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Bronson Locker, 504 Clay Street, Bronson, KS has been expanding during the COVID 19 pandemic.
“We have had an overflow of work,” said Helen Bolling, who along with her husband, Raymond, known as Chubb, owns the meat locker. “We have had to put on more employees. We expanded our business. A new cooler, a new processing room.”
“People are buying local meat,” Bolling said. “People are wanting farm-raised meat. We are USDA inspected.”
Several Bourbon County meat producers provide meat to the locker, she said. J.D. Russell and Kevin Gleason from the Redfield area; Ryan Tuchscherer, Fort Scott; Henry and John Ericson, Hiattville all provide meat to Bronson Locker, to name a few, Bolling said.
They have spent a large amount of money to expand their meat locker business that processes beef, swine, sheep, and goats, Helen said. During deer season they add deer processing too.
From the Bronson Locker Facebook page:
“For people discouraged about the waiting list for beef appointments…
“It is always a good idea to… call and check regularly. We want your business as much as you want to sell your beef or stock your freezers.This week we were able to work seven people up off the waiting list. This week alone. Don’t feel discouraged we will make sure we take care of as many of you as we possibly can without sacrificing quality.
“Thank you to the farmers and families for all of your continued support.”
Family Owned and Run
They have twelve full-time and two part-time employees, all from Bourbon County, she said.
This is a family-owned and family-run business and 10 of the employees are family.
Besides Chubb and Helen, their son Mike is a butcher. In addition, Amber Ericson, their daughter, works at the locker when she is not teaching school at West Bourbon Elementary School in Uniontown. Helen’s nephews Jesse, Robert and Jim Kuns, the Bolling grandchildren Mandy and Garrett Ericson, and another grand-daughter in-law, Tyler Ericson, all work at the locker.
In addition, they have a long-term employee, Tom Bradbury, technician, “who keeps us up and going,” Mandie said.
The family has purchased some of the buildings adjacent to the locker and have opened an antique store on the main street of Bronson as well.
Roy and Jody Hoener have opened a new business in the historic Fort Scott downtown area.
“The name of the new apartments are called ‘H Bar Suites,'”, Jody Hoener said. “This was Roy’s cattle brand when he had cattle.”
The apartments are located in historic downtown Fort Scott, directly above Hole in the Wall Liquor, another business the couple own, and across from the Fort Scott National Historic Site, she said.
The physical address is 8 North Scott Street.
They are fully furnished apartments.
The Hoeners have used Ruddick’s Furniture, and local contractors: Casper Enterprises, Stoughton Plumbing, KTK Electric, and Perry Cannon to name a few. The cabinets were made by Kirby’s Cabinets.
“There are two apartments. The two-bedroom apartment is currently available, click on the link,” she said.
The couple hopes to have the one bedroom available at the end of this week, Hoener said.
“There were a few issues with furniture and appliances being back-ordered that has delayed the opening,” she said.
History of the Hoener businesses at the site
“Our project started in 2016 when we started looking for a place to move Hole in the Wall Liquor. (https://holeinthewallliquor.com/) ,” she said. “One stipulation we had to move as we wanted to remain downtown. As business owners with a vested interest in our community, we wanted to make a larger impact beyond a retail store. Downtown revitalization’s direct impact is well documented and has shown to spur local economies.”
“When we took on this old and condemned building downtown, it literally had poles coming from the middle of the street, up to the side of the building, holding up the wall, for almost a decade,” Hoener said. “This was quite the eyesore to one of the main entrances of our downtown.”
“Heather Smith, the city’s then Economic Development Director, showed us several downtown buildings,” she said. “It was a hard sale. All of the buildings were in such disrepair that it would be impossible for us to come up with the capital to make the needed improvements. The cost of replacing the roof was much more than the value of the whole building. In short, we discovered what many already knew: it would be impossible to obtain a loan on a worthless building. We learned first-hand why these buildings are sitting empty but also a few tricks, tips, and solutions to the problem.”
” Smith, through the City of Fort Scott, was able to offer us the State of Kansas Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for historic districts,” Hoener said. “This is a state-wide grant program, highly competitive, to help cities provide financial incentives to bring these condemned buildings back to life. After much thought and planning, working through the risks and unknowns of old buildings, and working with Smith and Dave Martin, we decided to take a leap of faith. ”
“Working with Smith (even after she took on a new job in Wisconsin!) and Susan Galemore at the Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission we wrote and submitted a winning CDBG grant,” she said. “The grant, paired with creative financing from Gregg Motley at Landmark National Bank, and lots of sweat equity, brought new life into the building, encouraging foot traffic downtown, and being a part of the momentum to spur economic growth.”
They had a plan and worked it.
“Our business plan was developed and written in phases,” she said. “The first phase was to move Hole in the Wall Liquor to the new location and open the retail liquor store.”
” The second phase was to then take advantage of the opportunity in the space upstairs and develop housing. We are now, four years later, almost to the end of that final phase,” Hoener said.
“Our initial plans were to use the space as market-rate apartments,” she said. “We have since decided to try marketing the space on VRBO as short term or vacation rental space. We have decided we can always offer them as apartments later if that does not work out.”
Evergy recently awarded $1,500 to the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes in support of the “Unsung Heroes of the Environment (Role Models for America’s Youth)” museum display. Ronda Hassig serves as project director. Norm Conard, Executive Director of the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes, said “Jacob Valentine II was an unsung hero that worked his whole life as an advocate for the environment and the species that live in it. Exhibiting Jacob Valentine II in our museum serves as a powerful role model for everyone who sees it. We are excited to share his story!”
About Evergy
Evergy wants to be a good neighbor, civic leader, and community partner in the communities they serve. They want communities to understand that the commitment they have to powering the lives of their customers goes beyond simply providing safe, clean, reliable energy. Evergy supports programs designed to invest in the education of tomorrow’s workforce to the skills and knowledge required are available to enable Evergy to thrive in the future.
About the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes
The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes works to transform classrooms and communities through student-driven projects that discover Unsung Heroes from history and teach the power of one to create positive change. Everyone, especially our young people deserve role models who demonstrate courage, compassion and respect. Jacob Valentine II was just such a hero!
The SPARK recipients are working to complete COVID-19 related projects by the end of 2020, as required by the grant program.
SPARK is responsible for the statewide distribution of the U.S. Coronavirus Relief Fund.
The total amount of grants disbursed in Bourbon County to over 100 entities was $2,835,212.86 on October 21, 2020, according to Bourbon County Economic Director Jody Hoener.
To see the list of recipients:
https://fortscott.biz/news/spark-projects-in-bourbon-county
The Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) taskforce is leading the state through recovery from the far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic, according to its’ website. https://covid.ks.gov/spark-recovery-office/
“Congress recently passed the new COVID bill that gave an extension to states and cities on spending this money for a year,” said Jody Hoener, the Bourbon County Economic Development Director. “The State of Kansas Recovery Office indicated there will be an extension on our spending plans, but unknown at this time how much of an extension we will receive.”
Locally, SPARK recipients have been balancing and reconciling expenses.
“At the county level we gathered the department heads who have been awarded funds for programs,” Hoener said. ” We went through every single dollar amount from the department and made sure it matched exactly what the County Clerks Office cut for a check and what Greenbush have in their reports. Any errors are caught and quickly corrected. From there, we subtract the total amount spent from the total amount allocated and have a final amount left to spend.”
The other recipients are also required to submit receipts and invoices of SPARK money, she said.
“For the community’s grant/award expenses( they) need to submit receipts and invoices to show dollars spent,” she said. “Greenbush is going through every single receipt and invoice with a fine-tooth comb. It is very time-consuming as you can imagine. From this, we have a very clear understanding of the amount spent and how much is left to be spent.”
The Southeast Kansas Educational Service Center (also known as Greenbush) was hired by the county commission to administer the SPARK distribution and oversight.
“Greenbush was contracted to administer the county SPARK funds,” Hoener said.
As with life in America at all levels, the COVID-19 Pandemic has affected schools.
Sunbeam Christian Preschool received SPARK funds to help them continue to teach young children, said owner Lindsay Hill.
“We are very thankful for the SPARK grant as it helped keep our doors open for another year,” she said. ” We are a private preschool, so we rely on tuition to pay bills and staff. We did not collect tuition after March but continued to provide online services for our preschoolers. This grant allowed us to continue to pay our staff and bills.”
“Although enrollment is down this fall because of COVID, Sunbeam Christian Preschool continues to provide a Christian learning experience for all their Sunbeamers,” she said.
“Sunbeam Christian Preschool has taken extra precautions to make sure their students can continue in-person learning, with extra cleaning, temperature checks at the door of children entering the building, no parents or adults allowed in the building, and much more,” Hill said.
History of Sunshine Christian Preschool
Sunbeam has been in operation since 1985, 30 years under the direction of Marilyn Barker.
Sunbeam Christian Preschool is now owned by Lindsay Hill and directed by Tonya Defebaugh.
The preschool has 3-5-year-olds and offers three different class times:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.; Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 12-1:30 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
“We are extremely blessed to be apart of the Fort Scott community and thankful for First Baptist Church, where our classroom is located,” she said. The church is located in downtown Fort Scott at the corner and Second and State Streets.
SPARK, The Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas program, is federal COVID-19 Pandemic recovery money that was given to the states and then to local entities.
Marshall Issues Statement on COVID Relief Legislation Passed on Dec. 21
WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman Roger Marshall, M.D. issued the following statement and details on the new COVID relief legislation.
“Millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses are being distributed and administered, bringing the hope and possibility of widespread immunity by mid-March. However, our nation still needs a bridge to help us to the spring. With that in mind, I’m supporting the $900 billion COVID relief bill. Since the summer, Republicans have called for a targeted relief package that prioritizes refunding the Paycheck Protection Program, funding for vaccine distribution, additional support for unemployed Americans and resources to allow our children to safely return to the classroom. This relief legislation delivers on all of those priorities and leaves out the unnecessary funding for cities and states and socialist priorities of the left.
This bill repurposes more than $500 billion in unused CARES Act funds to help hardworking Kansans make it through these next winter months. By reopening the highly successful Paycheck Protection Program, which saved more than 500,000 Kansas jobs this year, we will ensure that assistance is again available to struggling small businesses and improvement are made to address issues raised by lenders and business owners.
Families will receive another stimulus check, and federal unemployment benefits have been extended for both full-time and contract workers. Finally, this legislation includes essential funding for the continued manufacturing and distribution of the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. This package not only will help families, small businesses, and communities still struggling with the impacts of COVID-19, but it also gives us the tools we need to defeat this virus.”
The COVID Relief bill does the following:
“As a physician I often tried to share a message of hope to patients facing a tough diagnosis,” said Rep. Marshall “Over the past 11 months, I’ve learned even more about how important hope is to all of us. With the vaccines being distributed and given, and now this next phase of COVID relief, I believe hope is visibly there for all Kansans. This Christmas season, I encourage those of us with more than enough to reach out to our neighbors who might benefit from some encouragement and a message of hope.”
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President and CEO of Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas Krista Postai gave an update on some recent collaborations.
Food Storage With New Ft. Scott Grocery Store
One collaboration is with the Star Emporium Downtown General Store, owned by Bill Michaud of BAJA Investments.
Michaud reached an agreement with the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas to provide food storage space to expand the food distribution and delivery programs CHC/SEK is currently offering in Crawford County into Fort Scott, with services beginning in January, he said. The store will provide the food storage piece.
To learn more about this new downtown venture:
Star Emporium Downtown General Store To Open Early Next Year
“With the pandemic, we’re finding more and more people are struggling and challenged to find food, so we’re going to be adding food distribution to our list of services,” Postai said. “The folks in Ft. Scott are providing our freezer and refrigerator space within the basement of the grocery store for any donated food or purchased food from Kansas Food Bank or other local partners.”
“This will not be used as a distribution point for community members, just a place for us to store it,” she said. “Our long-term plan is to create a Food Rx program for chronically ill and food-insecure patients and to offer grocery delivery to homebound patients throughout our region. It’s always great to find partners willing to help and this is a great example.”
Part of Kansas Distribution Plan For COVID-19 Vaccine
“We are part of the state’s overall plan for (COVID-19 vaccine) distribution and are anxiously awaiting its arrival,” Postai said. “We just learned that we may be receiving one of the ‘super’ freezers from the state which would make the vaccine more accessible. Once available, we will be following state guidelines on priority immunizations which I believe will be front-line medical personnel first. For the latest information on the state’s plan, go to https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/284/COVID-19-Vaccine.”