Stories from Thursday, August 2, 2012

Wow. Still very hot and very dry. More 100-plus degree days. One of the bank signs I saw read "113 degrees" on Sunday. I have not found the need to note the high since, as I can tell (even with my eyes shut), the days continue to sizzle. Interestingly, at the Olympic games in London, the days are relatively cool with 60s and 70s as the high on sunny days. ...

Blue-green algae, properly called cyanobacteria, is not an algae but actually a bacterium. It is naturally occurring in many farm ponds and for most of the year the concentrations are low and the organisms cause no problems. However, blue-green algae favors the hot, dry conditions of late summer and blooms are likely to occur in warm, stagnant water...

Denise Cassells, the Mound City Democrat running for the District 12 state Senate spot, said she is "very concerned about property taxes" and does "not want to see them increased. I stressed the importance of lowering property taxes because they have more than doubled in 13 years." A story in Wednesday's Tribune reported this incorrectly...

City officials said the decision was recently made to keep the Fort Scott Aquatic Center open during certain hours after Aug. 13. City Manager Dave Martin said the pool will remain open during its normal hours (1 to 8 p.m. daily) until Monday, Aug. 13, which is the Monday before the first day of school. It will then be open from 1 to 5 p.m. through Friday, Aug. 17, and from 1 to 6 p.m. on weekends after that date through Sept. 3, which is Labor Day...

After putting in her last eight hours as a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier, Eileen Goltra was finally able to put her feet up Wednesday evening. Goltra retired from USPS yesterday after 34 years of service, 25 of which were spent as a letter carrier. In the mail processing area of the Fort Scott post office, her colleagues and family paid tribute to her with cake and refreshments...

Bourbon County commissioners sat down and discussed several ways to cut expenses from the upcoming fiscal year's budget and keep the mill levy down during a recent workshop. Commissioners Allen Warren and Chairman Harold Coleman, minus commissioner Jingles Edincott, who is on vacation until next week, along with County Clerk Joanne Long and accountant Terry Sercer, of Diehl, Banwart, Bolton CPAs, spent more than an hour Monday afternoon discussing where the board could make adjustments to reduce the budget. ...

Defending national champion East Mississippi will begin its title defense from the No. 1 position in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) pre-season football poll, released Wednesday morning. East Mississippi defeated Arizona Western in last December's El Toro Bowl, which was designated the NJCAA Championship Game in a 55-47 shootout. ...

TOPEKA -- Project 17, a regional initiative spearheaded by four Southeast Kansas senators to help revitalize the region, has won a Rural Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge grant. Winners of the grant, meant to spur job creation and economic growth in rural areas nationwide, were announced Wednesday. ...