David Wayne “Tiny” Watkins, age 77, a resident of Ft. Scott, Kansas, passed away Monday, January 20, 2025, at the Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri. He was born February 25, 1947, in Ft. Scott, the son of William Wayne Watkins and Edna Mae “Cricket” Kells Watkins.
David graduated from the Ft. Scott High School. He married Teresa Horton on September 23, 1967. Because his family owned the ambulance service in Ft. Scott, he was naturally drawn to a career in health care. He helped operate the ambulance service in both Bourbon and Crawford counties. He later graduated from Ft. Scott Community College and became a registered nurse. He worked as a nurse at Mercy Hospital in Ft. Scott and also as a nurse at both the Nevada Regional Medical Center and Heartland Hospital in Nevada, Missouri. Dave finished his nursing career as a traveling nurse where he served at several other area hospitals.
Dave loved music and had played the drums in several local bands. He and Teresa enjoyed taking trips to Branson to attend the music shows. Many other memories were made on the many family vacations the family was able to take.
Survivors include his wife, Teresa, of the home; five children, Alicia Watkins, David Watkins (Alisha), Tracy Watkins and Scott Watkins all of Ft. Scott and Billy Watkins of Deerfield, Missouri. Also surviving are seventeen grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Wayne and Cricket Watkins, a daughter-in-law, Amy Watkins and a sister, Cathy Killion.
Rev. James Brackett will conduct funeral services at 10:30 A.M. Monday, January 27th at the Cheney Witt Chapel.
Burial will follow in the Evergreen Cemetery.
The family will receive friends from 1-3 P.M. Sunday at the Cheney Witt Chapel.
Memorials are suggested to Care to Share and may be left in 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.
Unsung Heroes & STEAM
Online Professional Development Session
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
4:00 – 5:15 PM (Pacific Time)
All K-12 educators are invited to the next professional development session. Exploring Unsung Heroes who excelled in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics allows students to make formative connections as future innovators. This session, led by 2021 LMC Fellow Jennifer Braverman, uses an interdisciplinary STEAM framework and provides turn-key resources, strategies, and creative approaches to connect students with these individuals through the visual arts.
Free to join. Register to attend and receive a link to join the session, as well as the session recording and lesson plan. Certificate of Participation available for attendees.
You can now access the recording for the online Competition Info Session. This event covered competition rules, guidelines, judging criteria, tips for submission, prizes, and lesson plans. Previously participating teachers and students also presented on their experiences with the ARTEFFECT Competition! View the session recording below:
Learn more about the ARTEFFECT annual competition and resources for teaching and learning with the LMC Unsung Heroes with the Quick Start Resource Guide for Educators. The resources in this guide include lesson plans, session recordings, and a 10-step process to helping students begin and submit an artwork entry to the 2025 ARTEFFECT Competition.
(Located in the Fort Scott Professional Building adjacent to the North of the hospital. Attendees can arrive through the South doors.)
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce invites members and guests to a Chamber Coffee Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting this Thursday, January 23rd at 8am hosted by SkinnyDRIP, 2801 S. Horton Suite 2B. The location is in the Fort Scott Professional Building adjacent to the north of the hospital and attendees can arrive through the south doors. Coffee, juice, and light refreshments will be served along with a door prize drawing. The ribbon cutting will take place immediately following the Coffee to celebrate this new business and Chamber Champion member in our community.
SkinnyDRIP helps individuals achieve their health and beauty goals through advanced IV hydration, effective weight loss programs, and aesthetic treatments. They focus on creating a welcoming environment, providing personalized care, and maintaining high service standards, enabling their clients to feel rejuvenated and confident.
SkinnyDRIP’s mission is to foster a community where individuals can embrace their best selves with the support of innovative treatments and a dedicated team. Those wishing to inquire about services or make an appointment may call 620-687-6721, email [email protected], or visit their website at skinny-drip.com.
Contact the Chamber of Commerce at (620) 223-3566 for more information. Visit the Events Calendar and category of Chamber Coffees on fortscott.com for upcoming locations.
Thank you to our Chamber Champion members shown below…
FORT SCOTT, Kan. – In preparation for the much-anticipated opening of Freeman Fort Scott Hospital, Inc., a job fair will be held in early February.
Scheduled from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, the fair will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at the future hospital’s location, 401 Woodland Hills Blvd.
It’s an opportunity for Freeman to recruit and for individuals to explore what job opportunities are available. There are currently 60-plus openings for the new Freeman hospital. These positions include:
RN – Acute Care
RN – Emergency Department
Social Worker
Respiratory Therapist
Nurse Tech – Acute Care
Nurse Tech – Emergency Department
Network Engineer
Desktop Support Specialist
Administrative Assistant
Courier
Supply Chain Technician
Admissions Representative Specialist
Monitor Tech
Medical Technologist
Medical Laboratory Technician
Laboratory Medical Assistant
X-Ray/C-T Technologist
Vascular Sonographer
Pharmacist in Charge
Pharmacy Tech
Hiring managers will be available during the job fair and will have additional information about various openings.
Freeman Health System, the region’s largest provider of healthcare services, is in the process of seeking licensure to open and operate a 10-bed hospital and 24-hour emergency department with licensed physicians and trained nursing staff. Support for the emergency department includes laboratory, radiology, computerized tomography and an inpatient pharmacy. Opportunities to have outpatient lab, radiology and CT services will also be available to the community from the hospital.
Mercy Hosptial Building is now owned by Kansas Renewal Institute. Freeman Fort Scott Hospital will soon be housed in the facility.
The emergency room operations has been assumed by Freeman Health Systems.
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About Freeman Health System
Locally owned, not-for-profit and nationally recognized, Freeman Health System includes Freeman Hospital West, Freeman Hospital East, Freeman Neosho Hospital and Ozark Center – the area’s largest provider of behavioral health services – as well as two urgent care clinics, dozens of physician clinics and a variety of specialty services. In 2024, Freeman earned dozens of individual awards for medical excellence and patient safety from CareChex®, a quality rating system that helps consumers evaluate healthcare providers and their experiences. U.S. News & World Report named Freeman Health System one of the Best Hospitals for 2022. With more than 320 physicians on staff representing more than 90 specialties, Freeman provides cancer care, heart care, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopaedics, children’s services, women’s services, and many others for all of the Four State Area. Freeman is also involved in numerous community-based activities and sponsored events and celebrations. Additionally, in the Joplin/Pittsburg areas, Freeman is the only Children’s Miracle Network Hospital in a 70-mile radius. For more information, visit freemanhealth.com.
The north wing, east side of the Bourbon County Courthouse.
After starting the meeting prayer after the pledge, a new addition by the new commission, Bourbon County Commissioners spend more than an hour in salary discussions with County Clerk Susan Walker.
Walker began her remarks by giving a brief history of her positions at the county. She was hired in 2022 to assist department heads and county officials as CFO. She stayed in the position, despite the tension it cause because she cares.
“I’ve devoted 20 years to public service, and plan to continue doing just that,” she said. “I ran [for county clerk] on transparency and respect and plan to continue just that.”
She went on to explain that there were many issues with how the county was processing employee pay and benefits as well as tax and insurance problems when she was hired as CFO. Budget and cash basis laws were violated. The county was paying sales tax, though it is an exempted entity. Walker also worked to get the county reimbursed for utility bills. Payments the county owed were not paid on time, causing penalties and grant paperwork was not filed in a timely manner, causing the county to have to pay $38,000 back to the federal government.
Bourbon County’s first clean audit since 2017 was when Walker came on board in 2022.
She said that the salary schedules from the Jan. 13, 2025 meeting needed more discussion, but it wasn’t her place. She explained that $65,000 was budgeted for each elected official’s position, and the dissolving of the position of CFO made the funds available to cover the cost of the increase in pay.
During the budget sessions last summer, a commissioner agreed to fund every department as requested, except the County Clerk, and $26,550 was moved from the clerk’s budget and added to the commission’s budget. The clerk was told that the new commission could move it back if they wanted.
“I’m asking these funds be moved back to the clerk’s budget,” she said. The extra $20,000 to get employees to the $70,000 that was requested would come from employee benefits as, “we’ve had extra savings due to all the changes that we made last year.”
Walker said she ran for County Clerk because she was given to understand that the CFO position was going to be dissolved, though that was the place she always wanted.
Walker refuted statements about county employees not getting raises with a list of departments that had received extra funds for those raises in the last 2 years.
She also disputed the statement that the county is broke. “We have spent down $1.2 million in cash reserves by lowering taxes but not cutting spending…Cutting spending does mean cutting services even though some do not believe this statement.”
Walker concluded her statements saying, “I want to be a part of the solution to get the county back on track. That is what I was hired to do and that is what I will continue to do…the question is, ‘in what capacity does the commission want me to be in?'”
The commission proceeded to revisit the salary schedule approved at the Jan. 13 meeting.
Commissioner Leroy Kruger apologized for “acting hastily” regarding the new salary schedule in the last meeting and said he wanted to rectify that in the current meeting. He then moved to repeal the raise increases and open them back up for conversation, which the commission approved.
Kruger said that after looking into things and fielding many calls, emails, and texts, he would like to see that those elected officials not at the $58,600 mark be brought up to “at least that if not just a little bit more of a bump to $60,000.” That way if the bill regarding wages which is currently being held up in court does pass, the county is on track to not have to pay back-wages.
He wants to hold off on raises for everyone else until next year and then revisit it annually.
Commissioner Dave Beerbower said that his research shows that in 2019 a salary of $47,428 was approved for the county clerk, register of deeds, and county treasurer.
He commented that previous commissions had the opportunity to increase that and that a 4% increase per year is the corporate average. If that had been compounded over the last 4 years, the current pay rate would be $60,000. He doesn’t think it should all be done in one year, however, and suggested starting now with 4% increase as more reasonable step.
The other part of the salary issue the commission discussed was payment for extra duties, some of which is mandated by law. Currently, budget, payroll, and benefits, are extra duties of the clerk, not mandated by law as part of the legal description of her position. These duties were performed by Walker when she was employed by the county as a CFO. However, that position was dissolved by the last commission, which is part of why Walker ran for County Clerk.
Kruger said that he had spoken with member of other county governments and most of them do pay extra for those duties.
Commissioner Brandon Whisenhunt said, “We gotta look and see how much it would cost us if the clerk wasn’t doing those. I mean, if she’s asking for an extra $20,000 but she’s doing $9,5000-worth of work on top of her regular clerk duties… The only elected official that can do those jobs on a day-to-day basis is the clerk.”
“If the clerk doesn’t…help us with it, then that’s our job,” he said tot he other commissioners.
Beerbower agreed that it makes the most sense for those duties to be part of the county clerk’s position.
The clerk also serves as the election officer for the county, which duties are compensated at $10,000, per state statue.
A document showing salaries of clerks, register of deeds, and treasurers in counties of comparable size, population, and valuation was passed around for the public in attendance to see. This document had been provided to the commissioners at the Jan. 13 meeting.
The $47,428 current salary and no raises given under last commission, puts a big gap between what other counties pay for the same positions and Bourbon County’s current payroll.
Beerbower said same discrepancy exists on all levels in the county.
A citizen attending the meeting spoke up and said there’s no good fix to the situation the commissioners inherited. Even if they do a 4%-per-year raise they will continue to lag behind comparable counties and the next commission will inherit a similar mess to what they are dealing with now.
There’s not been a salary solution for at least four years, said Lora Holdridge, Register of Deeds.
The 2025 budget approved by the previous commission, which included base salary rates of $65,000 for the sheriff, register of deeds, and county treasurer, but not the county clerk, was not revenue neutral.
Beerbower asked how the county will get back to revenue neutral.
Walker listed insurance rates, both liability and health, as the main reason for the increasing county budget.
She explained that assessed values will either stay the same or come up a little. Not taking advantage of that in the county’s expenditures is how to stay revenue neutral.
She then reiterated that money for raises is coming from removal of CFO position.
Beerbower continued to point out that the rest of the county employees hadn’t received raises either.
Kruger stated that it’s up to the new commission to start fixing the issues of the broken system they have inherited, seeking fairness for the employees and the public.
There’s very few departments that have the ability to give themselves or their employees raises out of their regular budget without coming to the commission, said Walker.
Bigger budgets have lots of leeway to create raises in their department meetings.
“I’ve been drug through the mud on this. But I’m also standing up for what I think is right.” said Walker.
Walker also pushed the commission to make a decision, reminding them that she is running payroll this week and needs to know what to pay people.
Kruger: Get everyone to $60,000 Register of Deeds, County Treasurer and County Clerk. Everyone else stays the same. Also pay the required extra duties.
Beerbower said that payroll and benefits were done by the clerk before Walker was hired as CFO in 2022. Walker reminded the commission that the county was not in compliance with statues and had various other financial problems that she had had to rectify as CFO. Whisenhunt reminded that if the county is not in compliance with statutes for the county budget they can be written up in audit and can be fined.
Beerbower said of base salaries, “I don’t have an issue with increasing it to $58,600.” Then said he was “not opposed” to having another set of eyes look at the budget.
Whisenhunt weighed in with, “We need to do the payroll and benefits. I think if we do the $60,000 and the extras for the extra work, that gets ’em close. Then we dig through the budget and see where we can scrimp and save to start getting the other departments up to the level of the neighbors.”
“There’s room somewhere. We just have to figure out where we’re spending. I mean we’re a government, there’s lots of inefficiencies,” he said.
Beerbower made motion to set the salaries for county clerk, register of deeds, and county treasurer at $58,600 and that the sheriff, attorney, and county commissioner salaries stay the same; the motor vehicle and investment officer extra duty at $10,000 for the treasurer’s office; register of deeds $5000 for road officer, and the county clerk receive $10,000 for election officer, $6000 for payroll and benefits and table the budget, which includes financial review, to be discussed at a later date.
There was no second
Kruger made a motion similar to Beerbowers but with a base salary of $60,000 and extra duties as posted on the original sheet including $10,000 for extra duties of the clerk.
Whisenhunt seconded and the motion passed. Kruger and Whisenhunt: Yes. Beerbower: No
The commission took a 5 minute break 1 hour and 10 minutes in to the meeting so Walker could created a new salary resolution.
Jaidyn Crumby is a senior at Fort Scott High School and has turned a passion into a business.
“I’m currently taking floriculture classes and fell in love with the art of floral design,” she said. “So I decided to try and start my own little operation.”
“I started taking a floriculture class through the high school’s FFA chapter last year and loved it,” she said. “Sydney Cullison is my teacher and without her, this whole thing would not be possible. She taught me that it’s ok to mess up because you can always fix it.”
“Floral design is an art and it takes patience. Ms. Cullison taught me that it is all trial and error and that you can’t get frustrated if something doesn’t work the first time you try.”
“I have been making arrangements for my friends and family just for birthdays or holidays for a while and my dad saw the passion I had and helped me start my business. I love creating something for someone that will just instantly put a smile on their face.”
“My Dad is Zac Crumby, my mom is Stephanie Weddle, and my stepmom is Amanda Crumby.”
She makes all of the arrangements from her home and orders flowers in bulk online.
“Valentine’s Day will be my first preorder so I will use it as a test run to hopefully better my business in the future.”
After high school, she plans to attend college and major in agriculture business, specifically crop and soil management, and minor in plant and soil science.
“After attaining my bachelor’s degree I plan to attend Cleveland University in Kansas City to get my doctorate degree in Chiropractics.”
Submitted photo. One of Crumby’s creations.
How To Order
“I currently have a pre-order posted on Facebook with a link attached to order a dozen or a half a dozen roses for Valentine’s Day. Roses will be red, possibly pink also depending on the demand.”
Customers have the opportunity to leave a custom message for whoever may be receiving the arrangement.
Customers also have the choice of pick up or delivery (Fort Scott area). Delivery doesn’t have a $5 service charge.
The full dozen arrangements are $50 and the half a dozen arrangements are $25. Each arrangement will come in a vase with a bow. The roses will be arranged with baby’s breath and greenery.
There will be three payment options including, cash, check, and Venmo. Orders will close on February 2nd to ensure plenty of time to get flowers ordered.
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Patricia Marie Tennison, a beloved mother, grandmother, sister and wife. Patricia’s strength, passion, and unwavering love for her family will be deeply missed by all who knew her.
Patricia is survived by her husband Kevin. Her children Chris (Angie) Grado, Melissa (Jeremy) Briggs, Kelly (Joe) Schaub, Stacy (Bryan) Bishop, Donnie (Carina) Hampton. Her beloved grandchildren Kaitlyn, Madison (Josh), Dylan, Jenna, Dominik, Dawson, Aayla, Elsa, Kynlee, Isaak, Mason, Jaxen, Ryker, Jase, Kyndal, Kaia, Lucas, Knoxlee, Logan. Her sweet great grandchildren Kingston, Hendrix, Ramsey, Slater.
And her siblings Jesse (Janet), Loretta (Rick), Paul (Tanna), Carol, Melchor (Connie), Nancy (Ernesto), Stephanie (Raymond) and many loved nieces and nephews.
Preceding her in death her Mother, Father, her sister Mary Anne Grado and first husband Larry Hampton.
Patricia known as Mimi and Grandma Patty loved Disney including all things Mickey and Minnie. She was known for loving to collect things. She adored her grandchildren and spent as much time as she could loving and caring for them. She and Kevin (Papa) would do anything they could to provide and ensure the best for their grandbabies. She was the best Mimi ever. She was a devoted believer in Christ and prayed for her children and grandchildren always.
Patricia’s legacy of love, kindness, and joy will live on in the hearts of her family and friends. She leaves behind a family who adored her and will continue to honor her memory by cherishing the values she held dear.
Rest in peace, Patricia. You will be forever missed and always remembered.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 A.M. Saturday, January 25th at the Cheney Witt Chapel with Robert and Kathy Clark officiating. Burial will follow in the Evergreen Cemetery. The family will receive friends on Saturday from 10:00 A.M. until service time at the Chapel. Memorials are suggested to the Patricia Tennison Memorial Fund and may be left in 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.
Residents in a portion of Bourbon County have been issued a boil water advisory by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The boil order is for people in northwest Bourbon County, from west of 95th Road to the Allen County line and north of Highway 54 to the Linn County line, according to Jack Ripper, the Water Operator for Rural Water District #4.
“The tower pressure got too low at Soldier Street and 60th,” Ripper said.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) issued a boil water advisory for the Bourbon County Rural District #4 public water supply system located in Bourbon County on January 20, according to a press release.
Customers should observe the following precautions until further notice:
• Boil water for one minute prior to drinking or food preparation or use bottled water.
• Dispose of ice cubes and do not use ice from a household automatic icemaker.
• If your tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears.
• Disinfect dishes and other food contact surfaces by immersion for at least one minute in clean tap water that contains one teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water.
• Water used for bathing does not generally need to be boiled. Supervision of children is necessary while bathing so that water is not ingested. Persons with cuts or severe rashes may wish to consult their physicians.
The advisory took effect on January 20 and will remain in effect until the conditions that placed the system at risk of bacterial contamination are resolved. KDHE officials issued the advisory because of a loss of pressure due to an equipment malfunction at the water treatment plant. Failure to maintain adequate pressure may result in a loss of chlorine residuals and bacterial contamination.
Regardless of whether the public water supplier or Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) announced a boil water advisory, only KDHE can issue the rescind order following testing at a certified laboratory.
For consumer questions, please contact the water system at 620-224-8095, or KDHE at 785-296-5514. For consumer information please visit KDHE’s PWS Consumer Information webpage: https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/468/Disruption-in-Water-Service
Restaurants and other food establishments that have questions about the impact of the boil water advisory on their business can contact the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s food safety & lodging program at [email protected] or call 785-564-6767.
Starlite FCE held their January meeting at the Presbyterian Village meeting room. President Glenda Miller called the meeting to order and led the members in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and the Club Collect. Twelve members were in attendance and reported that they had volunteered twenty-four hours and had recycled 50 pounds.
Glenda Miller recognized the January birthday which were Deb Lust, Karen Peery and Terri Williams. She also read a Thank you letter from the Veterans Hospital thanking us for the 151 Christmas cards we had sent. The members had all brought Valentine card this month to send to the VA as well. Glenda also announced that Taylor Bailey had accepted a new job as Director of Marketing for FSCC.
The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. Doris Ericson presented the Treasurer’s report, she reported that the club had donated $191 to Preferred Living and had purchased wreaths for 2025 Wreaths across America to be placed on graves in the National Cemetery. Glenda presented the Citizenship moment with information on Martin Luther King and Facts about Kansas which will be celebrating its 164 birthday January 29th. It was also announced that Starlite had tied for 2nd place in the Christmas Tree decorating contest at Presbyterian Village.
Old business consisted of passing out the new program books that had been filled out and reporting that the State report was done and had been turned in.
New business for the club was deciding on what lessons to focus on for this year. The club selected the lessons of “Brain Food and Hospice” for their focus.
Doris Ericson moved that the meeting be adjourned, Deb Lust seconded the motion, meeting adjourned.
After the meeting Taylor Bailey presented the program on “Autism”, she informed us that Autism has a wide spectrum of symptoms and severity.
Refreshments of sherbert, cookies, donut holes, nuts, M&M and water were provided by Del Parks, Letha Johnson and Taylor Bailey and enjoyed by all.
Prepared by
Terri Williams
FCE Clubs are partners with Kansa State University Extension to strengthen individuals, families and communities through educational support, leadership development and community service.
