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The former Fort Scott Manor Nursing Home, 736 Heylman Street, will soon be 24 standard market apartments.
Shane Lamb, president of Rural Asset Management and Rural Redevelopment Group, De Soto, KS. decided to take on the development project, even after not receiving grants to help.
“We didn’t receive any state or federal grants or funds,” he said. “We did apply for them but did not receive any. I am doing this on our own.”
“The rental complex hasn’t been named yet,” he said. “We will in the coming weeks.”
The building is approximately 20,000 square feet. “It’s been completely gutted and new everything,” Lamb said.
Lamb purchased the Fort Scott Manor property in January of 2022, he said. “It was closed down by the state several years ago, then went through bankruptcy proceedings. I believe it had been closed for three years.”

The Fort Scott property will not be low-income apartment rentals but instead will be for the standard market.
“We focus on rural towns and rural housing,” he said. “Typically, we purchase nursing homes, schools, hospitals…single-use vacant properties we convert to housing.”
“We should have the majority of the repairs done in the next six months and plan to have it 100 percent completed and occupied by winter,” Lamb said.

Lamb said he always tries to use qualified local contractors and buy materials locally.
“I always try to keep the money local,” he said. “It doesn’t work 100 percent of the time. Sometimes you can’t find local partners to meet those deadlines…because they are so busy.”

Lamb said there was a glitch in the Iola project that paused it for several years.
“W had a neighbor that was on a city council that blocked rezoning for almost 4 years,” Lamb said in a later interview. “The project has since started and is being remodeled as we speak. The project is slated to be done within a year.”

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The regular meeting of the Fort Scott City Commission was held March 5, 2024, at 6:00PM in the City Commission Meeting Room at City Hall, 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas.
Roll Call
Commissioners Tim VanHoecke, Melissa Guns, Matthew Wells and Dyllon Olson were present with Mayor Tracy Dancer.
Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation: T. Dancer led the Pledge of Allegiance and T. VanHoecke said a prayer asking God for guidance for the City, our Government and City officials.
Audience in Attendance Brad Matkin/City Manager, Bob Farmer/City Attorney, Jason Dickman/Earles Engineering, Jason Pickert/Chief of Police, Ben Hart/Director of Finance-Baker-Tilly, Mary Wyatt/Planning, Housing and Community Development Director, Bill Lemke/Water Distribution & Wastewater Collections Supervisor, Destry Brown/Superintendent USD234, Robin Button, Cheryl Marsh, Cho Hillman, Carol Glover, Justin Meeks/County Counselor, Diane Striler, Richard Clark, Michael Hoyt, and Carl Brenner/Chief of Interpretation and Resource Management at FSNHS.
Approval of Agenda
Appearance item for Shanda Stewart – Request for donation to Fort Scott High School Prom After Party was requested to be removed from the agenda. T. VanHoecke moved to approve the agenda with the amendment. M. Wells requested to amend the motion to include an amendment to New Business to include (2) Letters of Interest for consideration to the Fort Scott Public Library Board – Constance S. Banwart and Susan Messer. T. VanHoecke agreed to the amendment to his motion. M. Wells seconded the motion. All voted yes.
APPROVED AMENDED AGENDA
Proclamation
Mayors Alliance to End Childhood Hunger – National School Breakfast Week – March 4th through 8th, 2024 – M. Wells officiated the Proclamation and honored the following USD234 staff members: Robin Button, Anna Marsh, Jessica Phillips, Cheryl Marsh, Cho Hillman, Millie Willard, Carol Glover, and Ginger Houston.
Consent Agenda
Approval of Appropriation Ordinance 1355-A – $975,852.99
Approval of minutes of February 20, 2024
Request to Pay – Invoice #1756 – Marberry Concrete, Inc. –Fort Scott Lake Boat Ramp repair – $69,990.00.
APPROVED CONSENT AGENDA.
Public Comment
Richard Clark appeared before the Commission to state his concern about changes at Fort Scott Lake regarding long-term safety, cost, and lot sales. (Time stamp – 12:04)
Appearances
Diane Striler appeared before the Commission to continue discussion regarding the proposed Downtown Ice-Skating Rink.
(Time stamp – 27:17)
MOTION DIED FOR THE LACK OF A SECOND.
MOTION DEFEATED BY 3-2 VOTE.
Old Business
Consideration of Charter Ordinance No. 32 – A CHARTER
ORDINANCEOF THE CITY OF FORT SCOTT, KANSAS, EXEMPTING SUCH CITY FROM THE PROVISIONS OF K.S.A. 12-1222 RELATING TO LIBRARIES, AND PROVIDING SUBSTITUTE AND ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS RELATING THERETO – Tabled from February 20, 2024
APPROVED CHARTER ORDINANCE NO. 32.
New Business
Consideration to purchase Allen Trench Safety Badger Pro Series Set of (4) Modular Trench Shoring Boxes – Sole Source by Allen Trench Safety Corp. – $28,048.00.
APPROVED REQUEST TO PURCHASE TRENCH SHORING BOXES.
Consideration to reappoint expired terms of Planning Commission Board Members for another term: Cheryl Adamson and Carol MacArthur – Recommended by Planning Commission, February 21, 2024.
APPROVED TO REAPPOINT CHERYL ADAMSON AND CAROL MACARTHUR FOR ANOTHER TERM TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
Consideration to amend Ordinance No. 3497 Planning Commission Membership Terms to (7) members instead of (10) members – Recommended by Planning Commission, February 21, 2024.
APPROVED TO TABLE THE CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE NO. 3497 UNTIL THE NEXT COMMISSION MEETING.
Consideration of Letter of Interest for Library Board Vacancy from Constance S. Banwart and Susan Messer
APPROVED TO APPOINT CONSTANCE BANWART AND SUSAN MESSER TO THE FORT SCOTT PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD.
Consideration to reappoint expired terms of Street Advisory Board members for another (3) year term: Clete Hall, Charles Gentry, Nick Barrows, and Gary Cullor.
APPROVED TO REAPPOINT EXPIRED TERMS OF THE STREET ADVISORY BOARD: CLETE HALL, CHARLES GENTRY, NICK BARROWS AND GARY CULLOR FOR ANOTHER (3) YEAR TERM.
Consideration to approve Ordinance No. 3761 – Amending section 10.04.90 regarding inspection requirements for annual U.T.V. license.
MOTION STRUCK IN ITS ENTIRITY. CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE NO. 3761 WILL APPEAR ON MARCH 19, 2024, AGENDA.
Consideration to repeal Ordinance No. 3060 Public Dance License
APPROVED TO REPEAL ORDINANCE NO. 3060 REQUIRING A PUBLIC DANCE LICENSE.
APPROVED APPOINTMENT OF CATHY DANCER AND REAPPOINTMENT OF ARNOLD SCHOFIELD TO THE DESIGN REVIEW BOARD.
Final approval of Mulligan Ridge Donation Agreement
Justin Meeks appeared before the Commission representing Mulligan Ridge LLC for the City’s donation of land to the property owner to build a pond and water feature that was approved on October 3, 2023, by the City Commission. This agreement was drawn up between City Attorney B. Farmer and J. Meeks as final approval of that agreement. The changes from the original agreement are a quit claim deed from a warranty deed and first right of refusal.
FINAL APPROVAL OF MULLIGAN RIDGE DONATION AGREEMENT.
Discussion of 190th Street Maintenance
CITY COMMISSION DIRECTED B. MATKIN TO TALK WITH THE COUNTY BEFORE THE COMMISSION MAKES A DECISION.
Consideration of 2024 Street Program
APPROVED STREET PROGRAM 2024.
Discussion of Rural Housing Incentive District (RHID)
APPROVED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH CREATION OF RHID.
Reports and Comments
City Manager Comments (Time stamp 2:34:41)
Engineering Comments (Time stamp 2:36:03)
Commissioners Comments (Time stamp 2:36:34)
City Attorney Comments – No comment
Executive Session
APPROVED TO MOVE IN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION AT 8:46PM.
APPROVED TO MOVE OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION AT 8:56PM WITH NO ACTION.
MEETING OF MARCH 5, 2024, ADJOURNED AT 8:56PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa A. Lewis, City Clerk

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Fort Scott High School Floriculture Teacher Sydney Cullison’s students plan to create and sell some of the products they have learned to make.
“Students in floriculture are looking to create Easter-themed centerpiece arrangements,” she said. “This is a learning experience for students and each arrangement may vary slightly.”

This is the first year for floriculture in FSHS.
“Our source of flowers is Flowers By Leanna,” she said. “She sells them wholesale to us. We have done a workshop there with her.”
“It’s the first time we’ve ever sold arrangements,” Cullison said. “We are testing the waters.”
“We plan to make corsages and boutonnieres,” she said.
“We are lucky to have several floral shops in town, some rural towns don’t, but we want to give the kids the experiences at the same time,” she said.
“The proceeds will be used for future floriculture things,” she said.
Orders for the Easter arrangements are due by March 17.
Each arrangement is $30. Flowers to be possibly included are: white easter lilies, tulips, stock, carnations, static, and leather leaf in a 5.5″ tall tin bucket with ribbon.
Cash or Check to Fort Scott FFA. Venmo @Sydney-Cullison
Delivery inside city limits is available for $5.
Pick up at FSHS Ag Shop.
Delivery and pick up on March 27 by 4 p.m.
Order Link: https://forms.gle/

Scott Cain is a Science and Math teacher at Christian Learning Center, Fort Scott.
Recently, a team of boys that he taught won the top prize at the first-ever SunPowered Student Challenge, a statewide solar energy competition founded by the Kansas Electric Cooperatives, Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative, Ten80 Education, and Pitsco Education.
Sam Love (16), Ethan Hill (17), James Kobernat (17), and Ryan Koch (18) were the students who were a part of the CLC team, each winning a $1,000 scholarship.
Sam’s parents are Kelly and Jason Love, Fort Scott; Ethan’s parents are Garrett and Kaleigh Hill, Nevada, MO; Jame’s parents are Dan and Amy Kobernat, Fort Scott; and Ryan’s parents are Jason and Holly Koch, Uniontown.

Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative sponsored the team.
The boys were taught in a curriculum before the competition: how to wire circuits in series and in parallel, how types of circuits affect amps and volts, how to evaluate a site for optimal placement of solar panels, how to use latitude, time of year, and nearby obstacles, such as trees to angle solar panels for maximum output, how to consider the day-time usage of a household to calculate number of panels, where they should be located, and cost of installation.
“The competition involved several categories of scoring, said teacher Scott Cain. “The highest total point scored was the winner.”
What the students were judged on:

About the private school, taken from its website:
The Christian Learning Center (CLC) was founded in 2000, by Mr. Harold Kraft.
MISSION STATEMENT
“To educate and encourage students to live a Christ-centered life; to impart necessary skills to meet the demands of an ever-changing world; and to develop mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical strengths so that each child may live up to his or her God-given talents in the surroundings of a stable, Christian school environment.”
We fulfill this mission by assisting Christian parents in performing their Biblical responsibility to “train up a child in the way he should go” and “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Proverbs 22:6, Ephesians 6:4). All subjects are taught from a Biblical worldview. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7).

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Unified School District 234
424 South Main
Fort Scott, KS 66701-2697
620-223-0800 Fax 620-223-2760
DESTRY BROWN
Superintendent
BOARD OF EDUCATION REGULAR MEETING
NEWS RELEASE
Monday, March 04, 2024
Members of the USD 234 Board of Education met at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, March 04, 2024, for their regular monthly meeting at the board office.
President David Stewart opened the meeting.
The board appointed Joe Wimmer as board member for the next two years.
The board approved the official agenda, and the consent agenda as follows:
Board Minutes
02/12/24 Board Minutes
Payroll – February 20, 2024 – $1,658,014.61
USD 234 Gifts
Middle School Principal Zach Johnson and Counselor Kerri Hanson recognized the first year of FSMS STUCO students. These students were nominated by their teachers for this leadership role. They have been to Greenbush to attend Leadership Workshops that enabled the students to collaborate with other schools in various situations. On Wednesday they will be heading to Eugene Ware to do a reading project and eat lunch with them. Also, STUCO participated in organizing the Veteran’s Day Assembly. Mr. Johnson and Mrs. Hanson commended this group for working with Administration to have a voice in improving the school.

Angie Bin, Fort Scott High School Drama Teacher, presented about March being Theatre in our Schools and Music in our Schools Month. Lexi Hill, senior at FSHS, is the Thespian President and Cooper George, junior at FSHS, is Thespian Vice President. Lexi is a huge advocate for theatre because of her experience starting in sixth grade and continuing into a future career. She explained about the skills she has learned throughout the years in Theatre. She is also receiving a scholarship that only ten seniors in Kansas receive. Cooper shared the opportunities he has been given through the Theatre department such as being a Stage Manager and Director. He explained all the various shows, fundraising, and many other events this department has done through this last year. An upcoming event will be on March 26 which is the Theatre Talent Show at 7PM.


Scott Kimble, Fort Scott High School Principal, recognized Kenna Miles, sophomore at FSHS. She was the first female State Wrestling Champion from FSHS. Kenna said she was nervous but by the time Finals started she was ready to do her best. She ended the season 40-3.
Tonya Barnes and Mina Query recognized three Paraprofessionals from Eugene Ware. Tabitha Hardesty was thanked for taking on a significant role in the school’s focus room. She was commended for her patience and making great connections with the students.

Sara Rood is in her second year, but she has taken on small group instruction and has excelled. She is entering the Para to Teach program through Pitt State.
Erin Thurston has only been with the district starting this year but was thanked for being kind, and consistently showing up for the students in whatever area is needed.
Mina Query, Principal at Eugene Ware, recognized Sherry Lindsay, Title Teacher, for her longevity and being a role model for all teachers in the building. Sherry is willing to take on whatever new project there is and never complains. Eugene Ware is very thankful to have Sherry.
Dan Koppa, Director of Facilities, thanked Brad Wright for all he has done for the district. There is an extensive list of qualities that Brad has brought to the team. He has a great standing in the community and an impressive work ethic that has not gone unnoticed. Brad is willing to jump in and help, brainstorm, take on projects, and much more.
Superintendent Destry Brown reported on the current enrollment from September to March.
Scott Kimble, High School Principal, and Josh Messer, High School Counselor, came and presented about Kansas’ new High School Graduation requirements that will take effect starting with the graduating class of 2028. These are still being finalized at the State Level. Mr. Kimble and Mr. Messer will continue to keep the Board updated on changes.
Mr. Brown reviewed a couple of legislation that could possibly affect the district in the future.
The Preschool building is in the beginning stages of designs and is moving forward.
Kansas Renewal Institute will be implementing a facility in Fort Scott and the District will be working with this group. Superintendent Brown reported about investments and the April staff premium pay.
Assistant Superintendent Dalaina Smith gave a printout to the Board about the IREADY Fall/Winter scores. She was extremely optimistic about these improvements. She wanted to recognize that teachers and all the demanding work with interventions and extra time they are putting in to help the improve scores.
Tonya Barnes, Special Education Director, presented the Board with an update on Categorical State Aid and Medicaid Reports. She is working with each building to ensure smooth transitions for students moving buildings for the next school year.
As a discussion item, Superintendent Brown updated about the cell phone policy. The specifics are still being worked through with staff.
The board approved the following items:
The board went into an executive session for personnel matters.
President Stewart adjourned the meeting.
PERSONNEL REPORT – APPROVED EMPLOYMENT
March 04, 2024
RESIGNATIONS/TERMINATIONS/RETIREMENTS:
Buntain, Theresa – Retirement – Band Teacher Aide – Middle School
Davis, Gaven – Termination – Paraprofessional – Eugene Ware
Duffy, Kristin – Resignation – Head Cheerleading Coach – High School
Hampton, Breanna – Termination – 6th Grade ELA
Skaggs, Gwen – Resignation – Paraprofessional – Middle School
TRANSFERS/REASSIGNMENTS/LEAVE OF ABSENCE:
Certified:
Cross, Jennifer – Transfer from 2nd Grade to Title 1 Teacher -Winfield Scott – 2024-25
Garzone, Chris – Transfer from Assistant Principal to Principal – Winfield Scott – 2024-25
EMPLOYMENT:
Certified Recommendations for the 2023-24 school year:
Reichard, Betsy – Part Time Process Coordinator – 2024-25
Hoener, Rhonda – Part time School Psychologist Paraprofessional – 2024-25
Classified Recommendations for the 2023-24 school year:
Hernandez, Samara – Part Time Paraprofessional – Eugene Ware
Johnson, Corinna – Paraprofessional – Winfield Scott