Jody Hoener, Bourbon County Economic Development Director. Submitted photo.
The following is a statement from Jody Hoener, the Bourbon County Economic Director, in regards to recent activities of the Bourbon County Economic Development Corporation.
“Currently, there are three economic developers in our community. The City of Fort Scott employs two, with community and economic development directors, and Bourbon County employs me as the county-wide economic development director.
“Consolidating services between the City of Fort Scott and the County has been discussed in depth with departments like public works, human resources, and economic development.
A group of community members researched potential cost savings in addition to best practices as modeled by similar communities.
A recommendation was presented to BEDCO to develop a private/public partnership in order to consolidate economic development to one director, under a single entity, with broad representation from each of the six cities, the county, and taxing entities.
Bourbon County has committed to funding this position. I believe it is the hope that all entities, including the City of Fort Scott, will see the benefit in this model and participate likewise.
While I am fully aware that my current position will be eliminated, and have no preconceived notion that I will be gainfully employed in the new position, I fully support the decisions made by the county commissioners and BEDCO Board. I have been encouraged to apply for the new position, along with other incumbents in Bourbon County, once it is posted.
The move is in the best interest of the entire community and is one step in the right direction toward building a better business climate.
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.
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 October 30th, 2020.
2020 GORDON PARKS PHOTO CONTEST Sponsored by Merl Humphrey. The Theme “Social Justice, Diversity and Equity” for any amateur photographer. Deadline EXTENDED to 10/26/2020, send submission to [email protected].
GUIDED TOURS OF THE FORT DAILY, 10AM &1PMThe Fort Scott National Historic Site is open daily 8am-5pm for touring on your own, but arrive at 10am or 1pm on any day and take advantage of a guided tour with a park ranger! Guided tour lasts approx. 1 hour.
10/9 – Rotary Krispy Kreme Doughnut pickup! Memorial Hall from 6 to 10am, if you ordered Doughnuts for Dictionaries!
10/10 – FORT SCOTT FARMERS’ MARKET– At Skubitz Plaza in front of the Fort, 8am to noon. American Legion serving Breakfast on the Bricks starting at 8am.
10/10 –CRUISE NIGHT – last cruise night for the season! 6 pm -10 pm, route of 6th St. to 18th!
10/10-11 – EKTEC Rodeo, Saturday & Sunday, Bourbon County Fairgrounds, click here for more info.
10/10 – FSHS CLASS OF 2019- HONOR RAYMOND HARPER – 1 -2 pm, Balloon release memorial for classmate Raymond @ FSHS Football Stadium.
10/10- BOILER ROOM BREWHAUS! Brews & Brushes! 1 – 4 pm. We will be creating a painting that can last through the fall with those gorgeous trees we all love and a cute truck.
10/11 – BOILER ROOM BREWHAUS! Brings back Trivia night for teams of 2 to 6 people, $5 entry
10/15 ~ GENERAL ELECTION CANDIDATE FORUM. ~ Memorial Hall, Meet & Greet at 5:30 pm, and Forum starts at 6 pm
10/15 & 10/16 ~ BLOOD DRIVE – BRCC ~ Buck Run Community Center – Give life! 10/15 from 1-7pm & 10/16 from 9 am -1 pm.
10/16 ~ FREE GOSPEL FRIDAY NIGHT CONCERT First United Methodist Church. 7-9 pm. Blackwood Brothers in Concert singing Southern Gospel. This is a FREE concert!
10/17 FSCC HOSTS COOK’S CLINIC – Head Basketball Coach. Starts at 10 am to 1 pm. Michael Cook and other area High School & college coaches doing various drills and areas on emphasis. Arnold Arena at Fort Scott Community College.Day. $20 per person. Zoom Stream link of Cook’s Clinic available for $15 per viewer.
REGISTER FOR KANSASWORKS VIRTUAL JOB FAIR – NO COST TO EMPLOYERS!
COLOR GUARD NEEDED
Your Fort Scott American Legion Post 25 is being asked to provide funeral honors for more and more Veterans who are being interred not only in the Fort Scott National Cemetery but also in cemeteries in the local area.
As a member of the American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary or Sons of the American Legion you are invited to join American Legion Post 25 Color Guard. Attendance at Legion meetings is not required to participate with the Color Guard. Some time, though, is needed to practice flag folding and presentation and other the other rituals performed by the Color.
As a Color Guard member, you would be contacted to assist in providing funeral honors for an area Veteran. If you are not available, then other Color Guard members would be contacted to assist with the flag presentation.
Sseveral photos are attached to show our Post Color Guard participating in flag presentations for recent funerals.
Remember, any current member of the American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary or Sons of the American Legion can join the Post 25 Color Guard.
If you would like additional information about joining the Post 25 Color Guard, please call Color Guard Commander Darrell Spencer at 620.224.6720 or email [email protected].
Any area resident who may be eligible to join the American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary or Sons of the American Legion, should contact Post 25 Commander Carl Jowers at 620.215.1688 for more information. Once you join the American Legion family, you can then join the Fort Scott American Legion Post 25 Color Guard.
This is for the Lake Fort Scott Advisory Board Committee:
One opening (Lake Fort Scott resident – west 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 October 30th, 2020.
SEK Financial is pleased to announce the addition of it’s sixth partner. Fort Scott native Mason Knopp recently completed his securities, regulatory, and insurance exams. Mason joins the experienced group at SEK Financial with representatives Jim Sather, Larry Davenport, Bob Campbell, Mitch Quick and Robert Tersinar.
Mason is a Fort Scott High School graduate, who completed his degree at Southeastern Louisiana University. Partner Larry Davenport commented “we are pleased to grow our firm with such a young professional person”. We think Mason is the right person at the right time.” Added Jim Sather.
Mason will specialize in a full range of individual and group retirement planning products. He will also provide life insurance and employee benefits for the SEK Financial client base. Mason can be reached at SEK Financial located at 399 Hudson, Fort Scott or via telephone at (620)223-5756.
There will be a Special Meeting of the Fort Scott City Commission held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, October 9th, 2020. This meeting will be held to consider an extension of the bid date for the City’s property insurance which is currently out for bid. It is anticipated the City Commission will adjourn in Executive Session after this item to discuss non-elected personnel.
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.
Bronson, Fort Scott, Fulton, Mapleton, Redfield and Uniontown all benefit from the upcoming proposed 1-percent sales tax that will be on the Nov. 3 Bourbon County Ballot.
In fact, if the proposal fails to renew (the sales tax has been in place for years), cities will have to make hard decisions concerning services they can provide their communities, according to authorities.
Several community officials have responded with what the possible impact on their communities will be.
“If a no vote prevails, each entity receiving this sales tax would have troubling decisions that would set our communities back even further,” Fort Scott’s Financial Director Susan Bancroft said. “Some communities may be forced to raise property taxes to cover lost revenue and some may face having to make the decision to unincorporate.”
“Citizens may ask why a sales tax rather than a property tax,” Bancroft said. ” Local residents and nonresident consumers buying in Bourbon County share in the revenue generated from a sales tax. Essentially, visiting consumers help financially support improvements in our communities versus a property tax solely coming from Bourbon County residents.’
“Currently, The City of Fort Scott generates roughly $750,000 per year from the 1% sales tax,” Bancroft said. “Approximately 67% ($500,000) of the sales tax is used for the street department for operations and basic maintenance to our city streets.”
“Additionally, 20% of the sales tax supports any capital improvements needed for parks, public safety, recreational facilities and public buildings,” she said. “The remaining 13% of the sales tax supports general fund operations for things such as: public parks, municipal airport, Woodland Hills Golf Course, aquatic center, Buck Run Community Center and public safety.”
FS Commission Recent Change: 90% Will Go To Streets
“At the October 6th commission meeting, the (Fort Scott)City Commission made a bold decision to change their current allocations of the 1% countywide sales tax to the street department,” Bancroft said. “The current 67% will increase to 90%, and will be dedicated to the street department for operations and maintenance if the sales tax passes on November 3rd. The remaining 10% will be used to continue to fund public parks, public buildings, recreational facilities, and public safety.”
Graphic provided by Susan Bancroft.
Bronson, Fulton, Mapleton, Redfield and Uniontown use the portion of their sales tax to support general operations and are a significant part of their budgets, Bancroft said.
Bancroft broke down the following percentages for how much the countywide sales tax generates in each entity as a percentage of total revenue received:
Bourbon County 35%
Bronson 18%
Fort Scott 11%
Mapleton 29%
Redfield 27%
Uniontown 14%
“I encourage the citizens of Bourbon County to research the facts to understand the impact this vote could make on our county. The proposed sales tax is not a new sales tax. This sales tax is simply renewing the current sales tax in place, and for all entities, it is to support the day to day activities that keep our communities running.” Bancroft stated.
Bronson
“The City of Bronson relies on the countywide sales tax to supplement our general fund to reduce the burden on property taxpayers,” according to Bronson City Clerk Ellen Harper. “Our general fund pays, in full or in part, expenses for general operations of the city wages, liability insurance, street maintenance, community center, library and parks. We would lose over $25,000 a year, which may not seem like much, but for a small city it would be detrimental to our finances. An estimated loss of 18% revenue would mean an approximate increase of 43 mills if it were to be added to property taxes. We couldn’t put that kind of burden on our citizens. So many services and benefits would have to be cut.”
Uniontown
“The City of Uniontown receives approximately $22,000 annually from this tax,” Uniontown City Clerk Sally Johnson said. “These funds are deposited to the general fund to help fund our public services to our community. These funds have not been earmarked for specific projects but have been used to fund a portion of patch material for city streets, culverts, ditch repairs, street lighting, signal light at Hwy. 3 intersection, help maintain the community center and much more. The City of Uniontown would like for citizens to consider renewing this tax so we can continue to provide services to our community.”
Fort Scott
Fort Scott’s Finance Director Bancroft states “The City of Fort Scott depends heavily on the countywide sales tax. If the sales tax does not pass, the impact will be greater than the $750,000 generally generated from the sales tax. The $750,000 of sales tax will be lost revenue and an additional $500,000 will need to be cut from other areas to continue to supply the same essential operations and maintenance in the street department. This equates to 1.2 million dollars that would need to be cut if the countywide sales tax does not pass. Areas that would be affected are public safety, parks, economic development, recreational facilities, aquatic center and staffing.”
Susan Bancroft is the Fort Scott Finance Director. Submitted photo.
Fulton
“Without the allocation of funds to the City of Fulton that are obtained through this sales tax, we would be cutting our yearly general fund in half,” Misty Adams, Mayor of Fulton said. “This would not be operable for our small town. The loss of revenue would be a huge loss and devastation for our small town and many other small rural communities. We would be operating in the red by year-end and be seeking assistance from our county commissioners. Without the passing of the 1% sale tax, we residents would see an increase in our property taxes and for some, this would create a financial hardship. Many small rural towns are housed by retirees who are budgeting their monthly expenses and are on fixed income, so increase in expenses is not what we are looking to do.”
The sales tax will appear on the Bourbon County November 3, 2020 ballot, as follows (taken from the county’s website):
Shall the following be adopted?
Shall Bourbon County, Kansas, levy (renew) a one percent countywide retailers’ sales tax to take effect on July 1, 2021, and expire on June 30, 2031, with the allocated shares pursuant to K.S.A. 2019 Supp. 12-192 to be used as follows: (1) to Bourbon County, for the purpose of maintenance and construction of hard surface roads, and (2) to each city located in Bourbon County, for the purpose of providing funding for public services?
To vote in favor of any question submitted upon the ballot, darken
the oval to the left of the word “YES”; to vote against it, darken
David Gillen, right, accepts a donation for the Beacon from the Elks organization. Submitted photos.
The Beacon Board of Directors made a decision to close the building on March 16 after receiving notice from the Feeding America, (a food bank) state, and local health authorities in response to the COVID-19 virus.
The Beacon is a local helping agency, whose main focus is food to those in need.
At the time of the building closure, a new procedure for obtaining The Beacon Food Box was initiated.
Clients were asked to call during normal business hours and arrangements were made to pick up the food off the dock at the rear of the building, Director David Gillen said.
“We felt this was our best approach for our staff and our clients to maintain social distancing,” Gillen said. “We also asked our clients in need of financial assistance or guidance to please call in and ask to speak with the director.”
After having been employed for four years by the Beacon, David Gillen became the director in June 2020. Patty Mowen became the assistant director, at this time.
“The Beacon will open its doors by appointment only starting Oct 13th thru Oct 31st for our clients to apply for their 2021 Beacon Cards,” he said. “At this time we will also be doing the sign-up for the 2020 Adopt A Child Program / Elks Christmas Baskets.”
Work On The Building
In recent weeks there have been some physical changes to the Beacon building at 525 E. Sixth. Some for esthetics and some for protection in the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“The front entrance of the Beacon has been given a new facelift, with paint and new flooring, Gillen said in an email interview.
The waiting area for clients. Submitted photo.
In addition, new racks have been built for food storage, the main priority of the ministry.
“These improvements could not have been accomplished without the help of Wib Mowen, Patty Mowen’s husband, volunteering,” Gillen said.
A new sign for the back dock of the Beacon which states they will only receive food donations. Wib Mowen is on the left, Joe Lee on the right. Submitted photos.Dave Gillen’s office at the Beacon. Submitted photos.
Personal protective sneeze guards have been placed on desks in the building.
“Plastic face shields will be used for our protection and the clients when they are allowed in the building, and our clients must wear masks,” Gillen said.
Patty Mowen’s office at the Beacon. Submitted photos.
Also going on at this time has been the entering of all the Beacon clients information into a computer, allowing accurate records to be kept, he said.
Beacon Food Distribution
“The Beacon Food Distribution is for all Bourbon County residents who qualify for a Beacon Food Card.,” Gillen said. “Their cards can be used immediately after they are qualified. Cards can be used two times a month.”
“Emergency food requests are granted for anyone in the county who has lost their job, illness as caused them from being able to work, house fire, or any other extraneous circumstance as it is our goal to help those in need.”
“The food we distribute comes from a monthly budget and grants we have received,” he said. “We make purchases from the Kansas Food Bank, GW Foods and Walmart. We also receive generous donations from local food drives, churches, civic organizations, businesses, schools and the local post office. We also receive donated items of meat, bakery and produce items from Walmart three times a week as part of their supporting the Feed America Program.”
Clients receive eggs, butter, fresh meat, bread, canned goods, peanut butter, beans, rice, soups, potatoes, mac and cheese, spaghetti with sauce, cereal and pastry,
“Baskets vary in size according to family size,” Gillen said. “We also offer fresh fruit and vegetables when available.”
“The Beacon is so blessed to exist in a community that so many people help us to help others,” he said.
The Beacon has a new mural done by Joe Lee. Submitted photos.
Retired professional sign painter Joe Lee, a personal friend of Patty and Wib Mowen, painted a mural of a lighthouse for display in the Beacon.
“Joe volunteered his time and supplies,” Gillen said. “The Beacon is so thankful for this wonderful gift…Joe also painted our sign by the back deck…which was made by Wib Mowen.”
The back porch has been extended to allow more free items to be left out, Gillen said.
“Thank you Ralph Carlson and Don Tucker for volunteering and the material you provided,” he said.
Congratulations to the FSHS Talking Tigers Debate Team! They placed first overall at the Pittsburg Virtual Debate Tournament on October 3rd. The individual teams that placed were Neil Gugnani and Shekhar Gugnani: 1ST in the Open division, Isaiah Self and Gavin Warfield: 6th place in the JV division, and Kinsley Davis and Lillian Collins: 7th in the JV division!
Way to go team! We compete at the Wichita East Virtual tournament next.
A neon sign on National Avenue tells of a new business opening in downtown Fort Scott, E3 Meat Co.
A Bourbon County business, E3 Ranch, opened the store at 13 S. National on October 1.
The store will sell E3 Meats, E3 K-9 Treats and Bones, Otterbox products, and E3 Merchandise, according to Kasey Gross, whose title is chief of staff for the business.
Adam and Jennifer LaRoche and Jake Gross are the owners of the store.
“Founded by retired MLB ballplayer Adam LaRoche and his family, the E3 Ranch is located in Fort Scott, Kansas,” according to its website. “Our devotion to sustainable and humane practices leads to the highest quality beef in America. E3 Certified black and red Angus cattle are grass-fed, grain-finished, given ample room to roam and never subjected to antibiotics, steroids, or added hormones. This responsible, holistic approach is rooted in our pledge to be good stewards of the land and animals under our care.”
Hours are: closed on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays, open Wednesday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
