A1 Towing and Moving, Fort Scott, moves shelving into the new grocery store, which will be located in the Old Kress Building, 17 S. Main.
A resource center in the former Kress Building, 17 S. Main is open in downtown Fort Scott.
The center is called the BWERC which stands for Bourbon County Workforce and Entrepreneur Resource Center.
The first floor is currently being prepared to sell groceries, while the second floor is open for business as a multi-partner center to help with COVID-19 related issues.
Downtown Grocery Store
BAJA Investments LLC, Healthy Bourbon County Action Team and a local farm and ranch food cooperative grocery store will be located on the first floor, according to info from Hoener.
BAJA Investments will manage the grocery store that will open sometime in the second half of December 2020, said Bill Michaud, developer for the business. The store is as yet not named, Michaud said on Nov. 3.
The first-floor space will have shelving, coolers and freezers for
local produce and meat.
This will increase access to healthy food, and make more food available for local food assistance programs, Hoener said.
To view a recent story on the grocery store, click below:
Through a multi-partner collaboration of Bourbon County government , Pittsburg State University Small Business Development Center www.pittstatesmallbusiness.com, Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce http://fortscott.com/, Fort Scott Community College http://www.fortscott.edu/ , Kansas Works http://sekworks.organd BAJA Investments LLC , the hope is to address the urgent COVID-19 related crisis needs in Bourbon County, according to information provided by Jody Hoener, economic director for the county.
The large room of the B WERKS Center on the second floor of the Old Kress Building in downtown Fort Scott.
The building will be used for distance learning and teleworking and also a place for childcare businesses to become legal and thus help in childcare relief during the pandemic, Hoener noted.
A work room in the BWERC Center in the old Kress Building in downtown Fort Scott.
The plan is to give businesses the tools and technical assistance needed for increased online capabilities and the assistance to
obtain the money needed to sustain their business.
There is also unemployment and job-seeking assistance.
Amy Kauffman, career advisor with KansasWorks sits at a desk in the Kress Building on Nov. 3. KansasWorks helps with job search assistance and employment related services.
Instead of the annual Veteran’s Day assembly at Uniontown High School, a parade has been planned in the town on Wednesday, November 11 at 2:30 p.m.
The idea came from a conversation between UHS Principal Mike. Reith and UHS History Teacher Hannah Hays.
“Traditionally we host an assembly, but knew that wasn’t an option this year due to COVID,” said Hays.Teacher. “A parade allows us to still recognize our local vets but in an outdoor venue with plenty of space to spread out.”
“We don’t have a specific theme, just simply gratitude for their service,” Hays said.
In the parade will be decorated trailers and trucks, the UHS band, local law enforcement and horses as well, she said.
It will take place Wednesday, November 11th at 2:30 in the afternoon.
A photo of the parade route is in the flyer that Hays sent and accompanies this feature.
The route will be around the perimeter of the grade school which sits south of the high school on the towns east side.
“We have invited anybody and everybody to participate in the parade,” Hays said. “Just as long as they demonstrate an appreciation for our veteran community.”
Patriotically decorated vehicles, flat bed trailers, bikes or horses are invited. Meet at the football stadium at 2 p.m.
Extra parking is located south of the grade school on First Street and community members may line the walking trail, with social distancing in famiy groups.
“We have also invited both UHS and West Bourbon Elementary School students and staff, as well as community members to attend and watch the parade,” she said.
USD 235, Uniontown’s school district, is the recipient of two SPARK grants.
The Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) Taskforce is charged with leading Kansas forward in recovery from the far-reaching effects of COVID-19, with funds distributed from the U.S. Federal Government.
The first USD235 grant is a collaborative project to bring a medical clinic to Uniontown.
“The collaborative project in the amount of $88,000 was for the rural health clinic in our old board of education building,” USD235 Superintendent Brett Howard said. “The collaboration is between Girard Hospital, the Uniontown Ruritan Club, and USD 235. The $88,000 will be used for remodeling the building into a rural health clinic. The Uniontown Ruritan Club and Girard Hospital are working together and USD 235 is leasing the building to Girard Hospital for the Health Clinic.”
The building for the medical clinic is south of the Uniontown High School Football Field.
USD 235 also received $102,000 in SPARK funds, for a heating/air conditioning purification system, technology, and an extra custodian.
“Those funds are being used to install an IWave purification system in our HVAC system,” Howard said. “IWave kills mold, bacteria, viruses, reduces odors, and even reduces allergens and static electricity. It requires no maintenance and has no harmful byproducts, safely cleaning the air in schools.”
“We are also purchasing technology for our teachers to help them work with our students who have chosen the remote learning option or who are quarantining and working from home during their quarantine,” he said.
Rose Gauthier’s kindergarten class could view each other on Zoom during lesson time in spring 2020 when the district was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Submitted photo.
“The money will also be used to purchase cleaning supplies and help pay for an extra custodian to clean buses and transportation vehicles,” Howard said.
First Baptist Church, Fort Scott. Submitted photo.
Ken Ansell,56, is the new pastor at First Baptist Church in Fort Scott and Cherry Grove Baptist Church, Garland.
Cherry Grove Baptist Church, Garland. Submitted photo.
He is called to the churches to preach, counsel, equip, teach, servant-lead, and shepherd, he said.
Ansell has been in the full-time ministry for 20 years, serving at churches in Hereford, Waxahachie, Rockdale and Linden, Texas.
His hometown is Rockdale, Texas.
Ansell is married to his high school sweetheart, Jennifer and they have four adult children.
His tie to this area is his family.
Ansell’s parents were born in Iola and they still have family there and in Oswego, he said.
Why did you pursue this career?
“The ministry is kind of a second career,” Answll said. “God called me to the ministry after a successful career in business and a not so successful career in farming (ha).”
“God put southeast Kansas on our hearts and Jennifer saw the two churches we serve were looking for a pastor on the Baylor-Truett Seminary website and here we are,” he said.
In his spare time, he plays tennis, golf, likes to fly fish, run, and “I like to spend time with Jennifer and drink coffee,” he said.
Jennifer and Ken Ancell. Submitted photo.
About The Churches
First Baptist Church and Cherry Grove Baptist Church formed Cherry Grove/First Baptist Ministry Coalition in 2017 to meet the needs of both churches as they were seeking a new pastor at that time, according to information sent by Rita Tiegreen and Glenda Lalman, members of First Baptist.
Pastor Ken Ansell is the pastor for both churches.
“We are excited to have our new pastor,” Tiegreen said. “Pastor Ken Ansell began his ministry with us on October 19th. We are blessed to have him and his wife, Jennifer here with us.”
First Baptist Church is currently holding the following open services using safety guidelines:
11 AM Sunday worship service
11 AM Sunday Children’s Church
6:30 PM Wednesday night Youth Group
The church is hoping to open up our Sunday School very soon, according to Tiegreen and Lalman.
The office hours are limited at this time.
” If someone needs to contact the church office, they may call 620-223-3080 and leave a message if there is no answer,” they said. “We will get back to you as soon as possible.”
First Baptist Church will once again be a drop-off center for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes this year.
Collection Week is November 16-23.
The hours are:
Monday – Wednesday (16th-18th) 3 PM – 6 PM
Thursday-Friday (19th-20th) 4 PM – 6 PM
Saturday (21st) 10 AM – Noon
Sunday (22nd) 2 PM – 4 PM
Monday (23rd) 8 AM – 10 AM
If questions, call 620-223-3080 and leave a message.
The church’s community outreach program is still active as they reach out to various organizations to supply needed items, the two said.
Cherry Grove Baptist Church is located at Hwy. 69 south and Calvary Road.
Recently a whole slate of Bourbon County businesses, organizations, school districts, churches and other categories of entities received grants to help with COVID-19 expenses.
The Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) taskforce plan is to lead Kansas forward in recovery from the far-reaching effects of COVID-19, according to its’ website,https://covid.ks.gov/spark-recovery-office/
SPARK is responsible for the statewide distribution of the U.S. Coronavirus Relief Fund.
The total amount of grants disbursed in Bourbon County:
$2,835,212.86
The following received Bourbon County SPARK Funds on October 21, 2020, according to Bourbon County Economic Director Jody Hoener.
Listed below are the names of the businesses, the category they are under and the amount received from SPARK.
4 State Sanitation, Small Business, $3,500.00
5 Corners Mini Mart, Small Business, $4,250.00
Ascension Via Christi Pittsburg Inc., Health Care, $203,150.00
Baja Management Corp, Collaborative, $450,000.00
Bartelsmeyer Jewelry, Small Business, $3,750.00
Beacon Incorporated, Small Business, $1,500.00
Bids and Dibs, Small Business, $4,000.00
BN Hunting, Small Business, $1,250.00
Bourbon County, Preapproved, $263,684.65
Bourbon County 4-H Council, Small Business, $2,000.00
Bourbon County District Court, Preapproved, $3,457.00
Bourbon County Information Technology Economic Development, $51,250.00
Bourbon County Kansas Health Care, $91,000.00
Care to Share Cancer Support, Small Business, $500.00
Cheney Witt Chapel, Inc., Small Business, $2,500.00
Chicken Shak, Small Business, $2,500.00
City of Bronson Economic Development, $111.32
City of Bronson Health Care, $1,200.00
City of Fort Scott Economic Development, $142,000.00
City of Fort Scott Economic Development, $9,974.78
City of Uniontown Economic Development, $39,041.00
City of Uniontown Economic Development, $225.33
Clayton’s Inc DBA Union Station Economic Development, $20,000.00
Clifton’s Chiropractic LLC, Small Business, $2,000.00
Community Christian Church, Small Business, $4,500.00
Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, Inc,. Health Care, $19,985.00
Compass Counseling Services, Small Business, $1,000.00
Crawford Dental LLC, Health Care, $15,000.00
Crossroads Camping & Cabins/Yellow Brick Road Invest., Small Business $2,000.00
Dairy Queen, Small Business, $5,000.00
Diamonds in the Marketplace Small Business $2,750.00
Findley Auto & Body, Small Business, $3,000.00
Fort Cinema, Small Business, $4,250.00
Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, Small Business, $3,250.00
Fort Scott Broadcasting Co, Economic Development, $50,000.00
Fort Scott Christian Heights, Education, $4,199.00
Fort Scott Community Closet, Small Business,$2,000.00
Fort Scott Community College, Education, $287,760.78
Fort Scott Family Medicine, Health Care, $5,150.00
Fort Scott Hospitality Co., Small Business, $2,250.00
Fort Scott Motors LLC, Small Business, $3,250.00
Fort Scott Nazarene, Small Business ,$2,250.00
Fort Scott Presbyterian Village, Health Care, $84,520.00
HairBow Center, Small Business, $5,000.00
HB Salon, LLC Small Business $2,500.00
Hedgehog.Ink! Small Business $3,250.00
Holmtown Pub Small Business $5,000.00
Hot Wok Inc Small Business $4,500.00
I Am Rehab and Fitness Small Business $4,500.00
Imagination Station LLC Education $17,500.00
J&W Sport Shop Small Business $2,500.00
Jamie’s Beauty Shop Small Business $2,500.00
KANROCKS Recreation Small Business $5,000.00
Kenny Felt Photography Small Business $2,750.00
Khris & Karina LLC Small Business $1,000.00
Kings Way Inn Small Business $1,750.00
KW Cattle Company dba Reprologix Small Business $5,000.00
Lana’s Daycare Education $2,000.00
Leah’s Daycare Education $2,000.00
Liberty Theater Inc Small Business $4,500.00
Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes Small Business $5,000.00
Luther’s BBQ Small Business $5,000.00
Mayco Ace Hardware Small Business $4,750.00
Momentum Indoor Training Small Business $2,500.00
New Generation, Inc. Education $17,500.00
Niece Equipment Products of Kansas Inc. Small Business $5,000.00
Norvell Company, Inc. Small Business $5,000.00
O’Brien Cattle Co., Inc. Small Business $2,500.00
Opie’s Inc. Small Business $2,500.00
Papa Don’s Small Business $4,000.00
Peerless Products Economic Development $50,247.00
Pioneer Harvest Fiesta, Inc. Small Business $500.00
Ponderosa Farm Collaborative $10,000.00
Re:freshed Aesthetics Small Business $2,500.00
Re:new with Julie Small Business $2,500.00
Rejuvenate with Kayla Small Business $2,500.00
RH Ventures LLC Small Business $2,000.00
RII Concrete Small Business $5,000.00
RockBallet Small Business $2,500.00
Santana’s LLC Small Business $4,500.00
SASS Inc, Hillside Guest Home Health Care $12,600.00
Sawyer Automotive Small Business $1,500.00
SEK Multi-County Health Department Health Care $7,500.00
SEKAN Printing Company, Inc. Small Business $5,000.00
Sharky’s Pub & Grub Small Business $5,000.00
Sleep Inn and Suites – Fort Scott Small Business $5,000.00
Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center Health Care $122,458.00
Spoiled Brat Small Business $2,500.00
St Mary’s School Education $80,000.00
Structure Small Business $2,500.00
Sunbeam Christian Preschool Education $10,000.00
TFI Family Services Education $50,000.00
The After Affect Salon Small Business $2,500.00
The Boiler Room Brewhaus Small Business $3,250.00
The Christian Learning Center Foundation Education $8,199.00
Two Sisters Cleaning Service Small Business $2,250.00
Unified School District 234 Education $306,000.00
USD 235 Uniontown Collaborative $88,000.00
USD 235 Uniontown Education $102,000.00
The Bourbon County Commission room, September 2018.
Bourbon County provides a service for those who wish to be in the know about the weekly commission meetings but do not wish to come in person due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
A YouTube channel was set up by Shane Walker, the information technology director.
YouTube is a video-sharing website on the internet.
“The (Bourbon County) YouTube channel is for nothing more than to broadcast the commission meetings during the pandemic,” Walker said. “We have a small area for meetings. It made sense to set it up so that citizens could view meetings without risk.”
” We are working hard to keep people safe and still allow us to do business for everyone and this is just another part of that effort,” he said.
YouTube will not be used election night because the system had to be taken down so that the Bourbon County Clerk could use the commission room for voting and election duties, he said.
“All Bourbon County employees have access, and can edit our web page and also our Facebook page,” Walker said. “All of our department heads have this ability to put information out to the public.”
The unofficial November 3, 2020 General Election results will be posted on the county website that evening when they have them, according to Kendell Mason, Bourbon County Clerk.
About the Bourbon County Information Technology Department. taken from its’ website:
Walker is the Director of Information Technology
The office is located in the Bourbon County Courthouse, 210 S National Ave., Office 12, Fort Scott, KS 66701
The Bourbon County Information Technology Department provides services to county departments to aid in the effective delivery of IT services that support the business needs of the county. County information technology is a vital part of the organization, providing faster and better ways for our employees to do their jobs and for our residents to access our services. They continue to keep technology current and to work with members and management of all departments to provide the computing capabilities that are needed.
Vision
The vision is to enable each county department to better serve the public through the best and highest use of appropriate technology, using creative, progressive, and economical IT solutions with uncompromising quality, reliability, and efficiency.
Mission
To provide organizational and individual leadership in IT by researching, evaluating, planning, implementing, and supporting appropriate technologies, designed to assist county departments in accomplishing their visions and missions and to apply technology and best practices that make the delivery of government services affordable, efficient, accessible, and responsive to the citizens of Bourbon County.
The City of Bronson received grant funds to better serve its’ community safely during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
In mid-October, City Clerk Ellen Harper received a SPARK Grant in the amount of $1,200 for providing help to safely serve the town, located in western Bourbon County.
The Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) program is charged with leading Kansas forward in recovery from the far-reaching effects of COVID-19, according to its’ website.https://covid.ks.gov/spark-recovery-office/
SPARK Committees are distributing money from the U.S. Coronavirus Relief Fund.
The City of Bronson will use it to provide masks, sanitizers and cleaning products to mitigate the spread of the virus at city hall.
“We put a shield up in our office for when we interact with customers,” Harper said. “And we sanitize.”
In addition, the city is recommending wearing masks and social distancing as part of the plan.
“This is for employees, city council members, or anybody that comes in and wants to use it for council meetings,” Harper said.
As in the rest of America, the way meetings are organized, or if held at all, have changed.
Bronson has already cancelled its annual town-wide event, Bronson Day, because of the virus and will probably cancell the annual Christmas fundraiser as well, Harper said.
Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, Fort Scott..
Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas in Fort Scott now offers rapid testing for the COVID-19 virus for those with symptoms.
On October 9, 2020, the Bourbon County Law Enforcement Center announced there were 33 who tested positive for COVID-19 at the jail, the biggest spike in the county since the pandemic started in March 2020.
As of October 20, there have been 303 people who have tested positive for the virus in Bourbon County, according to the Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department.
“I can confirm we have finally received the test kits to now do rapid testing in Fort Scott for COVID-19,” Krista Postai, CHC/SEK CEO, said. “Because of the limited supply, we have allocated these for those individuals with symptoms.”
Krista Postai. Submitted photo.
Because of the limited amount of tests, it is at the discretion of the health care provider and the availability of the test, according to a spokeswoman at CHC.
“We have standing orders to cover the testing,” Postai said.
COVID-19 testing takes about 20 minutes in total.
The test is done with nasal swabs.
The cost is $100 and covered by insurance and/or a government program for those with symptoms, Postai said.
“For those without symptoms, an alternative rapid test is available for $50 cash and is not covered by insurance,” she said. “However, if the test comes up positive we are required to send it off for confirmatory testing which costs another $100 cash and takes another couple of days.”
A new round of grants for small businesses is available online as of today, Oct. 26, according to Jody Hoener, Bourbon County’s Economic Director.
This is a NEW grant opportunity for for-profit business and she advised applying before the Nov. 2 deadline, next week, she said.
“I haven’t applied for this specific grant and it is online,” Hoener said. “If anyone needs any help though, I would be more than willing to help.” Contact her at [email protected]
The building for the medical clinic is south of the Uniontown High School Football Field.
Uniontown will soon have a health clinic.
The small town in western Bourbon County, population approximately 300, is 20 miles away from health care in Fort Scott and 25 miles from Iola, the two largest towns with clinics nearby.
Spearheaded by Uniontown Ruritan, and the vision of several members of the community, the Uniontown health clinic is a collaboration of Ruritan, USD 235 School District, the Bourbon County Commission, the City of Uniontown and Girard Medical Center.
To see a prior fortscott.biz story on the clinic, click below:
Girard Medical Clinic, Girard, Ks. Photo from its’ website.
“We at GMC want to partner with the local community there in Uniontown to offer primary care services for an area where it is difficult to access those services currently,” Ruth Duling, Girard Medical Center CEO said.
The project is moving forward quicker since receiving U.S. coronavirus emergency funds which is distributed locally through the Bourbon County SPARK program. That program is to spur on the Kansas economy following the devastating effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) grant was applied for by Uniontown’s school district, which owns the property for the health clinic. The building is the former superintendent’s office.
Mark Warren, Uniontown Ruritan member, opens the door of the medical clinic building just south of the Uniontown High School football field.
“The school district applied for SPARK funding because the property to be renovated for use as the clinic, belongs to the school,” Duling said.
“Completion will be after the first of the year,” Duling said. ” I don’t have any idea yet on a date when the clinic will be fully operational. Since the renovation stage is being completed by mostly volunteer work and the availability of that workforce, it’s just difficult to say until we get further in the process…the renovation is in the very early stages.”
Uniontown Ruritan MemberJoe George has taken the lead on the renovation project with input from Girard Medical Center Engineering staff Judd Pride and Pat Holt and its’ Director of Clinic Operations Candi Adams, Duling said.
History The Clinic
Uniontown Mayor Larry Jurgensen explored a health clinic in the town with Fort Scott Mercy Hospital, Mark Warren said.
“At the time the Marathon Valley Nursing Home shut down,” he said.
” Mercy told him they didn’t want to explore a clinic out here because we were close enough to go to Ft. Scott, but instead put clinics in Arma and Pleasanton which were approximately the same distance from Ft. Scott ,” Warren said. “This irritated people out here. The matter was then dropped for a period of years.”
Warren then visited with Holly Koch, Chief Financial Officer of Girard Medical Center and a resident of Uniontown.
He shared with Koch about the possibility of a Girard Medical Center satellite clinic.
After Koch spoke with Duling, meetings were organized which included the City of Uniontown, Ruritan, Girard Medical Center, Senator Jerry Moran’s office, Uniontown citizens, a Pittsburg doctor, Bourbon County Commissioner Lynn O’Harah, and Bourbon County Economic Director Jodi Hoener.
When Mercy Hospital closed in Dec. 2018 things began to progress, Warren said.
“We had residents here now (who were) a longer distance from health services,” Warren said. “Girard went to work then. Ruth asked me and I asked Larry and Judy Jurgensen both to come with me to a Girard Hospital board meeting. Larry gave the historical timeline of his interaction with Mercy to them of which we left that meeting feeling we had their support. The only thing left was funding.”
“The Uniontown Ruritan Club offered to help fundraise but as federal SPARK money became available and Jayhawk Wind ( a wind energy company) heard about it, we found we could still fundraise but possibly not have to work so hard at it. Jayhawk and SPARK money was the final piece of the puzzle to get this project finally started and going and to make a Uniontown clinic a reality.”
Jayhawk Wind contributed a $20,000 grant to help fund the Uniontown Clinic, which will also serve the towns in nearby communities, according to its’ website: http://www.jayhawkwind.com/
The SPARK Grant was for $88,000, according to Warren.
