Tag Archives: featured

Business, Fort Scott

New Bookstore Grand Opening Today, Oct. 30

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Jan and Dick Hedges, owners of Hedgehog.INK.

Hedgehog.INK, a bookstore featuring new and gently used books has its’ grand opening today at 5:15 to 6:30 p.m.

The ribbon cutting is at 5:45 p.m.

The store is located at 16 S. Main and owned by Jan and Dick Hedges.

Hedgehog.INK, located at 16 S. Main, in historic downtown Fort Scott.

The store accepts paperbacks and hardback books for all age levels, according to information provided.

Most of the books traded for store credit will receive up to 20 percent of the price charged for the book at Hedgehog.INK.

Book pricing depends on book quality, age, demand, current stock, and condition.

Trade credit can be redeemed at the rate of 1/2 credit and 1/2 cash for books only. For example, if a book is purchased for $4, one can apply $2 of credit, and the customer will pay the remaining$2 in cash.

New or used books can be special ordered through Hedgehog.INK.

Jan Hedges stands in front of her display of a new children’s series of books, called Barefoot Books.

The Hedges will sell a series of new children’s books, called Barefoot Books.

“They are colorful, high-quality books for children,” Jan said.

The children’s area of the Hedgehog.INK bookstore.

In addition to a children’s area, there is a writers area in the store, where customers can read or write.

Sheryl Bloomfield is the assistant manager and Addison Guilfoyle is an employee.

Sheryl Bloomfield logs in books Monday afternoon at Hedgehog.INK.

In addition to books, local products will be for sale.

Goat milk products, lavender products, and homemade cards are among the items provided by local producers to Hedgehog.INK, that are for sale.

The Lavender Patch owner, Betsy Reichard, has a sales area in Hedgehog.INK. She sells lavender products that she produces on her farm: soaps, sprays, dried lavender, etc.
Homemade cards by Jean Solomon will be for sale in the store.

“Dick and I have been amazed at how people have come to volunteer and help us,” Jan Hedges said.

Dick Hedges, left, works on processing books Monday afternoon, while volunteer Sharon Campbell works on books on the shelves.

“Our motto is a community of books for the community,” Jan said.

Area News

Step Back In Time To Cato

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Courtesy Cato Historical Preservation Society
Tours of Cato, the first town in Crawford County are hardly new.
Susie Stelle started helping John Spurling organize Cato Fall Tours in 1985.
Stelle is president of the Cato Historic Preservation Association.

With Spurling, she started giving informal tours of the town, located northwest of Arcadia for several years prior.

Organizers of the upcoming Cato tour this Saturday, Nov. 3, plan to take visitors back to the mid-1800s through music, history, and re-enactments.
Activities on Saturday will begin at 9 a.m. and continue through the day.
Ralph Carlson, a member of  a music group called “Old Fuss and Feathers”, will perform in the church at 9:30 a.m.
There will also be presentations in the restored 1869 rock school by Anna Portwood Swank and her sister, Elizabeth Portwood Thompson, and husband Jaime Thompson.
Souvenirs and homemade baked goods will be available at the Cato Store, headed up by Stelle.
Proceeds from the tour will benefit the continued restoration and preservation of the Cato School and Cato Christian Church and this year’s newly constructed cabin, donated by the Coonrod family.
 At noon, there will be ham and beans cooked by Bob “Buck” Rowland of Arma. The meal also includes cornbread.
There will be an open fire for those who choose to bring their own hot dogs.
Drinks will be provided, all for a nominal fee.
At 12:30 p.m. a quilt raffle will take place. The quilt was donated by Sue James of Galveston, TX.
Sue’s husband, Dale, attended all eight grades of the one-room Cato school.
At  1 p.m. hayrides are offered by Joe Bournonville to visit area cemeteries and other sites related to Cato’s history.

 

On Friday, Nov. 2,  approximately 600 youngsters will have a field day, organized by Katharine Spigarell.
 School children from Uniontown, Fort Scott, Girard, Arma, Frontenac, Pittsburg and new this year, Liberal, Mo. will come to Cato.
A tour guide will direct groups of kids to various stations to observe living history exhibits such as blacksmithing, wagons and farming, schoolhouse games, area history, civil war weaponry, and Native American culture.
The Cato HPA has a Facebook page and website located at www.catoschool.com.
Directions to Cato, KS: On 69 Hwy., turn west on 720 Avenue, one mile north of the Arcadia turn-off (one mile south of the Bourbon County line. Go west one mile, then turn north for one-half mile, then left one mile to Cato.
Contact a CHPA board member for more information
email Marilyn Flagg: [email protected]
Board members include:
Susie Stelle, Mary Portwood, Richard Coonrod, Lily Coonrod, Jerry Coonrod, Ralph Carlson, Joe Bournonville, Anna Portwood Swank, Katharine Spigarell, Marilyn Coonrod Flagg, Elizabeth Portwood Thompson, Floyd Feezel, Donna Hashagen, Bob George, Jamie Thompson, Buck Rowland.

 
Area News, Government

Hwy. 69 Expansion Pushed Into December

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These signs mark the closed Eagle Road, Oct. 25. Workers were busy all along Hwy. 69 on the expansion project.

The 69 Hwy. expansion project from Fort Scott to Arma doesn’t have a November completion date anymore, according to Priscilla Petersen, with the Kansas Department of Transportation.

In an interview, Petersen said the November completion date of the U.S. 69 expansion has been pushed back.

“We plan to have this project open to four-lane unrestricted traffic by Dec. 21, 2018,” she said.

All work on the active U.S. 69 expansion in Bourbon County will be completed in April 2019. ”

“The active Bourbon County expansion project is approximately six miles long, starting south of Fort Scott and ending at the Bourbon-Crawford county line,” Peterson said.

“The Crawford County expansion project has not been let. The tentative letting date is the fall of 2020.”
 

It seems KDOT ran into more extensive excavation of the stretch of highway than originally thought.

“During the grading phase of the expansion our contractor encountered a lengthy section of the old highway that had not been previously removed,” Petersen said. “The removal of the old mainline and bridges required extensive excavation. In addition, the discovery of the old roadway greatly reduced the amount of dirt available for the earthwork. We found it necessary to add a second borrow-waste area to supply the material.”

A KDOT crew work on a section of Hwy. 69 Thursday morning near the Garland exit.

“Current project activity includes concrete paving on the mainline and guardrail installation on the bridges,” Petersen said.

Bourbon County

Beacon Annual Sign-Up for Food and Christmas Presents

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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.

Bourbon County, Schools

Uniontown Fitness Center Open

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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.

If the key-card isn’t working, email Eden at [email protected].

The problem will be worked on the next business day, according to a sign on the fitness center door.

 

 

 

 

Area News, Schools

Opportunity For Fourth-Graders To Experience History

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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.”

 

Bourbon County, Elections, Kansas

Introducing the Candidates: Adam Lusker

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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?

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.
Fort Scott

Cannon Receives Library Excellence Award

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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.

 

Entertainment, Fort Scott Community College

Gilligan’s Island at FSCC

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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
Area News, Business

Shoe Sensation in Fort Scott to Relocate

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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

Smoke-Free FSCC Campus Is Coming by Brianna Blandamer

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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