Category Archives: Fort Scott

Fort Scott, Government
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There an opening is for the Lake Fort Scott Advisory Board Committee:

  • One opening (Full-time resident on the East side of Lake Fort Scott)

The function of the Lake Fort Scott Advisory Board Committee is to provide suggestions to the City Manager and Governing Body regarding lake operations, lake safety, fishing, boating, and camping at Lake Fort Scott.

If you have a desire to serve on this board and meet the above requirements, please submit a letter of interest to the City Clerk, Diane Clay, 123 S. Main, Fort Scott, Kansas 66701. The names will be submitted for consideration to the City Commission. All of the boards and commissions serve on a volunteer basis and are not compensated. If you would like more information on this board, please contact Diane Clay, City Clerk at 620-223-0550 or [email protected]. Please submit your letter of interest by January 28th, 2022.

Fort Scott, Government

FS City Special Meeting Jan. 13

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There will be a Special Meeting of the Fort Scott City Commission held at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 13th, 2022. This meeting will be held to consider two change orders for the Urgent Need Grant on North National.

The work session regarding brick streets will be held immediately following the special meeting.

These meetings will be held at 123 S. Main Street in the City Commission meeting room. These meetings will be broadcast on the City’s you tube channel.

 

Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, COVID-19, Fort Scott, Schools

USD 234 Will Close Schools January 13-14 Due to COVID-19 Virus

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USD 234 Board of Education Building, 424 S. Main

The 1,860 Fort Scott school students will get five days off from school starting tomorrow, thanks to the pandemic.

USD 234 Superintendent Ted Hessong said because of the high student absenteeism and a high level of transmission of the virus, Fort Scott schools will be closed tomorrow Thursday, Jan. 13 and Friday, Jan. 14.

Ted Hessong. Submitted photo.

“These two days will count as snow days for tracking of hours on the academic calendar,” he said. “Remote Learning will not be utilized on these two days.”

The two days of school cancellation are followed by the weekend, then a  pre-scheduled staff professional development day on January 17.

“This closure is needed to assist in slowing down the spread of the virus and to give students and staff who are not feeling well time to recover.  We hope these five days away will help people,” he said.

“School activities will be canceled for January 13, 14 and 15,” he said.

“We will continue with the scheduled professional development day on Monday, January 17, and activities will resume on Monday,” Hessong said.

Masks will be required in all buildings on Tuesday when students return on the18th, he said.

“We will monitor numbers regarding the mask requirement next week,” Hessong said.

The Test to Stay and Learn virus testing program provided by the district and Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas will be available for students on Tuesday, he said.

Hessong provided the following graphic:

Student Absentee %  Tuesday, January 11 Wednesday, January 12
Fort Scott High School
 143(absent)/573 = 25% 154(absent)/573 = 26.9%
Fort Scott Middle School
 161(absent)/455 = 35.4% 150(absent)/455 = 33%
Eugene Ware Elementary 103(absent)/357 = 28.9% 106(absent/357 = 29.6%
Winfield Scott Elementary
 82(absent)/385 = 21.3% 80(absent)/387 = 20.7%
Fort Scott Pre-School 10(absent)/90 = 11.1% 13(absent)/85 = 15.3%

 

Fort Scott, Government, Schools

USD234 News Release

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Monday, January 10, 2022

 

Members of the USD 234 Board of Education met at the Winfield Scott Cafeteria on Monday, January 10, 2022, for their regular monthly meeting.

Vice-President Kellye Barrows opened the meeting.  The board approved the official agenda.  The board also approved the consent agenda as follows:

 

A.    Minutes

B.    Bills and Claims

C.    Payroll – December 17, 2021 – $1,463,866.84

D.    Financial Report

E.     Activity fund accounts­­­­­­

F.     First Day of Second Semester Enrollment Count Report

 

There were no comments in the public forum section.  Rob Harrington, Bourbon County Economic Development Director, presented information regarding the Neighborhood Revitalization Plan.  The board approved the Interlocal Agreement with the City of Fort Scott.

Brenda Hill, Fort Scott KNEA President, gave a report to board members.

Scott Kimble, Fort Scott High School Principal, shared information on Individual Plans of Study for students.  Principals from each building shared written reports.  In addition, reports were given by Dalaina Smith, Director of Academics; Ted Hessong, Superintendent of Schools; and Gina Shelton, Business Manager/Board Clerk.

Board members approved the updated CDC and KDHE recommendations for the Operations Guidelines.  The board also approved the following:

 

·       KASB Board Policy updates

·       Resolution 21-10 – Establish Election of School Board Officers

·       Resolution 21-11 – Establish Regular Meeting Dates

·       Desktop Computer purchases

·       Agreement of Cooperation and Partnership between USD 234 Special Education and SEK-CAP Head Start 0-5

 

Superintendent Hessong discussed ESSER III updates.  Board members shared comments and then went into executive session for preliminary discussions relating to the acquisition of real property.  The board returned to open meeting and then went into executive session to discuss personnel matters for nonelected personnel and returned to open meeting.   The board approved the following employment items:

A.    Early retirement of Tami Campbell, high school social studies teacher, effective August 1, 2022

B.    Early retirement of Kelly Toll, middle school science teacher, effective July 1, 2022

C.    Resignation of Jenna Bunn, Winfield Scott paraprofessional, effective December 29, 2021

D.    Resignation of Akasha Clements, middle school paraprofessional, effective January 7, 2022

E.     Resignation of Jonny Larsen, Eugene Ware/Fort Scott Preschool Center custodian, effective December 21, 2021

F.     Resignation of Kourtney Harper, high school paraprofessional, effective December 16, 2021

G.    Resignation of Laura Gulley, Eugene Ware paraprofessional, effective January 24, 2022

H.    Employment of Zach Hart as a Winfield Scott paraprofessional for the remainder of the 2021-22 school year

I.      Employment of Lena Phelan and Codee Weddle as Winfield Scott paraprofessionals for the remainder of the 2021-22 school year

J.      Employment of James Harrison as a high school paraprofessional for the remainder of the 2021-22 school year

K.    Employment of Bobby Reed as a four-hour bus driver for the remainder of the 2021-22 school year

L.     Resignation of Alvin Metcalf as a middle school wrestling coach, effective at the end of the 2021-22 school year

M.   Resignation of Kelly Toll as middle school cross country coach at the end of the 2021-22 school year

N.    Employment of Lindsey Davis as a teacher mentor for the 2021-22 school year

O.    Employment of Amy Harper as high school math team leader for the 2021-22 school year

P.     Retirement of Mary Mauer, Eugene Ware fifth grade teacher, effective at the end of the 2021-22 school year

Q.    Resignation of Judith Davis, high school paraprofessional, effective January 21, 2022

 

The board adjourned.

 

Bourbon County, Business, Fort Scott

Diann Tucker Featured in Top Agent Magazine

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Diann Tucker. Submitted photo.

Diann Tucker was Featured in the January, 2022, edition of Top Agent Magazine

Fort Scott, KS: Diann Tucker of Stewart Realty Co. was featured in the January 2022 edition of Top Agent Magazine. Top Agent Magazine is the premier real estate magazine featuring the foremost real estate agents, mortgage professionals, and affiliates in the USA, Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Top Agent Magazine features the top producing and most accomplished professionals in the real estate industry, offering an in-depth look at their careers and providing a blueprint for their success.

To be considered for a feature in Top Agent Magazine all professionals must go through a nomination and interview process. ALL Candidates are then evaluated based upon production, professionalism, as well as industry and community involvement. It is considered a privilege to be nominated as it speaks to a certain success level all real estate agents strive for. Top Agent has set itself apart as a trusted source of real estate information and inspiration. Diann Tucker is a stellar example of the kind of prominent leaders of real estate we are proud to feature in Top Agent Magazine.

 

The online magazine can be viewed at https://topagentmagazine.com/top-agent-magazine-nationwide-and-international-edition/

 

“It is an honor to have been nominated and featured as a “Top Agent” in the real estate industry. I am humbled that my clients have reached out in such a way to have me recognized. I hope to continue to make real estate dreams come true.” For more information about Diann Tucker, please call 620-223-6700 or 620-224-7054, email [email protected], or visit www.stewartrealty.org.

 

Stewart Realty Co., 1707 S. National Avenue. From its Facebook page.

COVID-19, Fort Scott, Government, Health Care, Schools

Fort Scott’s Middle School: Masks Required

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USD 234 Board of Education Building, 424 S. Main
USD234 Superintendent Ted Hessong said in an email that as of Friday, January 7, the school district had 29 student active cases and nine staff cases.

 He gave the statistics of the number of COVID positive students and staff/total number of students and staff in a building as of Friday:

Fort Scott High School= 1.52%
Fort Scott Middle School= 2.26%
Eugene Ware Elementary School = 1.88%
Winfield Scott Elementary School= 1.30%
USD 234 Preschool = 2.00%
“According to the district’s gaiting criteria, any building that has a positivity rate over two percent and the community spread is over 30 new cases, that building will need to wear masks until the positivity rate falls below 2%,” Hesson said.  “Therefore, the middle school is required to wear masks at this time until the building positivity rate falls below 2%.  The preschool is not required to wear masks at this time because they have a lower student/staff population, but we are monitoring that building’s numbers.”
The school district has provided a way to follow  USD 234’s COVID Attendance Dashboard, he said, and this information is updated daily in the afternoon.
To view the state’s COVID-19 data:
Kansas has had 566,000 cases of the virus and 7,124 deaths. Bourbon County has had 3,192 cases and 44 deaths reported, according to https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=latest+covid+stats+for+bourbon+county+ks
from the New York Times.
Fort Scott, Government, Housing

Openings on FS Land Bank

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There are four (4) openings for the Fort Scott Land Bank Board.

The function of the Fort Scott Land Bank Board is an independent agency and instrumental with the City on acquiring, holding, managing, transforming, and conveying surplus City properties and other abandoned, tax foreclosed, or otherwise underutilized or distressed properties in order to convey these properties for productive use. This Board meets on an as needed basis.

These four positions will be appointed by the Fort Scott City Commission and is recommended, but not mandatory, that a position from each one of the following professions be applied for:

One individual who represents the banking industry

One individual who represents developers

One individual who represents real estate

One individual at large in the community

If you have a desire to serve on this board and meet the above requirements, please submit a letter of interest to the City Clerk, Diane Clay, 123 S. Main, Fort Scott, Kansas 66701. She will then submit your letter of interest for consideration to the City Commission. All of the boards and commissions serve on a volunteer basis and are not compensated. If you would like more information on this board, please contact Diane Clay, City Clerk at 620-223-0550 or [email protected]. Please submit your letter of interest by January 21st, 2022.

Fort Scott, Government, Schools

USD234 Agenda For Jan. 10

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USD 234 January 10, 2022 Board Meeting

5:30 p.m. – Winfield Scott Cafeteria

  1. Open the meeting
  2. Flag Salute
  3. Oath of Office for newly-elected board members
  4. Consider official agenda
  5. Consider consent agenda
  6. Public Forum
  7. Consider Neighborhood Revitalization Renewal – Rob Harrington
  8. KNEA Report
  9. Presentation by Fort Scott High School administration on Individual Plans of Study
  10. Principals’ Report
  11. Director of Academics Report
  12. Superintendent’s Report
  13. Business Manager’s Report
  14. Consider KASB Board Policy updates
  15. Consider Resolution 21-10 – Establish Election of School Board Officers
  16. Consider desktop computer purchase (part of the initial ESSER II application)
  17. Consider Agreement of Cooperation and Partnership between USD 234 Special Education and SEK-CAP Head Start 0-5
  18. ESSER III Update
  19. Board member comments
  20. Executive session – for preliminary discussions relating to the acquisition of real property
  21. Executive session – to discuss personnel matters for nonelected personnel
  22. Consider employment
  23. Adjourn