Stories from Saturday, February 15, 2014

Junior Donovan (J.D.) Shankel, son of Elmer Donovan and Lola May Neil Shankel, was born Jan. 7, 1922 in Hiattville, Kan. He departed this life on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, in the Osage Beach Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, Osage Beach, Mo., at the age of 92...

Barb McCord, horticultural therapist at Tri-Valley Developmental Services, nurtures a bougainvillea in the greenhouse on the campus of the facility. The plant was from a start, that was in her parents greenhouse decades ago. Bougainvillea are a member of the four-o'clock family of ornamental tropical American woody vines and shrubs, according to Webster's dictionary. The colorful plant is in sharp contrast to the colorless Kansas landscape just outside the greenhouse...

The county is preparing to officially close the books on 2013. Terry Sercer of Diehl, Banwart, Bolton CPAs, PA of Fort Scott, who has been working with the county on its budget, attended Friday's County Commission meeting to report changes in the amount of money being transferred...

Despite being illegal in Kansas and Missouri, as well as several other states, synthetic drugs such as the recently emerged "Crazy Clown," as it is called, are still causing problems in some communities. Crazy Clown, a new synthetic incense-type drug making news lately, is smoked or burned in a small bowl and inhaled, and comes with some serious and potentially fatal side effects. ...

Educator and psychotherapist Flip Flippen, author of "The Flip Side," will be the featured presenter for a USD 234 School District event at Fort Scott High School Monday morning. Flippen's presentation is part of the district's Inservice-Health and Wellness Fair. ...

The 2014 Fort Scott High School Homecoming ceremony was held Friday night prior to tip off of the boys' basketball game against Coffeyville. Cole Stewart and Allison Parsons were named king and queen.

PLEASANTON --Uniontown's boys scored just 4 points in the first quarter here Friday night but managed to fight back for a 61-60 victory over Pleasanton on Three Rivers League play. Uniontown's girls were outscored 26-14 in the second half of a 40-36 loss to the Blu-Jays...

CHANUTE --Fort Scott High School's wrestling team took fourth place at the Southeast Kansas League Dual Wrestling Tournament here Thursday with Chanute winning its second consecutive league title but its first under this new format. The tournament was used to determine the league champion this season rather than having home-and-home duals scattered throughout the season. ...

Coffeyville led for all of 54 seconds in Friday night's Southeast Kansas League game against Fort Scott High's boys at the FSHS gymnasium. But James Newton made sure the Golden Tornado led at the final buzzer, blocking a shot, plucking the loose ball out of the air and going in for a dunk with 2.8 seconds remaining in the contest...

The game lived up to its status as a contest between two ranked teams looking to keep league championship hopes alive. And though visiting Coffeyville took its first lead of the game in the fourth quarter and held it for a short time, Fort Scott High's girls were able to fight back and hold off the Golden Tornado for a 61-57 victory on Homecoming...