Gary Murrell is the director of The Beacon, a helping agency.
November 5-8 is the annual sign-up for a Beacon Card, the Adopt a Family program and the Elks Christmas Basket.
The sign-up event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 5-8 at Community Christian Church 1919 S. Horton, Fort Scott, in Robinson Hall.
In addition, there will be evening hours on November 8 from 6 to 8 p.m.
The following must be provided during the sign-up:
Must have ID’s for all adults,
Social Security Card for all in the household,
Proof of Income
Proof of Address (utility bill or rent receipt)
The Beacon Card provides free food products two times a month at the Beacon, a helping agency located at 525 E. 6th.
The Adopt a Child program allows area children to receive Christmas presents from community families, organizations and other entities.
The Elks Christmas Basket is provided by the local Elk’s Lodge and is “all the fixings for a Christmas dinner,” said Gary Murrell, director of the Beacon.
People may sign-up for all three on Nov. 5-8.
Distribution will be in December.
The Beacon still has clothes and household goods to distribute until Oct. 31, Murrell said. Following this date, the agency will no longer be distributing these items.
The vote here sign sits in front of the north wing of the Bourbon County Courthouse, 210 S. National.
Advanced voting is happening now through noon on November 5 on the first floor of the Bourbon County Courthouse, then on the November 6, registered votes vote in designated polling places. If you have any questions please call the County Clerk’s Office at 620-223-3800.
The Uniontown School District Don’t Quit Fitness Center is open to the community, with stipulations.
“To be able to use the fitness center, you would need to be a resident of our school district or have students that are attending,” West Bourbon Elementary School Principal Vance Eden said.
The fitness center is located in the junior high wing of the school. Pictured here, it is the area with the light, to the right. Entrance is a door on the east of the fitness center.
Eden is the contact person to get a key-card.
School district patrons must pay a for a card.
“There is a $10 fee that applies when the account is activated and the card is programmed for use at the fitness center,” Eden said. “The only other time there would be a fee is if the card is lost or destroyed.”
The hours are from 5-7 a.m. and 5:30-9:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Students in the district are using the center during school hours for physical education classes.
A family leaves the fitness center on Tuesday evening. They are leaving through the acess door, which is located on the east side of the fitness center.
Those who are granted access to the center may find their key-card temporarily disabled as the rules and regulations change.
Users will need to sign a new form in order to be able to use the facility.
High school students do a history program in the quartermaster’s house at Fort Scott National Historic Site.
The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people, so that all may experience our heritage, according to an NPS statement.
To help area children experience our heritage, Fort Scott National Historic Site administration personnel applied for and received a grant to help classroom students get to the Fort.
The grant will pay school transportation costs for area fourth-grade students to come for a hands-on experience in history.
“Students come primarily in the spring,” Barry Geersten, education program coordinator at the Fort, said. “But they could come now.”
Area high school government and history students help with re-enacting the history experiences for the fourth-graders, he said.
Fort Scott High School Teacher Josh Regan’s Advanced Placement History Class, Tami Campbell’s government class, along with Nevada High School teacher Jared Brown’s Advanced American History Class will be the instructors for the field trips, according to Geersten.
The following is a press release from the Fort about the opportunity:
“FSNHS has received a field trip grant for the 2018-2019 school year from the National Park Foundation, the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service.
This $5,000 grant will reimburse the costs of transportation for fourth-grade class field trips to this national park.
This grant is part of the Foundation’s Open OutDoors for Kids program which creates pathways for kids to explore and connect with national park experiences, and is administered locally by the Friends of Fort Scott National Historic Site.
“We are excited to be able to assist school groups in coming to Fort Scott National Historic Site,” said Betty Boyko, Superintendent, FOSC. “We understand that not all schools can afford to visit even though we do not charge a fee. This grant will help reduce barriers to bringing students to have fun while learning and developing a lifelong connection to our nation’s history,” Boyko continued.
“We are pleased to be involved in helping more of the areas school children build deeper connections with Fort Scott NHS and our history,” said Reed Hartford, President of the Friends of Fort Scott National Historic Site, Inc.
During their time on site, the students will participate in either the “Life on the Frontier” program for grades K-4 or the “Sweep through History” program for grades 4-8.
In “Life on the Frontier,” local high school students train to be the instructors and mentors to the K-4th-grade students. They dress in period clothing and are stationed at various locations around the site focusing on various aspects of life at Fort Scott during the 1840’s.
“Sweep through History” will acquaint 4-8th-grade students with life at Fort Scott during the three most significant periods in the site’s history: Westward Expansion, Bleeding Kansas and the Civil War.
Educators, dressed in period clothing, are stationed at various locations around the site focusing on life at Fort Scott during one of these periods. Both programs have pre-visit and post-visit activities and all are aligned with Kansas and Missouri content standards.
“Trekking along trails, observing our natural ecosystems and engaging with our shared history are experiences that benefit all children,” said National Park Foundation President Will Shafroth. “Making it possible for America’s youth to explore our national parks is an investment in their future and the future of the national parks community.”
Teachers and school administrators can request additional information about transportation grants and curriculum-based field trip programs by visiting the education section of the park’s website (www.nps.gov/fosc) or contacting the education program coordinator, Barry Geertsen, at 620-223-0310 or e-mail us.
For the full list of grantees and their projects, click here.”
This is part of a series introducing the candidates in the November 6 election
State Representative, 2nd District (vote for one)
Adam J. Lusker Sr. 452 S. 210th St. Frontenac 66763 Democratic
Kenneth Collins 102 E. 1st Street Mulberry 66756 Republican
Adam Lusker
Name: Adam J. Lusker Sr.
Age: 46
Position running for: 2nd District Kansas State Representative
Residence: Frontenac, KS
Occupation: Mason
Community involvement:
Member of the following: American Legion Post 43, Frontenac Rotary, Frontenac Unified Methodist Church, Sacred Heart Church, Elks Lodge, Masonic Lodge 187, Mirza Temple Shrine, Scottish Rite, Former Member of Frontenac Education Foundation and USD 249 School Board, 25-year business owner
Party affiliation: Democrat
What is the biggest issue, if elected, and how do you plan to address it?
Maintaining a consistent revenue source, to ensure our budget is balanced and meets the needs of our community.
Give your views on the sales tax.
Sales taxes are regressive taxes. Higher sales taxes affect people’s buying power in a negative way, especially our lower and fixed-income citizens. Therefore, food sales tax impacts these same folks adversely. Our sales tax also puts border counties like ours at a disadvantage economically in regard to retail sales, food, mercantile, equipment, etc, with our neighboring state. I think we should work to reduce food sales tax, as well as sales tax in general as other sources of revenue, are realized.
Give your views on legalizing marijuana.
I do not believe Kansas is ready for legalizing marijuana. Several states are still continuing to deal with legal marijuana. We were a test site for a very costly tax plan; I think we should let other states be the petri dish on this experiment.
Give your views on health care for our state, including Medicaid.
We should continue to find ways to reduce health care costs, increase access to medicine and promote wellness in our state. Regardless of anyone’s opinion of the Affordable Care Act, it is law and Kansas has to take advantage of all we can to keep our hospitals open. Kansas taxpayers have sent over $3 billion of our money to other states to expand Medicaid. The numbers show that expanding Medicaid would have a positive impact on our healthcare systems and our communities.
Give your views on abortion and Planned Parenthood.
I have a pro-life voting record and will continue. I think we should continue to invest in adoption and education to prevent unwanted pregnancy.
Valetta Cannon with her recent awards from the Southeast Kansas Library System and the City of Fort Scott.
A local librarian recently received a recognition by the state library system and the City of Fort Scott.
Valetta Cannon, Fort Scott Public Library’s Youth Librarian and Assistant Director received a trophy from the Southeast Kansas Library System, along with a $1,000 check from SKLS for the library.
“The award was first publicly announced at the Southeast Kansas Library System’s annual meeting at Iola High School on June 1,” Cannon said. “The trophy, certificate, and check were presented to me at the Fort Scott City Commission meeting on September 18.
“A traveling plaque will be moved from the other staff excellence award winner’s library to ours at the end of the year. This is the first year these awards have been offered by SEKLS.”
According to the SEKLS website,
“Decisions will be based upon the extent to which a nominee exceeds the norm and provides excellent service or support, with consideration to the size and type of library of the nominee.
The committee’s decisions are subject to the approval of the Director.
Library staff: Any employee of an SEKLS library other than the director
Considerations: Excellent library staff provide quality service, seek to promote and improve library service, collaborate well with the director and other staff members, and make an important contribution to the functioning of the library.”
The $1,000 donation to the library will be used for services and programming
“I have submitted several ideas for investing the money into improved young patron services and programming to our library board,” Cannon said. “All purchase ideas for the award money are currently pending approval or revision.”
A trophy, a City of Fort Scott Certificate of Recognition, and a $1,000 donation to the public library were awarded Cannon.
Castmembers sing the opening song, “The Ballad of Gilligan’s Island” Saturday night at the Ellis Fine Arts Center at Fort Scott Community College. From left: Jasper Dunn, Katie Button, Jared Oshel, Fayelyn Kmiec, Aiden Ballinger, Karri Johnson, and Harold Hicks.
Oct. 19-21, Fort Scott Community College Theatre members presented the musical version of “Gilligan’s Island”.
“Gilligan’s Island” was a comedy TV program from the mid-1960s.
Any musical is a challenge for a small department, director Allen Twitchel, stated in the bulletin for the show.
“We are attempting to produce a professional-quality show with cardboard and crepe paper while juggling everyone’s busy schedules,” Twitchel said.
The group of students and college staff worked diligently to exceed all expectations, Twitchel said.
Listening to the audience chuckle and clap, the audience seemed to agree.
The setting is a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean, where seven people are stranded during a shipwreck.
They come to grips with the situation, work on schemes to get off the island and are visited by a visitor from outer-space.
Gilligan was portrayed by FSCC student Aiden Ballinger, Skipper by former FSCC student Jared Oshel, Mr. Howell by FSCC English IntructorHarold Hicks, Mrs. Howell by FSCC Office Assistant Karri Johnson, Ginger by FSCC student Fayelyn Kmiec , Professor by FSCC student Jasper Dunn, Mary Ann by FSCC student Katie Button, and Alien by FSCC student Marcus Robinson.
Several solos were performed by Ballinger, Button, Kmiec, Dunn, and Hicks.
Gilligan and Ginger both have an emotional meltdown when the castaways learn they are stranded on a deserted island.The group ties itself together in preparation of a hurricane.The outer-space alien, played by Marcus Robinson, left, aims a weapon at the Skipper and Gilligan.The group sings “Worlds Apart” in one of the final scenes of the play.From left: Marcus Robinson, Karri Johnson, and Harold Hicks wait in line to greet the audience following the musical play Saturday night
The Shoe Sensation, 2420 S. Main, Fort Scott will be open until Oct. 27.
Shoe Sensation will relocate to Pittsburg this November
Shoe Sensation administration, headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana, has decided to relocate the Fort Scott store location, 2420 S. Main, to Pittsburg.
“We have notified our landlord of our intent to leave our current location,” according to a press release from Taylor McAdams, public relations coordinator with Shoe Sensation. “This is part of our continued growth and expansion strategy.”
“We believe we can better serve a greater area of our target customer and existing customer base by moving our location to Pittsburg where we will continue to offer a wide variety of name brand shoes for the entire family,” says CEO, Dave Schoengart.
“We will be serving our customers in Fort Scott until our last day of business on October 27, 2018.”
Current employees were given the opportunity to commute to Pittsburg.
Shoe Sensation in Pittsburg will have its Grand Opening and Ribbon-Cutting with the Chamber on November 16, 2018.
The ribbon-cutting will take place at the new Shoe Sensation store in Northgate Plaza at 2808 N. Broadway Pittsburg, which is located behind Appleby’s Restaurant.
The new Shoe Sensation, 2808 N. Broadway, Pittsburg.
Information provided with the press release:
Shoe Sensation is a regional chain of family shoe stores selling quality name-brand shoes. Our stores carry a large selection of men’s, women’s, children’s, and athletic footwear in a better-branded merchandise mix. Shoe Sensation was developed to meet the footwear needs of the entire family; our clientele range from toddlers to senior citizens.
Fort Scott Community College’s Smoke-Free Campus Initiative
In October of 2017, a grant was written by a committee of current and graduated members of FSCC’s Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society including Shelby Hutchison, Jackie Neher, Ty Covey, and Dustin Erikson.
The society was notified in December 2017 that they would receive the grant. The grant was provided by Truth Initiative®.
Truth Initiative® is the nation’s largest nonprofit public health organization dedicated to making tobacco use a thing of the past.
After the grant was approved, a task force of ten members was created. The members of this task force represent all areas of Fort Scott including FSCC students, faculty and even the community.
Along with the task force, multiple committees were created to use the grant in an effective way. These committees helped bring the new EX Program along with a Smoke-Free Campus Policy to FSCC.
The Ex Program is an advanced quit-smoking program designed to help students and staff begin and end their journey to becoming a non-smoker. This program includes the popular quit-smoking planning tools and an online community from the proven-effective smoking cessation program. The FSCC smoke-free campus initiative will also host a 7-week, face-to-face, smoking cessation workshop.
A Smoke-Free Campus policy was also written by a committee of Phi Theta Kappa members to end smoking on campus.
This became a focus brought to their attention by FSCC President, Alysia Johnston. This policy removes all smoke stations around campus and makes everyone at FSCC responsible for respectfully encouraging others not to smoke on campus. This policy also helps to empower others to inform students and staff to take part in the cessation programs and workshops if they are interested in quitting.
Questions were raised as to why the policy addresses only smoking, as opposed to a tobacco-free campus. The reason for this is because the President, along with the members of Phi Theta Kappa, believe that, due to this being a new policy, starting small is better. Smoking is also something that can harm bystanders, where tobacco, such as snuff and chew, only harms the person in use.
Over the past three years, Truth Initiative® has partnered with 135 colleges, reaching more than 1.2 million students and 275,000 faculty and staff members across 35 states. You can learn more about their work at truthinitiative.org.
For more information on the new Smoke-Free Initiative at FSCC, please feel free to contact Susie Arvidson by email at [email protected] or by phone at (620)223-2700 ext. 3441
Frank Halsey speaks to a group of young riders in July before a mountain bike race at Gunn Park.
An annual outdoors athletic event has tentatively been rescheduled for Oct. 20.
“The Tri-Yak-AThon is rescheduled for this Saturday, weather permitting,” Frank Halsey, who is the original organizer of the event. “We are praying the forecasted rain for Thursday night and Friday morning misses us.”
” The Tri-yak-a-thon is a race where participants run on Gunn Park’s beautiful trails, kayak up and down the Marmaton River, and then tackle the trails again on a bike”, according to a press release. ” The goal of the event is to have fun and raise money to support the bike share program. ”
“I can tell you there is a lot of interest again this year,” Halsey said. “We are just so dependent on weather it’s hard to tell how many will show.”
The 6th Annual Tri-Yak-A-Thon, at Gunn Park Trails, was postponed for the scheduled race on Oct. 13, due to Marmaton River flooding. Organizers rescheduled tentatively for October 20.
The Gunn Park Trails volunteers extend an invitation to enjoy the fall weather and watch the 6th annual Tri-yak-a-thon.
This year’s proceeds benefit the new City of Fort Scott Bike Share Program.
The competition is scheduled on October 20 at 10:00 AM in Gunn Park.
The trail run is approximately four miles, the kayak portion is 2.5 miles, and the final portion is a 7-mile mountain bike ride.
Participants may be part of a relay team or do the entire race solo.
Participants must bring their own kayak, life jacket, helmet, and mountain bike. Riders must wear a helmet.
Onsite registration and packet pickup will be from 8:00 to 9:45 AM Oct. 20 at Shelter House 6.
“Whether you enter the race or just come and cheer, please join us and support our park, our trails, and our bike share program,” according to the press release.
Fort Scott started a Bike Share program June 2018,
Ten yellow bikes are available for community members and visitors to take and ride for free check out.
Nate’s Place eatery, 750 S. National Avenue is a hub for Bike-Share.
Bikes are available from the following hub locations:
Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce/CVB, 231 E. Wall St., 620-223-3566
Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton St., 620-223-2700
Nate’s Place/Lyons Twin Mansions, 750 S. National Ave., 620-223-3644
Peerless Products, Inc., 2403 S. Main St., 620-223-4610
Riders must be at least 12 years of age to ride. If under 18 a parent/guardian must sign the waiver form.
Hub location will take a copy of driver’s license upon bike check-out.
Click here to view the waiver form.
This is part of a series featuring candidates in the Nov. 6 election.
State Representatives, 4th District (vote for one)
Lawrence Forbach 305 Dement Street Mound City 66056 Democratic
Trevor Jacobs 1927 Locust Rd Fort Scott 66701 Republican
Name: Trevor Jacobs
Age: 42
Candidate for the position of 4th District Kansas House of Representatives
Place of residence: Fort Scott Ks
Current occupation: BNSF Railway
Community involvement:
Preach on KMDO 1600 AM, KOMB 103.9 FM, Sunday mornings, for the radio broadcast Jesus Saves Ministries, preach at Linn County, Mound City Jail, Fort Scott Country Place, Fort Scott Guest Home Estates, Fort Scott Medical Lodge, and have a Bible outreach program, with Jesus Saves Ministries.
Party affiliation: Republican
1) What is the biggest issue, if elected, and how do you plan to address it?
To stand for our God-given rights of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” I stand to protect our constitutional freedoms. To stand for true American and Kansas traditional values that have made this nation and state great. I stand for the life of the preborn and the protection of the elderly. I stand unashamedly for Biblical morality. I stand for our God-given right to protect ourselves, our families, and our property from government intrusion.
2) Give your views on food sales tax:
I oppose sales tax on food. I voted every time to abolish the sales tax on food. This issue had been introduced and debated multiple times, in the Kansas House Chamber and was voted down everytime by the liberal fringes of both parties. If it wasn’t for partisan politics this issue would have already been resolved.
3) Give your views on legalizing marijuana:
I oppose legalizing marijuana.
4) Give your views on health care for our state, including Medicaid:
This is a very important topic and issue and when considering the future of our healthcare system, the state has put itself in obligation to provide a safety net of healthcare to the elderly, disabled, and the poor. This program is taxpayer funded. It is extremely important to maintain the mindset that there must be serious checks and balances and a degree of accountability with the healthcare programs. Healthcare is not about the quantity of recipients on a particular plan, but of the quality of healthcare that the recipients are receiving.
5) Give views on abortion and Planned Parenthood:
I oppose the murder of children in the womb and I strongly believe it is contrary to the traditional values of the Founding Fathers and documents of this nation. “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” God has formed and created every person for a purpose and a plan.
As for Planned Parenthood, I believe they do not deserve any taxpayer money…given the chance, I would vote to defund Planned Parenthood.
Diane Clay holding her award for Kansas Outstanding Court Clerk of the Year.
Fort Scott City Clerk Diane Clay earned the Kansas Outstanding Court Clerk of the Year Award recently.
This award is selected by the Kansas Association for Court Management Past President’s Committee to a clerk who has shown outstanding service.
The award was presented to Clay by Amy Spitler, Past President of the K.A.C.M. organization on September 27.
Clay has been a part of the K.A.C.M. organization for 19 years and been Fort Scott City Clerk/Municipal Court Clerk for 19 years.
She has served as the K.A.C.M. Ambassador Chair for many years, secretary for two years and served as a trustee on the board of directors for many years.
She has been with the City of Fort Scott for 20 years where she served as the city manager’s administrative assistant for one year.
Clay’s duties as a court clerk are to enter all new citations that are given by the Fort Scott Police Department, create a weekly docket, attend court every week and keep accurate records of fines assessed by the Municipal Court Judge, Blake Hudson. She then receives payment of fines and sends all convictions to Driver Solutions in Topeka electronically.
“I enjoy being the court clerk for the city very much,” she said. “I enjoy working with the public on a daily basis and assisting people whenever I can,” she said.
“Diane is very well versed in the workings of the court and has a tremendous amount of knowledge and understanding of the ordinances that govern the court,” Deb Needleman, Human Resource Director for the city, said. “She treats everyone with respect and serves the city well.”
Kansas Association for Court Management was formed over 30 years ago and meets twice a year at a spring conference and a fall conference. Over 300 cities in Kansas belong to this organization.
