Stories from Friday, July 3, 2009

"Let ye who is without sin, cast the first stone," is one of the most recognizable passages of the New Testament. It was voiced according to all of the Gospel accounts by Jesus, when he saved Mary Magdalene from a ritual stoning as punishment for adultery. I wonder whether the country and the state of South Carolina will follow this admonishment in the 21st century?...

Hi neighbors. What are your plans for today? This is "America's Holiday" and I hope you celebrate it as a day to honor what America means to you. It would be a great time to review a little American history with your children. Find out what the word "freedom" means in the dictionary and in your own heart. Discuss things like the Declaration of Independence. Maybe throw this quote out for discussion:...

The following is an excerpt from the book "Old Dog" by Gene Weingarten and Michael S. Williamson. It is a nice analogy of dogs and humans as they age: In our dogs, we see ourselves. Dogs exhibit almost all of our emotions; if you think a dog cannot register envy or pity or pride or melancholia, you have never lived with one for any length of time. ...

James and Peggy Tedlock of Nevada, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Tiffany Dawn Tedlock, to Jason Thomas Berberich, son of Kevin Berberich and the late Valerie Berberich, of Bonner Springs, Kan. Tiffany is a 2004 graduate of Pittsburg State University with a Bachelor of Science in Education. She is currently employed by Kansas City Kansas Public Schools as a teacher...

Announcement is made of the marriage of James Bradley Thompson to Alissa Anne Colwell on Sept. 6, 2008, at the Immaculate Conception Church, Jackson, Mo. Vows were solemnized by the Rev. John Harth. Jana Walker, Fort Scott, served as matron of honor; Katrina Colwell as maid of honor. Attendants were Jennifer Maevers, Altenburg, Mo., Andrea Wilkinson, of Jackson, and Molly Burnett, Cape Girardeau, Mo...

Carolyn Sperry and Steven Lewis were married Feb. 21, 2009, in a nuptial mass at St. James Catholic Church in Redondo Beach, Calif. The Rev. Joe J. Kammerer was the officiant. Dinner and dancing followed at the Redondo Beach Historic Library. The bride was given in marriage by her parents, Nuala and John Sperry, of Nevada, with Stephanie Giessel Purvis serving as matron of honor. Julie Johnson O'Neill, Kate Beaver Kiger and Ursula Szeszko Sperry were bridal attendants...

John and Lorina Foreman exchanged wedding vows June 13, 2009, at Postlethwaite Park in Nevada, Mo. Roger Beach, pastor, officiated the ceremony. A reception for friends and family followed at the Nevada Elks Bingo Hall. The couple will reside in Nevada...

Theresa Marie Higley, age 87 of Springboro, Ohio, passed away Wednesday, July 1, 2009, at Hospice of Dayton. She was born in Garland, Kan., on Dec. 27, 1921, to the late Chester and Louella Johnston. Marie was also preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, Frank Darrell Higley, and her brother Charley Johnston. ...

Chadd Duncan and Kerry Daulton and siblings Bronson Daulton and Jacob, Caleb and Tanner Duncan, are proud to announce the birth of their son and baby brother, Jace Autry Duncan. Jace was born at 7:21 a.m., on Friday, June 26, 2009.He weighed 8 pounds, 2 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long at birth...

Is gardening a new passion? Want to home can, but don't know how? Fearful of a pressure canner or in need pf a refresher on home canning techniques? When harvest time arrives for summer produce, local gardeners want to be ready to preserve the extras the family doesn't eat right away...

Bronaugh native Dr. Lyndon Irwin will discuss the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair and the great train wreck that preceded it at the quarterly meeting of the Vernon County Historical Society, July 12, at the Bushwhacker Museum. The Missouri Pacific disaster near Warrensburg involved many passengers from Vernon County who were on the packed train bound for Missouri Day at the fair. ...

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- An up-and-coming country music group will be the featured entertainment act during the Bourbon County Fair, which starts July 12. Chasing Dixie, a three-member, all-female country group that formed last year, is scheduled to perform a concert at 8 p.m. Thursday, July 16, at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on the Fort Scott Community College campus, 2108 S. Horton St...

Born in 1922 at Arcadia, Kan., Joe Sloniker now of Nevada, Mo., helped his dad on the farm and learned his carpentry trade. He quit school after seventh grade to work full time. When he was 18 years old, some guys came from 203rd Anti-aircraft SW National Guard and talked to him about enlisting. He did, and he spent a year at Camp Huber, Texas, where he learned the basics of serving in the Army...

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- Fort Scott High School Science teacher Linda Houston is having an explosive summer. Houston recently returned from a Summer Explosives Camp conducted at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Mo. The explosives camp was created to give high school juniors and seniors, who are at least 16 years old, a hands-on learning experience with explosives, according to the university's Web site, http://mining.est.edu...

The cracks, pops and booms that explode every Fourth of July are much like the fireworks that take place when bridges go down with a bang after new, safer structures have been erected. Missouri has 10,249 bridges on the state system and the most major river bridges in the nation with 53. ...