Stories from Saturday, January 19, 2013

Professor E.J. Hawkins, one of this year's inductees into the Kansas State High School Activities Association Hall of Fame, was dubbed the "Father of Colored Basketball" by the Southeast Kansas Athletic Association and boasted an astounding .905 winning percentage while coaching the Whirlwinds, an African-American team from Fort Scott...

Jim Feagins became infatuated with antiquity growing up on his family farm near Harding in northern Bourbon County. He would find bits and pieces of stone articles from people who had occupied the land well before his family. "What drew this (ancient) people to this area? The more I learned over the years, I learned I needed to know more," he told a crowd of about 35 people at Uniontown's City Hall on Thursday...

Walk down the steps toward the door to the basement of the church and the smell instantly becomes evident. The fragrant aroma of chili, various types of soup, coffee and other goodies wafts from the door of the First United Methodist Church basement. Inside are groups of friends, family members, church and community members who have gathered inside the warm confines of the church basement for the institution's monthly Friendship Soup Lunch, a time for fellowship and a warm meal...

The city of Uniontown was recently notified it was awarded a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce to improve its water distribution system. The city applied for the grant in late 2012 and was told it would receive the funding in a letter dated Jan. 16...

We're past the halfway point of the school year. The young people are settled in to the routine of books and classes. We as parents have also settled in to our routine of preparation, homework, and after school events. That routine should include a healthy dose of support and volunteerism...

"A man sat at a metro station in Washington, D.C., and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work...

Over the holiday sseason the Microsoft Word program on my laptop went kaput. I was unable to open any previous columns I had written and thus unable to write any new scintillating, informative columns for "The Fort Scott Tribune" that readers have become accustomed to. (OK -- the laughing can stop now)...

Darrel and Laura George, Uniontown, Kan., announce the engagement of their daughter, Lacey, to Mark Wray, Ottawa, Kan. Lacey is the granddaughter of Arlene and the late Archie Koester, Fort Scott, and the late Bill and Doris George, Uniontown. Lacey is a 2006 graduate of Uniontown High School and a 2011 graduate of Kansas State University with a degree in agricultural education. She is currently employed as an agriculture teacher and FFA adviser at Lebo High School...

Sarah and Justin Dolezilek were married at 4 p.m. Nov. 8, 2012, at AZUL Beach Hotel, Riviera Maya, Mexico, in a beach ceremony with purple and ivory accents. Maid of honor was Amy Ecker, sister of the bride. Attendant was Lindsay Rut, friend of the couple...

Tribune Staff Report Representatives from Mercy Hospital, Fort Scott Community College, the city of Fort Scott and Bourbon County gathered for a check presentation at noon Friday at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center. The presentation included a check from Mercy Hospital's Mercy Day Run Fall 2012 5K race. ...

Fort Scott High School's Homecoming games against Iola will be played Friday, Jan. 25. Other events planned during the evening include: The Fort Scott High School Physics Club deli feed from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the commons area. For $5, the club will served a ham or turkey sandwich with cheese, lettuce and tomato, chips, homemade cookies and a drink. ...

FRONTENAC -- Johnathan Stark didn't have a single point in the first three quarters Friday night and Fort Scott High School's boys trailed McDonald County, Mo., by 13 points going into the fourth period. But Stark came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring 19 points as the Tigers (4-7) outscored the Mustangs, 23-7, and claimed a 47-44 victory in the consolation semifinals of the Frontenac Kansas National Guard Invitational...

FRONTENAC -- Fort Scott High's girls are one victory away from clinching the first-ever Frontenac Kansas National Guard Invitational following Friday night's 56-45 victory over the host Raiders. If the Tigers (2-0 tournament, 6-5 overall) should lose to Baxter Springs in the finale of the round-robin tournament this afternoon, they could possibly still win the title on tie-breakers. But beating the Lions (6-3) will take things out of the hands of mathematicians...

Charles Ashlock and Brenda Cary of El Dorado Springs, Mo., are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Amanda Ashlock to Wilson Payne. The prospective groom is the son of Gene and Nancy Payne of Fort Scott. The wedding is planned for March 16 at First Christian Church, El Dorado Springs...