Stories from Thursday, September 25, 2008

The United States economy is currently undergoing its largest hit in years, and the effects are far-reaching. Following the announcement last week that the Dow Jones industrial average had plummeted more than 500 points, and that Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns, Merrill Lynch, and other major institutional investors had filed bankruptcy, one local investment advisor said several of his customers had felt the impact...

A woman who lost nearly everything in a drunken driving accident will soon speak to Pittsburg State University students about the importance of making responsible decisions. Sarah Panzau's blood alcohol level was four times the legal limit when she decided to drive home one night in her native Illinois hometown. When she missed her exit and rolled her car, her body was ejected, severing her left arm -- the same arm that helped her secure dozens of full-ride scholarship offers to play volleyball...

Judge Richard Smith ordered a Fort Scott man's eight-month stay behind bars be suspended in lieu of an 18-month probation sentence. Tim Allison made a final appearance in the Bourbon County District Court on Wednesday to receive sentencing for one count of attempted fraudulent insurance act. ...

Although USD 234 school bus drivers take pains to keep the children under their charge safe, there is one danger these drivers have little control of. In a recent meeting with the Fort Scott Police Department School Resource Officer Toby Nighswonger, local school bus drivers expressed a growing concern about negligent motorists who fail to bring their vehicles to a halt when the buses stop to let riders exit...

TOPEKA -- The Kansas State Treasurer's Office announced results from the office's Unclaimed Property booth at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson earlier in the month. Despite a lower number of attendees than expected at the annual event, $826,086 was found by people who visited the Unclaimed Property booth...

J.C. Arnold and his family don't hesitate when they get a chance to play some music. Arnold and his wife Neva, along with their son, Jon, will perform as one of the musical highlights of the 52nd Annual Pioneer Harvest Fiesta this weekend at the Bourbon County Fairgrounds. The trio, who are from Washburn, Mo., played an impromptu session on Tuesday in front of their camper at the fairgrounds where the family are living while they are in town...

CHANUTE -- Fort Scott High's freshmen volleyball team posted a sweep in a quadrangular here Tuesday night. First, the Tigers (6-10) beat Iola in three games, 23-25, 25-19, 15-13. Kristin Allen served for 12 points while Taylor Grant served 10 points with six aces. Jessica Cox and Heather Karleskint each had four kills. Karleskint also had three blocks...

GIRARD -- Fort Scott High School's golf team took first place in a tournament hosted by Girard here Tuesday. The Tigers shot 216 as a team to finish ahead of Girard I, which shot 223, Girard II, which scored a 228, Parsons, which had a 264, and the Fort Scott JV (Fort Scott White), which turned in a 279...

A soccer match with Independence has to be looked at differently than one against anyone else. Since soccer became a Southeast Kansas League-sanctioned sport in 2002, the Independence program has won at least a share of all but one championship. And last season, the Bulldogs became just the second soccer program from outside any of Kansas' metropolitan areas -- McPherson is the other -- to win a State soccer title when it won Class 4-3-2-1A...