Stories from Tuesday, July 30, 2013

The Fort Scott Hurricanes won the Southeast Kansas League Swimming Meet for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons when the club claimed yet another title at Chanute. Monday night, the members of the team and their parents and coaches gathered to celebrate their accomplishments at Buck Run Community Center. Though they usually gather here, the original plan was different for this banquet -- they were hoping to hold it at the city pool before Monday evening's storms forced a change in plans...

Beverly M. Geiger, age 85, a resident of Uniontown, Kan., left this life for her journey to Heaven on Saturday, July 27, 2013. She was born Aug. 17, 1927, near Fort Scott, Kan., the daughter of Frank D. Lowe and Elsa L. Scholtz Lowe. Beverly graduated from Fort Scott High School with the Class of 1945. ...

Area artists like Debbie Grigsby Lynch of Prescott got a chance to show off their work during the first-ever "Arts off the Junction" Art Crawl Friday evening on downtown Main Street. Lynch was one of more than a dozen artists and entertainers who participated in the event, which was designed to showcase their work and talent and promote and celebrate the arts in the community. ...

During a special meeting Monday, the Fort Scott City Commission approved submitting an application for a grant that if awarded, would rehabilitate a blighted downtown building. After a brief discussion and presentation by Susan Galemore of the Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission, as well as a public hearing, commissioners approved an application that will be submitted on behalf of the city of Fort Scott to the Kansas Department of Commerce for Small Cities Community Development Block Grant funds under the Downtown Commercial Rehabilitation category.. ...

The Bourbon County Commissioners continued to delve into issues regarding the jail population at the Southeast Kansas Regional Correctional Center during their Monday meeting. They key, jail officials say, is that inmates are frequently returning and staying longer...

Volunteers handed out free backpacks and school supplies to any students in the county, regardless of their income, on Saturday at the Faith Christian Center, south of Fort Scott. Volunteers passed out 220 of the 300 available backpacks in one hour.