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Bourbon County Strong Campaign Starts
A group of concerned citizens has formed a committee to provide awareness to the community about the importance of wearing a mask in public during the COVID-19 Pandemic, according to Kayla Stewart, a spokesman. And they are starting a campaign to purchase masks for students and staff at the Bourbon County school districts.
The name of the group is Bourbon County Strong. It is comprised of Stewart, Gina Shelton, Stephanie Witt, Kelley Barrows, Jody Hoener, Lindsey Madison, Jackie Hall, and several others from USD 234 and USD 235, she said.
“Many people do not believe in the virus or do not think that it will affect anyone in their area, so they have decided not to wear masks,” Stewart, Ascension Via Christ’s Emergency Department RN Coordinator, said. “If the community members do not wear masks, then children will follow in their footsteps. The campaign will provide awareness to all community members about the importance of wearing their masks in public, social distance, and have good hand hygiene.”
Bourbon County Strong is beginning to raise funds to provide masks to the school systems in Bourbon County.
The group’s goal is to raise enough money to provide all students and staff members of the Fort Scott and Uniontown School Districts with enough masks that will last them until the end of the school year, she said.
“We live in a community where we have a high poverty level, and many families can’t afford to provide their children with masks,” Stewart said.
“We want to give students masks that fit appropriately and provide the best protection possible,” Stewart said.
Experts are still learning about the virus.
“Many people are not worried about their children getting COVID, but they need to be concerned about who they bring the virus home to,” Stewart said. “The statistics currently show that the virus is not as severe on younger children, but children are carriers of viruses and bring it home to your loved ones. These older loved ones have comorbidities or have weakened immune systems due to cancer or an autoimmune disease, and they are more likely to get the virus.”
“Being an emergency room nurse, I have taken care of the critically ill, and this virus is nothing to mess with,” Stewart said. ” We are still learning about what the virus is, what damage it is causing to our bodies, and what the long term effects will be.”
Stewart shared two personal stories of the virus.
“I have a close friend that had the virus a couple of months ago and is still recovering. They have long-term shortness of breath, where any activity that they do causes them to become short of air. This issue did not occur before they obtained the virus,” she said.
“Also, my uncle has the coronavirus,” Stewart said. “He has been on the vent for over four weeks. Last week, they put a trach in because of the endotracheal tube’s long-term use. They have tried to wean him off the vent, but every time they try to wean him, his blood pressure tanks, and he becomes unstable. It is hard seeing someone you love suffer from the virus, and people in the community don’t think it is real.”
The group has a desire to positively impact the community and help prevent the spreading of COVID through education and providing reliable sources about the coronavirus, she said.
When was the group started?
The beginning of August.
“We discussed the idea with (USD 234 Superintendent)Ted Hessong and (USD 235 Superintendent)Bret Howard,” she said.
Once approved, the idea went to the school boards, and got final approval.
“Once the campaign was approved, we started designing our plans.,” Steward said. “It has taken a lot of hard work from all committee members, plus USD 234 and USD 235 staff. We will be kicking the campaign off on Sept. 8, 2020 with our t-shirt sale, that will run through September 30th. Throughout September and October, businesses around town will have our posters, flyers, and table toppers posted about the campaign. These flyers will not only provide information about the campaign, but will also have information about mask-wearing.”
To support the campaign, there are several fundraising events planned:
A Bourbon County Strong Golf Tournament on
October 10th, to register: bourboncountystrong.com
Operation Mask Up T-Shirt Sale starts September 8th-September 30th.
T-shirts can be purchased at bourboncountystrong.com
Donations can be made at bourboncountystrong.com or
https://usd234.revtrak.net/donations-and-gifts/#/v/mask-campaign
Other ways to keep abreast of the group:
Facebook page: Bourbon County Strong (@bourboncountystrong)
Instagram: @bourboncountystrong
Email: [email protected]
COVID-19 Update
The last update that was provided by SEK Multi-County Health Department: 11 active COVID cases, 14 presumptive cases, and 97 current recovered cases in Bourbon County.
Crawford County Health Department’s last update: last week there are a total of 599 positive COVID cases. Two hundred sixty-five individuals that are in isolation, and 970 individuals that are quarantined, Stewart said.
Have you seen many cases at the ER?
“We have seen several COVID positive patients and PUI (Person Under Investigation),” Stewart said. “Currently, our COVID numbers are lower, but we are taking all precautions to prevent the spread of COVID. Also, USD 234 and USD 235 are working closely with the SEK Muli-county health department to make the start of the school year 2020-2021 a smooth process and take all precautions to provide a safe environment for the staff students.”
The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Daily Reports Sept. 3
The Fort Scott Police Department Daily Reports Sept. 2
Click below:
Dr. Holly Gault, CHC, Is Accepting New Pre-Natal/OB Patients
Delinquent Taxes Dilemma
A recent publication of Bourbon County Delinquent Taxes prompted a citizen’s inquiry to fortscott.biz.
An update from the Bourbon County Treasurer: “Liberty Savings was listed with a delinquent tax. They had been mortgage holder on that property but they no longer hold the mortgage so are not responsible for those taxes.”
The question was why the total amount due on properties isn’t listed with all years the taxes haven’t been paid by an owner. The citizen noted a large amount of money not being collected that could benefit county revenues.
Bourbon County Treasurer Patty Love responded with a PDF of a list of delinquent taxes that goes back for approximately eight years.
Love also answered the following questions:
What is the total of all year’s delinquent taxes due?
“As of 8/24/2020, the day I printed this report it was $2,405,683.28.”
Are people set up on a payment plan?
“We do not have any payment plans set up.”
What are the efforts the county does in trying to collect these taxes?
“We mail out statements advising when taxes are due. We have no recourse to collect unpaid taxes, the only tool we have is the tax sale of delinquent taxes after they are 3 years delinquent.”
Are people put on a payment plan of some sort?
“We have no payment plans. We do take partial payments at any time and apply them to the oldest taxes due. Some people will send in a payment amount weekly or monthly to try to get caught up, but we do not have payment plans because we would have no way to enforce them.”
How could the county have property eight years delinquent if there is a tax sale every three years?
“If they do not sell at the tax sale, the county retains the property and they go on the next tax sale, or if there is a lien of some kind against the property we cannot sell it so it stays on this list. Also, (Bourbon Commissioner)Lynne Oharah and (Bourbon County Legal Counselor)Justin Meeks met with Sugar Valley Lakes on the Hidden Valley properties and were going to work with them about getting them paid… a lot of the small ones are part of that plan, so were not put on the tax sale. I think that plan has fallen through.”
When is the next sale?
“I want to have a tax sale the first part of next year, selling all properties that are eligible to sell. Due to the large amount, we will probably sell everything 2015 and older in the first tax sale (this is to keep from overwhelming the title search company) and I hope to have one later in the year for the 2016 taxes.”
“The tax sales are the only recourse we have to get people to pay their taxes so I feel we need to get caught up then go back to a tax sale every year.”
Click below for the list of delinquent taxes that have the total amounts that Love provided.
FSMS Opens Volleyball Season Against Prairie Vies
Fort Scott Middle School opened its volleyball season last night with a home match against Prairie View.
It was a successful night for the Lady Tigers who went 3-1 for the night.
Seventh grade A team won in two with scores of 25-10, 25-22, 7B won in three with scores of 28-26, 19-25, and 15-6.
The following 7th graders stood out last night in serving: Jacee Rogers had a 100% serving percentage, Dana Tucker went 11/14 and Aubrey Yarick was 6/7 in serving.
The 8th grade B Team lost in two sets with the scores of 24-26 and 12-25. Greycyn Brown had a 100% serving 13/13 serves with 4 aces for the night.Kylee Comstock led the team in attacks with 4 Kills.
The 8th grade A Team won in 3 sets with the scores of 27-25, 16-25 and 15-8. Kinsley Brown led the A team in serving with 15/18 serves with 9 aces. Addie Feagins led the A team in passing.
Submitted by Angie Kemmerer
The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Daily Reports Sept. 2
The Fort Scott Police Department Daily Reports Aug. 30-Sept. 1
Grants Being Accepted For Housing, Sewer and Water
Kansas Department of Commerce now accepting Online Community Development Block Grant applications for Housing, Sewer and Water
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Commerce is announcing today that Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program applications for Housing and Water and Sewer are now available online at kansascommerce.gov/cdbg.
The move to online-only applications is intended to simplify the process for applicant communities, as well as streamline the review and approval process for added efficiency. Applications for Housing and Water and Sewer are due September 25 and Community Facilities are due October 30.
The CDBG program supports communities by funding community development and infrastructure projects that meet one of three national objectives set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD):
- The project benefits low- and moderate-income individuals
- The project removes or prevents slum or blight condition
- The project eliminates an urgent need created by a disaster when local funds are unavailable.
With the due dates for these three programs approaching, the Kansas Department of Commerce is presenting webinars to assist with this transition to the online-only application system.
- Housing Webinar – Wednesday, September 2, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
- Water and Sewer Webinar – Wednesday, September 2, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
- Community Facilities Webinar – Tuesday, September 15, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Pre-registration for these webinars can be done via the links above.
Communities looking for assistance in preparing and submitting online applications should contact the CDBG team at the Department of Commerce:
(785) 296-3004
TTY (Hearing Impaired) at 711
KS Tax Collections Above Estimates
State of Kansas Tax Collections $40.2 million Above Estimates
~Kansas total tax revenues show visible changes in consumer purchasing behaviors~
TOPEKA – Today Governor Laura Kelly announced that in its second month of Fiscal Year 2021, the State of Kansas continued to see total tax collections performing above estimates. Total tax collections for August were $543.5 million. That is $40.2 million, or 8.0%, more than the estimate. That is 9.3%, or $46.3 million, ahead of last August.
“While this news shows that the steps we have taken to protect our economy are working, we have to remain fiscally cautious,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “The state of Kansas is still recovering from COVID-19 and we have to stay vigilant. That means all Kansans should wear a mask, practice social distancing and avoid mass gatherings so we can keep our schools and our businesses open.”
August’s individual income tax collections were 12.9%, or $31.0 million, more than the estimate with $271.0 million collected. Compared to the same month last fiscal year, that is a 17.2%, or $39.7 million in growth. Corporate income tax collections were 10.5% more than August of last fiscal year with $7.3 million collected. That is $2.3 million, or 46.9%, more than the estimate.
Retail sales tax collections were 2.5%, or $5.1 million, more than the estimate with $207.1 million collected. That is a $1.8 million growth compared to the same month of last fiscal year. Compensating use tax collections were $12.7 million, or 38.9%, more than last August with $45.3 million collected. That is $9.3 million more than estimated.
So far, the state has collected $95.7 million in compensating use taxes for the fiscal year; a $24.0 million, or 33.6%, increase compared to the same two months of last fiscal year.
“The year-over-year increase in compensating use tax collections demonstrates the importance of increasing the number of registrations by remote sellers,” Secretary Mark Burghart said. “By increasing the number of out-of-state retailer registrations, we create fairness between out-of-state online retailers and main street Kansas.”
The state is $35.6 million, or 2.4%, ahead of projections for the year with $1.5 billion in total tax collections for the fiscal year. When comparing total tax collections over the same timeframe to the previous fiscal year, the State of Kansas is $531.0 million, or 53.5%, ahead of Fiscal Year 2020.
NRMC Welcomes Dr. Seals to Full-Time Staff
Nevada Regional Medical Center (NRMC) is happy to announce that gynecologist and obstetrician, Larry Seals, DO will become a full-time member of the hospital’s medical staff beginning September 27th. His clinic will be located on the second floor of the south tower at 800 S. Ash Street in Nevada, in the NRMC Professional Practice Clinic. Dr. Seals is board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and is licensed in both Kansas and Missouri.
With the closing of Mercy Hospital in Fort Scott at the end of 2018, Dr. Seals shifted the delivery of his patients’ babies to either NRMC or Via Christi in Pittsburg, Ks. Since January of 2019 Dr. Seals has been dividing his time between his practice at the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas and his procedural and newborn delivery work at NRMC. Going forward, all of Dr. Seals’ obstetric and gynecological services will be performed at NRMC.
“Dr. Seals has always received a lot of positive feedback from our staff, employees, and community,” said Steve Branstetter, Chief Executive Officer at NRMC. “He is well known for his excellent caring attitude for his patients. We are very excited about him making NRMC his home.”
Dr. Seals attended medical school at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine where he graduated in 1993, earning his doctorate. He completed a traditional rotating internship at Michiana Community Hospital in South Bend, Indiana in 1994 and an obstetrical and gynecology residency at Deaconess Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. in 1998.
Dr. Seals is accepting new patients and can be contacted at NRMC’s Professional Practice Clinic at 417-448-2121.
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About Nevada Regional Medical Center
Serving a six-county area since 1937, Nevada Regional Medical Center is a 71-bed acute, intensive and skilled care hospital. Nevada Regional Medical Center has earned recognition as a respected regional medical center for its comprehensive health care services, skilled and caring employees and state-of-the-art medical technology. Staff represent more than a dozen medical specialties, including family practice, women’s services, neurology, urology, psychiatry, orthopedics, wound care services, and general, vascular, thoracic and oncological surgery. Additionally, consultation clinics are held regularly by specialists in oncology, pulmonology, podiatry, ear, nose, and throat and cardiology.