FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9
John Deere FSCC Tech Program Grand Opening – 8 AM at their new facility -2223 S. Horton St. ~Lunch served at 11:30pm—Ribbon Cutting at 12 pm.
IF Gathering at Community Christian Church Fort Scott 6:30 pm ~ 1919 Horton St, Fort Scott Additional sessions on Saturday.
Theology on Tap ~ Nate’s Place 7 pm – 750 S National Ave., Fort Scott “Why is it important to live locally?”
Fri & Sat – 10 am – 5 pm~ Livestock Sale – Fort Scott Livestock Market 2131 Maple Rd.~ Friday: Cows, Pairs & Big Bulls. Saturday: Stocker & Feeder Cattle.
Fri & Sat – The Prairie Troubadour 3rd Annual Symposium at Liberty Theatre, 113 S. Main St.
Fri, Sat & Sun – Art Project: New Faces New Neighbors – 8:30 am – 4:30 pm Fort Scott National Historic Site – History & Art come together. Kids create textile works of art that encompass the change of Fort Scott NHS throughout its history.
SATURDAY, February 10
Coyote Calling Contest by The Fort Outdoors ~ 7 AM – 2522 Richard Rd, Fort Scott – Care to Share Fundraiser
Cupid’s Corner Children’s Crafts at Buck Run, 9-10: 30 am, ages pre-K to 5th grade.
FS High School State Scholars Bowl—All day
Kill Cancer with CrossFit Fundraiser- at Smallville CrossFit ~ 11– 12 pm ~ 13 S National.
Jared Leek speaks to the Chamber Coffee attendees at Crooner’s Lounge.
Jared Leek, the owner of Crooner’s Lounge and the Liberty Theater, hosted the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Coffee Feb.1.
Crooner’s Lounge is located at 117 S. Main and is open Wednesday through Saturday from 5-9 p.m.
He said a full-service bar is offered along with steak, seafood, chicken, pasta and fresh oysters.
E-3 Meats, produced by Adam and Jennifer LaRoche are featured at the restaurant.
The theater is next door north, and Leek also owns the building south of Crooner’s, which houses office space for businesses.
Upcoming events:
February 9-10 there is a Catholic Symposium at the Liberty Theater.
Sunday, February 11, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Crooner’s Lounge, there will be Valentine Cupcake Decorating Event, Leek said.
Each guest will decorate one-dozen cupcakes, pre-baked by Crooner’s Cakery. Frosting, frosting tips, candies and edible decorations will be provided. Cost is $30/person.Reservations required. Limited availability. Purchase tickets using the link to Brown Paper Tickets.
February 14, the Gary Thompson Band will be performing at a special Valentines Dinner at Crooner’s, reservations required.
February 16 En Power and Light and Flagship Romance will be performing, with reservations required.
The Baloney Ponyz will perform March 10, and on March 17 the theater is hosting St. Patty’s on the Patio starting at 5 p.m.
Leek said the theater is booked consistently in May and June for weddings.
Theater season tickets are sold for $100 per person, typically sold as a table of four, for $400.
Contact Jared Leek to make reservations by calling (620) 224-9787.
John Tidwell, left, talks with Bill Pollack following the Kansas Humanities Council Presentation Thursday at the Gordon Parks Museum at Fort Scott Community College. At right, Melody Leavitt waits to speak to Tidwell.
Kansas University Professor John Edgar Tidwell spoke to a room full of people Thursday during the Kansas Humanities Series Lunch and Learn at Fort Scott Community College’s Gordon Park Museum.
The event was in celebration of Black History Month.
Tidwell gave some history on how President Abraham Lincon, with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and Dr. Martin Luther King, in the March On Washington in 1963 helped to change America.
“They led the way to freedom,” Tidwell said.
Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation, it captured the hearts and imagination of millions of Americans and fundamentally transformed the character of the war. After January 1, 1863, every advance of federal troops expanded the domain of freedom. Moreover, the Proclamation announced the acceptance of black men into the Union Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and freedom, according to https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation
“There were creed and practice differences,” Tidwell said of American history.
During the March On Washington For Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963, Dr. King gave a powerful speech that helped the progress of the Civil Rights Movement.
The most memorable part of the speech was after Mahalia Jackson, the black Gospel singer, shouted out “Tell them about the dream!” Tidwell said.
King then set aside his written speech and spoke spontaneously to the approximately 250,000 people gathered that day.
Jackson was on the platform that day of the march, as a singer.
Here is a clip of that speech:
Black women were at the forefront of the movement, he said, but “they were marginalized and doubly oppressed by racism and sexism”.
Tidwell encouraged the audience to “try to find ways to sustain mutual respect” in the current era of American history.
“Find one thing you see right and work towards that,” he said.
“What can we learn from Lincoln’s struggle with slavery and Dr. King’s efforts to set forth a dream rooted in the American Dream?” Tidwell asked.
“History can be a great teacher. One lesson we can learn is that we are only as free as the respect we show others. In my view, the world we now live in is best described as uncertain.
“No, it is not the world of Dr. King’s separate drinking fountains, segregated classrooms, the real estate practice of red-lining, and other acts of racial discrimination.
“As made clear by the recent outcome of the presidential campaign, our world is beset with an enervating discourse rooted in divisiveness, intolerance, and discord. The moral imperatives of civility, mutual respect, and common sense have been sacrificed to political cant and ethnocentrism.
“The politics of insincerity and expediency have become poor substitutes for compassion and statesmanship.”
“I want people to understand that once they have sympathy and empathy for others, that will translate into an improved engagement with our history, our traditions and all those things that make us, us,” Tidwell said in a later interview. “I want this speech to inspire a little bit for how they can work together on a goal that will enhance everybody’s situation, not just their own”.
The audience eats lunch and converses before John Tidwell speaks for the Kansas Humanities Council Series presentation at Fort Scott Community College.
Woodland Hills Golf Course Advisory Board, from left clockwise: Fort Scott City Clerk Diane Clay, John Leek, Kenneth Holt, Shannon O’Neil, Jon Kindlesparger, Steve Harry, Mitch Quick and Jon Garrison. The board had its quarlerly meeting Feb. 1 at the clubhouse.
The Woodland Hills Golf Course Advisory Board met Feb. 1 at the course clubhouse.
On the agenda was raising revenue for the course.
“It’s a good golf course,” Shannon O’Neil, clubhouse manager said. “Greens fees, we are 50 cents less than Girard, a couple bucks less than Four Oaks. ”
“We are trying to catch up with area courses,” Jon Kindlesparger, golf course superintendent said in a later interview.
“The season cart (rental) is the biggest discrepancy,” O’Neil said. When a large group plays they’ll all have one cart, he noted
O’Neil said renting a cart is a good deal for the golfers.
“It’s just like having your own cart, (but) based on availability. I can’t promise a cart in a tournament,” he said.
Currently, the golf cart season rental fee is $350 per year.
Following discussion by the board, it will seek approval from the city to raise the fee to $425.
Additional fee increases, if approved by the city commission:
Nine-hole greens fees will increase from $10 to $11, weekday; weekend fees from $12 to $15.
Single memberships will increase from $400 to $440; family memberships (a family of four) from $550 to $595.
Staff of the golf course will attend Tuesdays Fort Scott City Commission meeting to seek approval for fee increases. Pictured are the current prices.
O’Neil said he would like to change the procedure for memberships.
“I’d like to have them due all at the same time,” he said. “If all are due at a certain date, as a business I can see if what we are doing is growing the business. It’s easier from a management perspective. I’d like May 1 to be the (renewal) date.”
Jon Garrison, finance director for the City of Fort Scott agreed with the proposal and said it would be pro-rated the initial year.
The city owns the approximately 148- acre golf course.
O’Neil and Kindlesparger were asked by Garrison to attend the next city commission meeting, Feb. 6 to seek approval of the fee increases.
Another item on the agenda was the new golf cart barn that is in the preliminary stage.
Agricultural Engineering Associates, Uniontown, is the firm hired to design the barn.
“I hope he gets the specs together, then we can go out to bid with it,” Garrison said.
“I hope it will be constructed this spring,” O’Neil said in a later interview. “It will be a Morton Pole Barn. We’ll house 30 rental carts. We’ll sell 10 season cart passes a year.”
The barn will be located straight north of the clubhouse, “where the old clubhouse used to be,” O’Neil said.
Some of the statistics for the course:
There are 127 memberships.
There were 9,100 rounds of golf played on the course last year, of those, 5,100 were played by members, 4,000 were green fee rounds.
There are three full-time employees, six part-time employees during the season which runs April through October.
The new clubhouse was completed in February 2016.
There are 25 tournaments a year.
Uniontown and Fort Scott High Schools play at the course.
“We are unique here, a member of those golf teams can play here for free,” O’Neil said.
Fort Scott Community College is starting a girls golf program this year and will play at Woodland Hills, as well, he said.
The board is comprised of Steve Harry, Kenneth Holt, John Leek, Mitch Quick and Jeff Sweetser.
The board meets quarterly or as needed.
“We’ve got a good board,” Garrison said. “They use the course.”
“They are emotionally and financially invested,” O’Neil said.
The following are highlights of the agenda for the Fort Scott City Commission to be held at 6 p.m. Feb. 6. at city hall, 123 S. Main.
1. Resolution 4-2018 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Dangerous and Unsafe Structure and accessory structure located at 1523 E. Wall Street – Public Hearing Date – 3/20/2018 – 6:15 p.m.
Resolution 5-2018 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Dangerous and Unsafe Structure and Accessory Structure located at 1601 E. Wall Street – Public Hearing Date – 3/20/2018 – 6:15 p.m.
Resolution 6-2018 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Dangerous and Unsafe Structure and Accessory Structure located at 13 N. Holbrook Street – Public Hearing Date – 3/20/2018 – 6:15 p.m.
Resolution 7-2018 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Dangerous and Unsafe Structure located at 523 S. Main Street – Public Hearing Date – 3/20/2018 – 6:15 p.m.
Resolution 8-2018 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Dangerous and Unsafe Structure located at 108 W. Oak Street – Public Hearing Date – 3/20/2018 – 6:15 p.m.
Resolution 9-2018 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Dangerous and Unsafe Structure and Accessory Structure located at 309 S. Lowman Street – Public Hearing Date – 3/20/2018 – 6:15 p.m.
Items to be considered by the commission:
Consideration of appointment to Fort Scott Planning Commission – one city resident
Assignment of Charlesworth Contract
Consideration of 2017 Audit Contract with Diehl, Banwart Bolton
Consideration to approve KDOT Form TRF 3 – Closeout of Downtown Brick Street and Sidewalk Replacement Project in 2010
Consideration of increase in Woodland Hills Golf Course fees and change in membership renewal dates
Consideration to reject demolition bids for 1837 E. 1st
Consideration of Tourism center upgrade bids
Discussion of Utility Office hours
Consideration of tree removal from west and south end of runway – Fort Scott Municipal Airport
Paul Ballou with Rhonda Dunn will give an update on the Stout Building.
To see the full agenda which includes minutes and financials click here:
Kansas youth were given the opportunity to create artwork depicting the theme “New Faces, New Neighbors”.
Fort Scott National Historic Site is exhibiting the youth artwork in the building west of the visitors center.
The winter hours of the fort, from November 1 to March 1, are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The fort is located at the north end of downtown Fort Scott on Old Fort Boulevard.
For more information: 620.223-0310
One of the art projects depicted soldiers, caucasian, black and Native Americans.
For more information, click here:
“New Faces, New Neighbors” Textile Art Display
In addition to the above exhibit, while at the Fort view the excellent exhibit “The Fight Over Freedom”, adjacent to the youth exhibit.
The following are photos from that exhibit.
Fort Scott National Historic Site’s “The Fight Over Freedom” exhibit.
