Business, Fort Scott

New Restaurant and Pub Coming to Downtown Fort Scott

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From left: Bret and Sara Holder, Pat McDonald and Kim and Robert Coon are the investors in Pizza Republic.

A new restaurant and pub is on the horizon for downtown Fort Scott, called Pizza Republic.

“We want to make sure people have good options,” Bret Holder, the president of the new business venture said. “You’ll get a great meal and it’s a place for the whole family.”

Robert and Kimberly Coon, owners of 17 S. Main, the old Kress Building, are partnering with Pat McDonald and Bret and Sara Holder, all of Fort Scott,  and Dennis Moon, Houston, TX, Sara’s uncle, to open the new business venture by September 1.

Demolition is taking place inside 17 S. Main, in preparation for the new restaurant, Pizza Republic.

Bret Holder is the president of Pizza Republic, and has 20 years of corporate law experience, he said. “I am setting the vision, and making sure it’s going,” he said.

Pat McDonald just moved from Kansas City Northland, and has previous restaurant ownership experience: PatMacs in Kansas City. He is also an investor, chief chef and manager, he said.

Moon is the treasurer of the new venture, Holder said.

The Coons have been facilitating the reno of the first floor,  5,000 square foot of space, that will be divided into a family dining area, a bar, a large kitchen and an office space.

In the family side will be arcade games, a juke box, 10-plus big screen TVs and space for live music on occasion.

“It’s a big thing coming,” Robert Coon said. “The new floor plan requires a lot of reconstruction. The restaurant and pub will take up the entire first floor.”

“Kim and I have a residential construction crew, that we are having them take time off from that, to work on this,” he said. “We’ve been working non-stop.”

Demo workers are employed by Robert and Kim Coon, from left, Noah Terry, Drake Garcia, and Dacoda Garcia, all of Fort Scott.

The idea for the business has been percolating for some time.

“Bret and Pat approached me quite some time ago, but I wasn’t open to the idea because the building was already rented,” he said.

A sushi restaurant business was formerly the renter of a portion of the first floor.

“The sushi restaurant closed on July 5,” Coon said.

The new restaurant plans to employ 15-20 people, Holder said.

The ideal candidates for employment are “go-getters from Fort Scott High School and Fort Scott Community College and others,” Holder said.

Holder, a veteran,  said the reason he moved to Fort Scott “was to help veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome with Adam LaRoche.”

Adam LaRoche, retired from major league baseball, along with his wife, Jennifer, both of Fort Scott, are the founders of the E3 Ranch Foundation.  Together, they are committed to put God’s love into action, through supporting combat wounded veterans, fighting against sex-trafficking, and providing support during humanitarian crises globally, according to their website.

In the future, Holder sees opportunities for veterans getting training at this restaurant for future franchises.

“The plan is open other restaurants, in other towns,” Holder said.

 

 

 

 

 

Fort Scott

American Legion: Recognition of Korean War Veterans July 27

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American Legion Post #25 Fort Scott, KS would like to recognize and thank the community’s Korean Conflict Veterans on July 27.
If you know one of these special people or their surviving family members, please thank them.
On National Korean War Armistice Day we recognize and pay tribute to the Korean War veterans.

 

The Korean War began June 25, 1950 with the North Korean army’s invasion of South Korea. On July 27, 1953, the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed ending the war, now officially recognized as Armistice Day.
At 10 a.m. that day, in Panmunjom, 18 official copies of the tri-language Korean Armistice Agreement were signed.
The signing of the agreement marked the end of the longest negotiated armistice in history with 158 meetings spread over two years and 17 days.

 

Sincerely,
Jessica Allison
Commander
American Legion Post #25
Fort Scott, KS
Fort Scott, Schools

USD 234 Board Meets to Set Goals/Expectations of the Superintendent

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NEWS RELEASE

 

Monday, July 25, 2022

 

Members of the USD 234 Board of Education met at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, July 25, 2022, for a special board meeting at their offices.

 

President Brown opened the meeting.

 

The board and Superintendent Destry Brown met with Sue Givens, KASB Field Specialist, to discuss goals and expectations.  Mrs. Givens provided information on the roles of the board and the Superintendent.  The board set goals and expectations for the Superintendent. Information was received and discussed in regard to superintendent evaluation tools and timeline.

 

The board adjourned.

Bourbon County, Government, Jobs

USDA $202,000 Grant For Healthy Bourbon County Action Team

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United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Kansas Director for Rural Development Christy Davis today announced that USDA is investing $2,268,200 toward eight community projects across the state.

Project details of today’s eight announcements are:

  • A $33,000 grant will assist Thrive Allen County, Inc. with a Feasibility Study to create an incubator/accelerator space for Allen County. The space would increase economic development by creating an inviting, supportive space for entrepreneurs in the area.
  • A $202,000 grant will assist The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, in conjunction with partners Pittsburg State University Small Business Development Center and Kansas Works, expand services to small businesses. Assistance provided will include access to local employment opportunities, increased access in business education, workforce development, and job training opportunities. It is anticipated that 100 full time jobs will be created.
  • A $30,200 grant will help purchase a fully equipped patrol vehicle to enhance the work of the City of South Hutchinson‘s Police Department.
  • A $55,000 loan and a $35,000 grant will help purchase four transportation vehicles for individuals with developmental disabilities in Marshall and Washington Counties. The three transport vehicles and one maintenance truck will replace older vehicles with high mileage and high maintenance costs. Once all the vehicles are put into service, they will meet the basic needs of the individuals with developmental disabilities for many years to come.
  • A $577,000 loan and a $291,000 grant will provide additional funding for renovating the water and sewer system in the City of Caney. Funds previously obligated for this project include $600,000 from the Kansas Department of Commerce and loans and grants totaling $4,765,800 from USDA Rural Development Water and Waste Disposal.
  • A $24,000 grant will be used toward an engineer to evaluate the current wastewater system for the City of Susank. A preliminary Engineering Report will outline any appropriate corrective actions needed.
  • A $479,000 loan and a $512,000 grant will supplement previous funding for improvements to the water supply system of the City of Caldwell.  Funds already assigned to this project include a prior award from Rural Development’s Water and Waste Disposal Loan in the amount of $1,558,000 and Kansas Department of Commerce-Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $600,000. This project ensures that the city will have safe and reliable water for many years to come.
  • A $30,000 grant will be used to evaluate the wastewater collection system and treatment facility in La Harpe. An engineer will evaluate the current system and propose a plan for repairing and modernizing the water system. Once completed the city will have the information needed to develop a final wastewater system project.
Opinion

Picking Up Snake by Carloyn Tucker

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Keys to the Kingdom

 

I’m not going to beat around the bush — I fiercely hate all snakes. They’re creepy and scary and whenever I see one, I go to great lengths to kill it because I don‘t want to take the chance of ever seeing it again. Once when I was out walking, I saw a snake on the road and I stopped and looked around to see what I could use to kill it. I spotted a metal fence post that was loose and leaning, so I pulled it up and beat the snake to death with it. On another occasion, a snake was slithering across my driveway as I was pulling in, so I stopped my front tires on top of it and ground it to death by cutting the wheels back and forth. I guess I’m just literally acting out what God said in the Bible. “Then the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman…’” (Genesis 3:14,15 NLT).

 

God chose to speak to Moses from the middle of the burning bush. He was having a hard time getting Moses to understand that He needed him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses protested three times and pleaded twice and finally got on the Lord’s last nerve. After the third protest, God demonstrated His great power to help Moses get on board and agree to do what He was telling him to do. “Then the Lord asked him, ’What is that in your hand?’ ‘A shepherd’s staff,’ Moses replied. ’Throw it down on the ground,’ the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back. Then the Lord told him, ’Reach out and grab its tail.’ So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd’s staff in his hand’” (Exodus 4:2-4 NLT).

 

I surely admire Moses because of his obedience, bravery, and trust in the Lord in regard to picking up that snake. If I were in Moses’ shoes, I’ve wondered if I could have picked up the snake. But I’ve come to understand that God will always give believers what we need in order to do what He tells/calls us to do. According to God’s Word, we’re not powerless wimps. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV). We would do well to memorize and declare this scripture when faced with the temptation to disobey God because we think the assignment is too hard or we‘re just flat-out scared. I like The Passion Translation for this verse: “And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty.“

 

I’m reminded of the classic country song lyrics, “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden.” Come what may, God did promise to give Christ followers what we need exactly when we need it in order to be overcomers in this life: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT).

 

Moses experienced fear for a few seconds, but when he obeyed and picked up the snake, God did the miraculous and turned it back into a staff. I don’t blame Moses for being afraid of the snake. Different Bible translations use multiple synonyms for his response to the  snake: jumping, running, fled, ran, drew back, jumped-back fast. I would have done all those things, plus I would have killed the snake and messed up God‘s case in point.     

 

The Key: If God says do it, then do it; even if you have to bite on a stick to keep from screaming while runn

Opinion

Tax Confusion by Gregg Motley

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Tax Confusion

 

There was an excellent article on the front page of the Fort Scott Tribune published on Sunday, July 10, 2022 which reported on some thorough research performed by Bourbon County Finance Director, Susan Bancroft.  So many people with whom I have private conversations did not fully appreciate the data because they do not understand basic taxation terms such as mill levy, appraised value, assessed value, etc.  These and other concepts are important to grasp to be an informed participant in state and local government entities.  Let’s take a look at some basic definitions and how it all comes together to determine how much each property owner in Kansas is taxed on their holdings.

 

Starting with appraised value, every county appraiser is responsible to determine an accurate value of every property in the county.  State statutes set guidelines that are similar to what is used in private appraisal processes.  The most important aspect of this process is to appraise a property in proportion to other values in the county.  If a property owner believes there has been a mistake, an appeals process exists where data may be presented by the property owner which argues for an alternate conclusion.

 

Assessed valuation might be the most misunderstood term in this process, but it is a simple computation of multiplying the percentage determined by state statute for each property type, times the appraised value.  For example, if a home is appraised for $100,000.00, the statutory assessment rate is 11.5%, which yields an assessed valuation of $11,500.00.  Here are the assessment rates of all property types in Kansas: Homes: 11.5%, Vacant lots: 12%, Owned by non-profits:      12%, Commercial: 25% Agricultural land: 30%, Public utilities: 33%, Not classified: 30%.  Properties owned by governments are not assessed.

 

The mill levy is the “tax rate” that is applied to the assessed value of a property. One mill is one dollar per $1,000 of assessed value. To continue the example above, if the mill levy is set at 65.00, the aforementioned homeowner would owe $747.50 in annual taxes computed as follows:  $11,500 divided by 1,000 equals 11.5, times 65.00 equals $747.50.

 

A homeowner in a Kansas county will not only pay taxes to the county, but also cities and school districts.  Some jurisdictions will also have other taxing entities, such as community colleges, libraries, fire districts, special improvement districts, etc.  Each will set their own mill levy in order to fund operations.

 

As a practical example, if the aforementioned $100,000.00 house is located in Fort Scott, the property owner has an assessed value of $11,500.00 and will pay the following mill levies based on 2021 numbers: County: 62.51, City: 46.98, USD 234: 52.773, Community College: 29.30.  These mill levies add up to 191.563; accordingly, the property owner can expect to pay $2,202.97 (191.563 times 11.5) in annual property taxes.  There may be a few minor additions to the bill, depending on where they live in the city.

 

Our democracy depends on an informed electorate.  If tax computations are a mystery to you, find a source that can answer your questions.  We are better together when we are aware and active.

Bourbon County, K-State Extension

Food Safety for Back to School Month

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By Clara Wicoff

Southwind Extension District

 

It’s hard to believe that August is almost here already! With the month of August comes the start of a new school year. For this reason, August has been appropriately designated as “Back to School Month.” As you start to think about buying school supplies and taking other steps to prepare for the start of a new school year, it is important to also think about food safety.

 

For families that pack their lunches, there are some important steps to follow to ensure the food packed in lunch boxes is safe for children to consume. In order for food to be safe in the lunch box, it must start out safe. As with any time you are preparing food, the first step is to wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least twenty seconds before preparing any food. Additionally, use hot water and soap to clean food preparation surfaces and utensils.

 

Next, it is important to think about the specific items you are packing. For example, if you are packing any fruits or vegetables, they must be rinsed with running water and blotted dry with a paper towel before being packed. These are perishable items, so they must also be chilled to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Other perishable items (such as sandwiches) should also be chilled. You should pack two cold sources with perishable foods to keep them cool inside an insulated lunch tote. Two examples of these cold sources are a small frozen gel pack and a frozen juice box. Note that frozen gel packs are not recommended for day-long storage. In addition to keeping cold foods cold, it is also important to keep hot foods hot.

 

For more helpful food safety information from the Partnership for Food Safety Education, visit www.fightbac.org/kidsfoodsafety/school-lunches. If you have questions, please contact Clara Wicoff, Nutrition, Food and Health Extension Agent, at [email protected] or by calling 620-365-2242.

Bourbon County, Government

Bourbon County Commission Minutes of July 11

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July 11, 2022, Monday, 6:00 p.m.
The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with all three Commissioners and the
County Clerk present.
Clint and Rachel Walker, Tiana McElroy, Ann Dare, Mary Pemberton, Matt Quick, Patty Love,
Dustin Hall, and Ben Cole were present for some or all of the meeting.


Clifton made a motion to approve the previous meetings minutes. Lynne seconded. All approved.
Judge Mark Ward thanked Lynne for his years of service. Judge Ward discussed budget. He explained the increase is due to added courtroom on 2nd floor. Wages are due to budgeting for
benefits that were not included before. Clifton Beth made a motion for executive session KSA 75-4319(b)(12) to discuss matters relating to security measures, if the discussion of such matters
at an open meeting would jeopardize such security measures including three commissioners, Judge Mark Ward, Rhonda Cole, Justin Meeks, and Shane Walker for 8 minutes returning to this
room at 6:13pm. Lynne seconded. All approved. Clifton made a motion to return to normal session at 6:13pm with no action. Jim seconded. All approved.


Eric Bailey stated the following culvert permits have been completed: Travis Schilling, 895 209th Terrace; Josh Sharp, 255th & Osage; William Pope, 2500 Tomahawk; Gil George had two at 95th
& Maple and one at 85th & Osage; Larry Snyder, 250th & Hwy 31; Craig Haake, 225th & Native; Joe Warren, south of 1161 50th Street. Bridge #518 on 215th, two miles south of Fulton, KDOT
will be here tomorrow to inspect the bridge. Schwab Eaton suggested we go that route this year.


We do have a contract that you need to sign. Justin has reviewed. This will be KDOT’s engineer inspecting the bridge. They are going to try to get a quick turnaround on this. Clifton
made a motion to allow all three commissioners and Ashley to sign the Federal Aid State-wide Bridge Inspection Master Agreement. Lynne seconded. All approved.

Eric stated that 215th will be closed tomorrow from 7am to 5pm. Eric gave a reminder that next Tuesday, from 1pm to
5pm in the Commission Room, will be the LRSP (Local Road Safety Program) workshop. KDOT will be presenting of what they have found so far. We’ve got about 500 feet of
asphalting completed. The laydown machine is still acting up. We’ve got it in a shop being looked at. When we get it back we’ll move forward. We made contact with the Onyx contractor
last week and we are looking at the end of the month or first of August for that. There was some talk earlier about running the belly dump and we are on the days we’ve been able to asphalt. Jim
asked if Eric was well staffed enough to get aggressive with ditching. Eric stated we are trying to use our grader operators as best we can. We are also trying to pull from everywhere to use the
sheep’s foot if we need to. Our culvert crew has done some for us with the excavator. Also
doing some bridge repair out at 60th & Grand on the support columns underneath. Have a new
employee that has some guniting experience so we’re going to try to do a little guniting and see how it holds up. Schwab Eaton thought that would be a good idea. We’re working on our hard
surface roadside mowing. Got one side-arm mower down. We’ll be getting our side roads before school starts.
Susan Bancroft stated that the budget for Public Works will be moved to next week.

Bobby Reed discussed the Bourbon County Fair Budget. Thanked the commissioners for the yearly support. We are asking for the same amount as last year.
Kelly Zellner, City Manager of Fort Scott discussed that the city is demolishing a lot of houses and one of the things that we would like to offer an incentive to individuals so they would
actually pay for a contractor themselves. We would allow them to dump at half price. If you agree to this, the individual would have a letter on Fort Scott City letterhead to present to the
attendant at the landfill and they would keep track of the tonnage and they would have to prove that to us. It will save the city money. Justin Meeks stated that we would have to check on this
as to not be in competition with contractors. We can’t compete and we also can’t give an incentive to a private contractor. Justin stated he would check with Bob Farmer, City Attorney
on this. Mr. Zellner stated that they would like to have a city-wide clean up this fall at the landfill. The city would provide roll offs, a tractor and two or three employees. Instead of the
county sorting, we would actually sort it in the roll offs and then pay to have it hauled off if there was any kind of other debris that wasn’t acceptable for the landfill. We’ll have the limb dump
open for limbs. Also, would have a roll off for metal since metal is at a decent price. Jim clarified that there would be no cost to the county. Kelly stated no. Kelly stated he had one last
item to discuss. The landbank board presented this to us last week and they were requesting for a full-time position and were asking if the city would pay half and the county would pay half.
The goal of the landbank is to become self-supporting. He stated that city commissioners contingent on the county doing the other half. Jim stated the county’s half would be
roughly $40,000.00 and I don’t know where we’re going to get it. Clifton stated he isn’t for it, at all. What about Uniontown, Bronson, Mapleton, Fulton, and any other city left out. It’s not a
good idea. It was presented to me one way and then it ends up being another. Clifton asked if there was a plan for what is there now? I’ve never seen a plan. Lynne asked if HB2237 could be
used for this. Kelly stated maybe an option would be funding for starter homes.

Jim asked Kelly about the water on the north side of courthouse. Kelly stated he is working with Shane and that
we need to look at roof drains that drain under the sidewalk.
Justin Meeks deferred his items to the next meeting.
Susan Bancroft asked to amend the agenda to add an executive session. Clifton made a motion to amend the agenda to add an executive session. Lynne seconded. All approved. Clifton made
a motion for an executive session KSA 75-4319(b)(1) to discuss personnel matters of individual
nonelected personnel to protect their privacy including three commissioners, Susan, Justin Meeks, and Shane Walker for 7 minutes returning to this room at 6:50pm. Lynne seconded. All
approved. Clifton made a motion to return to normal session with action. Lynne seconded. All approved. Susan stated that at the last meeting we discussed the EMPG grant. We had a
carryover at the end of the year. We need to make a transfer of those funds to the general fund.
We can transfer to help offset the general fund expenditures or we can increase the Emergency
Management budget. The amount is around $27,000.00. Clifton made a motion to move the $27,000.00 to the general fund for now. Moving forward we would hope it will be processed
correctly. Lynne seconded. All approved. Susan stated that we have been fortunate enough to have some retirees work for us and the way our handbook currently reads we can only get benefits at 35 hours. We would like to adjust that down to 30 hours because we have a couple of people that don’t work a full 35 but they are very instrumental to us in the Public Works area and so we would like to drop that to 30 so they can still get their benefits at the discretion of the supervisor. From the federal level, 30 hours is what pushes you into do benefits. We only have two right now that would be involved. Clifton made a motion to approve resolution 11-22 to amend employee handbook whereas the board of county commissioners of Bourbon County are changing the definition of full-time employee (35-hours) to the federal standard of (30-hours) per week. Therefore, any full-time employee who works 30 hours per week or more will be eligible

for benefits described in the Bourbon County employee manual. Lynne seconded. All approved.

Susan gave a shout-out to Jennifer who has done an excellent job. She took over the EMS billing and making sure that everything is being filed appropriately. One of the things she has
run across is how our collections process works with the current third party that we have been working with. As of today, they send out two statements that would be 30 and 60 days and by
that third month they write everything off. We are losing a lot of money when we don’t at least leave it open a little bit longer. I don’t know if they are willing to do that, but it’s at least
something we need to bring back in-house and still bill for a couple of more months. As of today
we’ve lost $80,000.00 in 2022 by not pursuing that. Clifton suggested asking Omni if they would extend billing for 6 months before writing off. Susan said she would check into it. They
also have the opportunity to do an EFT and set up an ACH on the backside. So our carriers can pay directly into that and it’s directly going to our bank account. There were several checks that
our carrier said were never cashed. That would be less opportunity for it to get lost in the mail.
Susan made a budget presentation. The presentation will be posted on the County website (bourboncountyks.org) for review. The presentation was followed by question and answer
session.
Shane Walker – No comment
Public Comment: Anne Dare asked how many more years is the county going to be funding Bourbon County REDI with $130,000.00? Lynne stated it was for three years and this is the first
year. Clifton stated that this is not tax dollars funding this. Anne also asked if there is a federal courtroom in the post office and if so, is it being used? Lynne stated that it would take a lot of
money to bring it up to where it needs to be. It is currently not being used. Anne asked if the commissioners have considered a reduction in their salaries this year? Lynne stated that he
doesn’t use the benefits of the county. Jim stated he didn’t use the benefits either.
Clint Walker
talked about an article in the paper about some grants that the county might be able to use. A comprehensive safety plan is required for eligibility of the grant. Mary Pemberton talked about
the landfill agreement that may happen between the city and the county with regards to demolition of homes. She stated that there are homes in the small towns and even in the rural
areas in Bourbon County that could use the same discount. It would need to be with landowners.

That would help clean up the rest of our county as well.
Ashley Shelton, County Clerk, asked if we could schedule the next meeting for Monday, July 18th @ 6pm and would the commission allow her to use the commission room for the next two
weeks for early voting.
Commission Comment: Clifton stated that he feels the demolition landfill agreement that was presented would be a policing nightmare. Trying to figure out who is bringing what and who is
supposed to be bringing what. I think people would take advantage of it. I do agree it should be county-wide instead of just city. Clifton also clarified that he does use the county insurance. He
said currently he takes 4 to 5 calls per day regarding county business and I’m going to say that I’m not doing it for free. Lynne agreed. Commissioners do far more than people realize.
Clifton thanked Lynne for his years of service as commissioner. Jim stated that he would also agree that it should be a county-wide clean up at the landfill rather than just the city. Jim also
stated that being a commissioner is not just a 3 hour per week job. If any candidate thinks it is, this isn’t the position you want. Jim also thanked Lynne for his service.
At 8:27pm Lynne made a motion to adjourn. Clifton seconded. All approved. The meeting was
followed by a budget work session which included Register of Deeds, Corrections/Sheriff’s
Office.
THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS
(ss) Jim Harris, Chairman
(ss) Clifton Beth, Commissioner
___________________, Commissioner
ATTEST:
Ashley Shelton, Bourbon County Clerk
July 18, 2022, Approved Date

Bourbon County Local News