Stories from Wednesday, June 11, 2008

FERGUSON -- Mason Ryan Ferguson, a boy, was born at Mercy Health Center, in Fort Scott, at 2:56 p.m., Tuesday, June 10, 2008, to parents Richard and Melinda Ferguson, Moran. He weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces at birth. He joins one sibling, Christopher Lee Ferguson, a brother. Maternal grandparents are Marion and Pat Sponseller, Iola. Paternal grandfather is Richard Ferguson, Sr., Arma...

Roy Elsworth Umphenour, 99, of Fort Scott, Kan., died Monday, June 9, 2008 at his home. He was born October 18, 1908 at Pleasanton, Kan., the son of Harry Jacob and Adah Staton Umphenour. He married Lottie Berneice Kleitz on June 28, 1934. She preceded him in death on October 14, 1994. ...

Harold L. Johnson, age 81, of Savonburg, Kan., died on Monday, June 9, 2008, at his home. He was born June 7, 1927, at Savonburg, Kansas, the son of Wendell Harold Theodore Johnson and Lenore (Collins) Johnson. Harold attended schools in the area, graduating from Elsmore High School in 1945. He served in the U.S. Navy in 1945 and 1946...

The Northeast Scott 4-H Club met at the Hammond Community Center on May 14. Two leaders and thirty-four members were present. President, Sabrina Minor lead the club with the regular business part of the meeting. Following that was the night's program lead by Vice President, Austin Schofield. ...

Six members and one guest, Marilyn Bailey, Phoenix, Ariz., were hosted for pie and coffee in the Kress Tea room by Mary Ann French, May 16. The meeting was called to order by usual protocol with recitation of Ritual, Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag, and The American's Creed...

The annual Holmes Reunion was held Sunday, June 1 at the school in Prescott, Kan. There were 22 attendees from four states. A potluck dinner was held at noon. The reunion was first held in 1916, for the large family of William Harrison Holmes. Holmes married Rosamond Smith in 1858 in Ottuamwa, Iowa. ...

We used to talk about the amount of time children spent watching television, but now the concern has spread beyond the television screen. Screen time now also includes non-school or non-work-related computer and Internet use, video games, and DVD use. Time spent in front of a screen is time when children are not being physically active. It's not just children who need to get away from the screen. A sedentary lifestyle is not healthy for adults either...

100 YEARS AGO (1908) Old Ben, the giant white horse used on the chemical engine at the fire department, is soon to be retired. Ben has been dragging fire apparatus around the streets here for 17 years and is getting ready for retirement. He is a mountain of strength yet, but hasn't the speed or grace he once had. ...

A family of local musicians plan to entertain the crowd with a variety of musical styles during a Friday night concert in downtown Fort Scott. Local musicians and music educators Steve and Pat Harry, along with their daughter, Elisa Denning, will perform a free concert at 7:30 p.m., Friday at the Heritage Park Pavilion, located at the corner of First and Main streets. ...

After conducting classes in a building just south of Fort Scott for 13 years, the Head Start Center will be moving its operations inside the city limits to an upgraded facility. After looking at several other locations in Fort Scott, Sek-Cap officials decided to take the USD 234 school district up on an offer to lease the northeast corner of the annex behind the former middle school building. ...

Tribune Staff Report TOPEKA -- Patty Horgan, 60, Pittsburg, Kan., filed today for the Kansas State Senate seat being vacated by the retirement of Jim Barone. She filed as a Democrat at the Secretary of State's Office here. "I'm ready to get home and start working on this campaign," Horgan said as she left Memorial Hall in Topeka. "My legislative goal is simple: Give the residents of Southeast Kansas more opportunities for growth and success."...

Special to The Tribune If you ask most gardeners what they wish for, they will tell you "I would like color all season, I would like to plant perennials because they come back every year, and I would like for my garden to require little or no maintenance." That is every gardener's dream but it is far from reality...

Defending champion Jure Robic of Slovenia enjoys a lead of around 120 miles as he traveled into Kansas early this morning during the Race Across America (RAAM). Robic, who is also a solder in the Slovenian Army, passed through the 21st of 53 time stations, located at Clayton, N. ...