With the approaching end to public transportation provided by the Southeast Kansas Community Action Program, a group of Fort Scott residents formed a committee to look into other options that could accommodate the needs of the city.

In a meeting held Monday evening, this Community Transportation Committee—made up of representatives from the city, area churches, Mercy Hospital and Fort Scott Community College—discussed options such as continuing to reach out to local churches who could volunteer their church vehicles as a short-term solution to the issue. A local pastor in attendance at the meeting said insurance is a key concern for churches since using them would not be considered church-related.

Kevin Marvin and Lora Strong of Pitt-Taxi transportation services in Pittsburg also attended the meeting and explained how they began their company in 2012 with just one vehicle, since growing to include a number of vans and other vehicles.

Pitt-Taxi provides rides to those within Pittsburg city limits at a set price for one-way and round-trip journeys. Marvin said they are interested in providing such a service in Fort Scott as well since they see a need similar to what they had previously seen in Pittsburg.

“We’d be more than glad to get in here and shoot for the sky,” Marvin said, saying their company is flexible enough that they could make adjustments along the way to make it the right fit for the community.

Marvin said their goal would be to bring one of their vans to Fort Scott two weeks before the SEK-CAP end-date of June 30, and use local drivers to provide rides from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Unlike SEK-CAP, which required a 24-hour notice for rides, Pitt-Taxi could pick up customers within about 15 minutes of being called and said drivers are willing to provide some assistance to riders such as with groceries.

Currently their vehicles are not wheel-chair accessible unless the chair folds and the rider is able to get into the vehicle with minimum assistance, due to insurance coverage.

The prices would likely be the same as in Pittsburg, at $7 for a one-way trip and $10 for a round-trip, which requires no more than a 15-minute wait. At those prices, Marvin said they would need to provide an average of 20 rides per 12-hour day in order to break even.

Because of their need to spread the word of their arrival as well as additional costs in payroll, a vehicle and added insurance, Marvin asked if the cost of rent for their Fort Scott office at the Bourbon County Senior Citizens’ facility could be waived for the first few months. City Manager Dave Martin said the city of Fort Scott would provide $5,000 to the BCSC to be used for rent and utilities of that office until those funds run out.

While bringing in Pitt-Taxi would solve the issue of losing public transportation in Fort Scott—which Deb Needleman emphasized is not a result of lack of funding, but because the current transportation has not fit the needs of the city—the committee said they will continue to look for other means of providing transportation for those who could not afford the fees or need rides at night. Vouchers and volunteer drivers are options.

Due to the hard work of city leaders, Fort Scott could soon be seeing more projects and improvements being accomplished around town to better roads and sidewalks for travelers’ convenience.

Already, work continues steadily on National Avenue between 6^th and 13^th streets, with the project expected to be done by August to improve the drainage and pipelines running along that roadway.

Earlier this month, City Manager Dave Martin said residents and travelers through the city will see even more work being done as the city uses grants and Kansas Department of Transportation funds to improve the streets and sidewalks.

In upcoming weeks, a sidewalk project will begin on the south side of Wall Street between Margrave and Steen streets. Earlier this month, bids came in on the project which will be accomplished with about $175,000 in grant money.

“A lot of people walk on that street,” Martin said, adding there are other areas of town that are in need of sidewalk improvements as well.

The city received a grant in 2014 to improve walking routes to Fort Scott schools by improving and connecting sidewalks, a project of almost $270,000. This Safe Routes to School grant will be used in the areas around the two elementary schools and should be put to bid in November as the city waits for approval from KDOT concerning easements and sidewalk locations.

But improvements will be made for drivers as well as pedestrians in Fort Scott as the widening project of Highway 69 begins in the next month, with contractors already working to determine how to route traffic safely through the area while work is done.

That project will be located between the National Avenue and 23^rd Street intersections with Highway 69, with a traffic signal being added at National Avenue, the light at 23^rd Street upgraded, a turning lane added and business entrances cleaned up. Because of the extent of the project, Martin said it will likely take a year to complete.

“That’s a big project,” Martin said of the $3.5 million KDOT and Fort Scott project.

Similarly, north and south turning lanes and a new entrance will also be added at the Industrial Park on the south side of Fort Scott to improve traffic flow in that area, an issue KDOT became aware of after the addition of the LaRoche Baseball Complex. Martin said bidding will occur in 2016 for that $1.5 million project.

“It makes it very stressful at times, but that’s a good thing,” Martin said of the work.

Although several projects may be occurring simultaneously, Martin said in just a couple years’ time a significant difference would be made, and with the assistance of grants instead of just taxpayers’ money.

“With the financial situation as it is, it’s a good thing we went ahead and moved forward on these as they did,” Martin said. “Because you just never know what’s going to happen.”

In the meantime, drivers and residents in Fort Scott may have to be patient and remain aware of construction zones.

Despite the cold and wet start Saturday morning, Fort Scott businesses and organizations still provided festivities for families in honor of the Easter holiday.

The Buck Run Community Center again provided their annual Easter Eggstravaganza, giving children an opportunity to color eggs, make crafts, try Easter snacks and participate in other activities.

In just the first hour Saturday morning, about 30 children participated. Director Tom Robertson said each annual event, which includes similar festivities for other holidays such as Christmas, Halloween and Valentine’s Day, brings about 40 children.

This year, the community center partnered with Walgreens, who provided free photo shoots with the Easter bunny at their location once the events at Buck Run were complete. Walgreens employees said usually between 50 and 75 people participate in such photo opportunities.

Though the weather was a concern, families still turned out in their Easter outfits to have their photographs taken with the Easter bunny.

Submitted by Heather Cutshall, March 22

Fort Scott Community College will host its 40th annual Aggie Day on Friday, April 1. Approximately 1,400 students representing more than 80 schools will compete in the contest, which is facilitated by FSCC’s Agriculture Department. The department offers a variety of programs for students, including agriculture, farm and ranch management and John Deere Tech, as well as activities such as livestock judging, meat judging, collegiate farm bureau and rodeo.

“Our agriculture instructors and students always look forward to Aggie Day, and we’re especially thrilled because this year marks the 40th anniversary of the event,” said FSCC Agriculture Instructor Ryan Edgecomb. “We are excited to showcase students involved in FFA and 4-H programs across the Four States.”

Students will compete in a variety of areas, including agronomy, entomology, farm management, floriculture, food science, livestock, meat evaluation, milk quality and products, nursery/landscape, poultry and speech. Trophies will be awarded to the top three teams in each contest. Plaques will be awarded to the top three individuals in each contest, and medals will be presented to those earning fourth and fifth place.

Sponsored by Purina Animal Nutrition, Honor Show Chow and Winfield, this event is the longest running interscholastic competition in the region.

“It is an honor to have Purina, a company with such great values and reputation, as our sponsor,” said Edgecomb. “We thank them for their support of agriculture and the youths of southeast Kansas.”

Teams should pre-register online at fortscott.edu/aggieday before Friday, March 25. Registration for the event will begin at 7:00 a.m. on Friday, April 1, at the Arnold Arena on the FSCC campus in Fort Scott, Kan.

For more information, please call Ryan Edgecomb, FSCC Agriculture Instructor, at (620) 223-2700 ext. 3280.

After announcing his resignation earlier this month, Fort Scott city commissioner Lucas Cosens was recognized Tuesday night during his final meeting before his family moves away to Cleveland so he can continue medical school.

Mayor Cindy Bartelsmeyer presented a plaque and key to the city to Cosens, thanking him for his service to the community during his almost three years as a commissioner.

“We have appreciated you so much,” Bartelsmeyer said. “You’ve been an asset to the commission. We’re going to miss you.”

City Manager Dave Martin praised Cosens, saying he was always willing to ask hard questions and hear both sides of an issue.

“I appreciate the time working here for the city,” Cosens said. “And it will be an experience not easily forgotten.”

The city leaders wished Cosens well as he continues his medical education at Kent State University with the goal of moving from practicing as a chiropractor to more traditional medicine.

“It’s been an honor and privilege to serve in this wonderful town,” Cosens said.

Dr. Randy Nichols has been approached and considered to fill in the open position left by Cosens.

Other Topics:

• The commission approved a low bid of less than $4,800 to replace three sets of fire fighter bunker gear to continue rotating through worn gear. The replaced gear will be used as back-up equipment.
• The commission approved water treatment plan supervisor Michael Mix’s request to go to bid for a new sludge tank as well as improvements to be made at the plant to correct the process of transporting dirt from the water to the wastewater plant, since that dirt can no longer be put back into the Marmaton River.
• Fire Chief Paul Ballou gave an update on Lake Fort Scott’s need for a tornado siren in that area. The lake community raised more than $5,000 through a memorial fund in honor of John Scott, who died in 2015, to help fund the project while the Bourbon County Commission decided Tuesday morning to also provide $5,000. The city will support the project as well, which will cost the entities a total of between $16,000 and $18,000. New Wave Broadband has offered to let the siren be located near their new tower at the lake, which would also provide the needed energy.
• The city of Fort Scott has begun looking into the option of selling Second Street Park, citing reasons such as the number of parks already owned by the city, the small number of people who use the park, the number of times the police department is called to that area as well as the fact that the area floods. Martin clearly stated they are moving forward slowly and are looking for feedback from the community on the idea.
• The commission approved increasing their annual donation to the Bourbon County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) from $2,000 in 2015 to $2,500 this year.

Despite a cool start to the day, the weather warmed nicely for families and volunteers participating in the Fort Scott Kiwanis annual Easter egg hunt held at Gunn Park Saturday morning.

“I thought it was a decent turnout,” Phil Gorman, Kiwanis club treasurer, said of the event that has been held for decades.

About 200 children, divided into three age groups, hunted for about 2,000 eggs that had been placed earlier that morning. While some eggs had candy in it, some held coupons to businesses around town such as Fort Cinema and local restaurants while others signaled that they had won a different prize. Quinten Irsik, 4, was awarded the grand prize for finding a specific egg.

Gorman said they would not have been able to put on the event without those business that donated coupons as well as funds that were used to purchase the eggs, candy and prizes.

Those donors included individuals and entire businesses representing Farmers Insurance Group, Iron Star Antiques, Farm Bureau Insurance, Rogers Body Shop, Heidricks True Value, Don’s Spirits, R & R Equipment, Big Sugar Lumber, Fort Scott Lumber, Dairy Queen, Diehl Banwart Bolton CPAs, Flowers by LeAnna, Marsha’s Deli, McDonalds, Edward Jones, Liberty Theater and Country Cupboard.

The Fort Scott Police Department also participated in the event Saturday and the Easter Bunny was also present for photo opportunities.

During a surprise statement Tuesday, Fort Scott graduate and resident Adam LaRoche announced his intentions to retire from Major League Baseball after 12 seasons of playing.

The first baseman and designated hitter signed a two-year contract with the Chicago White Sox during the 2014 off-season, but told his coaches and fellow players Tuesday, with just over two weeks before the 2016 season starts, that he intends to retire from the game, citing personal reasons. By voiding the contract, he would walk away from the contract’s remaining $13 million promised him for the 2016 season.

He did agree to give it one more day before confirming the decision, though players and coaches were quoted in other articles as saying he seemed confident in his decision. In a post on Twitter, LaRoche, 36, said, “Thank u Lord for the game of baseball and for giving me way more than I ever deserved! #FamilyFirst.”

“We’ve always known this was a high-character guy,” White Sox general manager Rick Hahn was quoted as saying in an MLB article published Tuesday. “And if this is the end, then this is a guy who had a very solid, extensive big-league career and, in the end, was playing this game for the right reasons and not strictly the economic ones.”

A follow-up MLB article published Wednesday stated LaRoche signed retirement papers, though the club had not yet sent them to the league office, granting him a little more time to decide. That article said LaRoche decided to retire when the club requested that his son Drake, 14, not spend as much time with him and the team as he had in past years.

Drake had become known as the 26^th man on the team, having his own locker at the ball field and being a constant presence with the team during practices and games. The White Sox executive vice president Ken Williams, who made the request, said the club did not wish to set such a precedent, though adding the team was fond of the teenager.

Other MLB players such as Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals expressed support for his family-focused decision on Twitter.

LaRoche has a career batting average of .260 with a total of 255 home runs over 12 seasons with teams such as the Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks, Washington Nationals and the Chicago White Sox. His average statistics dipped during the 2015 season when he batted just .207 with 12 home runs, both his lowest in the majors other than an abbreviated 2011 season that ended when he had shoulder surgery.

LaRoche played in just two spring training games this month as back spasms during the first week of March forced him to rest.

LaRoche and his wife Jennifer and children Montana and Drake are Bourbon County residents at the E3 Ranch and active members of the community, such as by investing in the LaRoche Baseball Complex. LaRoche is also a co-owner of the hunting show “Buck Commander” along with other athletes and celebrities.

The first stage of a project begun months ago now nears its completion as the quiet zone construction project in Fort Scott wraps up at the intersection of Wall Street with the railroad tracks.

Fort Scott City Manager Dave Martin said Wednesday that the city had submitted a letter stating the project was complete to Burlington Northern Railway and was nearing the end of the waiting period for approval. If that approval is granted, trains could stop blowing their whistles within a quarter mile to the north and south of that intersection at almost any time.

Martin said businesses located on that side of town have looked forward to this quiet zone for some time. In the future, such zones could also be installed at other major intersections.

“A long time coming,” Martin described the project, saying it had been in the city’s plans for years.

The project included putting in curbing and sidewalks at the intersection and adding a median. The road located at the northwest corner of the intersection was also paved while another road was relocated.

Trains may still blow their whistle if they stop to take on or let off workers.

Martin also said with the warmer weather, work on the National Avenue project has picked up as more equipment is regularly seen in the area where the road is closed for construction.

“That project, everybody forgot, was scheduled to be a year-long project because they are replacing everything,” Martin said, installing large pipes and also improving curbing and drainage.

Martin said the crews have run into a lot of rock but they still plan to be completely done by August.