Stories from Monday, July 2, 2007

Elmer F. West, age 88, of Kansas City, Mo, died June 29, 2007 at his residence. He formerly made his home in Southeast Kansas. He was born October 25, 1918 in Blue Mound, Kan. the son of Ernest Delbert West and Nola June (Baldwin) West. He married Nellie L. ...

Walter Eugene "Gene" Cooke, 87, of Overland Park, Kan., died June 30, 2007 at Indian Creek Nursing Center, Overland Park. Graveside services will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Fairview Cemetery in Fulton, Kan. Contributions may be made to he Heart Association or Cancer Society...

James Wilbur Ragsdale, 64, of Lebanon, Mo., died June 27, 2007. Arrangements are scheduled for Communion Chapel Bible Church, Today at 5 p.m. with the burial at Fort Scott National Cemetery on Tuesday at 11 a.m. Friends may call the chapel at their convenience...

Grace Leona Rourk, 88, former resident of 218 W. 23rd St., Fort Scott, died early today, July 2, 2007, in Batesville, Miss. Funeral arrangements Grace Rourk will be announced by Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main.

James Walton Speer, 62, resident of Fort Scott, died early today, July 2, 2007, at St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin Mo. Funeral arrangements for Speer will be announced by Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main.

Frances H. Campbell, 83, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. died in Michigan, Sunday, July 1, 2007. Funeral arrangements for Frances Campbell are incomplete and will be announced later by the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home.

One local business owner and his staff worked diligently Monday morning to get his store back in operating condition after floodwaters from recent excessive rainfall in the area surrounded the lower portion of the building over the weekend. Brad Cowen, the owner of Cowen's Country Corner, a convenience store located at 998 N. ...

UNIONTOWN -- Area residents are invited to attend an Independence Day celebration on Tuesday that will also benefit a project to upgrade facilities and equipment at Uniontown City Park, organizers said. Attendees will be able to reminisce with old friends and make new ones at the 2nd Annual Food, Fireworks and Fun event, which is sponsored by three businesses; Union State Bank, Trainwreck Tees, and the Coca-Cola Company, a statement from organizers said...

When the Marmaton River began rising late last week, Fort Scott area residents who had checked the weather forecast knew what to expect. At 9 a.m. Friday, the river reached flood stage -- 38 feet -- according to Rick McDaniels of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, whose job includes checking the water levels...

On June 23, Mr. and Mrs. Ron Palmer went to Topeka to work on the Grand chapter office building. That afternoon Mrs. Palmer participated in a Legislative Forum for the Second Congressional District at the Ramada Inn. That same evening the Palmers attended a reception honoring Reuben Berg, General Grand chapter committee visionary for O.E.S., hosted by his chapter...

The amount of rain received last week around the area has been reported at various levels, but no matter whose measurement you quote, it was plenty! I do know that when I was finishing up this article on Sunday afternoon (couldn't do much else), the US Geological Survey "realtime" readings for river levels showed the Marmaton River (at Marmaton) had crested late Saturday night at around 37 feet - 12 feet above the flood stage of 25 feet - after recording 12 inches of rain beginning Tuesday...

OSAWATOMIE -- Even after sunshine returned to southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri, rivers swollen by days of heavy rain continued to rise as flood surges moved downstream. While the rain had mostly stopped Monday morning, the National Weather Service extended a flash flood watch for six southeast Kansas counties -- Allen, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson and Woodson -- because major flooding continued in area rivers...

Roads became rivers and land turned into lakes as flood water engulfed Fort Scott and rural Bourbon County over the weekend. The flooding forced residents out of their homes and businesses. Motorists had to find alternate routes as water blanketed across numerous county and city roads...