Stories from Friday, September 2, 2011

Kristen and Drew Williams, Rio Rancho, N.M., are pleased to announce the birth of their son Silas Royal Williams on Tuesday, Aug. 16, at 1:01 a.m. at Presbyterian Hospital, Albuquerque, N.M. Silas weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces and was 21.1 inches in length...

Kayla Woodall and Lance Haley Sr., Fort Scott, along with siblings Lance Jr. and Mason, are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter and sister Natalie Renă Haley on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011, at 11:40 a.m. at Mercy Health Center. Natalie weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces and was 19.5 inches in length...

Jeanette Parsons, Fort Scott, along with siblings Isabel and Taylor, are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter and sister Alexandria Marie Parsons on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011, at 7:50 a.m. at Mercy Health Center, Fort Scott. Alexandria weighed 6 pounds, 4 ounces...

Anthony Blake Morton, 34, 4 N. Eddy St., Fort Scott, was arrested by the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office at 10:21 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31, on a Bourbon County warrant for forgery and theft and is still being held.

Pauline Swink, 93, formerly of Bronson, Kan., died Sept. 1, 2011 at Louisburg Care Center. She was born June 18, 1918, at the home of her parents, Ernest and Mary (Payne) Cox about three miles southwest of Uniontown and graduated from Uniontown High School in 1937...

On Sept. 2, 1861, a small battle occurred near the present town of Deerfield, Mo., that was the conclusion of a two-day engagement that has two names. This engagement has been called the Battle of Drywood because of its proximity to the Big Drywood Creek and the Battle of the Mules because of the capture of 200 "Union" mules and horses...

VFW Post 1165 Ladies Auxiliary invites members and guests to join them for another fundraiser dinner. The auxiliary hosts two dinners a month -- one on the first Friday and the other the third Friday at 1745 S. National, Fort Scott. Sept. 2, the dinner will be Swiss steak and trimmings plus dessert and coffee, tea or lemonade for $6...

Grace Baptist Tabernacle, located at 502 S. Margrave, will be hosting a family conference Sept. 7-11. Evangelist Monty Martin will be the guest speaker. Martin is a dynamic preacher and will be a tremendous blessing, a news release said. The family conference will be held Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings at 7 p.m., and will conclude on Sunday with Sunday school at 10 a.m., morning worship service at 11 a.m. and an early afternoon service...

The 2011 Old Settlers celebration will host a Sunday evening Gospel Showcase at 7 p.m. Sept. 4 in the Uniontown City Park. This year's featured guest is Cindy Powell, a talented vocalist who also has a gift of Christian humor, a news release said. Powell has been in music ministry for more than 25 years...

A special night for the men of the community will be held at 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11 at West Liberty United Methodist Church, at 255th and Valley. The evening will include a free barbecue dinner with all the trimmings followed by special music provided by Del Potter. A devotional message will be given by the Rev. Dennis Ackerman. He is the current superintendent of the Five Rivers District of the Kansas East Conference...

I am concerned that, for the majority of Christians, heaven sounds quite nice, and it certainly is where we want to end up, but in spite of its saving-grace-insurance-policy resemblance, it fails the authenticity test. There was a time when I was no exception to that belief, a fact that became obvious to me a few years ago when my friend Lael posed a question to me during one of our "girlie" chats. ...

100 YEARS AGO (1911) In District Court today Mrs. Harriet Randall, who lives on Scott Avenue, filed suit through her attorneys, Sheppard, Sheppard and Sheppard, asking $10,000 from the Missouri Pacific Railway Company, which she holds responsible for the death of her son, Charles J. ...

People who live by the age-old saying "I'll sleep when I'm dead" could be getting sleep sooner than later. In 2006, the Harvard Women's Health Watch released a study showing six important reasons to get some sleep. I came across this as I was doing some investigation into my own sleep difficulties and I thought it would be of interest to others...

Fort Scott Community College will be offering a Great Books Online Discussion Group starting Sept. 5. The discussion, which will be conducted by FSCC instructor Harold Hicks, will run from Sept. 5 through Nov. 18. The group will be studying the novel "House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton and the poet Langston Hughes. ...

A local man was sentenced Thursday morning in Bourbon County District Court to nearly 11 years in prison for crimes he was arrested for in late 2010. Bourbon County Attorney Terri Johnson said 34-year-old Keith Lawrence, of Fort Scott, was sentenced Thursday to 128 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections. Lawrence was also sentenced to 24 months post-release supervision and will be required to register as a sex offender for 25 years after he has completed parole...

For the first time in at least three years, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management will hold a wild horse and burro adoption in the area. The three-day event featuring more than 50 animals will be conducted at the Crawford County Fairgrounds in Girard. Most of the animals will be horses with maybe six burros, BLM Public Affairs Specialist Paul McGuire said...

While many area schools have already been back in session for two weeks, USD 235 will be hitting the books on Sept. 8 and hopes to build off last year's success. Superintendent Randy Rockhold said changes to the schedule, starting the school year 14 days later in addition to extending the day from 8 a.m. ...

Labor Day-themed events at the Fort Scott National Historic Site this weekend will offer a glimpse of what life was like for Fort Scott soldiers and civilians of the mid-19th century. This weekend, the site will offer educational programs dedicated to those who contributed to a young and growing nation, a news release said. Living history presentations, tours and other programs will be part of the three-day event that begins Saturday and concludes Monday...

After two months of hard work and facing an uncertain future, officials announced Thursday that the Fort Scott Social Rehabilitation Services office will remain open. According to a press release, the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services has reached agreements with four separate local units of government to keep SRS Service Centers open in their communities...

ALTAMONT -- Fort Scott High School's cross country team opened its season Thursday morning at the Labette County Invitational and got three top-10 finishes from its runners. Junior Paige Denton, who was added to the roster after the season preview story was written on Wednesday, took third place in the girls' varsity race. The form turned in did not list the athletes' times in this race. Haydn Herlocker of Girard won the 3,200-meter race followed by Paige White of Baxter Springs...

Fort Scott High School's volleyball team played its first home matches Thursday night and came away from them with a sweep. The Tigers (5-2) defeated Iola in a non-league match, 25-12, 25-11. They had trouble with Prairie View before dominating the third game of a 25-23, 18-25, 25-11 verdict...