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Category Archives: Business
FS Community Closet Give-Away This Saturday
The Washateria, 501 S. National, is having a clothes give-away this Saturday.
“We are having our June 2021 Community Day on Saturday, June 19, 2021,” Lori Lovelace, owner, said. “It will be open 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and we will have all of our sorted clothing out for anyone to come by and find something.”
“Fort Scott Community Closet is a clothing charity supported by all of Fort Scott,” she said. “We serve Fort Scott and surrounding communities providing clothing, bedding, coats etc. to people in need.”
“We have no qualifying criteria,” Lovelace said. ” if you need clothing you can come to the Community Day or call us at 620-644-9834 and we can sort out what you need.”
“We also have men’s suits and business attire as well as women’s business attire.”
Penny’s Diner: Open 24/7, Even Holidays
At the Travel Lodge Hotel in Fort Scott, meals are available to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Even Christmas, Thanksgiving, the 4th of July,” said Rhonda Walker, general manager of the hotel.
“We have a full menu, all day, every day,” she said. “If you want a hamburger at 3 a.m. you can get it, if you want breakfast at 2 p.m. you can get it. We get some late-nighters.”
Penny’s Diner is located in the lobby of the hotel at 2505 S. Main and has been there for six years.
“People can order online and pay there, or can call in an order, or can come in,” Walker said. “Go to http://pennysdiner.com/ and it will bring up the menu.”
“We’ve got some really good cooks,” she said.
“Our hotel is a BNSF Railroad Hotel, and we also house regular guests,” Walker said. “We have 70 rooms, with nine of them extended stay.”
What’s Happening In Fort Scott: June 11 Newsletter
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Pain Management Massage Therapy Moves To Uniontown
From left Ruritan Members Mark Warren, Kevin Gleason, Raymond George, Joe George, Mauriel Whisenhunt-the owner, Henry Homan, and Mike Mason, stand in front of the business at 104 Sherman, Uniontown.
Mauriel Whisenhunt helped her grandfather, Clyde Brooker, when he was homebound and had edema.
“I would massage his feet, arms, and back,” she said. “He was the first who said God has given me a gift.”
This prompted her to begin a career in massage therapy.
Whisenhunt’s massage therapy is pain management, she said.
“I do pain management,” she said. “Everybody is different, I work to accommodate what the body may need.”
Whisenhunt said she is grateful for her clients.
She said many in the business don’t make it.
“Longevity in massage is five years,” she said. “It’s hard work.”
“I have so much gratitude for the personal relationships with people, watching client’s kids grow up, working in hospice,” she said. ” I have so much overwhelming gratitude. Every place I have been, it’s God’s timing.”
She is constantly learning, even after 20 years.
“There is so much new coming out about science and massage,” she said.
Her constant challenge is trying to help people get out of pain and helping them with pain management, she said.
Whisenhunt has been a massage therapist for 20 years.
Last year, she moved her business, Bodyworks and Wellness, to Uniontown, where she lives.
“COVID (the pandemic of the last year) prompted me to open shop in Uniontown,” Whisenhunt said. “I think all small businesses had to reshape their business plan.”
“We were told by the (Kansas) governor that we couldn’t work,” she said. “I was quarantined five times, two weeks each time from different places of contact.”
“When you can’t work, you have no income,” she said.
She and her husband, Rick, live in Uniontown and in addition, own a large building there.
“We revamped a small portion of his hobby space,” she said.
The building is located at 104 Sherman, just off Uniontown square. For an appointment call 620-224-7251.
Jayhawk Wind Update: laydown yard, access roads and excavation
The Jayhawk Wind power project is progressing in Bourbon County.
The following is an update from Julianna Pianelli, development manager for Apex Clean Energy, based in Charlottesville, VA.
Q: Will you give an update on the progress of the wind power farm in Bourbon County, KS?
A: “Construction is underway; we are currently installing access roads and recently completed the laydown yard (located off Highway 39, west of Highway 3), where our core project staff and job trailers will be located. We are now beginning to excavate the foundations for the wind turbines.”
Q: Who is the contact on the ground here in Bourbon County?
A: “The construction site manager for Apex is Tharon Anderson.”
Q: Are there still jobs available and what is the contact?
A: “IEA, the project’s contractor, would have information about job openings and other construction-related information. Please come to the construction office at the laydown yard located near the Highway 39 and Highway 3 junction for more information.”
Q: When will we start to see them going up?
A: “The turbine components will begin arriving on-site at the end of July, and the erection will begin shortly after that.”
Q: When will it be completed?
A: “ The anticipated completion date is in Q4 (fall) 2021.”
Chamber Coffee hosted by Sharky’s Pub & Grub
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce invites members and guests to a Chamber Coffee and Ribbon Cutting ceremony this Thursday, June 10th at 8 a.m. to celebrate the tenth-year anniversary of Sharky’s Pub & Grub in the Downtown Historic District at 16 N. National Avenue. Coffee, juice and light refreshments will be served. Enter your name for a prize drawing.
Owner’s Dave and Tina Lipe celebrating 10 years of Sharky’s in our community. Join us at 8 am this Thursday to celebrate and thank the Lipe’s and staff for all they do to provide a great dining & event venue for our community.
Contact the Chamber of Commerce at (620) 223-3566 for more information.
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Alice Maffett, Public Health Nurse, Retires June 26
SEK Multi-County Health Department lead nurse, Alice Maffett BSN, RN, is retiring after 20 plus years.
“I have worked in public health for over 21 years besides working as a clinical nurse in different settings such as obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopedic and psychiatric medicine,” she said.
“I have always enjoyed the aspect of public health even when I was in nursing school,” she said. “Public health allowed me the opportunity to work with my community partners and to further good health practices in this county.”
She did this through immunization clinics, teaching health-related subjects in schools, disease investigations, and public speaking to community groups.
“The best part of working in public health was the people in our community I got to help every day,” she said.
” I can honestly say that the most challenging issue that I’ve had to face with my job has been the COVID outbreak,” Maffett said. “At one point I was working seven days a week from early morning until the evening. This virus has just been relentless. I believe it has wearied all of us.”
Maffett’s last day officially with the SEK Multi-County Health Department will be June 26.
“I will start a new chapter in my life from that point and I’m excited to see where God will lead me,” she said.
“Thank you to all the many, many community members and organizations that I have had the privilege of working with during my time in public health. I will miss them all,” Maffett said.
Bartelsmeyer Jewelry Moves Downtown This Month
Bartelsmeyer Jewelry is moving from1519 South National Avenue to 22 North Main Street in downtown Fort Scott, on June 18.
“In February 2014, my wife Cindy and I purchased 22 North Main in downtown Fort Scott,” owner John Bartelsmeyer said. “Cindy had a dream of renovating the upstairs into a loft apartment that we could enjoy as we move towards our retirement years.”
“Now that we are moved into our apartment, we have enjoyed watching the new growth and life these past few years have brought to Fort Scott’s historic downtown area,” he said. “We are so excited to help continue this revitalization as we move our storefront back to Main street. We hope that the Fort Scott community is as excited as we are and will continue to be supportive of all our downtown business!”
“We are planning for our first day open at the new store to be June 18, 2021,” he said.
“We are planning to sell the store at 1519 S. National after we have moved to the new 22 North Main location,” he said. “We hope that the new business owners will enjoy this building as much as we have!”
A History of the Jewelry Store
“Our jewelry store has been in business operating under the name Bartelsmeyer Jewelry since 1963,” John Bartelsmeyer said. “However, our store was first opened under the name ‘F Whiles Jewelry & Watches’ in 1904. The store was later purchased by Ova Newberry who grew up with my father, M. H ‘Bart’ Bartelsmeyer. “
“They learned the watchmaking trade together as young men,” Bartelsmeyer said. “Mr. Newberry asked my father to come and help him get caught up in 1939. My dad was on his way to go to work in Denver. He came to Fort Scott to help Ova, but they never got caught up. My father stayed and worked with Ova until he died in 1963.”
“Ova’s wife sold my dad the business and it became Bartelsmeyer Jewelry,” he said.
Employees currently are John Bartelsmeyer-owner and bench jeweler, Cindy Bartelsmeyer-owner, Krysta Hulbert-store manager,
Jenna Bond-sales associate, Emily Farrington-sales associate, Anna Laubenstein-sales associate, and Julie Kibble-sales associate.
What’s Happening in Fort Scott! June 4th Weekly Newsletter
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Small Town Proud: Bronson Offers Shop Day
In a collaboration with local business owners, the Bronson Locker has started a Saturday shop day and is inviting local vendors and the public.
The street in front of the locker at 504 Clay Street, Bronson, is the venue and the dates are every other weekend: June 5th and 19th, July 3rd and 17th, and 31st, and Augusta 14th and 28th.
“The purpose of the sale is to bring local vendors and the community together to shop and support local,” Mandie Ericson, one of the sponsors of the event. “And It’s a way to bring the community together in general.”
“What this last year has taught us is that we are a strong country and small business in America is vital and the backbone of America,” she said. ” We want to keep pushing local vendors and small businesses.”
“For some people, (the COVID-19 Pandemic) negatively impacted them with a lack of farmer’s markets or events to sell at, so we want to attract more people into Bronson as well as help other vendors in need.”
“We are looking for more vendors to make this grow,” Erickson said. “We plan on continuing this every year!”
“Bronson is centrally located so we are trying to bring people in from Allen and Bourbon county to take advantage of our location being surrounded by small towns,” she said.
“So far we have the locker open for retail meats, the antique shop is open, Perry’s Pork Rinds, fresh farm honey, homemade pies, homemade jams, Super Poop and Highway 54 Buildings, and other vendors,” Ericson said.
“A local restaurant, The Chicken Shak offers a 10% discount for anyone that comes, and we match their discount if they have eaten at Chicken Shak,” she said.
Local Patriots by Gregg Motley
In a previous column entitled “Successful Small Towns”, I listed the 11 common factors held by towns eluding the negative growth megatrends, noted by researcher James Fallows during his 55,000 mile travels around the USA. One of those factors listed is “Local Patriots”. Who are those leaders who keep the town moving toward progress? Who are the straws that seem to stir every drink?
In the last 20 years, we have seen American leadership gradually transition from the “Greatest Generation”, to the “Silent Generation, to “Baby Boomers”, and now to Gens X, Y, and Z. In many cases, this transition has not been smooth. All these generations tend to view the world and our country much differently, and sometimes the gens have devolved into competing camps and conflicts.
We have seen these types of lively battles in various communities in Bourbon County, playing out in commission rooms and conferences rooms everywhere. Many of us have witnessed loud encounters between commissioners with diverse priorities, critical citizens, organization board members and trustees charged with the public trust. Uncomfortable. Discouraging. It gives us a feeling that our communities are not doing very well.
I disagree. We have so much going for us! I believe that Bourbon County and our towns are on the verge of a leadership surge that will pave our way to progress. We have a unique opportunity to create a common vision of success, bringing together the list of generations, including past, present and future leaders to set aside personal agendas in favor of the common good. We need the wisdom of age and the energy of youth to unite behind the investments that will make our communities better. We need to start trusting each other again.
How do we bring this to reality? First, civic leaders of the past have to come out of retirement. We need you! Current leaders need to expand their vision to be more inclusive, and more young people need to take the personal risk to get involved in setting goals for our communities.
It is human nature to battle for scarce resources when the population drops and assets dwindle. We become fearful and retreat into “every person for themselves” mindsets. When we invest our time, talent and treasure toward the common good, instead of our own narrow interests, it is risky and we become vulnerable. These are risks Local Patriots are willing to take.
Step forward. Invest your resources. Suggest, LISTEN, and seek understanding. Drop your grudges. Don’t assume. Don’t yell! Pursue the common good. I believe we can create a plan for our communities to resist the megatrends that are impacting virtually every small town in America, and make BB a more attractive place to live and work.
I leave you with a quote from the One who I consider the greatest Teacher who ever lived: “…let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.” I encourage you to serve our communities with the resources you have.