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Category Archives: Fort Scott
FS Commission Special Agenda for Nov.19
SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA
FORT SCOTT CITY COMMISSION
CITY HALL COMMISSION ROOM
123 S MAIN STREET
NOVEMBER 19th, 2020
10:00 A.M.
I. ROLL CALL:
K. ALLEN P. ALLEN NICHOLS WATTS MITCHELL
II. CONSIDERATION:
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Accept resignation of JoLynne Mitchell
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Discussion on process to fill this open position
MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT: ROLL CALL
FS City Commission Meets Today to Accept Resignation of Mitchell
From the new interim city manager Jeff Hancock.
The City Commission will meet at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 19, 2020 at City Hall in the City Commission meeting room at 123 South Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas. The City Commission will meet to accept the resignation of JoLynne Mitchell and discuss the process on how to fill this position. This meeting will be broadcast on the City’s You Tube channel. This meeting is open to the public.
In her existing role, the Mayor has agreed to call this meeting but will not attend. Commissioner Nichols, the Commission President, will preside. A vacancy is created only after the commission accepts the resignation.
I have discussed this issue with the City Attorney. The attached Ordinance 3290 governs the filling of a vacancy and allows us only 10 days after the vacancy is created to fill it. The remaining Commissioners choose a suitable elector/resident of the City to fill the remainder of Commissioner Mitchell’s term. The Commissioners do have some leeway to suspend the rules as it regards to the 10 days but must do so by majority vote. State Statute controls the issue of a tiebreaker. If the Commissioners cannot agree, the City Attorney is technically the tiebreaker. The City Attorney indicates that he will do everything he can to push a decision without him picking and trusts that someone is acceptable to at least 3 of the remaining 4 Commissioners.
I have the attached the ordinance and a previous July 17, 2014 Press Release seeking a Candidates of a City Commission vacancy. If you need additional information, please let me know
No Live FSHS Performance of The Monologue Show At This Time
Fort Scott High School Thespians regret that due to new restrictions related to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the community, there will not be a live performance of The Monologue Show (from Hell) in front of an audience at this time.
FSHS Thespians WILL continue to have a streamed performance of The Monologue Show (from Hell) from Nov. 22-24. Tickets are available from fortscotthighschooltheatre.ludus.com.
The cast plans to have at least one live performance of the show at some time in the future when the school district is open again to the public.
Current ticket holders should e-mail Angie Bin at [email protected] to transfer tickets to a streaming on demand ticket (that can be used any time Nov. 22-24) or to receive a refund.
USD 234: No In Person Classes Starting Tomorrow
MEDIA ADVISORY
What:
Fort Scott High School – Remote Learning – November 19 & 20
Professional Development Day – No School – November 23 & 24
Abstract:
With the recent increase of COVID-19 cases in Bourbon County and a shortage of substitutes, USD 234 has decided that the students at Fort Scott High School will be in remote learning on Thursday and Friday, November 19 and 20. USD 234 has also decided that there will be no school for all students on Monday, November 23 and Tuesday, November 24. These two days will be used as professional development for the USD 234 staff.
For high school students:
- Food service will still be provided on Thursday and Friday. Go to the following link to sign-up for lunches for Thursday and Friday. Families will need to come to the high school to pick up the lunches. https://forms.gle/soWWGAveLvXhfoQeA
- High school students without Internet can come to the school to receive their instruction remotely.
- High school students who need to attend on Thursday and Friday should follow entrance directions below:
o Senior and Juniors – enter through the East entry doors
o Sophomore and Freshman – enter through the West entry doors
As COVID-19 cases rise in our community, we have seen an increase in isolations and quarantines in the school district for our students and staff. USD 234 will continue to monitor the number of COVID-19 cases in our county as well as evaluate our Remote Learning Plan. USD 234 will release information before Thanksgiving Break about what the learning plan for the district after Thanksgiving Break will be. To continue the opportunity for students to learn in person, USD 234 will need to see a decrease in COVID-19 cases in our communities, which will cause a decrease in our schools.
Wear a mask. Wash your hands frequently. Stay socially distant from each other. We need everyone to do their part to keep our school doors open.
When: November 18 & 19 – High School Remote Learning
November 23 & 24 – No School for All Students
Where: USD 234 School District
Contact: Ted Hessong
Superintendent of Schools
Holiday Pop Up Shop At Old Factory Connections Storefront
Local crafts people will have a place to sell their wares at a newly created holiday pop-up shop.
The Creative Sugarplums Pop-up Holiday Shop will be open at the former Factory Connections storefront weekends from November 20 to December 26 along with the weekdays the week of Thanksgiving and Christmas. The store is located on South Main (aka Hwy. 69) next door to Tractor Supply.
“Due to Covid-19 many individuals who create gifts out of their homes are not able to attend their usual events,” owner Emilia Whiteaker said. “This is my way of helping them.”
There will be community vendors and vendors from neighboring towns, she said.
” We have many great vendors, Locust Hill Lamanchas Goat Milk products, Sew Special Creations, Simply Blessed, Tom’s Benches, 2 Southern Ladies, CR Rustic Creations, RustnStuf and more.”
“We will also have Bijou Confectionary from Humboldt and Sweet Designs Cakery from Pittsburg creating sweet treats to go along with our old fashion candy.”
“Customers can also Adopt a Grandparent by purchasing an ornament and we will deliver them to all the residents at Fort Scott residential care facilities,” she said.
“Momentum Youth Development Foundation will have a photo where, for a donation, families can take their Christmas photos.”
There are also youth crafters involved.
“The youth vendors have handmade soaps, crocheted items and more,” she said.
“Visitors can also view the Christmas displays featuring vintage toys, ” she said.
There is still space available for both youth and adult vendors.
Contact Whiteaker through e-mail [email protected] for more information.
FS Downtown Christmas Parade: Dec. 1
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FS Lake Advisory Board Meets Nov. 21
The Lake Fort Scott Advisory Board will meet on Saturday, November 21st, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. at the City Hall Commission meeting room at 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas. This meeting is open to the public, but is limited in space due to COVID. To join by teleconference, call the dial-in number: 620-724-9910. When prompted, enter the access code 515698# and when prompted state your full name followed by the pound # key.
The meeting will be available on the City’s YouTube channel.
Lowell Milken Center Announces Four New Exhibits in Collaboration with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism
The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes is pleased to announce the installation of four new exhibits in the Hall of Unsung Heroes museum in downtown Fort Scott.
The Attraction Development Grant received from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, & Tourism made this new addition to the Lowell Milken Center possible. The grant and matching funds allowed the Lowell Milken Center to update and improve the exhibit area and increase connections with visitors.
The Lowell Milken Center staff has had the opportunity to explore new avenues to reach visitors, teachers, and students while continuing their mission during the last nine months. Through social media outreach, virtual tours, Zoom presentations, and special video clips, the Lowell Milken Center continues to make the exhibit area relevant for teachers, adults, and students
. The inspiring stories of Unsung Heroes and positive role models need to be heard.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism Attraction Development Grant is designed to provide assistance in the development of new tourism attractions or the enhancement of existing attractions within the State. Their purpose is to provide strategic economic assistance to public and private entities and not-for-profit groups that are developing new tourism attractions or enhancing existing ones.
The new panels feature the inspirational stories of Jackie Ormes, Doug Hegdahl, William Matthews and Harry Hue.
Watch for a virtual unveiling of the new exhibits to take place in March.
About the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes:
The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes works with students and educators across diverse academic disciplines to develop history projects that highlight role models who demonstrate courage, compassion and respect.
Through our unique project-based learning approach, students discover, develop and communicate the stories of Unsung Heroes who have made a profound and positive impact on the course of history.
By championing these Unsung Heroes, students, educators and communities discover their own power and responsibility to effect positive change in the world.
Visit www.lowellmilkencenter.org to learn more or visit the Lowell Milken Center exhibits in downtown Fort Scott.
Heather Geiger: New FSMS Nurse
Heather Geiger, RN, is a new nurse at Fort Scott Middle School.
She was born and raised in Fort Scott, graduating from FSHS in 2002.
Geiger then received an Associate’s Degree of Applied Science in Nursing from Fort Scott Community College in May 2008.
She worked at Mercy Hospital for over 10 years, until they closed in 2018.
“I have three children: Caleb, a senior at FSHS; Cody, a freshman at FSHS; and Cooper, in kindergarten. I have been married to my husband, Thaine, since 2003,” Geiger said.
Geiger began a career in nursing because she liked helping people.
“I decided to become a nurse, a couple of years after graduating high school, because the medical field was something that I found very interesting and I knew that I would always enjoy taking care of people, ” she said.
Her duties?
“As a school nurse, I will be helping all of the students with any medical needs and always be available to help them with anything that they might need,” she said.
“This year, we are blessed to have a nurse at each school: Stacy Sauerwein at Winfield Scott, Tausha Platt at Eugene Ware and Missy Reynolds at FSHS,” Geiger said.
Geiger is replacing Erin Beisley, who worked at both the middle school and high school last year.
She started at the middle school last week, but began training for the position a few weeks ago, she said.
“CHC (Community Health Center) employs the nursing staff now, and that is how we have more positions available,” she said.
Letter To The Editor:You Can Help Us Keep School Open
Dear Friends,
The topic of Covid-19 is so complex, and so controversial… that brevity becomes difficult when discussing it. However, I will keep this as brief as possible.
As an educator in our community, I have a unique perspective when it comes to the current situation with Covid-19. I visit with my colleagues and friends that are teachers and administrators, and it becomes so very clear how much EVERYONE wants to keep our kids in school all day, every day.
However, we feel like we are bailing water out of the Titanic with 5-gallon buckets, so to speak. Cases across the country but especially in rural areas are spiking, and Fort Scott is no different. And we are only beginning the most brutal part of the year in terms of illness. Any given year we have a lot of kids and staff out with illness over the winter… so common sense suggests that the worst is yet to come.
Why do I bring these things up? I am humbly asking for your help. I love our small town and the people in it. That is why Nikki and I have chosen to raise our family here. The folks in this community are honest, loyal, and generous. We all have it in us because of the way we were raised. It is time to draw upon those values.
WE NEED YOUR HELP in keeping our schools open. It is true that, thank God, children are not affected as severely by Covid-19 as are older people. That bodes well for our students, BUT NOT OUR TEACHERS.
We have to have our teachers healthy in order to keep our schools open. When teachers are ill, or in quarantine, the burden falls to substitutes, and we simply do not have enough. If schools are forced to go hybrid or remote, it will be because we cannot staff classrooms due to teacher/substitute shortages.
What does this have to do with you? The medical community is telling us that mitigating actions such as social distancing, wearing masks, and limiting the size of gatherings works when it comes to preventing the spread of Covid-19. These are the people on the front lines!
My friends, I share skepticism with many of you when it comes to what the media is telling us about this virus. I believe the commerce of fear is completely out of line and, quite frankly, evil.
Our theme for the school year at St. Mary’s Catholic School is BE NOT AFRAID. We are not scared of this virus or anything else, and we move forward exercising the virtue of FORTITUDE in the way we live our lives. But along with fortitude comes PRUDENCE.
God gave us intelligent minds to look after ourselves and others. As St. Augustine said, “Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.”
YOU CAN HELP US KEEP SCHOOLS OPEN. We desperately NEED you to help us keep schools open!
Regardless of how deadly you think this virus is, the bottom line is that if enough school staff become ill or are in quarantine, your children are going to be attending school remotely and that causes incredible challenges for modern families with both parents working, myself included.
PLEASE find it in your hearts to use prudence in your behavior and help us quell the spread of Covid-19.
Wear a mask in public (we all hate it, but it’s such a small sacrifice to make for others!). Use social distancing. Use good common sense. Lets all band together, work together, for the good of our kids, our families, and our community!
Thank you for hearing me out. May God bless our community and our families.
Peace Be With You,
Josh Regan
Talking Tigers Has Two Undefeated Teams
Submitted by Angella Curran
Yesterday the Talking Tigers competed remotely in the Great Bend tournament.
Out of 27 Varsity teams there were three undefeated teams, two of which were Fort Scott!
Using quality points to break the tie, Ash Nave and Jade Russell came out in 3rd place and Neil Gugnani and Shekhar Gugnani placed 2nd!
All of our other teams walked away with wins as well.
Great weekend for Tiger Debate! (pictured separately are the Gugnani’s and Ash because they participated off site). Congrats to the whole team!