Stories from Thursday, December 16, 2010

As of Wednesday evening, it looked like Marcel Normand had sold all 1,200 copies of his book "Father John Reinkemeyer: God's Humble Servant." Thirty-five were purchased during a book signing, held in the lobby of the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center at Fort Scott Community College...

A recent fundraiser conducted at Fort Scott High School has paid off in a big way. From Dec. 1-10, the FSHS Student Council sponsored a school-wide fundraiser to benefit The Beacon, a local food pantry and community assistance agency. Different seminar classes at FSHS competed to find out which group could raise the most money...

The election for positions on the Farm Service Agency (FSA) Committee in Bourbon County has now been completed. The election was accomplished with a ballot listing this year's candidates being mailed to all eligible voters shortly after Nov. 1. Dec. 6 was the deadline for returning completed ballots. Ballots were then counted by the sitting committee members on Dec. 9...

For lawnmowers to last, putting them away for winter has to include more than parking them in a garage or shed. Take some time to properly maintain your lawnmower before we get any farther into the winter season. Ward Upham, horticulturist for Kansas State University Research and Extension, has offered some advice...

UMB Bank, a subsidiary of UMB Financial Corporation, is pleased to announce that Kimberly Nolan has joined UMB as banking center manager at the Fort Scott branch, 324 S. National Ave. Nolan is responsible for leading consumer banking for this branch, developing small business relationships in the Fort Scott area and taking an active and leading role in the Fort Scott community...

Norma Jean Shepard, age 85, a former resident of Fort Scott, and more recently of Kingwood, Texas, died Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010, at the Regent Care Center in Kingwood. She was born Aug. 22, 1925, at DeLeon, Texas, the daughter of Ralph Dewitt Jones and Ina B. Butler Jones...

Lyle Dean Caldwell, age 72, a resident of Whitewright, Texas, died Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010, at his home in Whitewright. He was born April 20, 1938, in Fort Scott, Kan., the son of Robert B. Caldwell and Ida Rebecca Thomas Caldwell. He was a veteran of the United States Air Force...

Questions about changes in Medicare's prescription benefit plan and enrolling in the program were fielded Wednesday by Carolyn Dye, a representative from the Kansas Area Agency on Aging/Senior Health Insurance Counselor of Kansas (SHICK). At least 50 people attended the free workshop, held in the McAuley Conference Room at Mercy Health Center...

U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins has been named to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. The Republican congresswoman becomes the ninth Kansan to be appointed to the chief tax-writing committee for the U.S. House of Representatives. "I am honored to be the ninth Kansan to ever serve on the House Ways and Means Committee. It is incredibly humbling to join the ranks of Reps. Charles Curtis and Frank Carlson, who previously served on this prestigious committee," Jenkins said in a statement...

Ruth A. Dugan, 96, died Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2010 at Guest Home Estates in Fort Scott, Kan. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home.

ALFARO -- Walter Alfaro and Denise Morales, Fort Scott; and brother Fidel, are proud to announce the birth of their son and brother, Walter Eugene Alfaro Jr. Walter was born at 9:52 a.m., Dec. 15, 2010 at Mercy Health Center in Fort Scott. He weighed 6 pounds, 7 1/2 ounces at bith...