Stories from Saturday, February 7, 2009

During the Civil War, military justice for committing capital crimes such as murder, rape and desertion in the face of the enemy was execution by hanging or by a firing squad. This of course was true for soldiers of both the Blue and the Gray. There was also another form of justice that preceded and occurred after the Civil War and that was "Vigilante Justice."...

Erika and Jason Thomas, of Nevada, and big brother Draysen, are proud to announce the birth of their daughter and baby sister, Bryleigh Grace Thomas. Bryleigh was born at 3:05 p.m., on Jan. 31, 2009, at Nevada Regional Medical Center. She weighed 8 pounds, and measured 20 inches...

Amber Callahan-Cisneros, age 28, of Lubbock, Texas, passed away Jan. 28, 2009. She is mourned by her husband Mario, her children Dru, 11 and Mia, 8; her father Bryan; stepmother Jeanette; younger brother Bryan Lee Callahan, of Tahoka, Texas; her mother Sharon, stepfather David Hankin; sisters Sarah Hankin and Lisa Callahan, of Bartlett, Tenn.; brother Michael Callahan, of Jasper, Texas; paternal grandparents Lee and Mary Ann Callahan, of Pleasanton, Kan.; maternal grandparents Phyllis and Ernie Oshel, of Eudora, Kan.; and many aunts, uncles, cousins and other relatives.. ...

James L. "Jay" Emery, 57, Nevada, died Friday, Feb. 6, 2009, as the result of a house fire at his home. He was born Dec. 31, 1951, in Nevada, to Frank E. Emery and Helen O. Faith Emery. Jay grew up in Nevada and graduated from Nevada High School in 1970. ...

Donald L. Richardson, 67, of Nevada, formerly of Rich Hill, passed away Feb. 5, 2009, at his home in Nevada. Graveside memorial services will be held Monday, Feb. 9, at 10 a.m., at Green Lawn Cemetery, in Rich Hill. He is survived by three children, Brenda and Kevin Diehl, of Rich Hill, Donald Richardson, of Hermitage, Mo., and Garrin and Sara Richardson, of Nevada; and four grandchildren...

Lula Pearl Pratt Welborn, 85, of Nevada, passed away on Feb. 6, 2009. She was born on Dec. 19, 1923, to Frank Wesley and Ollie Francis (Ford) Pratt of Ellington, Mo., and she was the youngest child and only daughter in a family of five children. Mrs. Welborn was reared by her paternal uncle and his wife, Fred and Bess Pratt, of Marshall, Mo...

Morning! And thanks for taking a quick gander at my new column -- even though it is printed here under the same old title and writer's name. Chuck Nash has been writing the "At Random" column for about 32 years now. (Whew!) And during that time, he wrote a series of columns about Stumble and Bumble's (his own and wife Ginny's) amateur efforts to spruce up some tumble-down local houses, including their own (although, truth to tell, he never quite decided who was Stumble and who was Bumble)...

Just prior to Christmas, I had the opportunity to go see the Garnett grandchildren in a church program. The neat thing was that all three were going to be involved. The oldest boy was a drummer, so he played softly in the background as the children acted out a Jamaican Christmas story. The drama queen granddaughter had a speaking part as one of the islanders. The youngest grandson, age five, was to be Joseph, and had a prominent place on the stage along with Mary and the Baby Jesus...

Hi neighbors. Valentine's Day is just around the corner with President's Day hot on its heels. I don't know about you, but it seems odd to have those two holidays is such close proximity. I just can't associate any president with the highest virtue. Not that our presidents don't have virtues! But, I just haven't seen any to invoke romantic feelings in their constituents...

Jack and Ellen Gage, of Colorado Springs, Colo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Courtney Lynn Gage, to Steven Clark Ramsey, son of Debra Ramsey, Uniontown, Kan., and Jeff and Robyn Ramsey, Hugoton, Kan. Courtney is a 2002 graduate of Colorado Springs Christian School. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design from the University of Kansas in 2007. She is currently employed by Price Brothers' Management in Overland Park, Kan...

Abigail Elaine King, daughter of James King, Kansas City, and Shelly King, Hugoton, Kan., and Joshua Dean Jones, son of Dean and Kim Jones, Fort Scott, announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. The wedding will be held in April of 2009, in Kansas City, Kan...

Nevada, Mo. -- Finely crafted pencil illustrations created by Betsy Gonia, a second-year student at Cottey College are now on display in the Vernon County Arts Council's gallery, located on the lower level of the Carnegie Building, at Ash and Austin in Nevada...

For Holly and Chuck Griffin, their battle with cancer has been made more bearable with the help of family, friends and their faith in God. About a week before Christmas, after discovering a lump under her arm, Holly underwent surgery to remove a cyst, which had a 75 percent chance of being a fatty tumor. ...

Red, pink, love, hearts, teddy bears, roses, and chocolate. What do these things all have in common? Valentine's Day! For one local charity, Valentine's Day is the marker for one of their local fundraisers. Council on Families in Crisis will once again host their annual Valentine's Day Chocolate Sale. According to Martha Sander, executive director, this will be the 11th year for the sale...

A Nevada man was killed in an early morning fire at his home in the 1800 block of North Main St., Friday. Firefighters were called to the home of James L. "Jay" Emery, at 5:32 a.m., when a neighbor reported the fire. When they arrived, firefighters could see fire coming from the living room window. ...

"I am so, so disappointed; I'm almost embarrassed that the House took this action," said District 4 Kansas House Representative Shirley Palmer, D-Fort Scott, regarding the Kansas House's decision to pass a state deficit plan cutting more than $200,000 from local school budgets...

"You get hurt a lot. But you keep doin' it." Dusty Elkinton, 28, of Moundville gets a gleam in his eyes when he talks about the rodeo. He's been riding bulls since he was a teenager. "I had a good time with that so I decided to try the other two" riding events -- saddle bronc and bareback riding, the two horse events. He still prefers bull riding, though...

The streets of downtown Fort Scott light up with pride as residents gather for the Streetscape Lighting Ceremony Friday evening. Fort Scott residents gathered at the intersection of Main Street and Wall Street for the ceremony which featured speeches by Fort Scott Director of Economic Development Dale Bunn, Fort Scott City Mayor Gary Bukowski, Judy Renard representing the Phoenix Committee and the downtown business owners. ...