Stories from Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Ralph Leon Stites, age 77, Mound City, Kan., died Saturday, May 14, 2011, at the Olathe Medical Center. Funeral services will be held 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 17, at the Wall Street Christian Church. Burial will be in the Sunny Slope Cemetery, Blue Mound, Kan. No formal visitation...

Lee Ellen Alexander, 77, a former resident of Fort Scott, Kan., and more recently of Lansing, Kan., died Friday, May 13, 2011, at her home in Lansing. She was born March 18, 1934, in Bolivar, Mo., the daughter of Fred C. Bagby and Audrey Ellen Farmer Bagby. ...

Larry Joseph Smith, 69, former resident of Fort Scott, died Monday, May 9, 2011, at St. John's Hospital in Tulsa, Okla. He was born July 8, 1941, in Fort Scott, the son of Kenneth and Maxine Drake Smith. Larry was a 1959 graduate of Fort Scott High School where he excelled in Tiger football. ...

Heather Hobbs and Joshua Leighty, Fort Scott, are pleased to announce the birth of their son Liam Michle Leighty on Thursday, May 12, 2011, at 8:28 p.m. at Mercy Health Center. Liam weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces. Maternal grandparents are Sherri jackson and Keith Vann, both of Fort Scott. Paternal grandparents are Sebrena Pattison, Hume, Mo., and Jerry Leighty, Fort Scott...

Leslie Terrell Royal-Bey, 35, 1005 E. Oak, Fort Scott, was arrested by the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office on May 13 at 3:50 p.m. to serve a 48-hour sentence and released on May 15 at 3:51 p.m. for time served. Brian Leon Williams, 22, 20450 E. 1000 Rd., Pleasanton, Kan., was arrested on May 15 at 12:30 p.m. for domestic battery and is still being held...

On May 14 at 5:13 a.m. the Crawford County Sherriff's Department received a report of a structure on fire located on the southeast corner of 640 Avenue and 190th Street. The structure, a 60 foot by 40 foot barn with a loft, was already burned to the ground upon arrival of emergency personnel. ...

This week's Farmers' Market Minute will take a look at the benefits of shopping for locally fresh produce. The best way for consumers to understand what is seasonally fresh is to shop the market for the entire six-month season. You will learn what's truly seasonal to this area. You will be amazed at the variety of products to choose from and come to understand that the wonderful cool-season crops that are at the market now will be done as the mid-season produce comes in...

100 YEARS AGO (1911) (May 16) -- Neighbors of George Bowers, of south of the city in the Godfrey neighborhood, who yesterday lost his 8-year-old son, his home and all of the contents in a fire at an early hour yesterday evening, took up a collection for his aid. ...

Two tax seminars will be held Tuesday, June 7 in the Greyhound Room of the Administration Building at Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton. A "Contractors' Tax Workshop" will begin with sign-in at 1:45 p.m. with the program running from 2 p.m.-4:30 p.m. ...

Mercy Health System employees will be jumping up and down -- literally -- as part of National Employee Health and Fitness Day May 18. Within Mercy's four-state operations, Regional Marketing and Communication Specialist Media Relations-Mercy Central Communities Christina Rockhold said the objective is to do a million jumping jacks that day. For the Fort Scott hospital, the goal is 10,000 jumping jacks...

Fort Scott's fire and police departments showed off some of the tools of their trade as part of a local supermarket's customer appreciation day. The Kansas Highway Patrol, St. John's Medflight and EMS were also featured at the event, held in the Woods Supermarket parking lot, along with bounce houses and free food and drinks. A free will donation was requested...

With the opening of the city's golf course getting closer, annual passes are now available. Opening day has been set for May 25. In preparation for the use of the course, the city began accepting membership dues Monday at City Hall, 13 S. Main St. The memberships are available in several different forms. According to a statement released by the city, the passes will run from June 1 through May 31, 2012...

The Fort Scott Community College Board of Trustees approved a contract with an outside janitorial service to clean the college's dormitories next year, along with various other bids and purchases during their regular meeting on Monday. After some discussion, the board approved a one-year contract with JaniKing for an approximate total not to exceed $94,886. ...

Discussions about conducting a feasibility study for a new jail continued Monday as Thomas "Artie" Lucas, of Goldberg, Sullivan, McCrerey Architects and Planners Inc., returned to speak to Bourbon County Commissioners about the topic. Lucas came back to answer any questions commissioners had regarding a proposed contract he has sent over after an initial meeting on May 2. ...

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt on Monday filed criminal charges against Larry Joe Gier Jr., 41, of Redfield, in connection with the 1998 death of Gregory O. Hines, of Fort Scott. The charge in the complaint is murder in the second degree. Bourbon County Attorney Terri L. Johnson requested the assistance of the Attorney General's Office in the case, a news release said...

SPRING HILL -- Fort Scott High School's baseball team defeated Paola, 4-3, in the first round of the Spring Hill Class 4A Baseball Tournament here Monday. The second-seeded Tigers (14-6) will play the winner of Monday night's game between Prairie View and Osawatomie this afternoon at 2 p.m. The Trojans (17-1) went into the tournament as the top seed. If the Tigers win, they'll play for the championship at 7 p.m. All FSHS games will be broadcast on KOMB, 103.9 FM...

LINDSBORG -- Senior Colton Grillott and junior Kyle Altic finished seventh in doubles at the Kansas Class 4A State Tennis Tournament here over the weekend. Senior Ben Bristley also qualified in singles but was eliminated in two matches. The usually cool weather that enveloped the state over the weekend was not much of a factor, according to FSHS head coach Lynn Barr, even though temperatures topped out at 50 degrees and winds gusted up to 30 MPH...

Fort Scott High School beat Iola by a combined total of 26 runs when they faced off in a doubleheader a week ago. But a 3-victory team such as the Fillies can be a scary proposition for a coach when they face each other in a winner-take-all game. However, the Tigers didn't take things for granted and routed Iola 11-1 in an Osawatomie Class 4A Regional Tournament first-round game at Don Hewitt Field Monday...