Stories from Friday, December 5, 2008

Monica B. Hershey, age 12, a resident of 802 Heylman, Fort Scott, Kan., died Monday evening, Dec. 1, 2008, as a result of an automobile accident. She was born May 24, 1996, in Riverside County, California, the daughter of Jason Edward Hershey and Vanessa Marlena McLane Hershey. Monica was a student at Fort Scott Middle School...

BANKER -- Joe and Kelsey Banker, Fort Scott, and big sister Kinsley Paige, are proud to announce the birth of their daughter and sister, Jett Matthew Banker. Jett was born at 8:22 a.m., Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008 at Mercy Health Center in Fort Scott. He weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces at birth...

GRAHAM -- Ricky and Angela Graham, Redfield, and big brother Dalton Graham, are proud to announce the birth of their daughter and sister, Kali Mae Graham. Kali was born at 3:37 p.m., Monday, Dec. 1, 2008, at Mercy Health Center in Fort Scott. She weighed 8 pounds, 6 and 1/2 ounces at birth...

Bethel Community Church, located six miles west of Fort Scott on Highway 54, will be conducting a Living Nativity, again, this year. The event, which is open to the general public, is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13 and Sunday, Dec. ...

Holiday decorations, especially candles and electrical lighting, can be fire hazards, and the Safe Kids Kansas organization reminds parents and caregivers to take a few precautions when decorating for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza and other winter festivities...

'Tis the season to be a cautious shopper, or at least that's the warning in an e-mail being sent to thousands about the purchase of gift cards. Customers across the country have been receiving an e-mail cautioning the purchase of gift cards from 32 national retail stores. What's the reason behind the warning? According to the e-mail, several stores will not be honoring the cards after the holiday season...

The Gordon Parks Center for Culture and Diversity hosted the second annual celebration for the birthday of Gordon Parks Thursday evening. The celebration featured a showing of "Martin: A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.," a filmed ballet which Parks wrote...

The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce is encouraging local residents to put their Christmas spirit on display. Chamber officials are currently preparing for the annual FSACC Dolly HollyDay tours, which take place Dec. 15-30, and the annual Light Up Fort Scott contest, in which residents are encouraged to decorate their homes using one of three themes in honor of the holiday season...

The Fort Scott Kiwanis Club will be raising funds one pancake at a time on Thursday. The 87th Annual Fort Scott Kiwanis Club Pancake Feed will be the group's most substantial fundraising event this year. The event, which will be conducted from 6:30 a.m. ...