Stories from Saturday, July 25, 2009

Richard Lavon "Rick" Cox, 52, of Pleasanton, Kan., died Wednesday, July 22, 2009, at Miami County Medical Center, in Paola, Kan. Rick was cremated. A private family gathering will be held at a later date. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.coffelschneider.com. Arrangements are under the direction of Coffel-Schneider Funeral Home, Pleasanton, Kan...

Rosalie Stout, 94, of Fort Scott, died Friday morning July 24, 2009 at the Fort Scott Manor. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home.

Natasha Dillon and Brandon Despain, of Nevada, are proud to announce the birth of their son Hemi Lee Despain. Hemi was born at 5:15 p.m., on July 23, 2009, at Nevada Regional Medical Center. He weighed 8 pounds, 1 ounces, and measured 21 inches. Maternal grandparents are Norma Payton, of Nevada, and Kevin Dillon, of the state of Arizona. Maternal great-grandparent is Fred Bratcher, of Nevada...

July 20 An accident occurred at 11:36 a.m., at Osage and Cherry, involving a car driven by Goldie M. Shawn, Olathe, Kan., and a van driven by Sara E. Taffner, of Nevada. No injuries were reported. July 21 An accident occurred at 1:23 p.m., involving the building at 101 E. Cherry, owned by Lee Guthrie, where two bricks were broken from the southeast corner. Vehicles are unknown...

I always enjoy Carolyn Gray Thornton's articles in the Daily Mail, and especially the little tribute to movie actor/director John Huston, in the recent Friday, July 17, issue. Like many other "legends in their own time," it seems, the story of Huston's life is seasoned with a few questionable, or at least ambiguous, events...

Hi neighbors. Have you heard the news about honey bees disappearing by the millions around the world? For the last several years, bee keepers have been finding hives that are entirely empty of worker bees -- the ones that leave the hive and search for pollen...

On July 17, 1863, the 1st and 2nd Regiments of Kansas Indian Home Guards and battalions of the 6th Kansas and 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry participated in the Battle of Honey Springs that occurred near the present town of Checotah, Okla. The Indian Home Guards functioned as mounted infantry and were armed with their own rifles, shotguns and revolvers...

When the waters warm, bathtub warm, too warm to offer much relief from the 90 degree heat, it's time to slip into the river or lake for some catfishing. That's the way it is this month for catfishermen like Don Marshall, Lee's Summit. Marshall said, "I have three special places I like to fish for cats, the north Grand River south of Chillicothe, Jacomo and Truman. ...

Get out and explore nightlife on a tallgrass prairie on either Friday, July 31 or Saturday, Aug. 8 at Prairie State Park near Mindenmines. Sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, these programs will be held in the park's picnic area from 2 to 9 p.m. and are free and open to the public...

Missouri Department of Transportation crews will replace a drainage pipe on Route DD five miles east of Route 71 on July 29. The road will be closed from 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Motorists should take an alternate route during this time.

On Friday, Congressman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce will release $64,840 to the Kaysinger Basin Regional Planning Commission in Clinton, Mo. These funds will be distributed through the Department's Economic Development Administration...

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- A local cancer support group has continued to grow in recent years. Care to Share is a group formed in 2007 for those people affected by cancer, including patients, survivors and caregivers to discuss ideas related to the deadly disease that strikes millions of people each year. ...

Fort Scott, Kan. -- With school enrollment right around the corner, area kindergarteners are beginning to get more excited about going to school in the fall. Enrollment for the USD 234 School District will be conducted from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on July 29; and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July 30, at Fort Scott High School...

Last year he garnered national attention for his pistol give-away Mark Muller, owner of Max Motors in Butler, has outdone himself this year, the promotion he devised is giving a voucher for an AK-47 with the purchase of a pickup. Muller pointed out the voucher was good for more than the AK-47...

The Nevada Griffons took a substantial momentum advantage into the championship game of the Greater Ozarks Regional at Clever High School Friday afternoon. That momentum carried right through to the end of the day as the Griffons defeated the Joplin Outlaws by a final score of 7-3. ...

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- Fort Scott had to hold off a gritty Lakin team to take an 8-7 victory in the first round of the Kansas Cal Ripken Baseball 12-Year-Old State Tournament at Don Hewett Field Friday night after the visitors from Western Kansas got within one run in the top of the sixth and final inning...

A Ladies Scramble was held at the Frank E. Peters Municipal Golf Course on July 23. Results are published below. Championship Flight First place -- Tracy Fowler, Fort Scott, and Donna Largent, Pleasanton, Kan. Second place -- Jill Valentine, LaCygne, Kan., and Rhonda Bauer, Pleasanton...

Bruce and Beth Pettibon, Nevada, announce the upcoming wedding of their son, Brett Jared Pettibon, to Kristin Dawn Norwood. Kristin is the daughter of Dale and Dawn Norwood, Lamar. The couple will be married in Lamar on Aug. 1. Brett is a 2001 graduate of Nevada High School and a 2006 graduate of Pittsburg State University with a Bachelor of Science in Education in History/Government. ...

The bride wore burgundy and carried a white rose bouquet made by her new grandparents-in-law, Dick and Barbara Weston, of Oswego, Kan. She was escorted to the altar by her stepfather, Michael Green. The couple's daughters, Mya and Sierra, were flower girls and their nephew, Gabriel, gave each guest a bell to ring after the ceremony. A champagne reception and dinner followed. The couple honeymooned in Weston, Mo., and then returned to their home in Kansas City, Mo...

Mary Ellen Liter will celebrate her 100th birthday July 28, 2009, with a reception hosted by her children on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009, at the United Methodist Church, from, 2-4 p.m. She has a son, Wilson E. Liter and wife Susan, of Nevada, and a daughter, Joyce E. King and husband Lyle, of Joplin. Mo. She also has three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandson...

The family of Bernice Thomas will host a surprise 90th birthday celebration for her on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at Marmaduke Park Community Building, located on West Highland, Nevada, Mo. Card shower only, no gifts please. Mrs. Thomas was born Aug. ...