Stories from Friday, April 6, 2012

100 YEARS AGO (1912) The employees located at this point, all of whom knew him, were very sorry to hear of the death of Charley "Scotty" Gilless, at age 74, the oldest conductor on the Frisco System. He had been running a passenger train on the Frisco for a little more than 43 years. ...

Bourbon County Democrats and Independents are encouraged to attend a special meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, April 9, at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on the Fort Scott Community College campus, 2108 Horton. Participants will discuss the upcoming Kansas Democratic Presidential Preference Caucus to be held April 14 at Memorial Auditorium, Fifth and Pine, in Pittsburg. Bourbon, Crawford and Cherokee counties will be sharing a caucus...

Employees with DECO Demolition and Excavation announced on Thursday an end is finally in sight for the demolition of the microwave AT&T tower located on Judson Street between Wall and First streets in Fort Scott. After being more than three weeks behind schedule, Roger Randall, the senior estimator and project manager with the Kansas City-based company, said the last half of the tower will "hopefully" be down in about a week...

The names of more than 1,600 candidates for the fall 2011 semester at the University of Kansas have been announced by the university registrar. One of those is Joseph Phillip Wimmer of Fulton. He was awarded a master of arts in geography. He is the son of Phil and Nancy Wimmer...

The Seatbelts Are For Everyone program at Fort Scott High School received $750 from Mercy Hospital Fort Scott on Friday, March 30, for ongoing support of the program. The funds are used to purchase gift cards for students who pledge to wear seatbelts while in a motor vehicle as a driver or passenger...

Adam and Alicia Nunn and siblings Brock, Bryce and Kale, are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter and sister Kiya Ann Nunn, at 2:39 p.m. April 4, 2012, at Mercy Hospital. Kiya weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces. Maternal grandmother is Debbie Cook, Cherokee, and great-grandparents are Wayne and Sharan Glaser, Cherokee...

Area residents still have a chance to own a piece of local history, but the opportunity won't last forever. Assistant City Manager Susan Brown said the city is selling bricks that were taken from the old bathhouse at the municipal swimming pool, but they will not be available at their current price for long...

Whenever 56-year-old Debra Griffin gets ready to leave her Fort Scott home, she makes sure she has an extra supply of blue surgical masks in her purse -- in addition to the one she is wearing -- rubber gloves and hand sanitizer or wipes. Griffin doesn't enjoy wearing the mask because it makes her feel somewhat claustrophobic. But it also provides comfort to the Tennessee native whenever she is around other people. It makes her feel safe even, especially during flu season...

A recently formed partnership between the Fort Scott Middle School parent organization VIPs and the Fort Scott Community College Cosmetology program will result in a free "Day of Beauty" for middle school-aged girls this Saturday. More than 60 FSCC cosmetology students will be working throughout the day to doll-up at least 50 sixth, seventh and eighth grade students free of charge. The services include hairstyles and "up-do's," along with nail polish and nail art...

Top United Way contributors were recognized at the weekly Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce Thursday. The roughly 100 people attending the event, held at the Keyhole, saw plaques awarded to Diehl, Banwart and Bolton CPAs, USD 234, Westar Energy, Citizens Bank and Ward Kraft...

So after a week of record or near-record temperatures, this was the night that the weather gods determined needed to be a normal, cool April night. Well, if anyone in the general vicinity of Don Hewett Field needed some heat Thursday night, they were close to a source. The bats of the Fort Scott High School softball team were on fire against rival Pittsburg and the Tigers claimed a 12-2, 11-9 sweep of the Purple Dragons in Southeast Kansas League play...