Stories from Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Brent Bollinger, 26, was found guilty of murder, arson and endangerment of a child Tuesday in the Bourbon County District Court. The jury, after about eight hours of deliberation, handed down its verdict shortly after 11 a.m. Bollinger was found guilty of murder in the first degree, aggravated arson, and aggravated endangerment of a child. ...

The Uniontown USD 235 Board of Education voted during a special meeting Monday to retain the high school's football status as an eight-man team. The board voted 5-2 in favor of remaining eight-man football until 2016, with Shawn Wilkinson and Matt Wood voting against the motion. Matthew Simpson, Daniel Johns, Lynne Oharah, Jason Sutterby and Doug Coyan voted for it...

Louis Victor "Lew" Sciortino, 96, formerly of Fort Scott, passed away early Tuesday morning, September 17, 2013 at the Sweet Life Shawnee care facility in Shawnee, Kansas. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home...

Ross Boyd Schwalm, 68, of Fort Scott, passed away Monday morning, Sept. 16, 2013 at his home. He was born Aug. 16, 1945 in Fort Scott, Kan., the son of Boyd E. and Elizabeth M. (Brown) Schwalm. He married Marjorie Mae Query April 19, 1964 in Fort Scott, Kan., and she survives of the home...

Larry W. Hartman, age 64, of Iola, Kan., passed away on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013, at Overland Park Regional Medical Center, Overland Park, Kan. He was born Nov. 9, 1948 in Kincaid, Kan., the son of Harold Franklin and Vera Opal (Denman) Hartman. He graduated from Blue Mound Rural High School, Blue Mound, Kan...

Pittsburg won the team title at the Fort Scott High School Junior Varsity Tennis Tournament Monday while a Tiger singles player finished in second place in the No. 1 bracket. Pittsburg finished with 15 points while Chanute was second with 11 and Fort Scott came in third with 7 points, followed by the "SEK Combo" team with 4 and Iola coming in last with 3. ...

NEVADA -- Fort Scott Middle School's volleyball teams played here Monday night, picking up three wins. The Tigers played Pittsburg in their first home matches on Tuesday. Details from those matches will be provided at a later date. Fort Scott's seventh-grade A team defeated Nevada in three sets, 20-25, 25-23, 25-19, to improve to 4-0. Joce Allen served 8 aces and Abby Humble had 2 aces and 3 kills...

Monday, Fort Scott High School's soccer team scored first. But Independence dominated the rest of the game and won easily, 4-1. Tuesday at Ellis Park, the Tigers (2-4) saw visiting Riverton score first. But then Fort Scott went on to dominate the rest of the game and come away with a 3-1 victory...

Jurors in the murder and arson trial of Brent Bollinger in the Bourbon County District Court went home late Tuesday night without reaching a verdict. They will return today at 8:45 a.m. Jurors were handed the case at 3 p.m. Tuesday after attorneys from both sides presented their cases in closing arguments and the presiding judge issued instructions to the jury Tuesday in Bourbon County District Court. ...

Corrected from version originally published.

A Fort Scott teen was injured and two Uniontown residents were listed as possibly injured in a two-vehicle ATV accident Monday evening north of Fort Scott, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. Lute Karleskint, 13, was hurt when the 2002 Honda ATV he was driving west on Poplar Road was struck by a 2003 Chevrolet pickup driven by Natonya Beerbower, 41, of Uniontown...