Stories from Saturday, July 21, 2012

Dennis Ray Thomas, 61, Nevada, passed away suddenly Friday morning, July 20, 2012, near Greenfield, Mo. He was born Oct. 16, 1950, in Nevada, to Charles Oris Thomas and Mildred Maxine Spencer Thomas. He was married on June 15, 1969, in Walker, Mo., to Janie Friel and she survives of the home...

Ferrelle Ray Ryan, 76, Nevada, passed away on Friday, July 20, 2012, at Freeman West Health System, Joplin, Mo., following a lengthy illness. He was born April 30, 1936, in Nevada, to Frederick D. Ryan and Agnes Opal Lovell Ryan. He was married on June 5, 1955, in Nevada, to his high school sweetheart, Donna Kay Doelling, and she survives of the home...

Holly Jones, 40, of Schell City, Mo., died Thursday, July 19, 2012, at Truman Healthcare and Rehab in Lamar, Mo. Services will be 10 a.m., Monday, July 23, at the Lewis-Hoagland Funeral Home, Schell City. Visitation will be 9 to 10 a.m., just prior to the service at the funeral home. Burial will be in Green Lawn Cemetery, Schell City. Friends may call after 1 p.m. at the funeral home...

The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce will have its weekly coffee at 8 a.m. Thursday at the Highland Apartments, 804 Shepherd St. Members can make an announcement about their business or organization by donating $1 toward "Dollars for Dolly."

Lois McMillan has been named interim publisher at Rust MOKS, which publishes The Fort Scott Tribune, Nevada Daily Mail, the Weekend Herald-Tribune, and SHE and AGELESS magazines. McMillan has served as business manager for the past 10 years, overseeing several aspects of the business management in both the Fort Scott, Kan., and Nevada, Mo., offices, with her primary duty being the preparation of financial statements...

Arkansas minister, musician and motivational speaker Brian Arnold is bringing his story of faith and hope to the area next week. An ordained minister of the Christian Ministries Church in Hot Springs, Ark., Arnold will discuss adversities he has overcome in his life and perform several of his original songs during a two-hour show scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at Memorial Hall, 1 E. Third St., Fort Scott...

"The evidence is ample and clear that large portions of the Cherokee Nation were determined to stand firm in their loyalty, many of them joined the armies of the Union. The battles in which they participated and which eventuated in their expulsion from their own country and forced them to seek shelter in Kansas forms a part of the history of this war."...

The hot, dry summer of 2012 is proving rough on Southwest Missouri corn and soybeans. A four to six-inch rain June 21 in eastern Vernon County has afforded Schell City and Walker some of the best crops in the state, but the county's western third, encompassing Richards and Deerfield, was put into the U.S. Department of Agriculture's "D-2" category for severe drought Thursday...

Hi neighbors. The heat continues. However I did hear it on the roof and ran out to see falling rain early Thursday morning. I quickly put the dog out so he could see this rare atmospheric event. I was afraid he had forgotten what rain was. He enjoyed it -- running around trying to catch the drops on his tongue and rolling in the damp grass...

Announcement is made of the engagement of Rachel Miller to Kaleb Groenenboom, both of Iowa. Rachel is the daughter of Christian and Cindy Miller, Buffalo Center, Iowa, granddaughter of John and Shirley Laflen of Buffalo Center, and the great-granddaughter of Mary Laflen, of Christian Care Center in Nevada, the late Allen Laflen, and the late Lawrence and Willa Wolf...

Editor's Note: This is the first story in a two-part series about Obamacare. The second part will be published next weekend. Just how complex is the health care reform legislation called "Obamacare?" If you read all 2,400 pages, the U.S. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 can be hard to grasp, as even U.S. Supreme Court justices admitted during their consideration of its constutionality...

Kansas Department of Health and Environment officials met with Bourbon County commissioners Friday morning to outline possible waste disposal alternatives the Amish community can pursue to comply with county and state sanitation codes. KDHE environmental scientist Sheryl Ervin has been working with County Sanitarian Tom McNeil reviewing state and federal regulations to come up with viable options. ...

Friday the Nevada Red Sox and the Warrensburg AAA Legion teams were supposed to play for the District 6 championship at 5 p.m. Friday. That didn't happen. Instead, Red Sox manager Matt Ketterman said Friday night that because of an incorrect ruling by the Legion district tournament chairman, Nevada, Warrensburg and perhaps Harrisonville will replay a limited district tournament on Sunday and Monday if needed, in Warrensburg...