Stories from Saturday, September 12, 2009

The big Labor Day Weekend started with a phone call from Les Jarman, a top notch guide on Stockton Lake for nearly 40 years. "What do you think?" he said. "They are calling for rain, but I know we can catch crappie up the Little Sac River. My son, Luke, has been catching them for over a month."...

Back in the 1930s, when radio was still something of a novelty, an event took place that rocked the American listening public back on its heels as no other before or since has -- quite. Young Orson Welles, whose movie "Citizen Kane" would later cause a ruckus with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hurst because Welles had modeled his protagonist so closely after Hurst, decided to produce H.G. Wells's (no relation) "War of the Worlds" for his "Mercury Theater of the Air."...

When both of my children and later the grandkids were little and we went fishing in ponds, I always asked them to give me the first couple or three casts before they descended on the water and started beating it to a froth and sending all of the fish to the bottom seeking cover. Times have changed...

Hi neighbors. Have a cup of coffee and deliberate on whether you should turn on the heater or the air conditioner today. If you are like me you may end up doing both. It is good porch sitting weather though and I hope you are getting an opportunity now and then to just "sit a spell" on the porch, stoop, steps or whatever you have to sit on...

Robert and Sheila Hixon celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009, at Gunn Park. The couple were married on Aug. 18, 1984, at Community Christian Church in Fort Scott, Kan. The couple has a daughter, Samantha Hixon and a son, Joseph Hixon...

Sara Kate Copeland and Thomas Christopher Werner exchanged wedding vows on May 23, 2009, at the First Baptist Church, in Nevada, Mo. Dr. William C. Cox officiated the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Dr. Brad and Lori Copeland, and granddaughter of Ron and Judy Dahmer, and Barbara Copeland, all of Nevada, and the late John Copeland, formally of St. James, Mo...

Avery and Cheryl Reed, Fort Scott, and Timothy and Janet Twombly of Troy, Kan., announce the engagement of their children, Monica Reed, Independence, Mo., and Brian Twombly, Council Bluffs, Iowa. The bride to be graduated from Fort Scott High School in 2001 and from Pittsburg State University with a Bachelor of Science in 2005. She is currently employed by the Center Place Restoration School as a teacher...

Charles Fairbanks, of Creighton, Mo., on behalf of he and his late wife Linda Fairbanks, announce the engagement of their daughter, Carla Sue Fairbanks, to Cody Lee Bond, son of Eddy and Tammy Bond, of Nevada. The future bride is a 1998 graduate of Sherwood High School. She received a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2001 from Missouri Southern State University and a Masters in Biology from Pittsburg State University in 2005. Carla is currently employed by HealthMEDX in Ozark, Mo...

Kevin and Carolyn Thorpe, Fort Scott, announce the engagement of their daughter, Karrie Thorpe, to Chris Pruitt, son of Roger and Nancy Pruitt, Fulton. The future bride is a 2005 graduate of Fort Scott High School, a 2008 graduate of Fort Scott Community College and is currently employed as a dental assistant by Dr. Gary Brown's office in Fort Scott...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009, begins the national celebration of Constitution Week. The week-long commemoration of America's most important document is one of our country's least known official observances. Our Constitution stands as a testament to the tenacity of Americans throughout history to maintain their liberties and freedom, and to ensure those unalienable rights to every American...

BRONAUGH, Mo. -- Arthur Lee Land, of Fairfield, Iowa, brought his engaging brand of educational entertainment to the Bronaugh gym on Wednesday. Sept. 9, when he presented his Musical Life Skills Assembly program to the student body, staff and faculty...

Norman Garton, Nevada, has been elected as a delegate to the 126th Annual American Angus Association Convention of Delegates, Nov. 16 in Louisville, Ky., reports Bryce Schumann, CEO of the American Angus Association. Garton, a member of the American Angus Association with headquarters in Saint Joseph, Mo., is one of 386 Angus breeders who have been elected by fellow members in their state to serve as a representative at the annual meeting...

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- The Bourbon County Relay for Life organization will continue a seasonal tradition with The Annual Relay for Life Fall Festival in October The event, which will be the organization's first major fundraiser of its 2010 campaign, is scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at 2478 Limestone Road, the home of local Relay for Life member and event co-organizer Lavetta Simmons...