Stories from Friday, December 9, 2011

On Thursday, Dec. 12, 1864, 1st Sgt. Luther Thrashers's Company, Company C of Lane's Kansas Brigade, received orders late in the afternoon to prepare for a march into Missouri. It seems that on the previous night a Union man who lived in Missouri near the Kansas line was murdered by bushwhackers or "Missouri ruffians," so according to Thrasher's diary, "we are now off to avenge" this murder. ...

Ina Margaret Lafferty, age 87, resident of rural Bronson, Kan., died Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011, at the Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kan. Services will be announced by the Cheney Witt Bronson Chapel.

Billy Joe Richardson, age 78, resident of Fort Scott, Kan., died Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011, at his home. Services are under the direction of Bruce Funeral Home, Spring Hill, Kan. Local arrangements are under the direction of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main...

Jodee and Gary Valley, Girard, Kan., and siblings Adairrius, Izaiha, Jaada, Haylee, Damon, Carol, Aaron and Derrick are pleased to announce the birth of their son and brother Eliijah Deondree Valley on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011, at 8:10 a.m. at Mercy Health Center, Fort Scott, Kan. Eliijah weighed 8 pounds, 14.5 ounces...

Nicole and Jason Hicks, Fort Scott, and siblings Cisha and Bradley are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter and sister Audree Nicole Hicks on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011, at 10:01 a.m. at Mercy Health Center, Fort Scott, Kan. Audree weighed 6 pounds, 11 ounces...

Robert Franklin Long, 20, Fort Scott, was arrested by the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office at 12:53 a.m. Thursday for driving while suspended. He posted a bond of $1,250 at 2:15 a.m. Thursday. John Wesley Brown, 34, Fort Scott, was arrested by the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office at 8:53 a.m. Wednesday for a warrant. He posted a bond of $2,500 at 11:03 a.m. Wednesday...

I wanted to quit. My shins had turned to splinters, my lungs groaned, and I was bored. While running on the Fort Scott Community College track for the first time following a year's hiatus, my frustration must have shown ... or perhaps my snarls and guttural noises gave it away, but about the time I turned to head home, Kristin Downing, a former student of mine, sprinted past, going the other direction...

100 YEARS AGO (1911) It now develops that the child born to Mrs. Koblich yesterday, had made its advent into the world before the mother reached the ambulance, this event having occurred at the office she had gone from the depot. Mrs. Koblich was at the station and was feeling badly when she quickly went to her family physician's office. ...

"I have always thought of Christmastime, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. -- Charles Dickens...

For the men working behind the scenes of the annual Fort Scott Kiwanis Club Pancake Feed, it's all about the community and the club's motto, "Serving the Children of the World." The 90th annual fundraiser, which took place Thursday at the Scottish Rite Temple, raises money to benefit youth in Bourbon County. Money raised through the pancake feed over the years has been used to fund a variety of youth-related educational needs, activities and events...

As part of a nationwide reworking of its organization, the Red Cross plans to close its office in Fort Scott in January. The Red Cross here was chartered in April 24, 1917. There is no certain date yet, but the agency anticipates it will have little impact on the services it provides such as disaster response, teaching health and safety courses like CPR and first aid, holding local blood drives and relaying emergency communication to family in the military, said James Williams, Red Cross public relations manager in Wichita.. ...

HUMBOLDT -- Uniontown's boys held Erie to 9 points in the second half of a 48-35 victory in the second round of the Humboldt Round-Robin Tournament here Thursday night. Uniontown's girls tried to get back into their game in the third quarter but couldn't keep pace in a 49-33 loss to Erie...

Fort Scott Community College's men dressed only eight players at Arnold Arena Thursday night. But that didn't stop them from playing one of their most inspired games of the season. Sophomore Julian Mills seemed determined the will the Greyhounds to victory and Tony McGilveary played in dominating fashion. But it wasn't enough as Fort Scott fell to visiting Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, 52-47...