Stories from Wednesday, March 2, 2005

By Ben Holman Nevada Daily Mail On Tuesday night, the Nevada FFA held its annual worker auction. At the event, people could bid on the services of FFA members who would come and do eight hours of labor for the purchaser. "This has been an excellent fund-raiser for these kids," said Bryan Gast, FFA advisor. "We've been doing this auction since I was in FFA." The money raised from the worker auction will be used to support the activities of the Nevada FFA chapter...

By Kelly Wiese Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A key legislative committee is working on a plan to re-craft Missouri's method of paying for public schools by boosting funding for poorer districts but not cutting money to any of the other schools...

By Ralph Pokorny Nevada Daily Mail Nevada residents will be getting a long awaited present from the city of Nevada when they open their monthly water bills -- a rate reduction. This reduction is the result of two ordinances the city council passed on first reading Tuesday night to set new water and sewer rates...

By Steve Moyer Nevada Daily Mail Two area men are in the middle of a revolution in construction technology. Clancy Nowak, Nowak Industries, has invented a method of lifting long span wooden trusses more safely and in less time than traditional methods. Andy McCullough of APlus Metals is working with Nowak to make the RijidTruss™ lifting system and market it nationwide...

Gerald Shaffer, 68, Raymore, Mo., died March 1, 2005. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, March 4, at Schowengerdt Funeral Chapel in Butler. Visitation will be from 6:30-8 p.m., Thursday, at the Chapel. Burial will be at Oak Hill Cemetery in Butler. Contributions are suggested to the Shriner's Children Hospital...

Last week, the Kyoto Protocol, whose aim is to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases blamed by some scientists for causing climate changes around the globe, went into effect nearly seven years after the pact was negotiated. Much of the delay came from the requirement that countries contributing 55 percent of the world's emissions needed to ratify the plan. That happened when Russia signed on...

100 years ago: Wilson on trial; accused of stealing cattle Circuit Court was occupied today by the trial of the case of the state of Missouri vs. Dennis Wilson who is charged with stealing 13 head of cattle owned by E.W. Shelton and Geo. Clasby. The state was represented by attorneys Scott K. Bowker and the defendant by attorneys A.J. King and J.R. Mess, the latter having been employed by defendant before he was elected prosecuting attorney...

By Joe Warren Nevada Daily Mail Two traditional Vernon County Conference teams won and two more were eliminated in the first round of the Class 1, District 12 tournament in Hume Tuesday. The hosting Hornets dominated the higher-seeded Miami Eagles, leading by as many as 28 points before settling for a 60-45 win...

Nevada Daily Mail The Calvary Eagles placed third at the Missouri Christian Schools Athletics Association state tournament in Joplin Saturday. The Eagles played in the 1A class, and got third after defeating the Heartland Panthers 59-51. In that game Scott Borders led the team with 21 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and four steals as the Eagles needed overtime to get by the Panthers...

Associated Press It should take Andy Pettitte a while to find his groove. The only way to properly apply that word to his performance Tuesday was as a description of the route of his pitches. The left-hander was back in action for the first time since season-ending elbow surgery in August, pitching a shaky inning in Houston's intrasquad game at Kissimmee, Fla...

Chamber recognition was held at the Eagles Lodge Saturday night with hundreds in attendance. In recent years this annual event has grown so much that it has outgrown other locations. There is a great amount of enthusiasim being shown by the chamber. The night was mixed with fun and awards. The fun included casino games associated with the theme of "Las Vegas, Nevada Style." This is the second year for the Las Vegas-style event...