Stories from Thursday, May 17, 2012

Each year, the Echoes of the Trail Cowboy Gathering steering committee sponsors a cowboy poetry writing contest for fifth and sixth graders in the area. This year, 74 entries were submitted by three Eugene Ware Elementary teachers. Instead of two categories, there is just one with three winners. Those winners will read or recite their poems during the 16th Annual Echoes of the Trail Cowboy Gathering in the Fort Scott Community College, Bailey Hall Round Room at 3 p.m. on June 9...

Representatives from the Kansas Small Business Development Center at Pittsburg State University will be in Fort Scott on Thursday, June 7, for free individual counseling sessions from 9 a.m. to noon. Sessions will be held in the Greyhound Room of the administration building at Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton. Contact KSBDC at PSU, (620) 235-4921...

There are a variety of severe weather hazards that affect Kansas, including floods, thunderstorms and tornadoes. Every year lives are threatened or lost and property is destroyed by severe weather events in the state. Tornadoes pose the greatest severe weather risk to residents of Kansas. The year 2011 was the third consecutive one in which no violent tornadoes occurred in the state...

One-hundred-and-fifty years ago, in the midst of a great Civil War, Abraham Lincoln signed legislation to establish a Department of Agriculture to "acquire and to diffuse among the people of the United States useful information on subjects connected with agriculture ... and to procure, propagate and distribute among the people new and valuable seeds and plants."...

At the invitation of Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, Mallory Shelton of Fort Scott High School, was selected to attend the 29th Annual Governor's Scholars Awards Program on May 6 in Topeka. The recognition ceremony honors the top academic 1 percent of Kansas high school seniors. Scholars are selected from accredited public and private schools in the state...

The families of Hannah Harris and Lonnie Mengarelli are pleased to announce the couple's engagement and upcoming marriage. Hannah is the daughter of Doug and Kim Harris of Hepler and Lonnie is the son of Jim and Ann Mengarelli of Girard. Grandparents of Hannah are Beverly Peel and the late Larry Peel and Donna Harris and the late C.W. Harris...

Lloyd and Betty Mitchell invite friends and family to join them as they celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary at a reception hosted by their family on Sunday, June 10, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Blue Mound Senior Citizens Center, Blue Mound, Kan. Lloyd and Betty were married June 7, 1947, in Fort Scott, Kan. They have lived their entire married life on their farm outside of Blue Mound and to this day continue to enjoy farming and raising cattle...

Ruby Mae Bush Matlock, 87, of Mound City, Kan., died Tuesday May 15, 2012, at the Saint Luke's Hospital in Lee's Summit, Mo. She was born on Sept. 9, 1924, at Cassville, Mo., the daughter of Willard and Lucy Cline Farris. Ruby married Edward Bush and to this union six children were born. She then married Ken Matlock and he preceded her in death on August 6, 2008...

Geneva Frances Blake, 88, a resident of rural Redfield, Kan., died Tuesday May 15, 2012, at the Mercy Health Center of Fort Scott. She was born Oct. 3, 1923, in St. Clair County, Mo., the daughter of Charles Edward Hall and Virgie Thompson Hall. She first married Joseph Marvin Taylor. They were divorced. She later married Kenneth W. Blake on Nov. 5, 1951, at Bentonville, Ark. He preceded her in death on May 15, 1993...

Niki Rae Faris, 24, Fort Scott, was arrested at 9:38 p.m. Tuesday by the Fort Scott Police Department for driving while suspended. She posted a $1,250 bond and was released at 11:38 p.m. Tuesday. Chanda Lee Curls, 22, Fort Scott, was arrested by the Fort Scott Police Department at 12:46 p.m. ...

The 17th Annual Saddle Up For St. Jude Trail Ride will be held at 10 a.m. May 19 in Milo. Negative coggins and no alcohol. Additional prizes will be awarded. Lunch may be purchased on site. Dinner will be provided after the ride at no charge. The asking donation is $15 per rider. A silent auction will also be conducted and raffle tickets will be available for a half hog and cedar bench...

Recently an individual expressed a desire to see more "stuff" at our market. When asked, "What kind of stuff?" the response was "everything." I explained our goal is to be a quality farmers' market, providing the freshest produce to our community along with other agiculturally based items. ...

100 YEARS AGO (1912) This evening at the Methodist church the graduating classes of the Eddy and Central schools will hold a joint graduation exercise. The class this year is a remarkable one in many respects. In the first place the general average of the class is higher than usual and second it is the highest class that has graduated from the grade school...

To the Editor: This week, the Kansas House of Representatives sent House Bill 2117 to the desk of Gov. Sam Brownback for signature or veto. The bill drastically cuts Kansas income taxes and makes other significant changes to the Kansas tax code. It is an initiative that Gov. ...

Like most 9 year olds, Jessica Weldon cherishes simple things: birthday breakfasts with grandpa, time with her family and her favorite stuffed animals. But less than 24 hours after an emergency appendectomy, her mother Christina has added quick, coordinated care by Mercy physicians, a news release said...

With election season coming on, getting people to run for precinct committee men and women and raising funds are just some of the things the Bourbon County Republican Central Committee is concentrating on. Members met in the Heritage Room of the administration building at Fort Scott Community College earlier this week. There are still 17 precinct committee spots to fill...

A retirement celebration for Winfield Scott Principal Billie Jo Drake will be held from 4 p.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, at the Carriage House, Third and Main streets. No gifts are requested. A separate reception for retiring Fort Scott Middle School Principal Barbara Albright is scheduled for 2 p.m.-4 p.m. Sunday at the middle school, 1105 E. 12th St., Fort Scott...

MANHATTAN -- Approximately 2,825 students completed degree requirements at Kansas State University this spring. The graduates are from 95 Kansas counties, 44 states and 47 countries, including Bourbon and surrounding counties. Degrees earned include nearly 2,180 bachelor's, nearly 600 master's, nearly 80 doctorates and more than 20 associate degrees...

The popular Fort Scott Idol singing competition will once again kick off the annual Good Ol' Days street festival scheduled to take place May 31-June 2. Millie Lipscomb, chairwoman of Fort Scott Idol and Good Ol' Days committee member, said she has so far received about 30 entries for the seventh annual singing contest. ...

YATES CENTER -- Jayhawk-Linn earned its second consecutive trip to the Class 2-1A State Softball Tournament with a pair of wins at the Yates Center Regional here Tuesday. The Jayhawks, Three Rivers League runners-up, defeated Yates Center, 4-1, in the semifinal then run-ruled top-seeded Uniontown in the final, 12-0...

PAOLA -- Fort Scott High School's softball team routed Prairie View, 11-1, in the semifinal of the Paola Class 4A Regional Tournament here Tuesday. But the third-seeded Tigers fell to top-seeded Paola, 15-0, in the championship game. The Panthers (22-1) outscored their three Regional opponents, Osawatomie, Louisburg and Fort Scott, 43-0. They advance to the Class 4A State Tournament at Salina May 25-26...

OTTAWA -- Southeast Kansas League tri-champion Iola eliminated Fort Scott High, 9-1, in the semifinals of the Ottawa Class 4A Regional Baseball Tournament here Tuesday afternoon. The Mustangs (17-6) went on to lost to top-seeded Ottawa in the final, 13-5. The Cyclones (19-4) reached the final with a 15-2 rout of fourth-seeded Osawatomie in the semifinal...