gone on to be individual and team state champions and compete as elite athletes. It is her belief that every child that has the heart to be an athletes has the potential to be an athlete and it is her job to help them get there.
Momentum Indoor Training can be reached by Call or Text at (620) 224-8442, e-mail: momentumtraining@yahoo.com or message the Facebook page: @mitrainingfs.
Labconco is the Business of the Year for 2022. Submitted photos.
On Friday, April 29th , Tri-Valley Developmental Services held their 2022 Award Ceremony to celebrate individual achievements as well as community support in Bourbon county. The ceremony took place at 1 pm at Tri-Valley’s Service Center located in Fort Scott’s Industrial Park. Awards were presented to the following individuals:
Business of the Year – Labconco
Employer of the Year – Wendy’s Ol’ Fashioned Hamburgers of Fort Scott
Achievement Award – Crystal Douglas
Winfred Jent Award – Judge Mark Ward
Mark Ward was selected at the Winfred Jent Award winner for 2022. Submitted photos.
Board of Director’s Award – Ken Anderson
Lifetime Achievement Award – Mertz Tax Service
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Mertz Tax Service with Janice Allen accepting.Submitted photos.
Refreshments were served following the ceremony. Attendees received a Tri-Valley cup as a takeaway.
Submitted by Tricia Campbell, Special Projects Coordinator at
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce announces a Step into Summer Sidewalk Sale that will take place Downtown and Around on Saturday, May 21st.
Participating merchants include Angie Dawn’s Boutique, Bartelsmeyer Jewelry, Bids & Dibs, Hare & Crow barber Shop, Hedgehog.INK! Bookstore, Iron Star Antiques & Such, Main Street Vintage & Co., Mayco Ace Hardware, Museum of Creativity Gift Shop, Ruddick’s Furniture & Flooring, Shirt Shack, Sunshine Boutique, and Treasure Hunt Flea Market.
The Step into Summer Sidewalk Sale is a great opportunity to support locally owned retailers while enjoying refreshments and finding good deals.
Contact the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce for more information at 620-223-3566 or visit fortscott.com.
Eddie Townley and his wife, Susan, have purchased two historic buildings in downtown Fort Scott.
Ed and Susan Townley with their daughters from left Cheyanne Griffin, Dani Townley and Ella Townley. Pictured in the store front before the renovation of the building at 11 N. Main began in November 2021.
One, 11 N. Main, is now completed and put to use, the other, 12 N. Main is on the agenda for updating.
11 N. Main seen through the front window. May 2022.
11 N. Main is the former Books and Grannies Book Store which was purchased in January 2021, while 12 N. Main is the former Country Cupboard.
11 N. Main as seen from the back door on Skubitz Plaza. May 2022.
At 11 N. Main, “We emptied it out, rearranged some walls, and made an ADA compliant bathroom on the first floor,” Townley said. “We also did painting, new flooring and painted the ceiling.”
“It turned out really nice,” he said. “It is rented by a Fort Scott Greyhound legacy group, as a gathering place.”
The building has about 1,700 square feet on the first floor. The second floor is a later project, he said.
12 N. Main, the former Country Cupboard
12 N. Main is slated for renovation completion in the summer of 2022, according to new owner Eddie Townley.
12 N. Main was purchased by the Townleys in December 2021.
“We are going to give it a good facelift and bring it up to date,” he said. “Bathrooms, flooring, painting.” The timeline is summer 2022 completion.
“The Country Cupboard was a great building with good bones,” Townley said.
This building use is undetermined as yet, Townley said.
12 N. Main was formerly the Country Cupboard, a decades old business which was an anchor in the historic Fort Scott Downtown.
Townley said he “wants to see the downtown come back to life,” and wants to be active in the revitalization.
“We would, like the Renard’s want to be involved in the community,” he said.
Judy and John Renard owned the Country Cupboard for many decades and was an anchor store in downtown Fort Scott.
to answer workforce questions, please forward to the person within your organization who can respond.
Employers of all sizes are asked to respond.
Thank you!
The Chamber is sending in
partnership with Bourbon County REDI
Greetings!
RE: Important Survey of Workforce for our Area – Your Response is Appreciated!
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce is supporting Bourbon County REDI (Regional Economic Development, Inc.) on an important survey of workforce for our area. This survey is looking for your input on the availability, education and training levels of your workforce and difficulties in hiring. It also asks some questions related to housing, as it impacts workforce attraction and retention.
This survey only needs to be completed by one PRIMARY contact for each business/organization. As such, I hope you will take about 15 minutes to answer this important survey.
If you are not the right person to address these questions, please forward to the person within your organization who can respond.
Again, your input is very critical to insuring REDI and the Chamber have a good view of the current and future workforce needs. Please take the survey today.
Since Larry and Vickie Shead’s retirement as educators a few years back they have been showcasing their farm to the public.
They started an event last year for visitors to explore and gather ideas from the Shead’s sustainable lifestyle farm.
“We feel we are just caretakers (of the farm),” Vickie Shead said. “This is what God has given us to do.”
“The Shead Farm Homestead Festival is great for all ages with the farm’s 50 point tour, children’s educational game center, music, and food court, all setting the stage for new innovative ideas and educational information about gardening and farming that produce quality food,” she said.
On May 21 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. they are opening their farm to the public for the second annual Shead Farm Homestead Festival, located at 2468 Cavalry Rd, Garland, KS, southeast of Fort Scott.
In addition to a farm tour of their gardens, orchard, greenhouse, animals and bee keeping activities there will be a food court serving products made at the farm: walking tacos for $5 and supercharged cookies for $2.
The inside view of the Shead hoop house.
Vendors will be selling seedlings, soap, honey and more.
The farm will be filled with sounds of live music by many local musicians, David Pritchett, Ralph Carlson, Mim Carlson and Carolyn Tucker. Also, a local group called the Prairie Sunflower Strings will perform as well: Marilyn Adcock, Charlena Burns, Jack and Sandy Hemphill, Joyce Love, Cherry Nelson, Jean Strader, Stephen Moses. There will also be an open jam session. Sound is provided by Dave Oas.
Children will have lots to choose from for activities: an animal arena, story station, photo place, cow milking, butter making, and more.
Some of the Shead poultry
Admission for the day is $5 per person or $20 for a family of four and more.
Their children and their spouses will be helping the day of the festival excluding Michael and Chrisi Shead and family, who are missionaries to Guatemala. Those who will be helping May 21 are: Mark and Haley Shead, Mitzi and Joel Ray, and Maria and Clayton Whitson, along with most of their 21 grandchildren. Many other volunteers are helping to make this a great family outing.
In 1978, Larry and Vickie Shead moved to their family’s 1892 homestead with a goal of having a healthy, sustainable, organic farm.
They began to produce fruits, vegetables, herbs and animals, and also to teach and train the family the value of hard work as a fun activity and entertainment.
Before “agritourism” was a word, the Sheads found themselves welcoming guests who wanted to experience farm life. These included: school field trips, church camps, reunions, weddings, and large Thanksgiving gatherings.
Over the decades, five colleges used the farm for weekend retreats where students could experience the life of work and fun in the outdoors. Over 3000 students representing 50 states and 54 different countries have come to enjoy the farm.
In 2017, Vickie’s dream of a high tunnel (greenhouse) became a reality through a Natural Resource Conservation Service grant, through the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.
“The high tunnel not only extends the growing season but helps protect against insects and chemical contaminants that might drift from neighboring farms,” she said.
In 2021, the Shead Farm was registered as an Agritourism Farm with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism
VEGGIE POWDER
Over 44 years, Vickie has planted, grown, harvested, and preserved all her organic produce surplus which was dehydrated and ground into extremely fine powder and added to cookies, eggs, smoothies, peanut butter sandwiches, meats, soups, casseroles, puddings, salads, etc.
It is called VEGGIE POWDER.
The powder provides extra nutrients for families constantly on the go, parents of difficult eaters, or those wanting a more healthy natural diet, she said.
The concentrated organic Veggie Powder from the Shead Farm has an interested beginning.
“Having 250 kindergartners come to the farm for a fun, farm field trip was an eye opener,” Vickie said. “The school provided healthy sack lunches. However, when the trash was emptied, almost all of the carrots and most of the apples were in the trash along with half-eaten peanut butter sandwiches. The cookies were ALL EATEN. Children, as well as adults, often choose to eat what they want to eat, pushing the healthy vegetables to the side.Vegetables are sadly missing in so many diets.”
VEGGIE POWDER is made without fillers. In each bottle, she uses available vegetables: kale, cucumbers, zucchini, chard, sweet potatoes, sweet potato leaves, summer squash, carrots, carrot tops, butternut squash, okra, spinach, beets, beet greens, eggplant, Malabar spinach, and Moringa.
Veggie Powder will be available for sale on the day of the festival and additionally, the powder is sold on Etsy for $5 per oz.
After ordering, each customer receives a thank you card with a recipe on the back, usually made by Vickie and Larry’s grandchildren.
Customers can visit their Facebook page for inspiration on how to incorporate the powder into their meals.
