Stories from Wednesday, December 31, 2014

New Year's resolutions can come in the form of goals city and Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce officials have for 2015. Next year looks to be full of activity as planned goals for the city and chamber include addressing workforce and economic development, attracting people to Fort Scott and Bourbon County, and improving the city's infrastructure...

Bourbon County Commissioners on Monday approved a 1-percent increase to all Bourbon County employees with the exception of five leadership positions. The raises will be on employees' first paycheck in 2015. "We needed to look at supervisory positions and work to get them in line," said Commissioner Barbara Albright said Tuesday...

Phyllis Jean Hanken, 82, of Fort Scott, died Friday afternoon, Dec. 26, 2014 at Fort Scott Mercy Hospital. She was born Nov. 16, 1932 in Peoria, Ill., the daughter of Erwin and Paula (Bretscher) Bettinghaus. She married Roy Reed Hanken, Jr. June 12, 1954 in Springfield, Ill., and he survives of the home...

Ray A. Hilts, 78, of Parsons, died at 10:21 a.m., Monday, Dec. 29, 2014 in the emergency room of Labette Health in Parsons. Death was unexpected. He was born March 23, 1936, in the rural Cherryvale area, to Russell C. and Bernice M. (Gill) Hilts. He grew up in Cherryvale and graduated from high school there in 1954...

College president resigned On July 28, Clayton Tatro submitted his resignation as Fort Scott Community College president. The complete settlement and release agreement between Tatro and the college was withheld from the public until after an open records request was filed and legal assistance was obtained by The Tribune. The documents were released Sept. 25...

Editor's note: When looking back over 2014, it was difficult to decide which stories should earn the distinction of being the "Top 10." The Year in Review is not a countdown as it was intended to be, but a compilation of the good and not so good that made life in Bourbon County. ...

Change is sometimes inevitable, which means throughout any year, people move on to retirement or other careers. That was the case with several people who have played a key role in the lives of many in Bourbon County. New judges Two people who have touched the lives of many found themselves moving on to new careers...

Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part series on the Year in Review. The past year was filled with many events that shaped lives in Bourbon County. Some of the events are ongoing as calendars were changed this week. The following is a compilation of just a few of the events of 2014...