Stories from Thursday, December 23, 2010

USD 234 will conduct preschool screenings for children up to 5 years of age on Jan. 14, 2011. 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...

The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce will host a Chamber Coffee at 8 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 30 at Catherine's Cafe (lower level) at Mercy Health Center, 401 Woodland Hills Blvd. Chamber members can make an announcement about their business, organization or the community by donating $1 toward "dollars for Dolly."...

The World Health Organization and the Environmental Protection Agency, among others, are reminding people nationwide to test their homes for radon gas, which has recently been identified as the leading cause of lung cancer for non-smokers in the country...

By choice, the "Beast of Burden" during the Civil War in the Quartermaster and Commissary Departments was the mule and not the draft or work horse. The following description of a good mule was published in Scott's 1861 Military Dictionary in 1861 on Page 334:...

Fourteen Starlite Family and Community Education Unit members and guests met Dec. 16 for their Christmas meeting. The meeting was held at the Community Christian Church. The members enjoyed a luncheon which was provided by the club officers. The lunch was followed by a short business meeting. Betty Johnson led the prayer for the meal...

Have you ever asked yourself why Jesus chose to leave the crowning perfection of excellence to be born into a disordered universe in a remote land called Bethlehem? Think about it. From the throne room itself, Jesus had had a ring-side seat to the world's shenanigans, watching civilization get what it deserved, yet he still loved enough to come to earth to die for the very ones who would end up rejecting him...

Richard Burbank Felming, age 85, resident of rural Fort Scott, Kan., died Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010 at the Mercy Health Center emergency room, Fort Scott. He was born in May, Okla., on Sept. 11, 1925, the son of Thomas H. Fleming and Mable E. Robertson Fleming...

Robert Kelley "Bob" Lawson, age 65, a resident of Fort Scott, died unexpectedly Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010 at his home. There was cremation. Services were under the direction of the Cheney Witt Memorial Chapel, 201 S. Main, Fort Scott. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at www.cheneywitt.com...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced last week that the sign-up period for the 2009 crop year Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program begins on Jan. 10, 2011. SURE is one of five disaster programs included in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 that provides assistance to farmers and ranchers who have suffered losses due to natural disasters...

"Joy to the world" can extend beyond the holidays for those who have decorated a real Christmas tree. Real trees can be recycled in a number of ways that help nature renew itself. In the short term, one easy use is to strip the tree of its ornaments and set it upright in the garden, well away from buildings. It will protect and shelter birds through winter...

In recent weeks, viewers in Fort Scott may have noticed some familiar faces among the myriad of gridiron contests on TV. Twenty former Fort Scott Community College football players have -- or will be -- appearing in a variety of bowl games this holiday season, according to information from FSCC...