Stories from Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Harve Russell "Tuffy" West, age 84, of rural Liberal, Mo., passed away Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 at Freeman Hospital West in Joplin, Mo. Tuffy was born Jan. 14, 1928, in Pittsburg, Kan., to James and Mabel (VanKirk) West. During World War II, he joined the U.S. Navy, serving in the Philippines and Hawaii, and was a longtime member of Liberal American Legion. On Sept. 3, 1949, at Bentonville, Ark.,...

Mary Francis Priest, 45, Fort Scott, was arrested by the Fort Scott Police Department at 1:03 p.m. Monday for a warrant out of Allen County. She was released to Allen County at 2:19 p.m. the same day.

The Bronson Ruritan meeting was held Monday at The Chicken Shack in Bronson. There were 20 members present as well as the following guests: Ellen Harper, Brian and Megan Stewart, Leonard and Anor Lemmon, Melvin and Susan Lemmon, Amy Lemmon and Taylor Lemmon...

Charles and Willa Cable invite friends and family to join them as they celebrate their golden wedding anniversary at a reception hosted by their children and grandchildren on March 4 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Arcadia Community Center, located at the corner of Race and Nelson streets in Arcadia...

BYBEE -- Monica Earll and Jared Bybee and sibling Daulton Bybee, all of Nevada, Mo., are proud to announce the birth of their son and brother, Brady Allan Bybee, at 2:14 p.m. Feb. 27 at Mercy Health Center. Brady was 6 pounds, 8 ounces at birth. Maternal grandparents are Mitch and Carol Earll, Nevada, Mo...

The Uniontown FFA chapter will co-sponsor the 30th annual Bloodmobile from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 14, at First Missionary Baptist Church on the Uniontown City Square. "This is one of our best projects because we get absolutely nothing for it. ...

Community Christian Church will hold its spring revival March 4-7, the theme of which is the spiritual remodeling that needs to happen in people's lives, Pastor Kevin Moyers said in a news release. This theme fits with the fact that Community Christian is remodeling its auditorium. "It's great to remodel our auditorium after 30 years," Moyers, "but it's better that we remodel our spiritual lives."...

Joining its fellow facilities in Missouri, Mercy Health Center will convert to Mercy Hospital Fort Scott on Thursday as part of a systemwide brand conversion. Its sister hospital in Independence, Kan., will be called Mercy Hospital Independence. Physician clinics will transition to the name Mercy Clinic with a description following, such as Mercy Clinic-Fort Scott, a news release said...

Multiple open teacher and administrative positions in the district prompted a recent special meeting of the USD 234 school board. Board members discussed policy and procedures for hiring administrators and teachers for the coming school year following resignation and retirement announcements from several teachers and four administrators, including Superintendent Rick Werling...

After hours of debate, the legislature reached the halfway point of the 2012 session -- turnaround. Committees met Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday were spent on the House floor. Friday, Monday, and Tuesday, the legislature was not in session to give staff time to process paperwork...

Every four years our Gregorian calendar provides us with an extra day. Leap year as it is called, or intercalary or bissextile year, contains one additional day in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year. If you understand that sentence, please contact me!...

The city of Fort Scott is looking to close the 85-year-old Mill Creek Bridge on North Crawford Street and will seek public input on the matter next week. City Manager Dave Martin said the consensus among city officials is to close the span, built in 1927, because it would cost too much to repair and the bridge is not a heavily traveled structure. But the city will first host a public meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, to hear any comments or concerns from citizens...

UNIONTOWN -- Uniontown's basketball teams had their struggles with Howard-West Elk Tuesday night. But both Eagle squads eventually came away with victories in first-round Uniontown Class 2A Sub-State Tournament games. Eagle girls let the Partiots get back into the game after dominating the first quarter. But Uniontown outscored West Elk 29-7 in the second half to take a 42-20 victory...

Fort Scott High's 61-46 victory over Chanute in the first round of the Louisburg Class 4A Sub-State Tournament was very similar to the game the teams played at the beginning of this month. In Fort Scott's 68-55 victory over Chanute on Feb. 3, the teams combined to shoot 52 percent from the field, there were only 44 total rebounds, the Tigers committed 6 fewer turnovers than the Blue Comets and didn't take firm control of things until the third quarter...

As I continue to pack for our upcoming move to Marshfield, I have trouble sitting down and doing my weekly column. So this is what I came up with, it was sent to me by an email friend. Hope you all get a good belly laugh; I did. Things I Owe My Parents...