Stories from Wednesday, March 9, 2005

By Ben Holman Nevada Daily Mail According to Vernon County Clerk Tammi Beach, last night's city primary election went smoothly thanks to the good job done by election workers and no abnormalities on the ballots. Since there was only one polling place -- the City/County Community Center -- gathering election results was much simpler than in a typical, county-wide election...

By Marc Powers Nevada Daily Mail JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- House Democrats are renewing calls to end political patronage in the awarding of contracts to run state license bureaus amid growing controversy about some of Republican Gov. Matt Blunt's choices for the lucrative contracts...

By Steve Moyer Nevada Daily Mail The crowd overflowed the room at the El Dorado Springs City Council meeting Monday night -- so much so that part of the standing-room-only crowd was forced to stand in the hallway during the meeting. The item that drew the attention was a complaint by a group of citizens about the placement of a Masonic cornerstone on that city's new community center...

No injuries were reported in a crash that downed a utility pole and line serving a street light, at about 4:30 Tuesday afternoon near Cherry and Washington streets in Nevada. Above, are the cars involved. When the car in the foreground, driven by Zebediah T. Roberts, Nevada, struck the utility pole, the pole and line it carried fell, with the line falling across the car in the background, to the left. Aquila workers removed the power line from the vehicle without incident...

Ms. Meta Penney, Liberal, is proud to announce the birth of her daughter, Desiraye Danyelle Penney. Desiraye was born at 6:57 p.m., on March 4, 2005, at Nevada Regional Medical Center. She weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces, and measured 18 inches. Maternal grandparents are Daniel Penney and Louise Hopkins, both of Liberal. Maternal great-grandparents are Naomi Weaver, Liberal, and Dorthy Hobbs, Kansas City, Mo...

Jennifer and Trent Stark, Lebanon, Mo., are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Carlie Dian Stark. Carlie was born on Feb. 25, 2005, at St. John's hospital in Lebanon. She weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces, and measured 22 inches. She joins a brother, Case Douglas. Paternal grandparents are Dale and Janice Stark, El Dorado Springs. Maternal grandparents are Brenda and Norman Harrell, Nevada...

Ruth Grace Walker, 90, formerly of El Dorado Springs, passed away Tuesday, March 8, 2005, at Nevada Regional Medical Center, Nevada, following a short illness. She was born Dec. 21, 1914, in Nevada, to Carl Kirkhart and Arta Frances Mann Kirkhatt. She married John R. Walker on March 23, 1936, in Nevada, and he preceded her in death on July 21, 1980...

Eula Pearl Singer, 80, died Feb. 28, 2005. Services were held at Medical Lodge today, March 9, at 2 p.m., with the Rev. Paul Mooney officiating. Musical selections were "Amazing Grace" and "In the Garden." Arrangements are by Ferry Funeral Home.

Freda Irene Raabe, 65, Horton, died March 5, 2005. Services were held at the Rinehart Cemetery on March 9, at 11 a.m., with Everett Forkner officiating. Pallbearers were Raymond Hunt, Gary Nichols, Gilbert Willson, Gary Comstock, Roy Raabe and Walt Jacks. Honorary pallbearers were Everett Forkner, Edward Call and David Schaffer. Interment was in Rinehart Cemetery, Richards. Arrangements are by Ferry Funeral Home...

Tommy Lee Thomas Jr., 18, Bolivar, died March 3, 2005, at Mashburn Residential Learning Center in Bolivar. He was born July 17, 1986, in Kansas City, Mo. He was cared for by Joe and Barbara Pruitt from 1988 until 2002. During that time, he attended Cedar Ridge State School...

Irene Marie Purkey, 47, Nevada, died Tuesday, March 8, 2005, at Moore-Few Care Center, Nevada, following a lengthy illness. She was born Sept. 30, 1957, in Des Moines, Iowa, to Pete Dyke and Janis McGee. She married Craig Caviness on June 10, 1984, in Kingman, Ariz. He preceded her in death on Oct. 21, 2000...

Recently, a salute to special people took place at the Nevada/Vernon County Chamber of Commerce's annual Pacesetter awards banquet. Last week, I visited with readers about Sam Foursha's being named as the 2004 Individual Pacesetter Award. The best honor a person can received is the recognition of peers. In a sense, that is what was done. The chamber is made up of businesses, individuals, and organizations like those receiving the special recognition that evening...

100 years ago: Butler Elks to organize The Nevada Elks met last night and a number of the Butler gentlemen who are members of the Nevada order were present. The Butler Elks have been anxious for some time to organize an order in their own town but the population of the town heretofore prevented it...

By Joe Warren Nevada Daily Mail The 10th-ranked Bronaugh Wildcats knew they would need a full team effort if they were going to get by the eighth-ranked Walnut Grove Tigers in Tuesday's state tournament sectional game at Lamar. The Wildcats got just that, as they used some defensive adjustments and clutch free-throw shooting to hold off the Tigers 62-56...

Associated Press Kendrell Bell signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and Fred Smoot agreed to a deal with the Minnesota Vikings as two of the NFL's worst defenses plugged holes through free agency Tuesday. Smoot had 16 interceptions over five seasons with the Washington Redskins and was selected as an alternate to the Pro Bowl. He will form a quality tandem at cornerback with Antoine Winfield, who was Minnesota's top free agent signee last season...

Associated Press Randy Johnson's much-anticipated Yankees debut wasn't filled with awesome fastballs or knee-buckling sliders -- and no one seemed to mind. After all, New York acquired him for October. Mark Mulder's second outing for the St. Louis Cardinals was much more in line with what they expected from their new No. 1 starter...

Associated Press COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Billy Gillispie never doubted he would eventually win a lot of games at Texas A&M. Hardly anyone thought it would happen so soon. ''We exceeded our expectations,'' Gillispie said. ''But expectations were fairly low here for a good reason.''...