Photo submitted by Deb Martin. Monday evening Patricia Love was elected by the Bourbon County Republican Party to replace outgoing county treasurer, Rhonda Dunn.
Patricia Love, who has been Deputy Bourbon County Treasurer for five years was elected to replace outgoing treasurer, Rhonda Dunn, Oct. 30.
“Rhonda made such positive changes, I want to keep it going in that direction,” Love told FortScott.Biz. “If there are any questions, people can call me anytime at 223-3800, ext. 135.”
“I think this is the easiest transition for the office,” Dunn said. “I’ve worked beside her for five years and she will do well.”
Next in the process, is for Love to be appointed by the governor.
The Bourbon County Republican Central Committee met at Fort Scott Livestock Market to discuss interested candidates and vote on Dunn’s replacement.
Thirty-three delegates from Bourbon County townships and Fort Scott wards, voted by secret ballot with Love declared the winner.
Two others, Mike Mason of Uniontown, and Ann Clarkson of Fort Scott submitted their names in to be considered for the position, Randall Readinger, chairman of the central committee said.
Love will fill out the remainder of Dunn’s term and then run for re-election in 2018 if she desires.
“Rhonda has done a fine job of training her office staff and Patty, as her deputy, has been involved in all that,” Readinger said.
Currently, there are six employees in the treasurer’s office.
Love said she will promote Sandy Tirri to deputy treasurer then hire a clerk to cross-train in both the treasurer’s office and motor vehicle department.
The annual pay of the treasurer position is $47,000, $10,000 of which comes from fees from the motor vehicle department, Dunn said.
Rhonda Dunn resigned as Bourbon County Treasurer Oct. 10, her last day is Nov. 3.
Photo submitted by Dee Young of 2016 Labor Day Grand Ball.
U.S. military veterans can enjoy a dance, show off their uniform, or if they can’t fit in that uniform anymore, show off the medals earned while serving their country. For veterans, the dance, a semi-formal ball, is free of charge.
Memorial Hall, 1 East Third, will be the venue for that dance to honor military veterans in a unique way on November 11 from 7 to 10:30 p.m.
Friends of Fort Scott National Historic Site (FFSNHS )decided to have a second ball, following the Labor Day Grand Ball they facilitated last year in honor of the centennial of the National Park Service.
“Everybody had a great time,” Dee Young, member of the Friends group, said of the ball last year. “People asked ‘When is the next one?'”
That began Young thinking about another event, this one to honor vets. She brought the idea to the Friends board, who decided a ball was a great way to honor veterans, she said.
Veterans who wear their uniform or bring military identification of some sort, a ribbon or medal, for example, will get in for free.
Since the theme of Fort Scott National Historic Site is looking at life at the fort on the prairie in the 1840s, other attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate period clothing to the ball. Or, alternately semi-formal party wear may be worn.
Sweet and savory refreshments will be served and all proceeds go to the FFSNHS organization.
Don’t know how to dance like people in the 1840s?
1800s style dance lessons will be offered for free from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. the day of the event, November 11, at the fort, in the Grand Hall. Street clothes are appropriate for the dance lessons, Young said.
Submitted by Dee Young. Last year’s Labor Day Celebration Grand Ball.
Tickets for the ball: general public– $20 inadvance/$25 at thedoorper person ortwofor $30 inadvance/$40 at thedoor; FFSNHS members– $15 inadvance/$20 at thedoor; and children 12 and under and dance observers– $5.
All proceeds go to the Friends of Fort Scott National Historic Site.
Each year the Friends of Fort Scott National Historic Site provide a meal for the citizens following the U.S. Naturalization Ceremony on the grounds of the fort, they also serve ice cream at the fort’s Independence Day celebration and provide educational programs throughout the year as well.
Other 2017 activities the FFSNHS group helped with: the Native Neighbors event, a Fort Scott Community Foundation grant to help with the 175th anniversary of the fort, a grant for youth engagement at the fort through an Irby Family grant, a Sunflower Castle Home Tour, a Candlelight Tour in December, the Friends Fest 2017, Dancing With Our Stars 2017,Every Kid In A Park Grant, and drinks during the solar eclipse.
Candlelight Tour
Tomorrow is the first day that tickets for the annual Candlelight Tour at Fort Scott National Historic Site go on sale. Tickets should be purchased early for choice of times. Usually, all tickets sell out, according to the fort’s website. This year’s tours will be offered December 1 and 2. Tours on December 1, will begin at 6:30 p.m. and go every 15 minutes until 9 p.m. On Saturday, December 2, the tours will run from 5 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased by calling 620-223-0310 or by coming to the visitor center at the fort. The fort is located at the north end of downtown Fort Scott. Tickets are $8. each and are non-refundable. Children 5 and under are free.
Tyler and Megan Allen show the new Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene’s children’s wing just completed in September. There are a “cat-walk” area, a multi-story slide and sensory room for special needs kids in the room.
Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene has a heart for youth according to its new youth pastor, Tyler Allen.
In January the church members hired Allen and his wife, Megan Allen. Megan is the children’s pastor at the church.
Tyler grew up in Parsons, while Megan hales from Stark City, Mo.
They have been in ministry in western Kansas and Ava, Mo. for the last five years.
In September Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene completed a new children’s wing.
Megan Allen stands near the front desk of the new children’s wing of Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene.The new children’s wing of Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene, completed in September is located on the south side of the church. The church is located at 1728 S. Horton.
“We have a sensory room to accommodate special needs children,” Megan said.
There is a children’s ministry for pre-school through sixth grade on Wednesday nights, she said.
In September Club 56 was launched for 5th and 6th-grade students.
On Sunday mornings the 5th and 6th-graders are part of the kid’s leadership team in children’s church, she said.
“They are helping with technology and lead worship and help younger kids,” Megan said.
Additionally, Tyler has an area specifically for teens, 7th through 12th grade, to meet.
Tyler Allen stands in the worship area of the teen ministry room at Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene.
A college ministry meets once a week at the church as well.
“Fort Scott Nazarene as a church has a vision for kids and teens and their families,” Tyler said.
Lead Pastor Virgil Peck.
The church also received a new lead pastor, Virgil Peck, in July 2016.
“I got a call,” Peck said. “We were looking for a community to allow our kids a place to grow up.”
Peck was a youth pastor for 15 years.
He and wife, Lisa, have two children, Hannah, 11 years-old and Trenton, 13.
The Peck’s spent four years in Carthage, Mo. and nine years in Iowa before coming to Fort Scott.
Peck was born in Fort Scott and still has a lot of relations here, he said.
Other ministries of the church:
The church organized and facilitates the Common Ground Coffee Company, 116 S. Main, in downtown Fort Scott.
Celebrate Recovery meets weekly at the church.
Jeff Dillow has been the worship and administrative pastor for five years.
For more information contact the church at 620-223-0131 or fortscottnazarene.org
The worship center at Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene.The welcome sign at Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene.Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene, 1728 Horton.
USD 234 Director of Curriculum Nicki Traul, looks over a computer a student turned in.
Options.
Additional options are what Nicki Traul, USD 234 director of curriculum says is a good reason to offer school classes at home for students.
“Students for all reasons; medical, parent choice, multiple reasons find that a brick-and-mortar school isn’t for them,” Traul said. “High school isn’t a good fit for everyone.”
One example Traul gave is supporting a student who had surgery and wasn’t able to attend school, she said.
USD 234 started offering home-school options to junior and senior high students one year ago.
The school district initially looked at home-school options for students who failed a course and had to retake it, she said.
“I had worked at Greenbush (Southeast Kansas Education Service Center), and had a background in virtual learning,” Traul said.
But lest students think this is an easy way out of not having to attend classes at school, Traul says this option is not for everyone.
“You have to be disciplined,” she said. “You have to put in 30 hours per week and at least six classes…about the same as a brick-and-morter school. You can be truant if not putting hours into the school work. ”
“We meet with the student and parents,” Traul said. “I want them to fully understand it’s not easy. They have to be self-driven.”
During an initial orientation, students learn “all the ins and outs of the system,” she said.
Full-time students are provided with a computer on which to do assignments, with internet service to be provided by the student.
The computer is turned in at the end of the year, she said.
The district uses a state-approved system, Edgenuity, which has teachers instructing a lesson.
Edgenuity is a provider of K-12 online and blended learning solutions including online courses, credit recovery, intervention, and test preparation, according to its’ website.
The system is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, she said.
Parents and students can meet with Traul at any point in the year.
A part of the program is letting students know if “they are on track or behind” in progress during the semester, she said.
Students must pay high school fees that other students are required to pay.
Funding for the initiative is from the U.S. Department of Education, rural and low-income school program.
The Boiler Room Brewhaus will be located in the Beaux Arts Center, 102 S. National.
Barbara and Bryan Ritter are turning a homebrew hobby into a business.
“Over the past year several people have mentioned that we should do this,” Barbara said. “We brew beer at home and enjoy it. So we decided to go for it.”
Barbara Ritter did research and found that microbreweries are opening in small historic towns, she said.
The Ritter’s are leasing the southwest corner of the Beaux Art Center’s basement from owners, Bobby and Denise Duncan.
“We envision that it will bring in people to Fort Scott,” she said. “They will see these old buildings and start putting money back into this amazing town. We see the brewery as bringing in new tourists.”
Bryan and Barbara Ritter hope to have a microbrewery open by years end.
Bryan Ritter will be the primary brewer.
“It will be craft beer, part of it from the water from Fort Scott Lake and the Marmaton River,” Bryan said. “The other part of the beer is grain and hops. Hops are what gives it flavor.”
The Ritters found a hops farm in Ottawa and other ingredients will be locally resourced, he said.
They will use honey from their farm in producing the beer, along with wildflowers, fruit, and nuts.
The Ritter’s have owned Black Dog Farm, near Garland, for five years.
So far in the process, city, county, and federal approval have been given the Ritters.
“The state has visited the premise,” Bryan said. “A few more things they need to receive from us. Then we can start the brewery.”
Because beer takes time to ferment, it will have to cook for a few months, he said.
“We are hoping around Christmas or New Years to be open,” Bryan said.
“Life has a positive and negative side. Happy people ignore the negative side” Bangambiki Habyarimana
One hundred seventy-five years ago, soldiers established a fort atop a bluff overlooking the Marmaton River. Its purpose was to keep peace on the frontier and to contain westward expansion. To patrol the frontier, the army stationed dragoon and infantry soldiers at Fort Scott. These soldiers faced the challenges of boredom, isolation, the uncertainty of life on the frontier and the vast distances involved in patrolling the region. Nevertheless, they found ways to celebrate life and to make the best of their situation. They remained vigilant in their duties yet took time out to enjoy dances, dinner parties, evening socials, and camaraderie. They found a reason to celebrate at Christmas time, the 4th of July, and other occasions. Although isolated on the frontier, they sought excellence as they built “the Crack Post of the Frontier.”
Fort Scott National Historic Site will celebrate its 175th anniversary by presenting its 36th annual Candlelight Tour. The theme for this year’s candlelight tour is Happiness Amid Hardship. The tour will feature five scenes from the 1840s at Fort Scott, the years that it was an active military fort. Traditionally, the site’s candlelight tour has been “ghosted,” meaning that the reenactors in the scene do not interact with or even recognize the people on the tour. This year, Fort Scott staff is changing things up so that there is some audience participation in most of the scenes. Visitors might join in dancing at the dragoon barracks, participate in an evening social at the officers’ quarters, or discuss at the sutler store the reasons why they are going to become Oregon pioneers.
During the candlelight tour, over 700 candle lanterns illuminate the site and over 100 reenactors bring the fort to life. This year’s tours will be offered December 1 and 2, 2017. Tours on December 1, will begin at 6:30 p.m. and go every 15 minutes until 9 p.m. On Saturday, December 2, the tours will run from 5 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.
Ticket sales begin on November 1. You can purchase tickets by calling 620-223-0310 or by coming to the visitor center at Fort Scott NHS. Be sure to get your tickets early for your choice of tour times as this event usually sells out. Tickets are $8.00 each and are non-refundable. Children 5 and under are free.
From November 1 to March 31, Fort Scott National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service, will be open for its winter hours of operation from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. For more information about the candlelight tour or other events at the site, call 620-223-0310 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/fosc.
Community Christian Church and Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene are partnering this year to produce “Halloween on Horton” on October 31.
“We are partnering to do advertising on social media about both churches doing something the same evening,” Paul Martin, children’s pastor at CCC, said.
“We thought, let’s promote it together,” Jeff Dillow, associate pastor at the Nazarene church, said.
The CCC event is from 5 to 8 p.m., the Nazarene event is from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Halloween evening. Both the churches are located on Horton Street near Fort Scott Community College.
“This is the sixth year we’ve done it on-site,” Dillow said. “A small army gets involved that night.”
Susan Lemon heads up the Nazarene volunteers, Dillow said.
“We want to take the opportunity to let our community know we care about them and their families,” Dillow said.
The Nazarene Church will have their Trunk or Treat event in its parking lot, at the corner of 18th and Horton Streets.
Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene, at the corner of 18th and Horton Streets.
Community Christian Church has been doing a Halloween event since Martin came, in the late 1990s.
Community Christian Church, across from Fort Scott Community College on Horton Street.
At first, they did a trick-or-treat event but when the church went through a fall sermon series in 2008, the event changed, he said.
“We were going through a fall series called 40 Days Of Community by Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California,” Martin said. “We wanted to pull more people from the church to serve. We added more food and inflatables.” They changed the name of the event to Fall-O-Ween at this point.
The church staff and volunteers work with Martin each year to plan and facilitate the event.
“It’s an opportunity to love on the community and provide a safe place on Halloween evening,” Martin said.
“We would love to have people be a part of both events,” Dillow said. “You could easily fill a night of trick-or-treating between both.”
Check out the events on Facebook: Fort Scott Nazarene and Community Christian Church.
Buck Run Community Center, 735 Scott Avenue, is the site for a baby shower Oct. 30 for new mothers.
New and/or expectant mothers are invited to the Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department baby shower from noon to 2 p.m., Monday, Oct. 30 at Buck Run Community Center’s gym.
Food, gifts, and prizes will be given out to the mothers attending the event.
Prizes to give away are a breast pump, a pack and play crib, and car seats, according to Alice Maffett, public nurse in the Bourbon County Health Department.
Gift bags for each participant and free health care resource materials will also be available.
In addition, healthy snacks and refreshments will be provided.
Kayla Tinsley, Mercy RN will speak about the hospital’s High 5 Program and the benefits of breastfeeding. Sergeant Tim Harper with the Fort Scott Police Department will speak on child passenger safety, and Accent Dental Clinic will present valuable information on the importance of oral hygiene during pregnancy during the event, said Angie Reinking, Outreach Specialist with United Healthcare Community Plan.
For more information contact the health department at 620-223-4464.
The event is provided by the SEK Multi-County Health Department, United Health Care Community Plan, and Mercy Hospital.
The view from Second Street looking northwest into Bridal Veil Park.
Fort Scott City Manager Dave Martin is seeking input from the community on what to do with Bridal Veil Park.
The park is located just west of the Marmaton River on Second Street on the west side of town.
It is a low-lying area encompassed by an attractive, low rock fence on the south.
History of the park
Three concrete picnic tables, a pavilion, and numerous large tree stumps, with a meandering dirt road, are all that’s left of an area that was at first two community swimming pools, one for girls, one for boys.
“It began as Napp’s Park in the 1880s,” Fred Campbell, a local historian said. “It had a large artesian water well in the southeast corner of the park, 40 yards from the entrance. It flowed mineral water. As the water shot up about 20-30 feet from the spring, it looked like a bridal veil.”
Three concrete picnic tables that have survived since the 1930s at Bridal Veil Park.
In 1936, the Works Progress Administration of the federal government built a new community swimming pool at the current site on Main Street, said Don Miller, a local Fort Scott historian.
“At that point, the (Bridal Veil Park) swimming pools were turned over to the African-American community,” Miller said. “Segregation was the law until 1954.”
After desegregation became law the swimming pools were filled in, Miller said.
In 1986, a flood swept away the brick shelter house at the site, he said.
The current pavilion at Bridal Veil Park. The original brick one was destroyed during the flood of 1986.
“After that, it was used for a hang-out place,” Miller said. “There was a lot of illegal activities going on.”
Keep or sell the property?
Fast forward to 2017.
Martin said there is still “suspicious activity” for the Fort Scott Police Department to investigate at that location and it floods easily because of its location near the Marmaton River.
The cost of maintaining the park is approximately $5,000 to $10,000 a year, Martin said.
“Taking care of that park, is it a vision for the future of our city?,” Martin asked in an interview with FortScott.biz.
“There is a vision to have a hookup between Gunn Park and Riverfront Park in the long-term,” Martin said. “We will try to keep an easement for that,” Martin said.
The vegetation overgrowth prevents a view of the Marmaton River, on the east edge of Bridal Veil Park.
Input requested by November 21
“I’m wanting input from the community between now and November 21,” Martin said. “I talked to people who feel it would not be a good idea to sell the land.”
At the November 21 city commission meeting, a decision will likely be made, he said.
Emails can be sent to [email protected] or call Martin on his cell phone at 620-644-2498.
“I think it will be good for the city to sell the property,” Miller said. “But save the picnic tables. Those were built by the WPA, they have historical value.”
North Main Street in downtown Fort Scott Thursday afternoon. October 21 is the 3rd Saturday Downtown Market Place when this street will be lined with vendors.
Last month a collaboration of Fort Scott Farmer’s Market, Chamber of Commerce, city personnel and downtown merchants led to the first ever 3rd Saturday Fort Scott Marketplace.
The September event went well, according to Lindsay Madison, executive director of the chamber.
Tomorrow the North Main section of the downtown area will once again be cordoned off for vendors. This will be the last marketplace this year.
“This is the second one,” Madison said. “The plan is to set it up for May to October next year. Which is when Fort Scott Farmer’s Market is open.”
Fresh produce vendors, downtown merchants, and other organizations will take advantage of the warm weather to sell their wares from 8 a.m. to noon.
Papa Don’s Pizza, 10 N. Main will take its turn doing “Breakfast on the Bricks,” which is the breakfast offering each farmer’s market day. On the menu are breakfast pizza, cinnamon rolls, coffee, and juice.
Breakfast on the Bricks gets its name from the brick Main Street in Fort Scott.
Downtown merchants The Iron Star and J & W Sportshop will be open early for the event.
A free spinal screening will be offered by Hartman Spine and Joint.
Other vendors will be Trinity Lutheran Church, Fort Scott Compassionate Ministries, and Gold Canyon Decor, to name a few.
Continuing from last month, city golf carts will be available to transport people or purchases to their cars, say, for instance, produce vendor Ronnie Brown’s pumpkins.
One of the goals of the chamber is to boost the benefit of the downtown stores and farmer’s market, Madison said.
October 28 will be the last Fort Scott Farmer’s Market for 2017.
The Lowell Milken Center will be participating in the annual Halloween Parade events from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 28, at 1 S. Main by handing out candy and free coloring books to everyone who enters the Hall of Unsung Heroes! In celebration of the spooky day, we are encouraging the community to participate in the downtown Halloween Parade festivities and stop by to see our newest exhibits!
