Stories from Saturday, August 22, 2009

Sharon L. Coombs, age 61, resident of Arcadia, Kan., died Friday, Aug. 21, 2009, following a cancer illness. She was born Nov. 9, 1947, in Phoenix, Ariz., the daughter of LaVeen and Mary Maple. She married Gary Coombs on Dec. 22, 1998, in Fort Scott. Sharon was a devoted homemaker who enjoyed canning and various crafts. In addition to gardening, she also raised goats and chickens...

Laura Birtie Hendrix Westhoff, 92, of Ocala, Fla., passed away on Aug. 19, 2009, at Legacy House Hospice, in Ocala. A native of Kenneth, Kan., she was born on Nov. 22, 1916, to Arthur and Cora Hendrix (Turner) and was a retired seretary for W.P. Fuller and Company, Los Angeles...

Elma Adaline Underwood, age 78, resident of rural Fort Scott, died Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009, at St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo. She was born Jan. 27, 1931, on the family farm south of Fort Scott, the daughter of Henry Norman Hawkins and Adaline Julia Juanita Osborn Hawkins. ...

Charles W. Ryan, 71, Nevada, passed away on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009, at St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin following a brief illness. He was born Jan. 7, 1938, in Montague, Texas, to Welbourne Jefferson Ryan and Donnie Mae Guilliams Ryan. He was first married to Tina Grant Ryan and she preceded him in death in 1991. He was later married to Sybil Hughes in August 1998 and she survives of the home...

Author's note: Each veteran's story is different and represents a piece of their life they have given for our country. It takes all of them together to make the whole picture of what being free means whether it was on the battlefield, or behind the scenes making sure things happened in the proper order...

"A team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., will arrive on August 22, 2009, to examine all aspects of the Missouri State Highway Patrol's policies and procedures, management, and operations and support services," Colonel James F. ...

Bourbon County residents will see a decrease in the amount of county taxes in 2010. The Bourbon County Commission approved the 2010 budget Monday without a mill levy increase. According to Bourbon County Clerk Joanne Long, county valuations have decreased which will lead to lower taxes than 2009...

In an effort to ensure that the public has an opportunity to provide input regarding services in state parks and historic sites, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources is asking the public to bring ideas to an open house Saturday, Sept. 5, regarding Harry S Truman State Park near Warsaw. The open house will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. at the park contact station...

The Kansas Highway Patrol is joining the Fort Scott Police Department and many other law enforcement agencies across the state to aggressively enforce Kansas' impaired driving and other traffic laws. The slogan for the Kansas Department of Transportation's Special Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) this year is "Drunk Driving: Over the Limit, Under Arrest." The national crackdown, which began Thursday and continues through Labor Day, is supported by a KDOT grant. ...

Wallace Eugene Sloan (Wally) was only 15 when World War II broke out. He was a student in Fallis, Okla., where his father started oil pipelines from Cushing, Okla., which was the oil center of the nation at that time. Sloan had worked with his father, even driving teams of horses before he was 8 years old. ...

A U.S. Marine Corps sergeant stands watching a stop watch as recruits go through their exercises. As they complete each crunch another recruit, while holding their feet, calls out the count. "Thirty seconds left," the sergeant suddenly says. "10, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. OK. Time's up, stop."...

Hi neighbors. Who do you trust? My guess is most of you will say your family, close friends, or some people you work with. Many might suggest their health care professionals as people they trust. Not just the doctors and nurses, but the clerks and accountants who do the billing...

Before the use of the "talking wire" or telegraph, during the Civil War, the fastest way of sending written communications was by sending the documents with an express rider or courier. Needless to say, this was hazardous occupation, but the courier did have some protection because normally a small detail or squad of soldiers would be provided as an escort. ...

There were four local fishermen who headed to Canada earlier this summer for a fishing trip. When the day finally came for their departure, they gathered and loaded their gear and headed north. As they were leaving Fort Scott, Mick Cotter said, "Does everyone have their passports?"...

Dan and Elaine Day, Topeka, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, on Aug. 23. Daniel Marcum Day and Bertha Elaine Swender were married on Aug. 23, 1959, at the First Christian Church in Fort Scott, Kan. Dan is the son of Glenn and Irene (Marcum) Day who lived on a farm north of Kincaid and were later residents of Garnett, Kan. Elaine is the daughter of Embert and Lillie (Lee) Swender, who were residents of Fort Scott...

Mary L. Cox, Springfield, Mo., and William A. "Bill" Kinney, rural Harwood, Mo., will be married Sept. 12, 2009, at the Northwoods Chapel, Nevada, Mo. Betty Plush will officiate the ceremony at 3 p.m. Reception, dinner and dance will follow at the Fairhaven Park...