Stories from Thursday, December 15, 2011

The Uniontown 4-H Club members celebrated with their families Sunday, Dec. 4, with a Christmas meeting. The members gathered at 5:30 p.m. to sign Christmas cards to be delivered at local nursing homes. Leaders Laura George and Teresa Martin installed the new 2012 officers. ...

MOUND CITY -- Jayhawk-Linn's girls outscored visiting Marmaton Valley 22-4 in the first quarter on their way to a 53-17 rout of the Wildcats in Three Rivers League play here Tuesday night. Emma Hargrove made 10 of 16 shots from the field as she led the Jayhawks (1-0 TRL, 3-1 overall) with 20 points. Baylea White made 9 of 15 field-goal tries to finish with 18 points. Kailey Boyd led Marmaton Valley (0-1, 0-5) with 8 points...

UNIONTOWN -- Uniontown's boys defeated St. Paul in their home opener Tuesday night, 44-35. Zach Travis led the Eagles (1-0 Three Rivers League, 4-1 overall) with 12 points while Brenton Esslinger added 11. "This was a nice win in front of our home crowd," Uniontown head coach Nathan Hinrichs said. "We had some kids step up and play well tonight."...

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. 5 was the deadline for returning completed ballots. Ballots were then counted by the sitting committee members on Dec. 8...

Cattlemen do a good job of managing grass for their cattle; the acres in grass help to protect soil from erosion. Most of the grassland that producers use for brome or fescue hay was likely converted from cropland. The change from cropland to grassland reduces the erosion of soil to those acres as well...

Willis L. Hurd, 72, a resident of rural Fort Scott, died Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011, at the Mercy Health Center. Funeral services for Willis Hurd will be announced by the Cheney Witt Memorial Chapel, 201 S. Main, Fort Scott.

Tara and Matt Floor, Fort Wayne, Ind., and siblings Amya Grace and Bryna Hope are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter and sister Elaya Noel Floor on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, at 10:07 p.m. at Auburn Birthing Center, Auburn, Ind. Elaya weighed 6 pounds, 7 ounces and was 20 inches in length. Maternal grandparents are Cindy and Bryan Foxx, Fort Scott. Paternal grandparents are Lynn and Gary Floor, Defiance, Ohio, and Mid and Dick Emmelhainz, Fort Wayne...

Shawn Tyree Grant, 47, Fort Scott, was arrested by the Fort Scott Police Department at 8:34 p.m. Tuesday on a Vernon County, Mo., warrant and is still being held at this time.

100 YEARS AGO (1911) Cecil Harris, one of the progressive and extensive farmers of the Devon neighborhood, has purchased a 33-horsepower gasoline traction engine that will be used extensively in his farm work. The engine was ordered through the Armstrong Hardware Company and will be here within a few days. ...

A special meeting of the USD 234 Board of Education is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 19, at the Board of Education Office, 424 S. Main, Fort Scott. The purpose of the meeting is a strategic planning session.

Change is in the air as Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback on Wednesday announced his plan to reform the state's education funding formula. "Our current K-12 funding formula is broken," Brownback said in a statement. "In the Roadmap for Kansas, I vowed to introduce a new school finance formula that increases local control, transparency, breaks the cycle of litigation and focuses more resources on the classroom. ...

Life + Style in downtown Fort Scott recently hosted Appetizer Attack, a cooking class with local food blogger Martha Scott (center). Classes are held "pretty much" every Thursday during the academic year. This Thursday, a free homemade marshmallow demonstration is scheduled. Jim Pitts, who helps his wife Cynthia McFarland operate Life + Style, said the classes are filled on a first come, first served basis. There are a maximum of 12 seats. (Ruth Campbell/Tribune)...

A Fort Scott woman is making an effort to help those less fortunate, not just at Christmas but all year round. Debbie Budy will be at Buck Run Community Center starting at 9 a.m. Friday, Dec. 16, to give out items people may need for Christmas. Recipients, she said, must have proof that they work from their boss, or proof they do community service...

The Fort Scott High School debate team last week hosted and competed in the National Forensics League national qualifying policy debate tournament and finished with favorable results, a news release said. Thirty-four teams competed for three spots to represent Kansas at the national tournament in Indianapolis, Ind., this summer. ...

Dozens of local volunteers bustled about the Community Christian Church gymnasium Wednesday to help distribute gifts to families who registered for The Beacon's annual Christmas Adopt-A-Child program. A record 400 children from a total of 160 families will receive the food and gifts they need this Christmas thanks to the program, which provides sponsors who donate food, toys and clothing during the holiday season to children 14 years of age and younger who come from low-income families...