Stories from Friday, March 2, 2012

100 YEARS AGO (1912) Freight business on the Frisco has been greatly increased by the precaution of large manufacturers in laying in a large supply of coal in anticipation of a strike among the coal miners early in the spring. It is rumored that it is almost certain the miners will go out and thousands of tons of coal are being stored by the railroads for use in their engines. ...

Editor's Note: A bonus Nell Dikeman column is made possible by Leap Year. 100 YEARS AGO (1912) A farmer was in one of the poultry houses in the city the other day inquiring about the prices being paid for chickens. He told the poultry dealer he had some 400 hens for sale and drifting in a conversation about chickens generally, he said he had kept a careful account of his chickens the past winter and that every egg he had had from those 400 hens had cost him 35 cents. ...

Tax reform I am pleased to see that after three years of rhetoric the President has finally joined the discussion on tax reform. While short on specifics, I am hopeful that the President's framework announced this week will help to move the debate on tax reform forward, toward the ultimate goal of fairness and simplicity. ...

Bethany Ericson, Fort Scott, is a new junior member of the American Angus Association, CEO Bryce Schumann said in a news release. Junior members of the Association are eligible to register cattle in the American Angus Association, participate in programs conducted by the National Junior Angus Association and take part in Association-sponsored shows and other national and regional events. ...

Fort Scott Community College will host a Spring Senior Day today and next Friday for high school seniors interested in attending the two-year college. Seniors will spend the day on campus with informational sessions about the courses offered and the availability of financial aid for incoming students...

Lora Holdridge, the current Bourbon County Register of Deeds, has filed by petition for reelection to the office. She was appointed to the post last year by Gov. Sam Brownback. Sharon Elder, the previous Register of Deeds, resigned effective April 1, 2011...

It sometimes seems that even birthdays can run in families. Kristen Rank's husband, John, has his special day on Christmas. His sister and mother also have birthdays that fall near -- or on -- Thanksgiving and Easter. Kristen's sister, Maegan Easter, of DeSoto, has a daughter, Addison, born just a few days before Easter...

It's no big secret what goes on at the Fort Scott Livestock Market and Auction, mainly because it's been going on for decades. Ancel "Andy" Johnson, who came to Fort Scott in 1964, said he has attended the local auction as a cattle buyer and seller for more than 40 years...

Amy Lemmon recently returned home following what she called a "life-changing" experience as a Peace Corps volunteer in Rwanda, Africa. The local resident said she spent about 10 months in the African country starting in May of 2011 after going through about a year-long process to enlist as a volunteer for the Peace Corps. ...

The Faith Builder's Sunday school class will sponsor a Friendship Soup Lunch from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in Fellowship Hall at First United Methodist Church on March 16. Menu items will include taco, tortellini and vegetable beef soups and Methodist chili, as well as fish chowder. The usual assortment of desserts and a drinks will be provided for a free-will offering...

Martin Wallace Stuart, age 79, a resident of Fort Scott, Kan., died Wednesday, February 29, 2012, at Mercy Hospital of Fort Scott. He was born March 13, 1932, in Kansas City, Mo., the son of Harold Stuart and Wilma Yoakum Stuart. He taught music at Grossmont College in San Diego, Calif., for 14 years. He married Judith A. Vincent on Oct. 10, 1980, in San Diego. Martin considered himself a spiritualist...

Earlene Ann Johnson, age 80, of Savonburg, Kan., died Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, at Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center, Chanute, Kan. She was born Dec. 21, 1931, in Chanute, the daughter of Earl and Verna Danielson Munson. Following graduation from Elsmore High School in 1949, Earlene married Harold LaVerne Johnson on May 7, 1950. He preceded her in death on June 9, 2008...

Daniel Clarence Nuzum, age 84, a former resident of Fort Scott, Kan., and more recently of Douglass, Kan., died Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, at Medicalodges of Douglass. He was born Jan. 5, 1928, in Devon, Kan., the son of George Guy Nuzum and Myrtle May Jones Nuzum. ...

Blondena M. (Smith) Harold, 91, of Mount Hope, Kan., died Feb. 29, 2012, at Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, Kan. She was born Jan. 30, 1921, in Moline, Kan., to Charles I. Smith and Julia A. Foust. She was married to the late Bryan C. Harold. She was a homemaker...

Brandi Nicole King, age 32, a resident of Fort Scott, died Thursday, March 1, 2012, at Mercy Health Center in Fort Scott. Services will be announced by the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, Fort Scott.

Eula Irene Hays, age 87, a resident of Fort Scott, died Thursday, March 1, 2012, at Mercy Health Center in Fort Scott. Funeral services for Eula Hays will be announced by the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, Fort Scott.

John and Kristen Rank, Arma, Kan., are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Charlie Jo Rank, at 2:50 p.m. Feb. 29. Charlie Jo was born at Mercy Hospital, Fort Scott. She weighed 6 pounds, 5.5 ounces at birth. Maternal grandparents are Vicki Whitehead, Arma and great-grandmother Ardelle Whitehead, Springfield, Mo...

UNIONTOWN -- It was a physical game here Thursday night and second-seeded Madison/ Hamilton took advantage of that in a 61-44 victory over host Uniontown in a Class 2A Sub-State semifinal at the West Bourbon Elementary School gymnasium. Madison (16-6) hit nearly every shot it took in the first quarter despite committing a truckload of turnovers. Meanwhile, the Eagles (14-8) couldn't take advantage of the opportunities the Bulldogs were giving them, making only 3 of 17 fielders in the period...