Linn County News

Published Nov. 2, 2022

Linda Darlene Howlingcrane, age 65, a resident of Fulton, Kan., passed away Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, at her home following her battle with cancer. She was born May 16, 1957, in Fort Scott, Kan., the daughter of Willis Sanders and Patsy Eden Sanders. Linda attended Fort Scott schools. Shortly into her senior year, the family moved to Versailles, Mo., and she graduated from there with the Class of 1975.

Linda will be remembered as a loving and devoted mother and grandmother. For the last several years, she has served as the primary care giver for her son and also took care of her grandchildren. She loved taking trips to Branson with her family. She was fortunate enough to make one last trip to Silver Dollar City and enjoy the pumpkins and fall colors; she returned home on Friday morning and passed away Saturday evening. Linda loved to do crafts of all kinds. She also had a green thumb and could grow houseplants to gigantic proportions.

Survivors include two daughters, Jamye Coffman (Tom) of Fort Scott and Patricia Brake of Mound City, Kan.; a son, Drew Howlingcrane of the home in Fulton, and an adopted son, Doug Ekberg (Angela) of Independence, Mo.; twelve grandchildren and a great-grandson. Also surviving are her mother, Patsy Sanders, of Fort Scott; a brother Greg Sanders also of Fort Scott and a sister, Pamela Owenby (Russell) of Deerfield, Mo. 

Linda was preceded in death by her father, Willis, and her brother, Shannon.

Bert Severy and Robert Clark conducted funeral services at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27, at the Cheney Witt Chapel. (Linda did her best to be on time.) Following funeral services, there was cremation. Private burial will take place at a later date in the Lath Branch Cemetery east of Fort Scott.

Services are under the direction of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, Ft. Scott, Kan. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.

OBITUARIES

Velma Fay (Cline) Peterson ~ 04-29-1944 to 04-15-2026

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Linn County News Published April 22, 2026   Velma Fay (Cline) Peterson was born to Roy Albert and Lucy Edith Marie (Brown) Cline on April 29, 1944. She was born on the Kansas side of the State Line Road on a little farm called The Star Dairy. The farm is east... [More]

Bruce Lynn Jeffers ~ 01-30-1957 to 04-12-2026

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  Linn County News Published April 22, 2026   Bruce Lynn Jeffers, age 69, of rural Centerville, Kan., and recently from the Kansas Veteran’s Home in Winfield, Kan., passed away on April 12, 2026, from a prolonged traumatic brain injury incurred very... [More]

Vernon Lee Ross ~ 12-01-1955 to 04-10-2026

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Linn County News Published April 15, 2026   Vernon Lee Ross, age 70, Pleasanton, Kan., passed away Friday, April 10, 2026. He was born on Dec. 1, 1955, in Fort Scott, Kan. A memorial service will be held 4 p.m. Friday, April 17, 2026, at the Schneider Funeral... [More]

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NEWS

Early Dismissals

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Due to the threat of severe weather this afternoon, all three districts have opted to dismiss school at 1 p.m. in an effort to get students safely home before the storms hit our area. If you have concerns, or need more information, please contact your child's school.

SPECIAL: Youthfront application not a Public Hearing

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NOTICE: Case #: US-KS107-LU-2025-7, Youthfront Camp DBA Kansas City Youth for Christ is not being heard under a Public Hearing. That has already occurred; the commissioners are discussing the application in their meeting Monday, April 20.

We want your photos…

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Would you like to see one of your photos in the paper? We’re starting a new weekly photo submission opportunity! Out on the gravel will feature a local photo each week in our paper taken somewhere in Linn County; a photo of something that interested someone enough to... [More]

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SPORTS

Prairie View softball goes 3-1 against Iola and Jayhawk

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The Prairie View softball team was on the road this past week but it was an overall successful week. The Lady Buffs traveled to Iola on April 7 to play a double-header against Iola. The Buffalos went 1-1, losing the first game, 11-21, and winning the second, 18-7. The team... [More]

Jayhawk softball sweeps St. Paul and falls to Prairie View

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The Jayhawk softball team played St. Paul and Prairie View this past week. They traveled to St. Paul on April 6 and had no issues with the Lady Indians as they won both games, 20-4 and 28-11.  They then hosted Prairie View on April 9 and lost to the Lady Buffalos in both... [More]

Pleasanton track wins at Oswego

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Pleasanton track certainly won at the Oswego Invitational on April 7. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams placed first to become champions of the meet. The boys scored 80 points while the girls scored 78 ½ points. There were a total of 14 schools at the meet. Boys’... [More]

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PLEASANTON WEATHER

OBITUARIES POLICY

• May be mailed, e-mailed, faxed or hand delivered.
• Must be received by 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning in order to appear in that week's edition.
• Obituaries submitted by funeral homes will be billed to the funeral home.
• Full obituaries submitted by individuals are required to be paid in advance.
• Cost: $40 for 300 words or less. Each additional word over 300, 10¢. Photograph $5.
Call Barbara at 913-352-6235 or e-mail linncountynewsreporter@gmail.com

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