Stories from Saturday, March 15, 2008

Elsie May Ray, 87, died Sept. 13, 2008, at the Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston, Ore. She was born May 13, 1920, in Strong City, Kan., to William Starbuck and Birdie Cox Starbuck. Elsie was reared and attended schools, in Kansas. She moved to Oregon in 1988, living in Hood River, and later The Dalles, Wis. Elsie moved to Hermiston in 1998 where she has lived since. She enjoyed bead work, crocheting, fishing and taking care of children...

In truth, these days, nothing makes me feel less like a man than feeding, playing with, or cleaning up after, one of our three stray cats. Because no cat ever treats you like a buddy or playmate, only as a source of food and shelter from the elements. I never met a cat who would condescend to treat me as an equal...

Hi neighbors. Spring is almost here, and that means spring cleaning time is upon us! Most modern housewives don't clean twice a year and younger women look at we over-30 gang like we're crazy when we talk of spring cleaning. "What's so different about that? I clean all year round," some have said. Perhaps indicating that people who speak of spring cleaning only clean their homes once a year...

During the Civil War, the Department of the Missouri was one of the most difficult places for the Union Army to control because of the political divisiveness within the state. Union forces never completely occupied all of Missouri; however, as the war progressed, Union forces mostly comprised of Missouri State Militia troops occupied almost all of the strategic cities and towns in the state. All of the Union generals commanding the Department of the Missouri believed in "death to Bushwhackers."...

Cass County's largest Civil War reenactment ever will feature "The Burning of Dayton" on March 29 and 30 just outside the present-day town of Dayton, Mo. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime event when twelve structures built to represent the Civil War era town will be put to the torch on Sunday afternoon...

Fort Scott, Kan. -- A new course at Fort Scott Community College designed to help first-time college students adjust to college life recently completed a test run, FSCC officials said this week. A nine-week college orientation course that began in mid-January helps new full-time FSCC students with their college careers. ...

n Help is out there for allergy sufferers who dread the onslaught of symptoms brought on by April showers and May flowers. For many, the onset of spring brings with it sneezing, runny noses, and itchy watery eyes. According to Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, www.childrensmercy.org, about 30 percent of the people in the United States suffer from allergies at some point during the year. Among these sufferers are about 15-20 million children, who battle various allergies...

Bronson, Kan. -- Bronson Police Department has identified several juveniles who allegedly are involved in shooting out numerous windows and street lights throughout Bronson over the last few months. About 10 windows in total were shattered or broken during the vandalism outbreak, which began some time in November and continued in January and February, Bronson Police Chief Gene Parker said. ...

FORT SCOTT -- U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, will be in Fort Scott on Tuesday, to participate in a Town Hall meeting, where he will be available to speak to members of the public about current issues and to answer questions about their concerns...

Nevada, Mo. -- Not all of it is not obvious, but there is a lot of economic development activity going on, Nevada Planning Director Ron Clow told the planning commission Tuesday evening. Some of the projects, like Barry Clark's 25,000 square foot strip mall east of Wal-Mart is visible, but several others are in various stages of planning...

After the failure of the Hume Bank the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation set up an informational Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/ bank/individual/failed/Hume.html. At that Web site the FDIC posted information that depositors, borrowers, creditors, stockholders and the public could access about the failure...