In the face of the worsening Coronavirus pandemic, Hedgehog.INK! bookstore is making the difficult decision to close our doors to the public beginning, tomorrow Tuesday, March 17, until further notice. We will not be accepting books during this time. All March events at the store are being cancelled.
Please do your part to help “flatten the curve,” socially isolate, keep physical distance, wash your hands, and stay safe.
With love and gratitude, Dick and Jan Hedges
KCC issues emergency order suspending utility disconnects until April 15
Citing emergency declarations by Governor Laura Kelly, President Donald Trump and the World Health Organization, the Kansas Corporation Commission used its emergency powers to issue an order suspending utility disconnects for nonpayment until April 15. The action, taken in a special meeting this morning, will offer relief to those experiencing potential hardship from the COVID-19 virus.
The directive covers all electrical, natural gas, water and telecommunications utilities under the KCC’s jurisdiction, several of which have already voluntarily suspended disconnects. The Commission also encourages those utilities not under its jurisdiction to enact similar practices.
“COVID-19 is an unprecedented challenge, and Kansans may face unexpected or unusual financial difficulties,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “No one should have to worry about losing utility service needed to ensure public safety, which is why I am bringing every resource to bear to make sure everyone stays safe and healthy. Kansans step up in a time of need, and this is more proof.”
The Commission may elect to extend the suspension order in a subsequent order if conditions warrant.
Today’s order can be viewed on the Commission’s website: https://estar.kcc.ks.gov/estar/ViewFile.aspx/20200316105259.pdf?Id=88d5541d-695f-4b27-ae43-2ce44d20a94f.
Fort Scott Public Library will be closed Tuesday, March 17 and will remain closed for an undetermined amount of time in response to the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus).
After reviewing information from local, state, and federal agencies, we believe that temporarily closing the library and preventing the spread of infection may be the best way to serve our community.
We encourage you to keep library materials until the library reopens. If you wish to return materials, please place them in the library’s drop box.
We will renew items as they become due so that you won’t receive overdue notices or lose access to your account. If you do receive an overdue notice, please let us know by email at either [email protected] or [email protected], and we will renew the items.
All library events through April 1st have been cancelled.
We are not accepting book donations at this time.
Library staff encourage patrons to make the most of available online resources. The Library offers free options to download, stream, and learn on your device. See our website: fortscott.mykansaslibrary.org for more information.
We look forward to seeing you soon. Thank you for your continued support of our community and our library.
Hi-speed internet is coming to Uniontown.
Craw-Kan Telephone Cooperative, Girard, received a broadband internet loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and has been stockpiling conduit and cable in Uniontown since late February 2020.
The new high-speed internet service will be provided to the 350 customers in Uniontown, Craig Wilbert, general manager of Craw-Kan said.
“There will be no rate change,” Wilbert said.
Craw-Kan crews will be replacing copper lines, then connect to computers, phone, and cable TV, giving access to up to 1,000 gigabits per second.
A landline may be required as a prerequisite for internet service based on geographic location, call the cooperative at 620-724-8235 to check.
The benefits of the new project: getting the fastest available internet in the county, at an affordable rate, Wilbert said.
” Great for students and also makes working from home a reality,” Wilbert said.
The internet service will only be for Craw-Kan Cooperative members.
The Uniontown project will start late spring 2020. “when the weather dries out a bit” and won’t be complete until mid to late 2021, Wilbert said.
The cooperative received a Rural Utilities Services loan which requires contractors to be certified by an engineering company that has demonstrated the ability to complete a project this large. Any contractor meeting this condition can bid on the job, Wilbert said.
To learn about Craw-Kan prices:
https://ckt.net/service/internet/
Fort Scott Fiber Optic Project
Craw-Kan has also been replacing internet copper lines in Fort Scott, in preparation for service there.
Uniontown will all be done at the same time as the Fort Scott project and will be cut over to be in service at the same time, Wilbert said.
“The Fort Scott project is about one-half done,” Wilbert said. “There is a central office on National Avenue where our equipment is.
“The west side of Ft. Scott is nearly complete,” he said.” I anticipate about 12 more months for the rest of the city to be completed. We do it in sections so services will be available in chunks of territories as they are completed.”
Why does a project like this take so long?
” Mainly it is a matter of cost,” Wilbert said. “Ft. Scott will end up being a several million dollar project and the Cooperative simply does not have the financial means to complete a city the size of Ft. Scott in one year. The second reason is the scope of the project. It is similar to replacing every water or electric line in town. We are passing every home and business within the city limits. That’s a lot of fiber to bury! Definitely worth the wait.”
The life expectancy of fiber optic lines is 40 years, Wilbert said.
Craw-Kan Expanding Business Customers
The projects are the result of declining populations in rural areas nationwide, he said. This was affecting the Craw-Kan business negatively.
“We needed to find new business,” Wilbert said. “We decided to find non-members of the coop, they are strictly customers.”
They received requests from Mound City, St.Paul, Pittsburg and Fort Scott and those projects are completed, he said.
CITY OF FORT SCOTT NEWS RELEASE
March 16, 2020
Due to COVID-19, Municipal Court, which was to be held on Thursday, March 19th, 2020, will be cancelled and rescheduled. If you are scheduled for court this Thursday, a letter will be mailed to you giving you a new court date. If you have questions, please call 620-223-0550 and ask for the Municipal Court Clerk, Diane Clay.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please call City Hall if you have questions.
CITY OF FORT SCOTT NEWS RELEASE
March 16, 2020
The City of Fort Scott is encouraging Fort Scott water utility customers to use the following services to pay utility bills:
Visit www.fscity.org and Click on “Online Bill Pay”, then click on Water Department tab and pay online;
Call 1-833-269-5988 and press “1” to make a payment over the phone on the City’s 24/7 automated system;
If you prefer to pay with a check, there is a drop box in the alley behind City Hall at 123 S. Main Street;
If you prefer to mail your payment, you can send it to P. O. Box 151, Fort Scott, Kansas 66701;
To talk to a Water Utility Clerk about your bill, please call 620-223-8133 or 620-223-0550.
Buck Run Community Center is closed to the public March 16th through March 18th, 2020 due to precautions with the Coronavirus.
For up-to-date information about COVID-19, go to the following websites:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/
Kansas Department of Health and Environment: http://www.kdheks.gov/
We are working together with Feeding America, our sister food banks and state and local health authorities to understand and manage our response to the Covid-19 virus.
PLEASE BE ADVISED EFFECTIVE MARCH 16 UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE…
There is a new procedure for obtaining food box if one is eligible.
Please call the Beacon with name and when you would like to pick up your order. It will then be filled between normal business hours.
Orders will be picked up off the back deck of the agency.
To see the Beacon Director for any reason please feel free to call and visit with him at 620-223-6869.
Thank you for understanding we are just trying to protect our clients and staff. We feel social distancing is the best approach.
The Beacon Staff
A Sunday drive through Gunn Park found Alison Leach digging in the entrance garden of Fort Scott’s largest park.
“I thought I would come out and work about an hour,” she said. “To get away from all the craziness (of the COVID 19 news). I am removing weeds, turning soil and seeing what we have to work with.”
She is part of the Citizens For Park Improvement group that has organized under the initiating of Seth Needham.
Some of the group met yesterday, but it was raining and cool, so Leach opted not to come.
Leach and her family, the Leach-Troutman family, have volunteered to enhance the entrance to the park, she said.
“Redbud Nurseries is donating $150 for this project,” Leach said.
Check out the Citizens for Park Improvements Facebook page.
Visiting loved ones and friends in Fort Scott nursing homes is not advised because of the COVID 19 pandemic.
“We are monitoring who comes and goes,” Kathy Nalley, administrator of Guest Home Estates, 737 Heylman, said. “That’s what the CDC is saying to caregiver facilities.”
As of this morning, the doors are locked at Guest Home Estates, she said.
Kenna Smith, owner-operator of Franklin House, 1126 Horton, said only health care providers will be allowed into their facility.
“It’s hard on everybody, but necessary,” Smith said. They have not been allowing visitors since yesterday, she said.
Country Place Senior Living, 820 S. Horton, also has visitor restrictions.
“Out of caution and care, we are limiting to direct staff care and health care providers,” Margaret Moyer, director of Country Place, said. “I’ve received notification from corporate office. It’s effective as of 10 a.m. today.”
Presbyterian Village, 2401 S. Horton, is discouraging visitors, but they are allowed, Becky Kellum, marketing director at the assisted living facility said.
On March 10, Lynnette Emmerson, administrator of Medicalodge, 915 S. Horton, wrote a letter to the families of their residents asking for families and friends to not visit the nursing home for the benefit of its’ residents., she said.
She is following the Center for Medicare Services recommendations that they are getting from the Center for Disease Control, she said.
They are actively screening individuals, including staff, who are necessary to come into the facility, Emmerson wrote in the letter.
FortScott.Biz was unable to speak with Hillside Guest House leaders on their possible visitation constraints.
Please be advised to contact them, should you have questions.
A local piano teacher has encouraged many students to pursue music in her 25-year career.
And it started in her childhood with a passion for piano and encouragement from her parents.
When Carolyn Tucker was in third grade, she had a desire to play the piano but there was no piano in her home.
Like a broken record, she consistently told her parents that she wanted to play, she said.
“They soon realized this desire was not going to go away, so one Saturday the three of us went to Springfield, MO, to shop for a piano,” Tucker said. “A few days later a brand-new piano was delivered to our home, and I couldn‘t play a lick! That expensive purchase was a huge step of faith for my parents and I will always be grateful.”
She began studying piano with Miss Rebecca Murray and found she loved it.
“I soon realized that God had given me the gift to play by ear, ” she said. “My mother never had to tell me to practice my lessons because every time I walked through the living room, I’d stop and play the piano. The ability to read music and play by ear was a great marriage, and by the time I was in eighth grade, I was the church pianist. I ‘cut my teeth’ on gospel music and it’s always been my first love.”
Since that purchase and the subsequent lessons, she’s been sharing her of love of music for 53 years in various church settings, weddings, funerals, civic functions, patriotic programs, nursing homes, retirement facilities, gospel concerts, family reunions, baby dedications, recitals, music parties, prayer breakfasts, etc.
“Music is a powerful language that everyone understands because it speaks from the heart,” she said.
In 1994, a friend asked her if she would teach her daughter to play the piano.
“I agreed to give it a try. Now, 25 years later, 97 students have come through the studio,” she said.
Grateful
“Playing the piano has provided a lifetime of musical ministry and joy for me,” Tucker said. ” I can’t imagine what my life would be like had my parents not provided the ‘begged-for’ piano and lessons for me.”
“I believe every baby is born with God-given gifts, and it’s up to the parents to help the child discover his/her destiny using those gifts for God‘s glory,” she said. “My Dad always said, ‘Buying that piano was the best investment I ever made.'”
Encourage children to find musical gifts
Tucker wants to inspire parents to provide their children with opportunities to find their gifts.
“God doesn’t gift every individual to be musical, but if a child expresses a deep desire to play an instrument, there’s a good chance that he/she was created to do it,” she said. “You never know what treasure lies within a child’s heart until the door is opened.
To contact Tucker for lessons, call 620-223-1483.
Tucker Music Studio is located at 954 240th Street
Fort Scott.
A preschooler turned a hand-crank fan to move a small boat across a pan of water, while a few feet away, an elementary student used a condiment bottle to blow leaves across the floor. Nearby, a middle school student held a unique mobile he had designed, while a teenager drew back the string on a wind cannon to test it. On the other side of the room, a family gathered to read a stack of books about wind. What drew all of these age and interest groups together? Surprisingly, a fascination with wind science.
