Kansas Department of Transportation and Bourbon County Public Works have both been working on roadways south of Fort Scott.

People who use Calvary Road will soon have access again, according to Priscilla Peterson, Public Affairs Manager with the Kansas Department of Transportation District 4.

Cherry Grove Baptist Church sits at the intersection of Calvary Rd. and  U.S. 69 Hwy. where the access is closed currently.

“Right now they are doing a re-route behind the church,” Peterson said. “If the weather is good, the Calvary Road access should be opened by the end of the month.”

KDOT personnel makes an effort to contact people before limiting access to a road, Peterson said.

The Calvary Road closure is part of the improvements being made to U.S. 69 Hwy.

The six-mile highway expansion to a four-lane upgradeable expressway, with access points, was started in March 2017 and is scheduled for completion November 2018, according to Peterson.

Two-way U.S. 69 Hwy. traffic is being maintained while building the new lanes, she said.

County Roads Converted From Asphalt To Gravel

Two county roads south-east of Fort Scott have been ripped up this year to eventually be improved, according to a county official.

Eagle Road between 69 Hwy. and 250th Street and 230th Street between Kansas and Jayhawk Roads were converted from asphalt back to gravel.

“This is part of a process,” Jim Harris, Bourbon County Public Works director, said. “We did several miles last year.”

“We turn it back into gravel, then our goal is to overlay on top in the spring,” Harris said. “We do a manual contraction, but leaving it over the winter helps with compaction.”

Exactly what improvements these roads receive is up to the Bourbon County Commissioners.

In March the Bourbon County Commission holds a public meeting annually to discuss the priorities for road repair and maintenance.

“We’ll have a work session on roads, ” Harris said. “I make recommendations about repair or maintain, the commission decides.It’s a public meeting. In March the road priorities are determined by the commission. They decide what roads we are going to reclaim.”

The gravel road has left at least one Garland area resident re-routing his travel.

“It’s so bad I don’t go down that way,” Raymond Kalm said. “It’s too rough and too dusty.”

A piece of equipment called a lightning arrester, failed Saturday about 3:30 p.m. in the southern part of Fort Scott and some rural areas south of town. Power was restored in stages between 5 and 6 p.m., according to Gina Penzig, media relations manager with Westar Energy.

“It was in a sub-station that serves Fort Scott,” Penzig said.

About 3,000 customers of Westar, were affected, she said.

Penzig encourages people while the power is on and the weather is fine to download the Westar app, mywestar and/or sign up for text alerts.

To register for text alerts on a mobile phone, text 97827 and send “reg”. Then if there is a power outage in the future, text to that same number and send “out” for the outage, she said.

Calling 1-800-544-4857 or 1-800-LIGHTKS is another way to tell of a power outage and a person can also go to westarenergy.com and report it there, Penzig said.  Click “Outage Center” to see the map of the affected area and how to prepare for an outage.

“On the outage map, you can see if someone is on the way and an outline of the affected area and when electricity will be back on,” she said.

It is best to prepare ahead of time for power outages with a storm kit of bottled water, batteries, charging up a cell phone, and making sure flashlights are working, she said. For an extensive list of preparedness, see the website.

“For winter storms, we usually have advance notice of severe weather,” Penzig said.

If power lines are down, assume they are live and call 911, she said.

Check for damage to electric meter boxes and the power line that attaches to the house.

“If the damage is to those items, you may need an electrician before we can safely reconnect power,” she said.

Using the different messages received from Westar, “You will want to see if you should stay home or find shelter somewhere else she said. In addition, check on neighbors safety, she added.

Local helping agencies, businesses, and organizations were presented with grant awards Thursday morning as part of the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce weekly coffee, at the Landmark Bank in downtown Fort Scott.

“From the interest of the general endowment fund, we are handing out $30,000 today,” Blake Hudson, chairman of the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation (FSACF) board, said. “Last year $150,000 was raised for the general fund.”

Hudson said a new fundraising campaign is set to begin with FSACF.

This year, 29 entities submitted grant applications this year, with 18 funded, he said.

Grant committee members are Hudson, Stephanie Witt, Greg Mottley, Larry Seals, Patty LaRoche and adviser, Dave Martin.

LaRoche is committee chair of the granting committee.

The Beacon inadvertently did not receive a check at the coffee and will at a later date. The helping agency received a grant to add healthy food additions to the food pantry they facilitate.

New wayfinding signs will soon dot the walking/biking trails in Fort Scott and Uniontown.

With $7,500 received in late summer from The American Planning Associations  Kansas Chapter and Pathways to Healthy Kansas, the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team will provide information kiosks to be placed around the county, according to Jody Hoener, member of the team.

Hoener is also a member of the sub-committee tasked with pulling the kiosk project together. Also serving on the sub-committee are Todd Farrell, Frank Halsey, Lindsay Madison,  and Jerry Witt.

Each kiosk will have maps of the trail and the surrounding community placed on them for reference to walkers/bikers using the trails, Hoener said.

The 10- foot- long, four-foot-wide and nine- feet -high wooden signs with roofs will be placed at Riverfront Loop Road,  Bell Town Trail,  the new trail at Gunn Park, Ellis Park Trail,  Fort Scott Community College Trail, Industrial Park Trail, and in the western part of the county, the Uniontown Trail.

The construction of the kiosks is being completed by Fort Scott High School Carpentry Classes, under the instruction of Larry Lawrence.

Lawrence was looking for community projects for his students to work on, he said.

This summer, Fort Scott Superintendent of Parks Todd Farrell called with the kiosk idea, Lawrence said.

Two carpentry classes have been working on them since school started, Lawrence said.

“We are building four (kiosks) right now, and maybe four in the spring,” Lawrence said.

“They gave me the initial plans and I created them in more detail on AutoCAD (computer-aided design),” Lawrence said.

Simon Ballou will do the artwork for the kiosks and Darren Crays will print and apply the work on plastic panels, Crays said.

“Frank Halsey is going to take them to his place (following completion),” Lawrence said. “He’ll keep them until the city is ready to put them up.”

New sidewalks to be unveiled Nov. 14

In addition to wayfaring signs, the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team has been planning for more sidewalks in the county.

That team, along with PedNet will be at both the Fort Scott City Commission and the Uniontown City Council  November 14 to show the results of the sidewalk plans, according to its Facebook page. They will unveil the proposed non-motorized transportation plan from 5-6 p.m.  at the Fort Scott City Hall, 123 S. Main, and from 7-8 p.m. at Uniontown City Hall, 206 Sherman, on the east side of the square.

PedNet is a non-profit consulting firm specializing in Safe Routes to School, non-motorized transportation, and nutrition, according to the Facebook page.