Category Archives: Fort Scott

Entertainment, Fort Scott

Free Movie at Gunn Park This Saturday

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The Josh Jones family: with wife Karen and daughters Madi and Taylor, and son, David.  Submitted photo.

Josh Jones believes Fort Scott is full of wonderful people and he enjoys giving back to his community, he said.

This Saturday, Sept. 26 Jones is sponsoring a movie night at shelter house #5 in Gunn Park.

Gunn Park

“This is just a simple way for me to give back to the community and our children,” Jones said. “I want to encourage citizens that have ideas to reach out to local governments or even myself to put those ideas into action. We don’t always need large projects to make a difference and sometimes even the smallest idea or act can change someone’s thoughts about Bourbon County. Fort Scott’s greatest asset is the pride our community has and we have an opportunity to make Fort Scott stand out because of that pride.”

The movie will be outside at shelter house #5, near the camping area of Gunn Park.

“Masks are recommended if in close contact but since it is outdoors there is plenty of room for social distancing,” Jones said. “Bring chairs, blankets or anything that would be comfortable to sit on.”

There is a $10 camping fee, on a first-come first-served basis, if a family is interested in camping at the park. One can make payment at the kiosk at the entrance to the camping spaces, according to a spokesman for the City of Fort Scott.

The Butcher Block, a local butcher,  will start selling hamburger meals for $5 and hot dog meals for $4 starting around 7 pm.
The movie, Sgt. Stubby starts at 7:30 p.m.
The storyline of St. Stubby is in World War I, when a U.S. Army Infantry Division serviceman has a little dog with a stubby tail wander into his camp. The man, Robert Conroy, gives the dog a name and takes him on an adventure into the war. It is based on a true story. The full story of Sgt. Stubby can be viewed at the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes at the corner of Wall and Main Street in downtown Fort Scott.
Church news, Elections, Fort Scott

Election Prayer Night Oct. 1

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Election Prayer Night

Come join us to thank God for His faithfulness and to pray His will to be done for the General Election.
Thurs., Oct.1st, 2020, 6:30 p.m. Rodeway Inn Conference Rm, 101 State Street, Ft. Scott KS.
This is an interdenominational, non-partisan event.
The gathering is sponsored by Ft. Scott Aglow Lighthouse.
For more information contact:
Amanda Gilmore 620-215-0418
Bob Reazin 620-363-0257
Kay Wright 620-404-8848
Bourbon County, Business, Fort Scott, Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce, Health Care

Health Insurance Plan Being Formulated For Small Business Owners in Bourbon County

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Many small businesses do not have the ability to offer health insurance to their employees, some have the ability but would like to look at other options.
The Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce has been working on a plan to help that situation.
An association health plan through the Chamber is being formulated to help members to be able to offer Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance to their employees.
“Our hope is that this will be beneficial to particularly smaller mom and pop, locally owned businesses who are not otherwise able to obtain or offer health insurance as an employee benefit which would also help recruit and retain employees,”Chamber Executive Director  Lindsay Madison said.  “A business just needs to have one full-time employee and one part-time employee, at a minimum, to be able to participate in the plan.”
Lindsay Madison is the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Executive Director.
“We currently have 44 potential contracts represented by those who have completed the survey (see the survey link below),” she said.  “We need at least 50 to move forward with putting together plans and pricing.”
“If your business is at all interested in this type of health insurance offering or at least seeing what plans and rates will be offered,
please complete the survey link below as soon as possible,” Madison said.
“If the employer already has employee info on a spreadsheet, they can submit that,” Madison said.
The survey was first sent out to Chamber members in May, she said.
“We would like people to send as soon as possible, by Sept. 30. Companies can still come on board  beyond that date, but we need a cut-off date.”
Click here:
The Chamber is formulating this plan through  member and local insurance representative Don Doherty of
Northwestern Mutual Life, RPS Benefits, Inc.
“Information on the attached (below) is what the employer will need to complete on the survey, so they could have their employees complete this form, or provide this information in an Excel format to Blue Cross Blue Shield.  They would send the information directly to Donna Pashman of BCBS of KS, email Donna.Pashman@bcbsks.com,” Madison said.
 
“If businesses are already on BCBS and have interest in seeing what the Chamber plans and pricing will be, they can email Donna and simply reference the Fort Scott Chamber Plan, Business Name, and current BCBS member number,” she said.
 
The survey link is also currently on the Chamber website fortscott.com under the Events tab.
Fort Scott, Health Care, Mercy Hospital

New Podcast “No Mercy” Features Fort Scott

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‘No Mercy’: What Happens to a Rural Town When Its Only Hospital Shuts Down?

New ‘Where It Hurts’ Podcast From KFF’s Kaiser Health News and St. Louis Public Radio Documents the Economic and Emotional Fallout

Sept. 23, 2020

“No Mercy,” the first season of the new “Where It Hurts” podcast from KFF’s Kaiser Health News (KHN) and St. Louis Public Radio, immerses you in the fallout experienced by one rural town, Fort Scott, Kansas, in the year after its only hospital was shut down by a distant corporate owner.

In losing Mercy Hospital Fort Scott, the community lost not just health care but also one of its largest employers and some of its best paying jobs, sparking tensions, anger and fear for many. Fort Scott’s identity wavered as residents struggled to come to terms with losing the place where their babies were born and kids’ bones were set, and patients with cancer went to get chemo.

Mercy Hospital served as a mainstay of the town for 132 years, and was a constant presence until faltering finances forced its doors to close in December 2018. The town felt abandoned.

KHN senior correspondent Sarah Jane Tribble, who grew up in southeastern Kansas, returns to her roots to ask uncomfortable questions of town leaders and the Catholic nuns who once ran Mercy to find out why the hospital, like so many others in rural America, fell upon hard times and ultimately shut down. Tribble spent more than a year returning again and again to see how the lives of people changed. From a low-income senior who struggles to get to dialysis to the CrossFit-loving town manager and the nurse who became the hospital’s last president, their stories are full of grit and hope. Along the way, Tribble finds that the notion that every community needs a hospital deserves questioning.

The new podcast is a collaboration between KHN and St. Louis Public Radio. Season One: “No Mercy” is the first offering in a new “Where It Hurts” podcast partnership. In future seasons, other storytellers will lead the reporting to highlight overlooked parts of America and show how health system failures can ripple through the social fabric of a community.

Troubles similar to those in Fort Scott are plaguing rural areas all over America. More than 130 rural hospitals have closed over the past decade, including 18 in 2019 alone. These days, the added pressures of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic have forced even more small, rural hospitals to close their doors for good — 15 in the first eight months of 2020.

“When Sarah Jane shared her reporting on the fallout from a rural hospital closing in her home state of Kansas, I said, ‘Wow, this has to be a podcast,’” said KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal. “I’m so thrilled that St. Louis Public Radio has jumped in wholeheartedly with us to make it happen!”

“We’re proud to partner with the team from KHN to shed light on health care disparities,” said St. Louis Public Radio General Manager Tim Eby. “The powerful stories from ‘Where It Hurts’ will help listeners, no matter where they are, understand the health care challenges facing our nation. These are stories that bring context and humanity and need to be heard by audiences.”

“Where It Hurts” is KHN’s third podcast project and the first to employ a narrative storytelling approach. It debuts Sept. 29, with episodes to be released weekly through Nov. 10, and will be available on major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and NPR One. Listen to the “Where It Hurts” trailer and find more information at whereithurts.show. Members of the news media can request an embargoed version of the entire first episode, “It Is What It Is,” by filling out this form.

“Where It Hurts” is St. Louis Public Radio’s seventh podcast currently in production, the most distinguished being “We Live Here” — a two-time international Kaleidoscope Award winner for outstanding coverage of diverse communities and issues.

About KFF and KHN:

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. KHN is an editorially independent program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) and, along with Policy Analysis and Polling, is one of the three major operating programs of KFF. KFF is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

About St. Louis Public Radio:

St. Louis Public Radio is an award-winning news organization and NPR member station, providing in-depth news, insightful discussion and entertaining programs to a half-million people per month on air and online. With a large, St. Louis-based newsroom and reporters stationed in Jefferson City and Rolla, Missouri, and Belleville, Illinois, the station’s journalists find and tell important stories about communities across the region and help people become deeply informed about the issues that affect their lives. Broadcasting on 90.7 KWMU-FM in St. Louis, 90.3 WQUB in Quincy, Illinois, 88.5 KMST in Rolla and 96.3 K242AN in Lebanon, Missouri, and sharing news and music online at stlpublicradio.org, St. Louis Public Radio is a member-supported service of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues, KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.

Contacts:

Chris Lee | (202) 654-1403 | clee@kff.org
Madalyn Painter | mpainter@stlpublicradio.org
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Business, Fort Scott

Price Chopper Building Still On The Market

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A large crowd welcomed Price Chopper to town on opening day, December 13, 2017.

There has been some recent activity at the former Price Chopper Supermarket on South Main.

Equipment in the store has been taken out.

“We have been working on taking all of the equipment out to remodel a store in Overland Park,” said Barry Queen,  the owner.

The store closing was devastating to the Fort Scott community and Queen.

“It closed in January of 2019 after just being open a little over a year because business was really soft, compared to projections.”

“I hate it, I’ve had a lakehouse at lake Ft. Scott for 20 years and love the community,” he said.

An artist rendition of Fort Scott Price Chopper. Submitted.

“It is owned by Associated Wholesale Grocers,” Queen said.  “I am on a 20-year lease and still paying rent/taxes/insurance/utilities/etc…(I would) love it if you can help us sell it and get me out of the rent.”

The commercial building, located at 2322 S. Main, is for sale or lease, with the owners willing to split into smaller parcels, according to information provided by Jody Hoener, Bourbon County’s Economic Director.  If the purchaser is retail, there is a TIF/CID in place that will transfer to the new owner. If not a retailer,  the purchase price can be negotiated without incentive.

The  39, 425 square foot building is on 4.5 acres. There is carve out pad site availability.

The building was fully renovated in 2017.

Queen’s phone number is 913-220-2515.

 

Click below for the announcement of the closing in January  2019:

FORT SCOTT PRICE CHOPPER TO CLOSE DOORS

 

Click below for photos of the store opening in Dec. 2017:

Official Opening of Price Chopper Today

Bourbon County, Elections, Fort Scott, Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce

Chamber Coffee At Empress Event Center on Sept. 24

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The Chamber Coffee will be hosted by Chamber Member
Nick Graham
Nick is running a write-in campaign for County Clerk
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th, 8 AM
Empress Event Center
7 N. Main St.
Refreshments will be catered by Papa Don’s!
Click here for Nick’s Facebook page.
Click here for Nick’s website.
Chamber Members & Guests are welcome
to make any announcement for $1 to the Chamber about their business or organization including events, new products, promotions, or any other specials!
Masks & social distancing are encouraged.
UPCOMING CHAMBER COFFEE SCHEDULE
10/1- Open date – Call the Chamber to reserve.
10/8- Key Apparel
10/15- Open date – Call the Chamber to reserve.
10/22- Trinity Lutheran Church
10/29- Fort Scott Area Community Foundation Grant Announcements – details TBA.
11/5- VFW
11/12- Integrity Home Care & Hospice
11/19- Open date – Call the Chamber to reserve.
Fort Scott, Government

FS Lake Advisory Board Agenda For Sept. 26

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Agenda

Lake Advisory Board – Fort Scott Airport – Ellis Hangar – 1869 Indian Road

September 26, 2020 @ 9:00 am

Call to Order: Nancy Van Etten

Flag Salute and Opening Prayer: Jeff Fischer

Roll Call and Special Recognition for Tom Brink: Nancy Van Etten, Nancy Maze, Jeff Fischer, Dean Striler, Shane Wood, Kevin Allen, Don Banwart, Debbie Mc Coy.

City Staff: Dave Martin, Tom Graham

City Commissioners: K. Allen, P. Allen, R. Nichols, L. Watts, J. Mitchell

Other Attendees: Board and City Staff can attend in person. To observe meeting go to the City of Fort Scott’s You Tube Channel.

Approval of July 18, 2020, meeting minutes.

Safety Update Will Always Be First: Tom Graham. In addition: Follow up on private buoys, replacement of rubber bumpers on public docks, safety signs and broken down docks.

Old Business

  1. Real Estate Auction of City Property at the Lake: Open discussion with the Public, City Commissioners and Lake Advisory Board.
  2. Sewer District Update – Nancy VE, Jeff.
  3. Fire Service at the Lake – Don, Jeff. Appoint person to attend Fire District Meetings.
  4. Lake Fort Scott Ordinances – Nancy VE, Nancy M, Tom G.
  5. Airport and Indian Road Update – Jeff
  6. Amended Lake Advisory Board Ordinance 3550 – Dave

New Business

  1. Advisory Board Member opening for West Side Full Time Resident.
  2. Smart Growth & Planning for Lake Fort Scott

Public Comments:

Next Meeting:

Adjournment

Fort Scott, Government

FS Budget Issue Garners Signatures

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Submitted photos.
Submitted by Michael J. Hoyt
“We had an exceptional day collecting signatures to place on a ballot for the voters to decide that the SEWER AND STORM SEWER FUNDS will be remain in the City of Fort Scott budget for that purpose. Many Electors voiced their opinion “Our sewers are in serious need of repair and the City must stop moving the money around and not fixing things!”
We are well on the way to the required number of signatures required to place this referendum on a ballot, but organizers will be available to collect signatures in front of the Fort Scott Post Office on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11am to 1pm until Oct 13th.  We can also assist with registering to vote until that date which is the deadline to vote in the National election on November 3rd.”
Fort Scott, Government

FS Commission Special Meeting Agenda Sept. 21

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SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA

FORT SCOTT CITY COMMISSION

CITY HALL COMMISSION ROOM

123 S MAIN STREET

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

11:00 A.M

 

I. ROLL CALL:

K. ALLEN P. ALLEN NICHOLS WATTS MITCHELL

1. CONSENT AGENDA:

  1. Approval of Appropriation Ordinance 1271-A totaling $428,590.44.

  1. Certificate of Appropriateness – 113 S. National – Signage and Alterations to building

II. CONSIDERATION:

  1. City Insurance Liability Update – James Charlesworth

  1. Acceptance of Community Development Block Grant No. 20-CR-004 – Mayco Ace Hardware – Approval to accept grant and for Mayor to sign all pertinent documents

  1. Kansas Housing Grant application opportunity

  1. Lauber Municipal Law Firm July Billing Statement

  1. Consideration of application of Cost Sharing Program through K.D.O.T.

III. MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT: ROLL CALL