NOTICE OF AND AGENDA FOR SPECIAL
MEETING OF FORT SCOTT CITY COMMISSION
City Hall Commission Room – 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, KS 66701
August 4, 2025 – 5:00 P.M.
III. New Business
Action Items:
mini golf, laser tag, cookies and lemonade, face painting and inflatables,” he said.
The center is celebrating 50 years of service to the community this year, and here is what is offered to the community: handicap-accessible services, with a full-sized basketball court and two regulation volleyball courts. The structure also has a tumbling/gymnastics and aerobics room upstairs, as well as a weight room and fitness center. Picklball and racquetball are played there as well, according to its website. There is another pickleball outdoor court at 9th and Burke Street, by the water tower.
https://brcc.recdesk.com/Community/Home
Features of the center:
Also outside of the Buck Run Community Center, there is a sand volleyball court. The meeting rooms and auditorium may be rented for private use.
The Fort Scott Recreation Department runs an extensive adult and youth program from within the Center. For information on facilities or recreation programs, call 620-223-0386.
There is an on-site meal for those 60 years old and over at Buck Run in one of the meeting rooms.
Deb Stewart, site director of 60+Nutrition, said the meal is provided with a $2 suggested donation at 11:30 a.m., and the only qualification is being at least 60 years old. For more information: https://www.sekaaa.com/nutrition
The Southeast Kansas Area Agency on Aging manages the 60+ Nutrition Program for nine SEK counties, providing nutritious meals to individuals 60+ years of age. The meals can be provided in home (for those who qualify) or at designated sites in the community. A suggested donation of $2 per meal is requested, but inability to pay does not prevent anyone from receiving a meal, according to its website.
FSACF Launches 2025 Grant Cycle
The Fort Scott Area Community Foundation (FSACF) is now accepting applications for the 2025 General Funds Grant program. Applications will be accepted through August 31st, 2025.
Since 2009, the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation (FSACF) has hosted their annual FSACF grant cycle supporting a variety of projects in Bourbon County. Since inception, the foundation has awarded over $464,000 to a variety of projects across Bourbon County.
“The Community Foundation and its donors literally change lives of area residents for the better,” said Gregg Motley, FSACF Board Member and Granting Committee Chairman. “It is a joy to be a part of it.”
Applications for the 2025 FSACF grant cycle are available at FSACF.com/Grant-App and are open until midnight on August 31st.
Information about the FSACF grant cycle, and a list of previous recipients are available at FSACF.com/nonprofits/grants.
Questions regarding the grant applications should be directed to CFSEK Program Coordinator Kara Mishmash at SoutheastKansas.org/Contact/Kara.
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A special thank you to our Chamber Champion members.. |
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If you are from Southeast Kansas, chances are you have visited Fort Scott National Historic Site and learned about the elite fighting force, known as the Dragoons. One of the essential tools in the Dragoon’s arsenal was the saber. Measuring 39 inches long and weighing nearly 2 pounds, Dragoons were trained to use them to fight on foot as well as on horseback.
You may become the proud owner of one of these impressive historic weapons, as the Friends of Fort Scott National Historic Site are offering chances to win an authentic reproduction of a 1833 Dragoon saber. Tickets are $10 each or $25 for 3 tickets. Funds raised will be used to benefit programs and operations at Fort Scott National Historic Site.
Chances will be sold throughout the summer at the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce during their operating hours or from any Friends of FSNHS board member. The drawing will take place on September 8, 2025, at the Friends of FSNHS annual meeting. Don’t miss this opportunity to own a piece of history!
The Friends of Fort Scott National Historic Site is a non-profit organization established in partnership with the National Park Service to support and promote the preservation and interpretation of FSNHS.
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| Stay Connected with Kansas Office of the Governor: |
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The Gordon Parks Museum is pleased to announce the installation of
informational display signs and a welcome sign at the Wayman Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME)
Church Commemorative Park, located at 301 S. Lowman Street in Fort Scott.
Installation is scheduled for Tuesday, July 29, 2025.
“They are hoping to arrive mid-morning around 10:30 am or so,” said the museum director, Kirk Sharp. “The sign vendor is Lark Label, in Wichita, KS.”
This historic site, once home to the oldest Black church in Fort Scott. The property land of the Wayman Chapel
AME Church, was donated to the Gordon Parks Museum by Fort Scott resident Josh Jones, through the Fort
Scott Community College Foundation. The church was regularly attended by Gordon Parks and his family and
was even featured in a scene from Parks’ acclaimed film, The Learning Tree.
The property has since been transformed into a commemorative, low-maintenance park honoring the legacy of
the church.
The new display signage includes four large storyboard panels (76” x 27”) featuring photos,
graphics, and text that highlight the church’s rich history and its vital role in the local Black community. These
panels will be installed on a concrete slab beneath an already completed pergola structure (12’ x 20’). In
addition, a large 4’ x 3’ welcome sign will greet visitors at the park entrance.
“We are very excited about this park, which pays tribute to the historic Wayman Chapel AME Church,
established in 1866 by the grandparents of Professor E. J. Hawkins,” said Gordon Parks Museum Executive
Director Kirk Sharp. “We are incredibly grateful to all of the sponsors who helped make this commemorative
park a reality, especially Josh Jones and the Foundation. This Park ensures that this important chapter of Fort
Scott’s history continues to be honored and shared. It also sits along our Learning Tree Film Sign Trail, adding
even more depth to its significance
“The commemorative project has been made possible with generous support from: Bourbon County Historical
Association, City of Fort Scott, Fort Scott Area Community Foundation, Fort Scott Community College
Foundation, The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team’s Local Health Equity Action Team (LHEAT), Josh
Jones, Rick Mayhew, My One Stop, Marbery Concrete, Inc., and Kansas Tourism.
Wayman Chapel AME Church, originally established in 1866, moved to its final location at the corner of Third
and Lowman in 1885. For more than 115 years, it served as a spiritual and cultural hub for Fort Scott’s Black
community. Due to declining membership and unsafe building conditions, the church was eventually
condemned and razed in the early 2000s.
Today, its legacy lives on. A stained-glass window and two original
pews from the church are on permanent exhibit at the Gordon Parks Museum.
The AME church was Fort Scott’s first and oldest black church with Shiloh Baptist being the second.
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For those interested in learning more about their family history in Bourbon County, the Old Fort Genealogy Society is a valuable resource to the community.
“Many people don’t know what we have to offer,” said Susan Karleskint, president of the society. ” We have tons of Bourbon County history….birth records, death records, cemeteries, pictures.”
“We provide help to people who are researching their families in Bourbon County,” she said. “In addition, we have moved beyond genealogical to historical.”
The society is non-profit.
“We don’t charge, but do ask for a donation, should they want to give one,” she said.
In early 2025, the society’s board began searching for an alternative location. The location they were at, in the basement of Memorial Hall, was too small for all the records they housed, and the cost of renovating to a different part of that building was too high.
They found a much larger site for their services at 2801 S. Horton, in the Professional Building, north of the old Mercy Hospital.
In the spring, they began the move to that building, which has been vacant for several years.
“We have encountered some ‘hiccups’ along the way that have slowed our progress,” Karleskint said.
“The space is futuristic,” she said. “We can grow. We had a lot of things that couldn’t be put out (in the prior building), but now can be.”
The space is almost 4,000 square feet.
Now the board members are seeking volunteers to help them get open to the public.
“Volunteers are needed to unpack items….to go to the bookshelves,” she said. “Currently, there are three to four of us. We need helpers in order to get us open.”
“When our doors open, we will have a need for volunteers who would be willing to help at least 1/2 day per week.”
Contact them at 602.223.3300. “If that number is not currently answered, an individual may call my phone at 620-224-6613,” Karleskint said.
The board consists of Karleskint, Ralph Carlson, Peggy Cummings, Shirley Hurd, Jim Logan, Terry Sercer, and Don Tucker.
Karleskint said she wanted to thank this board for all of the time and energy they have contributed in the past few
months.
Get ready to save 
9.65%
110 South Main Mercantile
Angie Dawn’s
Spend $5+ more in 3 or more stores for a chance to win $
($50) in Chamber Bucks!
In conjunction with the Sales Tax Holiday Shopping Event, will be Laree + Co’s, Lillian’s 9th Birthday Celebration. 
Enjoy Special Storefront Hours 9am-5pm!
Birthday Treats
Charm Bar
