Stories from Friday, December 11, 2009

Battlefield Dispatches #192 "Shiloh Creek, Charlot's Farm & Little Marmaton Creek" Very often in the study of the Civil War a battle had different names. Such is the case with the last battle that was fought on October 25, 1864 approximately twelve miles east of Fort Scott & a few miles northwest of Deerfield, Missouri. ...

Navy Seaman Ethan L. Hammond, son of Bonnie J. Booth of Bronson, Kan. and Lloyd E. Hammond of Esimore, Kan., recently completed U.S. Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill. During the eight-week program, Hammond completed a variety of training which included classroom study and practical instruction on naval customs, first aid, firefighting, water safety and survival, and shipboard and aircraft safety. An emphasis was also placed on physical fitness...

Last weekend Dave and I rented the movie "The Changeling," a true story about a single mother's unending quest for her young son who mysteriously disappears. Five months after the boy's disappearance, the mother, Christine, is introduced to a boy who pretends to be her son. ...

Does God make all my decisions for me? Many people participate in the debate of free will and predetermination. No matter what happens people will have their own opinions formed and do not want to believe otherwise. One side of the argument is predetermination: That is God has a plan for each and every one of us. A person who believes in predetermination believes that free will does not exist. God has already made the decisions for us, both good and bad...

Anna Mayme Potter Wolf, age 95, a resident of Deerfield, Mo., went to be with the Lord, Dec. 8, 2009, at the Medicalodge in Fort Scott, Kan. She was born Feb. 23, 1914, in Deerfield, Mo., the daughter of Lewllyn and Lilla Wiles Potter. She found Christ as her Savior in her teens and was a faithful follower her entire life...

PITTSBURG -- Straton Hunziker scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds Tuesday night to lead Fort Scott High's freshmen boys to a 42-31 victory over Pittsburg in their season opener. Marques Floyd had 9 points and 5 rebounds for the Tigers. Tiger girls, who were also playing their first game of the season, lost to the Purple Dragons, 44-33. They trailed 8-6 after one period but Pittsburg opened things up in the second and the Tigers could not quite make up the difference...

YATES CENTER -- Abbie Smith put Uniontown's girls into the finals of the Yates Center Tournament by scoring on a runner in the lane with 11 seconds remaining here Thursday night, giving the Eagles a 48-47 victory in the first game of the championship semifinals...

It's official. Mercy Health System of Kansas has received official confirmation from Guinness World Records that it has achieved the new world record for the largest cup of tea. In September, during a Mercy Day celebration and community picnic event in Fort Scott, a massive teacup measuring 9.5 feet at the rim and 5.5 feet tall, with a three-foot handle, was filled with 660 gallons of tea...

Fort Scott National Cemetery will host Wreaths Across America, a holiday wreath-laying ceremony, at 11 a.m. Saturday at the cemetery, 900 E. National Ave. The ceremony will take place to honor and remember the nation's veterans during the holiday season. Cemetery personnel, Veterans Service Organizations and citizens are coordinating the event to honor veterans of each branch of the military, the Merchant Marines, as well as Prisoners of War and those still Missing in Action...

The Crawford County Sheriff's Office arrested a man Wednesday for the murder of a missing man from Cherokee. According to Crawford County Sheriff Sandy Horton, Duane E. Wahl, of Mulberry, was arrested at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and charged with murder in the first degree of Cherokee resident Richard Davis...

USD 234 is getting some financial support to help pay for district health and wellness programs. School officials recently learned that the district has been selected as the recipient of a grant from Kansas Coordinated School Health, a collaborative effort between the Kansas State Department of Education and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The group focuses on increasing physical activity, improving nutrition, and decreasing tobacco use in schools and school districts...