This year, the Fort Scott Public Library’s summer reading program will begin on June 1 at 10 a.m. with a family kickoff party at Gunn Park, shelter house #3. The party will run from 10 – 11:30.
Partygoers will play games, create crafts, eat delicious treats provided by donors, drink cold water provided by G & W Cash Saver (with ice donated by 5 Corners Mini Mart), earn prizes, read a temporary story stroll, and play on the park equipment located beside the shelter house. This summer’s theme is “Oceans of Possibilities” and the program will explore oceans, water, fishing, boats, pirates, mermaids, sharks, and other related themes through stories, crafts, and other activities from June 1 to August 10.
Attendees should plan for limited parking at the party site by carpooling or parking in nearby lots and walking when possible. Sunscreen, old clothes, and towels are recommended, as attendees will likely get wet. Seating will be limited, so families that need extra seating may want to bring lawn chairs. Bathroom facilities are also scarce near the party site, so please plan accordingly.
The library will be collecting summer care items for families in need, with a donation box available at the party. Please bring unused swim diapers, sunscreen, feminine sanitary products, etc. to donate. Clothing and food donations will not be accepted. Donated items will be available for anyone to take as needed in the library’s downstairs computer room throughout the summer (while supplies last). The library will also have a donation box for children’s books available at the party. Donated books will be offered as prizes at future summer reading program events.
Families may register for summer reading at the party, or receive an extra prize ticket for each child and teen by pre-registering by May 30 at this link: Online SR Registration Form. They may also register via a paper form available at the library, Buck Run Community Center, Hedgehog.INK!, Rusty Spur Energy and Nutrition, Kansas Teachers Community Credit Union, and Billiard Hammer Hartman Insurance Agency. Patrons may turn in completed registration forms at any library desk, by mail, or by placing them in the after-hours book return, located on the north side of the library.
This party is made possible by the City of Fort Scott, which has waived the rental fee for hosting the event. All library programs are free and open to the public.
The Lake Fort Scott Advisory Board will meet on Thursday, June 2nd, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. at the City Hall Commission meeting room at 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas. This meeting is open to the public.
The meeting will be available on the City’s YouTube channel.
The Golf Course Advisory Board will meet on Wednesday, June 1st, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. at Woodland Hills Golf Course, 2414 S. Horton. The meeting will take place in the clubhouse. This meeting is open to the public.
FSHS Commons Area – Enter through the main doors on the West side
Join us for a Fort Scott School District Update!
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce invites members and guests to the Chamber Coffee this Thursday, May 26th at 8am. This week’s coffee will be hosted by Fort Scott USD 234, located at 1005 S. Main St. in the common area. Coffee, juice, and light refreshments will be served.
Destry Brown, 59, is the new superintendent of schools for USD 234, Fort Scott.
He believes he is coming full circle in his life in returning to USD 234 after 38 years in education.
“The funny thing to me is that I began school as a kindergartner in Fulton, KS which was part of USD # 234,” Brown said. “Now, I am back in the USD # 234 School District. I guess one could say that I have come full circle.”
“I graduated from Fort Scott High School, attended Fort Scott Community College for two years and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Pittsburg State University,” he said. “I also received a Master’s Degree in Building Administration along with additional coursework to complete the licensure requirements to be a superintendent.”
He began his teaching career teaching elementary school in Mound City, where he taught grades 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, and taught there for 11 years.
Brown was then the elementary principal for two years in Wilson, KS.
“From there, I was the principal at Alcott Elementary School in Chanute, for five years before moving to the assistant superintendent position for four years. My first superintendent position was in Frontenac, where I remained for three years. Then, for the next nine years, I was the superintendent in Pittsburg. I then moved to Clinton, MO where I have been for the last four years.”
Brown begins officially in Fort Scott on July 1st.
“I will probably be in and out of the district throughout the month of June as I work toward a smooth transition,” he said.
USD 234 Board of Education Building, 424 S. Main
Background
“I grew up on a farm between Fort Scott and Fulton,” he said. “We moved to Fort Scott when I was in middle school.”
His wife, Joan, works for Community National Bank and they have three boys between the two of them.
“We also have six wonderful grandkids!,” he said.
Brown has many ties to Bourbon County.
“My parents are Donnie and Georgia Brown.” he said. “Dad farms in northern Bourbon County and Mom owns and operates Sunshine Boutique in downtown Fort Scott. My sister, Ginger Nance, is the Director at Presbyterian Village.”
In his spare time he attends events in the school district and community, he said.
“In Clinton, I am involved in the Optimist Club and serve as the Treasurer,” he said. “I am also a Rotary and Elks Club member. I serve on the Henry County Health Board. I am involved with Olde Glory Days, a week long 4th of July celebration, Main Street Clinton, and the Emergency Planning Commission. I serve as a Big Brother in Big Brothers and Big Sisters and I mentor a student through the Juvenile Justice program. I coordinated and help with community food distributions. Joan and I attend the Clinton Methodist Church. As you can see, we spend most of our spare time serving our community and especially the children/families in our community.”
” I also love to cook and I am an avid student of leadership,” Brown said.
Brown has been inspired by many.
“As a young teenager, our neighbor, Tom Davis was the Recreation Director in Fort Scott,” he said. “He asked me to coach a tee ball team one year and I found that I really enjoyed working with kids. I volunteered on the playground at Winfield Scott Elementary during my lunch hour in high school. I also had some amazing teachers who had a tremendous influence on my desire to be a teacher including: Welcome Van Sickle, Margaret Titus, Elaine Wimberly, Maxine Kinney, Alice Miller, Tom Davis, Bill Sailors, Lily Kober, Gary Wimmer, Warren Jones, Steve Wolf, Gary Key, Lucille James, Marcel Norman. I am sorry for this long list. But, these people along with many others like Dick Hedges and George Hudiberg encouraged and inspired me along the way. All of these people had a way of teaching and leading that broke average. They always pushed me to work hard and to love and serve people. They displayed a joy for teaching and leading and drew me into the field of education.”
The greatest challenge he faces coming to Fort Scott is to learn about the Fort Scott system and the people who work here, and making up for lost time during the COVID 19 Pandemic, he said.
“Now that we are past the pandemic, the challenge will be to help our students to recover the loss of learning that has occurred,” Brown said. “More importantly, we will need to figure out ways to address the social and emotional issues that have presented themselves during the pandemic. Although we learned a lot about different ways to educate our kids and different ways to do business during this time, our challenge will be to blend the old with the new in ways that best meet the needs of every student.”
“I am so excited to be able to return to my hometown,” Brown said. “The things that people will be able to count on from me are: 1) I am about doing our very best for kids. 2) I will encourage and support our staff. 3) My door is always open to people to stop by with concerns, encouragement, or just to talk. 4) I will be honest and transparent about the workings of the district. 5) I will always support and positively represent the Red and the White. Go Tigers!!!!”
Governor Laura Kelly Announces More Than $7 Million in Transportation Project Investments
~~Cost Share Program Tops $100M in Grants
for the First Time in its History~~
OLATHE – Governor Laura Kelly joined Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz today to announce that more than $7 million will be awarded to 11 transportation construction projects through the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Cost Share Program for spring 2022. With these grants, more than $100 million has been given to Kansas communities since the Cost Share Program’s inception.
“My administration has invested more than $100 million in our roads, trails, and bridges since the start of the Cost Share program because quality infrastructure is the foundation of strong communities,” Governor Kelly said. “Congratulations to each of this year’s Cost Share awardees. Thank you for the work you’re doing to continue building a beautiful, vibrant, and safe Kansas.”
The Cost Share Program was founded in 2019 as part of the Kelly Administration’s 10-year, bipartisan Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program, or IKE. By leveraging both state and local dollars to fund community transportation projects, Cost Share improves safety, supports job retention and growth, relieves congestion, and increases access and mobility in rural and urban areas.
Governor Kelly lauded the Cedar Creek Trail in Olathe as a prime example of how Cost Share can benefit a community. Enhancements to the city’s trail system will give residents greater access to recreational amenities, connect to regional trails, and provide hiking and biking access to nearby health care facilities.
With today’s announcement, more than $103 million in state funding, matched by more than $74 million in local funding, has been invested in Cost Share projects since the program was founded by the Kelly Administration.
“We rely on local leaders to bring us their best ideas for projects that, with a little help, can make a significant difference in a community,” Secretary Lorenz said. “Communities come to the table with a solid project plan, the support of local business and community members, and matching funds in place. State dollars help get the projects to the finish line.”
The Annual FSHS Tiger Drama Camp presents The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by John Glore at 7 p.m. on May 27 and at 2 p.m. on May 28 at the FSHS Auditorium.
The play and camp are produced by the FSHS Thespian Troupe #7365 and their sponsor Angie Bin and features over 35 local youth ages 1st through 9th grades. Directors are recent graduate Christina King and junior Regen Wells. Music Directors are senior Karen Primeaux and junior Jericho Jones. All technical aspects of the play are designed and created by a team of sixteen high school Thespian members.
“Though the characters may be familiar, each of your favorite storybook fables is uproariously derailed in this adaptation of Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith’s quintessential children’s book of fractured fairy tales. Everything from ‘Chicken Little’ to ‘The Gingerbread Man’ gets a complete makeover. Fun music and witty narration accompany the likes of ineloquent giants, sassy barnyard animals, colossal cow pies, and enough stinky cheese to go around,” according to Playscripts publishing.
Tickets are $5 for reserved seats and are available at fortscotthighschool.ludus.com and at the door. Doors open 30 minutes prior to showtime.
Rechelle, Joshua and Julie McClellan. Submitted photo.
Main Street Gallery & Gifts has a new name to rebrand because of additions to the store, located at 23 S. Main in downtown Fort Scott’s historic district.
Since April, it is now called Main Street Vintage and Co.
“We have been wanting to re-brand for sometime now, and we finally made a decision,” said Josh McClellan,one of the owners.
Submitted graphic.
The owners remain the same: Julie McClellan and her son, Josh, and daughter in-law Rechelle.
The family started their store in Oct. 2000.
Since Oct. 2019,Rechelle has been working full time and since then, “We have done a total transformation,” Josh said. “We now have more than 60 vendors.”
“We wanted to reflect our store with a new and improved name.” he said. “We needed something more upscale. We offer several boutique vendors and we have numerous furniture artists. We offer more products also, from DIY chalk paint, to decoupage papers and stencils by Jami Ray Vintage, and transfers, stamps, and molds by Iron Orchid Designs.”
Decoupage papers are now available at the store. Submitted photos.
“We have people that have never been to the store and they come in and say ‘Wow, it’s beautiful here!’ We wanted to show that in our name.”
“We changed our name at the end of April 2022 on all of our social media platforms,” Josh said. “Julie and I have been working on the name change with several vendors for sometime now,” Josh said. “We are proud of all of our accomplishments and wanted to show the public.”
Ralph Carlson introduces the Friday Night Concert musicians May 2019.
The Prairie Sunflower Strings will be the featured entertainment at this week’s Friday Night Concert. The musical group, consisting of eight musicians, play traditional folk music on dulcimers, guitar, violin, and autoharp. A few newer songs will also be added into the mix.
“These talented musicians and vocalists have been playing together for four years,“ concert-series organizer Ralph Carlson said. “Members of The Prairie Sunflower Strings are Cherry Nelson, Joyce Love, Barbara Ray, and Jean Strader on mountain dulcimers, Charlena Burns on bowed dulcimer, Marilyn Adcock on autoharp and vocals, Sandy Hemphill on guitar, violin, and vocals, and Jack Hemphill on guitar. We are pleased to welcome this fine group back to the park pavilion. Come out and join us for a fun opportunity to see friends and enjoy some great music.“
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 show will be moved to The Loading Dock at Common Ground Coffee Co., 12 E. Wall
The City of Fort Scott City Administrative Offices will be closed on Monday, May 30th, 2022 in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. The offices will reopen on Tuesday, May 31st, 2021.
The City’s tree and brush dump site located on North Hill will also be closed on Saturday, May 28th, 2022 for the Memorial Day holiday. It will be open again on Tuesday, May 31st, 2022 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
