This is part of a series featuring the grant recipients of the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team’s Center For Economic Growth in their latest grant cycle.



This is part of a series featuring the grant recipients of the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team’s Center For Economic Growth in their latest grant cycle.



This is part of a series featuring young entrepreneurs in our community.
Following the first set of stories on young entrepreneurs in our community, an anonymous donor wrote fortscott.biz that he wanted to grant each one of the featured youth with $50.
To view the prior story: Young Entrepreneurs Series Spawns An Anonymous Benefactor
If you know of a child, under 18 years of age, that is creating products or providing services to sell to the public, please send their name and phone number to [email protected]
Fortscott.biz wants to encourage the youth who are learning business by doing it.

Devlin Cole, 15, started a leather works business about a year ago, called DRC Leatherworks.
He hand stamps and hand cuts leather to make bookmarks, rings, bracelets, key rings.
His grandmother, Vicki Waldron, owner of ViCon, a sewing business, and he both got interested at the same time, and he works out of her shop on Maple Road, rural Fort Scott. His sister, Mackenna, has encouraged him in his business, he said.
“I started sewing when young,” Cole said. “I like hands-on personalizing and being a craftsman on something that is personal.”
He is currently creating a stock pile of leather work articles for the Children’s Business Fair on September 30.
“I used (his leather) bookmarks at school, when reading and friends noticed and ordered a few,” he said.
At a recent band event, some of his friends helped Cole select a name for his business and he has been working on pricing, business logo and a business email.

Belts are $10, keychains and pendants are $5, bookmarks are $7, rings are $3, and bracelets are $4.
“That is the prices I have thought of at the current moment not 100% sure on the belts due to leather costs but the rest is pretty set in stone,” he said.
At a recent Children’s Business Fair workshop, he developed a busniness plan and got all his ideas on paper, he said. Next was cash flow and payment options.
He will be selling, along with other young enrepreneurs, at the Fort Scott Farmers Market on September 30.
This is part of a series featuring young entrepreneurs in our community.
Following the first set of stories on young entrepreneurs in our community, an anonymous donor wrote fortscott.biz that he wanted to grant each one of the featured youth with $50.
To view the prior story: Young Entrepreneurs Series Spawns An Anonymous Benefactor
If you know of a child, under 18 years of age, that is creating products or providing services to sell to the public, please send their name and phone number to [email protected]
Fortscott.biz wants to encourage the youth who are learning business by doing it.

Benjamin Shead,13, has an online tutoring business.
“Some classes I have guided other students in are geometry, Latin, sixth grade math, formal logic, algebra 1 and 2,” he said.
“Most of my clients contact me through Facebook,” Benjamin said. “I also take students when my sister’s (Katy Shead) schedule is too busy.”
“I started tutoring when my sister’s schedule was getting packed with students,” he said. “This showed me that I enjoyed helping other people in their educational trouble areas.”
“I tutor so that I can revisit material that I enjoyed learning but am no longer being taught,” he said. “Tutoring gives me the ability to experience a class again, this time on a deeper level, the level of teaching the material. I also enjoy finding new ways to explain a concept and tutoring gives me a purpose for the exploration of these ways.”
“One subject I really enjoy tutoring is Formal Logic,” Benjamin said. “It is awesome to learn how to explain proofs by comparing them to a hidden treasure or something else that the student understands better than proofs.”
“While it is a lot better for kids to be tutored, if they need it, across the school year, I sometimes help kids in last-minute cramming sessions for math and logic finals,” he said. “These sessions provide a last-minute review, and it gives kids confidence to try their best on this last assignment.”
Benjamin lives just outside the Fort Scott city limits with his sister, Katy and parents Mark and Haley Shead.

Benjamin submitted this photo of him working on a math problem called a collatz conjecture.
Here is his explanation of collatz conjecture:
“The collatz conjecture is a theory about mathematics which is believed to be true but no one has been able to prove yet,” Benjamin said. “It states that if any odd whole number is plugged into the formula (3n+1)/2, if any even number is divided by two, and every number is plugged back into one of these formulas, a formula will eventually reach one.”
Distict Events Taken From https://www.usd234.org/ :
School starts on August 18
His uncle Donald Woods was a custodian for the high school for many years and owned a moving business and late aunt Joyce Woods was a grade school teacher at Winfield Scott for many years, he said.
Woods hobbies include golfing, fishing , and playing basketball.

Caleb Hendricks, 27, is a new Winfield Scott Physical Education Teacher and Fort Scott Middle School Assistant Girls Basketball Coach.
He has six years experience in education, with three years as a certified teacher.
He earned his bachelors degree from Fort Hays State University and his hometown is Sterling.
“Growing up some of the most rewarding experiences I had were as a camp counselor, coach, and youth group leader,” he said. “Working with kids and seeing their growth and accomplishment in different areas has always given me a sense of purpose.”
“The relationships that I have made with both students and staff over the years is definitely the best part of being in education. That’s really what it’s always been all about for me. Being in a position that allows me to coach and connect with kids in that element has always been a very important thing for me as well.”
A challenge for him is growing and adapting to how kids and the world are changing, he said.
“Finding new ways to connect and relate with kids can be challenging at times for sure,” he said. “Having worked with both elementary and middle and high school ages, though, I feel like that has helped me better understand where kids are coming from and the different challenges they face. Then I feel like I’m in a better position to support them the best I can.”
He is married to Sarah Hendricks, who is a 4th Grade Teacher at Eugene Ware Elementary School and they have a 4 month-old son, Braxton.
His hobbies include football, Fantasy Football, golf, coaching, basketball, home improvement projects.

Tyler Ericson will teach 4th grade at West Bourbon Elementary, in Uniontown starting this school year.
“The thing I love about teaching is…relationships with each of my students,” she said. “How they can come to me about anything, and they will not be judged… whether it be in or outside of school. I love seeing children learn, but most importantly having fun and being engaged while doing it.”
“A challenge for me would be change,” she said. “…starting over from a whole new school district, a new grade, and new colleagues can be overwhelming. Teaching primary and now about to teach 4th grade, it will definitely be different, but in a good way. I am excited to see what West Bourbon has in store for me!”
She said she looks forward to taking part in school community activities that plan to make community members feel welcomed, respected, trusted, heard, and needed, to help promote student success.
Ericson hales from a big family in Kansas City and Oklahoma, she said. In addition, she and husband, Ethan, have two sons, Julian and Jamison, and one daughter Journee.
Ericson earned her A.A in Elementary Education, at Labette Community College and a B.S. in Elementary Education from Pittsburg State University.
She taught second grade at Winfield Scott Elementary last school year; first grade at Winfield Scott from February 2022 to May 2022; and was a special education paraprofessional at Uniontown High School from January 2018 to May 2019.
She was substitute teacher certified by the Kansas Department of Education from August 2019 to May 2020.
Ericson worked in Early Childhood Centers in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area from the age of 15 to 24.

For Martin, the best thing about working with children is “Building connections with students, and watching them academically succeed,” she said.
She is married to husband, Seth, and they have two sons, Caden and Casen.
This is part of a series featuring the 20 new teachers in USD 234.
Distict Events Taken From https://www.usd234.org/ :
School starts in the district on August 18.

Torrie Singmaster, 27, is a new 6th grade math teacher at Fort Scott Middle School.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts in elementary education from Ottawa University and will graduate with a Master of Arts in Education with a focus in Curriculum and Instruction in May of 2024 from Ottawa University.
“I taught first grade at Winfield Scott Elementary for two years and one year at Humboldt Elementary School in fifth grade, she said.
“My favorite part of being a teacher is being able to watch students transform not only academically but personally as well,” Singmaster said. “I take pride in knowing that I can make a difference in the lives of my students.”
“After I became a mom, I wanted a career that would allow me to have more time with my kids,” she said. “I started subbing at the elementary school and immediately knew that education is the path I was supposed to take. I always enjoyed school growing up and that was due to the fact I had really amazing teachers along the way. I want to help students see their self-worth and be a safe place for all of my students to grow into the best versions of themselves.”
“The hardest part about being in education has been trying to figure out where I am the most successful as an educator,’ she said. “This will be the third different grade I have taught in my four years as a teacher. I was a para at the middle school for two years before getting my own classroom. I am beyond excited for the opportunity to transition to middle school and start this next journey in my career.”
She grew up in Fort Scott and she and husband Dakota, have two sons: William will be in first grade and Tyson will be starting preschool.
In their free time , they enjoy golfing, playing cornhole, and driving RC cars and she also enjoys painting and doing projects.

This is a series introducing the 20 new Fort Scott teachers.
Distict Events Taken From https://www.usd234.org/ :
School starts on August 18

This part of a series of features on 20 new teachers at Fort Scott School District 234.
School starts August 18.

Jacqui Rivera, 25, is a new second grade teacher at Winfield Scott Elementary School.
Rivera spent three years working in early childhood,the past two years as a first grade teacher.
“I can remember wanting to be a teacher since elementary school,” she said. “I loved getting to help others. I had several experiences throughout high school where I was able to… work with elementary students, I thought it was the best thing ever! I had several teachers throughout my schooling who inspired me, and I wanted to be a great educator just like them.”
“My students learn and grow so much throughout the year that I get to be their teacher,” she said. “The best part is watching them finally have that ‘ah ha’ moment when something that they struggled with clicks for them, like learning how to solve that tricky math problem, or read that difficult sentence.”
She received a bachelors of science in elementary education from Emporia State University.
She and her fiance, Zach, live in La Cygne with their two dogs, and two cats.
Gardner is her hometown.
“I come from a big family, I am the youngest of six,” she said. “I have four sisters and one brother…I have 13 nieces/nephews.”
“My hobbies include spending lots of time outside,” she said. “I love photography and spending time at the lake, we also do a lot of fishing! I enjoy reading and spending time with family and friends in my free time.”

Annyssa Davenport is a new special education teacher at Eugene Ware Elementary School.
She earned her bachelors degree in Human Development and Family Services from Kansas State University and a masters in Elementary Education Unified at Ottawa University.
“I started out as a para for our district, after I decided to go back and get my Masters, then I started subbing,” she said. “I was very thankful to get a job teaching kindergarten in December in Archie, MO after I completed student teaching.This is my first year as a special education teacher.”
Her favorite thing about teaching is ” watching kids succeed,” she said.
“I was born and raised in Fort Scott and have lived here for a majority of my life,” she said. “I’m engaged to Brandon West and we are expecting our first child this fall.”

The owners of the Courtland Hotel and Spa have worked to make the place a destination.
Frank and Cheryl Adamson own the 117 year old hotel at 121 E. First in Fort Scott’s Historic Downtown District.

“We are a destination for couples because we have the ability to provide multiple services at a given time, that sets us apart,” said Cheryl, who is a massage therapist at the hotel/spa.
Since the COVID-19 Pandemic ended, she has hired another massage therapist and two nail designers to make this service accessibility possible.
“We offer massages, manicures, pedicures for married couples, mother/daughters, girlfriends, etc.” she said. “It’s a destination to come and relax and enjoy the charm and history of Fort Scott.”
“We are the place to be and the place to stay because we are in the middle of everything,” she said. “Fort Scott restaurants and shopping are all within walking distance.”

Adamson has been a massage therapist for 26 years.


The Adamson’s added massage therapist Bobbie Brown in 2020. Brown offers Cryoskin, a therapy with massage that reduces fat and tightens skin.
Brown said she offers pain management, sports injuries, facials, and deep tissue massage as part of her therapies menu.
She received her education from Colorado University through U.S. Careers in 2019, and also training from the National Laser Institute in Dallas.
Her hours are Monday-Saturday by appointment. Text for an appointment to 620-704-4256.

Joy Kuns, 23, started at the Courtland Spa in June 2023 as a nail artist.

She graduated from Fort Scott School of Cosmetology School and has four years experience as a nail artist.
Kuns hours of operation are Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Wednesdays off.
To schedule an appointment with Kuns, call 620.215.6831.
The following graphic is the list of services and their costs, that both Kuns and Townsend offer.


Sandy Townsend, 43, is a nail artist at the Courtland Spa, since May 2023.
She has 14 years cosmetology experience, and four years as a nail artist. She graduated from the B Street Design School of Cosmetology, Manhattan, KS.
Townsend is available for nail services Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and 9 a.m. to 5 on Saturdays.
Contact her at 620.215.1433.
This is part of a series profiling the new teachers in Uniontown School District USD 235.

Rebecca Sutterby will be teaching Digital Media Pathway Career and Technical Education classes at Uniontown High School: Graphic Design Fundamentals, Digital Media Design and Production, 21st Century Journalism, Web Design, and Photo Imaging.
She earned bachelors degree in Graphic Arts and Web Design, and is currently working on a masters degree at Pittsburg State University to earn full teaching certification.
Sutterby has worked in the printing industry: logo design, typesetting, darkroom work, and plate burning, and has been the Uniontown elementary school secretary for the past five years. She was also a professional cake artist for years-teaching classes, doing demonstrations at cake conventions and competed on Food Network Challenge and TLC’s Ultimate Cake-Off.
“I’ve done lots of different design work over the years,” she said. “I was actually on the yearbook staff as a student here at UHS, and I was also on the yearbook staff at PSU when I was a student there the first time. Most recently, I designed the 55 foot-long artwork on the WBE cafeteria windows and decals for several of our school vehicles.”
Three generations of her family have graduated from UHS.
Her parents graduated in 1970 and her husband and she graduated in 1992. Their sons graduated from Uniontown – in 2015, 2017, and 2021.
“I am a Uniontown Eagle to the core. I’m very excited to be here to teach our students about Graphic Design and help them put those skills to use in real life applications,” she said.

She is a member of Hume Christian Church, serves on Lawrence Cemetery Board and serves as a project leader in the County Line 4-H Club.
“The mission of CORE Community Bourbon County is to overcome poverty in Bourbon County,” Jennifer Michaud, one of the advisory board members said. “Decreasing poverty will result in a better quality of life for our citizens and a healthier and more vibrant community.”

“We are bringing the Poverty Paradigm to town because we can’t begin to help our citizens overcome poverty if we do not understand it,” Michaud said. “The Poverty Paradigm is a simulation that will allow the participants to understand what it is like to live in poverty. By understanding poverty, we can then work with those who live it to empower them to overcome it as a community.”
The cost is $10 to participate.
“However, if individuals want to participate, but cannot afford the $10, then they can contact me directly. We do NOT want cost to be prohibitive!” she said.
This is part of a series featuring the 20 new teachers in the Fort Scott School District.
School starts August 18.


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