Tag Archives: featured

New Coffee Bean Roasting Business Starts In Fort Scott

July 7, 2023 Submitted Story Leave a comment

A local couple has started a new coffee bean roasting business.

Crooked Cactus Coffee Co. owners Randy and Tanya Glessner

started their new venture on July 3, 2023.

“We sell small farm, single origin coffee beans from around the world and roast them locally here in Fort Scott, with love,” Randy Glessner said.

Randy and Tanya Glessner. Submitted photo.

They have a Facebook page where the current coffee menu is posted at the top, he said.

“Menu selections vary by season,” Randy Glessner said.

The current coffee menu is:

light-Mexican

medium- Nicaraguan

dark-Sumatran

decaf-Medium Timor

The business is located at 408 Jefferson Street on Fort Scott’s east side, inside of Upper Cut Salon, a beauty shop operated by Tanya.

“We both have a passion for coffee and wanted a way to enjoy it in the freshest, purest way possible,” he said. “So we started looking into the best coffee beans and wanted to support small coffee bean farms around the world. After that, we started mastering our coffee roasts and knew this was something we had to share with others! “

The coffee costs $15 for a 12 ounce bag. When ordering, please specify whether whole beans or ground beans are desired.

They accept cash, credit/debit card or cashapp.

Orders can be placed by calling or texting 620-224-6704.

Tanya is an ordained minister.

“She doesn’t work for any church,” he said. “She volunteers her own time and money to help women in prison and recovering addicts.

Ten percent of all proceeds goes to the prison ministry/mentoring and local community mentoring for recovering addicts.”

Business, Youth

Young Entrepreneur: Katy Shead

July 5, 2023 Loretta George Leave a comment

This is part of a series featuring young entrepreneurs.

To recommend a youth under 18 years-of-age for a feature, send contact info to [email protected]

Katy Shead, 16, is providing tutoring services for school children for a business.

She attends a virtual school.

“I provide online tutoring services for people in my online school,” Katy said. “I mainly tutor math but I helped one student with basic Latin last school year.”

Her academic advisor and teachers recommend her to families.

“Also, people have made posts requesting tutors on my school’s Facebook page,” she said. “I have also started doing free sessions to advertise.”

Katy started tutoring as a business during the 2021-2022 school year.

“My academic advisor asked me if I would like to tutor a girl in Saxon Math 5/6,” she said.” I had always enjoyed helping my brother, cousins, and classmates with school, and I was excited to try to help this girl.”

She seems to be a natural teacher.

“I enjoyed the creative challenge of finding engaging ways to present the material to her,” she said. “She was very sweet and we had a lot of fun. This past year I got to tutor her again and her sister as well!”

“It’s sometimes difficult to tutor online – especially with a subject where showing work is mandatory,” she. “I use WebEx to video conference with my students and we work on the whiteboard.”

Katy practicing constructions for the Geometry review. Submitted photo.

“I sent a document camera to one of my families with two students so that I could see both their work and their faces at the same time to pinpoint confusion as soon as possible,” she said.

She has tutored 5th and 6th grade, Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II.

“One of my students in Algebra II lives in Cambodia,” she said. “It was so interesting to hear her stories and perspectives.”

This coming year, she is taking on greater challenges.

“I hope to tutor more upper-level math such as Pre-calculus and Calculus I, as I am going to be taking Calculus II next year,” she said. “I also hope to tutor higher levels of Latin if there is an opportunity.”

A recent geometry final review she held, had 35 students.

Katy Shead with her geometry class. Submitted photo.

She is the daughter of Mark and Haley Shead, rural Fort Scott.

Bourbon County, Youth

Young Entrepreneurs Series Spawns An Anonymous Benefactor

July 3, 2023 Loretta George 1 Comment

Judah Whitson at the cash register at Fort Scott Farmers Market. — Judah Whitson mans the cash register at his family’s booth at the Fort Scott Farmers Market. He makes and sells mini-donuts at five-years-old, with help from his family.

A subscriber who has been reading the Young Entrepreneur Series on fortscott.biz was touched and wanted to support each business with a $50 grant.

The benefactor wishes to remain anonymous.

This is what he wrote:

“I always stop at the local kids’ lemonade stands. When I was growing up in Fort Scott, I remember the postman buying a cup of lemonade from me. For some reason that stayed with me.

“Selling Grit Magazine door to door, making birdhouses and selling them door to door, having a Tribune newspaper route back when you paid for your batch of papers up front, delivered them, and then collected monthly. If anyone stiffed you, you were out the dough. All of those things were great life lessons for me growing up in Fort Scott. That’s why I really like your program of highlighting young entrepreneurs”

If your child has been highlighted in our Young Entrepreneur Series, please contact [email protected] for the grant money.

The Young Entrepreneur Series is featuring youth under 18 years old who have a business in product or services.

To recommend a young entrepreneur in our community, please send contact info, email or phone number to [email protected]

Business, Food, Fort Scott

Taco Azul Food Truck Moves to The Twin Mansions

June 30, 2023 Loretta George 1 Comment

Taco Azul Food Truck has turned the gazebo on the grounds of the Twin Mansions into place to eat their Mexican food. Submitted photo.

The Taco Azul Food Truck has moved to a new site with more seating and shade for their customers.

“We’re excited about this move because there’s more seating, more shade, more room for kids to move around, and altogether a great atmosphere,” Erin Macik said. “Seb set up a really neat outside dining area, and it will be a lovely gathering place for the folks of Fort Scott.”

“Our only regret is that everyone at the Washateria was very accommodating and pleasant to work with, and we’re sad to leave them,” she said.

The reason for the move: technical reasons.

“The generator for the trailer has a carbon monoxide detector and automatically shuts off when levels get high,” she said. “Unfortunately, it was shutting off about every 20 minutes, so we needed to find a place with a plug-in. We were able to install one easily at the mansions, and Seb is starting there today!”

“After a year of planning and setting up, we opened at the Good Ol’ Days festival this year,” Erin said.

Taco Azul at Good Ol Days Festival 2023. Submitted photo.

Seb Macik spent some time teaching in Mexico City before he and Erin were married, and discovered Mexican street tacos during that time.

“Ever since then, he’s been working to make the perfect street taco, and the result is Taco Azul: real-deal Mexico City tacos in Fort Scott, KS,” she said.

Street tacos made by Seb Macik. Submitted photo.

The Twin Mansions are located at 742 National Ave., Fort Scott, they are in the parking lot behind

.
Regular hours are Wednesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

“We post the week’s schedule on Facebook every week, and there are slight changes occasionally, but in general, those are the hours we’ll be open,” Erin said.

Taco Azul Food Truck has moved to the Twin Mansions property on National Avenue. Submitted photo. This is the dining area set up at the gazebo on the property.

Entertainment, Fort Scott

Spectacular Display and Other Fun Is Planned for July 3 in Fort Scott

June 29, 2023 Loretta George 1 Comment

A fireworks display. Photo provided by Shawn Pytlowany.

The annual community fireworks display will be July 3 at Fort Scott Community College, 2108 Horton Street. Cars will be lined up on Horton for viewing the display.

Shaunn Pytlowany, lead pyrotechnician with Premier Pyrotechnics will be once again be orchestrating the fireworks display for Fort Scott.

“This is our second year of a multi-year contract,” Pytlowany said.

The display will be shorter this year, but more spectacular.

“We have been asked to provide a 15 minute show, to shorten it, so there will be more going off at any one time,” Pytlowany said. “Which will make it more spectacular.”

Fireworks set up for a display. Photo submitted by Shawn Pytlowany.

KMDO, KOMB, 103.9 radio station will be broadcasting music to listen to while watching the display.

There will be 512 aerials exploded with display heights of between 275 to 600 feet, depending on wind speed and humidity, he said.

Pytlowany and his crew will start setting up the display at 7 a.m. on July 3 and under normal circumstances set up will be complete between 8:30 and 9 p.m.

He has provided displays for local football and soccer games, cities, weddings, family reunions, and at the LaRoche Baseball Complex for the Wounded Warrior Project. The Premier Pyrotechnics company has provided displays for the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs, he said.

He has worked at Premier Pyrotechnics, based in Richland, MO for nine years, but has been fascinated by them for 40 years, he said.

“I was always interested in the design, manufacturing process and of course the explosion,” he said.

Sponsors

Advance Bourbon County, a local non-profit, took over the organizing and paying for the display from the Elks Club this year.

This year the cost of the event is $12,000.

Helping to sponsor the fireworks event is Fort Scott Gun and Pawn Shop, the City of Fort Scott, Tall Grass Building System, the American Legion, the Elks Club, Brian Bowman Construction, Engstrom Construction, the Kiwanis Club and A-1 Towing.

Prelude Fun and Food

There will be local vendors selling food and drinks: Juan Some Grub, Fort Scott High School Swim Team-lemonade tent, Valley Flavor, Tiger Ice Sno Cones, Doggone Dogs, and Los Tres Pollitos, Aaron Judy, one of the organizers said.

Additionally, there will be corn hole and other yard games for people to use, he said.

These will be set up in the area between the FSCC John Deere Department (the old armory) and the 4-H Building on the Bourbon County Fairgrounds.

Fort Scott’s Rules For Fireworks

During the event, there can be no fireworks discharged from 18^th Street and Horton Street to 23^rd and Horton, according to Fort Scott Police Department Chief Jason Pickert.

“They cannot be discharged on the community college campus or on the Bourbon County Fairgrounds,” he said.

Fireworks can be purchased until July 4.

Until July 2 they can be discharged from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. On July 3 and July 4 they can be discharged from 7 a.m. until midnight.

Art, Fort Scott, Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce, History

New Historic Fort Scott Mural Artist: Cbabi Bayoc

June 28, 2023 Loretta George Leave a comment

Cbabi Bayoc, St. Louis, MO, was selected to paint the latest downtown Fort Scott mural.

He was selected through a process, established by the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Downtown Division, to seek the best artist for the mural to highlight the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry historic significance in the Civil War.

To learn more about the selection process, Fort Scott Chamber Awarded Grant For History Mural on Skubitz Plaza

The mural will be facing the Fort Scott National Historic Site, which is where this infantry unit was organized for the Civil War.

This mural will be replaced with a new one depicting African-American troops who served in the American Civil War. The mural wall faces Fort Scott National Historic Site.

Bayoc, 50, has been creating murals since 2017.

“I have about 25-30 murals in schools and businesses around the St. Louis region and several in outside locations, like the United Church of Christ corporate office in Ohio, the 1619 Freedom School in Iowa and the Family Reunification center in North Carolina,” he said in an interview with fortscott.biz.

“I have never done a military-inspired mural but have always been interested in the Civil War and Reconstruction,” he said.” I am also an Air Force brat, so this is special to me.”

“The only must-haves for (this) mural were three soldiers and their batallion flag,” Bayoc said. “So I designed a mural with a soldier in arms with the American flag, a soldier aiming his rifle across the design and the batallion flag as a backdrop.”

Bayoc will be in Fort Scott the second week of August for approximately a week for working on the mural, he said. At the beginning of the project he will have one or two people helping him.

About the 1st Colored Infantry

“Kansas was the first Northern state to recruit, train, and send Black soldiers into combat during the Civil War,” according to https://www.nps.gov/fosc/learn/historyculture/firsttoserve.htm. “Fort Scott served as the home base for both the 1^st and 2^nd Kansas Colored Infantry, with both regiments being mustered into federal service on Fort Scott’s former parade ground. The Emancipation Proclamation officially authorized the recruitment of African American soldiers for federal service (although the 1^st Kansas Colored had earlier been recruited as a state unit in August 1862). This meant it was now legal for free Blacks and former slaves to fight back against the institution of slavery and seek to abolish it through armed resistance. As virtually every Southern slave code prohibited Blacks from carrying guns, the proclamation had a profound psychological impact across the region.”

Captain William Mathews –a free Black, a businessman and station master on the Underground Railroad –recruited former slaves into the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment at Fort Scott. He lost his rank when the unit was federalized but later served as an artillery officer.
Taken from the Fort Scott National Historic Site, courtesy of the Kansas State Historical Society

To keep up to date on the mural creation:

https://www.facebook.com/muralsoffortscott

The mural will be dedicated during the Gordon Parks Celebration on the first Friday in October, said Rachel French, a member of the Chamber Downtown Committee and project coordinator for the mural.

The $5,250 Kansas Office of Rural Prosperity grant awarded for the mural is a matching grant.

“We are fundraising for the match,” French said. “We need to do signage and there will be recognition of donors.”

To donate:

https://muralsoffortscott.wixsite.com/home

Entertainment, Exercise, Fort Scott, Youth

Construction of Downtown Splash Pad Is Moving Forward

June 27, 2023 Loretta George 2 Comments

Submitted photo of work on the splash pad.

The splash pad project is moving ahead with plans for a summer opening, according to Bailey Lyons, one of the committee members spearheading the project.

The project is located on North National Avenue, across from Brick Street BBQ Restaurant on Skubitz Plaza.

“You may have noticed there has been a lot of recent action at the site of the Splashpad and Sensory Park,” according to a press release from Lyons. “With Playscapes Recreation leading the charge, and the Splashpad and Sensory Park committee heavily involved, much progress has been made in the last few weeks.”

Looking west towards National Avenue, one can see the recent work at the splash pad site. Submitted photo.

The Splashpad and Sensory Park Committee is comprised of Kelly Barr, Katie Hueston, Josh Jones, Lyons, and Meredith Tucker.

They have been actively working on this project for the past year, and have raised over $300,000 in funds and in-kind donations.

From the Fort Scott Splash Pad and Sensory Park Facebook page.

The committee’s mission is to build the first all-inclusive, fully accessible park in Fort Scott, according to the press release.

The full press release is as follows:

“This sensory playground and splash pad will offer children and their families a fun, safe, barrier-free space to play, laugh, interact, and feel like they belong – regardless of their abilities. This project is about community, education, engagement, advocacy, and inclusion.”

“This playground has been intentionally designed with sensory stimulation in mind to maximize play and support the development of all children. The park will include a variety of equipment and activities made to engage as many senses as possible, and appeal to a broad range of ages and ability levels.”

“While the Splashpad and Sensory Park will provide a new, unique, and fun option for able-bodied children to play, it will be the first and only option for many kids in our community who have disabilities and cannot enjoy our other parks. These special kids and their families will no longer be left out or displaced when it comes to enjoying recreational amenities, something that many take for granted.”

The committee has plans to open the splash pad this summer and “is almost to the finish line….through grants, monetary donations and in-kind donations,” according to the press release. “As work quickly progresses towards a grand opening (date to be announced), there are notable changes occuring at the site regularly.”

Here is a list of what has been done:

the pad has been leveled and brought up to grade,
elevations have been set,
water and electric have been laid to the site,
drain lines have been laid,
feature footings have been set,
piping from the features has been laid,
and the vault has been set to house the manifold which will soon be placed.

“Once all of this is wrapped up, concrete will be poured, and the features will be installed after the pads have cured. The committee is still actively working to complete the park with the final piece – an ADA accessible restroom – which they hope will be added in the very near future.”

A portion of the concrete for the splash pad is being poured today, June 27. Submitted photo.

The committee is planning two work days and is inviting the public to help on-site with the project

In the coming weeks, clean up and landscaping will take place on Sunday July 9, and/or Saturday July 15.

Those who would like to help, please contact Lyons at (620)224-7795 so that jobs and tools/materials can be coordinated for the work.

Robert Coon, A-1 Towing, donated his company’s personnel and truck to put a concrete vault in place on June 22 for the upcoming splash pad project. The concrete will house the plumbing for the splash pad. Submitted photo.

“The Splashpad and Sensory Park Committee would like to sincerely thank all of the generous donors who have contributed thus far, both monetary and in-kind donations,” according to the press release. “Donors who have given $500 and above are listed below, and will be featured on permanent signage at the park:

FOUNDERS

Timken Foundation of Canton

Walmart

BENEFACTORS ($10,000+)

Contributors to YAT/Parks Advisory Board

Alta Davis

Evergy

No Limits Rehabilitation/Brad & Meredith Tucker

City of Fort Scott

ADVOCATES ($5,000-9,999)

Advanced Bourbon County

Aetna – Better Health of Kansas

Bourbon County REDI

Bourbon County, KS

Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas

Forrest & Julia Sewell

Fort Scott Area Community Foundation

Healthy Bourbon County Action Team

Key Charitable Trust

Lyons Realty Group

Niece Products of Kansas

Steven & Jessica Tucker

SPONSORS ($2,500-4,999)

Bloomfield Foundation In Memory of Tim Bloomfield & His Grandaughter Olivia Bloomfield

Hammerson Ready Mix

Jayhawk Wind

In Honor & Memory of Lillian Rose Kraft

Modern Woodman Fraternal Financial

O’Brien Ready Mix

Joshua & Terra Tecchio-Baseley

Sheridan Nash

Skitch’s Hauling & Excavation

DONORS ($1,000-2,499)

A1 Towing & Recovery

Advantage Metals Recycling

Big Sugar Lumber

Bourbon County Cars

Bourbon County Garden Club

Cheney Witt Funeral Chapel

DelBrenna Jewelry by Megan Neil & Sebastian Ghezzi

Dreamscape Innovations, Inc.

Fort Scott Recreation Department

Highway 3

In Loving Memory of Marsha Lancaster, Longtime Owner of Marsha’s Deli

In Memory of Angelo-Sondra Dellantonia

Janet Braun

Jeff Allen Electric

Landmark National Bank

Lee Sewell-Painter

Legacy Health

Mid-Continental Restoration

Mitch Welch

Pearson Towing

Pete’s of Erie, Inc.

RII Concrete Construction

Sleep Inn

Sonic

Thomas Concrete & Construction

Valu Merchandisers Co.

W/K Holdings

FRIENDS ($500-999)

Bowman’s NuGrille

Budgetel Inn & Suites – Aaradhya Piyush Mistry

Clifton Chiropractic

Davis & Associates Tax + Consulting

FSHS FFA & Construction Trades

Greyhound Football Legacy Center

The Gugnani Family

The Horton House

John Crain – In Memory of Don & Connie Crain

JW & Diana Endicott

Konantz – Cheney Funeral Home

Labconco

Liberty Savings Association, FSA

Lyons & Lyons

The Meeks Family

Scott and Melissa Meyers

Museum of Creativity

{Re:freshed} Spa

The Reynolds Law Firm

Riggs Chiropractic of Fort Scott

Stewart Realty

Union State Bank

The donors listed above have contributed $500+, according to Lyons. “In addition to these, there have been numerous donors below the $500 level, and their generosity and support is also much appreciated!”

An artist’s rendition of the splash pad from the Fort Scott Splash Pad and Sensory Facebook page.

The City of Fort Scott is supplying the water to the splash pad.

“The city’s part is to get the splash pad the water supply,” Fort Scott’s Water Distribution Supervisor Bill Lemke said.

Bourbon County, Business, Food, Fort Scott, Youth

Young Entrepreneur: Rinley Holly

June 26, 2023 Loretta George 1 Comment

This is part of a series highlighting young entrepreneurs in our community.

If you would like to nominate a young entrepreneur, please submit their contact info to [email protected].

Rinley Holly sells to a customer, while her brother Stetson looks on.

Rinley Holly, rural Fort Scott, is five years old and likes to bake.

Katie, her mom, said she would bake everyday if she could.

Her parents, Katie and Ethan, own Still Waters Farm and sell beef and pork at the farmers market on Saturdays. She is with her family on Saturday mornings, along with her brother, Stetson, 3.

“Last year, she kept asking me to let her sell cookies,” Katie said.

So, Rinley baked and sold her product once last year at her family’s booth at the Fort Scott Farmers Market.

This year when Katie heard that other entrepreneurs were going to be selling products at the farmers market on June 3, “We asked her if she wanted to make some cookies.”

She did, and she has a helper.

“Stetson likes to taste test for her,” Katie said.

Rinley tells the process of making her cookies:

“You make dough, roll it in a ball, and flatten them with a cup, then put them in the oven on a rack,” she said. “Snickerdoodles are my favorite.” She also makes chocolate chip cookies.

Rinley likes to bake, “Cause it’s fun,” she said.

She is planning on attending the Acton Children’s Business Fair, later this year, her mother said, to learn more about the business side.

“Kids develop a brand, create a product or service, build a marketing strategy, and then open for customers at our one-day marketplace,” according to https://www.childrensbusinessfair.org/fortscott-ks

“We will host children’s business booths at the 2nd annual event that will be held at the Farmer’s Market located at Skubitz Plaza near the Historic Fort on September 30th, 2023 from 8 a.m. to noon.”

The Fort Scott Farmers Market is at Skubitz Plaza, directly in front of the Fort Scott National Historic Site on Tuesdays from 4-6 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon.

Bourbon County, Entertainment, Food

Uniontown Independence Day Celebration: July 3

June 23, 2023 Loretta George Leave a comment

Fireworks from the Independence Day Celebration in Uniontown 2022. Submitted by Amy Holt.

The Independence Day Bash will be held on Monday, July 3rd in the Uniontown City Park.

“We love celebrating our nation’s independence with our friends and neighbors and hope to see YOU there,” according to Amy Holt, Vice President – Loan Administration at Union State Bank.

The bank has funded the annual event for 18 years.

Events start at 6:30 p.m. with a free hot dog and chips meal, that the bank provides.

Uniontown’s Baptist Church will be selling soft drinks for a camp fundraiser, the Uniontown High School Cheerleaders will have a bake sale and sell glow sticks, and the Old Settlers Day Committee will have a bake sale to raise funds for the annual event in Uniontown on Labor Day.

There will also be inflatables (bounce houses, etc. )for the kids and kids at heart, she said.

There will be live entertainment by Trevor Holman and the Haymakers.

This band is a Red Dirt and Classic Country Band from Southeast Kansas, according to its Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HAYMKRZ/

The fireworks begin at dusk, this time of year around 9:30 or 10 p.m.

Church news, Fort Scott, Gordon Parks Museum, History

Historic Church Property Donated to the Gordon Parks Museum

June 22, 2023 Loretta George 3 Comments

The former site of the church at Third and Lowman Street, the Learning Tree Sign is seen in center, left.

Fort Scottian Josh Jones purchased the property at 301 Lowman for a philanthropic purpose.

“I purchased it from the owner with the intent to transfer it to the Gordon Parks Museum,” Jones said. “I knew of the historic meaning of the property and wanted to get it to them.”

Left to right): Josh Jones, along with Kirk Sharp, Gordon Parks Museum Director and Sarah Smith, member of the Fort Scott Community College Foundation. Submitted photo.

On the property once stood the historic African-American Methodist Episcopal Church.

Now it’s the property of the Gordon Parks Museum, thanks to Jones and the Fort Scott Community College Foundation, according to a press release from the museum director, Kirk Sharp.

“The FSCC Foundation Department helped with getting it deeded into their name, the museum is under its umbrella,” Sharp said.

“Jones donated the site on the southeast corner of Third and Lowman streets where the church, attended regularly by Gordon Parks and his family, was located,” according to the press release. “The church was also used in a scene from Parks’ acclaimed film, The Learning Tree.”

AME Church
Gordon Parks, 1950.
Photo Courtesy of and Copyright by The Gordon Parks Foundation

“We are very excited about this donation and can’t thank Josh and the Foundation enough,” said Sharp. “This donation creates this wonderful opportunity to keep this incredible history alive in Fort Scott. This is also the same location that is located on our Learning Tree Film Sign Trail.”

The sign that explains this site is part of the Gordon Parks Sign Trail.

The tentative plans, Sharp said, are to develop the property as a commemorative, low-maintenance park neighborhood-type park with signs, photos, benches and short walls with a history of the church as a tribute.

“The museum will look for possible grants and donations to help fund this project,” he said. “There is currently no timeline as of now for the completion of the tribute project.”

In its heyday, the church, established in 1866, was the hub of Fort Scott’s black community, according to the press release. The church moved from its original location in 1885, occupying a new brick building on the corner of Third and Lowman, where it stood at 301 S. Lowman with a viable congregation for more than 115 years.

A reduction in members and unsafe conditions eventually led to its condemnation and razing in the early 2000s, Sharp said. One of the stained-glass windows and two of the pews are on exhibit at the Gordon Parks Museum.

“The largest congregation was believed to have been in 1888,” he said. “The city directory for that year indicates the membership was 260 and the Sunday school membership was 100.”

The AME church was Fort Scott’s first and oldest black church with Shiloh Baptist being the second.

Entertainment, Exercise, Fort Scott, Pool, Youth

Change For Fort Scott Aquatic Center on July 1

June 21, 2023 Loretta George Leave a comment

Swimming lessons at the Fort Scott Aquatic Center July 2018.

Currently the Fort Scott Aquatic Center has a family swim time designated Monday through Friday for 5:30-6:15 p.m. but that is changing.

“We have noticed a rise in families coming to take advantage of that time and are very pleased to see this,” said Kathi Hall the pool manger.

“Effective July 1, 2023, we are changing the time span of family swim to be 5:30 to 7 p.m. ,” she said. “The change just affects the unsupervised patrons who are 17 and under. These patrons can go ahead and exit the facility for the day.”

The pool hours are Monday through Saturday from 1 to 7 p.m., Sunday 1 to 6 p.m. On Monday through Friday the change is the family swim will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. starting July 1.

Pool parties are from 7:15 to 9:15 p.m. when scheduled. Cost is $150 per hour.

Pool rates are:

2 years and younger are free.

3-14 years: $2

15 to 62 years: $3

63+years: $2

A single season pool pass is $65, a family of four season pass is $200 and a $25 per person fee for over four family members. Members must reside in the same household.

Children 10 years old and younger must be supervised by someone 14 years and older, at all times..

Assistant pool managers are Brayden Moore, Kayla Hall, Billie Jo Shoemaker, and Dakota Hall.

Entertainment, Fort Scott

Fort Scott’s Independence Day Celebration is July 3

June 20, 2023 Loretta George Leave a comment

Horton Street will be lined with spectators for the fireworks display on July 3.

Americans traditionally celebrate Independence Day with fireworks and the fireworks season in Fort Scott starts on Tuesday, June 27.

The Fort Scott community fireworks display will be July 3 at dusk from the Fort Scott Community College softball fields, with spectators lining Horton Street for viewing.

There are new organizers this year.

In April, Josh Jones and Aaron Judy, two local businessmen, found out that the Elks Club was no longer going to provide the fireworks for the annual event.

“They did a good job through the years, but didn’t want to take it on anymore,” Josh Jones said.

Judy and Jones are the coordinators of the event, through the Advance Bourbon County 501c3 organization.

“Last year it cost about $11,000 for the fireworks show,” Jones said.

Enjoy Some Food While Waiting