Bourbon County, Government

The Bourbon County Commission Agenda for Nov. 23

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Agenda 

Bourbon County Commission Room 

1st Floor, County Courthouse 

210 S. National Avenue 

Fort Scott, KS 66701 

Tuesdays starting at 9:00 

 

Date: November 23, 2021 

1st District-Lynne Oharah                                                                Minutes: Approved: _______________ 

2nd District-Jim Harris                                                                      Corrected: _______________________ 

3rd District-Clifton Beth                                                                              Adjourned at: _______________ 

County Clerk-Ashley Shelton 

 

 

MEETING HELD IN THE COMMISSION ROOM 

 

Call to Order 

 

  • Flag Salute 
  • Approval of Minutes from previous meeting 
  • Eric Bailey – Road and Bridge Report 
  • Patty Love – Update on corrective action from audit 
  • Jim Harris – Discussion of SRO position  
  • County Counselor Comment 
  • Susan Bancroft, Finance Director Comment 
  • Public Comment 
  • Elected Officials Comment  
  • Commission Comment 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Justifications for Executive Session: 

          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 security measures, if the discussion of such matters at an open meeting would jeopardize such security measures. 

COVID-19, Government, Health Care, Kansas

KDHE Announces Changes to Kansas COVID-19 Testing Strategy

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~ As KDHE shifts to a sustainable, long-term plan to support COVID-19 monitoring, testing will remain free and available to the general public ~

TOPEKA – Following the recent release of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s (KDHE) updated Employer Testing Playbook, KDHE is announcing upcoming changes to its COVID-19 testing strategy that ensure testing remains accessible to all Kansans across the State.

As widespread COVID-19 vaccination continues to prevent serious illness and death, the virus is expected to continue to circulate in the near future, not unlike the flu. Testing remains an important tool to identify the virus and protect Kansan communities against its spread.

“Testing has become an increasingly important way in which those who choose to be unvaccinated may still be able to work, attend events, and travel,” said Ashley Goss, Acting Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. “This is especially critical as more businesses and employers have begun requiring either proof of vaccination or demonstration of a negative COVID-19 test with greater frequency.”

However, as COVID-19 continues to be present in our communities, it is no longer sustainable for public health to fund testing alone. KDHE initially allocated $141M of federal grant funding to make COVID-19 testing accessible for all Kansans, including support for commercial and university labs to help expand processing and sampling capacity. The surge of infections due to the Delta variant significantly depleted this budget in a shorter timeframe than expected.

As a result, and to ensure Kansans have uninterrupted access to crucial COVID-19 testing, KDHE is implementing the next phase of its COVID-19 testing strategy, which is intended to reduce the State’s costs for its testing program while ensuring it can continue into 2022.

These changes will also mean employers, health insurers, and individuals are going to be increasingly asked to pay for COVID-19 testing, as they would with testing for most other communicable diseases. Moving forward, access to COVID-19 testing will be a shared responsibility of both the public and private sector. To ensure adequate time for testing partners to transition, KDHE has approached state and federal bodies to secure additional funding for continuity of testing operations through March 2022.

Free COVID-19 testing will continue to be available across Kansas for those who are experiencing symptoms or have potential exposures to COVID-19 in their communities. To get a COVID-19 test through KDHE’s mass testing sites, the network of Community and Volunteer Testing Partners, and Local Health Departments, Kansans can access a full list of sites offering free testing at KnowBeforeYouGoKS.com. The following options remain available for free testing across the State, with availability dependent on need as well as state and federal funding:

  • Mass testing sites: KDHE will continue to offer free COVID-19 PCR tests at 9 mass testing sites in Johnson, Wyandotte, Douglas, Sedgwick, Shawnee and Riley counties
  • Employer testing: KDHE will continue employer testing for those previously enrolled in the COVID-19 employer testing program, supporting biweekly testing for 10% of employees. KDHE is working with state and federal bodies to secure funding to support this program through March 2022, at which point it will be phased out. Any changes to this timeline will be communicated as clearly and early as possible.
  • Community Testing Partner Program and Volunteer Testing Partner Program: Free rapid antigen tests will continue to be offered as long as supplies are available by over 100 partner organizations enrolled in the program in more than 80 counties across Kansas. KDHE is working with state and federal bodies to secure funding to support this program through at least March 2022. Any changes to availability of testing supplies or the program will be communicated as clearly and early as possible.
  • Local Health Departments: KDHE will continue to support Local Health Departments that offer free COVID-19 PCR tests to Kansans in their communities
  • K-12 schools: KDHE will continue to fund free testing for students and staff at schools that are participating in the school testing program. Schools not currently enrolled in the school testing program can contact Sarah Allin at [email protected].
  • Long Term Care Facilities: Facilities have the option of receiving free surveillance testing through a national vendor and / or to modify existing contracts with lab vendors to include billing insurance for diagnostic testing
  • Outbreaks: KDHE will continue to offer free testing in response to outbreaks in a facility or organization

In addition to KDHE free testing sites, Kansans can receive free testing at pharmacies and retailers that are part of the federal Increasing Community Access to Testing (ICATT) program. Other options for testing that may require insurance include pharmacies, primary care provider clinics, and FQHCs. Individuals can also purchase over the counter antigen tests at many retail grocery stores and pharmacies across Kansas.

For additional information on updates to Kansas’ testing strategy or to find a free testing site, visit KnowBeforeYouGoKS.com.

Government, Kansas

Flags At Half-Staff to Honor Firefighter

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Governor Laura Kelly Directs Flags be Flown at Half-staff to Honor Baxter Springs Firefighter Lt. Malachi Brown

TOPEKA – In accordance with Executive Order #20-30, Governor Laura Kelly has ordered flags throughout the State of Kansas to be flown at half-staff from sunup to sundown on Sunday, November 21, 2021 in honor of Baxter Springs Firefighter Lt. Malachi Brown.

Lt. Brown was injured while battling a structure fire on October 15, 2021, and succumbed to his injuries on November 10, 2021.

“My thoughts are with Lt. Brown’s wife, children, loved ones, and the entire Baxter Springs community during this incredibly difficult time,” Governor Kelly said. “Lt. Brown lived in service to his community – and lost his life supporting his fellow firefighters. His bravery and compassion will not be forgotten.”

To receive email alerts when the governor orders flags to half-staff, please visit: https://governor.kansas.gov/newsroom/kansas-flag-honor.

Art, Business, Fort Scott

Holiday Art Show: Dec. 3-4

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The Artificers invite you to their
5th Annual Christmas Art Show!
December 3rd 10am to 9pm
December 4th 10am to 9pm
Crooner’s Lounge &
Front Door Real Estate
119 South Main Street
Fort Scott, KS
7 artists, including Trent and Kate Freeman,
will be participating. All of them were handpicked for their craftsmanship and diverse mediums.
There is sure to be something special
for everyone on your Christmas list!
Please RSVP and enter your email with this link and receive a token of our appreciation to be picked up at the show! Here’s the link. theartificers.com/chamber

 

 

Bourbon County, K-State Extension

Starlite FCE Minutes November 18, 2021

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The November meeting of Starlite FCE was held on November 18th at the Yeager building on the Bourbon County Fairgrounds.  The meeting was called to order by President Glenda Miller.  Deb Lust led the club in reciting the Flag Salute and the Club Collect.

 

The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.  Eleven members were in attendance.  They reported that they had recycled fifty-five pounds and had volunteered forty-seven hours.

 

Doris Ericson presented the Treasurers report.  She reported that she had written a check to purchase a wreath for “Wreaths Across America” and had books printed for the 2022 club year.  There was no Council report.

 

Glenda announced that she had delivered the bags for the Veterans, baskets to the VFW, and had taken stickers and buttons to UHS and West Bourbon Elementary to educate them on Veterans.  Letha and Glenda reported that we had received several thank you from Veterans for the gift bags. The club also wrote a Christmas card to be sent to the VA hospital in Topeka.

 

Glenda gave a report on the Regional Meeting that was held in Parsons.  Bourbon County had received a reward for 100% reporting, Starlite received a 60-year gold seal, Clarice Russell received her 30-year membership award and Doris Ericson was named the Heart of FCE recipient for the Southeast Kansas district and will advance to the State level.

 

Megan Brillhart was recognized for having a November birthday.

 

Glenda also gave the club highlights from the Family Consumer Science newsletter, which included the introduction of the Southwind Districts’ new agent Clara Wicoff, scam awareness updates, and reminded us that now is the time for Medicare enrollment if you have questions contact Joy Miller.

 

New Business consisted of sending a Memorial gift for past member Maybelle Mertz.  Letha Johnson moved we send a gift, Terri Williams seconded the motion, motion carried.  Other new business consisted of the Christmas party.  Deb lust moved that we make donations to Preferred Living instead of exchanging Christmas gifts, Claudia Wheeler seconded the motion, motion carried.  The Date of December the 7th was selected for the Christmas potluck.  It will be held at noon at the Yeager building.  It was decided to also have a sweater contest.  At the Christmas party, the club will be putting together gift bags for Tri-Valley.

 

Glenda Miller presented the club with Tuff Turkey Teasers to enjoy.

 

Deb Lust moved that the meeting be adjourned, Doris Ericson seconded the motion, meeting adjourned.  After the meeting member enjoyed refreshments of Apple Cake, mints, and nuts provided by Doris Ericson and Deb Lust.

 

Prepared by

Terri Williams

 

Bourbon County, Government

Redfield Receives USDA Grant for Community Center

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United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Acting State Director for Rural Development Kansas Dan Fischer today announced that USDA is investing $803,700 toward 11 community facility projects, serving 29,333 Kansans.

 

The Kansas projects are:

  • The City of Laharpe will receive a $46,400 grant to purchase and install a heating and air conditioning system for the city hall, library and community center. The current system is old, unreliable and has many service calls for repairs. At times, those repairs have caused the cancellation of activities.

 

  • The City of Redfield will receive a $38,700 grant to renovate and improve the city hall/community center. The building’s age, along with deferred maintenance, has resulted in a need for significant upgrades. Upgrades to the restroom, water heater, heating and cooling system, and doors and windows will improve energy efficiency and lower operational costs.

 

  • The Unified School District #220, Ashland, will receive a $100,500 grant to renovate Ashland High School restrooms making them Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant.

 

  • The City of Winfield will receive a $125,400 grant to purchase two ambulances for the city’s emergency services. Two of the city’s five ambulances are no longer serviceable due to high mileage and repair costs.

 

  • The City of Girard will receive a $13,400 grant toward the purchase of a law enforcement vehicle and firefighting equipment. The new vehicle will replace an older vehicle with high mileage. The fire equipment is a positive pressure vent fan, a rescue saw, and a ventilation chain saw.

 

  • The City of Goessel will receive a $34,000 grant toward the purchase of a backhoe. Increased repairs to the old backhoe are expected to exceed replacement costs. This equipment is used in maintaining streets, repairing water leaks, sewer leaks and used at the city’s tree dump.

 

  • The Unified School District #380 will receive a $243,000 grant to renovate school buildings and upgrade technology within the communities of Centralia, Frankfort and Vermillion. Renovations will include window replacements, classroom and bathroom remodels, and replacement of an outdated boiler heating system with heating/air conditioning units. Funds will also be used to purchase security cameras, magnetic door holders, a new school bus, and 240 laptops to replace outdated computer equipment.

 

  • The City of Osawatomie will receive a $46,000 grant to purchase radios for the police and fire departments. The current radios are outdated and do not meet mandates by the Federal Communication Commission. The new radios will assist the departments in working side by side with other agencies throughout the state for emergencies or natural disasters.

 

  • The City of Cherryvale will receive a $37,400 grant to purchase a vehicle and equipment for the Fire-Rescue Department’s Code Enforcement within the city. The new vehicle will be designated for Code Enforcement use.

 

  • The Historic Preservation Corporation will receive a $85,800 grant to renovate the interior of the Art and History Center located in Council Grove. The renovations will include the installation of heating and air conditioning, restroom renovations, flooring, custom stage, chair lift, and shelving for displays.

 

  • The City of Kingman will receive a $33,100 grant to purchase and install equipment and update landscaping in Broadway Park. This project will provide handicapped accessible equipment and parking along with other equipment, park benches, lighting, landscaping, and fencing.

 

Obituary, Uncategorized

Obituary of Kasey Dye

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obituary image

Kasey Allen Dye, age 30, a resident of Neligh, Nebraska, passed away Saturday, November 13, 2021, in Ft. Scott, Kansas where he had been working on a wind farm project.

He was born February 21, 1991, in Urbana, Illinois, the son of Paul Edward Dye and Pamela Kay Adams.

Kasey married Chelsy Grim on February 22, 2021, in Pierce, Nebraska.

Kasey was an accomplished mechanic and had worked for several years for Malta Ready Mix where he helped construct wind turbines throughout the Midwest.

He enjoyed spending time outdoors especially fishing, camping and riding four wheelers. He also loved to barbeque and spend time with his family and friends.

Survivors include his wife, Chelsy, of the home in Neligh, Nebraska; and his children, Owen and Whitley, Hudson, Austin, Riley, Cooper and Max. Also surviving are his parents, Pamela Paulding and Paul Dye (Mary), all of Illinois, brothers, Kevin Paulding, Andrew Dye, Gentury Swyear, Waylon Paulding, Jason Parks and Kevin Parks and sisters, Jessica Goberson, Val Paulding, Ashely Dye and Cheyanne Dye. He was preceded in death by his step-father, Kevin Paulding and a nephew, Clayton.

Following cremation, a celebration of life service will be held at 11:00 A.M. Friday, December 3rd at the KC Hall, 115 S. Second St., Elgin, Nebraska. A time for food and fellowship will follow the service. Private burial will take place at a later date in Illinois. Arrangements in Kansas were handled by the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, Ft. Scott.

Business, Fort Scott, Housing

Another Historic Downtown Building Gets Some Attention

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Workers from Mid-Continental Restoration Company work on the front of the building at 20 N. Scott. New awnings, siding, and paint are improvements being added to the building.

The Fort Scott downtown area is seeing new life.

Already approximately one dozen buildings have been purchased by new buyers and are being or have been renovated in the last few years.

Judy and Jerry Witt, who sold their suburban home and moved downtown to an apartment at 9 Main Street, have also purchased a  building in the back of their living space, located at 20 N. Scott Avenue.

The purchased building has 1,812 square feet on each floor and was built in 1880 as a harness shop, Jerry said.

“Harnesses were put on horses to pull wagons,” he said.

“It’s the small building north of the Courtland Hotel,” Judy Witt said. “It was formerly owned by Jim Shoemaker and before that, it was a coffee shop.”

“I wanted to preserve it,” Jerry Witt said. “I wanted to see renovations on Scott Avenue.”

“It was basically in good shape,” Jerry said. “We finished the downstairs area; redid the bathroom and put new cabinets in.”

“The upstairs has a commercial kitchen,” he said.  “Three sinks, a double oven, and a range.”

“We hope to have an area for a small business on the lower level,” Judy said. “And an apartment upstairs.”

“The idea is someone could start a business downstairs and live upstairs,” he said.

“I’d like to see something like an ice cream shop or popcorn,” he said. “To serve the visitors to the fort (Fort Scott National Historic Site).”

The building will be for rent, when the reno is completed, which should be the end of the year, he said.

Jerry and Judy moved downtown last year.

“We have a front door on Main Street and a back one on Old Fort Boulevard,” he said. “I talk to a lot of visitors to the fort and find out where they are from.”

Old Fort Boulevard is directly in front of the national historic site.

Jerry said he is enjoying living downtown.

Jerry and Judy Witt hand out Halloween candy in front of their apartment on Main Street on October 30. Taken from the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.

“We are part of everything going on,” he said. “And it’s close to restaurants. There is always something happening. It’s beautiful and peaceful at night.”

“I have my rental office in the front room of my condo,” he said. “It’s the only one-story building on Main Street.”

The Witts own three businesses on North Main Street that currently house Audette Davis’s beauty shop,  Mary Eastwood’s upholstery shop, and Stacy Gooderl’s healthy living store, he said.

This week Mid-Continental  Restoration Co. of Fort Scott was working on the front side of the building at 20 North Scott Avenue.

“They are doing siding, awnings, painting, and bringing the brick back to life,” Judy said.

20 North Scott Avenue. Nov. 16, 2021.
Opinion

A Lifetime of Appreciation by Patty LaRoche

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It is no surprise that most people go to their grave wondering if they made a difference, if they contributed, if they mattered.

Last week on Veteran’s Day, we celebrated a group who don’t have to ask that question. Their contributions are immeasurable, for their fight for FREEDOM –the freedom for which they sacrificed–IS NEVER FREE. It comes at a great price, the price these heroes paid.

Father Dennis Edward O’Brien, USMC, understood their importance. It was he who wrote the following: “It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the organizer, who gave us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, and who allows the protestor to burn the flag.”

The t-shirt worn by the man in the picture above is the same one we bought for our son, Adam’s, birthday this month. We were celebrating alongside the Afghanistan family who moved to Fort Scott last week.

Even they were touched by the shirt, for they knew first-hand about the sacrifices made over the past 20 years in an attempt to bring freedom to their country.

I am in a bi-weekly Bible study Zoom call with a group of Vietnam vets and their wives. In our last meeting, one of the ex-soldiers shared about the memorial services he and his wife are organizing for the families of Vietnam vets who never had a proper burial. We all listened in awe as he revealed the impact these services were having on loved ones.

Dale, the army veteran who leads us, spoke of Stan, the Vietnam soldier with whom this Zoom group platooned and who wrote of his experience in that war.

Helicopters dropped his group of U.S. soldiers off in a jungle, not knowing it was a bunker complex set up by the North Vietnamese. A round of bullets rang out. The first shot hit Stan’s chin. On the second stream, Stan felt a hot flash and was knocked on his back. He couldn’t find his M-16 machine gun but saw the men on both sides of him were dead. His right knee was shot out and his lung punctured. His arm was hanging by the skin at the top of his shoulder, most of the bone missing. Stan scooted on his back to try and find cover. A fellow soldier grabbed him under the armpits and dragged him to a nearby medic.

After surgery and I.C.U., he was told that shrapnel had taken half of his liver. The soldier’s personal belongings—including his New Testament Bible—were brought to his hospital bed. The second bullet had penetrated his pocket-sized Bible which he carried in his jacket pocket. Its tip was lodged at 2 Corinthians 5:7: For we walk by faith, not by sight. That Bible had saved his life…literally.

Today, Groveport Heritage Museum displays that Bible. Look at that t-shirt again. We never will know the hidden stories of what our military men and women went through to protect us.

Let’s make it a habit to show our appreciation…not just on Veteran’s Day but every day.

Bourbon County Local News