Apparel and home décor retailer Gordmans, a division of Stage Stores, is coming to Fort Scott and surrounding regions this March.
Gordmans is currently hiring for a variety of full-time and part-time positions and encourages interested candidates to apply online at gordmans.com and then attend the job fair at the following new location:
Fort Scott Gordmans
Tuesday, Feb. 19
11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
2400 S. Main Street
Fort Scott, Kansas
Pittsburg Gordmans
Thursday, Feb. 7
11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
202 E. Centennial Drive
Pittsburg, Kansas
The marquee at Price Chopper on South Main Street Wednesday afternoon, announcing the closure of the store.
Price Chopper announced January 7 that they would close the Fort Scott store on South Main Street.
In addition to Price Chopper closing, Dunkin’ Donuts store and Fort Scott Pharmacy, both located in the main Price Chopper building are closing.
The closure of Price Chopper effects 85 employees, said Mike Massey, store manager.
A sign on the doors of Price Chopper Jan. 9.
“Forty full-time employees, some of whom will be going to other Price Choppers,” Massey said.
“It’s a beautiful store, Fort Scott will miss it,” Massey said with a glum face.
There was a full parking lot on January 9, the first day of the closeout sale of Price Chopper.
Dunkin’ Donuts last day open is Friday, January 11, said employee Franklin Dorres. He said they had eight full-time and four part-time employees.
Fort Scott Pharmacy is closing no later than Jan. 18, said Pharmacist Julie Pellett. “Three out of the five employees will go to Iola. The Iola group offers to provide much of the services we provided to our Fort Scott customers. Call 620-365-3176 for more information.”
The sign on the door of Fort Scott Pharmacy January 9, announcing the closure of the pharmacy.
Question about how the closure effects taxpayers
Fortscott.biz received a valid question from the public on how much local taxpayers have provided for the development of the Price Chopper grocery store.
The City of Fort Scott was given the question, which mentioned Industrial Revenue Bonds, and responded.
” There is no negative effect to the taxpayers regarding the closure,” said Rachel Pruitt, Fort Scott’s Economic Development Director. “Reimbursement is only on incremental tax revenue. The incentive should motivate the developer (AWG)to recruit new business. If there is no tax revenue the developer does not receive reimbursement on their investment.”
“The incentives were explained in several commission meetings prior to construction,” Pruitt said. “I found a few notes to further explain the city’s involvement.”
This image was provided by the City of Fort Scott Economic Development Director, Rachel Pruitt.
Pruitt added the following to clarify:
“Local Incentives for Price Chopper Development:
Developer-funded project costs were $9.4MM
Reimbursement of up to $2.65MM
$1.9MM via Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
Incremental real property tax and city sales taxes
$750,000 via Community Improvement District
.05% sales tax
“The State incentive: IRB state sales tax exemption on construction materials and labor.
“IRB (Industrial Revenue Bond) was a state tax exemption on construction materials and labor.
There was no federal government incentive involved in the property development by Price Chopper.
“The County incentive: participation in TIF – incremental property tax revenue reimbursed to AWG (the developer).
“TIF (Tax Increment Financing) District pays the developer on the ‘incremental’ tax revenue. There is no bond obligation to the taxpayers.”
“They were performance-based incentives.”
Price Chopper opened Dec. 13, 2017
At the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Coffee this morning, Jan. 10, Pruitt said even though Aldi’s has been mentioned as a replacement for Price Chopper, that decision is in the hand of the developer.
Fort Scott Thespians. Submitted photo. Front row L to R: Mesa Jones, Hunter Adamson, Karina Kantilal, Mary Gladbach, Alyx Brooks 2nd row: Taillyn Harding, Sierra Long, Amber Russo, Mersadie Roof, Christina King, Alexis Williams, Jasamine Thron, Mackenzie Peoples 3rd row: Brian Stumfoll, Lexy Bailey, Brandy Stafford, Avery Dorsey, Daniel Belcuore, Zaria Byrd, Christina Ramirez, Harmony Brown, Angie Bin, Wyntter Snyder 4th row: Mark Bergmann, Levi Bin, Abi Deloera, Jacob Ham, Dominic Cannon, Jo Goodbody, Olivia Wilterding 5th row: Kathelra Murray, Jade Bailey, Carlee Studyvin, Addy Labbe, Ashanti Green, Sage Hill, Mason Moore, Wendy Monahan
The Fort Scott High School Thespian Troupe #7365 has students performing at the International Thespian Festival for the first time in history. After attending the KS State Thespian Festival in Wichita on Jan. 3-5, the troupe brought home a number of significant awards.
Senior Hunter Adamson qualified for Nationals in Monologue (where she performed both a humorous and dramatic script selection) and junior Mesa Jones qualified for Nationals in Musical Solo (performing Breathe from “Into the Heights”). Jones will also perform in the all-state musical production of “Bring It On” that qualified to be showcased on the main stage at Nationals. They compete at the International Thespian Festival at the University of Nebraska in June.
2018 State Thespian Officer Hunter Adamson and 2019 State Thespian Officer Mesa Jones
FSHS also won the Gold Honor Troupe Award (the highest troupe honor) through the presentation of the Honor Troupe Notebook by senior Karina Kantilal. Senior Alyx Brooks auditioned for colleges and received call-backs from eleven schools for her acting audition and from twenty-eight different schools for her lighting design audition.
Hunter Adamson, Mesa Jones, Karina Kantilal, Mary Gladbach, and Alyx Brooks; FSHS Thespians Officers with the Gold Honor Troupe trophy.
The FSHS Thespian President, Adamson, also served as a State Thespian Officer, planning and leading the entire Festival. Jones served as a State Board Member this year and was elected by troupe directors from all over the state to lead as one of 5 officers in charge of next year’s State Thespian Festival. She will attend training at the International Thespian Festival this summer and work throughout the next year to plan.
Also competing at the State Festival this year were juniors Mackenzie Peoples and Addy Labbe in Musical Solo, Brooks in Lighting Design, and sophomores Amber Russo and Ivy Bailey in the Monologue category.
In all, thirty-five students attended Festival from FSHS and competed in improvised acting, charades, or costuming events at night. Throughout the day, the students attended workshops, met with college representatives, and watched award-winning full-length and one-act performances.
FSHS Drama Director Angie Bin, English teacher Mark Bergmann, and Drama Student-Teacher Wynnter Snyder accompanied the students. Bin presented a workshop on Children’s Theatre as part of the Festival.
The Golf Course Advisory Board will meet on Thursday, January 17th, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. at Woodland Hills Golf Course, 2414 S. Horton. The meeting will take place in the clubhouse. This meeting is open to the public.
Hosted by:
Crystal Mason and Jared Leek of
Front Door Real Estate
Location:
500 Sunset Dr., Fort Scott
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Click here for Front Door Real Estate’s website.
Chamber members and guests are encouraged to attend for networking, community announcements, and to learn about the hosting business or organization.
Members may pay $1 to make an announcement about an upcoming event, special/sale/discount, or news of any kind.
Upcoming Coffees:
January 17 – USD 234 – Fort Scott High School
January 24 – Sharky’s Pub & Grub
January 31 – Southwind Extension District
February 7 – City State Bank
Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson will be speaking to USD 234 staff starting at 8 a.m. at the Fort Scott Community College Ellis Fine Arts Center, Friday, Jan. 11.
“We have to meet at FSCC because the high school is hosting the 4A-1A State Debate Tournament,” said Ted Hessong, superintendent of USD 234. “Dr. Watson will be speaking to the staff about the Kansas State Board of Educations Vision for Kansas schools.
“When Dr. Watson is done speaking, I will take him on a tour of the district. At 10:45 we will go to the district office for Dr. Watson to speak to some of our school board members and some members of the Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Watson and I will need to be at the high school by 11:40 a.m. for the General Assembly of the State Debate Tournament.”
Children’s Storytime and Special Activity With Author Cathy Werling on January 12th at 10:30 a.m.
Meet the Artist, Al Letner of Chicopee Pottery, January 19th at 3:00 p.m.
Join us for two very special events at Hedgehog.INK, located at 16 S. Main St. in Fort Scott! For more information, contact Jan Hedges at 620-670-2752 or email [email protected]. Visit our Facebook page by clicking here.
Bids and Dibs consignment store has outgrown its current space and has moved to 108 Scott Avenue.
Last week the staff shut down the store at 19 S. National Avenue, and put excess merchandise out on the sidewalk to give away.
Bids and Dibs consignment store, 19 S. National Avenue is moving locations.
Bids and Dibs consignment store has been in its present location for six years and has outgrown the facility.
The store will have a larger area at the new address, 108 Scott Avenue, Suite C.
The new location of Bids and Dibs is 108 S. State, Suite C. The main door (white, at left in photo) faces the parking lot south of the facility.
Store owner Angie Simon said the employees have been working to get the shop reopened at its new site.
“We will make the main shop entrance face Second Street across from City State Bank”, Simon said. “Wise Tax and Accounting will remain in Suite A on Scott Ave. Suite B (previously The Bunker) will be available for rent or turned into something fabulous soon. We will gain a wonderful amount of square footage that will allow us to serve you better. We are incredibly excited about 2019!”
“Our hope is that the additional square footage will allow our customers a more satisfying shopping experience by offering a greater variety of merchandise,” she said. “Along with increasing the categories in which we carry resale items we are excited to announce we will be adding to our new boutique lines”.
Bids and Dibs owner, Angie Simon, purchased the southern part of the building in October from Wise Tax and Accounting, 108 S. Scott Avenue.A peek inside the new facility from the Scott Avenue door on Jan. 6 shows the cavernous building that Bids and Dibs will be filling with merchandise.
“Construction started on the facility last week. We are hoping to re-open sometime this month,” Simon said.
“We will be prepared to start accepting consignments within the next two weeks. We will post details about our new consignment drop off procedures and opening dates on our Facebook page as soon as they are available”.
“The new store will have a much bigger sales floor allowing us to accept larger furniture pieces and household appliances, there will be a sizable room solely dedicated to online sales and our private consignor intake area will allow consignors to drop off items quickly and easily. The larger building will also give us the freedom to host more after-hours events like private parties and fundraisers.”
THANK YOU to those businesses and individuals who have already committed to volunteering or donating items.
Times Volunteers are Needed:
Friday @ Fort Scott Middle School:
11am to 1pm
1:30pm to 4:00pm
4pm to 7:30pm
Friday @ Fort Scott High School
11am to 1:30pm
1:30pm to 4pm
4pm to 7:30pm
Saturday @ Fort Scott Middle School
7am to 11am
11am to 1:30pm
Saturday @ Fort Scott High School
7am to 11am
11am to 5pm
ITEMS REQUESTED TO BE DONATED:
Dry Coffee Creamer
Coffee Stirrers
10-12 Lg. Bags of Chips
Oranges, Apples, Bananas
Cookies, Brownies, Sweets
Bottled Water
Coffee
Clorox Wipes
Please click here to email Diana with times you can work or items you can donate. Monetary donations also welcome, made payable to the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, and we can purchase items needed.
Physical items or monetary donations may be dropped off at the Chamber through 5pm Thursday.
__________
Contact Lindsay Madison at the Chamber with any questions, 620-223-3566, or [email protected].
“The City was made aware of the Price Chopper closing on Sunday, January 6th. We are committed to maintaining a close relationship with Associated Wholesale Groceries, AWG, to assist in finding a suitable replacement as soon as possible.”
“I know how hard of a decision this was for Barry (Queen),” Dave Martin, City Manager. “He thinks a lot of Fort Scott. We will work hard to get another business in the building.”
“We are grateful to the Queen family for their investment in our community and wish them as well as their employees the very best during this difficult time.”
FORT SCOTT – The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce is preparing to publish a new Business Locator City Map for 2019 and announces advertising space is available.
The map will be printed in full-color, double-sided, and sized 11” x 17”. The front of the map will feature a listing of the advertising businesses with pinpoint locators for those businesses. The back will display 24 business card sized ad spaces. Businesses included on the front should be in the categories of Shop-Dine-Stay-Play and those advertising on the back only may be any type of business or organization. The deadline to reserve an ad is January 25th and artwork is requested by February 1st.
The maps will be printed on pads that may be torn off and taken by locals or visitors. The pads will be distributed by the Chamber, the Visitors Bureau/Tourism Center, in Visitor/Relocation Packets, and will be available digitally on the Chamber’s website. Participating businesses will be given a supply of the maps to distribute as well.
For pricing information or to reserve your ad space, contact the Chamber at 620-223-3566 or email [email protected].
To welcome 2019, Momentum Indoor Training is expanding the services offered.
” I am really excited that Momentum Indoor Training now has equipment that allows golfers to work on their game even when the weather is not favorable to be on the course,” said owner Emelia S. Whiteaker, MS, PES.
In addition to the softball and baseball pitching machines and sports performance training. Momentum Indoor Training now has a 4 ft. by 18 ft. putting green, and driving/chipping mat with nets. The putting green is made of an aerated foam technology that mimics the roll and spongy feel of a natural putting green, she said.
A variety of breaks can be easily made using the numerous shims. The roll of the green can be sped up or slowed down using a broom.
One can also practice hitting specific shots by filling one or more of the 6 holes in the green and using the side standing mat which allows you to be on the same level as the putting green.
Golfers can work on their drives and chips by using the mat to hit into the 2 different nets in the facility. There are three different sizes of rubber tees for the mat including one that allows for the use of wood/plastic tees.
Pricing for the use of the golf training aids is:
20 minutes – $7.00
40 minutes – $12.00
60 minutes – $16.00
200 minutes – $50.00
600 minutes – $125.00
“All golfers must bring in their own clubs so they can train as they play,” Whiteaker said. “To schedule, your training times call (620) 223-1803 or send them a message on Facebook: @mitrainingfs . Training times can be any time during the day but times before 3 pm must be scheduled. Momentum Indoor Training is located at 2420 S. Main St., Suite 900 (drive around to the parking area behind Tractor Supply).”
