Fort Scott Compassionate Ministries is located on the second floor of the Senior Citizens Center at 26 N. Main. Submitted photo.
After 11 years, Allen Schellack is retiring from Fort Scott Compassionate Ministries.
Allen Schellack, director of Fort Scott Compassionate Ministries, sits at his desk in this 2020 photo.
“When I worked for the city of Fort Scott I saw a lot of people needed assistance,” he said. “I was part of the local ministerial alliance at the time and felt the Lord leading me to ministry.”
In 2016 the ministry became a joint effort of community leaders, and area churches and was sponsored locally by the Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene.
The office is located on the second floor of the Senior Citizens Office at 26 N. Main.
Some of the services the outreach center provides are foster family outreach services, homeless outreach services, hygienic services, medical supplies, and fellowship.
“For about seven years we have been the designated Salvation Army Disaster Relief and Services Extension Unit for Bourbon County,” Schellack said.
Because of this partnership, Schellack could provide disaster relief assistance, prescriptions (no narcotics) temporary lodging, gasoline for work and doctor, vision help with eyeglasses, and other needs on a case-by-case basis.
Through a relationship with the Fort Scott Ministerial Alliance, physical assistance is provided to individuals or families traveling through Fort Scott who have no other resources and need help to reach their destination. The assistance is distributed by the Fort Scott Police Department.
Some of Fort Scott Compassionate Care Ministries’ outreaches are free box fans in the summer; heaters, blankets, bedding, and towels in the winter, fire disaster packs, homeless/transient assist packs, Christmas presents for teens and families, and school supplies for middle and high school students.
The ministry is a 501 C(3) not-for-profit volunteer organization with no paid staff.
This is Schellack’s last week at the ministry.
“A minister never truly retires until God calls him home,” he said. “There will always be some kind of ministry wherever I go. I am retiring from Fort Scott Compassionate Ministries.”
He said Anglea Handly is transitioning to take care of the Compassionate Care office and the Salvation Army duties for Bourbon County.
Jessie Combs, 27, opened her business, Country Club Kids Daycare in Fontana, KS in 2020. Then re-opened her business in Fort Scott when she moved here in October 2023.
She provides child daycare services for children ages six weeks to five years old, for Fort Scott families and the surrounding areas.
The business hours of operation are from 7 a.m . to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The daycare is located on South Broadway Street in Fort Scott.
In her care currently are her three children and three daycare children (2 full-time, 1 part-time).
“I have 1 full-time and 1 part-time opening for toddlers (18 mos-5 yr),” she said.
She is the only employee and is licensed for up to 10 children.
Combs began the business initially to stay home with her own three children. “I enjoy being able to serve the community and working with children,” she said.
She graduated from K-State in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology.
Following graduation she worked in scientific research, helping to characterize pharmaceuticals to prepare them for U.S. Food and Drug Administration clinical trials, she said.
“I’m also a Certified Nurse Assistant,” she said.
“I got my daycare license in April 2020 in Miami County and in October 2023 in Bourbon County,” she said.
To earn a daycare license in Kansas contact your local Kansas Department of Health and Environment office to get started.
“There’s an online application, fingerprints, background check, health and wellness checks, a small fee, and licensing will come to inspect your daycare for compliance,” she said. “There are also classes you must take to become licensed including being Pediatric CPR and First Aid certified and child development and daycare specific classes required.”
Hedgehog INk bookstore,16 S. Main, is pictured in this October 2022 photo.
With support from her husband, Jordan, and three kids, Randi Witt, Ivan, Ava, and Lydia will take ownership of the Hedgehog.INK! bookstore at 16 S. Main on February 1.
From left to right, Jordan, Ivan, Ava, Lydia, Randi Witt. Submitted photo.
The phone number will remain the same (620) 670-2752 but the email: [email protected] is new. Both the website and Facebook page will remain the same.
“We will take over running those on Feb. 1,” Randi said.
The store was opened by Jan and Dick Hedges in 2018, and Dick died in 2022. Jan announced in December 2023 that she was selling the bookstore.
“I heard about Jan planning to sell the store, and I knew this was the opportunity I had been waiting for,” Randi said. “Jan and Dick created a magical space that makes you feel good when you walk inside. The store has something for everyone, from books to unique items and gifts.”
The whole family enjoys bookstores.
“In college, Jordan and I would frequently visit a used bookstore in downtown Lawrence,” she said. “Now we enjoy taking our kids to bookstores. Hopefully, our bookstore can give others the same memorable experience and be a place they want to frequently visit.”
The name of the bookstore will remain the same.
“Even though I will be the new owner, I see this as a continuation of the amazing bookstore Jan and Dick brought to our community,” she said. ” I plan to put my own spin on the space and expand our offerings over time. I will continue to accept books for credit or donation. In addition to books, you can purchase journals, art supplies, candy, handmade purses, goat milk soaps, and lavender products. We definitely want to continue supporting local authors. Please follow us on social media for updates as we grow!”
“I am going to explore expanding hours of operation and will announce that on social media,” she said.
The current hours of operation will be Monday 10 am – 2 pm and Tuesday through Saturday 10 am – 5 pm.
“I will be running the store day to day, and I will rely on help from my kids,” Randi said. “This is definitely a family venture.”
Jennifer Gum-Fowler will start as the director of the Fort Scott Public Library on January 18.
“I have already begun to plan some programming for the coming year,” Gum-Fowler said. “I have many ideas that I want to try. I am also thinking of ways to make the community as excited about libraries as I am.”
“As the Library Director, I am responsible for the everyday running of the library, of course,” she said. “I am also responsible for the outreach and partnerships with the library. On top of that, I get to do adult programming and will curate the adult collections. I will also do the interlibrary loans.”
For her, the best part of being a library director is collaborating with the community and being able to bring all kinds of programming and partnerships to the library. “I love it when people come into the library and say, ‘I didn’t know that libraries did that.’ Libraries have gone through a real renaissance and are not what your great-grandparents would have thought of.”
” The biggest challenge is changing how people view libraries,” she said. “There is the idea that libraries are no longer relevant today, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Libraries are vital parts of growing and healthy communities. They are not places one goes for shushing but for information, programs, and community connection. Books are just the beginning of what libraries offer communities.”
Gum Fowler received a Bachelor of Arts in History from Washburn University.
“When I started my library journey, I completed the state APPLE training for new directors in the Southeast Kansas Library System,” she said. “After finishing that, I realized I wanted to do more in libraries, so I returned to school and got my master’s in library science (MLS) from Emporia State University. While there, I was invited to join the Beta Phi Mu Honor Society, an international professional society for accomplished librarians.”
“In 2014, I got the library in Kincaid voted in as an actual library,” she said. “Since then, I have worked hard to get it as part of the national and state library organizations. ”
Under her direction, Kincaid Public Library has grown to be a part of the community, she said.
She has been a member of the Association of Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL) and the Kansas Library Association (KLA) since 2017. She is a part of the Intellectual Freedom Committee for the KLA and is the Southeast Kansas Library System (SEKLS) Executive Board Vice-President.
She has been married to Chad Fowler for 28 years and has three adult children “and way too many cats,” she said.
The family was an active part of 4-H when the children were younger, she said. “I personally enjoy weaving, needle felting, and watercolors. I grew up doing pre-1840 reenacting and still love primitive camping. I am also an avid geek and love Dr. Who, Marvel, Firefly, and Star Wars. All that said, I also love reading, with high fantasy and sci-fi being my favorites.”
Currently, she is commuting to Fort Scott.
“I live around 10 miles from the Bourbon line in Anderson County,”
she said. “It is a fast and enjoyable commute to work. I will use the time to listen to some audiobooks. I can’t wait to start working in Fort Scott. It is a beautiful city.”
Lavetta Simmons, Teresa Davenport, and Joy O’Neal, the founders of Care to Share. Submitted photo.
After 16 years in an organization she helped found, Lavetta Simmons is retiring.
The genesis of the organization was a Relay for Life of Bourbon County event in 2007, at that time Teresa Davenport was going through her cancer fight, Joy O’Neal was a cancer survivor and Lavetta Simmons had been a caregiver to both her parents who had died of cancer.
“Teresa Davenport said, ‘When I get cancer-free, I would like to start a cancer support group,'”Simmons said. Joy O’Neal and Lavetta Simmons volunteered to help.
That cancer support group started in 2007, with a Fort Scott family’s four-year-old daughter who had been diagnosed.
Through the efforts of Davenport and her classmates, along with O’Neal and Simmons, a fundraiser was formed and close to $7,000 was raised for the family. Today, that girl has moved into her future.
“We each had our things to do to make it happen and we made it happen!” Simmons said.
In 2008, during the group’s first meeting at Mercy’s McAuley Center, the name Care to Share was chosen and a decision was made to meet quarterly.
“Our first year, we cared and we shared, through calls, visits, and prayer,” Simmons said. “During this time we were able to see the financial suffering that our fighters were going through as we gave them emotional support.”
In 2009, Lavetta announced at a meeting that she would like to help the cancer fighters financially
“That’s when The Sharing Bucket was added to the Care to Share Cancer Support Group, with the idea of fundraising with our group and our bucket never going empty,” she said. “The three of us came together, met with a lawyer to form a non-profit 501c3 organization…and chose a board of directors.”
The group introduced itself to the community at the 2009 Home and Garden Show.
“The year 2009 was a financial struggle for all of us with some very God-given moments and stories to pass on”, she said. “During this time, we added that Care To Share is ‘God Given, God Driven.'”
“In 2010, Fort Scott lost a very caring lady to cancer. She had struggled for many years,” Simmons said. “She left her memorials to us. We had never thought about receiving memorials. She was the first, and her memorials were $7,840. She blessed us with an
amount that was way beyond our dreams. The family asked that we invest a portion of it with the idea that Care To Share Cancer Support/The Sharing Bucket would go on forever. So we did, and we have grown it to a very nice amount today.”
“Our community has joined us and blessed us over and over again,” she said. “Each meeting we grew, each fundraiser we grew, each visit we grew. It has been the most amazing heart-touching God Driven; God Given thing, and has driven us all closer and closer
to God.”
“Last year we cared and shared financially 1,274 times with a total amount of $97,137.89!” she said. “That was only financial assistance, not counting the calls, texts, messages, emails, meals, rides, Ensure supplements, etc.”
“We never know where God is directing us next,” she said. ” We have followed and believe if God brings you to it, God will bring
you through It.”
The caring and sharing community made it possible, she said.
“But, I also want to mention that this could never happen without my family, and my extended family… My family has lived the journey. We were there when my parents took their last breaths. We have been there for so many cancer fighters and their families in our communities and we have been there for every fundraiser that has been put together for The Sharing Bucket.”
Her immediate family has all grown up, she said.
“They now have families of their own,” she said. “…So there comes a time when maybe we have to let go?? How do we do that? We don’t know?”
“Well, we figured it out. God, Family, Care to Share has always been our motto,” she said. Now she is caring and sharing with her family.
” I now care for two of my great-grandbabies,” she said. Daily her time is given to Lillian, 3, and Austyn, 1 month,
“Care to Share Cancer Support Group/The Sharing Bucket has blessed me over and over, through our caring and sharing with every cancer fighter and their families, and through caring and
sharing through our wonderful giving community. I will always have a place close to my heart for it.
THANK YOU FOR CARING AND SHARING,” Simmons said.
The group shares this scripture with the cancer fighters, “as we believe in it and want to give them faith as well, Matthew 17:20
IF YOU HAVE FAITH AS SMALL AS A MUSTARD SEED, NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU,” she said.
Cory Bryars, Vice President of the Care to Share Board wrote this about Simmons:
“They say charity can come in the form of time, talent, and treasure. For most of us, we have to choose which one or maybe two of those to give as we take care of the rest of our lives. Lavetta gave all three, zealously,” he said.
“As a co-founder of Care to Share and as a leader of day-to-day activities as well as the Board of Directors, Lavetta has helped generate over $1.2 million in support of our local cancer communities,” he said.
“She has given her time taking countless calls at all hours of the day and night from families desperate for support during the difficulties of their cancer journeys. Lavetta has visited cancer survivors and their families in times of dire need with open arms, an open heart, and an open Care to Share wallet to help them get over whatever hurdle they were facing that day,” he said.
“Lavetta’s commitment and passion brought generous giving from her family and friends, and our entire community is immeasurably better off through her efforts,” he said. “She is warm, caring, compassionate, organized and efficient and she gave those talents to SEK cancer fighters through Care to Share.”
“We thank and honor Lavetta for her vision, her passion, and her dedication and support as she passes the torch to the next round of Care to Share leadership.”
Care to Share continues with Teresa Davenport as the president, Joy O’Neal died in 2022.
There will be an open house at the Care to Share new office located at 401 Woodland Hills on January 22.
Editors note: Due to a computer glitch this story was mistakenly posted on Facebook last night. It was deleted and will be posted today.
The Spoiled Brat Salon new shop will be built on the left in this photo, which looks east on Third Street at Scott Avenue.
People have noticed a construction site starting at 124 E. Third, near the corner of State Avenue and Third Street.
The building going up will be Spoiled BratSalon, currently located in downtown Fort Scott at 19 S. Main.
Stephanie Anthony and Heather Engstrom are the owners of Spoiled Brat Salon.
“We’ve been wanting a new space of our own,” Anthony said. “We will be offering basically the same services, with the possibility of adding new stylists/services,” she said. They are hoping for a spring move to the site, she said.
Engstrom Construction LLC is the builder.
“My wife Heather and I bought the property under Peacock Properties LLC,” Scott Engstrom said. “We purchased it in July and did the demolition on the property. We got tired of renting and wanted to own.”
The building will be a 35-foot by 50-foot, 1700 square-foot wood frame with a metal facade and front porch, he said.
“There will be seven stations in the salon and a massage therapy room,” he said.
“On the west side, there will be two concrete handicap vehicle spots, specifically for van accessible handicap,” he said.
“We are still considered downtown, but outside the historic district,” he said.
He and his sons, Taylor, 24, and Brayden, 21, are helping in the build.
Engrstom Construction LLC can be reached at 620.202.1881.
Spoiled Brat Salon’s number is 620.223.2155.
Spoiled Brat Salon will be located across the street in this photo, looking south.
A special presentation on strategies to prevent sex trafficking will be happening on Wednesday, January 31 at 6 p.m. at Fort Scott Community College Ellis Arts Center, 2108 S. Horton.
Children under 18 years of age are not allowed to this presentation “due to some of the explicit videos and information that will be shared that evening,” said Shanda Stewart.
“I just retired in November after 29 years with the State of Kansas, 6th Judicial District as a Probation Office,” Stewart said. “I got to hear Russ Tuttle’s presentation at a conference I attended in October and was so blown away with the information; I thought we have got to get him to Bourbon County. I was able to network with the right people to make it happen!”
“Your perception of sex trafficking and what it is, will be completely changed,” she said.
Youth will get a version for themselves the next day and faculty and staff will have a presentation at an in-service day in USD 234.
“On Thursday, February 1st the presenter, Russ Tuttle will be doing age-appropriate assemblies at all four of the USD 234 schools,” Stewart said. “On Friday, February 2nd he will do a presentation for all faculty and staff during their teacher in-service day.”
BeAlert® is the awareness and prevention strategy of The Stop Trafficking Project® to end domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST)before it starts by disrupting the exploitation of vulnerability.
This adults-only community presentation focuses on the role of life online (the internet) for students, to educate and empower caring adults in our community to prevent sex trafficking, according to a press release.
Caring adults in the community who are invited to attend:
Law enforcement
Firefighters and EMT’s
Medical professionals
Counselors
Faith community leaders
School personnel
Parents, guardians, and all other adult family members
Students are enamored with social media and “life online,” according to the press release from Stewart.
The event will provide practical advice to caring adults to guide and make them aware of vulnerabilities that can be exploited such loneliness, isolation, depression, suicide, sexting, sextortion, pornography, cyberbullying, exploitation, sexual exploitation, and domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST)
The presentation will be a fast-moving PowerPoint.
The presenter, Russ Tuttle, is an active abolitionist who has command of the topic and speaks with energy that grabs and keeps the attention of attendees, according to the press release.
The presentation will have images and videos to provide insight into the role of technology in exploiting vulnerabilities, identify the demand in this high-demand business of sexual exploitation, provide the option to engage with the BeAlert® Strategy, the Stop Trafficking App, and the ‘top ten practical steps’ for adults to keep students safer.
No children, please at the January 31 presentation.
For more information, contact Stewart at 620.215.2681.
Value Merchandisers Company is located at 4805 Campbell Dr. in Fort Scott’s Industrial Park. This is a 2017 photo of the building.
January 8, 2024
Due to the completion of the state-of-the-art All-In-One (AIO) Distribution Hub in Hernando, Miss., we will be closing operations at our Valu Merchandisers Company (VMC) facility located in Fort Scott, Kan.
We will transition the majority of VMC Fort Scott’s inventory and shipments to the AIO and expect the transition to be
completed by the end of March 2024.
Our employees at this facility have worked hard and done an excellent job providing retailers with the best variety of quality Health & Beauty Care (HBC), General Merchandise (GM) and Specialty Foods (SF) at the lowest cost to drive sales since the facility was built in 1995.
This was not an easy decision, and we sincerely appreciate
the dedication the employees here have shown.
We are committed to helping all impacted employees through their transition to other opportunities, including potential opportunities within AWG.
ABOUT ASSOCIATED WHOLESALE GROCERS, INC.:
Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG) is the nation’s largest cooperative food wholesaler to independently owned
supermarkets, serving 1,100 member companies and more than 3,400 locations throughout 31 states from 9 wholesale
Divisions.
David Shepherd has turned ownership of Bourbon County Cars over to Josh Jones.
Bourbon County Cars.Submitted photos.
Shepherd started Boubon County Cars, Inc. in 2013 after he sold Shepherd Team Auto Plaza to Briggs Auto Group in 2016. He sold his used car business to Josh Jones, the company’s General Manager for the last seven and a half years on January 3.
Shepherd said “Josh and I have been discussing and working toward this sale for the last 12 months or so. He has done a great job running our company, takes excellent care of customers, and has a very good business mind. I’m confident that he will successfully own and operate Bourbon County Cars and continue to serve the transportation needs of our community.”
In 2008 Josh Jones and his father purchased Fort Scott Sanitation, and in 2010 he bought out his father in the business, then sold the business in 2014 to a national company.
“Then I got into property rentals and started with Bourbon County Cars in 2016,” Jones said. “I sold most of my rentals in 2022.”
“Everything will be run the same,” Jones said. “Since I started David has let me have full control.”
“I knew at a young age I wanted to be a business owner, I had a hard time working a regular job,” he said. “Then I started working for David, he’s the best.”
Shepherd has been in the automobile business in Fort Scott for 52 years. After 44 years, he sold Shepherd Team Auto Plaza to the Briggs Auto Group in 2016. Both Shepherd and Jones are lifelong residents of Fort Scott and graduates of Fort Scott High School.
“I will pop into the store for a bit almost daily; mostly staying out of the way,, to see if I can help in any way,” Shepherd said. ” I will continue to be a part of several organizations like the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation, Community Health Center Board, and CORE Community. I’ll stay busy.”
Bourbon County Cars has three other employees: Josh Binford, Dale Gauthier, and Bud Hall and it is located at the intersection of South National and 69 Highway bypass across from Briggs of Fort Scott.
The business phone number is 620-223-1435 and hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
A recent economic impact study looked at the benefits of Fort Scott Community College to students, taxpayers, and social perspectives.
“The economic impact of Kansas community colleges is significant and the workforce development provided by each college
across the state of Kansas is vital to a prosperous Kansas economy,” said Heather Morgan, Executive Director of the Kansas
Association of Community Colleges in a press release.
“The college is excited to see the results of the study, which are highly favorable as it relates to the economic impact both within the community and the region,” FSCC’s President Dr. Jason Kegler said. “Our ability to provide such a positive impact would not be possible without the continued support of our community. This study opens the door for us to pursue additional partnerships designed to enhance our impact. The future of the community and this college is bright.”
In the fiscal year 2021-22, Kansas community colleges were
found to have made a $6.7 billion impact on the state’s economy. Expressed in terms of jobs: the direct and indirect impact from all Kansas community colleges supported 106,234 jobs this last year, according to the press release.
Dr. Jason Kegler, president of Fort Scott Community College. Submitted photo.
“The southeast Kansas community colleges have a higher economic impact than the state average in terms of return on investment for local taxpayers”, said Dr. Kegler.
The average taxpayers’ return on investment for southeast Kansas community colleges is $2.50 for every dollar invested which is higher than the average across the state, according to the press release.
The results of this study demonstrate that FSCC creates value from multiple perspectives, according to FSCC_ExecSum(1). The college benefits regional businesses by increasing consumer spending in the region and supplying a steady flow of qualified, trained workers to the workforce.
FSCC enriches the lives of students by raising their lifetime earnings and helping them achieve their potential, according to an FSCC press release. The college benefits state and local taxpayers through increased tax receipts and reduced demand for government-supported social services. Finally, FSCC benefits society as a whole in Kansas by creating a more prosperous economy and generating a variety of savings through the improved lifestyles of students.
To view the total report in the FSCC press release:
The Fort Scott Recreation Center has a new website through RecDesk.
“The benefit of the new website change is that it allows people to do anything they could from our front desk on their phone or computer at their convenience,” Lucas Kelley said. “This new website also allows for online registrations and payments. This will also help with late registrations… We just switched over to this website on December 26th.”
Kelley is the FSRC recreation director and the Buck Run Community Center Manager.
Buck Run Community Center is located at 735 Scott Avenue and can be contacted at 620.23.0386.
Lucas Kelley, submitted photo.
“People can access it by going to brcc.recdesk.com.,” he said. “Here they will be able to view all of our programs, facilities available to rent, fitness memberships, current league standings/schedules, a calendar of events, and a preview of our Facebook page. We just switched over to this website on December 26th. When getting to the website users will have to create an account and add their household.”
Programs starting here shortly are: The Biggest Loser Weight Loss Challenge, Tiger Kids Cheer, Taekwondo Lessons, Soul Fusion/Adult Fitness Classes.
John and Lindsey Hill and sons, from Freedom Fitness Facebook page.
Lindsay and John Hill are the owners and coaches of a new business, Freedom Fitness, located at 15 S. National.
“We offer fitness classes for all ages and fitness levels,” Lindsay said. “We also offer regular gym memberships so you can come in and lift during certain hours and use equipment and facilities.”
“This was a need in our community and we are super passionate about helping others become their best self,” she said. “This will allow us to not only help people with physical fitness, but we will also be offering nutritional classes, flexibility, and mobility sessions, and so much more.”
Classes available:
Training – A Cross Training class that offers strength, flexibility, endurance, and much more.
EnduraFit – An endurance class that uses barbells and weights to move with speed and efficiency.
LIFE – A bootcamp style, focusing on body movement and functional fitness.
Masters – A class focused on seasoned individuals who want to move, have flexibility, and functional fitness using minimal weight.
FreeFit -The normal gym membership that allows individuals to focus on their own goals and programs.
KidFit- all things kids, including speed, agility, mobility, strength, plyometrics, etc.
“We will tailor all classes to fit the fitness levels and goals,” she said.
The business phone number is 620-644-2167
Business hours of operation are from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The cost for Freedom Fitness is $79/month for unlimited, and $60/month for 3 days/week.
Freedom Fitness business front at 15 S. National. Submitted photo.
“We look forward to serving Fort Scott with a Faith.Family.Freedom.Fitness environment,” she said. “It will be a positive, uplifting space where people can leave life at the door and focus on themselves. We want to create a space where health and fitness is a way of life – helping Fort Scott become a healthier community.”
