Stories from Friday, November 30, 2007

Hayden Hunter Hudson, 1-day-old infant son of Kenneth E. and Trisha L. Archer Hudson of Sheldon, passed away at 7:15 p.m., Tuesday, November 27, 2007, at Freeman Hospital West, in Joplin. In addition to his parents, Hayden is survived by a sister, Michala L. ...

Dorothy H. Herstein, 77, Nevada, passed away on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007, at Christian Health Care in Nevada following a brief illness. She was born May 19, 1930, in Nevada, to Marion Ray Moore and Lula Elizabeth Carroll Moore. She married Norman Paul Herstein on May 20, 1947, in Girard, Kan. He preceded her in death on March 31, 2000...

Bill Needham stopped by one day this week. Bill and I don't know each other very well, but we share one thing -- that I know of -- other than the color of our hair: We both love the opera. The opera. Sounds pretentious, doesn't it? I suppose that's because there are some folks who try to make more out of opera than it really is. ...

In my medicine cabinet above my bathroom sink you will find a family heirloom. It is the engraved shaving mug that my grandfather acquired in the first part of the last century. This mug represents a time and a way of life that is long, long gone. This past week's article in the paper about a recent visit by Francis Webster Jr. ...

On Tuesday, Nov. 27, the Vernon County Commissioners, Jason Eckhart and Kevin Sprenkle of Sprenkle & Associates Engineers and C.B. Alexander of the Missouri Department of Transportation, met to open bids placed by several contractors hoping to replace the bridge running over Drywood Creek just south of Deerfield...

Teen Angels was started in 2000 when Terri Meyers realized that there were programs to give presents to younger children, but not those over the age of 12. Since then, nearly 600 teen-agers have been "adopted" by the patrons of the program. Meyers said she dragged her son, Jason Claspill, into the charitable enterprise and he surprised himself by enjoying the experience -- so much so that he is now an ardent worker on the project...

Earp Park forms an oasis of peace and tranquility just a short distance from the busiest intersection in Nevada and is used by a number of people for a lunch break on a regular basis. It is also one of the city parks slated to receive improvements with money from the city's 1/2-cent parks and recreation capital improvement sales tax...

At its quarterly meeting on Nov. 27, the Missouri Veterans Commission elected Joseph J. Frank as chairman and Bernadette A. Miller as vice chairwoman of the Commission. Frank was nominated to succeed former state representative Carson Ross as chairman. Frank was appointed to the Commission on Feb. 9, 2005, by Governor Matt Blunt...

Preparations are well under way for the annual Vernon County Christmas parade, set for Saturday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m. Nevertheless, with an everchanging forecast threatening rain, thunderstorms or other inclement weather for some time on Saturday, the Nevada/Vernon County Area Chamber of Commerce has released its policy relating to parade cancellation -- just in case...