During their meeting Tuesday evening, the Fort Scott City Commission decided to allow city manager Dave Martin and others to begin drafting an ordinance allowing utility task vehicles to be driven on city streets.

In recent weeks, the issue of allowing the off-road UTVs on streets had come to the commissioners’ attention, with residents speaking both in favor of such an allowance as well as in opposition to it.

“We can’t make everybody happy, although we try,” Martin said.

Martin said he had discussed the decision with residents and the majority spoke in favor of such an ordinance, while those opposed to it referenced concerns such as their speed capabilities, ranging from 25 to 75 miles per hour, and the fact manufacturers built them as off-road vehicles.

A number of residents addressed the commission during Tuesday’s meeting and said they believe UTVs, including vehicles such as Kawasaki Mules and other models, are safer than motorcycles and golf carts as well as some cars.

Police Chief Travis Shelton gave a report, saying he had contacted other cities that allow UTVs on the streets, including Chanute, Parsons and Pittsburg. In speaking with representatives from those police departments, Shelton said they reported little trouble when it came to accidents, chases, ticketing and reckless driving involving UTVs.

“I don’t think you’ll have a problem with them” UTV owner Eric Shoemaker said, also emphasizing that he believes the UTV tires are also safe for the streets. “These are a lot safer than a golf cart.”

Martin said he had heard the UTV tires are strictly for off-road use and would not have proper traction on streets, but others in attendance at the meeting assured him otherwise, merely pointing out that the tires would likely wear out faster.

“I think there’s a lot of people in this county that it’s going to help,” said resident Tim Bradbury.

The commissioners approved writing an ordinance by January 1, with a 4-0 vote, with commissioner Jim Adams absent. That deadline will give Martin and others such as Shelton time to continue their research and determine what restrictions and regulations will be in place, such as being a licensed driver, 18 years or older and what safety features such as seat belts and turning signals will be required.

When the ordinance is complete, the commission will again address the issue and decide to approve it or not.

During the Labor Day weekend, scores of visitors came to Fort Scott National Historic Site to participate in a variety of activities and demonstrations relating to the fort’s history.

Activities included artillery, mounted, baking and other demonstrations, guided tours of the fort as well as discussions on life for the officers’ wives at the fort, the construction of the fort and the importance of guard duty. The weekend events also included the Centennial Grand Ball held Saturday evening at Memorial Hall.

Submitted by Fort Scott National Historic Site

The three things that most attract visitors to Fort Scott—guns, horses and guns— will be featured on Labor Day Weekend this year at Fort Scott National Historic Site.

A program demonstrating the small arms of both the infantry and the dragoons soldiers will be offered on Saturday and Sunday this weekend, while the site’s artillery crew will fire the big gun on Sunday and Monday. Additionally on Saturday, reenactors portraying dragoon soldiers will be on horseback and offering mounted demonstrations. Other programs that weekend will honor the work of the soldiers or things the soldiers did to take a break from work.

On Saturday, September 3, the bakehouse and mess hall will be active with the smells of soldiers cooking bread and the noon meal. An 1840s doctor will have his shingle out at the post hospital. A laundress will be demonstrating Dutch oven cooking and a soldier will be showcasing 1840s construction methods and tools.

On Sunday and Monday, you can catch up on the latest gossip at the fort in a program titled “Frontier Gossip,” which will focus on officers’ wives at Fort Scott. “Bucket Brigade” will be a relay showing how the guards fought fires. Kids of all ages are invited to participate in this program and should be prepared to get wet.

On Monday, there will also be a special Labor Day tour “From the Crack Post of the Frontier:” This tour will focus on the labor force, building materials, architectural styles and construction techniques used in the building of Fort Scott.

In addition to these programs, there will be a Centennial Grand Ball on Saturday, September 3rd, at the historic Memorial Hall. It is being hosted by the volunteers and Friends of Fort Scott National Historic Site in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service. Doors open at 6 p.m. with dancing from 7 to 10:30 p.m.

Admission for the ball is as follows

 General Public- $15 in advance/$20 at the door per person, or two for $25 in advance/$35 at the door.

 Friends members- $10 in advance/$15 at the door.

 Children 12 and under and Dance Observers- $5.

All proceeds go to the “Friends” group, which will use the funds to support special programs at the historic site. Tickets can be purchased at Country Cupboard or the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce. A rehearsal for the ball will be held that Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the historic site’s Grand Hall.

Following is the schedule of activities for the weekend.

Saturday, September 3rd

10:00 a.m. “Flour, Sweat and Tears”-Bakehouse Talk

10:00 a.m. Dance rehearsal for Centennial Ball

11:00 a.m. Guided Tour

12:00 p.m. “Hardy Dashing Fellows”-Mounted Demonstration

1:00 p.m. “Flash in the Pan” -Small Arms Demonstration

2:00 p.m. “Home Improvement” (without the power tools) -1840s Construction Demo

3:00 p.m. “Hardy Dashing Fellows”-Mounted Demonstration

4:00 p.m. Flag Retreat

7:00 p.m. Centennial Grand Ball (Memorial Hall)

Sunday, September 4th

11:00 a.m. Guided Tour

1:00 p.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo

2:00 p.m. “Frontier Gossip”-The Real Lives of Fort Scott Officers’ Wives

3:00 p.m. “Flash in the Pan” -Small Arms Demonstration

4:00 p.m. Flag Retreat

Monday, September 5th

11:00 a.m. “Crack Post of the Frontier” –Guided Tour-Construction History of Fort Scott

1:00 p.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo

2:00 p.m. “Frontier Gossip”-The Real Lives of Fort Scott Officers’ Wives

3:00 p.m. Bucket Brigade: 1840s Guard Duty and Firefighting

4:00 p.m. Flag Retreat

 

With the first day of fall classes rapidly approaching, Fort Scott Community College can again boast in the fact that it is ranked in the top five community colleges in the nation according to a study by SmartAsset.

For a third year, the New York based company looked at the community colleges in the nation and ranked them according to their in-state tuition, student-faculty ratio, the graduation and transfer rate and the ratio of the students’ starting salaries upon entering the work force compared to their tuition fees.

Out of the 565 two-year colleges considered, FSCC was ranked fifth, dropping from its position at number one in 2015 only because of a slight decrease in their graduation and transfer rate, which SmartAsset revealed had been evident in many of the colleges in their most recent study.

“It is really an honor,” FSCC President Alysia Johnston said, saying the study again shows they offer high quality courses at an affordable price. “We’re very proud of our faculty and staff and of course our students.”

The study showed that FSCC has a student-professor ratio of 14-1, more ideal than the national average of 20-1. The starting salary for students is 1.05 times the tuition they paid and the graduation and transfer rate is 51 percent, higher than the 40 percent national average but slightly lower than previous years.

“Continuous improvement is what we’re striving for,” Johnston said, adding the study is evidence of those efforts made by the staff at FSCC.

SmartAsset’s vice president of content, AJ Smith, oversaw the research for the study which has placed FSCC as one of the top two-year colleges each of the three years the study was released.

“Compared to the national averages, Fort Scott does very well,” Smith said.

Neosho County Community College was ranked ninth in the nation after being considered #45 on the list in the previous year’s study results.

Smith said SmartAsset’s goal is to provide readers insight concerning financial issues, especially large purchases and investments such as college tuition. For more details on the recent study, see the following link:  https://smartasset.com/student-loans/best-community-colleges-2016

Despite the wet weather, numerous dogs and their owners attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday morning for the new Bark in the Park dog run located at Gunn Park near Shelter House #7.

The idea for the dog park began when community members Jim and Martha Scott saw such a park a few years ago when traveling through another city. Since that time, the city of Fort Scott, the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce and several other individual businesses and persons assisted in making the park a reality.

“It was all donations,” Jim Scott announced. “No tax dollars.”

Some of the donations included dog toys, park benches, waste bags, a sign as well as money for the fencing materials and time volunteered to dig the postholes from businesses such as Sleep Inn and Suites and Walmart as well as a collection of individuals.

“When you have a community like Bourbon County and like Fort Scott, you can do these things to raise the money, because you don’t need tax dollars,” Scott said. “Because the people raise it and say ‘I want to help, that sounds like a great idea.’”

Lindsay Madison, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, expressed their excitement for the new dog park and encouraged others to approach the chamber with similar ideas for the city of Fort Scott.

“This is just one additional, great asset to our community,” Madison said. “The more things we have here, the more people will come.”

With the software already in place, the Unified School District 234 will utilize online enrollment for the first time this school semester as a means to provide a more convenient method for parents and guardians to enroll their students and make payments.

“We hope it’s a great asset for our parents,” business manager Gina Shelton said during the board of education meeting held Monday evening, pointing out that the same process will be completed by parents, whether done in person or online.

The online enrollment will kick off Friday, July 15, and will allow guardians to log into their Parent PowerSchool account, where they can enroll students, pay textbook fees and add money to lunch accounts electronically. That online enrollment will be available until at least about a week prior to the Sept. 1, school start date, providing time for the information to be imported.

Any progress made in the enrollment process can also be saved and returned to later at the parent’s convenience. Those enrolling more than one student can decide to enroll and pay for one student at a time instead of all at once or having to make numerous trips to the school offices.

“We’ve had some good feedback, I feel like, from anticipation of people doing it,” Shelton said of the response so far.

Shelton said the school completed a couple internal tests already and said the process is simple, likely taking only about 15 minutes, but Shelton encourages parents to go ahead and start gathering information so that process will not be delayed once it is started. Some of that information required includes contact information for parents and step-parents, such as phone numbers, addresses and social security numbers; three emergency contacts, preferably local; and the student’s basic medical information such as immunizations, personal doctor and any allergies.

With the easily available opportunity to use electronic payments such as credit or debit cards as well as checks, Shelton said they hope it may reduce the number of returned checks, adding the entire process will help the district save money.

New students to the district will still be required to enroll in person.

Those needing to find out who their students’ teachers will be in the upcoming semester can contact the individual school secretaries after Aug. 17. That information will be posted on Parent PowerSchool about a week after that date.

If anyone comes across an issue while enrolling online, they can contact Jason Fryar at jfryar@usd234.org or contacting the board office at 620-223-0800 for assistance.

“We want to be as helpful as possible,” Shelton said, especially as it is their first year of using the online enrollment.

Shelton said the only thing that cannot be done online is the free and reduced food application, which still needs to be printed out and sent in or dropped off at the school. Shelton encourages all parents to fill them out because it affects school funding.

Shelton also pointed out that there will be a flat textbook fee of $35 this year instead of providing reduced textbook fees based on free and reduced lunches. Accommodations may be available for those unable to pay at once.

During their July meeting, the board of education also took time to reorganize itself as it does annually. Jordan Witt was nominated to be the board president for another year. Gary Billionis submitted his resignation from the board, effective immediately. Jamie Armstrong was nominated to take his place as board vice president. Vanessa Poyner was named the hearing officer for suspensions and expulsions.

During their first July meeting, the Fort Scott City Commission approved a series of recommendations from financial director Jon Garrison and director of informational technology Dustin McClure to improve the efficiency of the technology among the public buildings.

The three requests the commission unanimously approved included changes to the city website, economic development website, fiber systems and phone system. While some of the items require the city to commit sums of money to the improvements, others will save the city even larger amounts in upcoming years.

The planning process to update the current phone system to a digital program began a couple years ago and, although it will cost $20,000 initially, the city would then save about $46,000 each year. The phone lines will move away from the current 62 lines used between the city buildings.

“We are able to improve our technology but also save quite a bit of money,” Garrison said of the change.

In recent years, the city also got a high-speed fiber network through Suddenlink, but now needs to expand that reach. By working with the county and United School District 234, the city will be able to connect their own fiber system with the other taxing entities’ to connect city hall to other places such as the police station and public works facility.

“It just opens up a wide variety of benefits, not only for us, but for the school and the county,” Garrison said, while McClure emphasized the shared lines will not compromise security from the other entities and will be redundant enough that, if a line went down, the entities would not each lose their systems.

This project will cost about $60,000 and is available in the city budget.

City Manager Dave Martin said having the high-speed fiber network is key to the city moving forward, especially by connecting them to the police department.

The final project approved by the commission included hiring Civic Plus to make updates to the city website for a total of $46,014 stretched over three years. The changes would allow visitors to the website to accomplish more such as receiving or giving information. Martin said a city’s website is often crucial for businesses or potential visitors considering coming to Fort Scott.

“We feel very strongly that it’s something we need to do to continue moving the city forward,” Garrison said.

The city also heard a report from Director of Economic Development Heather Smith concerning her plan to separate the economic development website from the city’s, apart from sharing a link, so that economic information can be found readily without being lost in other city details. Smith said she plans to work with the area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism on the site.

Submitted July 1

Calling all kids in Fort Scott and the surrounding area! Are you bored sitting around the house playing video games this summer? Are you looking for something fun and exciting to do? Do you like to dig in the dirt? Or act in a play? How about doing scavenger hunts or looking through old buildings?

All of these activities will be offered as part of Fort Scott National Historic Site’s Trailblazer program for youth from ages 9-12. Participants can sign up for one of two weeks, July 18–22 or August 1–5, with programs running from 8:30 a.m. to noon each of those days.

During the week, youth will dig for buried treasure, explore the fascinating creatures and plants of the prairie, go green and have fun. The program will attempt to answer the question: “Kids, will they love National Parks?” We hope by the end of this week that the response will be yes!

A new and exciting element this year is an artist workshop. Youth will be guided by a professional artist in creating National Park Service inspired paintings, drawings, etc., that they will show off to their parents.

Registration for the workshop is underway. To register, contact Fort Scott National Historic Site at (620) 223-0310. Participants must be aged 9-12 years as of the beginning day of the camp. They will be sent an informational packet after registration is complete. There is no charge for the workshop.