Stories from Tuesday, March 16, 2021

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has amended its travel quarantine list to include two states – New York and New Jersey. Two countries have also been added - State of Palestine and Estonia while one has been removed, Seychelles. Several countries remain on the list including Mayotte, Czechia, San Marino, Montenegro and Seychelles...

Jim Spencer “Sandy” Mertz, age 68, a resident of rural Fort Scott, Kan., passed away Monday, March 15, 2021, at the Via Christi Emergency Room in Fort Scott. He was born Aug. 20, 1952, in Fort Scott, the son of Jim I. Mertz and Maybelle L. Spencer Mertz. ...

Mabel Cloutier Warren, 92, formerly of Slidell, La., and most recently of Fort Scott, Kan., passed away early Monday morning, March 15, 2021. She was born April 13, 1928, in Cloutierville, La., the daughter of Julibert and Daisy (Monet) Cloutier. Local arrangements are under the direction of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home. Services and burial will be in the Mount Carmel Cemetery in Eudora, Ark., are under the direction of the Mortimer Funeral Home, 711 US 82, Greenville, Miss...

As the 2020-21 basketball seasons for the Fort Scott High School Tigers and Lady Tigers have come to a close, head coaches for both teams recapped their respective seasons for the Tribune. The Lady Tigers’ season ended March 6 with a 51-27 loss to the No. 1 seeded Louisburg Wildcats in the Class 2A girls’ Sub-State championship game. Their season concluded with an 8-14 overall record, and record of 6-6 in the SEK League...

Note: This is the second part of a two-part series. The first part appeared in the March 13 edition. The Tribune spoke with a group of Fort Scott High School Tiger state wrestling qualifiers and the following are their responses (not every wrestler responded to each question):...

Bourbon County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to fully open the Bourbon County Courthouse to the public, with safety precautions still in place, on April 5.

Bourbon County Commissioners on Tuesday gave official approval for a move of the county’s communications center from the Hawkins Public Safety building to space inside the Bourbon County Courthouse formerly used as the Bourbon County jail. After a discussion, commissioners approved Commissioner Jim Harris’ motion to move forward with the intent of the dispatch center moving into the old jail area, as well as for review of an interlocal agreement between the city and county, and to make the dispatch center a secure facility.. ...

An offer has been made to a candidate for a full-time economic development director for the Bourbon County Economic Development Council, Inc. Gregg Motley, BEDCO Board of Trustees president, told the Tribune Tuesday the search for an economic development director yielded close to 20 potential candidates from the local area, across the country and globe...

Fort Scott City Commissioners unanimously approve a conditional use permit, which will allow a micro meat processing plant to be located on 47 acres south of the Kansas Department of Transportation Building. See the print or online edition of the Tribune for complete story...