Stories from Thursday, April 1, 2010

Raymond John Link, age 49, a resident of Fort Scott, Kan., died Tuesday, March 30, 2010, at his home. There was cremation. A memorial service with burial in the St. Michael's Cemetery at Fulton, Kan., will be held at a later date.

Westar Energy, Inc., announced Tuesday that it has reached agreement with the United States Department of Energy for funding under the Smart Grid Investment Grant program. Westar will now move forward with its SmartStar Lawrence project, bringing advanced smart grid technology to the Lawrence, Kan. area...

Tribune Staff Report For the fourth consecutive time, Fort Scott Presbyterian Village has achieved a result of zero deficiencies in the recent regulatory survey for their Assisted Living apartments from the Kansas Department on Aging. The surveyor remarked that she saw a high quality of care being provided by staff and she was impressed by how clean and nice everything is kept at the village. ...

The Kansas Farm Service Agency is reaching out to women and minority farmers in the state in an effort to get more of them involved in its farm programs. "We're in the business of helping our farmers and ranchers-all of them," said Adrian J. Polansky, state executive director of USDA's Farm Service Agency in Kansas...

One of the most common summer annual broadleaf weeds in row crops is velvetleaf. Also known as elephant ear or button weed, it is classified as a large-seeded broadleaf weed. The soft, velvety heart-shaped leaves are usually 2 to 6 inches wide and long, but can spread up to 12 inches. This tall plant can reach 8 foot tall so it easily grows above soybeans and can sometimes grow above corn and sorghum...

Wintress Baker Clark, age 88, a resident of Fort Scott, died late Tuesday, March 30, 2010, at the Fort Scott Manor Nursing Home. There was cremation. A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, May 1, 2010, at the St. John's United Methodist Church...

PITTSBURG -- Fort Scott High School's junior varsity tennis team competed in a tournament here Tuesday. Head coach Lynn Barr sent two teams here in order to give as many players a chance to play as possible. This tournament was originally scheduled as the JV season opener last week but had to be postponed due to rain...

UNIONTOWN -- Uniontown's softball team split a non-league doubleheader against Yates Center here Monday, losing the first game 5-4 but winning the second 4-3. "Both games ended in the seventh inning with the same situation: A runner on third base with two outs," Uniontown head coach Alan Shinn said. "In the first game, Yates Center made the defensive stop for the last our of the game. But in the second game, we got the hit that allowed us to score the winning run."...

The "Imagine and Believe" Golf Tournament, with proceeds to aid in covering costs of Pechone Stepps' recovery from a spinal injury that are not covered by insurance, will be held June 12 at Fort Scott Country Club. The tournament will have a shotgun start at 9 a.m. ...

PLEASANTON -- The Kansas Historical Society has announced that Mine Creek Battlefield State Historic Site will reopen its visitor center exhibits Wednesday, April 7, 2010, for the spring and summer travel season. Visitor center hours are 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. ...

The Fort Scott Elks Lodge No. 579 is planning to honor military veterans who reside at the Fort Scott Presbyterian Village. Lodge members, along with staff at Presbyterian Village, will conduct a meet-and-greet session as well as a presentation for veterans and their families at 6 p.m. Monday, April 5, in the community room at Presbyterian Village, 2401 S. Horton St...

Local farmers may be eligible for funding assistance for damage crops as the United States Department of Agriculture has approved a secretarial disaster in relation to storms from 2009. According to the USDA, the declaration was approved March 18 in relation to the frost, excessive rain, flash flooding, and flooding caused by storms occurring between Sept. ...

Fort Scott Community College recently announced its Second Annual Community Appreciation Day event which will take place from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 10, on the FSCC campus, 2108 S. Horton St. College officials said the event was created to thank community members for their support by opening the campus for a variety of activities. ...

By a unanimous decision, the Fort Scott City Commission approved the city's offer to purchase the building at 123 S. Main St. for the relocation of City Hall. "We've been talking about this for three or four years now and nothing has presented itself is as nice as this building ... we haven't seen anything close," Commissioner Jim Adams said during Tuesday evening's special meeting to discuss the purchase...

Pleasanton's track and field teams opened the season Tuesday with a varsity meet at Archie, Mo., and a junior varsity meet at Southeast. Results from Archie: At Southeast, Pleasanton's teams swept the meet. The boys scored 111 points to finish 20 ahead of Colgan. The girls edged Baxter Springs by 3 points (103-100). Southeast was the third-place team on both sides...

Errors by Fort Scott High's defense allowed visiting Girard to post big innings as the Trojans took an 11-5, 12-7 sweep of a non-league doubleheader at Ty Cullor Field Thursday night. The Tigers' (1-2) first home games were marred by 8 errors -- 6 of them in the second game -- which led to 11 unearned runs that Girard (2-1) scored...