The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office daily reports can best be viewed on a computer.
It can be reached at (620) 223-2380.
To view, click below, then click on the image to enlarge:
Make The Most of Opportunities By Patty LaRoche
Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. (Col. 4:5)
We met in the exercise room. “I’ll only be in here two minutes,” she said as a way of introduction. Two became twenty, during which time I learned the following:
- She is divorced from an abusive man who pays her only $600 a month in alimony. Her attorneys took most of her life savings.
- She has fibromyalgia and has battled Lyme’s disease for 20 years.
- She has been in three car accidents.
- Her siblings all say she is a hypochondriac.
- Some of the doctors she has seen have been really mean, especially her urologist.
- The house she put a bid on won’t be ready for three weeks, all of her possessions are in five storage bins, and that’s what led her to stay in the same 2-Star motel as I am. (Read last week’s article.) She is not happy here for several reasons.
- Feral cats live by the dumpster and someone feeds them.
- Geese, which are a protected species but should not be, leave their feces everywhere around the motel.
- Her room is filthy and filled with cockroaches. (I have seen only one.)
- The people above her have children who bounce off the bed.
- Last night she was awakened by a woman screaming. It was “really hard” to go back to sleep.
- Her previous apartment had mold.
- Her Labrador/best friend returned neurotic from a week at dog obedience school, refusing to mind and jumping on people. Not what she expected for $1500.00, and since there is so much geese/feral cat feces and people-litter around this motel, she has difficulty finding a place to get him some exercise.
- She has gained twelve pounds, has a muffin-top, and her hair is falling out.
Twice I interjected some thoughts, like how I probably would have alerted the desk about the screaming and surely there are some dog parks nearby. She ignored the first suggestion and spent five minutes explaining how, in her condition, it is difficult to navigate the dog park.
From that point on, I vowed to keep my thoughts to myself.
Then, looking at her watch, she said she had to scoot because she had a fibro-myalgia massage scheduled but maybe I could go out with her this weekend to a fun bar or movie.
“Rats!” I answered insincerely. “In two days my husband and I will be relocating to the other side of Jacksonville.” She seemed disappointed and said she hoped we could get together sometime.
Lord, please, NOOOOOOOOOOOO! I said to myself.
As a Christian, I know God wastes no opportunities. Pastor Andy Stanley once wrote, “We don’t need to pray for more miracles, we just need to be more sensitive to the opportunities that God brings our way.” Do I believe God had a reason for Ms. Chatterbox and me meeting? Yes. Maybe to tell her Jesus is the answer or maybe just to be a listening ear or maybe to hear someone complain non-stop so I know what I sometimes sound like to God. No doubt to pray for her.
In actuality, I did all of the above…well, except for telling her Jesus is the answer. For that one, as I had vowed, I kept my thoughts to myself.
The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Daily Reports May 31
Obituary For Linda Hurd Riley
Linda June Hurd Riley, age 75, a resident of rural Ft. Scott, Kansas, passed away early Wednesday, May 30, 2018, at the Mercy Hospital in Ft. Scott.
She was born September 5, 1942, in Fort Scott, the daughter of Grant Wesley Wiggans and Osa Lavetta Morrow Wiggans.
Linda first married Willis L. Hurd on September 27, 1958, at Fort Scott. He preceded her in death on December 14, 2011.
Following his death, Linda married Richard Riley on April 6, 2013. Linda and Richard enjoyed six years of marriage.
In earlier years, Linda had worked in the cafeteria of both the Junior and Senior High Schools. She later retired from Smico-Norvell after many years of employment. Linda and Richard attended both the Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene and Diamond Community Church.
Linda enjoyed the fun times spent with her family and friends. She enjoyed nature and liked to spend time outdoors.
Survivors include her husband, Richard, of the home; three grandchildren, Ryan Robison, Charles Robison and Jayden Robison, all of Ft. Scott and a great-granddaughter, Elena Robison. Also surviving are her step-children, Christine Bosley and husband, Gary, of Ft. Scott, Belinda Yockey, of Joplin, Missouri, Nathan Riley of Newark, Ohio and Carol Johnson and husband, Mike, of Lawrence, Kansas; several step-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren, a sister, Nancy Kelly, of Springfield, Missouri and numerous nieces and nephews.
In addition to her first husband, Willis, she was preceded in death by a daughter, Barbara Gibbs, a son, Charles “Chuck” Hurd, a great-grandson, Benjamin Robison; four brothers, Earl, Virgil, Don and Robert Wiggans and two sisters, Helen Lunday and Lois Wiggans.
Linda’s niece, Lavetta Simmons, will conduct graveside services at 11:00 A.M. Monday, June 4th at the Clarksburg Cemetery.
The family will receive friends on Monday from 10:00 A.M. until leaving for the cemetery at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Memorials are suggested to Care to Share and may be left in the care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
Library Hosted Fun At Ellis Center
The Fort Scott Public Library Reading Program filled the lobby of the Ellis Fine Arts Center on the campus of Fort Scott Community College Wednesday morning.
Music, dance, reading challenges, crafts, snacks and other fun activities helped the children get ready to set reading goals for themselves for the summer.
Following are snapshots of the morning.
The Fort Scott Police Department Daily Reports May 30
The Fort Scott Police Department daily reports can best be viewed on a computer.
It is located at 1604 S. National, Fort Scott, KS 66701 and can be reached at 620-223-1700.
Click below, then click on the image to enlarge it:
FSCC Construction Trades/Masonry in National Competition
Photo courtesy of Stephanie Potter
FSCC Construction Trades and Masonry take on SkillsUSA Nationals
Fort Scott, Ks.—Fort Scott Community College Construction Trades and Masonry students head out to Louisville, Ky. to compete in the 54th annual SkillsUSA National competition held on June 25th-29th. Students who placed first at the state level competition earned the chance to take on nationals. FSCC took 13 carpentry students, 3 HVAC students, and 3 masonry students to state and 4 students came out on top; Alex Garcia and Coltin Oehme for masonry, Dylan Giager and Wil Jameson for carpentry.
FSCC sophomore Siarra Clark, who came in second at state, but only by a couple points, says “I was raised around concrete and construction so the program at FSCC was fitting. The competition was a great experience and I hope to compete in something like this in the future.” Siarra took 1st in the hands-on portion of the state competition and 2nd in the written portion, making it 2nd overall.
Pittsburg High School (PHS) senior and now FSCC certified mason Coltin Oehme came in 1st overall at the state level, so he will go on to compete at nationals. Oehme not only came in 1st but was the first one done even with making multiple corrections. “If the design isn’t correct and perfect, it’s an automatic loss,” says Oehme. FSCC Masonry instructor, Nacoma Oehme, Coltin’s cousin, says “Coltin did great at state and we’re looking forward to seeing what he does at nationals…he takes a lot of pride in his work, especially since it’s in the family. We come from a long line of masons. Coltin inspires others to look into masonry as a career choice.”
FSCC carpentry students Dylan Giager (FSCC) and Wil Jameson (PHS) will compete on the carpentry side of SkillsUSA. This is FSCC carpentry’s 7th year to nationals under the supervision of instructor Kim Coates. “You never know who is going to bring who,” says Coates, “Wil Jameson is the first high school sophomore to win gold and go to nationals…I was surprised and very excited.” Brady Newman, FSCC student barely came in 2nd behind Dylan Giager by only 2%, winning him a silver medal. Right behind him was Thomas Mayfield with a bronze medal.
Brush/Leaf Dump Closed Saturday
Due to the Good Ol’ Days celebration, the City’s brush/leaf dump site located on North Hill will be closed this Saturday, June 2nd, 2018. It will reopen on Tuesday, June 5th, 2018 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Good Ol’ Days Are Here
Provided by the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce
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Join Us For the 37th Annual
Good Ol’ Days Festival!
This Thursday–Saturday, May 31st – June 2nd!
Hosted by Good Ol’ Days Committee
Historic Downtown Fort Scott
Fun for the whole family!
Click here for more information and
for link to schedule shown below.  |
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See below for more events hosted by the
Fort Scott National Historic Site and
Fort Scott Munitions Fort Scott National Historic Site
And the Great Outdoors, Good Ol’ Days 2018
SATURDAY, JUNE 2
10:00 am – 4:00 pm: Buddy the Bison
10:00 am – 4:00 pm: Canoeing/ Kayaking
10:00 am – 4:00 pm: Youth Archery Instruction Session
10:00 am – 4:00 pm: Broad-axe/ Hewing Carpenters Demonstration
10:00 am – 3:00 pm: “Birds of Prey” – (Live Raptors) Operation Wildlife INC.
10:00 am – 2:00 pm: Story Time – Tales of the Past
10:00 am – 4:00 pm: Ticks – Did you know?
11:00am – 1:00 pm: Old Fashion Picnic- Please bring your lunch and a blanket
12:00 pm -12:30 pm: Old Fashion Mattress Race – with prizes
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Fort Scott Munitions 2nd Annual
Customer Appreciation Day
On June 2nd, 2018 Benghazi Survivors
Tanto and Boon will be in Fort Scott to sign books, ammo, and meet/greet anyone who shows up. Eric Hadley owner of Got Your Six Coffee will be in attendance as well as Megan and Patrick O’Grady of Blue Line Bears. Join us at 8pm at East Wall for insane deals, free coffee, lunch with Traeger Grills, up to $5,000 in prizes and more.
There will be a Car and Motorcycle show,
Saturday, 8am-5pm, as well that will be FREE. If you are interested in being in the Car/Motorcycle Show
you may register here .
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Chamber Coffee at City Hall This A.M.
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WEEKLY CHAMBER COFFEE REMINDER
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No Switching Allowed Starting June 1
At noon, Friday, June 1 is the filing deadline for candidates interested in serving as a candidate in the upcoming primary election.
Additionally, no switching of political parties is allowed for a period of time starting tomorrow, June 1.
A law passed in 2014 by the Kansas Legislature prohibits Republican and Democratic party members from switching parties during the period of June 1 (at noon) through the August primary (following certification of election results), according to a public election notice posted by Bourbon County Clerk Kendell Mason.
” You can’t switch from a Republican to a Democrat or vice versa after noon June 1st,” Mason said. “If someone wants to switch parties they need to do this before noon on June 1st or wait until after the August primary.”
A registered voter who is not affiliated with either the Democrats or Republicans may choose to align with either party at three times: during this period, or when requesting an advance ballot through the Bourbon County Clerk’s Office or when voting at their polling site during the primary election, according to the public notice.
” An unaffiliated voter can affiliate at any point including on election day, but they will need to fill out a new voter registration card to affiliate,” Mason said. “They will remain the party they affiliated with until they fill out a new voter registration card.”
The primary election is August 7, 2018.
For more information: 620-223-3800.
Boiler Room Brewhaus Expands Into Historic Downtowner Hotel
Boiler Room Brewhaus is expanding. The microbrewery is moving from 102 S. National Avenue to 10 S. National Avenue, the historic Downtowner Hotel.
“We ran out of space,” Ritter said. “Bryan (her husband and the brewer for the business)…didn’t have enough space. (He) couldn’t make it in advance to not run out.”
There are additional advantages to the location at the corner of National Avenue and Wall Street, “Two of the busiest streets in Fort Scott,” she said.
“It’s all on one level, more patrons will have easier access, it has handicapped accessible restrooms, visibility is pretty significant and there is a lot more room for cold storage, like a bigger refrigerator. We will now have a refrigerated room to put kegs in…trucks can come up to deliver grain, and more storage,” Ritter said.
“We’ll be able to make more of our own stuff,” she said. “We’ll have the ability to serve from four more taps. Although, it will take us a while to catch up, because of the move.”
Future plans also include an outside patio area for customers, under the carport on the south portion of the building.
The Ritters, she and her sister-in-law Peggy Ritters are the owners, will have a “soft” opening at the new location Friday, June 1 at 4 p.m. “to celebrate with people and say thanks for all your help and support,” she said.
Ritter also wanted to thank Bobby and Denise Duncan for letting them start their business in their building, Ritter said.
Josh Jones, the owner of the Downtowner building has been repairing and updating the new site for them.
“He’s done all the painting, replaced glass, changed locks, plumbing and took up all the carpet and sanded the floor,” Ritter said.
Saturday, June 2 is the public ribbon cutting at 1:45 p.m. just before they open at 2.
Hours for the microbrewery remain Thursday-Friday from 4-10 p.m.
Saturdays from 2 to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 2 to 7 p.m.
Contact them at 620-644-5032.
The Ritters lobbied for a change in local law, so they won’t have to have 30 percent of their profit in food sales at the microbrewery.
As of January 2017, 66 counties (shaded in medium pink above) in Kansas require there be 30 percent of profits in food sales on the premises to be able to sell liquor, 33 (light pink) counties don’t have that requirement and six counties (dark pink) are “dry” counties, and have no liquor by the drink.
Currently, Bourbon County requires 30 percent food sales in a business that sells liquor.
“It has been approved to put it on the November 2018 ballot to say you do not need to have 30 percent food sales to sell alcohol,” Ritter said.