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Category Archives: Exercise
Splash Pad’s Last Day of the 2024 Season is September 22
ATTENTION: The last day the Splash Pad will be open is September 22nd.
Brad Matkin
City Manager
City of Fort Scott
Ribbon Cutting For Uniontown Pickleball Court
Uniontown held a Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting for the Uniontown Community Pickleball Court on September 1. Pictured are Councilwoman Danea Esslinger, Levi Ervin (cutting the ribbon), son of Councilman Jess Ervin, Councilwoman Mary Pemberton, and City Clerk Sally Johnson.
The court was completed with the help of the entire community, Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, Blue Cross/Blue Shield Pathways to a Healthy Kansas, Uniontown City Council, and Uniontown Ruritan Club. A grant facilitated by Healthy Bourbon County Action Team from Blue Cross/Blue Shield Pathways to a Healthy Kansas contributed to the cost of the court; the equipment and benches were donated by community members; and Uniontown Ruritan Club is donating fencing for the north and south ends. The City of Uniontown wishes to thank all those involved with this project. The court is being used daily by the community.
Pickleball Court Comes To Uniontown
Pickleball has come to Uniontown, with equipment provided by community members and a court provided by a grant.
Pickleball resembles tennis in which players use paddles to hit a perforated plastic ball over a net, according to Oxford Languages Dictionary.
A grant provided the concrete court to play the sport on.
Recently, the court had been marked for pickleball play.
Last Thursday, pickleball equipment was made available in a storage container located under the community bulletin board at Uniontown’s City Hall on the east side of the town’s square.
“There is no charge to use the equipment and we ask that you put it back, or the community loses it,” City Clerk Sally Johnson said. “Return it and take care, so everyone can use it.”
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“All the equipment has been donated,” Johnson said. “The bin, which houses the equipment was donated by Amber Kelley; the net, paddles and ball were donated by the Frank Johnson family; and the benches around the pickleball court was supplied by Skeet George.”
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“People are already using it,” Johnson said. “Equipment is available at City Hall, behind the community bulletin board.”
The City of Uniontown pursued a grant in 2022 to provide this sport to those in the community.
The project was funded by a grant from the Kansas Blue Cross/Blue Shield Pathways Grant, through Healthy Bourbon County Action Team Placemaking.
“We went through them to apply and qualify for the grant,” Johnson said. “HBCAT worked with the community to find out what the community wanted in 2022. We received and implemented the grant request and had to make an estimated budget, then advertised and put it out for bid. $18, 430 was the low bid. The BCBS grant provided $10,000 in grant money to help pay for that. The process took about two years.”
Grand Opening
A grand opening/ribbon cutting is scheduled during the Old Settler’s Picnic at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 1 at the pickleball court, located west of the new public restrooms in Uniontown.
The grand opening falls between two family activities that day at the town square, bingo is slated for 2 p.m. at the southeast shelter house, and then the Family Fun Night starts at 6 p.m. at the gazebo, Johnson said.
“They will incorporate the ribbon cutting in the family fun time,” she said. “The public is invited to all the events.”
Old Settlers Picnic Weekend: Something For Everyone
The 119th Annual Old Settlers Picnic is this weekend, starting on Friday evening with a street dance and continuing to the recognition of old settlers to the community on Monday afternoon.
The parade is on Monday, with the Marilyn Holt family as the grand marshalls.
The following information was provided by Sara Roufs, president of the Old Settler’s Picnic Committee.
Friday, August 30
To kick off the weekend, there will be a street dance on Friday evening with live music by No Bad Vibes.
Saturday, August 31
“The 5K Run/Walk will now be in Uniontown as well as the kid’s fishing derby so the town will be bustling and we are inviting the community to have a yard sale if they wish,” said Sara Roufs. “It would be a great chance to make some spending cash for Monday where there will be a variety of food and craft vendors available.
Sunday, September 1
There will be the traditional community church service in the park on Sunday at 10 a.m. starting with a coffee, milk and donuts social. This annual event is a collaboration of the First Missionary Baptist Church and Uniontown Methodist Church.
“Everyone really enjoyed bingo last year, so we will start that earlier on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Prizes have been donated by local businesses.”
Sally Johnson will be facilitating the bingo game and it will be at the southeast pavilion in the town’s square.
The grand opening of the new pickleball court will be at 5:30 p.m. at the new court on the south side of the town square park.
“Family Fun Night will begin at 6 p.m. at the park and will also include the kids’ games normally played on Monday. The youth rodeo also begins at 6 p.m. on Sunday.”
Monday, September 2
“The car show will be held at the southeast side of the square starting at 9 a.m. so be sure to check out the amazing vehicles and grab some breakfast before the parade begins.”
“New this year for the car show, Dale Jackson’s family will be judging and picking their top 20 favorite vehicles and top 5 favorite motorcycles and overall best of show. Spectators are invited to vote for their favorite as well. Trophies will be awarded by the family at 1:00.”
“Food and craft vendors will mainly be lined up on the north street this year to make room in the park for everyone to stay and enjoy the day.”
“Bring a lawn chair or lay a blanket out on the grass. We will have live music throughout the day performed by Holly Crays and cash prizes, raffle drawings and contests.”
“We will have a baby parade at noon at the gazebo where they can introduce and show off their little ones. All babies that register for the baby parade will be entered to win a prize.”
“We will once again be having free kids carnival games in the northwest corner of the park starting at noon. The Old Settlers Committee has purchased prizes with donations from our generous sponsors to provide free fun for the kids to replace the bounce houses they were allowed to have in the past. Starting last year, the city council now requires that we purchase a special event policy to cover all the weekend events and our policy will not cover bounce houses. The carnival games are a great replacement and we are really excited to send the kids home with some fun prizes.”
Parade
“All kids are welcome to be in the children’s parade at 10:30. Ride a bike, wear a costume or just walk for fun. Line up at the fire station at 10:15.
The parade will start at 11 a.m.
The grand marshall of the 2024 parade is Marilyn Holt and her family. Community members are selected to be honored to lead the parade each year.
“Entries for the main parade will line up starting at 10 a.m. at the football field. We hope every club, organization, business, etc will participate. Our parade theme this year is “It’s a family tradition” and we will have a family float category so we hope to see some families join the parade. There will be cash prizes for the top floats.”
All area families, clubs, organizations, teams, churches and businesses are invited to be a part of the parade. First place prize for a float is $100, 2nd place is $75 and 3rd place is $50.
Kids Sign Up To Win a New Bike
“New this year too, all kids in attendance will be able to sign up (for free) at the Old Settlers tent to win a free bike! We will have multiple bikes to give away, which were paid for by raffle ticket sales this year. Mary Pillion has done an amazing job organizing and selling raffle tickets to make this happen.”
“As the treasurer, she keeps meticulous records and devotes a great amount of time to fundraising and contacting our sponsors. We have an entire circle of people volunteering time or making donations. There are far too many to mention individually but we want to thank everyone who has contributed to this and kept this community tradition going since 1905.”
“We hope to have another great year!” Roufs said.
Woodland Hills Golf Course Future: A Center of Activity For The Community
The City of Fort Scott staff are trying to make the Woodland Hills Golf Course used by the community more, in fact, to become an activity center in Fort Scott.
The staff spoke at this week’s Chamber of Commerce Coffee hosted by the golf course.
“Steve and his clubhouse crew have implemented many upgrades for our customers this year,” said Mary Wyatt, FS City Planning, Housing and Development Director, and as such is the director of the golf course. “We have contracted with a new golf cart fleet vendor and replaced all of our old golf carts, installed new countertops, purchased a new TV for the clubhouse, and purchased new high-top tables and chairs. We are also in the process of contracting with a new point-of-sale hardware and software which has many new features such as a tee-time software, annual pass cards for members, and a new website that we will be implementing soon.”
“As the FS Director of the Golf Course, I help facilitate and assist with projects, but the on-site management and their crews are the ones that make the customer experience so excellent with their daily hard work and dedication,” she said.
New Name For The Clubhouse
“With all of the new upgrades this year, we thought it would be a great time to give the Woodland Hills Golf Course Clubhouse an official name,” she said.
A suggestion box was placed in the clubhouse requesting name suggestions, and the top 10 were selected and put into a survey online. The community voted on the suggestions, determined the winning name by majority vote, and purchased a sign with that name that was installed on the front entrance of the clubhouse.
“The new official name chosen by the community is The Clubhouse!” she said. “Key Industries, Inc. designed shirts with the official new name for staff, and Jeff Allen wired and mounted the new sign.”
Community Is Invited To Utilize
“We have worked hard this year to create a more inclusive environment that any man, woman, or child can enjoy for more than just a golfing experience,” she said. “We want to invite everyone to come watch their favorite sports games in the clubhouse, hold their volunteer group or committee meetings there, host a weekly card game with friends, or come enjoy a burger or chicken sandwich for lunch or dinner.”
Steve Carter, club manager, said there are currently golf leagues for men, women, children and families, with cart rental at $16 for 18 holes of golf and $10 for 9 holes of golf.
Grounds Keepers
Dustin Fowler, head greens keeper, and his staff: Tyler Cook, Jonathan Allen, Rick McDaniels, and Glenn Niemann have been working to maintain the fairway with weather conditions adding to the workload.
Fowler said the Fort Scott Public Works dredged a pond to make it larger and deeper for irrigation of the greens and Bermuda sod had been donated from Wolf Creek Golf Course, to replace sod that had been killed by drought/ winter kill. He said the plan is for the fairways to be reseeded next spring.
“Dustin and his grounds team have put in a lot of overtime this year working towards recovering our greens and fairways from the past few years of drought and from the flood we had earlier this year,” she said. “The drought has caused a lot of bare, brown spots, throughout the property that are not easily repaired, and the flooding all but destroyed the bottom nine holes of the golf course.”
“It’s taken a lot of focused intensive work to manually rake the gravel out of the greens and back onto the cart paths not just after the flood but every time we have a heavy rain, a lot of seed planting, aeration, sod installation, watering, and fertilizing to rehabilitate the grounds post-drought as well as the rebuilding the bottom nine holes after flooding and heavy rain.”
“Even with the drought and the flood working against our crews and all of the special projects they’ve been working on, they still work day in and day out to maintain the grounds for golfers to enjoy daily and for hosting golf tournaments, they also built a very unique and beautiful section of brick cart path.”
Future Projects
Mini Golf
FS City Manager BradMatkin said he met with a business owner recently and there is a grant opportunity for a Fort Scott-themed miniature golf course at the city-owned golf course.
“This is in the very early stages, so I don’t have a ton of answers right now,” Matkin said. “Once I have budgeting information, it still have to be approved by the commission.”
“The Youth Activity Team has granted money for this project, and we are working on another grant for additional monies,” Matkin said.
“Our vision is to have an 18-hole miniature golf course that will not only add value to our community but will bring people from the area into our town to play. Fort Scott needs more things for families to do and I feel this would be perfect for that type of activity. We want it to be a place where a family can go out play 18-holes of miniature golf then eat a burger or hot dog, at The Clubhouse, and enjoy each other’s company or meet new friends.”
” We are going to ask for businesses to purchase holes and will let them put their “logos”, “theme” or brand on the holes,” he said. “It would really be great to have a hole that represents the fort, the splash pad, or possibly other parts of our history.”
Other Future Projects
Also in the future “the grounds crew hope to concrete all of the cart paths to make a smoother driving experience for our customers as well as prevent the loss of the cart paths during heavy rains or flooding, and create new appealing features such as decorative wooden bridges and detailed landscaping.”
“We hope to purchase new patio furniture for people to enjoy socializing out back and make the environment more cozy and inviting,” she said. “We hope to be able to provide full kitchen capabilities with a wider range of menu options, golf simulators to give customers the capability of the golf experience year-round, mini golf, and a driving range have also been discussed as well as landscaping the grass circle in front of the clubhouse.”
Fort Scott Fire Department Invites the Community to Join Them in a Stair Climb to Remember 9/11
The Fort Scott Fire Department is promoting an event they perform every year amongst members to commemorate 9/11- the day the United States was attacked by terrorists, in 2001. Many firefighters on duty died that day attempting to help people.
“I thought this would be a neat tribute to get the public involved as well,” FSFD Deputy Chief Mike Miles said. “The purpose is to remember those who sacrificed and served on September 11.”
“We are also using this to start a scholarship for high schoolers who may want to venture into the Fire Service,” he said. “We could provide them with tuition for the academy. There would be steps and measures one would have to take to receive the scholarship. That will be discussed at a later date when we get the Junior Fire Fighter program going.”
“We would also use some proceeds to donate to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation,” he said.
September 7, is the event, located on South Main Street, at the Fort Scott High School football stadium. Registration and walk-ups start at 8 a.m. The event will begin at 9 a.m.
There are three different options to participate.
“You can perform the stair climb, which would consist of 15 trips back and forth, up and down the stadium stairs. Or walk a 5k around the track or run a 5k through downtown and back to the stadium.”
One can register on the link provided on the fire department’s Facebook page.
“You receive a T-shirt with your registration and the cost is $25 for adults, $15 for kids.”
“We have flyers also at local businesses and gas stations you can scan the QR code and it takes you to the registration page.”
Bike Repair Stations Installed in Riverfront Park Donated by the Fort Scott Rotary Club
Riverfront Park has slowly been transforming from the unmaintained area it once was to a public space for concerts, weddings, and other gatherings and also beautiful tree-lined walk/bike trails.
Along the trails are resting areas and as you go under the Hwy. 69 Highway, some colorful historic murals have been painted by local artist, Stephen Toal.
Recently another enhancement has been added to the park.
“Due to the increased bicycle traffic, the need for bicycle repair and the ability to air tires has been met by the Fort Scott Rotary Club,” said Jerry Witt, president of the Riverfront Authority, which oversees the area. “Two bicycle repair stations have been added to the park. One station has been installed on the Belltown Walking trail on the north side of Marmaton River and a second station has been installed on the south River Loop Road.”
“The concrete foundations were funded by the Riverfront committee at a cost of $2,400.,” he said. “The repair stations consist of a bike rack, air pump, and various tools and were funded and donated by the Fort Scott Rotary Club.”
BEE Better Health Club Is Now In Fort Scott
BEE Better Health Club has moved locations.
Wesley DeHaven, 24, is the owner and coach of the business and last year in June he opened the fitness center on his family’s farm.
On June 10, 2024, he opened the fitness center at 212 E. 1st in Fort Scott.
The BEE Better Health Club is a group fitness studio for women.
“I’m a certified group fitness instructor through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. I worked at a CrossFit gym where I began my weight-loss journey and began coaching women’s Boot Camp classes. I’ve been working with clients and coaching classes since November 2022,” he said.
“I was initially located southeast of town in a garage on the family farm. The initial plan was to always get in town and be easily accessible to provide my services,” he said.
“As a fat loss and body recomposition coach, all group fitness members receive nutrition coaching,” he said. “I also offer one-on-one coaching services. I run what I call a hybrid model, in-person and remote which makes it easy for me to work with work schedules. In terms of products, I am an authorized retailer for 1st Phorm a supplement company. The most loved products are protein bars, high-protein meat sticks, and protein powders. “
“Inside group fitness we have 16 members and I have another 12 that I currently work with one-to-one,” he said.
Current class times are 7 AM and 5:30 PM.
Text or call DeHaven at (620) 644-8150 or visti the Facebook page: The BEE Better Health Club
Eight-Year-Old Donates Bike to Gunn Park Trails
8-year-old Marlie Seaver donated her 20” bike to mountain bike enthusiast Frank Halsey. Halsey founded Gunn Park Trails, a bike trail system in Fort Scott’s largest park.
“The bike is a 20” Guardian that her parents Josh and Melinda Seaver bought her last fall,” Halsey said. “The company, Guardian Bikes, as seen on the 2017 episode of Shark Tank, teamed with Mark Cuban, has a trade-in policy that requires the old bike to be donated to a charitable organization that promotes bike riding and biking safety. The Seaver family knew of Gunn Park Trails and reached out to me.”
“My husband Josh and I had tried for quite awhile to teach Marlie to ride a bike,” Melinda Seavers said. ” Finally after trying other bikes we did some research and found a company called Guardian Bikes online. They have great reviews and an amazing 365-day guarantee on all of their bikes. ”
“If your kid won’t ride it, can’t ride it, if it’s too big, if it’s too small they will refund your purchase or allow you to exchange for the correct size (which we did) and allow you to donate the original bike to a nonprofit of your choice,” she said “Last fall we purchased the bike for Marlie and she learned to ride it with no problems the very same day! After this winter when we got the bike out for her to ride this Spring it was too small for her. We contacted Guardian Bikes and they said to locate a charity we would like to donate to.”
“My husband and I used to be next door neighbors with Frank Halsey and we have followed along with his journey in creating and maintaining the Gunn Park Trails. I contacted him to find out if the bike would be useful to his project in any way to raffle or raise money for the trails or any of the many events they would be hosting in the future. ”
“He said there is an organization called NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling Association) that was coming to help with the cleanup efforts of the trails after the recent flood in April canceled their event and damaged many parts of the trails. It sounded like the perfect fit for Marlie to donate her bike to since she really loved the bike and wanted it to go to a good cause here in Fort Scott. We met Frank at the Gunn Park Trails sign early this week to take a picture to send to Guardian Bikes to show them where our bike was donated.”
“I’m not sure what Frank and the NICA will decide is the best way to use the bike for their efforts but we were happy they could benefit from it in some way,” she said.
Frank Halsey has the idea to raffle the bike off at a future event to help fund the maintenance of the trails.
About The Trails
According to Frank Halsey, Gunn Park Trails was started in 2009, by him and his “bunch of misfit volunteers.”
Today there are approximately 8.5 miles of mountain bike trails, ranging from easy to difficult. These trails are maintained by volunteers, and attract visitors from all over, including the Annual Marmaton Massacre Festival.
They are also trying to develop a more complete skills park and pump track on the property immediately before entering the park. Additional funding is being sought to make this more permanent.
Par Tee Girls At Woodland Hills May 15
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Upgrades on Fort Scott’s East Side Are In the Works
Upgrades to Third Street Park, Nelson Park and the Ellis Park Soccer Field are in the works by the City of Fort Scott.
“The City of Fort Scott is working on upgrades to the 3rd Street Park bathrooms, ” Mary Wyatt, Fort Scott’s Planning, Housing, and Community Development Director, said. “I’ve ordered new bathroom doors, Ron Hurd Construction is going to be framing in the new doors, Stoughton’s Plumbing will be drilling sink holes into the concrete in both bathrooms and installing sinks, we (the City of Fort Scott)are installing motion lights, security cameras, and automatic locks for the bathroom doors. Evergy (the electric utility) has made a donation of a 35-foot pole to the project and CrawKan (Telephone Cooperative) has also been involved in the technology aspect of this project.”
Third Street Park is located at 600 E 3rd St., a few blocks east of Hwy. 69.
The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team received a grant to install new playground equipment and new concrete stairs that have added better access in the multi-level park in 2023.
“Through funding from Patterson Family Foundation and Blue Cross and Blue Shield Pathways to a Healthy Kansas, HBCAT started the Stronger Together: Building Up Our Neighborhoods placemaking projects,” according to Rachel Carpenter, HBCAT Director in a prior interview.
A Building Up Our Neighborhoods Placemaking project through HBCAT repaired the bathrooms and existing structures, including the basketball goal.
To view the prior story:
“HBCAT initially started the 3rd Street Park project in 2023 and had new playground equipment and fall protection installed, the City of Fort Scott promised assistance on the project in the form of upgrading the bathrooms,” Wyatt said. “The City of Fort Scott has paid for the bathroom doors and security equipment and will be paying Stoughton’s Plumbing for their services and Jeff Allen for electrical work and CrawKan for the technology work, Ron Hurd Construction has volunteered to donate their time to frame in the new bathroom doors, and Evergy donated a bare 35-foot pole.”
“The HBCAT 3rd Street Park project was paid for by a grant that HBCAT applied for and were awarded, but the bathrooms portion of the project is paid for by the City of Fort Scott,” Wyatt noted.
The bathroom completion timeline is the end of May.
“There are a lot of moving parts and coordinating of individuals and businesses to make it all come together, but it is my goal to have the bathrooms completed and opened to the public by Memorial Day weekend,” she said.
Wyatt has been working on other projects for youth.
“I am also currently working on a project to make upgrades to Nelson Park, I’ve recently attended several Community Development and Grant Writing workshops and have found many resources that could lead to grant funding opportunities to fund the Nelson Park project,” she said. Nelson Park can be accessed from East Wall Street, turning north on Grant Street
“A few months ago, I completed a project that brought flashing school zone speed limit signs to both Margrave Street on the east side of Fort Scott as well as on National Avenue on the west side of Fort Scott and also just received additional flashing school zone signs that will be placed on Horton Street. The cost of the flashing school zone signs were split between the USD234 school district and the City of Fort Scott.”
“I am also currently looking into a project that could hopefully help resurface the Ellis Park soccer field this summer,” she said. Ellis Park is near the Fort Scott Middle School, on Twelveth Street.