Downtown Historic District held at the Empress Event Center
Attendees may wear mask at their own Discretion
Let’s talk about: SPARK FUNDING
The Bourbon County Commission received $2.9M in CARES Act funds through the State of Kansas SPARK funding. This funding is designed to help the county with the health and economic emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information about the funding, visit https://www.bourboncountyks.org/spark/.
Danny Larsen is the new physical education teacher at Eugene Ware Elementary School.
Larsen earned his bachelor of science in education with a strength and conditioning emphasis; and a bachelor of arts in psychology.
He has two years of experience teaching as an At-Risk Teacher, this is his first physical education position, he said.
Larsen’s hometown is Fort Scott and is married to Jamie Larsen. They have three children: Noah who will be a senior, Malachi an 8th-grader, and Madeline a 5th- grader.
What are your hobbies/interests/community involvements?
“I love spending time with my family as much as possible. I also like to coach, work in my shop (woodworking), and play basketball.”
How did you become an educator?
“I’ve always enjoyed working with kids and being a mentor, either through coaching sports or volunteering at school or church.”
Is there someone who inspired you to teach?
“There were so many teachers who played a big role in my decision to pursue teaching as a career. These include teachers I had while I was in school and those who have taught my kids.”
What is the best part of teaching for you?
“For me, the best part of teaching is connecting with a kid who has struggled either academically, emotionally, or in some way that makes their life and school more difficult. Once you see that tension disappear from their face and it’s replaced by a smile, there’s nothing else like it!”
What are the greatest challenges?
“Right now, the great challenge is being a new teacher where kids are looking for familiarity and normalcy. Fortunately, I do well in those situations and look forward to teaching in Fort Scott.”
A prior prom photo of the class 2020 of FSHS. Submitted photo.
The 156 graduates of Fort Scott High School will have an unprecedented graduation on August 1 at the football stadium on Main Street at 8 p.m.
The changes are the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is currently seeing a surge in the country and in Bourbon County.
“We are approved for an outside graduation, with masks, a limited number of guests for each student, a maximum of 6,” said Amber Toth, Fort Scott High School, Principal. “The crowd will not be allowed on the field, we will dismiss our seating by section and have people leave immediately to help control crowd gatherings, and we will ensure social distancing.”
“We are not allowed to conduct graduation in the gym,” she said. ” If there is a weather issue we will reschedule time of graduation or date of graduation.”
“Teachers are allowed to attend graduation but there will not be a farewell line,” Toth said. “We plan to have students do a lap on the track for audience members where they can wave, etc.”
The following is from the FSHS Facebook page:
“We have worked very hard to ensure we can have this ceremony and create a gathering that was approved by the health department. That means your cooperation and support will be needed moving forward. We need families to be flexible. We cannot have graduation in the gym with our current level of spread. Therefore, we may need to adjust the time etc if weather prevents us from having it at the stadium. GRADUATION WILL NOT BE OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND STUDENTS WILL BE GIVEN 6 TICKETS FOR GUESTS. Graduation will be live streamed for the public. We will have graduation practice on July 31st at 10:00 am. Students are required to attend so they can pick up their tickets for families and their mask at graduation practice. We will provide further details concerning entering the stadium before graduation.
Procedures:
1. We will expect the 6 guests from families to set together. We have provided seating for each student’s guests allowing for 6 foot distancing between families. We will expect you to follow and respect these guidelines.
2. We ask that each student’s guests enter the stadium together to help with seating.
3. You must have a ticket to enter the stadium.
4. All guests, graduates, and staff will be required to wear a mask throughout the ceremony. If you are not wearing a mask, you will not be allowed to enter the stadium but will be able to watch through the livestream from your home or car.
4. At the conclusion of graduation, no one will be allowed to enter the football field. We will do a recessional for the graduations and lead them off of the field.
5. Families will be dismissed from the bleachers one section at a time. This was an important step for getting our plan approved. We ask that you immediately leave the field when your section is dismissed so we can move to the next section.
6. You will need to meet your graduate at home or in your car after the ceremony.
7. Graduation masks will be provided for graduates and faculty.
8. If you have been mandated to quarantine while awaiting testing or have been quarantined due to a positive test or exposure, you will not be able to attend graduation. The health and safety of our community is our number one priority.”
The Fort Scott City Commission will meet on Tuesday, July 28th, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. in the City Hall Commission Meeting Room at 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas to hold a work session to discuss the City’s 2021 budget.
The work session will also be available on the City’s YouTube channel.
Missy Miller, 49, is the new USD 234 Instructional Coach for kindergarten through fifth-grade.
She received her bachelor of science degree at Emporia State University and her masters in leadership from Baker University.
Miller has 18 years of teaching experience.
Her hometown is Tonganoxie, KS and she just moved to Louisburg, KS.
Miller and her husband, Keith, have a daughter Courtney, 20, and son, Jake,19.
Her hobbies and interests include: being a Pampered Chef Consultant, reading historical Christian fiction, especially Francine Rivers and swimming.
How did you become an educator?
“I knew early that I was called to be an educator. I would set all my dolls and stuffed animals up and teach them when I was little.”
Is there someone who inspired you to teach?
“Tim Brady, my 8th-grade history teacher was my inspiration. He believed in me, pushed me to be more than I believed I could be, and encouraged me in all I did!”
What is the best part of teaching for you?
“The best part about teaching is the kids, helping them succeed, providing safety, and loving each of them for who they are no matter their circumstances.”
What are the greatest challenges?
“Balancing the newness of teaching in a pandemic, how do we best reach those who need us most, how do we navigate providing for the whole child while not getting to see them face to face on a consistent basis.”
The Fort Scott High School Dance team is doing a Tiger Strong Fundraiser and have an online store for purchasing merchandise.
On September 4th, the first FSHS Football game that was scheduled, they are asking that the town wears a Tiger Strong shirt or mask to show support to the Tiger Athletes.
The store will be located in the strip mall on Main Street, which is also 69 Hwy on the south end of town.
“We are very excited to open in Fort Scott,” said Demi Bouwens, director of operations for the franchise in Pittsburg and Fort Scott.
“The store will be located in the parking lot near the Hibbett’s Sports Store,” Bouwens said. “We are aiming for a November 2020 opening.”
“As we were building our location in Pittsburg last year we began to notice the community in Fort Scott,” she said. “We loved the warm, friendly environment as we spent time in the community. Because of this, we knew this community would be a great fit for Scooter’s brand.”
Not just coffee will be offered but other snack items will be sold at the drive-through only coffee store.
“We offer a variety of options from coffee, smoothies, teas, lattes, blenders, muffins, breakfast options, to cookies and our famous cinnamon roll,” she said. “This is a drive-through only model where you can count on amazing drinks served to you amazingly fast!”
What is the history of Scooters?
“In 1998, Scooter’s Coffee was born,” Bouwens said. “Co-founders Don and Linda Eckles began an amazing journey when they opened their first drive-thru coffeehouse in Bellevue, Nebraska. Their keys to success: find a great location and stay committed to high-quality drinks, speed of service, and a BIG smile. Scooter’s Coffee is fortunate to have over two decades of success due to its commitment to the original business principles and company core values. Amazing People, Amazing Drinks…Amazingly Fast!”
The Fort Scott City Commission will meet on Thursday, July 23rd, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. at the City Hall Commission Meeting Room at 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas to hold a work session to discuss the 2021 budget.
The meeting will be available on the City’s YouTube channel.
Firstsource is currently located in the Fort Scott Industrial Park. but is moving the office to town.
At a recent Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Coffee event, Micheal Bryant announced that Firstsource Solutions USA, 4500 Campbell Drive, is transitioning to work-from-home for its employees.
The business leadership is also devising a plan to move from the industrial park to the city of Fort Scott and add more employees.
Micheal Bryant, Firstsource Solutions Vice-President of Operations. Submitted photo.
Bryant is vice president of operations for the business which provides for its’ clients services of claims adjudication, data entry and customer service calls.
“Firstsource has been deploying work-from-home for several years within the Fort Scott location,” Bryant said in an email interview with fortscott.biz. “The opportunity for employees to work-from-home has been very well received by our team members.”
” The transition is a business decision that will improve our retention rates, employee satisfaction, and performance of our team members,” Bryant said.
“The entire Fort Scott office will be involved in the migration,” he said. “There are other offices within Firstsource that are migrating to a work-from-home environment but (it is) not a company-wide initiative.”
“The work-from-home staff will be providing services of claims adjudication, customer service, and data entry for our existing customers,” Bryant said.
At the Chamber Coffee, Bryant said the business would have a smaller footprint in Fort Scott.
“Firstsource is currently in negotiations on a small facility for training and meetings,” he said. “We hope to finalize the lease in the next couple of weeks. Once we have finalized the lease we will be able to communicate the new Firstsource location. The move is currently scheduled for late December of this year.”
The business will be moving from the industrial park.
“The current facility that we are negotiating with is within the city of Fort Scott,” Bryant said.
The business will also be adding more employees shortly.
“The alternative facility will be leveraged for the training of existing employees as well as new employees,” he said. “The facility will enable Firstsource to continue to grow with the Fort Scott area. We have plans to add a significant number of additional staff members in the next several months.”
Fort Scott Area Community Foundation announces their grant cycle for 2020
The Fort Scott Area Community Foundation is pleased to announce that the grant cycle for 2020 is here. We will be taking applications from now until August 31st. This year, we will be awarding over $42,000.00 to local not-for-profits for projects to benefit our community. A certain dollar amount of the awards is reserved for projects that benefit our youth. Maximum grant to any one project is $5,000.00.
Applications can be obtained by sending an email to [email protected]. Please use the same email address to submit any questions you might have. Completed applications must be received by 5:00PM, August 31st.
Grant Application Guidelines
•Program Oriented
Do the funds support a new or enhanced service to the community? Generally, Grants are not for the purpose of funding core budget items, capital improvements or the purchase of real estate.
•Organizational capacity
Do you have confidence in the organization, as described in the application, to carry out the program?
•Soundness of proposed strategies
Will the program adequately address the need as it was described in the application?
•Resource efficiency
Is the program taking advantage of available resources? Are they collaborating?
•Appropriateness of budget
Will the program use the funds effectively? Is the budget clear and accurate?
•Plan for program evaluation
Does the program have the ability to evaluate its successes? How will they monitor the program?
