Stories from Tuesday, November 24, 2009

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- The 2009 National Junior College Athletic Association bowl season opened here Saturday with No. 19 Coffeyville's 54-12 blowout of No. 14 Rochester Tech in the North Star Bowl. Even though the Red Ravens came into the contest with a 6-4 record and Rochester was 10-1, this is not considered an upset. Minnesota College Athletic Conference schools do not offer athletic scholarships. However, the NJCAA only has one division for football...

LIBERAL, Kan. -- Fort Scott Community College's men split a pair of games at the Seward County Classic here over the weekend. Friday, the Greyhounds defeated Redlands College (Okla.), 79-75. Saturday, they fell to Clarendon (Texas), 76-71. This was the first time this season Fort Scott (3-5) scored more than 70 points in consecutive games. The Greyhounds are idle until Dec. 2, when they host Neosho County in one of two early Jayhawk Conference-Eastern Division games...

USD 234 and USD 235 schools, as well as the Fort Scott Community College campus, will be closed Wednesday-Friday for Thanksgiving vacation. Classes will resume on Monday, Nov. 30. City of Fort Scott offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday in observance of Thanksgiving. The offices will be open again on Monday, Nov. 30. The city's brush dump site will also be closed on Thursday but will be open Saturday...

The Gordon Parks Center at Fort Scott Community College plans to celebrate the anniversary of the Fort Scott native's birthday on Monday, Nov. 30. The event, which is free of charge and open to the public, will feature various films about Parks or directed by Parks that will be shown throughout the day...

The Mother to Mother Ministry of Bourbon County, Inc. is a recipient of a grant from the York Children's Foundation in the amount of $1,500. Mother to Mother Ministry of Bourbon County, Inc. was nominated by the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home for their work with the children and the young mothers in the community. Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home Co-owner Michael Cheney said in the nomination that Mother to Mother Ministries of Bourbon County, Inc. gave out more than 9,000 diapers last year...

Stocked and ready to go, the Kansas Department of Transportation is prepared to battle the elements of winter when Mother Nature strikes. "Fortunately last winter was, on average, relatively mild and this helped us and our suppliers recover our salt reserves," KDOT Assistant Bureau Chief of Construction and Maintenance Peter Carttar said. "And we have shops throughout the state where we can deploy trucks when there's inclement weather."...

As the holiday season approaches so does the threat of dangerous winter weather. Bourbon County Emergency Manager Keith Jeffers said Bourbon County could see a fairly mild winter this year. "It is supposed to be about normal," Jeffers said. According to the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center, the current predictions for Bourbon County are average to slightly above average temperatures, with normal to above normal precipitation. ...

While picking out a child's toy is an exciting part of every holiday season, keeping safety in mind needs to be on the top of every gift-givers' list, according to the Safe Kids Kansas organization. Parents and caregivers can make sure they're choosing safe toys for their children by paying close attention to warning labels and manufacturer's guidelines, according to a news release...

Tri-Valley Developmental Services has provided a service called Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) to people with developmental disabilities since the agency's inception in 1974. In addition to these services, TVDS also provides NEMT to qualfied riders for medical appointments. People who are recipients of Medicaid are eligible for this service. Those who are interested in transportation for non-emergency related medical appointments may call (888) 240-6497 for more information...

The Bourbon County Shrine Club presented a check in the amount of $6,878.18 to the Youth Activites Team after its participation in the recent Jason Aldean concert to benefit Pennies for the Park. In addition to Shriners Hospitals for Children, local Shriners regularly raise funds for local projects including sponsoring Bourbon County's best athletes and cheerleaders in the annual Kansas Shrine Bowl High School All Star Football game and musician participants in the Kansas All State Marching Band.. ...

Retailers across the country, including local businesses, are gearing up for Black Friday. Many retailers open their doors very early that day to customers seeking money-saving deals on merchandise inside the stores. The day after Thanksgiving marks the start of the traditional Christmas shopping season and is typically one of the busiest retail shopping days of the year...

Editor's Note: The following was submitted by the Fort Scott Director of Finance Susan Brown to explain the reason for a potential 10 percent increase in water and sewer rates. On Dec. 1, 2009, the Fort Scott City Commission will vote on whether or not to increase water and sewer rates by 10 percent. ...

One Fort Scott family's Thanksgiving plans just got bigger with a generous donation of groceries. On Tuesday, Fort Scott police officers and firefighters delivered groceries to Susan Schnichels in Fort Scott who was in need of assistance. "This is nice, I just couldn't believe it," Schnichels said...