Road closing considered by Bourbon County Commissioners
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NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
To all persons concerned,
You are hereby given notice that the Board of County Commissioners of Bourbon County, KS, through a petition filed by Bradley Plaster, propose to vacate the following:
Vacation of 60’ road of 128th between Lot 5 Sub of Lot 1 Block 8 and Lot 2 of Block 8, Hiattville, Kansas.
This road closing will be further considered by the Board of County Commissioners of Bourbon County, Kansas at a public hearing scheduled for 5:35 PM July 7, 2025, during their regularly scheduled commission meeting located at 210 S National Avenue, Fort Scott, Kansas, in the Commission Chambers. Any person with an interest in this proposed road closing is invited to speak for or against this matter. Said road closing will then become effective upon the formal resolution of the Board.
Susan E. Walker
Bourbon County Clerk
KS Supreme Court accepting public comment on updates to child support guidelines
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Kansas Tourism Announces 2025 Sunflower Summer Attraction Lineup
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Visit the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes during the All-School Reunion to learn about Local Unsung Heroes!

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Bo Co Commission Budget Advisory Meeting is June 25
There will be a budget advisory meeting at 4:30pm on June 25, 2025 in the Commission Room. This meeting is open to the public.
Susan E. Walker
Bourbon County Clerk
Fort Scott Community College is requesting proposals for a project
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The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Daily Reports June 23
Revised Agenda for the Bo Co Commission June 23
How SNAP/EBT Works To Give Fresh Food From Local Producers

Wants, Whims, and Wishes by Carolyn Tucker

Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker
Wants, Whims, and Wishes
I don’t remember asking for a lot of things when I was a kid. But I certainly remember asking for a piano because that’s all I cared about when I was in third grade. I couldn’t play a lick, but my parents purchased a brand new instrument and the rest is history. My life was forever changed by the wonderful world of piano music. (My dad said it was the best investment he ever made.) However, when I asked my mom for a baby brother or sister she said, “No.” So I immediately asked for the next-best thing, which was a monkey, and she said, “No” again. So I know what it’s like to ask and receive and to also ask and not receive. For all I know, that monkey could have chewed off half my fingers and that would have ended my lifetime of piano-playing fun.
We all have dreams, wants, and needs. I think God-given dreams and goals are healthy and give us something to look forward to accomplishing. God’s Word tells us, “…Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it” (James 4:2b NLT). Sometimes believers ask God and we still don’t receive it. When we acknowledge that God is wiser than we are, we can pray for wants and needs and close the prayer with, “Lord, You know more than I do, so if what I’m asking for would not be good for me, then don’t give it to me. I trust You with everything concerning my life.”
“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. …We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed“ (2 Corinthians 4:8,9b NLT). When troubles come to me, I have a self-centered tendency to think I’m the only one going through the tunnel of “tough-stuff.” I have to remind myself that real life comes to all of us. I appreciate the following scripture from the pen of Apostle Peter: “Beloved friends, if life gets extremely difficult, with many tests, don’t be bewildered as though something strange were overwhelming you” (1 Peter 4:12 TPT).
All of us would vote for constant smooth sailing when it comes to living our life. But that’s simply unrealistic. It all boils down to the fact that we’re not yet residing in heaven, so life is not going to be perfect on this planet. But God is on the side of the weakest believer who, in simple childlike trust, yields and depends on Him to provide help and guidance.
In 1994, Christian recording artist Janet Paschal composed and recorded a gospel song entitled, “If I’d Had My Way.” The lyrics are thought-provoking and I’ve come to appreciate the message more and more through recent years. My life has made twists and turns that I’d not anticipated; nevertheless, I trust God’s wisdom over mine. Here are Paschal’s poignant lyrics: “If I’d had my way about it, I’d have danced in grassy fields and fragrant meadows. And risen in the morning just to hear the robin’s lovely melody. I’d have rested in wide spaces, high above the hurting places. And found a cross that asked much less of me. Never sailed in raging winds or troubled seas, if You’d thought it best to leave it up to me. But if I’d had my way, I might have been wading through the river when You wanted me to walk upon the sea. And if I’d had my say and all of my wants and whims and wishes, You knew how weak, how shallow I would be…If I’d had my way.”
The Key: Believers may ask away and then trust God to have His way.
Obituary of Doris Erickson

Doris Kathryn Ericson, age 89, a resident of rural Hiattville, Kansas, passed away unexpectedly on Friday, June 20, 2025, just one day before what would have been her 90th birthday.
Doris was born June 21, 1935, in Wichita, Kansas, the daughter of Ross Graham and Charlotte Brehm Graham. Doris grew up in Kechi, northwest of Wichita where she rode a horse to her one-room school. Her dad and grandfather, Roy Graham, were horse traders and long-time horsemen. Before she finished her junior year at Wichita East High School, her parents moved to a farm east of Savonburg, Kansas. She stayed with her Brehm grandparents. When school ended, she moved to Savonburg.
A group of hay haulers drove by while she was hanging clothes on the solar clothes dryer and made a bet to see who would get the first date. Henry won and they were married six months later on December 24, 1952, at the Friends Home Lutheran Church parsonage in Savonburg, Kansas.
Shortly after their marriage, Doris and Henry moved to Sault St. Marie, Michigan, where Henry was stationed with the United States Army. Following Henry’s military service, the couple returned to Kansas and lived in Elsmore and Hepler before purchasing their own farm near Hiattville in 1962. They named it Cloverdale Angus Farm, and together they built a life centered around faith, family and community. Doris was an active farm wife and an essential partner in the day-to-day operations of the farm, where they raised hogs and registered Angus beef cattle.
Doris was a devoted wife and mother to their six children. While raising her family, she was greatly involved in the Hiattville 4-H Club, serving in a variety of leadership roles. Long after her own children had grown, Doris remained active in the 4-H community, especially through her service to the Bourbon County Fair. For many years, she managed the 4-H chuckwagon, where her friendly presence and tireless work were a vital part of the fair experience. She also served faithfully on the Bourbon County Fair Board and the Bourbon County Extension Council, always willing to lend a hand and lead with kindness and dedication.
In 1990, Doris and Henry were honored with induction into the Kansas Master Farmer Homemaker Group, in recognition of their years of service and commitment to agriculture, Extension work, and community leadership. In 2007, the Ericson Family was named 4-H Family of the Year, a fitting tribute and legacy rooted in generational care and community investment. Doris was also an active member of the Starlite FCE where she served many years as the club’s treasurer. She also was treasurer for the Southwind District FCE Council. In 2022, she was honored at the state level with the Heart of FCE award. She had been a member of the Eastern Star for over fifty years.
Doris enjoyed gardening and was also active with the Bourbon County Garden Club and had achieved the status of Master Gardener. In addition to her work on the farm, Doris was also employed by the United States Postal Service for nineteen years, where she was known for her reliability, warmth and genuine connection to those along her route.
Following retirement from the postal service, Doris served for many years as the President of the Bourbon County Chapter of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees. Doris had planned to celebrate her 90th birthday on Sunday at the Friends Home Lutheran Church. However, plans have changed. She will now be celebrating in Heaven with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, her beloved husband, Henry, her little boy Rusty, her mom and dad and all the other faithful family and friends who have gone on before. What a celebration that will be!
Left to mourn her passing are her daughters, Debra Lust of Ft. Scott, Karen Ericson, Riley, Kansas, Susan Jones (Roger) of LaHarpe, Kansas and Brenda Peacock (Terry) of Golden, Missouri; her sons, Kevin Ericson (Donna) Frisco, Texas and John Ericson (Ellaine) of Ft. Scott; seventeen grandchildren and twenty-one great-grandchildren with one more on the way.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 A.M. Wednesday, June 25th at the Friends Home Lutheran Church, 3797 Arizona Rd., Savonburg, Kansas.
Burial will follow in the Elsmore Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 P.M. Tuesday at the Cheney Witt Chapel.
Memorials are suggested to the Friends Home Lutheran Church, the Elsmore Alumni Association or the Bourbon County Fair Association and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.







