During their final April meeting Tuesday evening, the Fort Scott City Commission approved the appointment of JoLynne Mitchell as the new mayor of the board while Sam Mason was named the president of the commission.

Former mayor Cindy Bartelsmeyer, who had held the position the previous three years, nominated Mitchell to the position and the other commissioners approved the appointment unanimously.

“We appreciate your three years of service,” Mitchell said to Bartelsmeyer, adding she is unsure that she can fill those shoes.

Bartelsmeyer expressed confidence that Mitchell would be able to do so.

“I feel like the city is moving in a very positive, upward way,” Bartelsmeyer said, adding she enjoyed her time as mayor. “We’ve gotten a lot accomplished and I think we’re all proud of that as commission members.

Recent commission addition Randy Nichols was also named the Fort Scott Housing Authority delegate while commissioner Jim Adams was appointed the commission’s Bourbon County Economic Development Council, Inc., representative.

The commissioners also received an update from Reta Baker, Chamber of Commerce board chairman and representative for the transient guest tax committee, concerning the goal to purchase a new trolley for the city’s traditional trolley rides, which have been unavailable for some time since the retirement of Dolly the Trolley.

“There really is something very engaging about a trolley tour,” Baker said, saying the ride with a narrator provides an enjoyable opportunity to learn about the community and ask questions without visitors having to drive or find information on their own.

Baker said the trolley tours in Fort Scott had a decrease in riders before they ended, but said that was likely at least partially a result of the unreliability of Dolly. Baker said they believe a new trolley would recapture some of those numbers.

After looking at a number of new and used trolleys, Baker said they narrowed it down to three and then to their favorite, a new 2015 diesel model that can accommodate 22 to 24 passengers and is handicap accessible. The trolley will be brought to Fort Scott next week for a trial run before purchase.

So far, the fund for the new trolley has received $23,500 from the sale of the old trolleys and an additional $20,500 raised through fundraisers. A bid for a loan brought an interest rate of 2.49 percent from City State Bank for six years of quarterly payments of about $3,600, with the first coming in August.

Baker said they decided to seek a loan instead of raising the funds in advance in order to have a trolley available before the summer months.

“We’re coming up on prime tourism season,” Baker said. “And the longer we put off replacing the trolley, marketing and promoting it, then the more lost opportunity we have to really give people a wonderful experience in our community.

Director of finances Jon Garrison said there are ample funds available from the transient guest tax, coming from those visitors staying at hotels and not from Fort Scott residents, so there should be no problem making payments.

The commission unanimously accepted the transient guest tax committee’s request to purchase the trolley.

Submitted by Amber Toth, April 18

The Fort Scott High School Tigers will be well-represented at the National Tournament in Salt Lake City this June.

The team has qualified nine students to the national tournament this year. Charlotte Hutchison and Sebastian Loyd will take duo interpretation. Seth Cross, Joe Adams and Darby Toth will take student congress. Garrett Tatro will be taking domestic extemporaneous. Isabella Provence will take humorous interpretation. Rebekah Sweyko will take informative speaking and Thomas Nighswonger will take program of oral interpretation.

Fort Scott is ranked the number one school in our district. Charlotte Hutchison is ranked first in the district and 6th in the state and was also named district student of the year last weekend. Garrett Tatro is ranked second in the district and 11th in the state. Sebastian Loyd is ranked 3rd in the district and 12th in the state.

“This is an amazing accomplishment,” forensics coach Amber Toth says. “These students are ranked in all classifications, not just with other 4A schools.”

But the excitement does not stop there. Fort Scott will also be represented at state. The state only allows each school to bring 16 total entries. However, this year Fort Scott had 30 entries that qualified for state. Unfortunately, that means there will be students who qualified that will not be attending the state tournament April 29-30.

Those representing Fort Scott will be Tayton Majors, Rebekah Sweyko, Isabella Provence, Darby Toth, Joe Adams, Suzi Owen, Garrett Tatro, Seth Cross, Charlotte Hutchison, Sebastian Loyd and Thomas Nighswonger. Those qualifying for state but not attending include Asia Farrington, Ashton Williams, Jake Province, Sara Al-Shawish, Ethan Tatro, Dalton Womeldorff, and Logan Hall.

“While I hate to leave students home from state that absolutely deserved to be there, it is a nice problem to have,” Toth said.

Submitted by Valetta Cannon, April 18

On Friday, April 15, 134 1st graders and 10 teachers from Winfield Scott toured the Fort Scott Public Library.

They learned about the different types of books available, displays, ongoing programming offered, their options for getting a library card and the names of both their youth librarian and clerk. Miss Val read them a story and let them browse books, while helping any children who asked find what they were looking for. They were sent home with flyers about their visit and stickers.

The library would like to offer similar group tours to local public and private schools, daycares, preschools and homeschool groups. Interested parties may call youth librarian Valetta Cannon at (620) 223-2882 or email vcyouthlib@gmail.com to book tours. Typical availability is M-F, 9-10 am & 2-5 pm.

Prepare your children for summer reading by introducing them to the library today!

Over the weekend, scores of people enjoyed the nice weather by visiting the Fort Scott National Historic Site for the 34^th Annual Civil War Encampment, which featured about 90 volunteers of all ages in period clothing who demonstrated attributes of the local fort during the Civil War.

Visitors were treated to infantry, cavalry, baking, artillery and other demonstrations that highlighted information such as medicine and fashion of that era. Infantry men demonstrated the soldiers’ advance and retreat in battle while visitors could also walk through a camp set up to show what life for the soldiers would be like.

After a season of successes that will take the team to Scotland to compete this summer, Fort Scott Community College recognized the sophomore Livestock Judging Team with a reception Friday afternoon that drew a number of faculty, family and community members.

“They’ve had a tremendous season,” FSCC faculty member Ryan Edgecomb said of the team he referred to as record-breaking, with national contest wins in Louisville, Fort Worth and Kansas City, as well as other wins throughout the year and across the country.

Edgecomb said the team faced many joys and trials along the way as they traveled numerous miles, building strong relationships along the way that he said could last a lifetime.

“That’s what we’re all here for,” coach Ryan Page, named coach of the year, said of that team-building process, adding the school strives to give them a good education as well as a good experience in Fort Scott while they participate on the team.

Page said he had a feeling from the beginning of the year that the team could have a good season, saying he was proud of the team for its self-initiated drive that took them to competitions the coach had not thought they would participate in.

“We’re never going to forget Fort Scott,” team member and academic all-American Chase Gleason said, thanking the faculty and others for their constant support and encouragement.

“There’s just something special about Fort Scott for me,” team member Callahan Grund agreed, saying the homey feel to the town encouraged him to come to FSCC from his home in west Kansas.

Because of their win at the North American Livestock Expo in Louisville, Ky., the team was invited to compete at the Royal Highland Stock Show in Edinburgh, Scotland. The team will leave June 22 and return July 3.

Construction fences and equipment have been seen at the four USD 234 schools in Fort Scott for several weeks and soon progress will become more visible according to a report given during the April board of education meeting held Monday night.

Steve Bennett of Nabholz gave that update, addressing topics and concerns such as safety, quality, time and cost of the projects.

“We have run into some problems with your project,” Bennett admitted, saying groundwork turned up different obstructions underground at the sites such as an old cistern and foundation, coal, poor soil and trouble caused by a broken and obstructed pipe.

The work at the high school is also about a month behind schedule because the contractors have struggled to match the precast concrete to the current colors. But instead of having to push back the time of completion, Bennett said they changed their initial plan of starting with the high school, and instead began at the other schools, which are all on schedule.

“Time-wise, we’re doing really well,” Bennett said, saying the precasting should be done by the end of April or beginning of May, with structures going up soon after those concrete molds are in place.

Some of the problems crews have come across were budgeted for, but Bennett said some are eating into the contingencies. Despite that fact, Bennett said nothing has been lost from the project to keep it within budget.

Bennett said, despite looking for ways to make sure they do not surpass the set budget or the schedule, the team will not sacrifice in quality, always verifying purchased items, checking for the correct densities of grading as well as taking time to find all existing underground lines and recording them for the school for future work.

Bennett said the buildings will be ready before the start of the new school year in August, although some small projects could remain to be completed by the crews overnight. Until the end of the current school year, Bennett said the contractors have already scheduled much of their work, such as interior projects, to be done at night or over the weekends.

Over the past weekend, the workers succeeded in turning off utilities at the school to relocate power lines to underground lines.

The team also prioritizes safety at the job sites, using fences and signs as well as enforcing safety orientation, planning and emergency exits from the schools.

Submitted by the Fort Scott National Historic Site, April 7

Fort Scott National Historic Site commemorates the Civil War and how it shaped our country by presenting the 34th Annual Civil War Encampment on Saturday and Sunday, April 16 and 17.

Experience the sights, sounds and smells of the times—soldiers marching or on horse, rifles firing and gunpowder hanging in the air.  A variety of interpretive programs will illustrate the role Fort Scott played as a major supply base for federal troops during this pivotal conflict.

The public is invited to participate beginning Saturday morning at 9 a.m., and concluding with the last program at 3 p.m. on Sunday as park volunteers engage in various activities.  Union cavalry, infantry and artillery units will perform military training representing how troops were prepared for battle.  Members of the Ladies Union Aid Society will focus on the vital role civilians played in supporting the military.

On Saturday at 1 p.m., come learn about Victorian clothing with “Dawn to Dusk Fashion Show.”  At 6:30 p.m., you are invited guests to a 1916 Civil War Veterans Reunion. This program is a National Park Service Centennial activity highlighting 100 years of the National Park Service.  On Sunday at 10 a.m., come join in a period church service. Learn about the logistics of feeding soldiers with “Rolling in the Dough” Bake-house Demonstration at 11 a.m.   Cavalry, infantry and artillery demonstrations will continue in the afternoon.

The Civil War Encampment is made possible through the generous support provided by volunteer members of the Holmes Brigade, 4th Missouri Cavalry, Ladies Union Aid Society, Western Bluecoats Field Hospital, 3rd Kansas Artillery Battery B, Friends of Fort Scott NHS, Inc., and a host of Fort Scott National Historic Site volunteers.

The schedule of activities is as follows:

SATURDAY, APRIL 16

9:00 a.m. – Raising the Colors

10:00 a.m. – Cavalry Drill

11:00 a.m. – Infantry Drill and Weapons Demonstration

1:00 p.m. – “Dawn to Dusk Fashion Show”

2:00 p.m. – Infantry Drill and Weapons Demonstration

3:00 p.m. – Artillery Drill and Weapons Demonstration

4:00 p.m. – Flag Retreat

6:30 p.m. – “The Last Full Measure of Devotion” – Reunion of CW veterans

SUNDAY, APRIL 17

9:00 a.m. – Raising the Colors

10:00 a.m. – Church Service

11:00 a.m. – “Rolling in the Dough” -Bake House Demonstration

12:00 noon – Artillery Drill and Weapons Demonstration

1:00 p.m. – Cavalry Drill

2:00 p.m. – Infantry Drill and Weapons Demonstration

3:00 p.m. – Artillery Drill and Weapons Demonstration

After months of planning and promotions, Fort Scott hosted the first 2^nd Story Festival of Arts and Ideas over the weekend, encouraging members of the community to be involved in arts in conjunction with entrepreneurship.

Leaders of the city, the area Chamber of Commerce, Bourbon County Arts Council members and other members of the community worked together to bring local and out-of-state artists and entrepreneurs to the event for discussions as well as hands-on activities for participants.

“Every town needs a little Bohemian,” said Denise Duncan, owner of the Beaux Arts Centre, where many of the events were held. “I think everybody’s had a good time.”

Jared Witt helped initiate the planning for the event and said their goal was to bring creative people together to spark new ideas as well as provide a fun time, adding he was pleased with the number of participants who attended.

“It was awesome,” Witt said. “It exceeded my expectations.”

The event kicked off Friday evening with a panel discussion with local business owners Amy Labbe, Bill Michaud, Jacki Prettyman and Trenton Banwart on how they started their separate businesses and continue to increase their reach through numerous avenues.

Experts in areas of watercolors, photography, fashion, pottery and poetry as well as published authors attended the Saturday event, which drew a number of community members to learn about those fields as well as participate in them. Visiting artists included Debbie Reed, Jane Campbell, Veretta Cobbler and Daria Claiborne and authors Casie Hermansson and Stephen Johnson with local author Don Miller.

Chef Jasper Mirabile of Jasper’s restaurant in Kansas City also held a culinary demonstration Saturday, an event which sold out in just one day.

Tom Byler of Pittsburg State University hosted a luncheon discussion Saturday on the topic of Art as a Business on behalf of speaker Marc Willson, who was unable to come after being injured in a home accident earlier that week.

The event ended with a fundraiser event Saturday evening with visitors able to view and purchase items provided by the visiting artists.

Witt said the event went smoothly but they still learned enough along the way to know how to improve the festival for future years.