Stories from Tuesday, November 13, 2012

100 YEARS AGO (1912) Arcadia, the bustling little city south of here, has started two campaigns and with the little assistance which Pittsburg and Fort Scott can give, intends to make both a success. The first is for the proposed interurban road from this city to Pittsburg and the other is to help the building of the good roads from Joplin to Pittsburg and to Fort Scott...

To the Editor: With the election over, it's a new day in Washington. Or is it? We have the same players: same president, same GOP House and Democratic Senate. They realize that they're staring at fiscal disaster by year's end if no deal is reached on the deficit, taxes, and spending...

The calendar keeps reminding us that we are getting into the holiday season. Over the next several weeks, most of us will be busier than usual. And when the holidays are over, we'll breathe a sigh of relief that schedules can get back to normal. But, in our busyness, it is easy to miss some of the real joys of the season...

Well ... it is finally over, and I for one am glad. What might I be talking about? The election that seems to have been going on forever and ever. It was on the television night and day and my email box was full of political "stuff" every day. Plus I seemed to get dozens of political calls every day and my mailbox was full every day with political flyers. Enough is enough...

Redfield Ruritan Club met Nov. 8 with 10 members and one visitor present. Clayton Tatro, president of Fort Scott Community College, was present and thanked the club for the recent donation to the FSCC Scholarship Fund. He made a few remarks regarding programs at the college and said there are 1,900 students on all the FSCC campuses with 1,100 of those being in Fort Scott. He also said 85 percent of the students are from Kansas...

Edith P. Wade, age 90, La Cygne, Kan., passed away on Monday, Nov. 12, 2012. She was born on Jan. 18, 2012, at La Cygne, Kan., the daughter of Frank B. and Mattie H. Dum Rogers. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, at the Schneider Funeral Home and Crematory, LaCygne Chapel. Burial will be in the Oak Lawn Cemetery. The family suggests contributions to the charity of choice. On line condolences for the family can be left at www.schneiderfunerals.com...

Goldie Eugene Young, age 67, resident of Arkansas City, Kan., died Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012, at his home. Funeral arrangements will be announced by the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main.

Mildred Courtois, 91, of Pleasanton, Kan., died Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012, at the Bates County Memorial Hospital, Butler, Mo. Services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012, at the First Baptist Church, Pleasanton, Kan. Visitation will be Wednesday evening from 6-7 p.m. at the Schneider Funeral Home and Crematory, Pleasanton Chapel. Interment will be in the Holmes Cemetery, Prescott, Kan...

Melvin Walter Umphenour, 87, died at his home in Cerritos, Calif., on Nov. 9, 2012. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, at the Pleasanton Cemetery, Pleasanton, Kan. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until service time at the Schneider Funeral Home and Crematory, Pleasanton Chapel. Memorial contributions are suggested to Linn County Sharing Bucket care of the funeral home...

Fredrick William Phillips, age 86, former Fort Scott resident and retired policeman, died Friday, Nov. 9, 2012, at the National Health Care facility in Joplin, Mo. He was born on March 9, 1926, in Arcadia, Kan., the son of J. C. Phillips and Gracie Koppa Phillips...

Brandon Richard Hixon, 27, was taken into custody by the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office at 3:19 p.m. Nov. 8 for probation violation. He is still being held at this time with no bond. Jarrod Wayne Eastwood, 40, Fort Scott, was arrested at 7:42 p.m. Oct. 31 by the Fort Scott Police Department on a Bourbon County warrant for non-support of a child and is still being held at this time...

Snapping away with anything that could take photos and singing along with their favorite tunes, close to 1,400 fans turned out to hear country singers Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan at Memorial Hall Saturday night. But it wasn't just a chance to enjoy the music, it was an opportunity to raise funds for improvements to Ellis Park, located on 15 acres at 12th and Shepherd streets in the east-central part of town near Fort Scott Middle School...

Veteran Leo Comstock flew 16 missions for the U.S. Navy on a torpedo plane before being gunned down and later rescued at sea during World War II while serving aboard the USS Randolph in the South Pacific. But after 20 years of military service, Comstock's legacy continued on, with his three sons following in their father's footsteps by serving their country...

The USD 234 board gave overwhelming support to Superintendent Diane Gross' request for a district-wide instructional framework. The program, called Literacy First, has proven successful in Arkansas City, Emporia and Liberal. After seven years of implementation, Literacy First saw a 36 percent increase in the number of students performing at the "Meets Standard Level" or higher in Arkansas City. ...

Music was the order of the day as area school children paid tribute to those who have served in the military with special Veterans Day ceremonies at Eugene Ware Elementary and Fort Scott Middle School on Monday. An overflow crowd packed Eugene Ware on Monday morning for a musical program that featured such standards as "The Star Spangled Banner," "God Bless the USA," and a rousing rendition of "Thank a Vet," all performed by all the children in the school and led on stage by the Fourth and Fifth Grade Select Choirs at the school.. ...

Rainy weather did not dampen the resolve of veterans and community members who gathered Sunday to remember those who have served their country during a Veterans Day memorial service at Memorial Hall auditorium. Originally scheduled to take place at Fort Scott National Cemetery, it was moved to the auditorium because of stormy weather. ...

Eleven members of the Fort Scott Community College football team received spots on the All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference football team in voting held at El Dorado last week. Defensive players earned eight of those places. Four earned places on the First Team. Three were defensive players: sophomore cornerback Kevin Short, sophomore linebacker Stephan Martin and freshman defensive end William Bland. Also chosen was freshman offensive guard Kareem Are...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sophomore Austin Danner scored 20 points and connected on five 3-point field goals here Saturday afternoon as Fort Scott Community College's men broke a long road losing streak with an 87-78 victory over Penn Valley. Danner was 7 of 9 from the floor while the Greyhounds (2-2) made 59 percent of their field-goal attempts (27 of 46) and 23 of 33 free throws...

-- There was a clear dividing line in the CNC girls' poll as the top four teams picked are the league's Class 4A schools and the bottom four are the Class 3A schools. Frontenac received six first-place votes while Girard got the other two. Baxter Springs was picked third and newcomer Columbus fourth followed by Colgan, Southeast, Riverton and Galena......

PITTSBURG -- Coffeyville and Labette County were voted into a first-place tie in the KSEK-FM 99.1 The Ticket's pre-season Southeast Kansas League poll released Monday morning. Coffeyville, which qualified for last year's Class 4A State Tournament along with Fort Scott, received four first-place votes while Labette County picked up two. The Grizzlies finished 10-12 last season...

PITTSBURG -- Southeast Kansas League coaches predicted tight races in girls' basketball championships race in pre-season polls released at the KSEK-FM 99.1 The Ticket media conference here Monday. Fort Scott's girls were picked to win the league even though they didn't get most of the first-place votes. Chanute, picked to finish second, got three top votes while the Tigers, Labette County and Independence each got one. The top four teams were within 4 points of each other in the tabulation...