Stories from Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Sandra Joan Higgins, age 69, a resident of Richards, Mo., died Monday, Jan. 10, 2011, at the St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo. She was born Aug. 24, 1941, in Butler, Mo., the daughter of Roy Earl Cameron and Dorothy Tilton Cameron. She married Melvin Higgins on Dec. 11, 1959, at Girard, Kan...

Alexander Scott Vance, 18, 110 Judson, Fort Scott, was arrested at 7:40 a.m., Jan. 5, by the Fort Scott Police Department on a Bourbon County warrant and was released the same day. Bruce Allan Rogers, 49, was arrested Jan. 5, by the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office on a Bourbon County warrant. He was still being held as of Jan. 6...

Two high-profile cases will be coming to an end Thursday at the Bourbon County Courthouse. Robert L. Miller and Vanessa Hershey each entered guilty pleas in their respective cases and will be sentenced Thursday before 6th District Judge Mark Ward in Bourbon County District Court...

Snow does not always equal a winter wonderland, especially when it comes to driving. According to the Fort Scott Police Department, officers responded to 15 accidents from Monday morning to Tuesday afternoon that were a result of poor road conditions. With the snow accumulation over the last two days, many drivers are encouraged to take precaution when hitting the road...

Two adult suspects in the robbery of a La Harpe business have been held over on bonds of $50,000 each after having their first appearance before an Allen County District Judge Tuesday, Sheriff Thomas R. Williams said. The 17-year-old juvenile suspect was placed at the Southeast Kansas Regional Juvenile Detention Center Inc. in Girard...

Gov.-elect Sam Brownback recently told The Tribune he will use the influence he gained as a U.S. senator and presidential candidate to help boost Kansas' economy and population. Brownback said he will propose the creation of Rural Opportunity Zones to give tax breaks to people who move to counties that have seen double-digit population declines the past decade. "Unfortunately, there are about 40 counties that qualify for it," he said in a telephone interview...