Fort Scott, Government

Agenda for the FS City Commission for Oct. 15

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NOTICE OF AND AGENDA FOR REGULAR

MEETING OF FORT SCOTT CITY COMMISSION

City Hall Commission Room – 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, KS 66701

October 15, 2024 – 6:00 P.M.

 

  1.     Call to Order
  2.     Roll Call

Tim VanHoecke,   Matthew Wells,   Dyllon Olson,   Kathryn Salsbury,  Tracy Dancer

III.       Pledge of Allegiance

  1. Invocation
  2. Approval of Agenda
  3. Consent Agenda
  4. Approval of Appropriation Ordinance 1370-A – Expense Approval Report – Payment Dates of September 25, 2024 – October 8, 2024 – $ 734,821.86
  5. Approval of Minutes for October 1, 2024.
  6. September Financials

 

VII.    Public Comment – Sign up required before the beginning of the meeting on register at the entrance of the Commission Room. Public Comments are for any topic not on the agenda and limited to five (5) minutes per person, at the Commission’s discretion.

VIII.     Appearances – Must be scheduled with the City Clerk at least (1) week prior to the meeting             

              you wish to address the Commission. You will be scheduled on the agenda to speak on your topic.

 

  1. Kathy Dancer – Alley Repairs in Downtown Fort Scott

 

  1. Unfinished Business
  2. Status of Building at 118 E. Wall – Requested documents from owner due per October 1, 2024, extension approved until October 15, 2024.
  3. Consideration to Approve Renewal of the Downtown Historic District and Riverfront Park Common Consumption Area Permit (existing Ordinance No. 3756) – annual permit expires November 21, 2024 – Tabled from October 1, 2024.

 

  1. New Business

 

Public Hearing:

  1. Consideration to Approve Ordinance No. 3771 – Floodplain Management Ordinance – Pursuant to 44 CFR Sect. 60.3(d) – Regulatory Floodway Identified, K.S.A. 12-766 and K.A.R. 5-44-1 through 5-44-7 – Wyatt, N. Nation, B. Allen

 

  1. Consideration to Approve Resolution No. 28-2024 – Directing the Repair or Removal of an Alleged Unsafe and Dangerous Structure located at 1721 E. Wall
  2. Consideration to Approve Resolution No. 29-2024 – Directing the Repair or Removal of an Alleged Unsafe and Dangerous Structure located at 323 W. Wall
  3. Consideration to Approve Resolution No. 30-2024 – Directing the Repair or Removal of an Alleged Unsafe and Dangerous Structure located at 1619 E. Pine
  4. Consideration to Approve Resolution No. 31-2024 – Directing the Repair or Removal of an Alleged Unsafe and Dangerous Structure at 1105 E. Scott
  5. Consideration to Approve Resolution No. 32-2024 – Directing the Repair or Removal of an Alleged Unsafe and Dangerous Structure at 402 S. Lowman
  6. Consideration to Approve Resolution No. 33-2024 – Directing the Repair or Removal of an Alleged Unsafe and Dangerous Structure at 418 S. Couch

 

Action Items:

  1. Consideration to Approve Resolution No. 27-2024 – Operation Greenlight for Veterans – that in observance of Operation Green Light, the City of Fort Scott, Kansas encourages its citizens in patriotic tradition to recognize the importance of honoring all those who made immeasurable sacrifices to preserve freedom by displaying green lights in a window of their place of business or residence from November 4th through the 11th, 2024 – Submitted by Michael Hoyt
  2. Consideration to Approve Healthcare MOU
  3. Consideration to Approve Federal-Aid Fund Exchange Master Agreement
  4. Consideration to Appoint Ann Rawlins to the Fort Scott Planning Commission – Recommended by the Planning Commission on October 2, 2024, to fill the vacant seat of the (7) member Commission.
  5. Consideration of MOU Between City of Fort Scott and Old Fort Genealogical Society (OFGS) for Usage of the Eastern Side, Lower Level of Memorial Hall
  6. Consideration of a Change Order on Project No. 6 U-2455-01 Horton St. & 6th Project – Replace/Repair Inlet and Manholes – J. Dickman
  7. Reports and Comments
  8. City Manager Comments
  9. Engineering Comments
  10.  Commissioners Comments
  11. City Attorney Comments

 

XII.      Adjourn

Entertainment, Food, Fort Scott, Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce

Annual Downtown Trick or Treat Parade Is Oct. 26

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The Fort Scott Chamber announces the Annual Downtown Trick-or-Treat Parade!!!

SPONSORS NEEDED!

The past couple of years the attendance has been growing for the Downtown Trick-or-Treat parade with 600+ kids in attendance! At the end of the parade, we serve a slice of Papa Don’s pizza and a drink to each child who is in costume. We have been very thankful for the gracious donations from you all in the past!

If your business is interested in making a donation, please contact us! Click here to email us or call the

Chamber at 620-223-3566.

We will accept monetary donations or other items such as pop, juices, or bottled water.

Saturday, October 26, 2024 @ 11:00 AM

10-11am: Halloween photo backdrop for pictures with your own camera.

Face painting will be offered by the Fort Scott High School Pride and Thespian Clubs!

11am: Parade will start at La Hacienda, down the west side of Main Street to 2nd, then back down the east side of Main Street to Skubitz Plaza.

Following parade: A slice of pizza and a drink will be served to the kids in costume provided through the generous donation of local businesses!

__________

***Businesses along Main Street will be handing out candy during the parade, and businesses not on Main Street as well as any community organizations are welcome to set up a table along Main to pass out candy, coupons, promo items, etc.***

Please email the Chamber if your business or organization will be passing out candy so we

can plan accordingly.
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A special thank you to our Chamber Champion members!
Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce | 231 E. Wall Street | Fort Scott, KS 66701 US
 
Entertainment, Fort Scott, Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce, Youth

Fort Scott Halloween Parade

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For Immediate Release
October 10, 2024
Submitted By: Lindsay Madison
Phone: (620) 223-3566
Email: [email protected]
HALLOWEEN PARADE
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce announces this year’s Halloween Parade will
be held Saturday, October 26th at 11:00 a.m. in Downtown Fort Scott.
Prior to the parade, starting at 10:00 a.m., there will be special activities including
pictures with a spooktacular backdrop at the City Scales building on North Main and face
painting by Fort Scott High School Thespians.
The parade trick-or-treats merchants along Main Street, starting at La Hacienda, south to
2nd Street, crossing the street then heading north back to Skubitz Plaza. Any businesses
or organizations in the community not located along Main Street are also welcome to set
up a table on the sidewalk providing treats, coupons, or other handouts for kids. Children
are encouraged to bring a sack or bag to collect treats along the parade route.
Following the parade, a free slice of pizza sponsored by Papa Don’s and a drink will be
served to kids in costumes.
The Chamber is currently seeking sponsors and donations for the event. Contact the
Chamber for more information at 620-223-3566.

Obituary

Obituary of Allison “Lissa” Gorman

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Allison Marie “Lissa” Gorman, 71, resident of Fort Scott, passed away early Tuesday morning, October 8, 2024. She was born on August 17, 1953, in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Leroy Pitt and Martha (Wolf) Pitt. She married Kevin Gorman on May 28, 1977, in Topeka, and he survives of the home.

 

Lissa graduated from Topeka High School, and went on to receive her BA from Kansas State University. She taught school, teaching English at Fort Scott Community College, but she also was the office manager for Kevin’s veterinary clinic, Gorman Animal Hospital. Lissa was also a musician, playing piano for Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church and also for Trinity Lutheran Church. She was on the Fort Scott Public Library Board, and was an active member of P.E.O.

 

In addition to her husband Kevin, Lissa is also survived by her children, Philip Gorman & Jackie, of Parsons, Kansas, and Wendy Gorman, of Mission, Kansas; a sister, Susan Zane of Topeka, Kansas; grandchildren, Will Gorman, and Drew Gorman; as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Lissa was preceded in death by her parents.

 

Following cremation, Pastor Michael Apfel will officiate memorial services at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, at the Trinity Lutheran Church, under the direction of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home. The family will receive friends at 9:00 a.m. prior to services. Private interment will take place at Evergreen Cemetery at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to P.E.O. Program for Continuing Education (PCE) and may be left in the care of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home, 15 W. Wall Street, P.O. Box 309, Fort Scott, KS, 66701.  Friends and family may sign the online guest book and share memories at www.konantzcheney.com.

 

Bourbon County, Entertainment, Fort Scott

Military Vehicle Preservation Group Convoy Visits Fort Scott On Oct. 13-14

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Military Vehicle Preservation Association logo from it website.

 

The community will see a unique group of vehicles in Fort Scott on October 13 and 14.

The 2024 Military Vehicle Preservation Association Convoy is coming through on its way to Louisiana from Minnesota.

The group was started in the 1970s by “a crazy group of people who started collecting vehicles,” said Charles Toney, convoy planner with responsibility of Fort Scott to New Orleans for the group. They are now in 100 countries around the world.

“The Military Vehicle Preservation Association is an international group of thousands of folks who purchase, rebuild and maintain ground-based military vehicles or transportation equipment,” he said. “MVPA.org. I believe 1974 was when it started.”

“The purpose is to preserve history and educate the public. I drive and maintain three vehicles because I enjoy the challenges and am a retired educator.”

City of Fort Scott Public Relations and Tourism Director, Jackson Tough said “We truly enjoy hosting groups like the Military Vehicle Preservation Association Convoy! Everyone wins when groups like this come through Fort Scott. We offer them a variety of accommodations, restaurants, and attractions and they offer our community an opportunity to see some very interesting military vehicles that we don’t often get to see.”

“There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes prep,” Jackson said.  “We’ve been working on coordinating this for about a year and I’m glad the convoy is almost here. I hope folks join us at the National Historic Site and the VFW to experience these incredible vehicles and the patriots that pilot them.”

Where One Can View The Vehicles

The convoy of approximately 27 military vehicles will be on display at the Fort Scott National Historic Site (199 Old Fort Blvd.) from noon -2 PM while they tour the fort and historic downtown district on Sunday, October 13, according to a press release from Fort Scott’s Tourism Department.

The drivers and passengers will stay overnight in Fort Scott and be hosted for breakfast by the local Veterans of Foreign Wars, VFW Post #1165, on Monday, October 14.  The post is located at 1745 S. National. The convoy vehicles will be on display again Monday morning at the VFW from 7:30 -10 A.M.

Afterward, they will travel through the Fort Scott National Cemetery as they depart for the next leg of the journey to Pittsburg, Kansas and points south, according to the press release.

The convoy will retrace the historic 1918 Jefferson Highway route from the Minnesota-Canadian border to New Orleans, Louisiana, traversing 2,500 miles. The group will travel through Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana.

Vehicles, the oldest of which is from the 1940s, include Humvees, Jeeps and a Half, MRAP, Willys, MRZR, Tac-Ops, RSOV, and others.

 

Taken from the Facebook page of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association.

The Route

The Jefferson Highway was built in the 1910s as part of the national auto trail system, an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada. Named for President Thomas Jefferson and inspired by the east–west Lincoln Highway, the Jefferson Highway was nicknamed the “Palm to Pine Highway” for the varying types of trees found at either end.

 

For more information and to follow the convoy: www.facebook.com/MVPAConvoy.

Opinion

A Legal Fight Against Evil by Patty LaRoche

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Patty LaRoche. 2023.
Author: A Little Faith Lift…Finding Joy Beyond Rejection
www.alittlefaithlift.com
AWSA (Advanced Writers & Speakers Assoc.)

Criticizing our country for its moral decline is easy.  Tragically, there are worse.  Lauryn is the daughter of a Christian writer who recently asked that we add her to our prayer list.  I ask the same for you, my readers.  Lauryn traveled to Uganda with her law school to do plea bargains in a Ugandan prison. Her law school and university affiliated with that school have made it one of their ministries to free those wrongly incarcerated.

While in Uganda for ten days, Lauryn was able to identify two victims of human trafficking, plead down their cases to the judge and send them home the very next day to their families.  One girl was 18 years old, and the other had three children at home.  That happened a few months ago.

Recently, Lauryn returned to East Africa to help in the fight against child sacrifice.  As hard as it is to believe, that demonic practice was not even illegal until last year.  The law team learned that witchdoctors and witches (both genders can claim to be either) make money off of this practice.  A businessman or politician will pay these witches for a “blessing” for the business or election and will be told that that requires the sacrifice of one child.  Or the arm or leg of a child.  Many times, the child will die from the trauma.

Lauryn asked her mother to reach out to her prayer groups for prayer.  She knows that she is not just fighting against the people who participate in this heinous act but also the forces of darkness. We fellow authors were asked to pray alongside this mother, using Ephesians 6 as our guide:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.                                                                                                            

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.             

Lauryn visited some of the survivors of this horrible ritual and was able to hug and hold these children “who now live with a permanent disability” but are safe thanks to local ministries that are working to rescue these children.  Unfortunately, there are many children there who have no place to go, no parents to protect them, no home in which to shelter, and with 50% of the Uganda population under the age of 15, there is no shortage of children to sacrifice.

Lauryn’s mother asked for specific prayers, that the government will step up and not be bribed to look the other way and that the Lord will supernaturally intervene to save these children.  I would add that we also pray for the team of brave lawyers who have placed their lives on the line to stop this horrendous evil.

 

Fort Scott

U.S. 54 railroad crossing to close at Fort Scott On October 14-16 For Repairs

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On Monday, Oct. 14, the BNSF Railway will close and begin repairs on the U.S. 54 railroad crossing at Fort Scott (see map). The crossing is expected to close to traffic from around 7 a.m. Monday until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16, weather permitting.

 

Traffic should follow the signed detour on Fort Scott city streets. The detour has an 11-foot driving lane width restriction and a vehicle length limit of 80 feet. Persons with questions may contact Priscilla Petersen at (620) 902-6433.

Obituary

Obituary of Kenneth Keeney

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Kenneth Wayne Keeney, age 94, a resident of Ft. Scott, Kansas, passed away Wednesday, October 9, 2024, at his home at the Presbyterian Village in Ft. Scott.

He was born February 20, 1930, on the family farm near Pawnee Station, Kansas, the son of Perry L. Keeney and Hazel Picht Keeney.  Kenneth attended school in Pawnee from First through Eighth Grade.  He later graduated from the Ft. Scott High School in 1947 and Ft. Scott Junior College in 1949.  He went on to attend Pittsburg State University and later graduated from Augustana University in Rock Island, Illinois.

Kenneth served with the United States Army with the First Cavalry Division.  He received his basic training at Ft. Ord, California and was then stationed in Japan from 1951-1953.

Following his discharge from the Army, he began working for the Western Insurance Company in Ft. Scott.  He later transferred with the Western to their office in Davenport, Iowa.  In 1959, he went to work for AAA Motor Club of Iowa.  He retired in 1992 after thirty-three years as a personal lines insurance underwriter.  After retirement, he moved back to the third-generation family farm which was owned by him and his sister, Kathryn Morrison.  He later sold the farm to his niece Linda Walker and her husband, Ray, making them the fourth generation to maintain the farm.  While living in Davenport, Iowa, he was a member of the St. John’s United Methodist Church.  After retirement he attended the Hiattville United Methodist Church.  He enjoyed golfing, bowling, traveling and getting together with family.  He also enjoyed working on the farm.  He appreciated nature and loved conserving and preserving the farm.

Kenneth is survived by his sister, Estalee Simpson of Ft. Scott; four nephews, Darrell and Dale Keeney and Larry and Roger Simpson; four nieces, Janet Keefer, Carol Carter, Linda Walker and Barbara Beugelsdyk and their families.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Perry and Hazel Keeney, a brother, Donald Keeney and wife, Oda; a sister, Kathryn Morrison and husband, Bob, a brother-in-law, Carney Simpson and a nephew, Paul Morrison.

Funeral services will be held at 11:30 A.M. Tuesday, October 15th at the Cheney Witt Chapel.  Burial will follow in the U. S. National Cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 10:30 A.M. until service time on Tuesday at the Cheney Witt Chapel.

Memorials are suggested to the Hiattville United Methodist Church 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.

Art, Entertainment, Fort Scott, Schools, Youth

Thespian Tea Party This Saturday For Local Youth

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Fort Scott High School Thespians from its Facebook page  Back row: Charlie Chaplin, Kaiden Clary, Junie Fisher, Ava Johnson, Angie Bin, Brooke Barnett, Emma Bin, Kate Morillo Front: Tobi Larrabee, Emily Endicott, Allie Wards, Cooper George, Chris Newman, Emi King.

The Fort Scott High School Thespians are hosting their 7th Annual Royal-Tea and Friends Party this Saturday, October 12 from 10 a.m. to noon at the FSHS Commons area and Courtyard.

“This is an annual fundraiser for the FSHS Thespian Troupe,” said teacher Angela Bin. “Many students play their chosen character throughout high school and some pass their character on to an underclassman when they graduate.”

The thespian students provide a snack, activity or craft and dress as their chosen character.

“We also have costumes that the children who attend can dress up in if they choose to,” Bin said.

In this land of make-believe children can join their favorite princesses and princes, queens and kings and other members of the royal court.

They are invited to take photos with favorite characters as they make crafts, have treats and play games.

Over 30 FSHS Thespians will be dressed in character and lead the event.

New this year is the inclusion of superheroes, villains and other cartoon characters.

Attendees are encouraged to come in costume as well.

Tickets for this special event are $5 per child and must be accompanied by an adult. Tickets may be purchased online in advance at fortscotthighschool.ludus.com or at the door.

Featured characters are the stars of the FSHS Fall Musical – Frozen Jr.

They include Junie Fisher as Elsa, Chris Newman as Anna, Theodore Bowman as Olaf, and Mykael Lewis as Kristoff.

FSHS performs Frozen Jr. on Nov. 12 and 14 at 7 p.m. and on Nov. 16 at 2 and 7 p.m.

For more information, please see the Fort Scott High School Thespians Facebook page or contact Angie Bin at [email protected] or 620-719-9622.

 

 

 

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