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Category Archives: Business
Micro-Meat Processing Plant Being Considered For a Property South of Fort Scott
The Fort Scott Planning Commission is meeting at 4 p.m. March 1 at city hall, 123 S. Main, to consider a conditional use permit for property south of the town for a micro-meat processing plant.
The property being considered is south of the Kansas Department of Transportation property, according to the press release from the City of Fort Scott. The K.D.O.T property is south of the LaRoche Baseball Park.
The Bourbon County Economic Director Jody Hoenor sent the following information on the proposed plant.
“Billy Madison, the owner of W Diamond M Meats, will be seeking the approval of a conditional use permit from City of Fort Scott Commission,” Hoenor said. “He plans to return to his hometown and build a $2.7million micro meat processing plant located approximately two miles outside the city limits of Fort Scott and south of the Fort Scott Industrial Park.”
“The processing plant will add to our efforts in building resilient and self-sustaining food systems,” Hoenor said. “The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for these smaller-scale processing plants, and we are very fortunate to be considered for this expansion. This proposal has potential to help farmers and ranchers with extra supplemental income act as a stimulus for other sectors such as retail trade and services.”
“The site is currently zoned correctly as heavy industrial for use,” she said. “The City of Fort Scott codes requires an additional conditional use permit approval for a meat processing plant to be built.”
The City of Fort Scott Water Department and Codes Enforcment were consulted on sewer and wastewater issues, she said.
“The codes department let us know we would need a conditional use permit to build on the selected site,” Hoener said.
Since July 2020, Madison has been working with Hoener and Bourbon County Economic Development Council Chairs, Steve Buerge (previous), and more recently Gregg Motley, she said.
“It is Madison’s goal is to be a good neighbor, bring above-average wage jobs, and provide value in under-developed land,” Hoenor said. “Financing of the project and acquisition of land is pending approval of the conditional use permit.”
“All impacts on social, economic, and environmental conditions were investigated thoroughly including air and water quality, crime rate, property valuation, wage growth, employment growth, occupational health, and odor,” she said.
“State of the art wastewater system is used to remove suspended matter such as oils and solids,” Hoenor said. “This is measured through biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). The equipment skims any leftover matter and is sold. Bacteria growth is what creates an offensive odor,” she said.”The requirements in cleaning are incredibly stringent and does not allow time for bacteria to grow. As a result, there is no offensive odor in the processing plant.”
“This is a highly regulated industry with a USDA inspector office on sight,” she said. ” It is a requirement in building plans that the USDA inspector has a separate office with his/her own shower. This inspector is on-site at all times while in operation. There are 3-4 additional inspections per month, in order to keep our food safe to consume.”
“There will be no outdoor pens or holding areas for animals, mitigating smell downwind or in the vicinity,” Hoenor said. “Animals are delivered in the very early morning hours and several hours later slaughtered and processed.”
“Letters of support from residential houses in Johnson County and commercial businesses have confirmed the business is a conscientious neighbor,” she said.
In addition, the product can be sold in other states and will bring new jobs.
“W Diamond M Meats is FSIS approved, allowing the meat to be sold across state lines, injecting capital into our economy,” Hoenor said. “This business will bring 30 full-time jobs that pay higher than Bourbon County average. The new construction increases overall county valuation in property and affords the opportunity to reduce the overall tax burden.”
Presbyterian Village Auction: One and One-Half Years Accumulation on Feb. 27
The COVID-19 Pandemic has set individuals and groups rethinking fundraising ideas.
This is true for Fort Scott Presbyterian Village, which will have its’ annual fundraising auction this Saturday, Feb. 27 at the former Gordman’s store, 2400 S. Main. The auction begins at 10 a.m.
“Traditionally, the auction is known for a great crowd, good food, and lots of good deals,” said Executive Director Ginger Nance. “This year, the need remains for financial support for the Good Samaritan Program and other resident-centered programs. However, the auction looks different this year. We will not provide food or raffles or any of the usual festivities.”
The auction helps fund programs to benefit the elderly residents who live at the assisted living facility.
“The 2021 auction benefits resident programs at Fort Scott Presbyterian Village,” Nance said. “Our mission is to provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have had to pivot and rethink the way we serve the mission and how the community can interact with our mission.”
“Due to the pandemic, our campus has really limited the public’s access and even at times restricted the access of visitors and guests,” she said. “We have to be incredibly careful in keeping our residents and staff safe. So, the auction items moved out of our storage and to a place where folks can go.”
The auction has been moved to the former Gordman’s building on South Main Street, in between Hibbits and Tractor Supply stores.
The auction is usually in May, but this year will be February 27.
“Everyone’s lives have changed because of the pandemic and so have schedules,” Nance said. “The collection of items has been growing since late 2019 in preparation for the 2020 event. Imagine our collection now…almost a year and a half later. We are busting at the seams. By moving the auction site, it allows all of the stored items to be removed so access to resident vehicles is easy. As they say, the show must go on. So February is as good of a time as any. We just hope the weather is good and people are understanding.”
The Village received grant funds to help with COVID-19 issues.
The facility received Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas grant money in the fall of 2020 in the amount of $84.000
“With the help of leadership at our home office, Fort Scott Presbyterian Village submitted an application in August of 2020 for Personal Protection Equipment, technology enhancement for screening and resident communication, staffing, and testing expenses,” Nance said. “We were also able to use the funds to facilitate safe visiting for family members, four stations have been established inside doorways of the community and set up with coffee machines, rolling carts, trash cans, and tables for visitation. There are also enhancements for the life enrichment team to have a rolling station of activities for residents.”
“The staffing dollars allocated helped us with payroll for employees that traditionally work in one department but are needed in other areas to assist,” she said. “It also helped with payroll for employees that were exposed to COVID while working. The SPARK money has been a blessing beyond measure! It has allowed for PPE, testing, monitoring, infection control, and reopening supplies to be purchased and available at all times for staff and residents use to keep everyone safe to the best of our ability.”
“We are grateful to have the assistance of the PMMA organization to secure grants and other stimulus money that has helped us during such a challenging time in health care,” she said.
“It is important to recognize the amazing support from donors, volunteers, and families who have given donations to the Presbyterian Village and our system and I cannot thank those donors enough! It truly takes a ‘village’ of people to pull together during challenging times.”
“We have a great community of people who have given crafts, books, hobby items and financial donations to help keep our residents engaged during what seemed like a very long year of social distancing,” she said.
“Our team’s energy and focus is committed to serving our seniors in the best possible way and without God and the assistance of our supportive community we couldn’t be successful,” Nance said.
Evergy Directed to Eliminate Controversial Demand Charge
Kansas Corporation Commission directs Evergy to put distributed generation customers back on a two-part residential electric rate
TOPEKA — This morning, the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) issued an Order directing Evergy to put its residential distributed generation (DG) customers back on a two-part standard residential rate design eliminating a controversial demand charge. DG customers produce their own energy, primarily using solar panels, and connect to Evergy’s grid for additional power if needed.
The Commission originally approved the current three-part rate design for residential DG customers in September 2018 as part of a Westar (now Evergy) rate case. The Sierra Club and Vote Solar, who were parties to the docket, filed an appeal. In April of last year, the Kansas Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals and the Commission, calling the three-part design price discriminatory and sending the matter back to the KCC for further proceedings.
In issuing today’s Order, the Commission rejected two alternate proposals from Evergy to recoup DG customer costs that the Company claims are not captured in the standard residential rate. The first proposal called for the implementation of a grid access fee of $3.00 per kW of installed DG capacity. The alternative called for a $35 minimum monthly bill for all residential customers. As a result of today’s Commission action, rates for standard residential and DG residential customers will be identical, at least until Evergy’s next scheduled rate case in 2023.
“Many states, including Kansas, are struggling to appropriately value residential DG resources, while ensuring those customers pay their fair share to support the grid. Evergy’s proposals weren’t the right way to address these concerns under current law, but the issue won’t go away. We need to look for new solutions,” said KCC Chairperson Andrew French.
The Commission encouraged Evergy to explore modern rate designs that address the DG subsidization issue in future rate cases. The Commission also encouraged all stakeholders that participated in the proceeding to explore legislative changes to modernize Kansas’ net metering laws and other statutes.
Today’s order can be viewed at http://estar.kcc.ks.gov/estar/ViewFile.aspx?Id=dbf0d78a-209e-4c08-82a9-8a58810d3cef
Chamber Coffee At Ascension Via Christi Feb. 25: Drive-Through
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Local Photographer Featured in FARMtographer Magazine
A local photographer, new to the business is featured in a farm magazine.
Erika George, 25, owns her own business,
Erika George Photography, which she started in 2017.
“I have always loved photography and enjoyed taking lots of scenery photos when I was younger,” she said. “It wasn’t until I moved to Uniontown after college that I started photography as an actual business.”
“My sister-in-law, Lacey (George) Wray, had just started a photography business in Ottawa so I got to tag along and second shoot with her at weddings,” George said. “I started doing a few free sessions just for fun around the area, but then started having more and more people ask me for sessions.”
The interest turned serious and she changed careers.
“I was working at the Uniontown daycare as the preschool teacher and decided I wanted to do something a little different,” she said.
She started her business promotion with social media.
“I created a Facebook page for my business to post previews for the sessions I had been doing and it started growing from there,” she said. “It has grown more and more every year as I gain new clients and broaden my education of photography. This past year has definitely been my busiest year and I foresee it getting busier this next year.”
“I love to create the session that you have envisioned in your mind, no matter the location,” George said .”I love to travel and find new locations for sessions too.”
” While I do love outdoor photoshoots, I did just start renting a studio space in downtown Fort Scott at 118 S. Main Street, so that I can offer more options, especially during the winter months,” she said. “I offer most sessions that you can think of from weddings to newborns. I have many different packages for families, kids, seniors, newborns, engaged couples, and expecting parents! “
George rents the middle section of the building at 118 S. Main, behind the barbershop storefront that is coming this summer.
Her favorite photoshoots are Western-inspired, she said.
Featured In FARMtographer Magazine this month
She recently was honored with being featured in a photography magazine, FARMtographer Magazine.
“I saw the magazine advertising on Instagram for their upcoming categories, so I used their hashtag on one of my photos,” she said.
“I got a message saying my photo was going to be entered into a contest for the cover photo based on a Facebook contest.”
“There were 10 other photos in the contest and mine was chosen as the cover photo for the CHILDREN/KIDS issue,” she said. “You also had the chance to enter as the featured photographer by entering a story about the photo or photos you entered and a story about your editing style.”
George decided to do that for the chance to be featured as a magazine spread.
“I entered a few more photos along with the story,” she said. ” They don’t tell you until the issue is printed who the featured photographers are so I found out that I was the first featured photographer once I bought the magazine issue.”
“FARMtographer Magazine is an agriculture photographer’s magazine and some of the other photos featured in the issue were from Wyoming, Texas, Australia, Canada, and Utah,” she said.
The winning photo is of a five-year-old cowboy, Miles Pollack, helping bring in calves at G3 Ranch near Uniontown. G3 is a family-owned business.
Miles is the son of Jared and Delta Pollack of Uniontown. Jared works for G3 Ranch.
“He was riding on his horse, Doc, alongside his dad and cousin, Cole George,” she said. Erica is married to Cole George who also works at G3 Ranch.
” My favorite type of images to capture are western-influenced, whether it be western fashion, western lifestyle, or the equipment and livestock that go along with farming and ranching,” George said. “I grew up in the western lifestyle so it has always been what is natural to me!”
To view the magazine cover page online:
Contact info: 620.381.4783 – [email protected] – Facebook page @EGphotography1650 or Instagram @erikageorgephotography
Ward-Kraft Seeks Skilled Individuals
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Sharky’s Is Hiring
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Fort Scott Broadcasting HIring
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Viewers Choice Awards Voting Begins Toay
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Case Ongoing On Credit Card Skimmer at Pete’s Conoco
A Fort Scott Police Department case that began last summer at a local gas station is ongoing.
At the Pete’s Convenience Store on East Wall in August 2020, staff noticed that a lock on the pump door had been tampered with.
The store’s maintenance employee called the FSPD immediately.
An investigation was started by retrieving the skimmer and calling other local and nearby towns to tell them of the illegal activity at the gas pump.
Skimmers are illegal card readers attached to payment terminals. These card readers grab data off a credit or debit card’s magnetic stripe without your knowledge, according to https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2018/08/watch-out-card-skimming-gas-pump Criminals sell the stolen data or use it to buy things online.
FSPD Detective Sargeant Brian Thurston mailed the skimmer to the U.S. Secret Service.
“They have the technology to get information off of the device to try to identify the perpetrator,” he said.
“The device is Blue Tooth,” he said. “The bad guy can come back and get info off of it.”
The FSPD received information back from the Secret Service on Feb. 16, 2021.
Forty-five people had their information on the skimmer, Thurston said. He has made contact with them.
“We don’t believe any info was retrieved by the suspect,” he said.
His next step is to contact the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and get assistance “to identify the device, then attach someone to that device, to identify a suspect,” he said.
Back in August, the FSPD called local gas stations and also area ones, to tell them of the skimmer.
“In Louisburg a skimmer was at an ATM inside of a store,” Thurston said.
Pete’s Convenience Store has since replaced all the locks on the gas pumps.
The 45 people who were listed on the skimmer are being notified to change their credit card, as a safety precaution, he said.
The Secret Service has sent Thurston information on the device that was connected to that skimmer.
The investigation is ongoing, he said.
How to protect oneself from skimming.
“There is a security seal on the door of the gas pump,” Thurston said. “They are different colors, that I’ve seen, green, yellow, red, blue. If that seal is broken or torn, notify the gas station attendant.”
Here are a few tips to help you avoid a skimmer when you gas up, from the https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2018/08/watch-out-card-skimming-gas-pump
- Make sure the gas pump panel is closed and doesn’t show signs of tampering. Many stations now put security seals over the cabinet panel. If the pump panel is opened, the label will read “void.”
Photo credit: National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) and Conexxus
- Look at the card reader itself. Does it look different than other readers at the station? For example, the card reader on the left has a skimmer attached; the reader on the right doesn’t.
Photo credit: Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Kamloops, Canada
Try to wiggle the card reader before you put in your card. If it moves, report it to the attendant. Then use a different pump.
- If you use a debit card at the pump, run it as a credit card instead of entering a PIN. That way, the PIN is safe and the money isn’t deducted immediately from your account.
- If you’re really concerned about skimmers, pay inside rather than at the pump.
- Monitor your credit card and bank accounts regularly to spot unauthorized charges.
If your credit card has been compromised, report it to your bank or card issuer. Federal law limits your liability if your credit, ATM, or debit card is lost or stolen, but your liability may depend on how quickly you report the loss or theft. For more information, read Lost or Stolen Credit, ATM, and Debit Cards.
Kansas Gas Service Reminds Large-Use Customers to Curb Usage
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Feb. 16, 2021 – With extreme cold weather producing historic lows and increased demand, Kansas Gas Service has directed large customers to reduce their usage to ‘plant protection mode’ (lowest possible usage that will keep pipes from freezing and avoid damage to equipment) to prevent outages in Kansas.
“We are planning for potential outages and putting measures in place to keep gas service to our customers and critical facilities,” said Sean Postlethwait, vice president of operations for Kansas Gas Service. “Our large commercial, industrial and transport customers play an important and pivotal role in helping the community avert a disruption in service.”
This curtailment does not apply to schools, hospitals, health care facilities, hotels or lodging facilities, grocery stores, universities, colleges, churches, public safety buildings, multi-family dwellings and apartments.
“Following our regulatory obligations under our curtailment plan, an initial critical step is to take measures to seek assistance from our large commercial and industrial and transport customers to help avoid disruptions,” said Postlethwait.
Customers are encouraged to visit KansasGasService.com/SevereCold for any company severe weather updates.
About Kansas Gas Service
Kansas Gas Service delivers safe, clean and reliable natural gas to more than 639,000 customers in 360 communities in Kansas. We are the largest natural gas distributor in the state, in terms of customers.
We are a division of ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE: OGS), a stand-alone, 100 percent regulated, publicly traded 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, visit the websites at www.kansasgasservice.com or www.onegas.com