Stories from Thursday, November 18, 2010

The prices farmers and ranchers get for the products they sell have always been a complex issue. Economists, USDA, government agencies, agri-businesses, etc. have for many years attempted to predict, maneuver, hold up, hold down, increase, decrease, etc. ...

Winter Weather Awareness day was celebrated on Nov. 17 in Kansas and Missouri. This day was designated by The National Weather Service and its state partners. Let's use this as a time to review weather terms that we will probably be hearing in the upcoming months. Mary Knapp, Kansas' state climatologist, has given some indicators of what to expect and how to respond...

SEITZ -- Taylor Robertson and Trevor Seitz, Nevada, Mo., are proud to announce the birth of their son, Riggin Wayne Seitz. Riggin was born at 7:34 p.m., Nov. 16, 2010, at Mercy Health Center in Fort Scott. He weighed 6 pounds, 4 ounces and was 20 inches in length at birth...

Lance and Sharon Sears, of Rt. 1 Box 74 Hume, Mo., will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with a reception from 2 to 5 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 20 at the Hume Christian Church, Hume, Mo. Lance and Sharon were married Nov. 19, 1960 in Fort Scott, Kan...

Arlo and Ernestine Eden, will be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary with a reception hosted by their children, on Sunday, Nov. 21, from 2 to 4 p.m., at the Bethel Community Church. Arlo Eden and Ernestine Horning were married on Nov. 19, 1950 at Mt. Orum Baptist Church...

The Gordon Parks Museum and Center for Culture and Diversity at Fort Scott Community College is featured in the winter 2010 edition of KANSAS! magazine, published by the Kansas Department of Commerce. In the feature titled "65 Reasons We Love Kansas," Parks is listed as No. 14 of 65 and is prominently featured on the page with a photo taken by former Fort Scott photographer Michael Henry, courtesy of Captured Images Photography...

Under a new directive from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services hospital visitation policies will change to allow patients to decide who sees them and who doesn't. The policy takes affect in two months, according to the Department of Health and Human Services...

For 12 years, local resident Marjorie Schwalm has given up Thanksgiving dinner at home with her own family to host the annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner. Schwalm and her family, along with several friends and dozens of other local volunteers, spend hours each year working to organize the event, which is open to the community and provides Thanksgiving meals to hundreds of local residents. ...

Lindsay Madison, current chairwoman of the board of the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, has been officially named executive director of the chamber by its board of directors. Madison has been voluntarily directing the efforts of the chamber since the position was vacated in September. She replaces former president and chief executive officer Vicki Pritchett...

As a result of content posted on the online forum Topix.com, several residents have contacted The Tribune looking for help. The Fort Scott Tribune has no affiliation with Topix.com and has no control over the content posted by its users. Topix.com is a privately held company based in Palo Alto, Calif., which says it is, "A Top 10 newspaper destination" and "the leading news community on the web," according to its website. ...

USD 234 schools will be closed Nov. 24-26 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Classes will resume on Monday, Nov. 29.