Stories from Thursday, March 25, 2010

PITTSBURG -- Fort Scott and Uniontown high schools will be represented at fourth annual U.S. Army/Army Strong All-Star Games, which will be held at the St. Mary's Colgan Fieldhouse here Sunday afternoon. Fort Scott's Jolee Sharp and Uniontown's Abbie Smith will play in the girls game, which is set to tip off at 1 p.m. Fort Scott's Gary Floyd will play in the boys game, which will follow. There will also be a 3-point shooting contest for boys and girls and a slam dunk contest for the boys...

On Friday, Forrest and Ernestine Berkey took their granddaughter Kristen Redd to Joplin, Mo., and enjoyed dinner at McCallister's. On Saturday, the two ladies with Angela and Bethany Redd and Trenton Jameson went shopping in Overland Park and had dinner in Panda Express. ...

Molly Foster Berry Chapter NSDAR met Friday, Feb. 19 at the First United Methodist Church with Chapter Regent Mary Ann French presiding. Members joined in the Opening Ritual, Pledge of Allegiance and Americans Creed. Chapter Chaplin Bernita Hill performed the new member welcome ceremony for Sandy Rylander. ...

Don Westoff gave an Adult-Project talk on electrical safety. At 4-H days the club received a blue on model meeting. At model meeting, Grant Hill gave a project talk on how to make slam dunk pizza cups, Dawson Minor gave a talk on bicycle safety and Ryann Alison gave a talk on how to make a yo-you. ...

The last day of winter (last Friday) was nice! Can't say as much about the first day of spring, however. Kansas weather at its best. Speaking of Kansas: with the Jayhawks and Wildcats both having done so well in basketball this year and finishing 1-2 in the league, I have been making the observation in casual conversation that this is more like the "old days" while I was growing up. ...

As outdoor plants break dormancy and start to grow in response to the longer days and warmer spring temperatures, houseplants usually put on a spurt of growth as well. Eventually, these indoor plants outgrow their containers and need to be repotted...

The Walmart Foundation's Kansas State Giving Program is now accepting grant applications from nonprofit organizations across the state. Interested organizations may apply online at www.walmartfoundation.org. The minimum award for each grant is $25,000...

Electronically filed tax returns are on track with last year and overall refunds are running nearly 10 percent higher so far in 2010, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Internal Revenue Service. The figures, covering the period through March 12, show that while the overall number of tax returns filed this year is down slightly, the percentage of returns using e-file remains strong. ...

Citizens Bank, NA, recently announced the hiring of Mike McCauley as the new financial advisor for the Raymond James Financial Services center located in the Fort Scott bank. McCauley is assuming responsibilities from long-time investment center manager Tim Emerson, who is retiring, the company announcement said...

A birthday bash for Don Fetterly's 90th birthday celebration will be held from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Lamar United Methodist Church, 9th and Poplar, Lamar, Mo. No gifts are requested, only the presence of friends and family.

Southeast Kansas residents are invited to join in a scientific, educational, fun opportunity to explore past cultures. The Kansas Archeology Training Program, held June 5-20, will give volunteers an opportunity to participate in salvage excavation of a well-preserved prehistoric site threatened by river erosion in Montgomery County. ...

Preparing for one of the largest and longest running agricultural competitions in the region requires a lot of work. Fort Scott Community College will once again host the annual Agriculture Interscholastics Contests, or Aggie Days, which this year is scheduled to begin about 8:45 a.m. Friday at Arnold Arena located on the southwest corner of the FSCC campus, 2108 S. Horton St...

Another season of fish frys is coming to a close this Friday as the Knights of Columbus Council No. 796 hosts their final event. For more than 10 years, the six Fridays between Ash Wednesday and the week before Good Friday, the K. of C. has been serving hearty plates of home-cooked fish to the Fort Scott Community at the Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church. ...

Let the home improvements begin again. Home repairs are often on the minds of many homeowners this time of year, and the Good Neighbor Action Team is once again preparing to recruit volunteers for the Good Neighbor Blitz, a six-day home improvement plan June 10-15. The group's goal is to help several eligible low-income residents complete home repairs or improvements they are unable to perform or afford...

INDEPENDENCE -- Fort Scott High School's tennis season got underway here Tuesday with the Tigers coming away with one tie and three losses in a round-robin tournament here. The Tigers used a rotating lineup to give a few extra players a chance to play and also make sure they don't exceed the state's limit on competition days down the road...