CHANGE Fort Scott

[chat stew]

I read the posts and so many of them bash Fort Scott. I agree with many of them but what if we sat back for just a minute and discussed ways to help Fort Scott...It can't be up to the city commissioners to do it b/c they simply aren't capable nor do they really want to.What ideas do we have?
We need more jobs, so that would mean we need businesses to want to come here.
We need activities for our kids and family--skating, bowling, fun center, YMCA....
What are your thoughts?
Our town is dying/how can we stop its' slow death?

[mother2]

The people who live here are the only one's that bash the town. Here is what out of towner's have to say: The people of Fort Scott are wonderful! What an incredible trip! I can’t stop talking about your town to anyone who will listen. The biggest surprise was the people, each one kinder than the next. You truly live in an amazing place where you can feel the kindness and the sense of belonging wherever you go. I cannot wait to come back and bring my family with me so that they to can experience the warmth of Fort Scott! Thank you so much for your hospitality!"

[Pedro]

chat stew wrote:

I read the posts and so many of them bash Fort Scott. I agree with many of them but what if we sat back for just a minute and discussed ways to help Fort Scott...It can't be up to the city commissioners to do it b/c they simply aren't capable nor do they really want to.What ideas do we have?
We need more jobs, so that would mean we need businesses to want to come here.
We need activities for our kids and family--skating, bowling, fun center, YMCA....
What are your thoughts?
Our town is dying/how can we stop its' slow death?

You would need a time machine and go back maybe 20 years. Back to before the real self serving commissioners (example-Mr. Keating) jumped into office. Unfortunately the city commission are the only ones that can make anything happen in this town. Happy thoughts only work in peter pan movies.

[Pedro]

mother2 wrote:

The people who live here are the only one's that bash the town. Here is what out of towner's have to say: The people of Fort Scott are wonderful! What an incredible trip! I can’t stop talking about your town to anyone who will listen. The biggest surprise was the people, each one kinder than the next. You truly live in an amazing place where you can feel the kindness and the sense of belonging wherever you go. I cannot wait to come back and bring my family with me so that they to can experience the warmth of Fort Scott! Thank you so much for your hospitality!"

The people who live here are the only ones that know what the town actually is, a stagnant piece of feces. You do notice the visitor didnt say they would be interested in living in Fort Scott, only going back for a visit.

[WhiskeyTangoFoxt rot]

Pedro wrote:

<quoted text>
The people who live here are the only ones that know what the town actually is, a stagnant piece of feces. You do notice the visitor didnt say they would be interested in living in Fort Scott, only going back for a visit.

I envision the visitor shielding her young kids from the strange local. Trying to tell the local exactly what they wanted to hear. Just trying and trying to get out of the conversation. Finally she is able to hustle the kids back to the mini-van, double checking behind her to see if she is being followed. Waving to the local from behind the wheel and with closed windows, she tells her kids "LETS GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

[HereThereEverywh ere]

WTFR: Thank you, your post hit the spot this morning as I face one more winter in Fort Scott. There isn't anything that can be done here to make it better - it is terminally ill. I have butted heads with many and got a good look inside what makes the town tick or maybe we should say not tick. If I were doing a quick report this is what I would say: No one, neither the Chamber or City (I really mean those that control the City) seems interested in bringing in residents or businesses, essentially new blood because they realize that they won't have the control that they have had for so many years. They have an insane belief that they are special in having an old rundown town and that millions of visitors will flock here if they do enough advertising. I was actually told by someone considered important at the time "We don't want them to move here, just spend their money here and go back home." Yes, such charming people, not! The town is comprised of older, retired people who are well-educated and a good group, the lower class workers (not a reflection of anything more than low wages), those on public assistance - some necessary and some not. The population of people between say 40 and 60 is almost non-existent and that spells death since the town is missing an entire generation. The tax burden here is already too great for the public to provide any more then it is already and with a decreasing population and decreasing revenue - well, why don't you show off some of those excellent math skills you acquired at the wonderful school system in Fort Scott and you don't even want to get me started about the school system in Fort Scott. It is what it is - you all heard "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." 9180

[Roots]

Instead of constantly complaining you could start working to fix it.

[chat stew]

I am all for working to fix it.It seems, however, I would be in the minority. The town currently reminds me of my old Murray riding lawn mower. I love it, and it quit running this summer. Tried to fix it. It's a gonner.
Here There Everywhere--your posts seem to mirror my own feelings about the town. Are you going to stay here and put up with it or move?
I have lived here all my 44 years. I am trying to convince my spouse to move. I feel saddened just typing those words. I grew up here. Worked here, Started raising kids here. But now there is not much left here. I want my kids to know what a skating rink looks like, neither of them have ever bowled,....wouldn't it be nice if we had a YMCA with an indoor pool and activities for kids and families? Guess that is just my dream for our little dying community.

[WhiskeyTangoFoxt rot]

Roots wrote:

Instead of constantly complaining you could start working to fix it.

I do not live there anymore, so I cannot "DO" the work required. I personally was tired of doing my part in trying to fix the town, while others just sat back and watched. What did I feel was my part. Setting the example and hoping others would follow.

If you truly want to fix it, you will have hard times. This is what no one in the town wants... HARD TIMES. Isn't this really what most already have. They just are hoping it will not get worse... IT WILL.

The "more" intelligent (People who have the intelligence to do more than production) townspeople are leaving as soon as they figure out how. Who is sticking around... Welfare and the "less" intelligent. Which is causing the "more's" to leave as they are tired of dealing with the "less's" A.K.A riff raff.

When I lived there I felt as though the riff raff was lowering my home value, causing pest problems due to the mountains of trash they left in the alley (they didn't have trash service). I was amazed at how many more flies are in FS than where I live now (once again due to trash), Mosquitos were horrible due to them leaving containers out. Walking by thier houses usually smelled of a mixture of BO, animal feces, mold, and dinginess (although once it smelled of pot which made me crave Doritos) and the view was horrible. Some houses looked like they took what was inside and put it outside. Really do you need a washing maching and a toilet in your yard? They are lazy and do not want to do the "hard" work needed to seem decent. They want to just sit back, wait for their government cheese, and pro-create. No actually they don't want to pro-create, they are bored... don't want to work... so they have sex. Then a child is "punished" for having them as parents. Then in thier minds, when they reflect on their lives it is "our" fault they have it so bad. I felt like the town was going down, and going down quick. I bailed!

So if you want to do the work to fix your town here is my suggestion. Tell the Riff Raff...

"Get your ass up and get out of my town. I do not want you here. Find someother place that will put up with your laziness, as we (the town) are done with you."

How do you do this... make the elected officials get rid of the following.

Low income housing ... Low rent housing ... Dilapidated housing ... and any other object these people are using to survive in your town.

Will this cause low paying businesses to suffer since the low wage earners are gone... Yes, they may need to be more competitive in their wage scale to get good workers... or they may even go out of business.

Will this cause FS to suffer... Yes. There wont be as much $ being spent within the city walls as this group of people are gone.

Should we feel sorry for this "class" of people being run out of town ... No, it is easy to move on when you have little to nothing to move. They will just move on to the next town that is willing to put up with them, or they will recognize the error in their ways and change.

But after everything is said and done, FS can start re-building. It can build into what it desires to be. A nice little town, with an average class of people who take care of what they have... A nice town with little to no riff raff.

[WhiskeyTangoFoxt rot]

chat stew wrote:

I am all for working to fix it.It seems, however, I would be in the minority. The town currently reminds me of my old Murray riding lawn mower. I love it, and it quit running this summer. Tried to fix it. It's a gonner.
Here There Everywhere--your posts seem to mirror my own feelings about the town. Are you going to stay here and put up with it or move?
I have lived here all my 44 years. I am trying to convince my spouse to move. I feel saddened just typing those words. I grew up here. Worked here, Started raising kids here. But now there is not much left here. I want my kids to know what a skating rink looks like, neither of them have ever bowled,....wouldn't it be nice if we had a YMCA with an indoor pool and activities for kids and families? Guess that is just my dream for our little dying community.

My kids were amazed by the "outside" world. Elevators and Escalators... It would crack me up how excited they would get. The schools ARE better where I live now. When I was in FS my kids had excellent grades (A's and B's), but the teachers here showed concern as they felt my kids were behind the kids here. They love rollerskating in fact their school has a fundraiser there about once a month.

I frankly was pissed that I felt I would have to move for my family to have a better life. But I have not regretted it, and cannot foresee ever regretting it.

Whatever you decide I wish you luck.

[Roots]

You all are very good at identifying the problems. Sounds like we need to now identify solutions.

[WhiskeyTangoFoxt rot]

Roots wrote:

You all are very good at identifying the problems. Sounds like we need to now identify solutions.

Start by getting rid of as much welfare as possible, then get rid of more and more and more. Do this by eliminating housing. With all this old and dilapidated housing gone the town will look cleaner. The town looking cleaner MAY encourage business to come in. Even if the town gets smaller and no businesses come it will be better.

[Roots]

I like it! Amazing what a coat of paint will do too.

[Old Oak]

Beware the mighty swine flu is in Ft. Scott!!

[WhiskeyTangoFoxt rot]

Old Oak wrote:

Beware the mighty swine flu is in Ft. Scott!!

I assume this is a shot at me??

Why not post this where the discussion took place!! Do you not have a good response to my last post on this subject, so you have to stoop to this? Old Oak I understand you position, but you are not willing to understand mine. But please, keep the messages on the correct post.

[Pedro]

WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot wrote:

<quoted text>
....
So if you want to do the work to fix your town here is my suggestion. Tell the Riff Raff...
"Get your ass up and get out of my town. I do not want you here. Find someother place that will put up with your laziness, as we (the town) are done with you."
How do you do this... make the elected officials get rid of the following.
Low income housing ... Low rent housing ... Dilapidated housing ... and any other object these people are using to survive in your town.
Will this cause low paying businesses to suffer since the low wage earners are gone... Yes, they may need to be more competitive in their wage scale to get good workers... or they may even go out of business.
Will this cause FS to suffer... Yes. There wont be as much $ being spent within the city walls as this group of people are gone.
Should we feel sorry for this "class" of people being run out of town ... No, it is easy to move on when you have little to nothing to move. They will just move on to the next town that is willing to put up with them, or they will recognize the error in their ways and change.
But after everything is said and done, FS can start re-building. It can build into what it desires to be. A nice little town, with an average class of people who take care of what they have... A nice town with little to no riff raff.

Which master race exactly will be left in Fort Scott once you remove the "poor"? If you eliminate all the low income housing I guess you would need to remove all the elderly to nursing homes and the developmentally disabled people to asylums too? If you eliminated the low wage earners from this town there would be absolutely NO ONE left except for maybe Mercy Hospital and the country club. It would be entertaining to know which elected official could pull this off. Hopefully you aren't thinking a city commissioner can do anything about this? lol WTF you sound like a white man that is feeling oppressed and used by the system to raise everyone's kids and pay for everything with "your" taxes. Its delusions of grandeur on your part that you are above all these "poor trash".
"But after everything is said and done, FS can start re-building." I guess the only appropriate thing to do is quote Carlos Mencia, when he was speaking of eliminating all the mexicans to the other side of the border and building a wall, "who is going to build it?". With no workers left you are mighty screwed lol. WTF you should rethink your ideas, it didn't work when Hitler tried it either.

[WhiskeyTangoFoxt rot]

I never wrote to ELIMINATE the low wage earners. The idea is by eliminating welfare, some low wage earners would probably have to move on. There would still be some of this class left. They would probably benefit by having higher wages. I also never wrote anything about the elderly, and developmentally disabled. It seems you try to include this group in everytime someone writes about welfare or low class. Is this a Freudian slip on your part.

I think its funny...

I demean lazy people and call them riff raff.

you talk of low income and refer to them as "poor trash". You try to make it seem like it is me, but it is your words none the less.

Finally, as for who is going to build it. I guarantee it is not going to be the welfare class. Why would they have a need to get up off their butts to do anything.

[Pedro]

WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot wrote:

I never wrote to ELIMINATE the low wage earners. The idea is by eliminating welfare, some low wage earners would probably have to move on. There would still be some of this class left. They would probably benefit by having higher wages. I also never wrote anything about the elderly, and developmentally disabled. It seems you try to include this group in everytime someone writes about welfare or low class. Is this a Freudian slip on your part.
I think its funny...
I demean lazy people and call them riff raff.
you talk of low income and refer to them as "poor trash". You try to make it seem like it is me, but it is your words none the less.
Finally, as for who is going to build it. I guarantee it is not going to be the welfare class. Why would they have a need to get up off their butts to do anything.

Who exactly lives in low income housing? Only the welfare cheats you speak of? Elderly and developmentally disabled live in the majority of the low income housing in Fort Scott. Do some research. You grouped all these people together when you decided that the low income housing was a good thing to eliminate.

WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot wrote:

How do you do this... make the elected officials get rid of the following.

Low income housing ... Low rent housing ... Dilapidated housing ... and any other object these people are using to survive in your town.

Will this cause low paying businesses to suffer since the low wage earners are gone... Yes, they may need to be more competitive in their wage scale to get good workers... or they may even go out of business.

Will this cause FS to suffer... Yes. There wont be as much $ being spent within the city walls as this group of people are gone.

Should we feel sorry for this "class" of people being run out of town ... No, it is easy to move on when you have little to nothing to move. They will just move on to the next town that is willing to put up with them, or they will recognize the error in their ways and change.

Eliminating jobs and affordable housing will in effect eliminate low wage earners. What would be left is a town base the size of Xenia paying an increased 4000% taxes to make up the loss of the majority. WTF you need someone to give you a wake up call about people or get yourself to any college, of your choosing and become informed. Like I said before "it didn't work when Hitler tried it either".

[WhiskeyTangoFoxt rot]

Eliminate should be interpreted as "go to zero, to get rid of, remove".

I HAVE wrote to eliminate Welfare, but I have not wrote to eliminate the low income class. America is sorted into 3 classes of people. Upper, Middle and Lower. This is determined by your income and every town will always be divided into this. By getting rid of the Welfare class you will in effect be impacting the lower class but not getting rid of it. But the fact is there is too much of the welfare class in Fort Scott.

Are you insinuating the Welfare class is engine of Fort Scott. The ones who either don't work, or don't make enough to pay bills when they work are the one's who have the extra income to buy items like TVs, Cars, Sun Tanning sessions, etc. If this is so why are they getting so much $ on welfare. Additionally if this is true, why don't we raise taxes to 85% so we can give these people more money so the engine will be turbo charge and really take off. Maybe you need to go to college and take a ECON course.

Fact is, this is not true. It is just the opposite. The welfare class is like the sludge in your engine. They take away some of its efficiency. A little bit and you don't really notice it. Too much and its time for a re-build. FS its time for a rebuild.

I said it would be rough, everyone would need to adjust... The government would need to get smaller and there would be a trickle down effect for all of the town while they are adjusting to the new town size. But, after the hard times would come the reward. A town that looks nice, has a small percentage of low income and Welfare (realistically I know you cannot completely eliminate this, but you should try to come as close to zero as possible), And in general the people are proud of. This in turn MAY lead to growth.

I am not Hitler, I do not want the people dead. I am being realistic about a problem and showing a solution to fix the problem.

Pedro what are you doing... just arguing with non-facts, name calling, at using stupidity.

[HereThereEverywh ere]

I had the pleasure, not, to work at the Chamber in Fort Scott for a couple months a few years ago so I am saying for the most part that WTF has a good grasp. When I was there I was told to try to push anyone asking about a certain service - motel/restaurant, etc. to a certain one, most often a downtown business even though the other businesses were also members. I remember once that a family wanted chicken KFC and were being "pushed" into going to a downtown business and not given the location of KFC. I followed them outside to do some chore and the boys wanted KFC and they decided they would have to go to Pittsburg - I gave them directions to our KFC and so they planned to go there. Our KFC was a Chamber member also. This was a bunch of crap! Also, I have tried to make someone make changes as it isn't like I can get a wrecking ball and operate it myself. The upper crusty have control. A lot of the lower priced rentals are available to provide housing for the drug dealers. There is a list of people who do not have to adhere to the Codes. We have some really good people that are trying to make changes but the minority cannot do this. These lazy people won't even get off their butts long enough to vote in the election for city commissioners and half that do, vote by name recognition. I, myself, like the new City Manager and think he has the potential to do a lot for the City but he needs the citizens to get out of bed, off their porch and get a clue. I think the City employees get blamed for a lot but without support, their skills are being wasted. Lazy, lazy, lazy!