News

A “blitz” is planned when several volunteers will gather at Gunn Park for a workday. On Tuesday, Feb. 18, Fort Scott city commissioners heard an update from citizen Seth Needham, who is leading the volunteer group. He said the “spring blitz” will begin at 8 a.m. on March 14. He said his goal is to assist the parks department “make Gunn Park better.”...

Members of the Bourbon County Emergency Service were recognized Feb. 18 for the compassion they showed one Fort Scott resident. During the city commission meeting, Gene Payne told the story of his wife’s experience after suffering a heart attack on Jan. 27 at home. He said after he made the call to EMS, the crew arrived at Ascension Via Christi in Pittsburg 57 minutes later...

County commissioners continue to hear from residents who are opposed to a wind farm being established in Bourbon County. On Tuesday, Kevin Gleason spoke to commissioners during their morning session. See the print or online edition of the Tribune for complete story...

Frank Clay, Jr., an author, business coach and entrepreneur, shared his thoughts on the impact Gordon Parks made on his life during a “Lunch and Learn” Tuesday in the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on the campus of Fort Scott Community College...

Editor’s note: This is the second part of a two-part series on a Feb. 11 meeting regarding wind farms. More questions raised during a meeting on wind farms Feb. 11 at Fort Scott Community College revolved around the county’s involvement and taxes. Second District Commissioner Jeff Fischer moderated the evening. ...

Bourbon County Economic Development Director Jody Hoener announced Tuesday the county will take the lead in creating a health care mall at what once was the Mercy Hospital Fort Scott building. Hoener said on Monday, the county received a donation agreement from Mercy, which includes the building and $1 million...

Editor’s note: Due to the length of the meeting, this report will be published in two parts. Bourbon County Commissioners on Tuesday evening hosted a meeting to allow the public to learn more about Apex Clean Energy, the company planning to create a wind farm in Bourbon and Crawford counties. The more than 100 who attended were encouraged to write their questions. Some questions were derived from the Jan. 14 county commissioner meeting...

One city commissioner’s plan to address sanitary sewer lines in Fort Scott spurred discussion among commissioners and city staff during a work session Wednesday at City Hall. During the work session, Commissioner Pete Allen handed out copies of his proposal to rebuild the city’s sanitary sewer system — a plan that would cost an estimated $2.7 million each year for the next five years...

It looked more like fall than winter Sunday in Gunn Park as last week’s snow melted and rain fell Sunday morning, making for a cooler, misty afternoon. Snow returned to the forecast early today. Temperatures will drop to the teens tonight, but warmer temperatures will return by the weekend...

On Monday, USD 235 Board of Education members received an update on the education redesign project to move the focuse away from standardized testing to preparing junior and senior students for post high school. In this first year, the district is in the planning stage with the goal to implement redesign in 2020-21. Already, there is momentum in the program, according to a report from Jeanne Camac, junior and senior high counselor...

Staff and students in USD 234 schools have begun the march toward the end of the school year. During Monday’s USD 234 Board of Education meeting, principals at each school building and other administrators updated board members on activities at their respective schools, which include staff training, student testing and extracurricular activities...

About 3 inches of snow fell on Bourbon County Wednesday morning. Area schools were closed, but for others, it was just another day.

County health officials are researching a virus strain that cropped up in late 2019 and the potential for an epidemic. Health officials have expressed concern about the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) because little is known about the new virus, which has the potential to cause severe illness and death in some people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

About 15 people gathered in the Bourbon County Commission meeting room and a few more stood outside the doorway to listen to opponents speak about the proposed wind farms coming to the county. Resident Tim Emerson said he and his wife Anne moved from New York, N.Y., 46 years ago. Since then, they have served on numerous boards and love Bourbon County...

Bourbon County Commissioners on Tuesday discussed creating a policy to deal with what Commission Chairman Lynne Oharah referred to as “a 100-year-old problem” – requests for closing or opening county roads. Richard Wolmesdorf attended the meeting to request closing a road near 115th Street and Tomahawk Road that he said “goes nowhere” and has not been maintained by the county for several years...

Ways to market rural areas such as Fort Scott and Bourbon County were the focus of a Friday visit to Fort Scott by Kansas Secretary of Commerce David Toland. Toland provided attendees of a round table discussion at Luther’s BBQ with updates on the Kansas Department of Commerce’s new vision and goals for the state, as well as new programs available to help economic growth in rural portions of the state. ...

Area students got a snow day Wednesday after rain turned to ice, and then was covered with about 2 inches of snow overnight Tuesday. Children of all ages took advantage of the snow that was ideal for snowmen. Their creations didn’t last long, as temperatures rose on Thursday...

Bourbon County Commissioners continue to hear concerns from residents on a proposed wind energy project. During the commission’s Tuesday meeting, four residents spoke about the proposed Jayhawk Wind project for Bourbon and Crawford counties, which is being developed by Apex Clean Energy...

Plans are in place for members of the Fort Scott Community College Board of Trustees to begin using new technology. During the board’s Monday meeting, trustees learned the iPad models approved for purchase are ready to be deployed by the college’s IT department...

A project that has been on the back burner for at least five years is now on the table. On Tuesday, Bourbon County Commissioners accepted a bid to repair the courthouse portico. See the print or online edition of the Tribune for complete story.

After a lengthy debate and three motions, Fort Scott City Commissioners Tuesday night elected to move forward with researching a plan to complete repair work on sanitary sewer lines using city crews rather than contracting the work to an outside company...

Fort Scott City Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved the final plat for land on the old Mercy Hospital property at 401 Woodland Hills Blvd. The approximately 46-acre parcel of land would be subdivided to allow for the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas and Ascension Via Christi – health care entities which now occupy portions of the building – to expand on the property...

Bourbon County Commissioners on Tuesday tabled a motion to create a security personnel position for the third floor of the Bourbon County Courthouse. Commission Chairman Lynne Oharah made a motion for a 5-minute executive session to discuss courthouse security that would include commissioners, County Counselor Justin Meeks and Bourbon County District Judge Mark Ward. The session was to include Bourbon County Sheriff Bill Martin, but Martin declined to participate...

A four-member panel discussed how far society has come in race relations and equality, and provided their thoughts on the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Monday at Fort Scott Community College. The Rev. George Proctor, pastor at United Missionary Baptist Church, moderated a discussion at the Gordon Parks Museum inside the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center. ...

The Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC/SEK) Board of Directors took no action Jan. 16 toward establishing a “medical mall” within the former Fort Scott Mercy Hospital. Prior to finalizing plans for the construction of a new primary care clinic, CHC/SEK had spent the past month assessing the feasibility of remaining in the existing building...

Controversy is spinning around a proposed wind development project in a portion of Bourbon County. Bourbon County officials and several county residents packed the third floor of the Bourbon County Courthouse for an informational meeting Tuesday night concerning the proposed Jayhawk Wind turbine project in Bourbon and Crawford counties. ...

Bourbon County Commissioners recently heard from two elected officials regarding a salary increase for all but one elected official in 2020. Sheriff Bill Martin said he does not agree with the increase and when commissioners were working on the budget, he was told the county had no money...

Bourbon County Commissioners on Tuesday approved a letter of intent supporting a move toward repurposing the old Mercy Hospital building. Bourbon County Economic Development Director Jody Hoener said discussions have continued on repurposing the former Mercy building after the hospital closed Dec. 31, 2018. The Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas and Ascension Via Christi, which now occupy portions of the building, have discussed plans for building new facilities on the Mercy property...

A topic of the Fort Scott City Commission meeting Tuesday evening was change. And change began shortly after the meeting began. The three outgoing commissioners were recognized by City Manager Dave Martin and the three new members were sworn in by City Clerk Diane Clay...

Bourbon County Economic Development Director Jody Hoener reported to county commissioners Tuesday the initial study conducted to determine whether a multi-purpose events center is viable in Bourbon County is positive. See the print or online edition of the Tribune for complete story...

Bourbon County Commissioners are gearing up to promote the continuance of a 1-cent county-wide retail sales tax. The sales tax currently in place funds hard-surface roads projects and expires at the end of the year. If passed, this would be the third time the tax has been placed on the ballot with each sales tax in effect 10 years each time...

Fort Scott native Trevor Swim and Katie Thoe of Eau Claire, Wis., along with their canine campanion Bodie, shared one of their children's books with students at Eugene Ware Tuesday morning. The books is part of a series aimed at teaching children about each state in the U.S. ...

After a nearly 30-year career, Fort Scott Fire Chief Paul Ballou signed off for the last time Friday. The city held a retirement reception for Ballou, fire chief since 2008, Friday at Buck Run Community Center. The reception was attended by several city and county officials, as well as several of Ballou’s friends, family members and colleagues...

Subdivision of a plat of land on the old Mercy Hospital property will rest in the hands of the Fort Scott City Commission after action Monday by the Fort Scott Planning Commission. Planning commissioners approved sending a recommendation to the city commission for subdivision of an approximately 46-acre parcel of land at 401 Woodland Hills Blvd., which would allow for the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas and Ascension Via Christi —two health care entities that occupy portions of the building — to expand on the property.. ...

A judge granted continuances for co-defendants in a Bourbon County drug case Friday morning in Bourbon County District Court. Sixth Judicial District Judge Richard Smith presided over separate hearings for Cassi Melinda Farmer, 39, and Jerry Michael Wright, 30, who were present with their attorneys. ...

It was looking more like fall than winter atGunn Park Friday afternoon. Temperatures were in the 50s, but are expected to be cooler today before rising again for Sunday.

Bourbon County election officials began the year with a little more jingle in their pockets. On Dec. 17, county commissioners voted to give each elected official a salary increase effective Dec. 15. It is the first increase issued for elected officials since Dec. 21, 2014...

Two separate Bourbon County criminal cases are in the process of going through civil court as the convicted in each case challenge their sentences. During a pretrial motions hearing Thursday morning in Bourbon County District Court, Bourbon County District Judge Mark Ward set over the case of Brent Allan Bollinger vs. the State of Kansas, and the case of Anthony Michael Anderson vs. the State of Kansas for another hearing at 10 a.m. Friday, March 6...

During a special meeting Monday, the Fort Scott City Commission approved sending a letter to the Kansas Attorney General’s Office in response to inquiries into a complaint filed by a Fort Scott resident regarding alleged violations of the Kansas Open Meetings Act...