
110 S. Main Mercantile Reopens Feb. 10



A local eatery known for its’ generous portions, is closed for some aesthetic improvement to the dining area.
“We will be closed February 6-11,” Brian Lancaster, owner, said.
H2 Painting LLC will be painting the ceilings and walls.
“We are wanting to update and improve our dining room area,” Lancaster said. “We are planning to update flooring and the kitchen area at a later date.”
The deli’s owner, Marsha Lancaster, died on September 19, 2021, and on October 13, 2021 , her siblings became the owners of her decades-running restaurant.

In July 2022, Marsha’s nephew, Brian Lancaster assumed ownership of the deli.
Brian Lancaster Assumes Ownership of Marsha’s Deli
Also last year, a Marsha Fest was started in memory of Marsha Lancaster.
Marsha Fest Is March 5: Celebrating Her Life
To learn more about Marsha:
NOTICE OF AND AGENDA FOR MEETING
OF FORT SCOTT CITY COMMISSION
CITY HALL COMMISSION MEETING ROOM
123 SOUTH MAIN STREET
February 7, 2023
6:00 P.M.
Roll Call:
Golf Cart Rental Fee
Phase III – $2,040.00
and Bidding 10% – $450.00
$568.00
And Cylinder Breaks – $120.00
$282,383.00 – 17th & Eddy Storm Water – Remobilization fees due to substantial delays in utility relocations.
Sign up required. Comments on any topic not on agenda and limited to five (5) minutes per person, at Commission discretion.
VII. Appearances:
Consideration of Resolution No. 6-2023 A RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT KANSAS HOUSING INVESTORS TAX CREDIT APPLICATION BY RURAL REDEVELOPMENT GROUP LLC FOR DEVELOPMENT OF RENTAL HOUSING LOCATED AT 736 S. HEYLMAN, FORT SCOTT, KANSAS.
A RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT FOR THE SUBMISSION OF THE MODERATE-INCOME HOUSING GRANT APPLICATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CERTAIN HOUSING WITHIN THE CITY OF FORT SCOTT, KANSAS TO ACCOMPANY THE GRANT APPLICATION TO THE KANSAS HOUSING RESOURCES CORPORATION
A RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF A RURAL HOUSING INCENTIVE DISTRICT (RHID) AND AN INDUSTRIAL REVENUE BOND (IRB) ISSUE IN SUPPORT OF THE VAN FOSSEN APARTMENTS PROJECT TO BE LOCATED AT 19 S. MAIN AND 23 S. MAIN IN DOWNTOWN FORT SCOTT, KANSAS
VIII. Public Hearing:
Vacate the roadway easement on Barteau Street between 3rd and 4th Streets – Property described as: APPROXIMATELY 300’ x 60’ OF BARTEAU STREET LYING BETWEEN LOTS 1-13 BLOCK 16 AND LOTS 2-14 BLOCK 17 MCMILLAN’S ADDITION TO THE CITY OF FORT SCOTT KANSAS.
XII. Adjournment:
The regular meeting of the Fort Scott City Commission was held January 24th, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Commission Meeting Room at City Hall, 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas.
ROLL CALL:
Commissioners J. Jones, T. Van Hoecke, E. Woellhof were present with Mayor M. Wells. Commissioner K. Harrington was absent.
FLAG SALUTE AND INVOCATION: T. VanHoecke, said a prayer asking God for guidance for the City, our Government and City officials.
AUDIENCE IN ATTENDANCE: Brad Matkin, Interim City Manager, Travis Shelton, Police Chief, Dave Bruner, Fire Chief, Jason Dickman, City Engineer, Thomas Russell, Codes Enforcement Technician, Seth Simpson, Airport Director, Doug Guns, Sports Facilities Director, Bob Farmer, City Attorney, Lisa Lewis, City Clerk, Eddie Townley, Michael Buller, Steve Anthony, Justin Pregont, and Michael Hoyt.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: M. Wells asked if anyone had additional items to add to the agenda for this meeting. L. Lewis stated that the agenda did need to be approved due to amendments made to the published agenda on January 20th, 2023. J. Jones motioned to approve the January 24th, 2023, amended agenda. T. VanHoecke seconded. All voted aye.
APPROVED THE JANUARY 24, 2023, AMENDED AGENDA.
Continue reading Fort Scott City Commission Minutes of Jan. 24
Congratulations to the FSHS Scholars Bowl team on finishing as Regional Runner-Up tonight at the Fort Scott Regional Tournament! They qualify for the 4A State Tournament next Saturday at Circle High School.
Submitted by:
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Fort Scott Police Captain Jason Pickert has been promoted to the Chief of Police, according to a press release from the city manager on Wednesday.
“It is with great pleasure that I announce Jason Pickert as the new Chief of Police for the City of Fort Scott” said Interim Fort Scott City Manager Brad Matkin. “Pickert has been with the Fort Scott Police Department for the last 18 years working side by side, as Police Captain, with retiring Police Chief Travis Shelton for the last four years.”
Pickert started his career with the Fort Scott Police Department in 2004 after graduating from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center in 2005, according to a press release from Matkin.
He was a patrol office from 2004 to 2006 before taking the role of detective in the fall of 2006, serving in that role for two years.
Pickert was then promoted to Detective Sergeant in March of 2008 and served in this role for over ten years before being promoted to Captain in December of 2018.
Among the many other certificates and continued education classes, Pickert graduated with a Certified Public Manager certificate in 2017 from the University of Kansas.
“We had some very good candidates, and I was very impressed with each of the candidates we interviewed,” Matkin said. “The interview panel and I feel Jason Pickert is the one that stood out among the rest and will do a great job.”

“Pickert is a strong leader, decision maker, and a valuable resource,” Matkin said. “I look forward to working more closely with Jason and am excited to see what the future holds for the staff and the department.”
Pickert will take over the Chief of Police role on March 1st, 2023.
Current Fort Scott Chief of Police Travis Shelton will be retiring at the end of February.

Interim City Manager, Brad Matkin, has changed the location of the GOLF ADVISORY BOARD MEETING to CITY HALL (123 S. Main St.) in the Commission Room. This will allow for it to be available to citizens to view on the City of Fort Scott YouTube Channel.
The meeting date and time remain the same. It will be Friday, February 3rd at 12:00PM.
“Sixty-three people attended that first meeting,” he said. “It has never been below that number since. On charter Sunday, 111 people were in attendance and 70 of those placed their membership.”
In the earliest days, finding a place to meet was a challenge.
They met in the band room at the middle school, at Fort Scott Community College, at the high rise apartment complex, and at the old 4-H Building.
As the congregation grew, a more permanent and larger location was necessary.

Once they were able to start building the church facility, it was able to be purchased because all seven leaders: Max Hayden, Ron Billiard, Bill Douglas, Richard Hixon, Jerry Witt, Tom Armstrong, and Bill Underkofler put their homes up as collateral for the build.

Leon Weece was the only paid staff for at least a year, and volunteers cleaned the church.

Currently they have six ministry staff, two administration staff, and two janitorial staff members, with one intern.
The Mission
The mission of the first congregation was to start a fundamental, Bible-based Christian church, and there have been three mission statements in the church history.
The current one is “We are a community who loves Jesus, who want to see Jesus loved by our community.”
“We have changed the wording to become more modern over time but we have always stuck to those three basic missions of God, his plan, and his people.” said Karen Billiard, also on the anniversary committee.
The Anniversary Committee
The 50 year planning committee has nine people, and five were present that first service: Sharon Campbell, Karen Billiard, Judy and Jerry Witt, and Robin Billiard-Hartman.
Added to the 2023 anniversary committee are Rita Emmerson, and Billie Jo and Alan Drake, who all came to the newly formed church early in its history, along with Delynn Abati, who has attended Community since 1997.

The Current Congregation
Currently there are nearly 500 people attending Community Christian.
Members of the anniversary committee stated their reasons they attend the church:
“The love our church family has for each other,” said Robin Hartman.
“Knowing that we are a Bible-based church,” said Billie Jo Drake.
“The fellowship and care each person has for every other,” Billiard said.
CCC is a mission-giving church, increasing outreach of the congregants.
From the inception of the church, they pledged 10% of all income to missions, according to information from the committee. That number has grown to the 18% currently given to missions every month.
Plans for the 50th Anniversary
There will be one extended service on Sunday, February 12, which is Community Christian Church’s Charter Sunday, beginning at 9 a.m. that will highlight and recreate parts of the last 50 years.
Leon Weece, the church’s first minister, will preach. Additionally, there will be testimonies from some of the charter members and Timothys; people the church has sent out to serve in ministries throughout the world.
There will be a reception directly following the service, which will have a microphone set up for anyone wanting to share memories of their days at CCC.
On the Horizon
The church is currently remodeling the north wing of the facility to be a more inviting and accommodating space for the youth group. They are about 50% done with the remodel.
Services
The service times of the church: 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. every Sunday, with a study hour in between.
They also have programming for students pre-K to 12th grade from 6 to 8 p.m. every Wednesday evening, during the school year.
The church is located at 1919 S. Horton, Fort Scott.
For more information, phone 620.223.1500 or view their Facebook page.
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The function of the Fort Scott Parks Board Committee is to provide suggestions to the City Manager and Governing Body regarding all the parks within the City of Fort Scott. All boards and commissions of Fort Scott serve on a volunteer basis and are not compensated. If you have a desire to serve on this board, please submit a Letter of Interest to the City Clerk, Lisa Lewis, 123 S. Main, Fort Scott, Kansas 66701 or [email protected]. The names and letters will be submitted for consideration to the City Commission. Please submit your letter of interest by 4:00 PM on March 3rd, 2023.
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A Branson illusionist will perform at Ellis Center on the campus of Fort Scott Community College on Friday, Feb. 17 from 7-9 p.m.
Tickets range from $50 to $65 for the event that is a fundraiser for the Fort Scott Splash Pad project.
Reza is a touring illusionist that performs at Branson’s Famous Theater. His performance is on a grand scale with interactive comedy and magic, according to Branson.com.
Josh Jones, one of the splash pad project members, talked to the performer a year ago about coming to Fort Scott and then again following the Jeff Leeson Comedy Tour on Jan. 21, which netted the project $5,000.
“They will be traveling through and will cut us a break on that day,” Jones said. “The college is letting us use the Ellis Center for free.”
Project Committee to Make City of Fort Scott Presentation

The Fort Scott Splash Pad Committee is comprised of Jones, Bailey Lyons, Katie Hueston, Kelly Barr and Meredith Tucker.
A presentation by that committee will be made to the Fort Scott City Commission on Feb. 7 at the city meeting, he said.
They will be presenting the proposed location of the splash pad on Skubitz Plaza, and show an architects rendition of the project.
At completion of the build, the project will be donated to the City of Fort Scott for public use.
“To run it, it is estimated to be $5,000 a year in maintenance and operation costs,” Jones said.

All together, the cost for the project is estimated to be $200,000, he said.
“Two years ago, Kristin and Will Bishop reached out to me about a splash pad project,” he said. “We didn’t move it forward until a year ago.”
“We thought it would be a two year project but with gracious grants from Walmart for $40,000 and Timken LLC for $75,000 and other community members it is moving forward,” he said.
In addition to those big grants, on Nov. 29 during the national Giving Tuesday day, an anonymous donor gave $10,000 to the project and the project had a $10,000 match plus $10,000 from other citizens, he said, totaling $30,000 for that day.
Jones said the water park project is around $120,000 and any money extra will go towards landscaping, shade and seating at the site, plus possibly a public bathroom there as well.
The project is estimated to be completed this year.
About the Illusionist
REZA has taken the art of illusion to a new level, delivering his rock concert style magic show to audiences across the globe, according to press release from Reza.
Reza’s current tour transports concert level lighting and production elements merged with cutting-edge magic. Reza has garnered a loyal fan base with his passion for creating signature grand-scale illusions such as making motorcycles and helicopters materialize out of thin air!
Reza’s unique brand of illusion has landed him on popular reality shows across 31 countries, including recent U.S. television appearances on A&E’s Duck Dynasty and The CW’s Penn & Teller : Fool Us.
Audiences can expect to witness such illusions as passing through the spinning blades of an industrial fan, a record breaking recreation of Houdini’s most famous stunt, and the appearance of a real helicopter, live on stage.
Reza infuses state-of-the-art production elements, comedic timing, and numerous interactive and inspirational moments, allowing the audience to experience the magic first hand. Perhaps Reza’s greatest secret is his uncanny ability to communicate his performance art on such a personal level.
Reza’s new show, “Edge of Illusion,” has earned various awards including “Magician of the Year.”
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.RezaLive.com

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