Recap of events that shaped Bourbon County

Tribune file photo Susan Stern, center, retired in 2016 after 42 years of teaching dance in Fort Scott. Also pictured are, from left, Nikki Carpenter, assistant teacher and Tawny Pool, assistant teacher. Carpenter and Pool took over for Stern following her retirement and a dance recital in June at Memorial Hall.

The Tribune begins its look back at some of the most noteworthy stories of 2016.

* In September, Anthony M. Anderson was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for at least 25 years for his involvement in the April 2015 death of 6-month-old Aiden J. Osborn.

Bourbon County District Judge Mark Ward handed down the sentence to Osborn, who was found guilty by a jury on one count of first degree felony murder and one count of child abuse following a four-day jury trial in Bourbon County District Court in May.

On the murder charge, an off-grid person felony, Ward sentenced Anderson to life in prison with no parole possible prior to at least 25 years of imprisonment. Ward said the sentence cannot be reduced by the application of good time credit.

Anderson was also required to register as a violent offender and was assessed various fees, compensation and restitution costs related to the case.

Ward denied a motion filed by Robert Myers, Anderson's attorney, for judgement of acquittal, or in the alternative a motion for a new trial.

* Susan Stern, a Fort Scott native, retired in 2016 after 42 years as a dance instructor in Fort Scott.

Stern took dance lessons from her cousin all through her high school years. She picked up the mantel of dance teacher when her cousin, Thelma Parker, who taught dance to Stern and her mother, retired in 1975. Stern estimated she had more than 1,000 students of various ages throughout her career.