National Ave. from Wall St. to Oak St. will remain closed until further notice. The buildings on the west side of this block of National, including the Hammons building, CDL, and Sharky’s will also remain vacated.
It is difficult to run a small business in southeast Kansas, and for that matter, anywhere in rural America and be successful long term. The idea of a business is to create value; a net worth that can be handed down to the next generation or sold at a tidy profit. If your goal is earnings, get a job and work for a business owner, as it is not worth risking the capital and the long hours just to make a wage.
Additionally, it becomes increasingly difficult to create value whenever a population base around a small business is shrinking. I have seen Bourbon County business owners who have been successful over a long period of time try to sell their profitable business, only to learn it has little worth other than the liquidation value of the assets accumulated. Heartbreaking!
Consider these numbers from 2018 of small business loans outstanding (listed by original amount of loan) in some selected SEK counties:
County # of Loans Total $ Ave. Size
Allen 122 $6,571k $53,861
Bourbon 125 $4,193k $33,544
Cherokee 144 $8,887k $61,715
Linn 82 $2,847k $34,720
Neosho 125 $3,090k $26,870
We rank in the middle of the pack, holding our own. Obviously, there are successful small businesses in SEK that do not have loans outstanding, but typically financing goes hand in hand with investment to help an entrepreneur leverage their efforts. $4.2 million is not very much in total loans to small businesses in the county. If small farm loans were added in, the amount would grow exponentially.
A huge problem for rural small businesses, including SEK, is that government lending programs, such as the Small Business Administration (SBA), are harder to access for us. Upfront costs and fees, and cumbersome regulations and requirements make smaller SBA applications cost prohibitive. For example, there are almost no SBA 504 loans (a popular real estate construction financing program) outstanding in SEK, because of the increased cost of professional oversight required, and the fact that contractors must pay Davis-Bacon wages (union scale), which is vastly more than the market currently commands. All these requirements leave this valuable tool, and others, out of reach for us.
The solution? Besides lobbying Congress for lending support programs geared toward rural America, look to start businesses that sell products to growing markets. For example, the traffic count on Highway 69 continues to rise, bringing more consumers through our county every day. Several new businesses have opened up on South Main in recent years to take advantage of this.
Support youth mentoring programs that develop entrepreneurial thinking. The e-Community Program, run by the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, holds a Youth Entrepreneurship contest every year which encourages our students to think through business concepts and come up with a business idea for our communities. The prize money is big, and the participation is good.
Bourbon County REDI is ready (pun intended) to support your business idea and give assistance with business planning. Call Rob Harrington at 620-215-0144 with questions.
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“The Community Service Tax Credit program is an excellent tool we can use to support our state’s nonprofits and strengthen the essential services they provide to their communities. My administration will continue pursuing innovative initiatives like CSP to improve Kansans’ access to quality education, healthcare, childcare, and housing to make Kansas the best state in the nation for families and businesses to call home.”
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“As cyber-attacks become more sophisticated, it’s critical that we prevent disruptions in essential public services, and protect Kansans’ privacy, economic activity, and public safety. Through this bipartisan, collaborative effort, with partners from both the private and public sectors, we will develop a plan to protect our digital infrastructure and improve cybersecurity statewide.”
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“Senate Bill 60 will improve public safety for all Kansans and protect our law enforcement officers from dangerous car chases. I was proud to stand with advocates today and sign this commonsense legislation.”
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NOTICE OF AND AGENDA FOR
MEETING OF
FORT SCOTT CITY COMMISSION
CITY HALL
CITY COMMISSION MEETING ROOM
123 SOUTH MAIN STREET
JULY 20, 2021
6:00 P.M.
I. K. Allen P. Allen R. Nichols L. Watts J. Jones
II. Flag Salute:
III. Invocation: Led by: (To be Announced)
IV. Approval of Agenda:
V. Proclamations/Recognitions:
VI. Consent Agenda:
A. Approval of Appropriation Ordinance 1292-A totaling $538,748.47
B. Request to Pay – HDR Engineering Inc. – River Intake Improvement – $ 54,902.50
C. Request to Pay #3 – Triangle Builders, LLC – Mayco Ace Project – $59,993
D. Resolution 8-2021 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Unsafe and Dangerous
Structure located at – 14 S. Margrave St. – Public Hearing Date – 9/7/2021 at 6:15 p.m.
E. Resolution 9-2021 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Unsafe and Dangerous
Structure located at 114 S. Barbee St. – Public Hearing Date – 9/7/2021 at 6:15 p.m.
F. Resolution 10-2021 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Unsafe and Dangerous
Structure located at 323 S. Hill St. – Public Hearing Date – 9/7/2021 at 6:15 p.m.
G. Resolution 11-2021 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Unsafe and Dangerous
Structure located at 510 S. Heylman St. – Public Hearing Date – 9/7/2021 at 6:15 p.m.
H. Resolution 12-2021 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Unsafe and Dangerous
Structure located at 619 S. Ransom – Public Hearing Date – 9/7/2021 at 6:15 p.m.
I. Resolution 13-2021 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Unsafe and Dangerous
Structure and Accessory Structure located at 611 S. Ransom St.– Public Hearing Date –
9/7/2021 at 6:15 p.m.
J. Resolution 14-2021 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Unsafe and Dangerous
Structure and Accessory Structure located at 316 S. Main St.– Public Hearing Date –
9/7/2021 at 6:15 p.m.
K. Resolution 15-2021 – Notice of Hearing with Reference to Alleged Unsafe and Dangerous
Structure and Accessory Structure located at 1517 S. Main St. – Public Hearing Date –
9/7/2021 at 6:15 p.m.
L. June financials
VII. Public Comment:
(Sign up required. Comments on any topic not on agenda and limited to five (5) minutes per
person, at Commission discretion)
VIII. City Manager Reports and Comments
IX. Engineering Firm Update
X. Old Business:
A. Discussion of Lake Fort Scott repairs/upkeep
XI. Appearances:
XII. New Business:
A. Approval and adoption of USDA Loan Resolution for River Intake/Dam Repair Project
B. Approval of Resolution 16-2021 regarding governing body’s intent to levy a property tax
exceeding the revenue neutral rate
XIII. Reports and Comments:
B. Commissioners Report and Comments:
C. City Attorney Reports and Comments:
XIV. Executive Session – If requested, (please follow script in all motions for Executive Sessions)
XV. Adjournment:
To view the 71 page packet with the agenda:
Agenda
Bourbon County Commission Room
1st Floor, County Courthouse
210 S. National Avenue
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Tuesdays starting at 9:00
Date: July 16, 2021
1st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________
2nd District-Jim Harris Corrected: _______________________
3rd District-Clifton Beth Adjourned at: _______________
County Clerk-Kendell Mason
**MEETING WILL BE HELD FRIDAY, JULY 16TH AT CITY HALL 123 S. MAIN, FORT SCOTT
7:00 PM – Emergency Declaration regarding the Eagle Block Building
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[Message clipped] View entire message
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Raymond “Keith” Farmer, age 79, a resident of Ft. Scott, Kansas, passed away Thursday, July 15, 2021, at his home. He was born December 21, 1941, in Lockwood, Missouri, the son of John Howard Farmer and Helen Edith Sorden Farmer.
He graduated from the Lockwood High School and later went on to study at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri. He was drafted into the United States Army where he was stationed in Germany. Keith always had an interest in radio and served as a radio operator while in the service.
He continued to have a love for radio until his death.
Keith had worked in the printing industry for the majority of his life. He had worked at Witt Printing in Eldorado Springs, Missouri and later for Master Printers and Mid-America Business Forms in Ft. Scott. The last thirty years of his printing career were spent at Sekan Printing in Ft Scott.
Keith married Marsha Stewart on September 3, 1982, at Ft. Scott.
Keith enjoyed talking to and telling stories with his friends. He enjoyed crafting walking sticks. He also liked to cook and will be remembered for his homemade bread. On occasion, he helped bake bread in the bakery at the Ft. Scott National Historic Site.
Survivors include his wife, Marsha, of the home; two daughters, Candice Bland and Kyle, of Eldorado Springs, Missouri and Kristal Wood and husband, James, of Ft. Scott and four grandchildren, Camille Bland, and Cainen, Lincoln and Landon Wood. Also surviving are two sisters, Joyce Zinchuck and Linda Bennett, both of Eldorado Springs.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Following cremation, Rev. Chuck Russell will conduct a graveside service at 11:00 A.M. Friday, July 23rd at the U. S. National Cemetery.
Family and friends may meet on Friday at the Cheney Witt Chapel prior to leaving for the cemetery at 10:45 A.M.
Military honors will be provided at the cemetery.
The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 P.M. Thursday evening at the Cheney Witt Chapel.
Memorials are suggested to Care to Share and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
Agenda
Bourbon County Commission Room
1st Floor, County Courthouse
210 S. National Avenue
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Tuesdays starting at 9:00
Date: July 20, 2021
1st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________
2nd District-Jim Harris Corrected: _______________________
3rd District-Clifton Beth Adjourned at: _______________
County Clerk-Kendell Mason
MEETING WILL BE HELD IN THE COMMISSION ROOM.
Call to Order
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.
Yasmina Summer Query, 36, is the new Eugene Ware Elementary School Principal, replacing Stephanie Witt, who resigned.
Query has taught five years in fourth grade at Eugene Ware Elementary and prior to that nine years at Truman Elementary School in Nevada, MO.
She earned a Bachelors’s in Elementary Education and a Masters’s in Educational Leadership.
Her hometown is Fort Scott.
She is married to Joshua Query owner of JDQ Construction, and who also with his father, Ronald Query, owns a nutritional store in Kansas City, called the Ultimate Sports Nutrition.
They have two boys, Mason,9 years old and will be in 4th grade, and Myron, 6 years old and who will be in 1st grade.
Outside of school, she loves to read and bake.
And “I volunteer with the children’s ministry at the Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene. I help with Sunday School, and I am always a teacher for VBS.”
How did you become an educator?
“I knew in elementary school that I wanted to be a teacher. I attended Eugene Ware as a child and graduated from Fort Scott High School. My experience in school was such a positive one, that I knew I wanted to work with kids and create that positive school experience for them as well.”
Is there someone who inspired you?
“I don’t think I could bring it down to just one person. I had amazing teachers growing up. There wasn’t a building or grade level that I didn’t connect to at least one teacher. As an educator, I have worked for dedicated and supportive administers. I have also learned under such experienced and loving teachers. Each person who invested in me brought me to this moment, and my life is forever changed by them.”
What is the best part of teaching?
“The thing I love most about being a teacher is watching the successes of my students. My goal every year is that all of my students learn to believe in themselves. There isn’t a child out there who isn’t capable of greatness, and I want every student who has been in my class to know that they can do anything.”
What are the greatest challenges in teaching for you?
“The greatest challenges are when you feel like you haven’t done enough for your kids. Anyone who has been a teacher has had a tough kid. You want so much to help them fix everything in the nine months you have them, but sometimes you don’t see the work you have put in until years later. Teaching is full of joys but also heartaches because you care so much about your students.”
She starts her new position on July 19.
In his spare time, he likes to fish and play music.
” My family plays in a country/rock band based out of Iola,” he said. “We also like to travel!”
Kansas Youth Connect (KYC) is NOW accepting applications for new members. Its mission is to support the connection of empowered youth in Kansas to create positive change today, tomorrow, and beyond.
The role of a KYC member is to be a voice for those not represented within KYC and to collaborate with other youth across Kansas to make positive change.
Apply now by clicking this link: Kanas Youth Connect Application
If not 100% sure about KYC and have questions:
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July 19, 2021
Board of Trustees
Fort Scott Community College
2108 S. Horton
Fort Scott, KS 66701
The Board of Trustees of Fort Scott Community College will meet in regular session on Monday, July 19, 2021. The meeting will be held in Cleaver-Burris-Boileau Hall at Fort Scott Community College.
5:30 p.m. Dinner at 5:00 followed by regular board meeting at 5:30 p.m.
THE AGENDA
5:30 ROLL CALL, 3
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
CALL TO ORDER, 4
A. Comments from the Chair, 4
CONSENT AGENDA, 5
A. Approval of Agenda, 5
B. Approval of Minutes of previous Regular Board Meeting conducted on June 21, 2021, 6
C. Approval of Bills, and Claims, 8
D. Approval of Personnel Actions, 5
ACTION/DISCUSSION ITEMS, 22
A. Approval of Culinary Memorandum of Understanding between SEKESC (Greenbush) and
FSCC, 22
B. Consideration of Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) Migrant Education
Project State Level Activities 2021-22, 24
C. Discussion of Fort Lincoln School Rock Fossils, 25
D. Consideration of Firm to Audit Financial Statements for June 30, 2021, 26
E. Consideration of Athletic Insurance and Catastrophic Injury Insurance, 35
F. Approval of Hound Pound Renovation Bids, 36
G. Consideration of Garrison Apartments Names, 43
ITEMS FOR REVIEW, 44
REPORTS, 46
A. Administrative Updates, 46
EXECUTIVE SESSION, 53
ADJOURNMENT, 54
1
UPCOMING CALENDAR DATES:
• July 19, 2021: Board Meeting
• August 9-11, 2021: In-Service
• August 12, 2021: Fall Semester Begins
• August 23, 2021: Board Meeting
• September 6, 2021: Labor Day, Campus Closed
• September 13, 2021: Board Meeting
• October 18, 2021: Board Meeting
• October 18, 2021: Math Relays
• November 15, 2021: Board Meeting
• November 22 – 26, 2021: Thanksgiving Break, Campus Closed
• November 30, 2021: Graduate Assessment Exam
• December 7 – 10, 2021: Finals
• December 13, 2021: Board Meeting
• December 17, 2021 – January 4, 2022 Christmas Break, Campus Closed
• January 7, 2022: In-Service
• January 12, 2022: Spring Semester Begins
• January 17, 2022: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Campus Closed
• January 24, 2022: Board Meeting
• February 21, 2022: Board Meeting
• March 14 – 18, 2022: Spring Break, Campus Closed
• March 21, 2022: Board Meeting
• March 25, 2022: Aggie Day
• April 15, 2022: Good Friday, Campus Closed
• April 18, 2022: Board Meeting
• May 10 – 13, 2022: Finals
• May 14, 2022: Graduation
• May 16, 2022: Board Meeting
• May 30, 2022: Memorial Day, Campus Closed
• June 20, 2022: Board Meeting
Sincerely,
John Bartelsmeyer, Chair
Alysia Johnston, President
FSCC’s vision for the future is to support “Students First, Community Always” through a
central focus on teaching and learning; advancing strong, innovative programs and
departments; maximizing and leveraging opportunities; initiating efficient and effective
processes; and developing the region’s workforce.
2
ROLL CALL
_____ John Bartelsmeyer
_____ Jim Fewins
_____ Dave Elliott
_____ Kirk Hart
_____ Bill Meyer
_____ Robert Nelson
3
CALL TO ORDER
A. COMMENTS FROM THE CHAIR
4
CONSENT AGENDA
A. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
B. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS
1) Attached are the minutes of the Regular Board Meeting conducted on June 21,
2021.
C. APPROVAL OF TREASURER’S REPORT, BILLS and CLAIMS
Attached are the Bills and Claims Report. An additional list of bills and claims for
approval will be provided the night of the meeting.
D. APPROVAL OF PERSONNEL ACTIONS
1) Additions
a) Ben Keifer, Assistant Baseball Coach, effective June 1, 2021
b) Sean Davidson, Assistant Football Coach, effective July 1, 2021
c) Jeremiah Taylor, Assistant Football Coach, effective July 1, 2021
d) Sandra Tirri, Accounting Clerk/Cashier, effective July 12, 2021
e) Rachel Stauffer, Biology Instructor, effective July 26, 2021
f) Ashley Page, Communications Instructor, effective August 9, 2021
2) Separations
a) Jake Harvey, Assistant Baseball Coach, effective June 30, 2021
b) Justin Amstutz, Assistant Football Coach, effective June 30, 2021
c) Cam Robinson, Assistant Football Coach, effective June 30, 2021
