Stories from Thursday, February 16, 2006

A meeting concerning the future of the animal shelter in Nevada at the Nevada Community Center Wednesday night was well attended with 51 area residents in the audience. Nevada Police Chief Christine Keim began the meeting by welcoming the public and the members of the Vernon County Humane Association...

Authorities in Bourbon and Vernon counties are continuing an investigation centered around two vehicles that were stolen from two different locations -- one from Milo, Mo., the other from Shepherd Team Auto Plaza in Fort Scott, Kan. -- then driven near fields on 267th Terrace (State Line Road) and intentionally torched, causing grass fires in both counties on two separate occasions...

The students, parents, and staff of Bryan Elementary School collected pennies in observance of the 100th day of school. All pennies collected during the drive were counted and sorted by the kindergarten and first grade students daily. At the end of each day, the pennies were taken to the Metz Bank to be counted and deposited into the Bryan School Lucille Smith Scholarship Fund...

A 45-year-old man whose last known address is in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was killed in a one- vehicle crash just east of Horton Wednesday after a pursuit that began when Archie and Adrian police were informed of a careless driver. The two departments began the pursuit and were joined by Missouri State Highway Patrol units who followed the van the man was driving until he crashed coming off of the Horton overpass...

Jaycee Jenkins a fourth grader at Truman elementary and Kelsey Gregory a sixth grader at Nevada Middle School practices Chinese wheel techniques with YJump coach Michele Hart yesterday at the Osage Prairie YMCA in Nevada. The jump-roping team regularly practices at the facility and members have opportunities to test their skills against other jump teams in competitions from time to time. The group also often participates in community events such as parades...

Donnie and Lena Kleeman, Sheldon, are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Ella Gean Kleeman. Ella was born at 8:33 p.m., Feb. 14, 2006, at Nevada Regional Medical Center. She weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces, and measured 20.25 inches. Paternal grandparents are David Kleeman, Lamar, and Susan Carpenter, Lamar. Paternal great-grandparents are George and Rhonda Hackathorne, Sheldon...

Dora Loyala McDonald, 96, Nevada, Mo., died Sunday, Feb. 12, 2006, at Christian Health Care in Nevada, following an illness of a few weeks. She was born March 1, 1909, in Walnut, Kan., to William Irving Thomas and Alice Teresa Jones Thomas. She and William Walter McDonald were married on Dec. 6, 1930, in Ottawa, Kan. He preceded her in death on April 28, 1984...

I have spent many minutes parked in front of the Middle School waiting to pick up our great-granddaughter at the end of the after-school program. I try to get there early so I can park in view of the door so that she can spot me easily. This gives me a good view of each of the young people as they come out the door. Each day my mind goes back quite a few years to the days when I was in Junior High School...

As corresponding secretary of the Vernon County Historical Society, I often get handed "mail" that's not "mail" at all, as I understand it. Tada! It's e-mail, and it arrived by mysterious, obviously malevolent electronic means. Electronic it may be. Exasperating it indubitably is...

Game warden use a shotgun in enforcement effort MACON, Mo., -- C.A. Casson, deputy game warden is under arrest for using a shotgun to compel respect for the hunting license law. It is charged that he found "Bud" Wilson, a farmer, hunting mink without a license. Wilson had laid his gun down while peering under a log. He told the warden he did not have a license to hunt mink because the prosecuting attorney said the license law was no good...

During my foray to Springfield Sunday for the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, I realized just what made Chuck Shelton so endearing to much of the Nevada community. After only having talked to him over the phone I could tell that he was an extremely polite, forthcoming individual. That's why when meeting him in person I wasn't surprised to find the kind of guy who takes hold of your hand when you shake, looks you in the eye, and greets you with a smile...

BUTLER, Mo. -- The Bronaugh Lady Wildcats and the Hume Hornets each took third place in the Golden Valley/Vernon County Conference tournament Saturday. The Hornets, who took second in the South Division last week, played Calhoun, the second team from the North Division. The Hornets won 57-48...

The Nevada eighth-grade boys A-team finished second at the Tri-County Tournament held in Carthage last week. The Tigers finished the season with a 10-4 record. The team is (front, from left) Ron Johnson, Dominic Habjan, Ross Wolfe and Ethan Beisner, (back row) coach Andy Smith, Brandon Munsterman, Austin Baldwin, Tyler Dobson, Kyle Schulze and Mark Weatherly...

The Calvary Christian School girls basketball team has dropped their last three games, to Training Center, Chanute and Lowry City. On Feb. 6, Calvary lost 35-21 to Chanute, despite getting eight points from Sha-Ree Chevalier and five points and five rebounds from Rachelle Talley...

Two local youth wrestlers competed in the Cliff Keen Tulsa Nationals in Oklahoma on Jan. 20-21. Slade Stiles (left) and Tanner Charles (right) both competed in brackets of 32 wrestlers each. Charles competed in the 12-and-under 73-pound bracket, where he lost his first two matches but rebounded to take second in the "hard-luck" bracket by winning two. ...

Nevada's youth wrestling club had local grapplers competing in tournaments at Carthage (Feb. 4) and Webb City (Feb. 11-12) recently. In Carthage, there were 18 NYWC members participating and 14 grabbed medals. Skyler Scotten, Regar Hardin and Tanner Charles (who also had a third in another division) all placed first in their classes...