Category Archives: Fort Scott

NEWS RELEASE

Monday, September 13, 2021

Members of the USD 234 Board of Education met at the Fort Scott Middle School Commons on Monday, September 13, 2021, for their regular monthly meeting.

President James Wood opened the meeting. The board approved the official agenda.

The board approved the consent agenda as follows:

A. Minutes

B. Bills and Claims

C. Payroll – August 20, 2021 – $1,293,655.87

D. Financial Report

E. Activity fund accounts

Patrons spoke in the public forum, and the board heard from community speakers.

The board reviewed the Operations Plan. In addition, Ted Hessong, Superintendent; Gina Shelton, Business Manager/Board Clerk; and Dalaina Smith, Director of Academics, gave reports. Principals from each building shared written reports with board members.

The board approved the following:

· The Summit on Professional Learning Communities at Work for administrators and faculty

· Memorandum of Understanding with Freeman Health Center for an athletic trainer

Board members reviewed the first day enrollment count.

Board members shared comments and then went into executive session to discuss personnel matters for nonelected personnel and returned to open meeting.

The board approved the following employment matters:

A. Resignation of Kourtney Harper, high school paraprofessional, effective September 3, 2021

B. Resignation of Joy Gray, middle school paraprofessional, effective September 2, 2021

C. Extended leave of absence for Becky Howard, middle school paraprofessional

D. Work agreement adjustment for Patsy French, Eugene Ware paraprofessional, from a 7.75-hour day to an 8-hour day for the 2021-22 school year

E. Work agreement adjustment for Allen Davis, 8-hour middle school custodian, to a 6-hour middle school custodian/2-hour central office custodian for the 2021-22 school year

F. Work agreement adjustment for Dee Peters, Winfield Scott paraprofessional, from a 4.5-hour work day to a 7.5-hour work day for the 2021-22 school year

G. Employment of Makyah Goldsby as a middle school paraprofessional for the 2021-22 school year

H. Employment of Gregg Sweet as a Eugene Ware paraprofessional for the 2021-22 school year

I. Employment of Jenna Bunn as a Winfield Scott paraprofessional for the 2021-22 school year

J. Employment of Mary Jo Harper and Alex Chesney as high school assistant musical directors for the 2021-22 school year; transferring Kelli Davis, high school freshman assistant volleyball coach, to high school head freshman volleyball coach for the 2021-22 school year

K. Stipend for Angie Kemmerer, middle school social studies teacher, of $3,500 for gifted education support

L. Addition of a nurse for the preschool center, part-time or full-time

The board adjourned.

Bourbon County, Business, Food, Fort Scott

New Service Station Opens on South Hwy. 69

September 14, 2021 Loretta George 1 Comment

K.C. Mart owner Harjit Kaur waits on a customer on Sept. 8.

A new gas service station/convenience store, K.C. Mart, has opened at 946 S. Hwy. 69, near the LaRoche Baseball Stadium, south of Fort Scott.

The station was opened August 23 by the owner Harjit Kaur.

In addition to gasoline, the station offers dine-in seating space for customers to enjoy food, beer, and soft drinks.

Offered also are off-road diesel fuel, regular diesel fuel and racing fuel (leaded 110), and Octane 93 premium fuel, Kaur said.

“Semi-truck parking is allowed in the back of the station,” Kaur said. “No prior arrangements are necessary.”

Semi-truck parking is allowed in the back of the K.C. Mart Station at 946 S. Hwy. 69.

Harjit and husband Binder Singh also opened a K.C. Mart at 2191 Soldier Road, hear Hammond, north of Fort Scott in October 2020. KC Mart: Gas Station Service to Northern Bourbon County

“We wanted to establish more business,” Kaur said. “People would come from this area to our store near Hammond for Opie’s Pizza that we serve. We thought we would come here to provide it.”

Hours of operation are Monday through Friday 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For more information or to order a pizza, call 620-644-9867.

K.C. Mart, 946 S. Highway 69, across from the LaRoche Baseball Stadium.

Business, Fort Scott, Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce

Sept. 16 Chamber After Hours: Bartelsmeyer Jewelry

September 14, 2021 Submitted Story Leave a comment

Join us for this week’s

After Hours Chamber Coffee hosted by

Bartelsmeyer Jewelry

Downtown Fort Scott, KS

All attendees are respectively asked to wear a mask to this event except when eating or drinking.

Thursday, September 16th

5:15 pm until 6:30 pm

New location:

22 N. Main St., Downtown Fort Scott

Click Here to visit their Facebook Page.

Click Here to visit their Website.

Contact the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce for more information at 620-223-3566 or [email protected].

UPCOMING CHAMBER COFFEE’S

9/23 ~ Chamber Coffee hosted by Bourbon County Cars Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting

9/30 ~ Chamber Coffee hosted by Pioneer Harvest Fiesta

10/7 ~ Chamber Coffee hosted by Gordon Parks Museum

10/14 ~ Chamber Coffee hosted by Hedgehog.INK! Bookstore

10/21 ~ Chamber Coffee hosted by Sleep Inn & Suites (7 yrs)

10/28 ~ Chamber Coffee hosted by Trinity Lutheran Church

11/4 ~ Chamber Coffee hosted by VFW

11/11 ~ No Coffee

11/18 ~ Chamber Coffee hosted by FS Compassionate Ministries

11/25 ~ No Coffee…Thanksgiving Holiday

12/2 ~ Chamber Coffee hosted by FS Area Community Foundation

12/9 ~ Chamber Coffee hosted by Sunshine Boutique

12/16 ~ Chamber Coffee hosted by The City of Fort Scott

12/23 ~ No Coffee…Christmas Holiday

12/30 ~ No Coffee…New Year’s Holiday

Business, Food, Fort Scott

Dry Wood Creek Cafe: New Business Owners at the Former Lyon’s Mansions

September 13, 2021 Loretta George 7 Comments

In front is Seraphine, with Jackson, Marty, Carrie, and Caleb Elton. Submitted photo.

A new family to Fort Scott has purchased the two former Lyon’s Mansions on National Avenue.

Marty and Carrie Elton moved their family into the north mansion on June 1.

The south mansion’s main floor, formerly known as Nate’s Place, will be a restaurant called Dry Wood Creek Cafe, Carrie Elton said.

The Elton’s will be offering delicious food, and a comfortable space to enjoy it, Carrie said.

“Marty has been in the restaurant business his entire life,” she said. “He has been both in the back of the house and the front of the house. He is past president of the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association and most recently the owner and operator of a successful catering company.”

Carrie grew up north of Buffalo, NY among “amazing bakers and cooks” and desires to bring those flavors to the people of Fort Scott, she said.

The Eltons were looking for opportunities to move to a small town, she said.

“We found this property and immediately fell in love with it,” she said. “A perfect confluence of events made this dream a reality for us.”

“We are currently living in the former bed and breakfast with our three children and two dogs,” Carrie said. “Once the children are grown we may look at reopening the north mansion as a bed and breakfast.”

They have been preparing to open the restaurant soon, possibly next week if staffing and licensing issues are resolved.

There is office space available on the second floor that they “look forward to partnering with someone as they begin their journey,” she said.

The third floor is a two-bedroom apartment that is currently a vacation rental on Vacation Rentals By Owner, VRBO, she said.

The restaurant is slated to have hours of operation: Tuesday through Sunday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Contact information for Marty or Carrie is 620.224.2970. Like the restaurant on their Facebook page, Dry Creek Cafe.

“We look forward to holding special events a couple of times a month, at night,” she said. “More information will be available on these once we get up and running.”

The menu is taken from their Facebook page:

From the Dry Wood Creek Cafe Facebook page.

Entertainment, Fort Scott

Friday Night Free Concert: Matt Harper

September 13, 2021 Submitted Story Leave a comment

Ralph Carlson introduces the Friday Night Concert musicians May 2019.

This week’s Friday Night Concert will be presented by Matt Harper of Nevada, Missouri. Harper sings and plays guitar and harmonica, and performs a variety of music including country, folk, jazz, inspirational, blues, and original tunes.

“Performing since the early 1990s, Harper is a musician of excellence and is a jack of all styles,” concert-series organizer Ralph Carlson said. “Harper has a wife and four kids and is a busy guy, so we really appreciate his willingness to return to the park pavilion and entertain our crowd of music lovers. Come out and join your friends for an enjoyable evening.”

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 of Parsons serves as sound technician each week. Due to limited seating, attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.

In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be moved to the Common Ground Coffee Co., 12 E. Wall Street.

Fort Scott, Government

Corrected Time For Special FS Commission Meeting Sept. 13

September 11, 2021 Submitted Story Leave a comment

There will be a Special Meeting of the Fort Scott City Commission held at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, September 13^th, 2021. This meeting will be held to consider the following:

Consideration of change order on ladder fire truck

Consideration of payment for ladder fire truck

Consideration of donation of current ladder truck

Consideration of change order for Eagle Block Building

This meeting will be held at 123 S. Main Street in the City Commission meeting room. This meeting will be broadcast on the City’s You tube channel. This meeting is open to the public.

Entertainment, Food, Fort Scott, Sports

Register for Sept. 18-19 Multiple Sports Events at Gunn Park by This Sunday

September 11, 2021 Loretta George Leave a comment

Runners in the October 2015 Tri-Yak-A-thon.

Next weekend, two annual sports events will be combined: the Marmaton Massacre with the Tri-Yak-A-Thon and additionally a separate golf disc tournament.

Local businessman and bike enthusiast, Frank Halsey is the organizer of the bike race called the Marmaton Massacre and the kayak-run-bike contest called the Tri-Yak-A-Thon.

The Marmaton Massacre is still seeking participants, according to the Gunn Park Trails Facebook page.

The deadline to register is this Sunday, September 12, at midnight.

Frank Halsey, the event organizer, hugs his grandson following a first-place win in the kids’ race in July 2018.

“The Gunn Park Trail Volunteers (the sponsors of the events)are super excited! It’s going to be a very busy weekend in beautiful Gunn Park,” Halsey said.

“We’ve combined our annual Marmaton Massacre Festival and The annual Tri-Yak-A-Thon into a really fun-packed weekend, September 18^th & 19^th,” Halsey said. “In addition, Danny Craig is hosting a disc golf tournament on Saturday, the 18^th.

“We kick off the activities with the Tri-Yak-A-Thon, at 9 a.m. Saturday,” Halsey said. “This is our 8^th year for this charitable fundraiser of running a 5k on the trails, kayaking a 5k on the Marmaton River, and finishing with a 10k ride on the trails.”

Participants may go solo, or as a relay team.

“Solo is for those hard-core athletes, while the relay team is not easy, it’s definitely easier,” he said. “I don’t run any longer, so my daughter, Libby, and I will be a team. Proceeds of the Tri-Yak-A-Thon are donated to proceeds go to Fort Scott Paws and Claws Animal Shelter.”

“At 1 p.m. the Massacre officially starts with the marathon race,” Halsey said. “This is a 3-hour race, where participants complete as many laps as possible on our trails.”

To participate in the events see the Gunn Park Trails Facebook page, registrations must be sent by Sunday, Sept. 12.

The whole community is invited to watch.

“While most of the events are not really spectator-friendly, we’d love to have the locals show up for the Saturday evening festivities,” he said. “These start about 5:30 p.m. with the always fun Kid’s Bike Race. We create an open course, through the park, so not on the trails, for kids 10 years old and under. This is a hoot watching these kids, and everybody cheering.”

At 6:30 p.m. a father and son, Ed and Exander Schilling, St. Joe, MO will give a demonstration on bike skills.

Halsey describes the two as “extremely talented.” “Ed can do things on a bike that most can’t do on their feet, and Exander likes to get big air,” he said.

“Around 7:30 pm we have live music with DJ Brown & The Bourbon County Revival performing until about 9 or 9:30 p.m.,” he said. “They are a local band, that plays a little bit of everything.”

“The Beech Street Eats food truck will be onsite for refreshments,” Halsey said.

“This is a great family atmosphere, and we hope the people of Fort Scott, and the surrounding area, will bring their lawn chairs, kid’s bikes, enjoy the evening in beautiful Gunn Park,” he said.

“We could not do this without our volunteers and our generous sponsors, including:

Eric’s Bike & Board of Overland Park
The Lockton Companies
UMB Bank
Sharky’s Pub & Grill
Cheney Witt Funeral Home
Sonic and Typhoon Bay Car Wash
Landmark Bank
City State Bank
Keys
Mid-Continental
Brock Electric
Labconco
Ward Kraft
CK Pro Photography
New Wave Broadband”

Fort Scott, Government

Special Meeting of FS Commission: Consideration of Ladder Fire Truck, Eagle Block Building

September 11, 2021 Submitted Story Leave a comment

There will be a Special Meeting of the Fort Scott City Commission held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, September 13^th, 2021. This meeting will be held to consider the following:

Consideration of change order on ladder fire truck

Consideration of payment for ladder fire truck

Consideration of donation of current ladder truck

Consideration of change order for Eagle Block Building

This meeting will be held at 123 S. Main Street in the City Commission meeting room. This meeting will be broadcast on the City’s You tube channel. This meeting is open to the public.

Fort Scott, Government

FS Commission Special Meeting Agenda for Sept. 13

September 11, 2021 Submitted Story Leave a comment

SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA

FORT SCOTT CITY COMMISSION

CITY HALL COMMISSION ROOM

123 S MAIN STREET

SEPTEMER 13^TH, 2021

5:30 P.M.

I. ROLL CALL:

K. ALLEN P. ALLEN R NICHOLS L WATTS J. JONES

II. CONSIDERATION:

Consideration of change order on ladder fire truck
Consideration of payment for ladder fire truck
Consideration of donation of current ladder truck
Consideration of change order for Eagle Block Building

Fort Scott, Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce

What’s Happening in Fort Scott Weekly Newsletter Sept. 10

September 10, 2021 Submitted Story Leave a comment

What’s Happening in Fort Scott!

September 10th Weekly Newsletter

Come join us for the Friday Night Concert at Heritage Pavilion

UPCOMING CALENDAR OF EVENTS

________________

TROLLEY TOURS!

Every Friday & Saturday!

50-minute Narrated Trolley Tour

of Historic Fort Scott. Every hour on the hour. Departs from the Fort Scott

Chamber at 231 E. Wall St.

Friday hours: 11 am until 3 pm

Saturday hours: 10 am until 3 pm.

$6 Adults & $4 for 12 yrs & under.

THE FORT SCOTT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE OFFERS DAILY GUIDED TOURS AT 10 AM & 1 PM, 7 DAYS/WEEK – FREE!

9/10 & 9/11 – TOWN-WIDE GARAGE SALE. Clickhere for the listing & map, hard copies also available at the Chamber, most all convenience stores in town plus Don’s Smoke Shop and Bids & Dibs. Enjoy the sales this weekend in Fort Scott!

9/10 & 9/11 ~ FORT SCOTT LIVESTOCK SALE. Click herefor info.

9/10 thru 9/16 – FORT SCOTT CINEMA:

Malignant, Free Guy & Shang-Chi & The Legend of the 10 Rings. Check out what is coming to theatres, click here.

9/10 – BOURBON COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL ART WALK: Liberty Theatre Patio, 5-8pm, come support our local artists! Click here for info.

9/10 – BOILER ROOM BREWHAUS : Barak N Hill, live music, 7-9pm, click here for more info.

9/10 – FRIDAY EVENING OF FUN AT THE MUSEUM OF CREATIVITY – Open play session and crafts 3:30-7:30pm, Game Night 8:30-11:30pm, only $1 admission! Visit and Like their Facebook page for more info.

9/11 – FARMERS’ MARKET ~ 8 am to noon, Skubitz Plaza in front of the Fort.

9/11 – READING OF THE NAMES ~ starting at 7am over the Downtown speaker, reading of the names of all who lost their lives in the War on Terror.

9/11 – THE LAVENDER PATCH FARM OPEN ~ open to the public 9am to 1pm, visit the farm and on-site boutique filled with lavender lotions, soaps and more!Click here for info.

9/11 – POKER RUN TO SUPPORT THE LOCAL VFW ~ sponsored by Old Fort Auto and Ron’s Tire & Service, starts at 10am, click here for details.

9/11 – CRUISE IN CAR SHOW ~ Tractor Supply parking lot starting approx. 5:30pm, click here for details.

9/11 – ROLLER SKATING AT BUCK RUN ~ Roller Skating at Buck Run, open to the public, 7-9pm, click here for info.

9/11 & 9/12 – JOHN HILL SHOWCASE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT ~ LaRoche Baseball Complex, Saturday & Sunday.

SAVE THE DATE:

SEPTEMBER 16th ~ CHAMBER AFTER-HOURS GRAND OPENING & RIBBON CUTTING AT THE

NEW DOWNTOWN LOCATION OF

BARTELSMEYER JEWELRY.

SEPTEMBER 18th & 19th ~ Maramaton Massacre & Tri-Yak-A-Thon weekend Festival. Mountain Bike Race, Free Camping, Live entertainment, kids race. Tri-Yak-Athon is Run, Kayak, and bike race on 9/18 at 9 am. Click here.

SEPTEMBER 24th thru 26th – Doug Hazelbaker Memorial 5th Annual – Bourbon County Fairgrounds. Ranch Rodero, Steer Wrestling, Calf Roping, Breakaway, Goat Tying. Click here for more information.

SEPTEMBER 30th thru OCTOBER 3rd – Pioneer Harvest Feista.Kicks off with a parade Thursday evening at 6pm, with events all weekend. Click here for the schedule.

OCTOBER 7th thru 10th – Gordon Parks Annual Celebration.Click here for the schedule.

SHOPPING ~ SUPPORT LOCAL!

Downtown Fort Scott is booming!

Click here for Chamber member

specialty shopping & other retail in

Downtown & other areas of the community.

Fort Scott Area

Chamber of Commerce

620-223-3566

[email protected]

fortscott.com