What’s Happening in Fort Scott August 19 Newsletter

What’s Happening in Fort Scott!

August 19th Weekly Newsletter

Get the school year started off in Fort Scott…

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UPCOMING CALENDAR OF EVENTS

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TROLLEY TOURS,

ON THE HOUR FROM THE CHAMBER!

Friday 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm

Saturday 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm

$6 adults, $4 children 12 & under

50-minute narrated tour of Historic Fort Scott!

Fort Scott National Historic Site

Daily Tours: 10am & 1pm

8/19 ~ Retirement Reception for Ann Stark of Atkins Insurance Agency, 3 E. Wall St., 2-4pm

8/19 ~ Friday Night Concert in the Park, featuring Rick Hite, 7-8pm, Heritage Park Pavilion, 1st and Main, bring a lawn chair due to limited seating.

8/20 ~ Splashpad Golf Tournament, 8am, click here for more info.

8/20 ~ Dragoon Charge for Wreaths Across America, click here for info.

8/20-21 ~ Heartland Showcase Boer Goat Show & Sale, Bourbon County Fairgrounds, see flyer below.

8/25 ~ Chamber Coffee hosted by Bourbon County REDI (Regional Economic Development Inc.) , 8am, 200 S. Main, please enter through east door and go upstairs, elevator available

8/26 ~ FSHS Football Jamboree, click here for more info.

8/31 ~ The 2022 Grant Cycle for the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation is now open through August 31st! If you are affiliated with a qualifying 501c3 organization, consider applying!

The process is all online this year:  https://fsacf.com/nonprofits/grants/

8/31 ~ Bourbon County Job Fair, hosted by the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce and Southeast KANSASWORKS, INC., 10am-2pm, Employers can click here to register a booth.

9/1 ~ Chamber Coffee, Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting, hosted by Perry’s Pork Rinds & Country Store, 8am, 702 Pine Street, Bronson, Kansas

9/2-9/5 ~ Uniontown Old Settlers Picnic, click here for details!

9/5 ~ FSCC Free Basketball Clinic by FSCC Men’s Basketball, click here for flyer.

9/5 ~ Dale Jackson Memorial Car Show, 11am to 1pm, Uniontown, click here for more info.

9/9-9/10 ~ Fall Town-wide Garage Sale

9/10 ~ Golf Tournament for Tri-Valley Developmental Services

9/17-9/18 ~ Marmaton Massacre Mountain Bike Festival in Gunn Park, click here for flyer.

9/17-9/18 ~ 4×4 Mud Run, click here for flyer.

SAVE THE DATE:

9/23-9/25 ~ 6th Annual Doug Hazelbaker Memorial Calf Roping, Steer Wrestling, Breakaway & Dummy Roping

9/24 ~ FortFest, 4-band music festival, see flyer below.

10/1 ~ Michael Jeffers Memorial Bullriding

10/5 ~ Dare to Dream Women’s Entrepreneurship Event

10/6-10/8 ~ The 19th Annual Gordon Parks Celebration, click here for more info.

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SHOPPING ~ SUPPORT LOCAL!

Boutiques-Antiques-Flea Markets & more!

Click here for Chamber member

specialty shopping & other retail in

Downtown & other areas of the community.

Fort Scott Area
Chamber of Commerce
620-223-3566
In This Issue
Chamber Highlights
Click here for our
Membership Directory.
We THANK our members for their support! Interested in joining the Chamber?
Click here for info.
Thinking of doing business in or relocating to Fort Scott?
Contact us for a relocation packet, information on grants & incentives, and more!
Seeking a job/career?
We post a Job of the Day daily on our Facebook page, distribute a monthly job openings flyer, and post jobs on our website.
Many opportunities available!
Housing needs?
Click here for a listing of our Chamber member realtors.
Click here for our rental listing.

The Heartland Showcase National Boer Goat Sale and Show will be happening at the Fairgrounds this weekend. Increased traffic around the fairgrounds, Friday – Sunday.

Housing Survey NOW ACTIVE for Bourbon County
Click graphic below or here to take survey!
Your response is valuable and needed!

Join in on the fun at the Marmaton Massacre event!

FORT SCOTT 4X4 MUD RUN ~ COME OUT AND ENJOY THE SHOW!

Splashpad Golf Tournament Fundraiser at Woodland Hills Enter your team today!

Job Fair being hosted by the Chamber Wed., August 31st!

Employers can click here to register for a booth!

ST. MARY’S TRASH BAGS ON SALE THRU 9/6
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION GRANT APPLICATION OPEN THRU AUGUST 31ST ~ APPLY TODAY IF YOU ARE A QUALIFYING 501C3!
Application process is online only this year,
click graphic below for the website.

Don’t miss out on FortFest2022, Sepetember 24th!

FORT CINEMA SHOW SCHEDULE THIS WEEKEND

Obituary of Clifford Carpenter

Clifford Eugene Carpenter, age 66, resident of Liberty, MO, died Friday, August 19, 2022, at Liberty Health and Wellness Nursing Home in Liberty, MO.  He was born March 12, 1956, in Ft. Scott, KS, the son of Chester and Betty Dixon Carpenter.  Clifford retired from Hallmark Greeting Card Distribution Center in Liberty, where he worked as a forklift operator.  He greatly enjoyed treasure hunting at flea markets and dealing with antiques in his spare time.

 

Survivors include his mother, Betty Carpenter, Lamar, MO; 3 brothers, David Carpenter and wife Teresa, Jasper, MO, Norman Carpenter and wife Tonya, Ft. Scott, KS, and Carl Carpenter, Kansas City; and several nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in by his father.

 

Graveside services will be held at 10:00 AM Wednesday, August 24, 2022, in the Deerfield Cemetery, Deerfield, MO.  Arrangements are under the direction of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main St., Ft. Scott, KS 66701.  Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.

Special FS City Meeting for Revenue Neutral Rate Hearing on August 23

The City Commission will meet on Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. for a special meeting at City Hall in the City Commission meeting room at 123 South Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas.  This meeting will be held to hold a Revenue Neutral Rate hearing and consider the adoption of a Resolution for this also. The Commission may also discuss the 2023 Budget and give authorization to publish the public hearing. A Certificate of Appropriateness will also be considered for signage at 17 S. Main Street.

 

This meeting is open to the public and will be broadcast on the City’s you tube channel.

Visioning Meeting to Bring Community Stakeholders Together

BOURBON COUNTY REDI PRESS RELEASE

On Tuesday, August 23rd Bourbon County Regional Economic Development, Inc will bring Bourbon County Commissioners, city commissioners from Fort Scott, Uniontown, Bronson, Mapleton, Fulton, and Redfield, as well as Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce board members, the Good Neighbor Action Team (GNAT), Healthy Bourbon County Action Team (HBCAT) board members, USD 234 and USD 235 board members, and the Fort Scott Community College board together to discuss a unified vision and how to grow Bourbon County together.

The Visioning Meeting will be held at The River Room above Luther’s BBQ at 5:45 PM.

The meeting will be facilitated by Rob O’ Brien of O’Brien & Associates, an economic and community development consulting firm from Joplin, MO.

Bourbon County Regional Economic Development, Inc Director Robert Harrington said, “We want to bring the community together in a unified effort; get everyone to pull on the same end of the rope so we can achieve our agreed-upon goals in a more expedient manner. To my knowledge this type of gathering with so many stakeholders has not been done in Bourbon County.”

This will be the first of three meetings in which stakeholders will meet to create a unified vision for Bourbon County. The goal will be to take these recommendations and work with other members of our communities to make them a reality.

Bourbon County Regional Economic Development, Inc is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to attracting and creating investment, wealth, and economic opportunity in Bourbon County, Kansas.

Rob Harrington. Submitted photo.

For more information contact Rob Harrington, (620) 215-0144.

Chlorine Burnout of Fort Scott Water on August 22

The City of Fort Scott Water Utility will be initializing a free chlorine burnout of the water distribution system starting Monday August 22nd, and ending as soon as a free chlorine residual is established
throughout the entire system, approximately 2 (two) weeks.


This burnout is necessary maintenance of the water distribution system which will help maintain State standards for disinfection residual levels and ultimately maintain the high quality of water that you have come to expect.


Occasionally during this process customers may temporarily experience low pressures, taste or odors,
discolored water, or even some sediment in their water.

We do apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Any questions, concerns, or comments are welcome.

Please contact the Water Treatment Plant at 2235160 between 8:00 A.M. and 4:30 P.M. Monday through Friday.

Letter to the Editor: Deb McCoy

HONESTY IS ALWAYS THE BEST POLICY”  George Washington

I want to encourage each and every one of you to get involved and not become complacent in what is happening among the City Commissioners. If you cannot attend the meetings they can be viewed live or at a later date on youtube.com. Simply type Fort Scott City Commission Meeting into the search bar. Become involved!

City Policies, Procedures and Ordinances. Why do we even have them? Because it gives guidelines for everyone to follow when presented with different situations. It provides consistency. It provides fairness. It provides cohesiveness and takes the guessing game out of what should be done.

We have been provided guidelines of all sorts since the beginning of time. Ten Commandments, Parliamentary guidelines, Constitutions, Bill of Rights, State guidelines, Kansas League of Municipalities guidelines, Professional guidelines, Workplace guidelines, Organizational guidelines, Meeting guidelines etc.

Where in the Rules of Professional Conduct does it say that we can manipulate the Rule of Law to fit our needs? It doesn’t. It states as a professional, the Rule of Law should be followed and respected.

Why are we wasting so much time on trying to get around or making exceptions as to what is written as an Ordinance or a State Statute? Why don’t we do what is right? We certainly have bigger things to be concerned about.

Put aside your personal agendas and start working for the citizens who voted you in and who are concerned about where our city is going.

Where are the written strategic plans for 5 years and 10 years? Why have we spent thousands of dollars on surveys and have not yet been given the results of these surveys nor have we seen any productive implementation of these studies.

We could have spent a lot of that money on infrastructure.

The fact is, without a good foundation, we don’t have a solid ground to build upon.

Without strategic plans we have no vision.

We need more action and less rhetoric over what should and should not be.

Why don’t you just follow the Rule of Law!

They are not in place for you to manipulate, they are there for you to follow.

Sincerely, Deb McCoy

Happy Kids Daycare and Preschool Opens

Taken from the business Facebook page. Lindsay Knopp and Afton Brown.
 Lindsay Knopp  and Afton Brown are the new owners of Happy Kids Daycare and Preschool, INC. at 1502 Scott Avenue, the former New Generations building.
The business provides daycare for children ages two weeks and up.
“We are pretty much full,  with a waiting list of 50-plus,” Knopp said.
“We… have our normal daycare settings and preschool during the school months and then daycare and summer program during the summer months,”  Brown said.
The hours of operation will be 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Currently in the preschool there are 37 students, Knopp said. “This includes the USD 234 (students).  They lease a space to serve more preschool age kids and the majority of those students are also served in our daycare the other half of the day.  In daycare we currently have around 60.”

“We are still waiting on our license, but we signed on the building June 16th,” Knopp said.

To contact the business call (620) 223-1506 or email:
The Happy Days Daycare and Preschool people mover sits outside the facility. Taken from the business Facebook page.

 

 

Restoration by Patty LaRoche

Patty LaRoche

When Dave and I were first married, I found a couple of end tables at a garage sale and brought them home to restore them, stopping first at a lumber yard where an elderly man helped me buy the correct supplies.  Dave was away on a baseball road trip, so it was the perfect time for me to set up shop in our one-car garage and turn ugly into beautiful.

It was a painstaking process, and to this day it has given me an appreciation for people like Jim Sackett who find it rewarding to refurbish furniture for a living.  After sanding, I applied the stain.  Two coats of polyurethane later (I had to protect my treasures), they turned into a masterpiece.  Today, I would call them ugly and take them to the dump, but not then.

The night Dave returned—and not anticipating anything to be in his path in our garage—he drove in and ran right over them.  I heard the noise and thought we were being ransacked which, actually, would have made more sense, but no!  Dave simply did not pay attention and reduced my tables to splinters.  His excuse didn’t fly (even though his car obviously did): “Why should I expect anything to be in the middle of the garage in the middle of the night?”                                “Well, lucky for me I wasn’t standing there to greet you.  Would you have just plowed over me too?”

I don’t remember Dave’s response, but I’m pretty sure it was NOT an apology.

Since then, only a few other times have I attempted to restore something.  This past week, I tried to restore the bottoms of my pots and pans. After soaking them in Google’s suggested homemade paste for several hours, not one stain came out. For some reason, what looks so simple…well, isn’t.

Of course, furniture is not the only thing needing restoration. Laptops, old photographs, leather boots, broken bones, friendships and marriages, to name a few, sometimes need repair.   Then, there are Christians.  Yes, Christians.  Even they occasionally need a little help, and lucky for us, God’s the best in the business at making the old look new.

The word “restore” appears 136 times throughout the books of the Bible. King David simplified things in Psalm 23:3: He (God) restores my soul.                                                           

Do you ever need your soul restored?  I sure do.  Like now.  A Christian couple is upset with me, and I fight the need to act ugly right back. I mean, where is their love, the one thing that’s supposed to set us apart from non-believers?  What about walking the talk?

So, I take it to God—albeit reluctantly—who reminds me that I need to ask those two questions of myself.  Where is my love?  Am I walking the talk?  If so, I would not be fighting the desire to tell this couple how they aren’t acting very Christ-like and demand an apology. Surely there’s a scripture entitling me to do so…somewhere.

But of course, there isn’t.  Instead, I find Romans 12:21: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. In other words, I need to turn my ugly into beautiful. I need to allow God to restore what He knows needs a little help.

 

Lucky for me, no polyurethane required.

Letter to the Editor: Deb McCoy

Honesty is the best policy.

George Washington I want to encourage each and every one of you to get involved and not become complacent in what is happening among the City Commissioners. If you cannot attend the meetings they can be viewed live or at a later date on youtube.com. Simply type Fort Scott City Commission Meeting into the search bar. Become involved! City Policies, Procedures and Ordinances. Why do we even have them? Because it gives guidelines for everyone to follow when presented with different situations. It provides consistency. It provides fairness. It provides cohesiveness and takes the guessing game out of what should be done. We have been provided guidelines of all sorts since the beginning of time. Ten Commandments, Parliamentary guidelines, Constitutions, Bill of Rights, State guidelines, Kansas League of Municipalities guidelines, Professional guidelines, Workplace guidelines, Organizational guidelines, Meeting guidelines etc. Where in the Rules of Professional Conduct does it say that we can manipulate the Rule of Law to fit our needs? It doesn’t. It states as a professional, the Rule of Law should be followed and respected. Why are we wasting so much time on trying to get around or making exceptions as to what is written as an Ordinance or a State Statute? Why don’t we do what is right? We certainly have bigger things to be concerned about. Put aside your personal agendas and start working for the citizens who voted you in and who are concerned about where our city is going. Where are the written strategic plans for 5 years and 10 years? Why have we spent thousands of dollars on surveys and have not yet been given the results of these surveys nor have we seen any productive implementation of these studies. We could have spent a lot of that money on infrastructure. The fact is, without a good foundation, we don’t have a solid ground to build upon. Without strategic plans we have no vision. We need more action and less rhetoric over what should and should not be.Why don’t you just follow the Rule of Law! They are not in place for you to manipulate, they are there for you to follow.

Sincerely, Deb McCoy

Obituary of Duane Ketron

Duane Ketron, age 67, passed away on August 16, 2022 at Medicalodge of Fort Scott after suffering from a long illness. He was born February 19, 1955 in Fort Scott, Kansas, the son of Arthur Hursh Ketron and Mary Louise Clark Ketron.

Duane graduated from Fort Scott High School and worked at Peerless in Fort Scott for many years. He still owned his first car, a 1959 Ford Fairlane 2-door sedan named “Old Betsy”, that he dreamed of restoring. He had a wonderful sense of humor and a winning smile with those he encountered. In addition, he was an avid Royals fan and loved dogs and cats.

Survivors include two sisters – Kathee Light of Hoxie, AR and Carolyn Strauch of Neosho, MO; four nieces – Kamela Light of Hoxie, AR; Shawnta (spouse Randal) Whited of Walnut Ridge, AR; Caroline Green (spouse Steve) of Topeka, KS; and Julia (spouse Gabriel) Carroll of Springfield, MO; eight great-nieces/nephews – Harley Light, Chance Phillips, Memory Light, Hannah (spouse Brandon) Dawson, Weston Whited, Ethan Whited, Zackary Green, and Bradley Green; one great-great-niece – Londyn Light.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur Hursh and Mary Louise Ketron, his younger brother, David Arthur Ketron, brother-in-law Ronnie “Frog” Light, and niece Kristy Light.

Visitation with the family and friends will be Saturday, August 27, 2022, at 10:30 am in the Cheney Witt Chapel

Memorial Service will follow at 11:00 am with interment at Memory Gardens after the Memorial Service.

Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.

The family would like to thank everyone for their prayers, love, and acts of caring for our brother and uncle Duane. We also want to thank the Cheney Witt staff for all their assistance and caring service. Please join us in celebrating and remembering his life.

 

 

 

 

 

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