Stories from Saturday, July 12, 2008

Melissa Renee Speer Jackson, age 32, a resident of Fort Scott, died Thursday, July 10, 2008, at the Mercy Health Center Emergency Room. She was born Dec. 12, 1975, in Midwest City, Okla., the daughter of Johnny Kenneth Speer Sr. and Pamela Kay Cooper Speer. Melissa was a 1994 graduate of the Uniontown High School. She had worked as a clerk for various convenience stores as well as in the restaurant of the Fort Scott Sale Barn. She attended the Bethel Community Church...

Jimmie Sue May Fawcett, 61, a former resident of Fort Scott, Kan., died May 12, 2008, in Miami, Fla., as the result of a water accident. She was born Sept. 11, 1946, in El Dorado Springs, Mo., the daughter of Clarence Cleo "Jim" May and Georgia E. Flack May. ...

Bonita "Bonnie" Yoke Cook, age 75, passed away July 10, 2008. She is preceded in death by son, Jeffery Allan Yoke, and husband Samuel T. Cook. She is survived by daughters, Gayle (Dickie) Adkins, of Franklin, and Angela Yoke Payne and by brother Roger Cummings, of Fort Scott, Kan...

Elmer William Sass, 97, of Nevada, passed away on Friday, July 11, 2008, at Barone Alzheimer Care Center, in Nevada, following a lengthy illness. He was born March 8. 1911, in Bloomington, Ill., to Ernest A. Sass and Emily Marie Ploeger Sass. He married Clara Edwards, on March 8, 1946, in Fort Scott, and she preceded him in death on May 2, 2001...

Jason Dewayne King, age 62, resident of Redfield, Kan., died early Friday, July 11, 2008, at Mercy Health Center, Fort Scott. Funeral arrangements for Jason Dewayne King will be announced by Cheney Witt Chapel.

June 20 Douglas A. Starbuck Jr., Nevada, three counts of derelict vehicle. Krystal A. Williams, Nevada, two counts of dog running at large. June 21 Jason L. Bowen, Collins, Mo., failure to stop at stop light and no valid operator's license. Kari L. Gregory, Nevada, driving while suspended and no proof of insurance...

Amanda Connelly, of Nevada, is proud to announce the birth of her daughter, Wynsdae Leesia Mae Connelly. Wynsdae was born at 12:25 p.m., on June 28, 2008, at Nevada Regional Medical Center. She weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces, and measured 19 1/2 inches...

Lacey Ruby and Jerod Felt, of Fort Scott, are proud to announce the birth of their son Brady Russel Felt. Brady was born at 3:33 a.m., on July 7, 2008, at the University of Kansas Hospital, in Kansas City, Kan. He weighed 9 pounds, 2 ounces, and measured 21 inches...

Without a doubt, many of the Confederate Guerrillas in Missouri attended church on Sunday and on this particular Sabbath it was not a wise thing to do because the fighting did not stop on Sunday and for a few "bushwhackers" this was the last church service they attended. Both of the following after action reports are located on Pages 65-67 in Vol. 41, Part I of the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion...

Hi neighbors. There are a couple of new books soon to be available that you might want to check out. Patrick Brophy, curator of the Bushwhacker Museum, has written a new book titled "Fire and Sword," containing many of his past columns. He chose those columns that were relevant to the history of Vernon County's role in the Civil War and has revamped and updated them all. He has also included some first person recounts of those times that he has gleaned from primary sources...

A story can be told from any of a number of different points of view. The omniscient author/narrator, for example, can choose to divulge to his readers any portion of what goes on inside his characters' minds and hearts. Or he can, like Hemingway, who thought such authorial all -- knowingness untrue to nature, tell his story much as a mechanical recording device would do it, without any emotional or mental interpretation...

The great tomato war has ended with a whimper: My neighbor down the street and I always have a race to see who can harvest the first ripe tomato from our respective gardens. This year I got the jump on him and planted my tomatoes a little earlier than he did. When I informed him, he shook his head, knowing I had gotten off to a fast start...

Tabatha Kathleen Beerbower and Joshua Wayne Goodwin were married on Nov. 10, 2007, at Faith Christian Center, in Fort Scott. The ceremony was officiated by pastor Tim O'Neal. Tabatha is the daughter of David Beerbower and Patricia Peoples, of Fort Scott, and the granddaughter of Donna Beerbower, Fort Scott...

Dr. and Mrs. Ron Jones, of Nevada, announce the engagement of their daughter, Libby Jones, to David Nuessen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Dale Nuessen; Emporia, Kan. Bride-elect Jones graduated from Nevada High School in 1996, and from Southwest Baptist University, in 2000, with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Science. She is employed by Cerner Corporation as a senior solution designer...

Dr. and Mrs. Warren Lovinger Jr., of Nevada, announce the engagement of their daughter, Dr. Sarah Beth Lovinger, Greenville, S.C., to the Rev. Andrew Joseph Florio, also of Greenville, son of Mrs. Carol Florio, Setauket, N.Y. Sarah is a 1999 graduate of Nevada High School and received her undergraduate degree in 2002 from Drury University in Springfield, Mo. She received her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2007...

Valerie Valencia and Carl Miller are engaged to be married. She is the daughter of Mary Beth and Vincent Valencia, of St. Joseph. He is the son of Della and Tim Breckenridge, of Nevada, Mo. The future bride is a 1998 graduate of Central High School and a 2002 graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with an emphasis in marketing. She is employed by American Family Mutual Insurance Company as a commercial underwriter...

Rick and Laura Jones, of Fort Scott, announce the engagement of their daughter, Ashley Nichole Herman, to Jared Lee Keylon, son of Johnny and Sissy Keylon, of Dover, Ark. Bride-elect Jones graduated in 2008 from Pittsburg State University, with a bachelor's degree in family and consumer science. She is employed by Mercy Health System...

Bob and Maxine (Rinehart) Robertson, of Richards, Mo., will be married 60 years on July 11, 2008. They were married in Nevada by the Rev. Vernon Becker. The couple have two sons, Rob and wife Barbara, and Randy and wife Nancy. They have four grandchildren -- Brett, Blake and wife Janna, Brooke and Briana. No celebration is scheduled...

John McCoun and the former Betty Jean Schapeler were married at Prairie City, Mo., on July 20, 1958, and will observe their 50th wedding anniversary this month. The couple's children -- Tim and Brenda McCoun, Appleton City, Mo., Terry and Sheila McCoun, Plattsburg, Mo., Tom and Leslie McCoun, Horton, Mo., and Traci and Al Ussery, Sheldon, Mo. -- ask that friends and family of their parents join in the celebration by sending a card or note to the couple at Route 2, Box 328M, Sheldon, MO 64784...

Mr. and Mrs. Monte J. Curtis, Nevada, Mo., will observe their 30th wedding anniversary on July 14, 2008. They were married by the Rev. Earl Ferris in Miami, Okla. Mrs. Curtis, the former Linda Louise Dobson, is a native of Nevada. She is the daughter of George Dobson, Nevada, and the late Bernice Dobson. She graduated from Nevada High School in 1968 and is currently employed as a broker owner in the family owned real estate business...

Ralph and Doris Belcher, of La Cygne, Kan., will celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary on July 26, 2008. Ralph and the former Doris Duncan were married on July 26, 1982, in Miami, Okla. The couple have 14 children and 29 grandchildren. Cards may be addressed to the Belchers at 402 S. Broadway, La Cygne, KS 66040...

Tom and Bonnie Peery will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, on Sunday, July 27, 2008. The couple's children will host a reception in honor of their parents, at the First Southern Baptist Church, in Fort Scott (next to Pizza Hut), on July 27, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The celebration is open to all friends and relatives. The family requests the omission of gifts...

Larry and Jo Testman, Nevada, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with their children and grandchildren recently, at Table Rock Lake, in Missouri. This was an opportunity for a family scattered across the states to come together and honor the couple in a week-long celebration. ...

Nevada, Mo. -- Summer is here and families are spending more time outdoors, and that's where the ticks are. Beth Swopes at the Vernon County Health Department passed on some information on ticks from Steve Durnell, environmental specialist. Ticks feed on blood and they're not too picky about where it comes from; so, the tick that's enjoying a tasty treat from your ankle might have had a yummy repast from any number of different animals before picking you as its next victim...

Nevada, Mo. -- Two years ago when Ron Clow, Nevada's community development director, ap-proached Nevada's downtown business and property owners, about a DREAM to revitalize the downtown, his efforts were met with a lack of interest and a little hostility toward the idea...

Fort Scott, Kan. -- A big part of frontier military life during the 1800s can now be seen in a small store in downtown Fort Scott. Local residents Steve and Laura Dunfee are the owners of the new Sutler Store, located at 106 E. Old Fort Blvd., just south of the Fort Scott National Historic Site. The store contains a large variety of historical items that were once typically found in an actual sutler store during the mid-1800s and the Civil War era...

Fort Scott, Kan. -- The Youth Activities Team (YAT), along with the help of several area volunteers, groups of people and various organizations, have once again worked Fort Scott into the Guinness Book of World Records. Shortly before 8 p.m. Friday, Kaoru Ishikawa, a records manager for Guinness World Records, officially sanctioned a new world record of 35.1 miles as the longest end-to-end penny chain, a feat achieved by the YAT group and many others who have worked since Tuesday in an attempt to lay a continuous 40-mile chain in the Fort Scott Middle School parking lot.. ...