Stories from Tuesday, May 2, 2006

There will be kangaroo, wild boar and alligator as well as an award winning quail entree on the table May 20, for the Vernon County Arts Council Wild Game Dinner at the Eagles Lodge on East Austin Boulevard. Chef Cecil Pritchett will cook up the exotic fare for the fund-raiser for the local arts group. A limited amount of tickets for the event are on sale until May 10, and are available at several locations...

Friends of Bob Cox of On My Own, Inc., share memories and refreshments during a retirement reception at the office on Friday. Cox is retiring and was given cash and travel vouchers in honor of the occasion. When asked where he will go from here, he replied, "I'm not sure." Cox retired after more than 8 years with the Independent Living Center, having joined the agency in December 1997 as a VISTA volunteer...

The high cost of crude oil is what experts say is driving the prices up at the pump. On Friday, crude oil was priced at $72 dollars a barrel. Throughout the nation, companies, legislators and individuals are seeking alternatives to crude oil. A company is turning the inedible parts of Butterball turkeys into up to 350 barrels of biodiesel per day. ...

In a special meeting set for 6 o'clock tonight, the Nevada City Council is planning an executive session relating to the city manager's position. That session is to be followed by the council's regularly scheduled meeting at 7 o'clock. Both sessions are to take place in council chambers, in the city's public safety building at Ash and Austin streets in Nevada...

Linda Thury Rogers, watercolor artist from Nevada, has had a painting accepted into the Springfield Art Museum's Watercolor USA 2006. Watercolor USA is a national competitive exhibit with only about 90 paintings juried into the show out of nearly 1,000 entered this year. The exhibit will be on display from June 9 to Aug. 6...

Angel Hallam and Brandon Lukenbill, Nevada, and Trenton are proud to announce the birth of their daughter and sister, Breanna Nicole Lukenbill. Breanna was born at 4:55 p.m., April 13, 2006, at Cedar County Memorial Hospital. She weighed 5 pounds, 1 ounce, and measured 21 inches...

James and Anjie Beckman, Nevada, and Emma are proud to announce the birth of their daughters and sisters, Sydney Lynn and Sage Lynn Beckman. Sydney was born at 1:32 p.m., April 27, 2006, at Nevada Regional Medical Center. She weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces, and measured 19.5 inches...

Carrie Janice Lawson, 68, Milo, Mo., died Saturday, April 29, 2006, at Nevada Regional Medical Center, Nevada, Mo., following a lengthy illness. She was born Nov. 6, 1937, in Orlando, Okla., to William Burton Cooper and Ruth Lois Rudd Cooper. She married Charles Howard Lawson on June 30, 1956, in Nevada, and he survives of the home...

Elmer Daniel Hill Jr., 67, Nevada, Mo., died Sunday, April 30, 2006, at his home in Nevada following a lengthy illness. He was born May 19, 1938, in Nevada to Elmer Hill and Elizabeth Hallaman Hill. He married Lillie Rose Galberith on March 26, 1960, in Nevada, and she survives of the home...

Jaye Dee Vilott, 67, Overland Park, Kan., died April 26, 2006. He was born July 10, 1938, in Anaheim, Calif., to Lilburn and Margaret Vilott. A private gathering of family and friends will be held at a future date. The family suggests contributions to The American Heart Association...

Elma Louise Davis, age 85, the daughter of Oscar Herbert and Frances Belle (Lukenbill) Simmons was born March 29,1921, in Elkhart, Kan., and passed from this life on Tuesday, April 25, 2006, at the Nevada Regional Medical Center in Nevada, Mo. Early in her childhood, Elma, along with her family came to Missouri by covered wagon. ...

One very real challenge facing educators and employers today is the lack of familiarity and enthusiasm our students demonstrate in the areas of math and science. This challenge is and will continue to obstruct Missouri's ability to compete in the global marketplace...

Dear editor: May 1, 2006, will be remembered as a turning point in the management of the Missouri River. It marks the day in which the Corps of Engineers heeded the call of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and announce the first biennial man-made spring rise on the Missouri River...

Money for San Francisco SAN FRANCISCO -- The first definite proposition for furnishing money on a large scale to San Francisco for the purpose of rebuilding some of the burned sections was made public yesterday when it was announced that a syndicate of New York capitalists had agreed to advance $100,000,000. ...

Cottey College freshman and Nevada High School graduate Lacy Leonard was named first-team NJCAA All-American recently, correcting an earlier report that Leonard had made the second team. In April, the NJCAA had listed Leonard as a second-team selection. But the athletics governing body had made a mistake, only naming five players to the first team instead of the customary 10...

NEOSHO, Mo. -- The Nevada Tigers finished fourth at the Southwest Conference golf tournament Monday, but Tyler Gast broke the top 10 individually with a 79. The par-70 Neosho Municipal Golf course kept everybody above par, as the individual champion was Matt Smallwood of Carthage with a 73...

NEVADA, Mo. -- A three-run fourth inning broke open a close game as the McDonald County Mustangs tripped the Nevada Tigers Monday, 8-2. The Mustangs used three hits, two walks and a hit by pitch to push three runs across against relief pitcher Jerrod Alexander as McDonald County opened up a commanding 6-1 lead...

Two Nevada High School swimmers participated in the 28th annual Springfield Invitational Saturday. Kristen Badgley placed second in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:02.18. She was also second in the 100 backstroke, with a time of 1:02.71, a new personal and school record...