The City of Fort Scott Water Distribution Department will be changing out a fire hydrant at 1st and Grant Street on Wednesday, August 10th, 2022.
In order to do this safely and without a long term water outage, the water pressure in the area from Broadway to Cameron along 1st Street will need to be reduced.
Some residents may experience low or no water pressure during this time.
The Water Distribution Department will try to keep this situation as short as a time frame as possible.
Please watch for the water pressure drop around 9:00 a.m. that morning.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have any questions or concerns, please call 620-223-0550 and ask for Water Distribution Department.
Ralph Carlson introduces the Friday Night Concert musicians May 2019.
This week’s Friday Night Concert will be presented by the Church of Christ (15th and Crawford streets). The music will feature a program of a cappella hymns and gospel songs.
“The singers represent multiple ages and they really shine with a passion for blending harmonies with their musical styling of the gospel,” concert-series organizer Ralph Carlson said. “Come out and join us; it’s a great opportunity to see friends and enjoy some beautiful encouraging music. We are happy to welcome this church family back to the park pavilion.”
The one-hour concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Heritage Park Pavilion at First and Main streets. The shows, sponsored by the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, are free and open to the public. Dave Oas and Jim Butler provide the sound each week. Due to limited seating, attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be moved indoors.
The Fort Scott City Commission will meet on Tuesday, August 9th, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. in the City Hall Commission Meeting Room at 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas to hold a work session to discuss the 2023 budget. This work session is open to the public, but no action will be taken.
The work session will also be available on the City’s YouTube channel.
This is part of a series featuring the new educators in Bourbon County. There are 26 new educators in USD 234.
Jon Barnes. Submitted.
Jon Barnes, 23, is the new Fort Scott High School American Government and American History teacher.
Barnes graduated from Fort Scott Community College with an Associates of Science and from Pittsburg State University he earned a Bachelor of Science in Education.
He is a first year teacher.
Barnes comes from Yates Center. His family: mom Tonya Billiard Barnes of Fort Scott, dad is Kevin Barnes of Mound City.
In his spare time he enjoys walking his dog, lifting weights, playing golf, basketball, watching movies, playing video games, hunting/fishing, and is involved at the Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene.
“I decided to become a teacher after working as a tutor my second year at FSCC,” he said. “Both my parents are in education and they certainly inspired me, as well as my fourth grade teacher and high school cross country coach, Rex McVey.”
“The part of teaching I’m most excited about is getting to work with my students,” he said. “I’m in it for the kids, I love building relationships and being a positive influence on the next generation.”
“As a first year teacher, I’m sure I will find the challenges when we get rolling, but I look forward to working through them,” he said.
Mike Krull. Submitted photo.
Mike Krull, 56, is the new Fort Scott High School Physical Education Teacher and head boys basketball coach.
He has a Bachelors of Science in Education Degree from Pittsburg State University, with emphasis in physical education and social studies.
Krull taught at Louisburg, from 1991-1998 Frankfort, from 1998-2000, Yates Center, from 2000-2002, and Parsons from 2002-2022.
He grew up in Girard, Kansas.
His wife’s name is Misty and together they have five children.
“Three are mine and two are hers,” Krull said. “One son shy of Brady Bunch. I have a son Wesley, who is a teacher at Parsons and two daughters, Kaylee, a teacher at Pittsburg, and Sydney, a senior at PSU. I have a step-daugher, McCarly, a nurse/RN in Pittsburg and a step-son, McCade, an independent contractor in SEK.”
Some of his interests outside of school are “obviously basketball / sports, learning new cultures around the world, traveling / cruising, grandchildren Rip and Myla,” he said.
He became a teacher because he enjoyed school, he said. “I was always around the school environment with my mother, a secretary, and father, a teacher. I went to Fort Scott Community College and Pittsburg State University for my formal training, and really enjoy being around the environment.”
“No one person really inspired me to be a teacher, but really a combination of the overall experience. My mother, father, coaches, my high school teachers, and my college teachers,” he said.
“The best part of teaching is probably knowing that other teachers go through the same thing you go through with students and also the bonds that are made with students and their families and the bond with other faculty members,” Krull said.
“Probably the biggest challenge is knowing that each day will be different, good or bad, from the previous days,” he said.
Nedra Barr, Spyder CEO, of Spyder, announced today that they were selected to be included in the NXTSTAGE Accelerator program in Kansas.
“We are excited to collaborate with this program and the other awardees in the program,” she said. “This allows Spyder a larger stage in the State of Kansas to sell our new software products geared towards small business.”
Spyder CTO Mike Upright said, “Spyder’s small business product is scheduled to be released in September and will include Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. These tools are not widely available to small business’ today, but we see it differently. Small Business’ need these types of solutions to put them on more of a level playing field. Small business’ are the lifeblood of our U.S. economy, so helping them get to a level playing field is an important mission of Spyder!”
The City Commission will reconvene on Thursday, August 4th, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. for the postponed meeting from August 2nd, 2022. at City Hall in the City Commission meeting room at 123 South Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas.
This meeting is open to the public and will be broadcast on the City’s you tube channel.
Fort Scott substation on fire on August 3, 2022. Taken from Fort Scott Commissioner Tim Van Hoecke’s Facebook page.
As of 7:30 a.m. August 4, there were 549 Fort Scott residents on the north side still without power, according to a customer service representative at Evergy.
This follows a thunderstorm that swept through town on Wednesday evening.
At that time there was no estimated time to restore service yet, but a customer service agent at the Evergy phone number, said the outage was caused by a lightning strike, which caused a fire and that two substations are down.
They are in the process of delivering a mobile substation to Fort Scott, which will allow power on, but there is not estimated restore time, she said.
The agent said they are working as fast as they can to restore power.
One area where there was no power is from Pine Street on the north, to 8th Street on the south, from National Avenue diagonally to Short Street.
There was a smaller section just east of the substation just off of Old Fort Bvld. encompassing North Buchanan Street, and North Clark, Wilson and Hill Streets.
At 8 a.m. the City of Fort Scott posted this on its’ Facebook page:
“Power has been restored to most of those that lost electricity because of the substation fire (lightning strike) late yesterday, however, there are still some spotty areas that may still be without electricity. Buck Run Community Center is still available to those needing a place to cool off, rest (cots available), and to use medical equipment (such as oxygen concentrators). We appreciate everyone’s patience and support.”
Nick Johnson, 35, is the new principal at Fort Scott Preschool Center.
He is not new to the district school system, however.
“I have worked in the USD 234 school district for the last thirteen years,” Johnson said. “I began my career teaching second grade at Eugene Ware Elementary. After the two elementary schools became attendance centers, I moved to Winfield Scott where I continued to teach second grade for nine more years. For the last three years, I have been teaching English Language Arts and Social Studies at Fort Scott Middle School.”
Since graduating from Fort Scott High School in 2005, Johnson earned an associate’s degree from Fort Scott Community College, a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Pittsburg State University, and a master’s degree in Educational Administration from Emporia State University.
His hometown is Fort Scott.
His wife, Amanda, is also an educator who teaches elementary music at Jayhawk Elementary in Mound City. They have two sons- Leighton, 13, and Reid, 7.
When not teaching, he is involved in his children’s sports activities.
“My boys enjoy sports, so when I’m not at school, I am often coaching youth football, basketball, or baseball,” he said.
How did you choose to become a teacher?
“I worked part-time at The Keyhole Youth Center while attending FSCC. I enjoyed getting to know the youth who frequented the center and being a positive influence in their lives. That experience led me to explore the field of education.”
Is there someone who inspired you?
“While attending Fort Scott schools, I was fortunate to have many great teachers who influenced my career choice.”
What is the best part of teaching for you?
“The best part about being an educator is having the opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives of our youth.”
What are the challenges?
“The biggest challenge we are facing at the preschool is the lack of physical space to meet the current demand for early childhood education services. We are looking forward to working with the district administration, school board, and community to develop a solution to meet the needs of our community.”
Ralph Carlson introduces the Friday Night Concert musicians May 2019.
This week’s Friday Night Concert will be presented by the Neosho River Boys, a traditional bluegrass band based out of Chanute, Kansas. Ron Oliphant plays banjo and fiddle, Dale Steinman keeps the rhythm on the upright bass, and Scott Sexton sings and plays guitar.
“The band performs much in the style of the earliest bluegrass performers. Their music is heartfelt and real,” concert series organizer Ralph Carlson said. “Come out and join us for a special treat to see friends and hear some great pickin’ and grinnin’. These musicians are no stranger to the Fort Scott stage and are a delight to hear. We are pleased to welcome the Neosho River Boys to our downtown park pavilion.“
The one-hour concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Heritage Park Pavilion at First and Main streets. The shows, sponsored by the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, are free and open to the public. Dave Oas and Jim Butler provide the sound each week. Due to limited seating, attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
In the event of inclement weather, the Neosho River Boys concert will be moved to the Fort Scott Community College Round Room.
