Stories from Thursday, June 16, 2011

It is time again! Farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers may now begin nominating eligible candidates to serve on local Farm Service Agency county committees, according to Adrian Polansky, state executive director of USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Kansas...

This weekend, Ann and I are headed to the Dirty Dozen 4-H Camp with seven 4-H'ers and one counselor from Bourbon County, along with nearly 350 other youth and agents. Rock Springs Ranch is neatly tucked into the Flint Hills area south of Junction City, surrounded by creeks, timber and nature. Therefore, we are certain to have our run-ins with mosquitoes and other irritable insects...

Dwight Adams Driver, 67, died Tuesday, June 14, 2011, at his home following a cancer illness. He was born March 15, 1944, in Greenville, Miss., the son of Gilbert Lester and Edna Adams Driver. He married Lola Jean Wiggans on Sept. 5, 1974, in Miami, Okla...

Robin and Randy Conner and sibling Carson Ray Conner, Shawnee, Kan., are pleased to announce the birth of their son and brother Preston David Conner on Tuesday, June 14, 2011, at 1:05 p.m. at Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Shawnee, Kan. Preston weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces, and his birth length was 19 inches...

Abby Ward and Trent Stepps, Fort Scott, are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter Tayte Marie Stepps on Wednesday, June 15, 2011, at 1:39 a.m. at Mercy Health Center, Fort Scott. Tayte weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces. Maternal grandparents are Bobby and Daniel Ward, Fort Scott. Paternal grandparents are Clyde and Marion Stepps, Fort Scott...

Ashley Dawn Rose, 27, 1111 Clay St., Bronson, Kan., was arrested by the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office on June 14 at 8:17 p.m. on a Bourbon County warrant for no proof of liability insurance and is still being held. Anthony Wayne Weyant, 21, 702 S. Randolph, Bronson, Kan., was arrested by the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office on June 14 at 6:06 p.m. for disorderly conduct and criminal trespass and is still being held...

WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- Elizabeth Reed, Fort Scott, graduated Cum Laude from the University of Central Missouri on May 7 with a bachelor of science in education degree. More than 1,000 students met their graduation requirements and were eligible to participate in the ceremonies...

John and Betty Lou Clayton will be celebrating their 65th wedding anniverary on June 22 with a card shower. John Clayton and Betty Lou Edgar were married June 22, 1946, at the First Baptist Church Parsonage wth Reverend Johnson officiating. John retired from USD 234 and Betty retired from Bramores of Pleasanton...

Gerald and Mary Davis, Fort Scott, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on June 18 at the Courtland Hotel in Fort Scott from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The celebration is hosted by their children. Gerald Davis and Mary Matney were married at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Albuquerque, N.M., on June 17, 1961...

With the change in administration this past year, there were expectations that the philosophy at the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitative Services would change dramatically from the previous administration and that has been the case so far. ...

To the Editor: Sobriety checkpoints -- like the ones planned in the Fort Scott area -- often fail to make even a single drunk driving arrest, despite stopping hundreds of vehicles ("Sobriety checkpoint set-up anticipated," June 14). A 2009 University of Maryland study found that checkpoints don't have "any impact on public perceptions, driver behaviors, or alcohol-related crashes, police citations for impaired driving and public perceptions of alcohol-impaired driving risk."...

The summer concert series sponsored by the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce Downtown Division is moving back to its original time this week. Scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at the Heritage Park Pavilion near the corner of First and Main streets, the concert will feature local musical duo, the Tuckers. Jim and Carolyn Tucker are local favorites who have performed concerts at the pavilion many times in past years, event organizer Ralph Carlson said...

Residents who rely on the water crane located at the corner of Eighth and Wilson streets will have to face a bit of inconvenience for a short time as the coin machine is malfunctioning. According to city officials, the crane's coin machine is not dispensing coins properly. ...

Closets and basements are being cleaned out in preparation for the annual St. Mary's Mega-Garage Sale, set for June 24-25 at the Kennedy Gym. The sale, which started as a four-family garage-sale to help the school buy a sound system, has steadily grown each year...

Southeast Kansas sent 10 students to the National History Day Championship in College Park, Md. Many from the Bourbon County community attended the competition on the University of Maryland campus, June 12-16. More than 2,700 students representing all 50 states and four countries participated. ...

Seven National Park Service rangers were hard and work Wednesday packing undisplayed artifacts from Fort Scott National Historic Site for their trip to Independence, Mo., on Friday. Items being moved, probably by Friday, include books, marbles, photographs, objects and quilts. "We have some archeological ceramic shards -- just a variety of about everything you can think of," Chief Ranger Kelley Collins said...

Tying into the 150th anniversary of Kansas statehood and the start of the Civil War, a new group tour is being offered through the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce and a Missouri-based tour company. It's aim at giving area residents a chance to learn more about the Missouri-Kansas Border War that took place in the mid-1800s...

People worldwide watched as emergency personnel searched the wreckage left after the May 22 tornado in Joplin, Mo., looking for survivors. Some of those brave individuals on the front lines were from Fort Scott. Fort Scott Fire Chief Paul Ballou said approximately 16 people from the Fort Scott and Bourbon County fire departments helped in the search and rescue efforts. He said the FSFD sent three or four firefighters each day to work 12-hour shifts during the first week of the operation...

Misty and Dusty Peterson of Normal, Ill., are pleased to announce the birth of their son Andrew Michael Peterson on Wednesday, June 8, 2011, at 3:50 p.m. at OSF, Bloomington, Ill. Andrew weighed 8 pounds, 15 ounces, and his birth length was 21 inches...