Ralph Carlson introduces the Friday Night Concert musicians May 2019.
DJ Brown and The Bourbon County Revival will be the featured entertainment at this week’s Friday Night Concert. The local four-piece band plays classic rock, country, and Red Dirt. Band members are Danny Brown on acoustic guitar and vocals, Robert Uhler on drums, Jerry Bahr on banjo, electric, acoustic and bass guitars, and vocals, and Randy Brasuell on mandolin, fiddle, bass and electric guitars, and vocals.
“These talented guys have been playing together for quite some time and are a crowd favorite,” concert-series organizer Ralph Carlson said. “We’re pleased to welcome them back to perform in our downtown pavilion. Bring a friend and join us for a great show.“
The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Heritage Park Pavilion at First and Main streets. The shows, sponsored by the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, are free and open to the public. Dave Oas and Jim Butler provide the sound each week. Due to limited seating, attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be moved to the Loading Dock at Common Ground Coffee Co., 12 E. Wall Street.
Gregg Motley tells about the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation before the awarding of the grants in 2021. At right is Carla Farmer, chairperson of the foundation.
The Fort Scott Area Community Foundation (FSACF) is now accepting applications for the 2022 General Funds Grant program. Applications will be accepted through August 31, 2022.
The mission of FSACF is to serve the region by encouraging charitable giving benefiting the common good and improving the quality of life. The Foundation is committed to making a making a meaningful contribution in the areas of civic improvements, arts and humanities, health, education, human and social services, and the conservation and preservation of cultural and environmental resources.
In 2022, up to $59,000 will be available to fund grants to local 501(c)(3) public charities, schools, government agencies, and religious institutions. The Foundation considers proposals based on how they improve the quality of life for residents, and is particularly interested in projects that are sustainable in the future. Collaborative projects are strongly encouraged.
In 2021, the Foundation awarded $40,345 to 15 non-profit recipients through its General Funds Grant cycle. Awards averaged $2,600 and ranged from $500 to $4,500. Projects in Fort Scott and Uniontown received funding. A history of funded projects can be viewed at https://fsacf.com.
The City of Fort Scott Water Distribution Department will be relocating a section of water main at 17th & Crawford on Monday July 18th, 2022. This is to accommodate the installation of new storm drainage pipe being installed. Customers on Crawford Street between 15th Street and 18th Street will be out of water during this time. The outage will start sometime between 7:00 a.m. & 8:00 a.m. The Water Distribution crew will work to restore water and water service as soon as possible, but customers should expect to be without water for the better part of the day.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have any questions or concerns, please call 620-223-0550 and ask for Water Distribution.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas (BCBSKS), in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce Executives of Kansas (CCEKS) and local Chambers across the state have created an association health plan (AHP) – Chamber Blue of Kansas. This AHP offers member businesses access to health insurance savings associated with large group medical coverage.
Join us as Andrew Gutierrez, group sales consultant at Blue Cross, discusses information about this health plan, including eligibility, benefit, and enrollment information.
As You Are Ministry is located above the Fort Scott Barber Shop, the tallest building in this photo.
Mayra Montanez has a heart for the disadvantaged, because at one time she was one.
She is the daughter of an Assembly of God pastor in Puerto Rico.
And life happened.
“I was a single parent on my own, and needed help,” she said. “I know how it feels to have limited resources and have pride…to be employed and not have enough money to go to work.”
To this day her heart is touched by the issues of others.
“In the winter, I wake my husband up, it’s snowing, and we will go look for people on the streets,” she said. “It breaks my heart.”
Montanez started the process of of non-profit 501 3c designation last fall, called As You Are Ministry. She has received calls from the community for people in need.
The second floor of the family owned business, Fort Scott Barber Shop, is being transformed to help meet the needs of the community, little by little.
Last month, the family installed a heating and air conditioning system with a separate power line to the second floor of their business building. They recently got a website going.
They have been working on the second floor of the building, for ministering to the community. It has a gathering place, a kitchenette, her office and the future bathroom/shower room.
The third floor is another step down the road, with the idea of providing temporary housing for those who need it.
Mayra Montanez tells about the community gathering place for those who need a place to cool off in summer or get warm in winter.
“You can warm up, or cool down,” in the gathering place they have prepared, she said. There is also a kitchenette to provide some refreshments to those who gather.
“The next step is a bathroom,” Montanez said. “We have no plumbing up here.”
A kitchenette is provided in the community gathering place.
Then, if someone got their water cut off or is homeless, the ministry could provide a bathroom service.
“Sometimes when things happen in life, where their money didn’t go as far the month, we can help,” she said.
“We want to meet people where they are,” Montanez said.
Some of the products/services they can currently provide, besides the community gathering place:
translation from English to Spanish for legal documents
notary public service
currently in place of a shower: body cleansing wipes, clean clothes and dirty clothes washed
providing hotel lodging for a few nights if needed, because of the weather.
Her husband, Jose, and their children are highly involved in her ministry and helping people, she said.
The goal is to “help people who sometimes need a little push to move forward, no judgement,” she said. “From there they can do it. We want to be able to help those who need a little or a lot of help. If we can, we will.”
As You Are Ministry is located above the family’s barber shop at 118 E. Wall.
Mayra Montanez shows the third floor that she hopes will eventually be temporary housing for those in need.
They have someone who is willing to do the labor for free for the bath/shower room, if the Montanez’s will provide the materials, she said.
They have applied for a grant through the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team for the toilet and sinks.
If they aren’t approved for that, they will have to wait a little longer, but she is hoping to have it done by winter, she said.
Fort Scott Kan. – Saturday, July 23, 2022, at 9:30 am, Fort Scott National Historic Site, American Legion Post 25, and Fort Scott Fire Department will be hosting an official US Flag Disposal Ceremony. Bring your: United States, POW/MIA, State, and Service (U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard) flags to the fort between now and 9:30 am Saturday and we will properly and respectfully dispose of them. Just as there’s etiquette for displaying Old Glory, there’s also etiquette for disposing of flags in a dignified manner.
“4 U.S. Code § 8k (Respect for flag) states that ‘The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.’” said Carl Brenner, Acting Superintendent, Fort Scott National Historic Site. “As with celebrating this country’s newest citizens at our Naturalization Ceremony and honoring those we have lost through the ‘Field of Honor’ during Symbols of Sacrifice, we are proud to be a part in honoring this country’s flag by hosting this ceremony.”
From April 1-October 31, Fort Scott National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service, will be open for its summer hours of operation. The site exhibit areas and visitor center are open daily from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Park grounds are open daily from a half hour before sunrise until a half hour after sunset. To find out more or become involved in activities at the Fort, please contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/fosc.
Come downtown to find cool deals and beat the heat with sweet treats!
Offshore Tropix Soft Serve will be set up in front of Bids & Dibs from 10am-4pm
Participating retailers listed below.
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce announces a Beat the Heat Shopping Event will take place Friday, July 15th and Saturday, July 16th. Stores in the Downtown Historic District and additional locations will be participating in the fun serving cold refreshments while you shop and find hot deals in the cool stores.
To add to the event, Offshore Tropix Soft serve will be set up in front of Bids & Dibs from 10:00am to 4pm with delicious, sweet treats. There are plenty of benches downtown and around while you shop or taking in the historic sites, restaurants, and museums.
Participating retailers will be offering complimentary popsicles, iced coffee, or some cold refreshments as you shop or at checkout and those stores will be designated with a Beat the Heat poster and a pink flamingo in spirit of the shopping event. Those locations include: Angie Dawn’s Boutique, Bids & Dibs, Hare & Crow Barber Shop, Hedgehog.INK! Bookstore, Sunshine Boutique, Shirt Shack, and Varia Resale Clothing.
Come downtown and shop around to find amazing deals such as 50% OFF shorts, swimwear, and sandals at Bids & Dibs, $10 & $15 Clothing Racks at Angie Dawn’s, 1/2 price summer sidewalk racks and 1.00 racks at Varia, and more!
Thank you to our Chamber Champions for all of your support!
Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce | 231 E. Wall Street, Fort Scott, KS 66701
The Land Bank meeting will be held on Monday, July 18th, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. at City Hall, 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas, in the City Commission meeting room.
This meeting will be made available via the City’s you tube channel at City of Fort Scott.
The Land Bank work session will be held on Friday, July 15th, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. at City Hall, 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas, in the City Commission meeting room. No action will be taken during the work session.
This meeting will be made available via the City’s you tube channel at City of Fort Scott.
Chamber Coffee hosted by FLAG Church and Fort Cinema.
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce invites members and guests to the Chamber Coffee this Thursday, July 14th at 8am. This week’s coffee will be hosted by FLAG Church and Fort Cinema, located at 224 W 18th St. Coffee, juice, and light refreshments will be served.
FLAG Church and Fort Cinema will be doing this week’s Chamber Coffee together. Fort Cinema is happy to extend their vision as a community gathering point beyond showing movies. FLAG Church stands for Family Life Assembly of God, and they exist to help people love God and love others. They are based out of Pittsburg, KS and are planting a campus in Fort Scott on September 11, 2022! No matter where life finds you, you are welcomed home at FLAG. They are excited to share heart and vision as a new church in our community.
Contact the Chamber of Commerce at (620) 223-3566 for more information.
On Tuesday July 12th at approximately 2:30 p.m. Officers with the Fort Scott Police Department were dispatched to west side of Casey’s convenience store. Witnesses reported seeing a white male drop a cash register and then drive north on 69 highway in his vehicle.
At the same time Officers with the Fort Scott Police Department responded to Walgreen’s located at 2229 South Main and learned that a white male entered the store, went behind the counter, and removed the cash register and left the store. Nobody was injured during this incident.
Based on the eyewitness descriptions the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office located the suspect vehicle near Wagon Road and 69 highway. The vehicle was pursued but the suspect was not apprehended at this time.
Local Law Enforcement Agencies were notified of the pursuit and vehicle description. Vernon County Deputies located the vehicle on the east side of Nevada, Missouri and were able to take the suspect, Lewis A. Stein of St. Charles Missouri, into custody. Stein is being held in Vernon County Jail on separate charges. Local charges are pending.
All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Members of the USD 234 Board of Education met at their offices on Monday, July 11, 2022, for their regular monthly meeting.
President James Wood opened the meeting. The board approved the official agenda. The old board adjourned Sine Die with reorganization of the new board. Danny Brown was elected president, and Kellye Barrows was elected vice-president for the 2022-23 school year.
The board also approved the consent agenda:
A. Minutes
B. Bills and Claims
C. Payroll – June 17, 2022 – $1,799,386.85
D. Financial Report
E. Activity fund accounts
F. Designation of banks for deposit of school funds
G. Designation of newspaper for official school publications – The Fort Scott Tribune
H. Officers for the 2022-23 school year
I. Recreation Commission board member terms
J. Resolution for Waiver of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
K. Resolution for Rescinding Policy Statements Found in Board Minutes
L. Resolution to Establish Home Rule by Board of Education
M. Resolution to set dates and times for board meetings
N. Resolution for Destruction of Records
O. Resolution for Bank Account Signers
P. Set fees for copying of records
Q. Mileage reimbursement rate – current state mileage rate
R. Point of information – July 25 – 5:30 p.m. – Special Board Meeting
S. 2022-23 Salary Schedule correction
Dalaina Smith, Assistant Superintendent, and Gina Shelton, Board Clerk/Finance Director, shared reports with the board.
David Stewart was selected as the REDI representative.
The board approved the following
· 2022-23 district handbooks
· Notification to the County Clerk that the district will not be revenue neutral this year
· Homeschool students participating in district student activities policy
· Classified salary schedule
Board members set a date of August 1 at 5:30 p.m. for a budget presentation, and the date of August 22 at 5:30 p.m. for a Revenue Neutral Hearing and the 2022-23 budget hearing.
There were no comments in the public forum section. The board went into executive session to discuss personnel matters for nonelected personnel. The board returned to open meeting and approved the following employment matters:
a. Employment of Dennis Dennigan as a high school special education teacher for the 2022-23 school year
b. Employment of Karleigh Schoenberger as a high school assistant volleyball coach for the 2022-23 school year
c. Placement of Mike Krull, high school head boys’ basketball coach, on Step 29 of the Supplemental Salary Schedule
d. Employment of Polly Mayberry as district ESOL Coordinator for the 2022-23 school year
e. Employment of Kerri Hanson as a middle school counselor for the 2022-23 school year
f. Employment of Toni Burton and Angela Colvin as classified employees for the 2022-23 school year
The board approved a 1% salary increase for administrators and directors. In addition, the board approved an average 10.5% salary increase for classified employees.
