Stories from Saturday, April 4, 2015

ALTAMONT --Track and field season opened here Thursday for both varsity and junior varsity teams at Fort Scott High School at the Labette County Invitational. Four varsity athletes won events. Cassidy Westhoff won the girls' 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:33 and also placed second in the 3,200. Tiger girls won only two other medals -- third-place in the 800 by Grace Willis and a fifth in the 100 by Keaira Meadows...

INDEPENDENCE -- Overall, Fort Scott High's tennis team is a young squad. And the overall lack of experience came into play Thursday at the second Independence Invitational. "Again, our lack of experience showed, but I'm proud of the way the guys played hard and never gave up," Fort Scott head coach Lynn Barr said. "The competition was tough, but everyone kept playing hard till the end."...

HIGHLAND -- Fort Scott Community College's baseball team split a Jayhawk Conference-Eastern Division doubleheader here Thursday, pulling the Greyhounds into a tie for eighth place in the division with Independence. Highland, tied with Kansas City for sixth, won the opener 14-11. Fort Scott took the second game 14-2. On Wednesday, Independence suffered a sweep at the hands of No. 7 Johnson County, 11-5 and 12-7...

Alex Yeoman was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning of Friday's opening game at the Betty Ruth Willard Complex, allowing the winning run to come across the plate as Fort Scott Community College's softball team upset No. 4-ranked Highland, 8-7, in the first game of a Jayhawk Conference-Eastern Division doubleheader...

Note: This is the third in a three-part series of a discussion about the proposed jail project with Architect Larry Goldberg. When voters go to the polls Tuesday, they will be asked to decide whether there should be a county-wide sales tax increase to fund a $6.8 million bond issue to build a new jail...

Bourbon County Commissioners did not make a decision Friday on replacing a bulldozer that was totaled by the insurance company. Public Works Director Jim Harris reported the insurance will pay the county $40,000 as a settlement for the bulldozer. He has located a 2012 Caterpillar bulldozer with 1,600 hours on its engine available for $131,976 with a one-year warranty. Harris said the replacement could be paid for with the landfill cash fund...

A program designed to break the cycle of poverty in Bourbon County officially kicked off Wednesday. Local Circles USA facilitators and those they will be partnered with, called leaders, met to get to know each other and learn how the program will work...