The Downtown Division of the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Good Neighbor Action Team, is hosting their second Downtown Clean-up  which coincides with Earth Day, Friday, April 22, according to a press release.

The majority of the workers will be on task from 3 pm to 6 pm, but there will be different projects starting at different times throughout the day, an organizer said.

The board members of the Chamber and GNAT organizations have created a list of several areas of the downtown area that could benefit from some time and attention, according to the press release.

Volunteers will be striping, curbing and painting crosswalks, planting flowers at the north end of Main Street-with help from the Bourbon County Garden Club, washing storefront windows, creating temporary signage for vacant buildings, creating new murals, helping with alley clean-ups, trash pick up, and miscellaneous painting of tables.

“The Bourbon County Garden Club will be using their own tools, but the majority of tools (for projects) will be provided,”Rachel French, member of the Fort Scott Chamber’s Downtown Division, said.

“At this time we are not planning on closing any streets, but there will be certain areas of downtown that will be closed for parking,”  French said. “These areas will include part of National Ave. and Scott Ave.”

“Several community members asked us to do another downtown clean-up to prepare the area for several major events happening this spring, including the Big Kansas Road Trip in early May, Good Ol’ Days the first weekend of June, and the all-school reunion at the end of June. The downtown division quickly started planning the next clean-up and asked the Good Neighbor Action team to partner with them on this project,” Chamber Downtown Division Chairwoman Bailey Lyons said.

The Chamber’s Downtown Division held its first Downtown Clean-up in August of 2021, with over 250 volunteers in attendance.

“We are excited for this next clean-up because the first one was so well received by the community and made such a large impact quickly,” Lyons remarked.

Volunteers are needed to participate in the downtown clean-up, and can register to help at https://www.jotform.com/form/220906422828052.

“We are currently expecting 100 volunteers, but we could still use more,” French said.

MyOneStop, a downtown business that sells apparel, will be providing the volunteers with a free t-shirt for preregistering before April 19, through the above link.

“We have created a commemorative shirt for the event to thank the volunteers,” commented  French,  who is also president of MyOneStop.

Members of the Downtown Division of the Chamber include:

Lyons, owner of Lyons Realty, Chairwoman; John Crain, owner of Crain Insurance Agency; Sandra Davis, President of Davis Accounting;  French, President of MyOneStop; Lindsay Madison, President of Fort Scott Chamber; Angela Simon, Owner of Angie Dawn’s Boutique and Bids & Dibs; and Craig Campbell, Coordinator of the Good Neighbor Action Team.