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Kansas Road from 130th to 140th Closed
from Bourbon County Public Works:
Kansas Road from 130th to 140th will be closed starting Tuesday, October 1st through Friday, October 4th for culvert replacement.
Becky Robertson
Bourbon County Public Works
Amended Agenda For the Bo Co Commission Today, September 30
Bourbon County Courthouse
210 S. National Ave Fort Scott, KS 66701 Phone: 620-223-3800
Fax: 620-223-5832
Bourbon County, Kansas
Brandon Whisenhunt
1st District Commissioner
Jim Harris, Chairman
2nd District Commissioner
Clifton Beth
3rd District Commissioner
Bourbon County Commission Agenda 210 S. National Ave.
Fort Scott, KS 66701
September 30, 2024 5:30 p.m.
- Call Meeting to Order
- Flag Salute
- Approval of Consent Agenda
- Approval of Minutes from 9/16/2024
- Approval of Payroll Totaling $300,038.70
- Approval of Accounts Payable Totaling $386,598.32
- Samuel Tran-Solar Issues
- 5:45 p.m. Mike Dallman-PVD Compliance Conference Call
- Department Updates
- Public Works
- County Clerk
- Eric Bailey-Executive Session KSA 75-4319(b)(1)
- Thomas Quarry
- Solar Panel Setback Discussion
- Executive Session KSA 75-4319 (b)(1)
- Commission Comments
- Adjourn Meeting
Executive Session Justifications:
KSA 75-4319 (b)(1) to discuss personnel matters of individual nonelected personnel to protect their privacy.
KSA 75-4319 (b)(2) for consultation with an attorney for the public body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the
attorney-client relationship.
KSA 75-4319 (b)(3) to discuss matters relating to employer/employee negotiations whether or not in consultation with the
representative(s) of the body or agency.
KSA 75-4319 (b)(4) to discuss data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trust and individual proprietorships
KSA 75-4319 (b)(6) for the preliminary discussion of the acquisition of real property.
KSA 75-4319 (b)(12) to discuss matters relating to the security measures, if the discussion of such matters at an open meeting
would jeopardize such security measures.
Fiber Art Items Added to Pioneer Harvest Fiesta 2024 October 4-6
Pioneer Harvest Fiesta is almost here. Plan to come to the Bourbon County Fairgrounds for a fun weekend October 4, 5 & 6. Lots of activities on the east side of the green fence. Sorghum cooking has returned! Watch the hay baling, rock crushing, log cutting, blacksmith and see the vendors. The car show is on Saturday from 9 am to 4 pm
This year there is more than the beautiful quilts to see. Fiber Art is being added to the Quilt Show in the Myers Building. Come and learn a new hobby. There will be demonstrations during the day on quilting, tatting, rug hooking, needle felting and more. Lots of quilts on exhibit along with embroidery, cross stitching and knitting. Bring your needlework projects and share with others as we all learn something new. Take a chance of winning a heart quilt or a basket of sewing items and gift certificates.
Bring your quilts and fiber art items on Thursday, September 3, 9 am – 1 pm. If this time does not work for you call me to arrange another time, or if you have questions – Jackie Warren at 620-224-8161
“Quilts and More” will be open at the Myers Building Friday and Saturday 9 am – 4 pm. Also, open on Sunday noon – 3 pm. Your items can be picked up on Sunday afternoon 2 pm – 3 pm.
Don’t forget the downtown parade, Thursday evening October 3 at 6 pm. With the purchase of a PHF button, come and enjoy the bean feed Friday evening October 4 at 5 pm (or earlier if the beans are done),
Submitted by Jackie Warren
New Trail Coming To Riverfront Park
A new walk/bike trail should be completed by early 2025 in Riverfront Park.
The Overlook Trail will be 1,722 feet long, and eight feet wide, and follow the curves of the Marmaton River on the south side of the park, said Jerry Witt, Fort Scott Bourbon County Riverfront Authority Chairman.
It is being funded by a $92,000 grant from Kansas Wildlife and Parks and the Riverfront Authority adding $75,000.
The survey stakes are in place for the proposed trail,and the land was surveyed by Agricultural Engineering Associates, Uniontown.
The concrete path contractor will be Marbery Concrete Inc., Fort Scott.
Following the curve of the Marmaton River around to the Hwy. 69 bridge, it will include a concrete ramp for the wooden observation deck, for handicap accessibility, he said. The deck, called an overlook, gives an unobstructed view of the river.
The grant proposal process started in 2021 and a grant was 11submitted in 2022. The grant was awarded in 2023 and will be completed in 2025, he said.
History of the Riverfront Park
The Riverfront Park came out of a 2005 town-wide visioning meeting that gave ideas for the future of the city.
One of the visions that came out of this meeting was the formation of a committee to clean up the unused area around the Marmaton River on the north edge of Fort Scott.
In 2007, then Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, authorized a board, called the Fort Scott Bourbon County Riverfront Authority to secure the needed land for a new park.
From 2007 to 2010 the board secured all the properties needed.
“Most donated the land,” Witt said. “Once the land was secured, we were able to develop the land.”
The development since then: lighted trails, a pavilion with lights, the river overlook deck, benches, and bike repair stations, all with the help of the community and local organizations.
The overlook had to be moved to higher ground on the south side of the Marmaton River, following a flood that partially destroyed it.
The Riverfront Park has daily walkers, businesses and schools use it, Boy Scouts have camped there, and weddings and other events, including last weekend’s FortFest have large gatherings there.
Paul Ballou, the retired Fort Scott Fire Department Chief, is the park caretaker, and Witt said he does a good job.
The Bourbon County Garden Club maintains the flowers in the circle in the south part of the park and local artist Stephan Toal has created mural art in the 69 Hwy. underpass area.
The Fort Scott Bourbon County Riverfront Authority is comprised of Witt, Bob Love, Arnold Schofield, Penny Barnes, Dean Mann, Danny Magee, Jeff and Kate Sweetser.
KS Child Care Licensing, Background Check Fees Are Waived Through 2025
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The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Daily Reports September 30
Friday Night Free Concert: Linda Simons and Friends
This Friday, October 4, the Linda Simons & Friends Band will be performing at the Pavilion in downtown Fort Scott.
The group will cover a variety of 70’s-era pop tunes, jazz standards and jazzy gospel.
The band is based in Mound City. Linda Simons, vocalist, is backed by her band, including Suzanne Thompson on piano, her husband Gary Thompson on bass guitar, and Steve Thompson on drums and harmonica.
Gary and Suzanne have performed at the Pavilion with the Hemphill Family Band and as the Gary Thompson Trio.
The event will begin at 7:00 PM and the public is invited to attend
Hawks and Nail Polish by Carolyn Tucker
Keys to the Kingdom
As I looked out my kitchen window one morning, I spotted that familiar lone dove that’s been around since 2021. Like me, I think she’s a female. Then I watched a small bird beat a worm to death before he ate it. (Silly me, I always thought worms were eaten alive.) Nature was happily doing its thing. Next, I spotted a hawk on the ground with a baby rabbit in its talons. I was not pleased with this nature scene. I thought, “How dare you snatch one of my furry little animals without my permission! You’re on my property and you do that! How rude!”
I then wondered how many times I do things that aren’t pleasing to God? How many times do I just do “whatever” without asking Him first? God doesn’t care what color of nail polish I choose, but He does care about my life-changer choices. It’s safe to say Christ-followers make too many decisions without consulting God. We treat too many big decisions like they’re nail polish choices — and that will always come back to bite us.
In the Old Testament, Joshua and his leaders made a pact with some foreigners without asking God about it. I’ve always thought this scripture intentionally sends a relevant message to believers today. “When the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to deception to save themselves.” When the Gibeonite ambassadors arrived at the Israelite camp, they told Joshua and the men, “We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with us.” They lied through their teeth and the Israelites believed them. “So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord. Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath” (see Joshua 9:1-14 NLT). Because God was omitted from their decision, this pact came back to bite them. God knew these ambassadors actually lived nearby instead of in a distant land, but no one consulted Him in order to make the right decision.
All throughout the Bible, God tells His children to “obey My voice.” He repeats Himself over and over and over, hoping we’ll get it. Believers need to keep His words in the forefront of our heart. Listening and obeying His voice is for our own good because we’re too much of a ding-a-ling to properly orchestrate our lives on our own. “But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’” (Jeremiah 7:23 NASB). As a good Father, He wants His children to have an abundant life, but there are certain conditions. He will absolutely do His part if we will hold up our end of the deal.
“I hear the words of the Lord and act upon them [obeying them] like a sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-25 AMP). When life tries to beat the tar out of us, maybe it’s because we didn’t ask God for His advice.
The Key: Let’s learn to do life in God’s rhythm and wisdom.
FortFest 2024 Continues Today and Tomorrow at Riverfront Park
Community Assessment Tools
One way to get a sense of a community is to drive or walk around, observing and taking note of the different characteristics and opportunities that the community may have to offer. A walk or a drive through a community may also serve as an assessment of what projects have happened or would like to happen.
Community Assessments are tools that allow interested citizens and community partners to gather and analyze information. This is typically to determine the current condition of a particular aspect of the community. While there are different modes of assessment, they are generally most useful when they capture the diversity of the community. In addition, the assessment may also be focused on a particular program, event or segment of the community.
Community assessments are often conducted to collect data that affects how programs get implemented. More specifically, they can:
- Gauge public opinion, rather than rely on the opinion of a few key leaders or local gossip
- Increase awareness of particular issues
- Create an opportunity for community input and/or ownership of the process
- Be required to satisfy a grant or program.
Important considerations before conducting a community assessment is the time available
for the assessment, the information needed from the assessment and the diversity being
captured in the assessment.
There are several ways to conduct community assessments and the most common techniques include taking assets walks, small group exercises or conducting a survey.
Other methods include: personal interviews, focus groups, public forums and informal group processing.
Today we will talk about conducting an asset walk. This technique works well for all group sizes and it can be part of a larger program or event, if time allows. To complete a Community Asset Walk simply WALK (this is key!) your group through your community.
Throughout the walk, ask those with you to write down and/or talk about what they observe-it could be vacant lots, buildings, businesses, people etc. Walking is key because it is slow, and it allows the group to interact and observe. The ideas are transcribed into a single list after the walk is completed.
You may also include voice recordings and have people take pictures of what they observe or simply record notes to discuss later. The time requirement for an asset walk maybe one or two hours to walk through a neighborhood.
To get a complete assessment of the entire community, it could require multiple walks.
Plan for a few hours to transcribe notes and assemble photographs into a meaningful format to be shared with others.
In addition to being an assessment tool that can identify opportunities in your community, this technique can be a great conversation starter for a group, organization, or community. It can get people talking to one another and from this, they are able to identify areas of common interest to pursue more deeply.
Larger groups are often broken into smaller groups of 8 or less people. Remember to make sure your groups are mixed appropriately.
Once the observations are collected from those participating in the walk, simply tally the number of times a particular theme, observation, specific asset or idea is made. By doing this you can possibly pursue a program or project and eventually make plans for a planning group discussion.
The next step is to take your observations and plans a step further and fully develop them in a facilitated group exercise that results in a community development action plan to move forward.
For More information, contact Community Vitality Agent, Amanda Clasen at [email protected] or at 620-244-3826.
Medicare Prescription Drug Costs Hard to Swallow?
Did you know that you can review and change your Medicare Prescription Drug Plan annually? Medicare Annual Election Period, running from October 15th-December 7th, is the time to do just that!
On Tuesday, October 29th, from 9:00am-2:00pm, at 735 Scott Avenue, Fort Scott; area Senior Health Insurance Counselors for Kansas (SHICK) will be available for you! Call 620-244-3826 to schedule an appointment.
Even if you have been happy with your plan in the past, plans and your medications do change! It is a good idea to compare options to see what meets your current needs. Last year, counselors helped beneficiaries save on average $1,075.00 per person changing plans.
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Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service
K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director of K-State Research and Extension, Kansas State University, County Extension Councils, Extension Districts.