Stories from Thursday, December 7, 2006

Eugene Ware Elementary School fourth-grade teacher Jeff Pommier describes his teaching style as "relaxed" and said letting students ask plenty of questions is one of the best ways to help them learn. It's a style that made his first year as a full-time teacher enjoyable and effective, but it's also one that gained him statewide recognition...

Fort Scott police officers are stepping up patrols on Clark Street in response to residents' complaints about speeders. During the month of December, police will focus on a one-third stretch of Clark Street, from 12th Street to east National Avenue...

UNIONTOWN -- With the arrival of December come Christmas lights and decorations, the rush to get holiday shopping done, a time for religious celebration, and of course, a time for music. The time for holiday music programs in local schools has also arrived as students of all ages tune up their instruments and warm up their voices in preparation for upcoming music concerts in the area...

Mary L. Sampson, age 47, resident of 504 S. Wilson, Fort Scott, Kansas, died Tuesday, December 5, 2006, at her home as the result of a heart condition. She was born July 15, 1959, in Fort Scott, Kansas, the daughter of Donald Wesley and Betty Bernice Powell Wiggans. She married William "Bill" Sampson, Sr., on April 5, 1975, in Fort Scott...

100 YEARS AGO (1906) Miss Nana Gunn, the accomplished daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W.C. Gunn, who has been attending a private school at Washington, D.C., is expected home a few days to spend the holidays. Miss Gunn is with her aunt, Mrs. Baker, at Washington...