Conversation at this morning’s Chamber Coffee at Niece Products of Kansas revealed another Fort Scott company’s request for fast, reliable internet services on the business level. Al Niece, founder and president of Niece Products of Kansas, NIEMCO and Niece Equipment, explained that the company often sends products overseas and conducts business on the web.

“There’s a 20,000 gallon tank out here going to the Ivory Coast,” Neice said. Neice went on to say that the company will be sending two of these tanks to the Ivory Coast, and another two to Australia. Pat Flanagan, Operations Manager/Partner at Niece Products of Kansas, said the company’s tanker trucks are “rolling service stations,” and that the products are used for a variety of services in construction, but that they are also used to help fight fires. Flanagan also mentioned that a plan was in the works to offer rental of equipment “to service the  Midwest.”

The announcements from Niece and Flanagan revealed that the company is forward-thinking with regard to technology, and actively involved in the community. “We hire a bunch of high school kids during the summer,” Flanagan said. Niece added that the company has hired several college students at a Texas location to work on electronic versions of blueprints. “These younger guys and gals just fly through this stuff,” Niece said.

Flanagan spoke of the company’s need for high-speed internet to effectively conduct business operations and allow the company to grow, and City Manager Dave Martin stepped forward in agreement. “High-speed internet,” Martin said, “is the key to moving this community forward. We are making efforts to try to get this.” Flanagan added that though the city is leading the efforts to obtain high-speed internet for the city, it will take the involvement of the entire community to attract an internet service provider that offers these services. “If we work and plan to show them this is a viable market, they’ll come,” Flanagan said.

In other news:

• J.D. Ettore, Athletic Director at Fort Scott Community College, announced that athletes for several sports would be reporting in soon, “which means my summer is over,” Ettore joked, but clarified that he was happy to see the students returning for the upcoming semester. Ettore mentioned that Greyhound Athletics would be selling season passes, which are available at Ettore’s office in the Arnold Arena building.
• Dr. Clayton Tatro, President of Fort Scott Community College, announced that the college would be holding tours of the college facilities for community members. “It’s not our college, it’s the county’s college,” Tatro said, inviting the community to come and view their “Return on Investment” in the college. Tatro said that tours would be held at 4:30PM and 7:00PM on Wednesday August 7th, and again on August 8th. In addition, Tatro announced the addition of a walking/running trail to Ellis Park, which makes the community’s total investment in the park $250,000.
• Matt Casner of Redlogic Communications, Inc. announced the addition of Red Team Racing to his company’s operations. Red Team Racing times foot races with disposable time chips to more efficiently keep track of runners’ times. “We are working right now with Mercy,” Casner said, explaining that the company will be timing the Mercy Days 5K and Half Marathon runs in September.