For the 28^th year, the Beacon food pantry will host their Soup Line fundraiser Friday, with the goal of raising $5,000 and serving 1,000 people from the community.

The Beacon, which helps provide food, clothing and other necessities to Bourbon County residents in need, is partnering with the Young Professionals League and about 35 area churches to put on the event, which will be held at the Kennedy Gym at St. Mary’s Catholic School from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday.

For the past five years, Jamie Armstrong has organized the event, including the purchasing of the food needed for the vegetable beef and chicken noodle soup, helping prepare the food as well as organizing the efforts of the 100 volunteers and 35 area churches who provide about 300 homemade pies.

“We really couldn’t do it without our churches,” Armstrong said, adding she appreciates the inter-faith partnership among the churches to help provide for those in need in the county.

For $5, participants can get a bowl of soup made from scratch, a drink and homemade dessert. Anyone who might not be able to stay long because of work or other responsibilities can take the meal to go.

Although Armstrong admitted there may be other, more efficient ways to raise money, such as just by asking the community for donations, she said they enjoy the “labor of love” the soup line is as they take time to work to serve the community and raise funds for the Beacon.

For the past five years, the city of Fort Scott has offered tax rebates to residents and businesses of Bourbon County who participate in the Neighborhood Revitalization Program, which offers property tax rebate incentives to those who improve the state of their homes or properties.

During the Fort Scott City Commission’s meeting Tuesday evening, the commissioners unanimously voted to renew the program another five years after hearing a report from Heather Smith, the city’s director of economic development.

“This has really been a critical tool for us in economic development,” Smith said, saying the program from 2011 to 2014 had 16 commercial and 14 residential properties participate with 10 others applying to participate in 2015.

During that time, the commercial properties increased their valuation by about $2.6 million while the residential participants increased their value by $920,000. That total of $3.5 million in increased value outweighed the approximate $1.3 million in property tax rebates for the participants over the five-year term for residential properties and 10 years for commercial.

To receive the tax rebate, participants must increase the value of their property value by at least 15 percent. The rebate is then 100 percent of the taxes resulting from that appraised value increase, so it does not reduce the current revenue from taxes.

Brochures of NRP information Smith brought to the meeting states that “qualified improvements include any construction, rehabilitation, or additions that increase the appraised value of the property.”

“We’ve got some great opportunities I think to utilize this program and sell this program to people that have an interest,” Smith said.

Since its beginning, changes have been made to streamline the program, including putting it into the hands of the county starting in January, as the county has the needed software and capability of running it more easily than Smith and the city could.

“We want to see valuations go up,” Smith said of the goal of the program.

The Fort Scott National Historic Site is looking for people who have stories to tell about the history of the fort over the years as the National Parks Service and StoryCorps work together to record stories from sites in the Midwest region in honor of the NPS Centennial year in 2016.

StoryCorps, a non-profit organization in existence for a decade, has helped thousands of people over those years record their stories and are now helping the NPS do the same. Those recordings will be stored in archives as well as used on the StoryCorps’ weekly radio broadcast on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition.

“What we would be looking for is pairs of people who have interesting stories to tell about maybe something that happened here at the fort,” said Holly Baker, chief of interpretation and resource management at the fort, adding that could be a wide variety of people, such as volunteers at the fort, those involved in making it a national site or residents of the orphanage. “Anyone else who has had a special tie to this place and has a story that they can share that would be interesting to a national audience.”

The project asks for participants to tell their stories in pairs, using their dialogue to tell the story instead of an actual interview. Each recording will last about 40 minutes.

“We’ve got some folks in mind who have stories to tell and now we’re opening up the invitation,” Baker said, saying anyone interested in participating should contact her at her email: [email protected] or look for examples of such recordings at storycorps.org.

Baker says they hope to have four or five pairs of people committed to the project by the end of the year and a date will be set in the spring for the recording. Whether the recordings from Fort Scott are specifically used on the radio or not, Baker said they will likely be able to get copies of the recordings that can be shared with the community.

“I think it’s certainly very valuable to us to preserve our own oral history and what fascinating things have transpired that some of us may not know about and others of us may have forgotten about,” Baker said, adding that history will then be archived with the NPS for safekeeping.

As part of the National Novel Writing Month, Nate’s Place opened their venue up to local and Kansas authors Friday evening to display their books for community members interested in purchasing signed copies of the books or meeting the authors.

“I think this is mainly a celebration for our local authors,” hostess Pat Lyons said of the event, which featured about seven authors.

For some authors, such as Fort Scott resident Kathryn Salsbury, it was her first book, while Leigh Stites is working on a series of books, with Fort Scott and local venues such as Nate’s Place being featured in her novels.

The books on display Friday included romance novels, children’s books, a biography of a Fort Scott Community College professor and other works of fiction and nonfiction.

Topeka resident Ken Berry, a former major league baseball player, said he now enjoys visiting elementary schools and reading his children’s books he has written to the students, often bringing his World Series ring and Gold Glove Award with him.

Local historian Don Miller was also present to provide a preview for a pictorial book of Fort Scott which will be ready for purchase in the next couple months and will include photos of the city covering more than a century.

For the rest of the month of November, Lyons said they encourage writers to come to Nate’s Place to work on their own writing, saying they have already had some visit with their laptops to work on a novel.

The sophomore class of Fort Scott Christian Heights had their second annual work-a-thon fundraiser at the Gunn Park bike trails Friday, with local businesses and individuals sponsoring them as they raise money for their senior year.

“We are raising money for our senior trip,” student Christin Guilfoyle said, saying the students hope to travel to the Redwood Forest in California.

The seven students said they started raising money with a similar work day their freshman year, and have set the goal of raising $1,000 each year. Area business such as Country Cupboard, Cheney Witt, Sleep Inn and city hall sponsored them with either flat donations or a rate for each hour they worked.

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the students worked to clear leaves from the trails, remove fallen limbs, repair bridges and move dirt to improve the bike trails. Frank Halsey, who started the work on the trails at Gunn Park and directed the work day, said the students cleared leaves from about five miles of trail just in the morning hours.

“It’s great to have this type of a group,” Halsey said, saying the students worked really hard, though they admitted it was tiring. “It’s for a good cause for them.”

Halsey said he was also pleased that the students considered the bike trails a good way to help the community as well as raise money.

The students said they hope to have raised $1,000 by the end of next week. Those interested in supporting the students can contact their school.

Community members of all ages had the opportunity to participate in Veterans Day activities around Fort Scott Wednesday, as local organizations, schools and other venues hosted events to honor those who have served in the military.

The Fort Scott National Cemetery invited members of the community to attend a service which featured Cmdr. Matthew Jones, retired, of the United States Coast Guard, taps played by Jerry Witt, an honor volley by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1165 Honor Guard and music from the Fort Scott Community College band.

Jones said veterans are often men and women who serve others before themselves, and reminded retired veterans that they still have much to offer their community, including wisdom they have gained through their experiences.

Jones also reminded his audience that Veterans Day is a time “to honor those gone before and take time to listen to those we still have.”

Second graders at Winfield Scott Elementary School sang patriotic melodies for their family members and veterans in attendance at their program Wednesday morning. Certain children also read lines expressing their gratitude to those veterans.

“We want you to know that we appreciate all the veterans of the United States of America,” Principal Marianna Daugherty said.

The event at that school ended with a slideshow of photos portraying the students’ and teachers’ relatives who have served or are currently serving in the military, whether it was the students’ great, great grandparents or the teachers’ children.

Students at St. Mary’s Catholic School also sang patriotic songs during their service Wednesday afternoon, presenting gifts to the veterans in attendance.

The program at the Fort Scott Middle School included an array of fake poppies in honor of the poem, In Flanders Fields. The FSMS Concert Band and Select Ensemble provided music while eighth grade students read quotations from historical figures and even unknown authors, expressing gratitude and respect to veterans.

“We can’t say enough to say thanks,” Principal Jim Howard said to veterans who attended the program. “This day is for you.”

“Today we honor our veterans who have served and died,” speaker Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Black said, saying his question now is who from the next generation will step up and carry on that legacy.

The area Pioneer Kiwanis club invites members of the community to participate in their Chili Feed Thursday, their largest fundraiser of the year which will set the pace for the organization’s budget for the upcoming year.

Kiwanis member Gayle Sackett has been a part of the group for 12 years and said they have held this particular fundraiser each of those years. In previous years, Sackett said the community has really shown their support by attending.

“This is our biggest fundraiser of the year,” Sackett said, saying in past years they have raised about $4,000.

Sackett says they hope the fundraiser is successful again this year as those finances will then be used for the organization’s budget and ability to help area children and elderly through other local organizations.

“There are lots of things we budget for to give back to the community,” Sackett said of what the funds will be used for, including giving to organizations such as the Beacon, Adopt a Family, Care to Share, United Way, My Father’s House, as well as after-school programs and to the police department for backpacks they give to youth taken into custody.

The chili feed will be hosted at the First Presbyterian Church, from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., for $5 when tickets are purchased in advance from Kiwanis members or at the Chamber of Commerce, Landmark Bank or Country Cupboard, or for $6 at the door. Children under the age of 5 years old are free.

Tickets include the chili meal and a dessert of homemade pie. Hot dogs will also be available.

For a fourth time, Kayla Puterbaugh, 24, will travel to Africa to work with children in Uganda, staying for three months starting in January.

After hearing a missionary family speak at a Christian camp she went to during middle school, before her family moved to Fort Scott after she finished high school, Puterbaugh said her desire to visit Africa became even more real to her.

“I’ve just always loved it since I was a kid,” Puterbaugh said of Africa and her fascination with the idea of traveling there.

That desire was realized when she went on a 10-day medical trip in 2010, helped at an orphanage and as a nanny for that same missionary family for six months in 2011, and again went there this past August for a month.

The most recent trip, Puterbaugh spent two of those weeks working with Ruja, translating to “to dream,” an organization started by a friend of hers out of Idaho a couple years ago. This time, she will spend the full three months partnering with that group to help take care of five foster children.

“Long-term I want to be working with an organization that goes to Africa,” Puterbaugh said, saying she enjoys being with the children, caring for them and letting them know they are important. “I’m not positive if I want to live there full-time or not, but I definitely want to be going.”

Puterbaugh needs a total of $3,000 for her upcoming trip and will hold a bingo fundraiser Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. at the Common Ground Coffee Co., where she is a barista, to help raise some of that money. Participants give a donation for each bingo card, with prizes including baked goods and even gift certificates donated by local business.

“I know it’s a big number, but I also know God can provide it,” Puterbaugh said. “God just keeps supplying every time I’m ready to go.”

Those interested can find more details of her trip and make donations at https://www.gofundme.com/hs78yvp4

Fort Scott Community College will host benefit rodeo and other events Saturday to raise funds to help pay for the medical expenses of Ryan White, who suffered a brain injury earlier this summer from a riding accident.

A local and FSCC alumnus, White and his father-in-law, Dave Carey, have helped the college in past events for other auctions, donating items from their website. White has also spent time training as well as buying and selling horses.

“They’re really involved with the rodeo team,” said Cali Griffin, assistant coach of FSCC’s rodeo team. “We just wanted to help out.”

Griffin said White has had surgery since the accident and is well on his way to recovery, but he and his wife Cody still face medical bills as a result. Money raised during Saturday’s events will go to the family.

Activities will begin at 5 p.m. with a barbecue meal for a free-will donation. A silent and live auction will begin at the same time. T-shirts will also be sold and a two-year-old gelding will be raffled off.

The rodeo itself will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Arnold Arena and includes events such as calf roping, steer wrestling, team roping, barrel racing, peewee barrels for those under 10 years old, goat tying, bull riding and bareback and saddle bronco riding. Event winners will be given Montana Silversmith buckles. Admission to the rodeo $5.

Griffin helped organize the fundraiser and said already they have had about twice as many entries in the rodeo as they had hoped, including team roper and National Finals Rodeo qualifier Coleman Proctor, who has also offered a day of private lessons for two people in the auction.