2011 -- the year in review

Friday, January 6, 2012

November: Veterans Day parade draws a big crowd

The month of November began with the Nevada Police Department announcing plans to step up officer training. The front page had plenty of photographs of trick or treaters and the Washington Manor haunted house was in the news.

Mark Mitchell told the city council that the city's Information Technology Department had the four goals of increased efficiency of government, improved citizens access to government, enhanced economic development and investment in infrastructure.

The Nevada Parks staff began preparing for the annual holiday light display while the city was discussing their budget during work sessions. a petition to legalize marijuana brought a lot of comment when it was filed by a Columbia, Mo. man and the Nevada zoning committee recommended denial of a zoning from M1 light industrial to M2 heavy industrial to accommodate a facility for producing prototype wind turbines on N. Osage Boulevard.

The Nevada City Council continued its work sessions and examined the fire department's budget. Jane Novak filed for the upcoming city council election and Nevada resident Myron Damon withdrew from the race.

There were events all over Vernon County in honor of Veterans Day. Every school in the county had an assembly and a revived Veteran's Day Parade came off as a resounding success thanks to the efforts of the entire community. A memorial was held on the square after the parade.

"The Little Shop of Horrors" was staged by the Nevada High School Theater Department and four local fire departments responded to a small fire at the Prairie Pride facility near Deerfield. Nevada resident Roy Slates was sentenced to five years of probation in the Jeffrey Muller kidnapping case that put five local men behind bars and a trial date of April 4-6, 2012, was set for Leviathon Dipman in the May 2009 stabbing deaths of Annie Reed and Kylie Leyva. Former Bronaugh educator Lori Layher was arrested and charged with six felony counts of having sexual contact with students.

Thanksgiving preparations were made and the holiday light display at Radio Springs Park was turned on and the Leon Ogier American Legion Post No. 2, in Nevada fed almost 150 people a Thanksgiving dinner. Local community names and their origins are appearing as a series in the paper and a fire destroyed a home south of Nevada. The city council continues its budget work as falling gas prices make the news and a Deerfield, Mo. man leaves his entire estate to the Deerfield Fire Department.

December : Post Office reprieves

As always, December was a busy month with the Christmas excitement and year-ending events, but a bigger occurrence was the U.S. Postal Service's Dec. 13 bombshell announcement that its consolidation or closure of rural post offices throughout the nation would be postponed at least until May 15.

Acknowledging the protests of U.S. senators, a USPS spokesman said offices like those on the chopping block at Moundville, Harwood, Roscoe and Deerfield would be at least temporarily reprieved.

He had said 133 such local landmarks were in jeopardy in the financially beleaguered Postal Service's Mid-America Region.

In a state and federally related development, the Missouri Department of Transportation said Dec. 9 that ribbon-cuttings would be held Dec. 19 in Vernon, Bates and Barton counties to mark the completion of $21.3 million in work to upgrade U.S. 71 into Interstate 49 by late 2012.

Vernon County got new interchanges at Routes D, DD, E, and M and a County Road 290 overpass for $15.7 million.

Two Nevada policemen and a Daily Mail reporter were recognized for their heroism and professionalism Dec. 8 in Jefferson City by the Missouri Police Chiefs Association.

NPD Sgt. Richard Lee Burdick and Officer David Henley won MPCA Medals of Honor for rescuing a child from a burning apartment.

In statewide redistricting Dec. 2, Vernon County lost a state senator from Warrensburg and gained one from Bolivar as it moved from Senate District 31 to the realigned 28th District.

Sen. David Pearce has represented the county in Jefferson City since 2009, but its go-to man in 2013 will be Sen. Mike Parson, a former Polk County sheriff who is vice chairman of the Agriculture and Small Business committees and Senate Majority Whip.

On Dec. 3, the Vietnam Veterans of America joined relatives of fallen American servicemen, Rep. Barney Fisher and others at Franklin P. Norman City/County Community Center to open a "Remembering Our Fallen" exhibit on Missouri servicemen and women who died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The colors were posted by the Monett High School ROTC Color Guard.

Southwest Missouri will participate in the Miss America Pageant Jan. 14 in Las Vegas in the person of Miss Missouri Sydney Friar of El Dorado Springs, who in mid-December asked people in her home region to support her in the pageant's "People's Choice" voting and help her reach the finals.

Go to the Miss America 2012 home page, click on the link under "2012 Contestant Videos" and follow the instructions.

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