In preparation for the upcoming local elections, the Young Professionals League hosted a Bourbon County Commission candidate forum Tuesday evening, inviting anyone from the community to attend and hear the current and campaigning candidates discuss issues and concerns in the county.
YPL members and others submitted questions to be discussed in advance and the candidates were then given about a minute each to answer each of the 10 questions. Many of the questions focused on finances and budgets in the county.
“We’ve got to do more with less money,” 3rd District candidate Nick Ruhl summed up the issue.
Candidates discussed how to save money in the county, how employees could be impacted, the budget for the new law enforcement center, the commissioners’ own salaries and benefits, property values and taxes and the possibility of adding a county manager to help deal with financial topics.
The candidates also discussed the status of economic development in the county.
“I do think we need a strategic plan,” 2nd District candidate Jeff Fischer said, while 1st District candidate Lynne Ohara added the county needs to have a business-friendly climate that focuses on important issues such as education, crime rate and taxes that can draw or drive away businesses and residents.
When asked what the biggest selling point and drawback is for Bourbon County, the candidates agreed the taxes are the most significant negative point, while positive aspects included the education system, public safety and the fact that Kansas City seems to be growing south.
The state of the county roads were also addressed, with Ohara pointing out the increase of gravel from local quarries and the county’s ability to haul it with more equipment. But Ohara and 3rd District candidate Harold Coleman both said it is nearly impossible for the county to constantly stay on top of road conditions with the employees, equipment and resources available to them.
The final question asked the candidates what they think the county will look like in 50 years and what they can do now to prepare for that future. While the candidates agreed the county would probably still be a chiefly agricultural area and not look like New York City, they also said it is important to invest in the equipment, roads, services and economic development now in order to encourage the younger generation to remain in Bourbon County.
“Regardless of who’s sitting in the commissioner’s seat, this is kind of like a roller coaster ride,” Coleman said of the role of the commissioner.
For a second year in a row, the Fort Scott High School debate team took first place in the Pittsburg tournament over the weekend, not debating the final round since their only opponents were their fellow team mates.
Photo Credit: Tristan Watkins, Team Manager
“All five teams will share a co-championship,” coach Amber Toth explained. “These guys dropped one round to another team the entire weekend.”
Just as in a previous tournament, the Fort Scott students determined the winners based on earlier rounds and coin tosses so they would not have to debate against each other. The five teams and their results include:
Breana Mooney and Hunter Parker, undefeated but losing two rounds to coin tosses
Tayton Majors and Sara Al-Shawish, losing one round in the tournament and one coin toss
Darby Toth and Rebekah Sweyko, undefeated but losing one coin toss
Seth Cross and Zach Humble, undefeated but lost to own team based on speaker points
Isabella Provence and Joe Adams, undefeated and winning all coin tosses
Logan Hall and Darrick Green also competed and came away with a couple wins
The novice division teams also met with success:
Levi Bin and Mark Adams placed third with a 4-1 record
Alyssa Elliott and Conner Parker placed 5th with a 4-1 record
Madi Toth and Addisyn Guilfoyle finished with a 3-2 record
Jordan Willard and Aztreia Milton finished with a 3-2 record
Emma Faith Humble and Caleb Hopkins finished with a 3-2 record
Addie Smith and Jonie Antonio finished with a 2-3 record
Connor Mason and Carlee Studyvin finished with a 2-3 record
A range of church denominations and others of the community took part in the annual Life Chain Sunday afternoon in order to show their support for the pro-life movement and their opposition to abortion.
“You need to be mindful, this is not a protest,” organizer Joe Barr said to the participants, encouraging them not to argue with drivers or others who might disagree with their stance on the issue. “We’re out there to stand for the unborn.”
Participants stood along Highway 69 through Fort Scott, holding signs about every 25-30 feet from National Avenue to 25th Street at Walmart. While not as many were involved in the event as the previous year, a significant number of people came to stand in the Life Chain for an hour.
Barr said in that one hour, an average of about 120 unborn children are aborted, while millions are aborted each year. Before the group formed the chain, Trevor Jacobs prayed that individuals considering abortion would instead consider the “alternative of love and life.”
The Fort Scott chapter of Kansans for Life and other members of the community organize the Life Chain in Fort Scott for the first Sunday in October each year. Barr said they are now looking for organizers to help plan for the 2017 event.
Ninety-three individuals took an oath in order to become United States citizens Friday morning during the annual United States District Court for the District of Kansas naturalization ceremony, hosted at the Fort Scott National Historic Site.
“Thank you for letting us share this special day with you,” Holly Baker, chief of interpretation and resource management at the fort, said to those becoming citizens and their families in attendance.
City Manager Dave Martin said the city of Fort Scott is both humbled and proud that the District Court of Kansas would again select the fort as the location for the special ceremony.
“You’re making a memory,” Martin said.
United States Magistrate Judge Teresa James said she considers it a tremendous honor to be able to participate in such ceremonies, saying it is one of her favorite aspects of her job. While she swears individuals in as citizens on a monthly basis in courthouses, James said she enjoys doing it yearly at the national historic site.
“There’s something very special about being here on these grounds,” James said.
FSNHS welcomes the crowd to the fort grounds in this 2016 photo.
The 93 individuals took an oath promising to renounce previous allegiance to any country and to now support and defend the constitution of the United States. Speaker Larry Nuss emphasized such rights as freedom of speech and others that the new citizens now have under that constitution.
Countries represented included Israel, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Germany, Bhutan, Columbia, Honduras, Mexico, the Peoples Republic of China, India, Ethiopia, Canada, Burma and a variety of others. The new citizens hold numerous positions in the United States such as with school districts, medical facilities, food services and as mechanics, managers, technicians, accountants as well as those who are retired and others who are college and high school students.
All the citizens are introduced to the audience, one by one.
Official documents are handed to the new citizens following the ceremony in 2016.
During their weekend competition, the Fort Scott High School debate team placed first at Pittsburg Colgan, facing each other as opponents in the final rounds.
Photo Credit: Amber Toth
“We were the last four undefeated in the tourney going into round 5,” coach Amber Toth said of the event end results. “So we were going to have to debate ourselves.”
Instead, Toth said the students decided to choose the winners based upon preliminary events and the flip of a coin in order not to debate against each other.
With that method, the results were as follows:
Dalton Womeldorff and Chloe Studyvin took first with a 5-0 record and 20 speaks.
Isabella Provence and Joe Adams took second with a 5-0 record and 21 speaks.
Rebekah Sweyko and Darby Toth took third with a 4-1 record and 18 speaks.
Seth Cross and Zach Humble took 4th with a 4-1 recordand 21 speaks.
Georgia Loyd Breana Mooney took 7th with a 3-2 record.
In novice:
Ashtyn Elizabeth Dowell and Madi Toth took first with a 5-0 record and 17 speaks.
Emma Faith Humble and Caleb Hopkins took second with a 5-0 record and 18 speaks.
Brooklyn Lyons and Elizabeth Ngatia took third with 4-1 record and 17 speaks
Addie Smith and Jonie Antonio took 6th with a 3-2 record and 24 speaks.
Conner Parker and Kaden Kiwan walked away with wins and amazing speaker points.
Tayton Majors and Tristan Watkins also participated in the weekend tournament as judges.
Fort Scott Community College will honor local first responders during its football game on Saturday, October 15, at Frary Field in Fort Scott.
“We are grateful for everything these everyday heroes do to keep our community safe,” said Tom Havron, FSCC Director of Athletics. “FSCC is proud to recognize them during our First Responders Day.”
Emergency medical technicians, firefighters, police officers and other first responders will receive free admission to the game. In addition, several local first responders will serve as honorary captains of the football team for the evening.
The Fort Scott Community College Greyhounds will face the Dodge City Community College Conquistadors at 7 p.m. on October 15.
FSCC Rodeo to host the Dan VandeWynkel Alumni Rodeo
The Fort Scott Community College Rodeo Team will host the annual Dan VandeWynkel Alumni Rodeo 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 1, at the Arnold Arena, 2108 South Horton, Fort Scott.
During the rodeo, students will compete alongside FSCC alumni. Events will include bareback riding, barrel racing, breakaway roping, bull riding, calf roping, goat tying, saddle bronco riding, steer wrestling and team roping.
Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for FSCC students, $2 for children and $10 for families (two adults plus children). The team will also host an athlete auction at 6 p.m., where community members can bid on a few hours of labor from rodeo athletes.
All money raised will benefit rodeo student scholarships. For information, please call Chad Cross, FSCC Head Rodeo Coach, or Cali Griffin, FSCC Assistant Rodeo Coach, at 620-223-2700, ext. 7020.
After serving the city as the director of economic development for more than three years, Heather Smith completes her final days in Fort Scott this week as she prepares to move on to another job in Wisconsin.
Photo Credit: Kenny Felt
“It’ll be really difficult to leave here, but I’m excited for the next step in my career,” Smith said during the most recent Chamber Coffee held Thursday, saying the collaboration among the city, chamber of commerce and the local businesses made her job and the recent accomplishments in Fort Scott possible.
Smith first worked at Peerless for six years and then at UMB Bank as a manager for two years before the position with the city opened in 2013. Believing her background in both manufacturing and finances would assist her, Smith said she jumped right in.
“It was a little bit overwhelming at first, but a big part of being able to make progress is just jumping in and talking to people and doing research,” Smith said, saying she was comfortable in her position within the first year.
Smith said the revitalization of downtown Fort Scott has especially been an enjoyment for her on the job, seeing investments made in that area that she said she believes will be transformational, bringing energy back into the area.
“One of the top priorities is business retention and expansion,” Smith said, adding she and the city focused on working with local employers and assisting them in their projects and meeting their needs can be met so they can continue to grow. “We try to be very business friendly.”
In her more than three years at her position, Smith has taken a part in projects such as the Lowell Milken Center, the Western Building project, the LaRoche Baseball Complex, Country Place Living, Sleep Inn, Casey’s General Store and a variety of other additions, expansions and improvements made around the city, adding up to millions of dollars in investments.
“That’s pretty impressive for a community our size,” Smith said, pointing out the top ten employers have also seen a net job growth of 18 percent while the county minimum wage has increased by 20 percent. “All of these are signs that Fort Scott is on a really good trajectory and recovering quite well from the 2012 recession. It’s a good place to be.”
Smith said she is sure that momentum will continue with the continued work of the city leaders, saying she has seen them make many wise and forward-thinking decisions such as by hiring an IT director and working closely with other entities such as the school district.
“Thank you so much for being such a progressive and visionary commission to work with,” Smith said to the Fort Scott City Commission during her last meeting with them Tuesday. “It’s not an easy thing to leave. I love this community. It’s been a very difficult decision.”
The commission said Smith will be missed and even stated she is welcome back if she should decide to return.
“We want to thank you for everything that you have done for Fort Scott,” Mayor JoLynne Mitchell said.
City Manager Dave Martin pointed out Smith is not just appreciated among the city staff, but is also liked and respected in the community.
Smith will move to Wisconsin, where she will work at the Chippewa Valley Technical College, managing a $5 million grant from the department of labor for workforce development in a consortium of technical colleges.
“I love Fort Scott,” Smith said, saying she had not necessarily been looking for another job when this one became available. “Fort Scott is home. I love this community. It’s like a family.”
Rachel Pruitt, who is from Fort Scott, will begin working as the new director of economic development on October 10, and said she is looking forward to filling a position that has such worthwhile results for the city, after working in corporate marketing and commuting away from her home for her previous job.
“[They’re] big shoes to fill,” Pruitt said, but added she is hoping to get up to speed quickly without losing any of the forward momentum Smith initiated.
Smith said she believes Pruitt has the capacity to continue the collaboration between the city and businesses in order to continue the progress already made in Fort Scott.
During their meeting Tuesday evening, the Fort Scott City Commission approved Fire Chief Paul Ballou’s request to put to bid improvements needing to be made at the Hawkins Public Safety Facility.
The building housing the fire and police departments as well as the dispatchers was built in 1993, and Ballou said few improvements have been made since that time.
“It just needs a refurb[ishment],” Ballou said. “Bring it back up to where it really looks nice.”
The project is to include tuck pointing of the mortar, repair and replacement of bad block – including the front sign, repainting and sealing around the bottom of the building and resealing or repair of the roof where it is needed. Ballou said water damage has lead to some of the need for repairs.
The entire project is expected to cost no more than $30,000, an amount already budgeted for in the capital improvements budget. Ballou said they have already approached contractors and others to look at the building for a price estimate.
While it is already later in the year, Ballou said they hope to put the project to bid quickly so work can begin before weather prevents it and so the building can provide better protection against the winter months.
Over the next few months, the Fort Scott Public Library will take on a different appearance as it goes through numerous interior renovations before opening again in February.
After saving federal funding since about 1992 as well as accepting a $100,000 gift from Cliff Gordon’s estate after his death, the local library decided the time was right for major renovations on their building after having gone about 50 years without such improvements, according to director Lisa Walther.
“It’s been much needed for a long time,” Walther said.
The total bid for the project is about $572,000, plus an approximate $10,000 for asbestos abatement. That price will include removing the carpet and redoing the floors, ceiling and walls as well as adding other improvements such as new light fixtures and the addition of a second restroom.
“We’re changing pretty much everything,” Walther said, saying all the books will be moved upstairs while the offices, computers and an adult meeting area will be available downstairs.
Since the project began on September 6, the library has changed its location temporarily to the lower level of Memorial Hall. Walther said about 10 percent of their current circulation is available there while the remainder is in storage at Landmark Bank.
While their space is limited, Walther said they have made available their newest books as well as those that are most popular. The library also continues to offer its storytime for young children not in school each Tuesday at 10 a.m., and computers are still available for the public’s use.
“I think it’s going to be very nice when it’s done,” Walther said of the library project, adding their appreciation to Landmark and the city of Fort Scott for providing assistance while they are away from their building.
The project is scheduled to be complete by February 3, with the addition of a few weeks to move the books back into the library before opening once again.
Students in history teacher Nathan McAlister’s Royal Valley Middle School class in Mayetta, Kan., have won the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Hero’s 2016 Discovery Award $7,500 grand prize. This international student competition awards creative projects that discover positive role models, or Unsung Heroes, whose positive impact on history remains largely unknown.
Visitors participate in the grand opening of the new Lowell Milken Center facility in May.
Seventh graders Luke Boyden, Colin Everts and Colin Caviness created a documentary on Emma Darling Cushman, an American nurse who saved the lives of thousands of Armenian children during the Armenian genocide. In addition to caring for countless orphans, Cushman served as Acting Consul of the Allies and Neutral Nations, overseeing millions of dollars in relief funds and prisoner exchanges. Because of their work to bring Cushman’s unsung heroism to light, the students have been given the honor of inscribing her headstone at the American Cemetery in Cairo.
“This was our strongest year of applicants yet,” says Lowell Milken Center Executive Director Norm Conard. “We are truly impressed by the discoveries made and quality of projects completed by students across the country and the world through robust research and a commitment to celebrating Unsung Heroes from history.”
The $2,000 second place prize has been awarded to Jeremy Wells and Natalie Brodine, seniors in Susan Sittenauer’s history class at Seaman High School in Topeka. Their award-winning documentary tells the story of Eugene Lazowsi, a doctor who saved the lives of more than 8,000 Polish Jews during World War II by injecting them with a phony vaccine that would create a false positive for typhus. By convincing the Nazis that the typhus epidemic was spreading across 12 different villages, Dr. Lazowski’s ruse caused the Nazis to sanction off the “infected” Polish ghettos and stopped the transport of these Polish Jews to death camps. In an article written by Dr. Lazowski 35 years later, he wrote,” I was not able to fight with a gun or a sword, but I found a way to scare the Germans.” His bravery is largely unknown but his impact was immense.
Additional winners in this international student competition discovered Unsung Heroes whose actions positively changed the course of history and improved the lives of others. They include:
Third Place ($1,000)
Students: Mya Hagerty and Kate Clarke
Teacher: Jeffrey Rudkin
School: Batchelor Middle School (Bloomington, Indiana)
Project: The documentary “A Kristallnacht Survivor Courageously standing up to Discrimination,” tells the story of Unsung Hero Walter Sommers, a World War II veteran whose actions helped de-segregate lunch counters across Southern Indiana at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
Outstanding Elementary Project ($1,000)
Students: Adam Perez, Addison Theriot, Allison Leach, Suzette Medina
Teacher: Beth de Mahy
School: Iberia Parish 6th Grade Gifted Program (Iberia Parish, Louisiana)
Project: The documentary, “The Florence Nightingale of the Bayou Country,” tells the story of Katherine Buckner Avery, a nurse who broke social boundaries to improve rural health care in Louisiana, particularly for African-Americans, during a time of intense racial segregation. Avery took charge of a refugee camp following the 1927 Mississippi River flood, and later established the New Iberia Crippled Children’s Association to treat children afflicted with polio and other spinal injuries.
Outstanding Middle School Project ($1,000)
Students: Molli Christensen and Rachel Osborn
Teacher: Alice Bertels
School: Washburn Rural Middle School (Topeka, Kansas)
Project: The documentary, “Heroes Don’t Always Wear Capes,” tells the story of Frances Kelsey, a Canadian pharmacologist and physician who, as a reviewer for the FDA, refused to authorize thalidomide, a drug later shown to cause serious birth defects. Through a long career with the FDA in decades following, Kelsey continued to have a significant impact on strengthening the agency’s oversight of pharmaceuticals.
Outstanding High School Project ($1,000)
Students: Avery Munns
Teacher: Lindsey Dowell
School: Washburn Rural High School (Topeka, Kansas)
Project: The documentary, “Ex Parte Endo: A Journey Toward Justice for Japanese Americans,” tells the story of Mitsuye Endo, a woman who challenged Japanese-American internment all the way up to the United States Supreme Court and won.
Outstanding International Project ($1,000)
Students: Eva Jemelkova, Martin Muzikar, Tomas Rysavy, Martin Tichy, and David Valecky
Teacher: Olga Myslikova
School: SSTE Brno, Olomoucka, prispevkova organizace (Czech Republic)
Project: The website tells the story of Jan Opletal, a brave activist whose premature death in 1939 from injuries sustained during an anti-Nazi demonstration catalyzed widespread student activism and served as a model for Nazi defiance across the Czech Republic. Fifty years later, on November 17, 1989, a mass demonstration organized to commemorate Opletal sparked the Velvet Revolution.
LMC’s Discovery Award provides U.S. and international students in grades 4 through 12 a unique opportunity to use their creative talents to develop projects that feature Unsung Heroes from history who demonstrate the power that one person has to make positive change in the world. Projects can take the form of documentary/multimedia, performance or website. In addition to robust research, an annotated bibliography and a process paper, projects must show potential for life beyond the development of the project and an ability to inspire students and others to take sustainable actions that carry out the legacies of their subjects.
For almost a month, residents and visitors to Fort Scott have again been able to see the city from the inside of a trolley, after the previous trolley was removed from the streets about three years ago because of its age and need for improvements such as air conditioning.
“This has been a long time coming,” said Lindsay Madison, executive director of the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, during the August 18, Chamber Coffee, when the trolley was introduced during a ribbon-cutting event.
Madison said they had photos from as far back as the late 1800s that showed a trolley used in Fort Scott. With that heritage in mind, the chamber and others in the city worked together to raise funds for the new diesel vehicle.
“Many people made generous donations,” Madison said. “Thank you all for your support.”
The new trolley fits 24 passengers and is now wheel-chair accessible. It provides 50- minute narrated tours on the hour Fridays, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Groups can also reserve tours for other times during the week.
Already the trolley has been used to give tours from groups visiting from neighboring cities.
“We’re really excited and we think it’s just perfect,” Madison said.
During their meeting Tuesday, the Bourbon County Commission received an update on the bids and budget for the Bourbon County Law Enforcement Center from the construction and architecture teams.
Steve Smith of Universal Construction Company, Inc., said the larger portions of the structure have been put to bid and it is important for the commission to agree to the estimated total construction cost so they could move forward in finalizing those bids before the contractors move on to other projects. With just concrete, masonry, drywall and a few other smaller construction items remaining to go to bid, Smith said the total construction cost will be about $6 million.
“It’s been a bit of a struggle to get bidders of late,” Smith said, saying there are billions of dollars worth of projects being worked on in the Midwest that are keeping contractors busy and away from the local project. “Construction costs are continuing to rise.”
Kevin Rost of Goldberg Group Architects pointed out that in just the past year of delays, due to the difficulty in finding property and having to complete land surveys, the cost of construction has gone up about 17.4 percent because of the rise in material prices and the trouble of finding contractors.
The commissioners agreed to a guaranteed maximum price of $6.25 million for the construction costs, with the price of land acquisition and architect fees alone bringing that total to the initial goal of $6.85 million. The remaining cost of about $1.7 million will be reached through lease purchasing items such as the cells and some electrical work, not costing taxpayers any more than was promised at the beginning of the bond project.
“It is disappointing,” commission chairperson Barbara Albright said of the unexpected rise in expenses, despite their efforts to decrease costs. “It’s more than we anticipated.”
Already, changes had been made to the plans to decrease the square footage and cut out other features the commission decided they could do without, but Albright pointed out that they still have to make sure the facility is functional.
“We’ve been committed since day one to make this project happen for you,” Rost said, saying they hope to have the remaining bids in place in the next few weeks, allowing work to begin before winter weather arrives. “We’re trying to stretch the dollars as much as we can.”
Once construction does begin, the project will likely take just over a year. Already, the building on the property has been removed so just a concrete slab and some debris such as bricks remain.
