Stories from Thursday, March 4, 2010

USD 234 missed three school days this winter due to inclement weather. The district is required to make up one of those and will use the following plan for this purpose: An extra 20 minutes will be added to each school day from Monday, March 8, through Friday, April 9. These 20 minutes will be added differently in the district's schools...

There will be an elementary teacher planning day for Winfield Scott and Eugene Ware schools on Friday. There will be no classes for elementary students on this day. Fort Scott Middle School and Fort Scott High School students will have classes on Friday...

Parent-teacher conferences for USD 234 will take place Tuesday, March 9, and Thursday, March 11. Conferences will take place from 4 to 7:13 p.m. at Winfield Scott Elementary School and Eugene Ware Elementary School, from 4:30 to 7:43 p.m. at Fort Scott Middle School, and from 5 to 8:13 p.m. at Fort Scott High School. There will be no school for USD 234 students on Friday, March 12. Spring Break will takeplace the week of March 15-19...

While the threat of severe weather in Kansas exists all year, March 8-12 is Severe Weather Awareness Week in Kansas, and a good opportunity for local residents to discuss the importance of emergency preparedness with their families, according to the Safe Kids Kansas organization...

Colorectal cancer can strike at any age, but nine out of 10 new cases are in people 50 years of age or older. Kansas residents older than 50 or who have a family history of the disease are encouraged to be screened, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment...

The United Way of Bourbon County recently wrapped up this year's campaign raising the goal total of $101,000. Many local companies made it easier for their employees to donate by offering their employees the opportunity to donate by payroll deduction. Some of those companies matched their employee donations, while other companies made significant corporate gifts, according to United Way of Bourbon County Executive Secretary Whendi Martin...

Fort Scott Middle School hosted the annual Bourbon County Spelling Bee on February 12. Twenty-three contestants participated in the contest, which included sixth through eighth grade students from Fort Scott Middle School and Fort Scott Christian Heights...

The Mapleton Fire Department Annual Soup and Chili Fundraiser will be Sunday, March 7, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Mapleton Community Building. Homemade Vegetable Soup, Chili, desserts, iced tea, water and coffee will be available for a free will donation...

Robert Lee Norris, 82, of Parsons, died at 4:05 p.m., Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at his home. Mr. Morris was born July 20, 1927 at Fulton, Kan., the son of Jack and Della Garrett Morris. Robert was a retired diesel mechanic and musician. He was raised in Crawford County and attended rural Arcadia schools...

Before getting into a continuing discussion of the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE), a deadline announcement: Friday, March 12, 2010, is the cutoff date for Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Organic Initiative applications in Kansas to be considered for Fiscal Year 2010 requested funding...

A new and deadly disease is affecting black walnuts across the western United States. Thousand Cankers Disease (TCD) is actually an insect and disease complex. It is caused by a tiny insect, the walnut twig beetle (Pityopthorus juglandis), which carries spores from a Geosmithia fungus as it goes about its feeding and breeding activities. ...

GIRARD -- In 2007 the Head Start Act was revised and a new opportunity became available to Head Start programs throughout the nation. Each program became eligible to make application for funding as a Center of Excellence. The Centers of Excellence Program will recognize Head Start and Early Head Start grantees that are performing at the highest levels of quality...

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has taken on the Kansas Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) so it will once again be available at the Fort Scott Area Farmer's Market. This program provides low-income seniors with checks to exchange for locally grown, fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and honey at farmers' markets...

ARKANSAS CITY -- Fort Scott Community College sophomores Valencia Kelly and Ramell Taylor were named to their respective Eastern Division Second Teams by the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Thursday afternoon. Kelly, from Brunswick, Ga., was 10th in the Jayhawk Conference in scoring this season, averaging 15.9 points per game, despite missing six games due to injuries and illness...

Two former Fort Scott Community College football players performed at the annual NFL Combine held in Indianapolis to show off their skills to NFL executives. The combine was held February 24through March 2 and was televised on the NFL Network. Lucian Antoine, a defensive back for the 2006 and 2007 teams, and Jason Pierre-Paul, a defensive end who played here in 2008, competed in various drills in front of NFL scouts and coaches to hopefully improve their draft stock/position when the NFL holds their player draft on April 22nd.. ...

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks will be hosting a meeting to help local anglers know where the best local places to fish are located. The KDWP Fishing Information Night will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 10, at Fort Scott Community College, 2108 South Horton...

USD 234 personnel will conduct preschool screenings for children up to 5 years of age on March 26. Children may have vision, hearing, speech and communication, motor skills, socialization skills, and general development screened. The purpose of the screenings is to locate and identify children with possible developmental delays who may need special education preschool and/or related services. ...

Unclaimed refunds totaling more than $1.3 billion await nearly 1.4 million people who did not file a federal income tax return for 2006, the Internal Revenue Service announced this week. In Kansas, unclaimed refunds totaling more than $11.7 million await nearly 13,400 people who did not file a federal income tax return for 2006, with the median average refund estimated to be $586 per person. ...

The United States Air Force Heartland of America Band will offer a community outreach performance by the New Horizons Clarinet Ensemble at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 14, at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on the Fort Scott Community College campus, 2108 S. Horton St...

The employees of Cigna Healthcare were assembled Thursday afternoon to be informed of the company's transition to home-based operations. "We met with them [Thursday] to discuss with them the fact that we are going to go from working in the offices on South Horton to a work-at-home arrangement," Cigna Healthcare Spokesman Joseph Mondy said...

There are a few reasons why spring enrollment numbers are up again this year at Fort Scott Community College, according to FSCC President Clayton Tatro. "There has been much more brand awareness, and that's due in large part to our admissions and public relations departments," Tatro said. "We've had success with our athletics and other programs ... we've been able to set and achieve some goals that are getting some attention. It's better in terms of selling the college."...

Editor's Note: The following article was written by reporters of Fort Scott High School's newspaper The Tiger Times. This article was not edited by the staff of The Fort Scott Tribune.

OSAWATOMIE -- Early in the fourth quarter of an Osawatomie Class 4A Sub-State semifinal game here Thrusday night, Fort Scott High School's girls could have easily written off their season. They trailed by 16 points and had already been called for enough fouls that Spring Hill was in the two-shot bonus before the period began...