A shopper looks over wares of a vendor at a prior Fall Extravaganza. Submitted photo.
The season of craft and small business vendor sales is in full swing.
Monday November 21 from 5-8 p.m. at the Fort Scott Middle School will be the annual Fall Extravaganza, a 40-plus craft/vendor fair.
Fort Scott Middle School, 1105 E. 12th.
Madeline Martin, Fort Scott High School Counselor and swim coach, is organizing the event this year.
“We took it over from (Fort Scott Middle School Teacher) Stephanie George and the VIP’s (organization) at the middle school,” Martin said. “Stephanie knew that the swim team was looking for more fundraising opportunities so she reached out to us asking we were interested in organizing it for this year.”
“The purpose of this event is to continue the holiday shopping tradition,” Martin said. “This has been a popular event in the community for over 10 years and we want to keep this tradition going. We have 40+ vendors that are joining us this year and we are super excited.”
“The swim team hopes that the funds raised through this event will help us purchase swim parkas for each participant as well as help offset costs for the year,” she said.
The FSHS Swim Team will be selling a pulled pork dinner also as a fundraiser.
The vendors scheduled to set up are:
KNM Clay
One of a Kind Wood Creations
TSM Creations & Decor
Amy Maxwell
Better in Bourbon
Jessee Cox
Maria Whitson
Arbonne- Lindsay Hill
TFI Family Services
Donna Jo Beerbower
Mary Kay- Lauren Hardwick
Mmm Flavor Shop
Our Little Village
Redbud Farms & Nurseries
Desert Bloom
Gentry Warren Art
Twigs & Berries
Anita Moore
Sugar Bakery/Walker’s Bakery
WellSpring Acres Alpaca Farm
SOS Grad Party
Grazing Fort Scott
Perry’s Porkrinds
FSHS Industrial Arts
The Sister’s Oven
FSHS FCCLA
Tin Man Alley
JP Custom Leather
Tiiger Threads
Be-You-tiful Designs
The Lavender Patch Farm
Locust HIll Lamachas
Micki Kraft
Sunshine Boutique
Buckin A’ Ranch
Wilbur Fleming
Funky Junktiques
Paparazzi Jewelry & Norwex- Brenda Hunter
The Purse Lady
Happy Little Candle Factory
Tupperware- Shawn O’Brien
Sassy’s Grandmas Stencils
Bids & Dibs/ Angie Dawns
About the swim team:
The Fort Scott High School boys swim team had their first season in the winter of 2019. The girls swim started the spring of 2020, but their season was cancelled because of the COVID 19 Pandemic.
“This past year we grew as a team and added some members through a cooperative agreement with area schools,” Martin said. “Last year the boys team took 3rd in the league and Bobby Kemmerer went to state where he brought home two medals for the two events he swam. The boys have also sent one other swimmer, Oliver Witt, to state in the past.”
“Girls season last year hit a huge goal of winning the league and Fort Scott sent their first female swimmer, Avery Stewart, to state. Along the way we have had swimmers from Frontenac, Pittsburg, Chanute, Northeast-Arma, Humboldt, and this year we are adding St. Mary’s Colgan and Uniontown to our girls team. I love that Fort Scott is setting a standard of providing kids the opportunity to compete in a sport that they love.”
“This year, for boys season, we have three young men joining us from Pittsburg and four young men joining us from Frontenac,” she said. “Girls season we have individual swimmers joining us from Arma, Uniontown, Humboldt, and Colgan. We will have a few girls join us from Frontenac and Pittsburg as well.”
They drive each day to the Pittsburg YMCA to practice.
“Our swimmers are very dedicated and our out-of-town kids drive up to an hour just to get to practice each day,” she said. “I am looking forward to another successful season and for Fort Scott to continue to make a big splash in the SEK and in our League.”
The Knights of Columbus are continuing their fundraising efforts to help rebuild the Mary Queen of Angels Church.
The church suffered extensive damage on the evening of August 29, 2022 and will be rebuilt.
Mary Queen of Angels Church. November, 2022.
“No plans yet,” Mark McCoy, church member said. “We are in the conceptual phase. We are hoping to come to an accepted position on how to rebuild.”
Meanwhile the Knights of Columbus group at the church are having monthly meals in the Kennedy Gym, at 705 S. Holbrook as a fundraiser for the rebuilding of the church.
Founded on the principles of charity, unity and fraternity, the Knights of Columbus was established in 1882 by Father Michael J. McGivney, in New Haven, Conn., and a group of parishioners, according to https://www.kofc.org/en/who-we-are/our-story/index.html Their intent is to bring financial aid and assistance to the sick, disabled and needy members and their families.
This month, it is Friday, November 18, and the meal is homemade chicken noodle soup and cream of potato soup, with the desserts prepared by the Catholic women of the church.
Tea, coffee or water goes along with the meal, with a suggested free will donation of $7 per meal.
The meal is from 5-7 p.m.
“The community has been so supportive,” McCoy said. “All proceeds will go to the rebuild of the church.”
The Knights of Columbus Fish Fry March 2022. The set up will be the same for all the meal fundraisers. Submitted by Calvin Barr.
Gunn Park, on Fort Scott’s west side, will be closed the morning of the December 10th in preparation for the annual Christmas in the Park. The event is sponsored by Buck Run Community Center and other donations from the community.
At 5 p.m. the park opens, with parking off site and a shuttle to be provided for park visitors.
At 6 p.m. Santa will arrive at the park to speak with the children who attend. The events will end at 8 p.m.
Included in the park events is a live nativity scene, live music by Bourbon County Revival, the visit with Santa and THE GRINCH, a cookie decorating site for the kids, chili, hot chocolate and popcorn.
The event is free to the public.
The Bourbon County Angels, a local helping organization, will be accepting children’s gifts to distribute to those in need of them.
The purpose of Christmas in the Park is to spread Christmas cheer to the residents of Bourbon County and surrounding areas, according to Josh Jones, one of the organizers.
The planning committee is comprised of: Josh Jones, Suzette Torres, Devin Tally, Craig Campbell, Bailey Lyons, Shannon Johnson.
From left: Jane Campbell, president of the Gordon Parks Museum Board, Executive Director Kirk Sharp and Fort Scott Community College President Alysia Johnston. The museum is housed on the FSCC campus. From the museum’s Facebook page.
A recent honor was awarded those who worked on a local trail project that tells of Gordon Park’s life in Kansas.
From left: Jane Campbell, Carl Brenner, Aly Turvey, Kirk Sharp, Shane Walker, Kassie Fugate-Cate, Arnold Scholfield and Janice Fewins were part of the planning committee for the Learning Tree Sign Trail. Picture from the museum’s Facebook page. (2019)
In late October, 2022, Gordon Parks Museum Executive Director Kirk Sharp, was notified that a recent project,“The Learning Tree” Film Scene Sign Trail had garnered the Award of Excellence from the Kansas Museum Association.
The award is presented annually by the Kansas Museum Association during the organization’s yearly conference, this year on November 7-9, to an institution whose project or achievements are worthy of special recognition.
“This is an amazing honor for us to receive such a prestigious award from the KMA,” said Sharp said. “This award is something that not only both of the communities of Fort Scott and Mound City can be proud of, but also the entire state of Kansas.”
The film trail is a series of signs situated at the different filming locations for “The Learning Tree,” written and directed by Parks. The signs also include QR codes along with a virtual tour of the identified scene locations for the film.
“In 1989 The Learning Tree (A Warner Bros. – Seven Arts Inc. Production) was one of the first 25 films selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant,” Sharp said.
The recent project received funding from Humanities Kansas and the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation.
NEH for All spotlights more than 260 projects funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities through its website NEHforAll.org.
Established in 1965, the NEH recognizes the unique role the humanities play in fostering the wisdom, vision and knowledge required to participate in a thriving democracy.
To this day, the NEH supports excellence in humanities research, teaching and lifelong-learning opportunities that provide millions of Americans the knowledge of their history and culture. NEHforAll.org highlights that excellence. Visit the website at http://nehforall.org/.
Kirk Sharp, left, and Rachelle Meinecke, the chairperson of the Kansas Museum Association’s award committee, pose with the Award of Excellence bestowed recently upon the Gordon Parks Museum for it’s “The Learning Tree” Film Scene Sign Trail.
About the Gordon Parks Museum in Fort Scott
Parks spent some of his childhood in Fort Scott and later went on to be an internationally-known photographer, filmmaker, writer, and musician.
A museum to honor Gordon Parks is located on the campus of Fort Scott Community College.
The mission of the Gordon Parks Museum in Fort Scott is to use his remarkable life story to teach about artistic creativity, cultural awareness, and the role of diversity in our lives, according to the museum’s website.
A telescope will be an added attraction at the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes at the corner of First and Wall Street in downtown Fort Scott.
“The telescope will be used to educate the community on… amazing unsung heroes of the stars,” Ronda Hassig, funding developer for the center, said.
Ronda Hassig. Taken from the Lowell Milken Center Facebook page.
Hassig wrote the $2,500 grant proposal for the telescope and carrying case and the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation awarded the grant last month.
“The telescope is remote and GPS controlled,” Hassig said. ” We had an astronomer from Nebraska stop by the center and we found out he is the director of the Stargazing Project in Nebraska! He is so excited for us, that he has agreed to come back down as soon as the telescope arrives and help us get used to using it. There’s a definite learning curve but he thinks we can handle it!”
“The telescope will be used in the Lowell Milken Park (adjacent to the center) for viewing of the moon and planets,” she said. “For deeper space, we are hoping to be able to use it at the Fort (Fort Scott National Historic Site) along with their telescope!”
“We hope to get both young and old excited about seeing the stars and the heavens so we will be having star parties here at the center in the Lowell Milken Park,” she said. “The parties will contain stargazing along with guest speakers and expert astronomers from all over the country. Everyone will be invited!”
“I think no matter how old you are, if you have ever looked through a telescope and seen the moon up close, or the actual rings of Saturn, you are hooked forever,” she said.
The telescope has been ordered and the center staff hope to have it sometime this week.
“Then I’ll get to start planning our first star party,” she said. ” I’ll be paying special attention to moonless nights and hopefully cloudless nights and we may get lucky and get to have a party in the next several months. It will be cold but if you’re bundled up you won’t care! There will be warm drinks and treats for everyone!”
“Stay tuned for dates and please plan to come enjoy our newest device at the Lowell Milken Center provided with the gracious funds of the Fort Scott Community Foundation,” she said.
“We are really trying to educate the community on all of the different unsung heroes here at the Lowell Milken Center, by having fun and having educational activities around those heroes,” she said.
Two of the astronomy heroes that are featured at the center are:
“Henrietta Swan Leavitt was born right after the Civil War and was educated at Oberlin and Radcliffe,” Hassig said. “She got excited about astronomy after taking a course on it. When she graduated she began volunteering at the Harvard College Observatory and after 14 years she was paid for her work at $.30 an hour. She was essentially 1 of 20 women computers. Through her work, Leavitt earned graduate credit towards her degree but never completed it. She did however make an amazing discovery – she figured out how to measure objects in space. This discovery led to the launching of the Hubble Telescope and more recently the Webb Telescope! As she aged, her health got worse and a bout with cancer caused her to lose her hearing. She died at age 53, but her dedication to astronomy has given us some of our most advanced knowledge about space!”
“Gene Shoemaker was the founder of astrogeology,” Hassig said. “The first person to determine the origin of the famous Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona, the first director and creator of the Astrogeology Research Program of the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Arizona, and along with David Levy discovered the Shoemaker-Levy Comet.
“Shoemaker worked for NASA preparing himself and the other astronauts to walk on the moon. Gene was to be the first geologist on the moon. But after all his hard work he was unable to go to the moon because he had Addison’s Disease. He commentated the moonwalk with CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite during the live flights. Although he was horribly disappointed not to go, he kept looking for impact craters and space rocks. He searched for craters and rocks all over the world. He was looking for craters in Australia when he was tragically killed in a car accident. NASA wanted to honor this amazing scientist so they called his family and asked for some of his ashes. They put the ashes in a space probe and crashed it on the moon. Gene Shoemaker is the only human buried on the moon and just one of two buried in space.”
Dr. Russ Baxley purchased the Gorman Animal Hospital in March 2022.
Renamed the Southeast Kansas Veterinary Center, it is located at 1251 240th St., Fort Scott.
The SEK Veteraninary Center is located at 1251 240th St., Fort Scott. Submitted photo.
Hours of operation are Monday – Thursday: 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday: 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, closed.
The phone number is (620) 223-1171
Dr. Baxley is a veterinarian and a veteran.
All together he has served in three wars, Baxley said.
“As a youngster, I was in the Air Force,” he said.
He started as a veterinarian in the U. S. Army in Afghanistan where he worked on dogs that detected explosives and narcotics.
He then left the army and returned to Kansas and worked for a mixed animal veterinarian.
A hankering for more adventures led him to Afghanistan, Iraq, Morocco and Egypt, as a contractor for the U.S. State Department, again working with detection dogs.
Returning to the U.S., he worked in Destin, Florida for a year and a half until the COVID 19 Pandemic restrictions made the job “undesirable,” he said.
Returning to Kansas, he traveled the state filling in at clinics for manpower shortages. It was then that he came to Fort Scott to the clinic he purchased in March 2022.
Dr. Baxley loves animals and the best part of his career is “returning a sick animal to health, seeing how happy the animal is and pleased the owner is.”
He is concerned about the misinformation for the care of animals that is on the internet and recommends that people look to information on academic or government sources.
The best source for veterinary advice is a veterinarian, he said.
In the industry there are new drugs coming for small animals that will help minimize pain and many new diagnostics for detecting and treating them.
For livestock, there have been new scientific studies for treating parasites, which helps decrease disease in cattle, while lowering production costs. “The hard part is getting people to change from old to new ways,” he said.
Coming in 2023, cattle producers won’t be able to buy common antibiotics over the counter.
“There is a paradigm shift coming to the livestock business in 2023,” Dr. Baxley said.
“They will need to get these (antibiotics) from a veterinarian, which requires a Veterinary-Client-Patient-Relationship,” he said. “This means that your vet has sufficient knowledge of a producers animals to make diagnosis.”
“I love helping people…save money and make money,” he said.
Kennel/Vet Assistant Needed
SEK Veterinary Center has an immediate opening for a Kennel/Vet Assistant. The position is part time- possibly more, if wanted/needed. Please apply in person at :
Last week, Luther’s BBQ Restaurant at 3 W. Oak, closed.
The building’s second story business, the River Room Event Center, is getting a new phone number and will honor any reservations that were made, according to Al Niece, owner of the building.
“There were some reservations in place for some events (at the River Room), I am honoring them all,” Niece said. “The River Room is one of the largest event centers in the area.”
Niece is in the process of having a phone line set up for the River Room to redirect those interested in reserving the event center.
This story will be updated when the phone number is in place.
The owners of the restaurant business, David and Tina Lipe and Luther Salisberry opened the BBQ restaurant at the corner of Oak Street and National Avenue in December 2019.
“They were behind on rent,” Niece said. “Having to go through the (COVID 19) pandemic we were trying to work with them. After they got shut down by the government last week…We had to terminate their lease for non-payment.”
“I’m told the government shut them down for taxes,” Niece said.
KDOR Executed Tax Warrants and Seized Assets
On November 1, 2022, agents from the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) accompanied by the Fort Scott Police Dept. and the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Dept. executed tax warrants and seized the assets of Luther’s BBQ LLC for nonpayment of Liquor Enforcement Taxes and Sales Taxes: totaling $38,783.96, according to a press release from the KDOR.
The warrants were filed in Bourbon County. The types of assets seized include all known bank accounts, on-site cash, business inventory, as well as personal property belonging to the owner. The business was sealed closed with a public notice posted on the outside.
“Luther’s BBQ LLC has paid all outstanding judgements and assets have been released to the business,” according to an email from KDOR on November 9.
KDOR’s policy and practice is to work with taxpayers in delinquent status to voluntarily enter into repayment agreements, according to the press release. It is only after these efforts and multiple failed collection attempts that the Department is forced to execute a tax warrant, utilizing such actions as bank levies, till taps, and ultimately asset seizure to ensure compliance with the law.
KDOR’s responsibility to recover delinquent taxes not only ensures fairness for individuals and business owners who do pay their taxes, but also ensures that money is lawfully collected to fund state and local programs on which Kansans depend, according to the press release. These programs include education, highways, public safety, and human services.
Customers, employees or others that may have items at the business may contact the agent assigned to this case at 785-250-5084.
New Business Soon
Niece feels confident that the lower floor restaurant space will be leased soon, he said.
“We’ve been approached several times to see if we would entertain another restaurant,” Niece said. “We’ll get somebody else in there.”
To view the prior story on the opening of Luther’s:
Mill Creek Veterinary Clinic is set to open on January 16, 2023.
The building at 13th Street and National Avenue is owned Dr. Amanda Brown-Goltra, 33.
Mill Creek Veterinary Clinic.
“Mill Creek Veterinary Clinic will be a mixed animal practice with a focus on medicine and wellness,” Brown-Goltra said. “We will be able to see small animals in the clinic and large animals on the (clients) farm.”
“Our hospital motto is ‘Where your family is our family too,'” she said. “We plan to do this by offering in-house/cutting edge diagnostics that are cost-effective, thorough examinations, and client education to encourage the best care plan for our patients. We will always strive to convey a ‘we appreciate you and your time’ attitude so that clients feel comfortable and heard during their clinic experience and seek us for future veterinary care.”
Brown-Goltra is a 2008 Fort Scott High School graduate with a bachelors degree from Kansas State University in 2013. She earned her doctorate from Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2015.
She was highly involved in 4-H during her teen years and gives “a lot of credit to that program for getting me to where I am today.”
“I became a veterinarian to help people and their pets live their longest, healthiest life,” she said. ” As a child, I wanted to help every animal I possibly could and I failed a lot, which in turn encouraged a great passion in me to be able to help sick animals when I was older. As my career has continued, it has transformed into furthering education of owners to give their pet the best medical care.”
“I worked at Animal Care Center here in Fort Scott right after graduation for over five years and I worked at a busy, fast paced clinic in Webb City for two years after that,” she said. “I have over seven years combined as a veterinarian and almost 20 years in the veterinary field.”
For her, the best part of her job is “when I get to send home a healthy pet,” she said. “Puppies and kittens are cute and I enjoy cuddling them, but nothing brings me more joy than a pet being able to go home after being ill.”
“The biggest challenge I face is the money aspect and time aspect of my job,” she said. “First is the fact that money is required to keep my lights on and pay my staff, while I would love to be able to help for free, that is just not realistic. I do, however, understand everyone has a budget and I try to be very understanding and respectful of that budget. Time is the second challenge, I am a wife, mother, and daughter, and I have realized over the years that my family deserves my undivided attention and time, which means that for my best work life balance that will not allow for me to take after hours calls and be the best for my family.”
The clinic address is 6 E. 13th Street, Fort Scott, KS 66701
Contact info: 620-224-2840 (not taking calls yet) OR [email protected]
The hours of operation: Monday-Wednesday, Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursday 8 a.m. to noon, Saturday hours are to be determined “Our open date will be January 16, 2023,” she said. This follows her maternity leave to give birth to a new son.
She and her husband, Eric, have sons: “Gordon (almost 3 years old), Gideon (almost 1 year old), and Gannon will be born in December,” she said. Her Mom and Dad are Karen and Charlie Brown.
In the community, she is currently a mentor for students at Fort Scott High School.
Trent and Kate Freeman in front of their Artificers building at 8 N. National. Submitted photo
Kate and Trent Freeman, local artists who moved from Kansas City,
are in the final stretch of their renovation of the building they purchased, at 8 N. National Avenue. The name of their art business is the Artificers.
“We are so excited to finally give the community a sneak peek into The Artificers,” Kate said. “Our Christmas Art Show will be held at 8 North National Avenue. We are renovating and restoring the Hammon’s Real Estate building and after a few obstacles we are ready to host our 6th Annual Christmas Show in our new gallery.”
The art sale/ show will be open December 2, from 5-9 p.m., December 3, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., December 4, noon to 5.p.m
“We hope everyone coming for the Candlelight Tour at the Fort Scott National Historic Site will stop in and see us,” she said.
Trent and Kate Freeman. Submitted photo
The Artificers have selected eight artists to set up and sell their artwork this year.
For Christmas, Trent and Kate create sculpture exclusively.
“Other artists will have pottery, copper jewelry, Airbrush and Graphite, and an illustrator and a photographer,” she said. “Our artists are true craftsmen, all their work is original and limited, or handmade made from raw materials.”
The artists include: Trent and Kate Freeman, sculpture; Erin Shevling, pottery; Tim Kienzel, copper jewelry; Darrell Williams, Airbrush/Graphite; Julie Snitker, illustrator; Andrea Latham, ceramics; and Maggie Brenner, photography.
“We started this show six years ago at our former studio in Kansas City as a way to give some of our artist friends an outlet to show and sell their artwork during the Christmas and holiday season,” she said. “We soon learned that our clients loved coming as much as we enjoyed showing off our latest creations.’
‘We have had wonderful support every year from friends, family and clients new and old,” Kate said. “Last year, with the setbacks of the building remodel, Jared Leek, owner of Front Door Realty, Crooner’s Restaurant and The Liberty Theater, was generous enough to provide us space in Front Door Realty and open up Crooner’s so we could continue with our tradition of this show. We will be forever grateful to them for their generosity.”
About the Artificers
The Artificers is a collection of artists and craftsmen.
They are a privately owned art gallery, and a teaching studio and working studio with two resident artists, Trent and Kate Freeman.
Trent and Kate each have their own studio in the building.
The Artificers will offer a space for professional artists to apply to display their work as well as the aspiring artist to take classes in many different mediums including but not limited to clay, airbrush, watercolor, acrylic, stained glass etc.
“We will be having regular Master Artist gallery openings as well as opportunities to learn from those artists,” Kate said. “We also have several community art events on the horizon that we would like to host or be involved in developing. We are so excited to be a positive force in Historic Downtown Fort Scott and look forward to inviting you into our new space.”
Laree + Co., a new children’s store in Fort Scott, began because of Alivia Kraft’s daughter.
“Lillian was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 at 27 weeks gestation but she did not let her diagnosis stop her,” Alivia said. “Despite being given a 5% chance of surviving to her first birthday, Lils overcame more than most people do in a lifetime and we were blessed with four breathtaking years with her.”
Trisomy 18 is a condition that causes severe developmental delays due to an extra chromosome 18, according to the Mayo Clinic website.
Lillian Kraft. Submitted photo.
“She was the most beautiful, amazing, positive, and determined person I know,” her mother said. “To know her really was to love her. Lillian has inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and do something I’ve always dreamed of doing—starting a brand!”
“Because Trisomy 18 has impacted my life so much, part of my brand’s mission is to spread awareness by naming our items or collections after a medically complex warrior or angel (child),” Kraft said.
The business opened online in November 2018 and the storefront at 3 S. National Avenue, Fort Scott, opened in December 2020.
Laree + Co is located at the corner of Wall Street and National Avenue in Fort Scott. Submitted photo.
The business strives to produce beautiful, high quality clothes and more, for children of all abilities.
New in 2023: the majority of Laree+ Co collection have been hand illustrated and are exclusive to the business.
Alivia Kraft, owner of Laree + Co, located at 13 S. National Avenue. Submitted photos.
“10% of our profit will be put into the Lillian Rose Foundation, where care packages will be provided to medically complex infants and children, bereavement gifts to angel mamas, and making donations to hospitals close to our hearts,” Kraft said.
Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas at Fort Scott is pushing forward the opening date for their new facility.
They moved into the former Fort Scott Mercy Hospital in February 2019 and will move into the former Price Chopper building in February 2023 as plans now stand.
The Price Chopper building, 2322 S. Main.
“Due to delays in receiving some materials, including most of the doors and pieces of the heating/cooling system, and some unanticipated design changes, it now appears that CHC/SEK’s opening of our new facility in the former Price Chopper building will be delayed until sometime to February 2023,” CEO Krista Postai said.
“We will be combining both the main clinic and Walk-In Care Clinic into the same facility along with our pharmacy, complete with drive-through window,” she said. “We are especially excited about the installation of a new CT scanner in this facility along with 3-D mammography, conventional x-ray, ultrasound and bone density testing equipment making it one of the best-equipped health centers in the country.”
“Once fully relocated, we do expect to sell our Walk-In Care building, which is being listed with a local realtor,” Postai said. “Proceeds from the sale of this building will be directed toward the cost of renovating the new clinic.”
Mercy Hospital Fort Scott closed in December 2018.
To view information on the transition of Mercy Clinics to CHC view:
Meanwhile new additions are being added to the CHC staff.
“Recruitment for an additional psychiatric provider in Ft. Scott is also underway, with plans to also add therapy and addiction treatment services once the new clinic opens,” she said.
“We were pleased to welcome Dr. Frank Miller, a well-known and respected chiropractor, to CHC/SEK,” she said.
Dr. Miller was owner of Back to Health Chiropractic in Ft. Scott and in making the move, Dr Miller said, “With the collaboration of other medical disciplines, I believe I will be able to serve my patients with a higher quality of care. The mission of CHC/SEK is right in line with my own and I also believe that I will be able to serve a larger segment of the community than I could in private practice.”
“Toward that end, our new facility will have an expanded area for Wellness Services including Dr. Miller’s practice,” Postai said. “He is now accepting appointments at our Main Clinic; former patients are most welcome.”
“Also joining us in Ft. Scott in our Walk-In clinic is APRN Michael McNellis,” she said. “Originally from Overland Park she received her BSN from MidAmerica Nazarene University and her MSN from Rockhurst University.”
Transportation Services
“Effective November 1, CHC/SEK assumed responsibility for Ascension/Via Christi’s Care Van service,” Postai said. “We’re spending the first few weeks getting familiar with their vehicles and new scheduling software we acquired and will be expanding the service – which is transitioning to state-supported public transportation. This means it will take riders other places besides medical facilities. Starting in Crawford County, it will be available in both Bourbon and Cherokee counties as soon as our additional vehicles become available. We will publicize its availability through the media including our Facebook page once we expand.”
New Clinic In Garnett
Also, November 1, CHC opened a new clinic in Garnett, Kansas. Dr. Ross Kimball MD, former owner of Pheasant Ridge Family Medicine in Garnett, transitioned his practice over to CHC/SEK full-time this week.
A seven-year-old boy and his family were traveling through Fort Scott in 1952, when a fire in the motel they were staying in killed his parents and baby brother.
His whole life people have been telling Leon Perry, 78, he should write a book about his life.
In March 2021 he published it.
His story is one of a terrible tragedy that turned into a life full of random acts of kindness given to him that he feels are miracles from God.
And the first part of his story includes many familiar places in Bourbon County.
In 1952 Leon was moving with his family from Parsons, Kansas because their farm had experienced a severe flood and the family had lost all their belongings.
The family of five, the two parents and three brothers, stopped in Fort Scott.
“The Salvation Army got us a motel in Belltown,” he said. “That night… a propane gas explosion blew the roof off of the cabin. The (Fort Scott) police department came to rescue us. We lost my step-father, mother and baby brother. I have no recollection of the event, but the chief of police said ‘you wouldn’t have been burned so bad if you hadn’t gone back in to get your brother’. My half-brother Ernie and I were taken to Mercy Hospital.”
“I had severe burns on my face, shoulder, arms and hands,” Perry said. “My brother wasn’t burned as bad. The Mercy people told me I about died a couple of times.”
He had numerous surgeries from that time until he was 15 years old.
They were placed Goodlander Home, an orphanage on the old Fort Scott site, and remained there until he was 10 years old.
The orphanage was a good experience.
“It was a good experience,” he said. “Even though they were difficult times. I was in the hospital a lot and also to Children’s Mercy in Kansas City several times for skin grafts.”
Over and over, Perry has experienced miracles he said.
Leon was blind and heard a doctor tell a nurse that he wouldn’t see again, and even though he had skin grafts around his eyes, he could see perfectly in a few months.
Eventually he and his brother were adopted by a local farm couple, Ancel and Marguerite Perry, in Bourbon County, near Devon.
This was another miracle.
The couple, who weren’t young, had a large ranch and had no other children, he said. They were instrumental in his physical and emotional recovery from the trauma of the fire.
After moving to the farm he began to regain strength and overcome some of his handicaps.
“She was a wonderful cook… I was undernourished even though under a doctors care,” he said.
As he strengthened, he began to help on the farm with chores: milking cows, driving a tractor, herding cattle.
“I showed cattle at the county fair,” he said. “I loved it all.”
He had been in the hospital so much he was behind in schooling, which was in Berlin Elementary School, and then the Mapleton Elementary School.
Marguerite helped Leon with his assignments.
“Everytime I said ‘I can’t’, she said ‘You will,'” he said. “It made the difference.” It was a turning point in his life, he said. Her determination showed Leon he COULD learn and helped him believe in himself.
His adoptive parents were supportive of him being involved in extra activities outside of farm and school, which included 4-H projects and showing cattle.
“I had to come out of my shell and become more active,” he said.
He attended Uniontown High School and went on to become an FFA state officer, graduating with the class of 1963. He then went on to Fort Scott Junior College and was StuCo President, and on the honor roll. He was also on the honor roll at Pittsburg State University that he later attended.
Perry went on to get four college degrees and was a teacher, coach, athletic director, assistant principal and principal.
Perry became a believer in God, and said his faith has allowed him to see the miracles in his life.
“There is always people willing to help…and you can look forward to the future…with faith,” he said. “Always look for the miracles of God in your life.”
Perry and his wife, Carol have two grown children, LeAnn Perry and Ty Perry and one grandson.
Funds from the book entitled God Led Through the Fire and Filled My Life With Miracles, will go to their church youth organization. They attend the First United Methodist Church, Monett.
The Leon Perry book cover.
To purchase a book, email: [email protected] or mail $10 per book to Leon Perry, 8 Appleblossom Lane, Monett, MO 65708.
