Spyder will be hosting information sessions open to the general public to learn about Spyder and how we will help the Fort Scott/Bourbon County community. We invite you to see our offices and learn what we are all about.
These 45 min sessions are informational only with light refreshments served. We have limited seats (12 per session) so interested people may reach out to [email protected] to reserve your seat.
Session dates & times:
Thursday, Sept 29th 11am & 1pm
Friday, Sept 30th noon
Location: Spyder Headquarters – 102 W. 2nd St, Fort Scott (DMV building)
What we will discuss:
Who are we?
What do we do?
Why are we important to the community?
How can we assist the community to attract a hospital?
Jeremiah Jones, Grant Stockebrand, Jackson Han, Josiah Stokebrand, Judah Stokebrand, Abigail Meiwes, Austin Maycumber, and Derek Jones
Southwind Extension District 4-H members from Allen, Bourbon, Neosho, and Woodson County’s competed Sunday, September 11 at the Kansas State Fair Photography Judging Contest in Hutchinson.
The intermediate team included Jackson Han, Austin Maycumber, Derek Jones, and Jeremiah Jones placed 8th in the state.
The senior team included Abigail Meiwes, Grant Stockebrand, Josiah Stockebrand, and Judah Stockebrand placed 8th in the state.
They were accompanied by their coach Terri Kretzmeier.
Members of the USD 234 Board of Education met at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, September 12, 2022, for their regular monthly meeting at the board office.
President Danny Brown opened the meeting.
The board approved the official agenda, and the consent agenda as follows:
Minutes from August 8, 2022, Board of Education meeting and minutes from August 1, 22, and 23, 2022, Board of Education special meetings
Financials – Cash Flow Report
Check Register
Payroll – August 20, 2022 – $1,361,769.35
Activity Fund accounts
First Day Enrollment Count
Appointment of Zach Reynolds as the school attorney for the 2022-23 school year
FSHS Orchestra Fundraiser Application
The board heard reports from FSKNEA regarding the bucket auction for scholarships, staff returning to school, and thanked Superintendent Brown for his visibility in the schools.
The Superintendent reviewed the KSDE Accountability Report for 2020-21 and the recent culture survey that was taken of staff. Superintendent Brown updated the board on assessments and PLC professional development on behalf of the Assistant Superintendent.
The Business Manager reported on the special education audit, financial audit, and annual reporting.
The board approved the following items:
Contract with Greenbush for federal E-rate related to connectivity which allow the district to receive an 80% discount on services.
Place three (3) buses and a suburban for sale through auctiontime.com. In addition, scrap two buses that are no longer in service.
Vehicles for auction will be:
2006 Blue Bird 27 passenger
1998 AMTRAN 64 passenger
2003 Blue Bird 40 passenger
1990 Chevy Suburban
Contract with Diehl, Banwart, Bolton CPAs for the annual financial audit.
Curtain divider purchase to allow additional classroom space at Fort Scott Middle School.
Roof bids to Meridian Roofing Solutions. This will address roofs at Winfield Scott, Fort Scott High School, and Eugene Ware Elementary. The total bid was for $1,341,401.
Direct Communication & Public Relations proposal to evaluate communication with students, families, and staff.
KDHE Kansas K-12 Stay Positive Test Negative Initiative Grant in the amount of $776,558. This is a non-matching grant that will allow for testing to continue for the schools and the purchase of Synexis machine to fight viruses, bacteria, mold, odors, and insects.
Personnel Report – following
The board went into an executive session for personnel matters and the superintendent evaluation process.
President Danny Brown adjourned the meeting.
PERSONNEL REPORT – APPROVED EMPLOYMENT
RESIGNATIONS/TERMINATIONS/RETIREMENTS:
Dennis Dennigan – Resignation – FSHS special education teacher, effective September 1, 2022
Integrity Home Care & Hospice has earned the 2021 SHPBestTM“Premier Performer” Patient Satisfaction Award
Ft. Scott, Kansas, 9/12/2022 – Integrity Home Care has been recognized by Strategic Healthcare Programs (SHP) as a “Premier Performer” for achieving an overall patient satisfaction score that ranked in the top 5% of all eligible SHP clients for the 2021 calendar year.
The annual SHPBest™ award program was created to acknowledge home health agencies that consistently provide high quality service to their patients. The 2021 award recipients were determined by reviewing and ranking the overall satisfaction score for more than 2,500 home health providers. With the largest HHCAHPS benchmark in the nation, SHP is in a unique position to identify and recognize organizations that have made patient satisfaction a priority and have been rewarded for their efforts with high marks on the HHCAHPS survey.
“SHP is proud to present the SHPBest awards to our top-performing customers. We commend these organizations for their continuous focus on delivering the highest quality of care to their patients,” said Rob Paulsson, President of SHP.
Integrity’s Fort Scott home health team is thrilled to receive this award and expects to see more in the future. “Our team is proud to receive this recognition. Our primary goal is ensuring our patients’ ability to remain comfortable in their home environment while receiving restorative care and skilled services. I feel like these consistently high patient satisfaction scores validate that we’re meeting our goal while providing quality care. We will continue to partner with our patients on their journey towards wellness and improved independence,” said Integrity’s Fort Scot Home Health Administrator, Becky Davied.
Integrity Home Care & Hospice is passionately dedicated to improving the healthcare system, because everyone has had a personal experience with the struggle that comes with a change in health. They are here to help and support you and your family as you seek to improve or simply maintain your health and independence at home.
Integrity’s mission is to identify and meet your home care needs and the needs of its employees with unmatched skill, compassion, and integrity.
About Strategic Healthcare Programs (SHP)
Strategic Healthcare Programs (SHP) is a leader in data analytics and benchmarking that drive daily clinical and operational decisions. Our solutions bring real-time data to post-acute providers, hospitals, and ACOs to better coordinate quality care and improve patient outcomes. Since 1996, SHP has helped more than 7,000 organizations nationwide raise the bar for healthcare performance.
Broadband, phone discounts are available for students and families
TOPEKA – The start of a new school year is an expensive time for families. If you are struggling to pay for phone and internet services while navigating back to school costs, help is available to stay connected.
During Lifeline Awareness Week, the Kansas Corporation Commission encourages Kansans in need of assistance to apply for Lifeline and the Affordable Connectivity Plan (ACP). Both programs help low-income individuals and families stay connected so they can access healthcare, attend classes, keep up with homework, find jobs and call for help in an emergency.
Anyone who qualifies for Lifeline is automatically eligible to participate in both programs. Due to higher income maximums, ACP also has the potential to help many families with internet costs that may not qualify for other types of assistance. For example, the maximum income for a family of four on the ACP program is $55,500 per year. The maximum annual income for a family of four on the Lifeline program is $37,463.
Lifeline provides federal and state discounts up to $17.02 per month on phone service (wireless or residential) and broadband. The Affordable Connectivity Plan (ACP) provides a service discount of up to $30 per month for broadband service and a one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, desktop computer or tablet purchased through a participating provider. Both programs offer additional discounts for subscribers living on tribal lands.
Eligibility is based on income (at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for Lifeline or at or below 200% for ACP) or participation in certain assistance programs such as:
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Federal Public Housing Assistance (FHPA)
Veterans Pension & Survivors Pension Benefit
Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
Tribally Administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Head Start Tribal Programs (income based)
The Food Distribution Program on Tribal Lands.
Regardless of Lifeline eligibility, Kansans may still qualify for ACPif they meet any of the following criteria:
Are approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including the USDA Community Eligibility Provision.
Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year.
Experienced a substantial loss of income due to job loss or furlough since February 29, 2020.
Meet the eligibility criteria for a participating broadband provider’s existing low-income program.
More information on income eligibility, participating providers, and the enrollment process is available on the KCC website.
The City Commission will meet for a special meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 14th, 2022 at City Hall in the City Commission meeting room at 123 South Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas. The City Commission will meet for the 2023 Budget Hearing. An executive session will follow the public hearing.
This meeting will be broadcast on the City’s You tube channel. This meeting is open to the public.
William “Bill” Loren Del Bolden, age 73, resident of Ft. Scott, KS, died Friday, September 9, 2022, at his home. He was born August 29, 1949, in Ft. Scott, the son of Loren Theodore Bolden and Dolores Sherwood Roy Bolden.
Bill was drafted by the Army on June 11, 1969. He served in Vietnam for one year.
He worked for Extrusions in Ft. Scott early in his career. He then worked for Dayco, Carlisle, and Timken Manufacturing for over 30 years until retirement.
Bill then followed his love for fishing by opening Hilltop Bait Shop. While operating the bait shop, Bill would read book after book. He was also an avid gardener. He enjoyed cheering for the Kansas City Chiefs as well as arrow hunting, especially with the grandkids. He loved spending time with his family and friends. He was always the loudest voice in the stands at the kids’ sporting events.
Survivors include his wife Casey of the home; 3 sons, Anthony Michael Bolden, Ft. Scott; Justin Bolden and wife Kayla, Denver, CO; and Tyson Bolden, Ft. Scott and 10 grandchildren, Bailey, Tyson, Ryan, Neveah, Tyffani, Michael, Emily, Gage, Gunnar, and Sophie; a sister, Laura Deen, Uniontown, KS; and numerous nieces and nephews
He was preceded in death by 3 brothers, Paul Tyler, Daniel Bolden, and Larry Bolden; 3 sisters, Donna Fisher, Dorothy Radford, and Bonnie Heaton; and his parents.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 AM Friday, September 16th, at the Cheney Witt Chapel.
Burial will follow in the U. S. National Cemetery.
The family will receive friends from 5:00 until 7:00 PM Thursday at the funeral home.
Memorials are suggested to Care to Share and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, PO Box 347, 201 S. Main St., Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
A disc golf tournament is scheduled at Gunn Park on Sept. 17.
For those not familiar with the sport, disc golf is played much like golf, but instead of a ball and clubs, players use a flying disc or Frisbee® to aim at a basket on a pole, according the website https://www.pdga.com/introduction. The sport was formalized in the 1970s and the object of the game is to complete each hole with, fewest throws.
Local disc golfer Danny Craig is organizing the Gunn Park tourney, which is a Professional Disc Golf Association event.
Danny Craig is the local organizer of the Professional Disc Golf Association Tournament at Gunn Park on Fort Scott’s west side. Submitted photo.
“This is a professional tournament, the professionals will be playing for money,” he said. “Last year there were 75 players that showed up, from states that surround Kansas. I’m not sure of the economic impact, but they buy gas and meals (in Fort Scott) and maybe even stay in the hotels.”
“Disc golf was started in Fort Scott in 1999,” he said. “The Fort Scott Kiwanis provided nine baskets.” It now has 18 holes.
Craig enjoys the game because it is good exercise, he said. “And watching others play. I started playing when I moved next door to a disc golf course and fell in love with the game.”
Disc golf participants watch the game in a prior tournament in Gunn Park. Submitted photo.
“There is something about throwing that perfect shot,” he said. “It doesn’t happen every time, but when it does, it’s magic.”
The cost for this tournament for professional disc golfers is $63, in the amateur division, $58; the intermediate and entertainment division, $53 and the junior division, which is 18 years old and younger, $53.
“There is a payout for the winners in the professional division, it’s $600 added cash above the entry fee,” Craig said. “Amateurs get prizes. Entry fees goes towards the players packets.”
A trailer with disc golf supplies will allow amateur winners to choose their prize. Submitted photo.
There will be a trailer with disc golf supplies, he said. “The amateurs can choose from this.”
Rain or shine the event will happen, he said. “Lightening delays the event one hour, if is continues, the event discontinues.”
The first round starts at 9 a.m., the other at 1 p.m.
“Hole number one is by the small rock shelter house, near the lower pond,” Craig said. “It tees off here.”
Gunn Park is a very picturesque course, with gently rolling hills and trees.
“It is one of Kansas’s hidden treasures,” Craig said.
“I want to thank our sponsors Hammer Insurance, 5 Corners Gas Station and the City of Fort Scott,” Craig said.
Disc golf players walk to another hole in Gunn Park at a prior tournament. Submitted photo.
About The Game
“A golf disc is thrown from a tee area to a target, which is the hole,” according to the website. “The hole can be one of a number of disc golf targets; the most common is an elevated metal basket. As a player progresses down the fairway, he or she must make each consecutive throw from the spot where the previous throw landed. The trees, shrubs, and terrain changes located in and around the fairways provide challenging obstacles for the golfer. Finally, the putt lands in the basket and the hole is completed.”
The City Commission will meet for a special meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 14th, 2022 at City Hall in the City Commission meeting room at 123 South Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas. The City Commission will meet for the 2023 Budget Hearing.
This meeting will be broadcast on the City’s You tube channel. This meeting is open to the public.
Ralph Carlson introduces the Friday Night Concert musicians May 2019.
This week’s Friday Night Concert will be presented by a musician-friends trio, Ralph Carlson, Stephan Moses, and Carolyn Tucker. The program will feature vocal and instrumental music of southern gospel, country, blues, songs of Elvis, and Latin-American light-classical tunes. Carlson provides harmony and keeps the rhythm on Martin acoustic guitar, Moses sings and plays Gretsch electric lead guitar, and Tucker provides vocals and fills in the gaps on keys.
“All three of us began studying music as youngsters. When you combine our years of playing experience, it’s 191! Through the years, we have all played individually in church, our communities, and diverse venues,“ concert-series organizer Ralph Carlson said. “We appreciate the opportunity to play for the loyal folks who attend this seasonal Friday event. Bring a neighbor and join your friends for a fun evening.”
The one-hour concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Heritage Park Pavilion at First and Main streets. The event is free and open to the public. Dave Oas and Jim Butler provide the sound each week. Due to limited seating, attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be moved to The Loading Dock at Common Ground Coffee Co., 12 E. Wall Street.
