During the past week, the Bourbon County Road and Bridge Department has been working to lay new asphalt on Justice Lane just west of city limits. Discussions at recent county comissioners’ meetings have included discussion about scheduled road work, including this project.
Fair Schedule Courtesy of the 2013 Bourbon County Fair website
Wednesday July 17th
8:00 AM Open Bucket Calves Judging
9:00 AM Dairy Cattle Judging
9:00 AM-11:00 AM Family and Consumer Sciences Judging Contest
10:00 AM 4-H and Open Class Dairy Goats Judging
10:00 AM-9:00 PM History of the Bourbon County Fair, Myers Building
1:30 PM Horticulture Judging Contest, 4-H Building
2:00 PM “Cook Once” Eat for a Month Program presented by Starlite FCE
6:30 PM Beef Cattle Judging
6:00 PM-7:00 PM Free Health Screenings, Yeager Building
Thursday July 18th
8:00 AM Swine Judging
8:00 AM Chamber Coffee, Myers Building
10:00 AM-9:00 PM History of the Bourbon County Fair, Myers Building
2:00 PM 4-H Fashion Revue Practice
3:00 PM Round Robin Showmanship
5:30 PM 4-H Fashion Revue
7:30 PM Triple Showcase Music Entertainment, Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center
Friday July 19th
9:00 AM Livestock Judging Contest
10:00AM-9:00PM History of the Bourbon County Fair, Myers Building
1:00 PM Barnyard Olympics
5:30 PM Buyer’s Appreciation Supper
7:00 PM Junior Livestock Sale
7:00 PM Garden Tractor Pull
Saturday July 20th
8:00 AM-9:00 AM Check Out 4-H Exhibits and Clean Up to follow
8:00 AM-10:00 AM Check Out Open Class Exhibits
7:00 PM Missouri State Tractor Pullers Association
4-Hers and Open Class contestants provided a colorful spectacle for fairgoers this morning. Multicolored chickens, furry rabbits, squeaky-clean cattle, textiles, photographs and garden produce were just a few of the items evaluated by judges and admired by bystanders this morning. In addition, many hardworking volunteers kept the crowd fed and cool through their efforts.
The main events today at the Bourbon County Fair will involve judging of arts and crafts, various livestock and food entries. Throughout the day, a Fair History exhibit located in the Myers Building will be open to the public, and tonight at 6:30 PM, Thursday Night Live FCE will present the program “Believe it or Not” it can be recycled.
Today’s schedule courtesy of the 2013 Bourbon County Fair website contains the following events:
8:00 AM Judging of 4-H and Open Class Rabbits
8:30 AM Judging of 4-H Foods
8:45 AM Judging of 4-H Arts and Crafts
10:30 AM Judging of 4-H and Open Poultry
Noon Bake sale for Open Class foods
5:00 PM Judging of Sheep and Meat Goats
6:30 PM “Believe it or Not” it can be recycled presentation
12:00 AM-9:00 PM History of the Bourbon County Fair exhibit, Myers Building
Undersheriff Bill Martin, Bobby Reed of the Southeast Kansas Regional Correctional Center (SEKRCC) and James Cianciaruso of JE Dunn Construction came before the county commissioners in order to propose planning for a new jail. “There’s been a trend that we’ve been seeing in our communities,” Cianciaruso said. “Increasing jail population, decreasing population and an aging facility.”
Cianciaruso presented his company’s practices in designing and managing the construction of new jail facilities, including the JE Dunn’s INTown Purchasing Program, in which the company hires local companies and workers as subcontractors. “We really want to get to know the communities that we’re in” Cianciaruso said. Cianciaruso added that any money invested in JE Dunn, especially public money, would be reinvested as much as possible back into the community in which the money originated. “We don’t just go back and forget about you,” said Cianciaruso, who added that the company’s goal is to work with local contractors instead of bringing in workers from Kansas City.
Cianciaruso cited as evidence the company’s work with Reno County Kansas, with which the company worked for 7 years to find a solution the community found satisfactory. “We worked with those communities for many years to help get studies done” said Cianciaruso, and added that the company worked with the county and community to determine how much money the county felt it could spend on a new facility. “That’s the essence of what you’re trying to achieve,” Cianciaruso said of striking a balance between a facility that serves the community properly, but that is not a “country club.”
Of the SEKRCC, Cianciaruso said that from what he had seen there were “some definite issues” with the current structure, and that there had been some “band-aids” added to the structure to “mitigate incidents” between the population of the jail and the people in the surrounding community. “The reality is that people don’t want to think about the fact that they have to support a jail [rather than a school or other public facility], but a jail is an important part of the community,” Cianciaruso said, especially regarding the safety of the jail staff. Cianciaruso said that he did not want to be presumptuous and say that Bourbon County needed a new jail, but rather that he would like the chance to view the situation and help the county make a decision.
Commission Chairman Allen Warren said that his biggest issue regarding the project was that Sheriff Ron Gray was not present at the meeting and had not mentioned the project in prior meetings, to which Martin replied that the project had been delegated to him. “He hasn’t ever looked at me and said ‘stop what you’re doing,'” said Martin. Warren replied that since Sheriff Gray was the elected official, he should be directly involved in the project proposal.
Commissioner Harold Coleman asked about the life expectancy for a new jail if the county were to invest in one, and whether it would be worth the investment. Cianciaruso estimated the new jail would be sufficient for the county’s needs for 20 years, but could not give a definite number. Regarding the return on investment for the building of a new jail, Cianciaruso said that though “boots on the ground” are the most effective in reducing conflicts between inmates, a more technologically-advanced jail could help reduce staffing costs. Coleman pointed out that if a new jail were built now and the jail population doubles, the county would be back to square one again in a few decades. Cianciaruso agreed that this was a risk. “You only get one time to do it right, and you need the best information in front of you [in order to make a decision],” Cianciaruso said. Cianciaruso added that a new jail could be built in such a way to make future additions less costly.
JE Dunn Presentation Documents
Bobby Reed of the SEKRCC added to the discussion that new laws regarding violation of probation laws might cause a “jump” in the number of inmates at the jail, adding to the current problem of overcrowding. Reed explained that the new laws require a 5-day sanction for the first violation, and a 120-day sentence for a second violation.
In addition, Commissioners Warren and Coleman met with Carolyn Flynn, Permit Specialist at EnBridge. The company is working with Shafer, Kline and Warren in order to put in a new 36 inch pipeline for crude oil, which will run perpendicular to Yellowstone Rd. “The only road they’re going to cut is Yellowstone,” said Flynn. Holly Powers of Shafer, Kline and Warren explained that any pipeline 12 inches or larger requires an open trench to be cut. Powers said that bores have a tendency to collapse, and that the company is trying to avoid “failures down the road” by cutting a trench for the pipe rather than boring through the ground to place the pipe. Flynn added that an open cut would be less expensive than boring. Warren mentioned that the new pipeline would run parallel to an older pipeline that he estimated had been put in during the 1950s. Warren moved that the transmission pipelines permit be signed to allow EnBridge to put in the line, and Flynn wrote out a $1,600 check for the price of the permit. The work is estimated to take about 3 months.
In other business:
During this morning’s County Commissioners’ meeting, Dean and Gail Bailey presented the Bourbon County Fair Board’s request for 2014 funding from the county. “In the past it’s been $12,250. I’m sure we’d be happy to get the same thing again. We know how things are,” said Dean Bailey, who recognized the budgeting constraints the county faces for the next year. Commission Chairman Allen Warren replied, “We’ve got a tough job this year, no doubt about it.”
Gail Bailey reported that entries in the Open class at the fair have risen in recent years. “There will be more premiums to pay out, which is good,” Bailey said. Dean Bailey reported that entries from 4-H and FFA had also risen.
Warren added that the baking contest, which falls under the Open class, currently has 58 entries. “King Arthur Flour has donated a number of prizes . . . The company seems to be pretty excited about being involved in the Bourbon County Fair,” Warren said. Warren said that the flour company works with wheat farmers in Kansas to produce their product, 960 bags of which the Warrens will be transporting to the Merchant Building at the fairgrounds tomorrow. The 5 pound bags of Self-Rising flour are available for free to fairgoers. Warren said that it was “a good thing to see our fair growing with both the 4-H and Open class.”
Bailey also reported that Dale George had recently placed several round straw bales to be used in the bale decoration contest along the road adjacent to the barns and rodeo arena. “It will be interesting to see who comes up with what to decorate these round bales,” Bailey said. “The limit on that’s your imagination,” Commissioner Harold Coleman added.
Bailey also reported that the George family had paid for a 40 ft extension to the Goat and Dairy barn on the fairgrounds. According to Bailey, the extension was added in memory of Bill and Doris George, who were lifetime Fair Board members. Bailey said that all of the construction was done by the Fair Board, mostly by Mark Leatherman.
Dean Bailey did have some negative news to report concerning the aftereffects of the April hailstorm, however. “The hailstorm that came through really riddled us,” Bailey said. “We’re working through that and think we’ll come through that okay.” Bailey said the Fair Board found out that their buildings were were under-insured. One building that will likely be demolished soon is the old horse barn at the southeast corner of the fairgrounds. “The roof on it was damaged, and after looking at it, [the insurance company] didn’t think it was worth putting a new roof on.” Bailey said that the board is currently considering using money from building rentals in the off season and money from insurance to build a new horse barn.
When asked about the age of the old horse barn, Doris Ericson said that the building was present when she and her family moved to the area in 1962. Ericson estimated that the barn was built in the 1950s, and that the Fair Board had considered enclosing the structure and using it for storage. Ericson said that it had since been discovered that the wooden poles supporting the structure were rotting, and the building had been deemed beyond repair. The horses are now trailered in on Sunday evening for the 4-H Horse Show, then transported away afterwards, and the champions brought back later in the week for awards, according to Ericson.
At today’s Chamber Coffee located at the Lowell Milken Center in downtown Fort Scott, several announcements related to upcoming events were made.
FSCC President Dr. Clayton Tatro announced several new employees at the college, including Band Director Michael Dzbenski. Dzbenski replaces Betty Jo Laflen who retired at the end of the school year. FSCC has also hired Juliana Hughes as the college’s Director of Public Relations.
In other school-related news, FSCC will be hosting a visit by Governor Brownback at the FSCC Vinylplex Construction Trades Building in Pittsburg, KS. The visit to the area is a result of FSCC’s involvement in vocational education for high school students paid for by the state through Senate BIll 155. The bill, which was signed by Governor Brownback on May 25, 2012, has allowed FSCC to produce, according to Tatro, “one of the largest groups that took advantage” of the legislation and the benefit it provided to young people.
Fair Board Lifetime Member Allen Warren announced the opening of the Bourbon County Fair this weekend, Saturday July 13th. Warren said that the activities would begin with a dog show in the morning, and would be followed by the ATV Showdeo Saturday evening. Warren also mentioned that the 4-H horse show would be held the following evening.
Warren highlighted other entertainment to be showcased at the fair this year, including the tractor pullers from the Missouri State Tractor Pullers Association. Warren said that the association only puts on 5-6 pulls in Kansas, and that Fort Scott was fortunate to host them for the event. Warren said of the event, “They bring lots of tractors with them, they bring lots of smoke, lots of noise.” The tractor pullers will compete Saturday July 20 at 7:00 PM.
Jackie Warren, Open Class Superintendent, reminded fair goers about the King Aurthur Flour Baking Contest and free flour for attendees. Warren said, “Please come to the fair and take a bag of flour home.” The flour company has donated 960 sacks of self-rising flour as a gift to the community, which currently is being stored at the Warren home.
In other news:
While driving south on 69 Highway, local residents may have often wondered about the vehicles being auctioned off in front of the Cash 2 Go store in Fort Scott. FortScott.biz interviewed Manager Krista Bradley and Customer Service Representative Tiffany Philip about the sale of vehicles and how it is conducted.
Philip explained that Cash 2 Go uses two different markings to designate vehicles for sale, and that only the vehicles with writing on their windows are currently available for sale and for auction. One type is “starting bid,” which Philip said are for auction. The auction for each vehicle is a silent auction, and bids must be placed in person in the store. If a person is outbid, they are notified by phone and asked if they would like to place a higher bid. Bradley said that auctions typically last about 2 weeks if bids on the vehicle reach a reasonable amount.
The other marking type, Philip said, is “for sale” in which the vehicle is sold “first come, first serve.” Bradley also mentioned that prospective buyers may bring a mechanic with them and examine the vehicle’s engine and other components before they buy, because vehicles are sold “as is.” Philips clarified that potential buyers may test drive vehicles, but only in the parking lot. “The vehicle cannot hit the highway,” Philip said.
Philips explained that the store also does not do loans or financing on the vehicles being sold, and that Cash 2 Go does not accept checks for payment of vehicles. “We can’t accept checks because checks can bounce,” said Philips. Bradley added that the store does accept cashier’s checks for the amount of the purchase. The last step in the process after purchase of the vehicle is for the customer to get the title notarized.
Last, Bradley mentioned that the time frame for selling repossessed vehicles depends on the response of the original owner of the vehicle. Philip said that the original owner has 15 days after Cash 2 Go notifies them of the repossession to make a payment. After that 15-day period, the store has a waiting period until the title for the vehicle comes back, and only then can the vehicle be put up for sale or for auction.
County Commissioners addressed several questions pertaining to the restructuring of the Road and Bridge department in Bourbon County, as well as the raise given to the Bourbon County Appraiser’s position. Jerrod Handly of the Bourbon County Review pointed out that the appraiser’s salary is nearly $10,000 above the next-highest paid employee in the county, the County Attorney. Commission Chairman Allen Warren countered that the current county appraiser does $14-15,000 worth of work that is contracted out in other counties, while her salary remains lower than theirs. “She’s saving us money,” said Warren. Commissioner Barbara Albright also mentioned that the county appraiser is a “highly skilled” position and deserved to be paid as such when compared with the salaries of appraisers in neighboring counties.
Handly then brought up the restructuring of the Road and Bridge department and the addition of the new position of “Director” in that department. Warren replied that because of the large amount of work demanded of the current County Public Works Foreman, he had been working on the Road and Bridge budget in order to help the department keep up. Warren said, “The county crew is getting an awful lot of work done,” but there were things that still needed to be done on the budget and planning that could not be done by a person who, as Warren put it, has been running “from one end of the county to the next” every day. Warren also mentioned that counties such as the neighboring Crawford County have a road foreman for every district, rather than just one for the entire county, in addition to a director. “We’re not making changes just for the fun of making changes,” Warren said.
Warren explained that having a Road and Bridge Director would make the department more efficient by allowing closer supervision of employees. When Handly asked the commissioners about the amount set for the salary of the director’s position, Warren answered, “We can’t put someone in there that has no experience and expect to save money.” Handly then asked if the current Public Works Foreman had not been doing his job, to which Warren countered, “There is more [work] than one person can do.” Warren said that if the employee had not been doing his job, they would have terminated the employee. Handly said, “You guys are spending money that we don’t have,” to which Commissioner Harold Coleman said Warren had kept “a close eye on every penny” that went through the county.
In other business:
June 24 was the 41st wedding anniversary for Larry and Vickie Shead of Garland as well as the 6th wedding anniversary for Joel and Mitzi Ray. Mitzi is the daughter of Larry and Vickie Shead.
A Fourth of July celebration of dinner and fireworks was celebrated at the home of Mark and Haley Shead near Fort Scott on July 4. Activities included lighting and watching fireworks from the Shead’s deck. They have a spectacular view of the town’s many fireworks displays. Mark grilled hamburgers for all in attendance followed by the fireworks. The City fireworks launched from the Fort Scott Community College Campus, were viewed from the house as well. Those in attendance included: Katy and Benjamin Shead-Ft Scott; Amy, David, Haley, and Hannah Sachau-Ft Scott; Derek, Katrina, Harrison, and Charlotte Burke-newly arrived in Ft Scott; D.J. Davis-Georgetown, TX; Tami, LaVaine, Michaela, and Mariah Murphy-Webb City, MO; Chris and Nick Nickerson-Joplin, MO; Carole Liston-Joplin, MO; Matthew, Ashley, and Miles Shead-Joplin, MO; Ralph and Cindy Shead-Carl Junction, MO; Erin and Sarah Shead-Downey, California; Larry and Vickie Shead-Garland, KS; Mary V. Shead-Arcadia, KS; Charles Corporon-Pittsburg, KS; Rose Shular Campbell-Pittsburg, KS.
The Oskaloosa Freewill Baptist Church opted to spend their Wednesday night at the Mulberry Park enjoying a carryin meal as well as the fireworks display at 9 PM. The evening that started in the rains ended with a great evening of lighting up the sky. Those attending included: Chris and Kendra Breaden, and their children Brooke and Zander; Lou and Betty Dehn; Evelyn Bryant; Skip and Debbie with grandson Johnston; Jim and Kelly Busone, along with daughter Samantha and grandson, Mason and daughter Aimy and granddaughter Emily, and their friend Debbie. The group also welcomed, Gene, from East of Oskaloosa.
At the recent Kids Days at the Arcadia Christian Church, lunch was served each day. Day 1-Spaghetti and fruit, veggies and, of course, cookies. Each morning started with milk for the children. Day 2-Mac and Cheese, veggies, fruit, and cookies. Day 3-Hot Dogs, fruit, veggies, cookies and Root Beer Floats provided by Scott Ball. A big THANK YOU goes out to all our cooks, helpers, and parents for sharing your children. Several meals were sent to the elderly in Arcadia during this time. Scott Ball was the deliverer of these meals.
A former resident of Arcadia, Austin Anderson (grandson of Lou and Betty Dehn) visited Grammy Dehn for 10 days. Austin is now 17 years old. Austin’s sister, Elizabeth Long visited for a week after taking Austin home and was able to enjoy Vacation Bible School at the Arcadia Christian Church. Betty Dehn’s niece, Cheyenne Hill from Versailles, MO also visited along with Cory Michael Long, and Melody Due from Warrensburg, MO.
On July 7, the Arcadia Christian Church had their monthly church dinner after the regular service. 31 people attended the meal and Mary V. Shead gave the blessing before the meal.
The Arcadia Christian Church JOY class dinner will be July 15 at 6 pm at the Bungalow.
Those on the prayer list at the Arcadia Christian Church were: Mae Watt, Dana Schaffer, Tabatha King, Mildred Nicoletti, Jean Greek, Dianne Thorp, Lois Napier, Ernestine Berkey, Fanny Mae Turner, Fred Zimmerman, Ed Zimmerman, Tim Woodring, Lorene Gibson, Sam Truesdale and all our men and women in the armed forces, families of the firefighters who lost their lives in Arizona, Bosnian Mission Team, LATM, Michael and Chrisi Shead in Guatemala.
Today’s County Commissioners’ meeting covered a wide variety of issues, among them the annual audit done by Terry Sercer, CPA. Sercer said, “We need to make sure we have controls in place to make sure [the issue of missing monies] doesn’t happen again.”
Sercer highlighted several changes since last year’s audit, including bold headings for each section. One of these headings involved the county’s waive of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles,” which Sercer explained “many, if not most” entities waive because of the extra cost they incur in administrative work. According to Sercer, the current system is less time-consuming for the county, incurs fewer costs in administrative work for the county, and also is easier to understand than Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Sercer clarified once again that the Bourbon County records do follow Kansas statutes.
However, Sercer soon moved on to the issue of Stewardship Compliance, in which he found several issues. Sercer explained that there exist three funds that have negative cash. One, which is a grant fund, which Sercer said was exempt because of its status as having been grant-funded. The other two, however, are the 911 Telephone Fund and the Special Alcohol and Drug Fund.
After a conversation with the commissioners, Sercer and County Clerk Kendell Mason determined that the monies that the county remits to the city’s 911 Telephone Fund were being sent directly to the city while the county continued to remit money, causing an unexpected change in the county’s budget. Mason said, “I haven’t seen any [money from the telephone company] this year at all.” Sercer remarked that there had been no change in the law that requires that the county receive the money first, then distribute it. Sercer thought that perhaps when the situation was explained to the city, they would be willing to reimburse the county, and recommended that the county keep a closer eye on these expenditures. “That’s a change we need to make,” said Commission Chairman Warren. Warren said that commissioners occasionally check these reports, but that he would like to make this a monthly practice.
Sercer then addressed the deficit in the Special Alcohol and Drug Fund. As Sercer explained to the commission, the county has a mill levy of “0.03 mil” to fund special alcohol programs. Sercer said that the state also collects a tax on alcohol and distributes a portion of it to Kansas counties. In the case of Bourbon County, the money, according to Mason, is split among the County General Fund, Special Parks Fund and the Special Alcohol and Drug Fund. Sercer informed the commission that the amount budgeted for the Special Alcohol and Drug Fund had been $2,400, but that the county gave out $15 more than they had budgeted.
One last item addressed by Sercer involved internal control over finances. “There were deficiencies in internal control,” Sercer said. Sercer explained that statutes 1205A and KSA 19716 were violated in the past year. Accorder to Sercer, two checks totaling $3,000 were written to a former employee that were not properly approved or claimed. “Before you transfer money into the clerk’s payable account, make sure there’s a signed register for it,” Sercer said.
Another problem Sercer highlighted involved credit card usage by a county employee. “Credit cards are a problem everywhere, ” Sercer said. “It happens everywhere–I understand that.” Sercer indicated that the county had kept very good records in the recent past. “You’ve always had, for the most part, bills and invoices to support the charges,” Sercer said. Sercer indicated that this practice had faltered in June of 2012, and said that the undocumented charges for credit cards are being examined by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI). Sercer suggested that in the case of an employee’s consistent misuse of credit cards, that employee should be required to make those purchases for themselves. Sercer indicated that he suspected the stop in these well-kept records occurred as a result of credit card use by an employee whose matters were to be discussed in the upcoming executive session.
Near the corner of Clark and 7th Streets, members of the Fort Scott Presbyterian and Apostolic Christian churches are conducting some much-needed repairs on a home. The house, which Chris Wuthrich says has been uninhabited for 2 years, had a large roof leak and several holes in its siding and walls.
Today, Ralph Carlson, Chris Wuthrich and Ryan Kelleberger cut and nailed up siding in preparation for more work to be done on the house. According to Carlson, the workers had to remove about 8 feet of rotten wood and a chimney that had caused water to leak continuously into the home. Carlson said of the family who owns the home, “These are good people–they need it, they appreciate it.”
After the three men finish the work to the siding, crews of workers from Apostolic Christian Churches all over the Midwest will travel to Fort Scott a few at a time in order to replace the roof, for which the Presbyterian Church has provided roofing materials. Tools, a truck and trailer have been provided through an organization from the Apostolic Christian Church, the Apostolic Christian World Relief program. According to Wuthrich, teams will be coming in from several Kansas congregations, including Bern, Sabetha, Lamont-Gridley, Wichita and Kansas City, and one group hailing from Milford, Indiana. Saturday July 13th, the first team from Bern and Sabetha will arrive to work on the roof.
These efforts from the area churches help to relieve those whose homes were uninsured after the April hailstorm. According to Wuthrich, there exist around 3,500 homes in the city, of which 10% were not insured at the time of the storm. Wuthrich said that this work by the churches was part of the relief effort, but that some uninsured homeowners are qualified for a special grant.
