Stories from Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Four members were present at the June 23 meeting of the Fulton Community. Regular order of business was held. Part of the roof has been repaired. There was no other business. The group will meet again July 28.

Residents are asked to be sure and register their dogs with the city of Fort Scott. Under city ordinance no. 3039, all dogs within the city limits are required to have a city dog tag. The required tag is available for purchase in the Water Utility Office, 123 S. Main. Current vaccination records are required. The tag is good for one year starting from June 1, 2011, to May 31, 2012. The charge for the tag is $3 for each spayed or neutered dog or $5 for all other dogs...

Maxine James and family recently returned home from vacationing a week in St. Pete Beach, Fla. Family members were Jerry and Marilyn James of rural Arcadia, Melissa and Aaron Coester with children Kenzie, Alex and Maddie, Julye and Josh Smith with baby Jaxton, all of rural Girard. Debbie, Terry and Sarah Vanderpool of Frontenac were also there. Everyone enjoyed the amenities of Sirata Beach Resort...

Friends and family are invited to join Margaret Harper as she celebrates turning 90 years young. A 90th birthday party for Margaret is being held at Buck Run Community Center, 735 Scott, Fort Scott, on Sunday, July 17, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Margart requests no gifts. If you are unable to attend Margaret's party, you may mail a card to 915 Horton, Room 137, Fort Scott, Kan., 66701. The family hopes you can make it to celebrate this special day with Margaret...

Andrew Daniel Humble, 33, 1263 237 St., Fort Scott, as arrested by the Fort Scott Police Department on July 12 at 1:13 a.m. for driving while suspended and a Bourbon County warrant and is still being held at this time.

Larry Dean Guss, 67, resident of Fort Scott, Kan., died Monday, July 11, 2011, at the Mercy Health Center in Fort Scott following a lengthy illness. He was born Feb. 28, 1944, in Nevada, Mo., the son of Albert Lee Guss and Ruby Medley Guss. He married Donna Taiclet on March 26, 1965, in Fort Scott. ...

Bridget Johnson Zugg, 54, of Thornburg, Iowa, died Saturday, July 9, 2011, at her home in Thornburg, Iowa. She was born Sunday, Aug. 12, 1956, in Kansas City, Mo., the daughter of Charlie M. and Elouise Pendergast Johnson. She graduated from the Fort Scott High School in Fort Scott, Kan., with the class of 1974...

Erma Jean (nee Beeney) Van Cleave, 81, passed away on July 7, 2011. She was born on Feb. 8, 1930, in Edler, Colo., the daughter of Boyd and Marian (Bosley) Beeney. She graduated from Erie High School in Kansas and married Harold Buford Van Cleave on Sept. 25, 1951. Together they had four children, Lanus, Marcia, Connie and Michael...

James Harvey Fields, 81, resident of Bronaugh, Mo., died Monday, July 11, 2011, at the Moore--Few Care Center, Nevada, Mo. He was born Jan. 3, 1930, in Cowgill, Mo., the son of James Henry and Pearl Easter Sprague Fields. He worked as a machinist and heavy equipment operator for Coors brewery. James loved raising cattle as well as gardening...

Several people have contacted me regarding Caylee's Law. They would like to have a law in Kansas that would make "it a felony for a parent, legal guardian, or caretaker to not notify law enforcement of the disappearance of a child within" a timely manner. The Speaker of the House announced Thursday there will be a review of state laws dealing with the timely reporting of the death or disappearance of a child...

A review of any newspaper at this time of the year will reveal a number of schools announcing reunions. In fact, our local paper recently had over 30 announcements detailing the date and location of various reunions and asking for the graduates to contact the committee if they have not already done so. ...

"We want to get more citizens involved in the community," say most leaders who engage the Public Square process. It's an admirable, even popular ideal. But leaders soon discover that saying it doesn't make it so. Public Square Communities are, in fact, bucking a 50-year nationwide trend...

Local youth involved in the Fort Scott Community College Summer Children's Theatre Workshop will perform "Rapunzel" for the public at 7 p.m. Friday at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center at FSCC, 2108 S. Horton. Twenty-six area youth from 4 to 15 years of age have worked for three weeks to learn theater skills culminating in the performance of "Rapunzel." The modern take on the classic fairy tale by Karen Boettcher-Tate gives a new twist to an old story and a gentle message about the nature of beauty.. ...

Making basic economics interesting for elementary and middle school students can be a challenge, but a workshop at Pittsburg State University offers teachers one possible solution -- Play Dough. Area teachers will get their own lessons in "Play Dough Economics" in a two-day workshop July 19-20 in Room 409 of Russ Hall...

The Bourbon County Public Works Department will be working on several county roads replacing patches of broken asphalt beginning Wednesday. Bourbon County Public Works Director Marty Pearson said the asphalt has broken apart and created soft spots as a result of the base material being damaged...

The third and final recipient of the Lowell Milken Center Fellowship was awarded a key to the city Tuesday morning by the Fort Scott City Commission. Stephanie Bishop, of Prince George, Va., is in Fort Scott all this week to visit the town and work with staff at the Lowell Milken Center. ...

J.K. Graham is giving something back to his old friend and the community. The 95-year-old longtime Fort Scott resident and friend of Gordon Parks, recently donated nearly 400 slides containing photos Graham took in the late 1960s during the filming of the Parks-directed film, "The Learning Tree," to the Gordon Parks Museum and Center for Culture and Diversity at Fort Scott Community College...

Despite a 3-6 record in 2010 and the loss of head coach Jeff Sims to Indiana University, Fort Scott Community College's football team is ranked No. 23 in the JCGridiron.com "Dirty 30" rankings, which were released Tuesday. New head coach Curtis Horton, promoted from offensive co-ordinator, will take the field on August 25 with the No. 23-ranked team in the country. The Greyhounds' opponent that night, Blinn, will bring the No. 2 ranking to Frary Field...

Rumors of employee termination at the Bourbon County Courthouse and the undersheriff's wife taking a job with the government entity are not entirely true. Bourbon County Clerk Joanne Long said two employees in her office were terminated on June 30 without prior notice. ...