Stories from Wednesday, December 12, 2012

100 YEARS AGO (1912) Dr. Brant is getting to be an old war horse in bowling. He makes an average now of about 180 and many times he sets up in the 200 mark. The doctor only yawns when he gets one of these violent spells and acts as though it bored him...

The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce Coffee will be held at 8 a.m. Thursday at Bartelsmeyer Jewelry, 1519 S. National Ave. Members can make an announcement about their business, organization or community event by donating $1 toward "Dollars for Dolly."...

Hope Chapel Assembly of God, 1216 4600th St., Moran, will host a community gospel singing at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 16. If you know anyone who sings and would like to participate in this service, invite them. Only gospel music will be sung. Contact Pastor Raymond Yates at (620) 939-4828...

Loretta Ann Reynolds, age 72, of La Cygne, Kan., died Monday, Dec. 10, 2012, at the Kansas City Hospice House in Kansas City, Mo. Per Loretta's wishes she was cremated and there will be a celebration of her life from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15, at a family home 722 Vine St., La Cygne. The family suggests contributions to the Kansas City Hospice House left in care of the Schneider Funeral Home and Crematory, P.O Box 304, La Cygne, Kan., 66040...

John Gregory Berg, 51, Fort Scott, was arrested at 4:25 a.m. Tuesday by the Fort Scott Police Department for DUI and is still being held at this time. Deandre Daran Cornelius, 23, Fort Scott, was arrested Monday by the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office on a Bourbon County warrant for distribution of hallucinogenic drugs and domestic battery and is still being held at this time...

Sylvia June Bybee, 86, formerly of Fort Scott, passed away Tuesday morning Dec. 11, 2012, at the Cedar Crest Care Center in Broken Arrow. She was born Dec. 18, 1925, in Uniontown, Kan., the daughter of Alton Harry and Ellen Irene (Roberts) Clark. She married Hubert Eugene Bybee March 11, 1943, in Fort Scott, Kan. He preceded her in death Feb. 14, 1999...

The club met at the home of Geri Reeder for a covered dish luncheon. The hostess prepared the main meal with others filling in with vegetables and desserts. The home was decorated for the Christmas meeting. Following lunch, President Julia Ann Rhoton opened the meeting with this thought: You don't know what you have until you lose it...

Kenneth and Clara Schwartz, Presbyterian Village, Fort Scott, will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary with a family dinner on Dec. 15. Kenneth and the former Clara Pigg were married on Dec. 16, 1942, at the First Baptist Parsonage, Nevada, Mo...

Kay Burr from Pittsburg and Kenny Kunstal from the state of Virginia send Merry Christmas greetings to AHS Our Gang. They enjoy reading of the activities of this group throughout the years. Since the Nov. 19 dinner and business meeting of JOY, followed by the monthly church board meeting, JOY has now saved enough Best Choice UPC labels to send in its yearly refund certificate for this year...

Three spots on the Fort Scott City Commission will be up for election in 2013 and local residents interested in becoming a candidate can soon being filing for the seats. The seats are currently held by commissioners Sam Mason, Jeanie Parker and Mayor Jim Adams. The top two vote-getters will be awarded four-year terms on the commission, while the third-place finisher will win a two-year term, a news release said...

At least one Fort Scottian will celebrate a particularly interesting birthday today. Today, Dec. 12, 2012, Brooklyn Sheehy will turn 12 years old. Numerologists describe the number 12 as a "perfect" number, so 12/12/12 should be a good day for Sheehy, the daughter of Norma Floyd and Joseph Sheehy...

Macy Cullison will soon settle into a new job title and new responsibilities as she continues to work on growing Fort Scott's economy. Cullison, the city's economic development recruitment and retention manager since 2011, will move to her new position of economic development director, and receive a pay increase, when the changes take effect Jan. 1, 2013...

A handful of students at Fort Scott Middle School is tackling the issue of bullying as part of a group called PAWS (Positive Action with Students). The group was formed in September after Principal Danny Brown spoke with counselor Tammy Claypool and some of the kids about what they might do to address the bullying issue in the schools...

A local youngster's idea will keep many area residents warmer this winter. Ten-year-old Jayden Franklin, a student at Eugene Ware Elementary School, said he got the idea to conduct a coat drive from a similar event he saw on television and mentioned it to his grandmother, Cheryl Adamson, co-owner of the Courtland Hotel and Aveda Spa Salon, who liked the idea. The drive will benefit The Beacon, a local food pantry and community assistance agency...

Almost halfway through her first year as superintendent of the USD 234 School District, the best word to describe Diane Gross' outlook is "optimistic." A large, steel blue placard sits on her desk at the USD 234 offices reading "Land of Opportunity." That simple phrase might best illustrate Gross' attitude as she takes on the challenge of bettering a school district with consistently declining enrollments and one that is facing -- along with many other Kansas schools -- possible state revenue cuts.. ...