Category Archives: Fort Scott
CHAMBER TO HOST COMMUNITY CONNECTION PANELIST LUNCHEON on Oct. 25
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a Community Connection Panelist Luncheon on Wednesday, October 25th, from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Empress Event Center, 7 N. Main St. Chamber members and the community are invited to attend for updates by the City of Fort Scott, Bourbon County, Fort Scott Community College, USD-234, USD-235, and Bourbon County REDI.
There will be a 7-minute update from each of the following panelists, ending with time for questions:
City of Fort Scott City Manager Brad Matkin
Bourbon County Commission Chair Jim Harris
FSCC President Jason Kegler
USD-234 Superintendent Destry Brown
USD-235 Superintendent Vance Eden
Bourbon County REDI Executive Director Rob Harrington
Moderator for the event will be Bailey Lyons of Lyons Realty Group, 2023 Chamber Board Chair.
Contact the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce at 620-223-3566 for more information or visit fortscott.com.
42nd Annual Candlelight Tour Tickets On Sale November 1
Be an Active Part of History this Holiday Season
Wednesday, November 1, 2023, tickets for Fort Scott National Historic Site’s 42nd Annual Candlelight Tour go on sale. Tickets are available by calling the fort at 620-223-0310 (with a major credit card) or by stopping by the Visitor Center on Old Fort Blvd. Tickets are $8.00 per person and non-refundable, children 5 and under are free. It is recommended that you get your tickets early to ensure your choice of tour times, as this event frequently sells out.
The 42nd Annual Candlelight Tour is Friday and Saturday, December 1 and 2, 2023. Tours on December 1 will begin at 6:30 pm and leave every 15 minutes until 9 pm. On Saturday, December 2, the tours will start at 5 pm with the final tour leaving at 9 pm. Please arrive 10 minutes early to allow time to park, present/pick up your ticket, and get oriented. Participants are advised to please dress for the weather and conditions, as the entire tour will be outside and on sidewalks.
1,000 candle lanterns illuminate the site and reenactors (including you) bring the fort to life.
This year’s tour is about Health and Wellness. During the tour, you will be immersed in ways people have historically been provided the opportunity to be healthy and embrace happiness, despite their struggles.
From November 1-March 31, Fort Scott National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service, will be open for its winter hours of operation. The site exhibit areas and visitor center are open daily from 8:30 am-4:30 pm. The park grounds are open daily from ½ hour before sunrise until ½ hour after sunset. For more information about Fort Scott National Historic Site programs or become involved in the candlelight tour, or other activities, please contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/fosc.
-NPS-
Credit Photos as: NPS Photo/C. Brenner
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Nieces Are Working to Renovate the Payne Building At 6th and Main

Al and Luanna Niece, from Blanco County, TX, purchased the dilapidated building at 6th and Main in June 2023 to renovate.

Al Niece owns Niece Equipment of Kansas and has had a plant in Fort Scott’s Industrial Park, since 2012. The company manufactures, sells, and leases water trucks, fuel/lube trucks, and water towers, according to its website.
“We fell in love with Fort Scott, the community, the downtown,” Luanna said. “We are trying to give back.”
The building was built in 1889, with A. B. Payne as the owner. It was built for apartments and a printing shop, Luanna said. The name of the building was Shultz and Paine.

One interesting fact discovered in looking at the history of the building: “The building’s owner was friends with Mark Twain,” she said. Twain was a humorist, journalist, lecturer, and novelist who died in 1910.
The Nieces plan to make two apartments on the top floor, one for themselves and one for a rental.
The street-level floor will be renovated to make an old-fashioned “soda jerk fountain and ice cream shop” with candy and “simple foods like hot dogs”, she said.

The basement will be Al’s hangout, “Like in the movie ‘Speak Easy’, a gentleman’s bar,” she said. “It will be his mancave, probably called ‘Al’s’.”

“We hope to have renderings (of the future building plans) in about a month,” Al said. They met with the builder last week and hope to be open by next summer, he said.
Koen Construction is the builder, Al said.
What attracted the Nieces was that “this building is a stand-alone one,” she said. “And it has a lot next to it, land. About 6,000-10,000 square feet.”


The Nieces also own the building that houses the Brickstreet BBQ Restaurant, the River Room Event Center, and the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team office on North National.

Local Author, Patty LaRoche: Book On Kindle App Announced

I am so excited to share that my book A Little Faith Lift…Finding Joy Beyond Rejection is offered, starting tomorrow, for 99 cents on the Kindle App. This is a limited-time offer, and then the price will become $9.99.

Author: A Little Faith Lift…Finding Joy Beyond Rejection
www.alittlefaithlift.com
AWSA (Advanced Writers & Speakers Assoc.)
The reviews have been exciting:
Reading this book makes me smile! Patty LaRoche’s wisdom laced with humor is always refreshing. I laughed. I cried. But in the end, I was left with a deeper sense of God’s great love for me.
When I bought the book, I thought I would find it a light read but in fact it has so many gems of wisdom that I found it hard to put down. Emotionally, it was a rollercoaster ride from outright belly laughing to swiping tears from my eyes. It reminded me that we are all on the same rollercoaster ride and we can choose to let the opinions of others put us on the sidelines of life or we can get on with living.
I absolutely loved this book. It was quite embarrassing as I was laughing my butt off on a plane several times, much to the annoyance of my neighbor… However, at the end of the flight, he wanted to know all about the book so he could read it as well.
Inside A Little Faith Lift you will discover invaluable strategies to:
- Discover a renewed confidence in the God-given abilities you have been ashamed to cherish
- Delve into the destructive thought processes designed to keep you in a game of comparisons
- Recognize Satan’s devious tactics, convincing you to use others’ opinions to determine your value
- Fall deeply in love with God as you begin to understand how valued you are
- Learn to laugh at situations instead of allowing them to destroy your self-worth
To take advantage of this offer, simply go to this Link: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Faith-Lift-Finding-Rejection-ebook/dp/B0CJ9NDJC5 and purchase the digital version of A Little Faith Lift…Finding Joy Beyond Rejection.
If you like this offer and/or like what you’ve read in my book, please, please share this with all of your friends. I can’t do this without YOU! Thank you so much for your support.
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Donations Needed For the Homeless
Frankie’s Mission is having a drive and will be set up at Ft. Scott Walmart, on Saturday, October 21st from 10 am to 6 pm .
“We are trying to get items for the homeless,” said Vickie Crowe. “Everything helps. We help the homeless and less fortunate with items they need like hygiene items, blankets , coats , gloves , hats , snacks ,water etc.”
“I started the mission in honor of my son who passed away last year,: she said.
Cohn’s Cafe Launches Its Sunday Brunch on Oct. 22

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Fort Scott Washateria: Business Plan Includes Community Service of Wash Wednesday

Fort Scott Washateria is a family business that was opened in September 2019 by Carol Oakleaf, her daughter Lori Lovelace, son-in-law Leroy Walker, and her son, Doug Oakleaf.
Lovelace is the managing member overseeing business operations.


“We request that this free service be utilized only two times per month for each customer so that the maximum number of folks can use the free machines,” Lovelace said. “We will have a sign-in sheet to keep track. The same family can only come two times a month.”
Chamber After Hours Ribbon Cutting at Mill Creek Veterinary Clinic
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Shop, Swine and Swig Coming to the River Room Today

A holiday vendor event is happening today, October 19, at the River Room from 5 to 8 p.m.
Shop, Swig, and Swine is being organized by Shelby Defebaugh, who is a vendor herself. “I make pens, lanyards, keychains and wristlets. Customization is welcome,” she said.
“In August I started organizing the event,” Defebaugh said. “When you are a vendor… you become like a community.” And several vendors were interested.

The River Room is located at the corner of National Avenue and Oak Street on Fort Scott’s north end. The event is from 5-8 p.m. with no cost to attendees.

“I know everyone is busy,” she said. “I felt like a Thursday evening, when you get off work, go shop with girlfriends and grab some food to take home.”

The name “Shop, Swig and Swine” is because “You can shop, and have adult beverages and Brickstreet BBQ will have a concession bar and food,” Defebaugh said.
Defebaugh said she wanted to thank Cathy Bishop, event coordinator at the River Room, and the Fort Scott Tribune for their help with the event.

Vendors pay $40 per booth.

However, she is giving booth space for free to the Fort Scott High School Art Club for a fundraiser which is a Christmas scene photo.
For more information about the event:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1298619290775003/?ref=share_group_link
Killers of the Flower Moon Free Movie Premiere in Fort Scott Oct. 20
Killers of the Flower Moon Free Movie Premiere in Fort Scott
Friday, October 20, 2023, the Friends of Fort Scott National Historic Site, Inc. and Fort Scott National Historic Site are sponsoring the premiere of Killers of the Flower Moon, as a part of the nationwide release. The free premiere showing is at 6:40 p.m. and is hosted by the Fort Scott Cinema, 224 W 18th St, Fort Scott, KS 66701.
The free tickets are available at the box office at show time.
In the late 1800s, oil was discovered on the Osage Indian Reservation in present-day Osage County, Oklahoma. The members of the Osage Nation earned royalties from oil sales through their federally mandated “head rights,” and, by the 1920s, the richest people in the world were members of the Osage Nation. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off.
The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target. Her relatives were shot and poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more and more members of the tribe began to die under mysterious circumstances.
FBI agents infiltrated the region, struggling to adopt the latest techniques of detection. Together with the Osage they began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history. This conspiracy of theft, terror, and genocide helped launch J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI.
This film is an adaptation by Director Martin Scorsese of the book Killers of the Flower Moon, a narrative nonfiction by David Grann.
There are 25,288 Osage Tribal Members who live across the globe, with just under half residing in Oklahoma. In “Killers of the Flower Moon”, the language you hear is taught by Osage Nation Language Teachers, the traditional clothing you see is made by Osage artists, and the landscape is the Osage Nation Reservation. They are not relics. The Osage Nation is a sovereign Nation that is thriving. A people of strength, hope, and passion, honoring the stories of the past and building the world of the future.
This is but one series of the many traumas experienced in Native American history. The National Park Service encourages you to be part of the discussion and learn more at www.nps.gov/fosc, www.nps.gov/subjects/americanindians, or www.osageculture.com. This event is a portion of a series of programs and events around the Native American Experience that Fort Scott National Historic Site and the Friends of the Fort have been hosting such as Wahzhazhe, the Osage Ballet. Additional programs are to be announced soon.
Fort Scott National Historic Site’s, a unit of the National Park Service, exhibit areas and visitor center are open daily from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The 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.
-NPS-
Image of Mollie Burkhart. Credit Photo as: The Bismarck Tribune, June 16, 1926
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Bourbon County Community Theatre Presents Voices from the Grave Tour
Bourbon County Community Theatre Presents Voices from the Grave Tour
The newly formed Bourbon County Community Theatre, LLC presents their inaugural production entitled Voices from the Grave.
Voices from the Grave takes place from 6-9 p.m. on Oct. 28 at Riverfront Park in Fort Scott, KS. Guests will enjoy a guided walking tour of short acting vignettes centering around stories of murder and mayhem in Fort Scott. Scenes were written by the students in the Advanced Drama class at Fort Scott High School and are based off of stories from local author Brian Allen’s books about Fort Scott.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students and are available from the Chamber of Commerce in Fort Scott. Tour times must be pre-scheduled and run every 10 minutes. Parents must accompany children under the age of 14.
More information can be found on the Bourbon County Community Theatre Facebook page or by contacting Angie Bin at 620-729-9622 or [email protected].












