Stories from Thursday, February 14, 2008

Zepha Mae Dougherty, 86, of Nevada, died on Monday, Feb. 11, 2008, at Nevada Regional Medical Center. She was born on July 10, 1921, in Fortescue, Mo., to Lloyd Caleb Smith and Ida Mae Boyd Smith. Zepha moved to the Nevada area at an early age and graduated from Walker High School, in 1940. ...

Jeremy and Jill Hamilton, and siblings Mason, Avery and Olivia, are proud to announce the birth of their daughter and baby sister, Molly Lynn Hamilton. Molly was born at 1:38 p.m., Monday, Feb. 11, at Mercy Hospital, Fort Scott. Molly weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce, and measured 19 inches long...

Stacia Carter and Steven Spinale, of Harwood, Mo., are proud to announce the birth of their son Kamron Gaetano Spinale. Kamron was born at 12:31 a.m., Feb. 7, 2008, at Nevada Regional Medical Center. He weighed 6 pounds, 10 ounces, and measured 19 1/4 inches...

Recently I wrote about liking to see the people in business places give me a smile when I am a customer. I understand that I offended some business owners who are well known for their friendly establishment and cheerful service. When I was mentioning experiences I had that week with sales persons who didn't even make eye contact or say anything to me except the amount I owed, I was not referring to the majority of the stores that we have in our friendly city...

Even old hawks are saying "no nukes" The latest "Wall Street Journal" article by George Shultz, William Perry, Henry Kissinger and Sam Nunn, "Toward a Nuclear-Free World," has a greater sense of urgency than their first joint article a year ago. They express grave concerns that we are at a nuclear "tipping point" with "a very real possibility that the deadliest weapons ever invented could fall into dangerous hands." As if these weapons are not already in dangerous enough hands. ...

Montrose swept the boys and girls championship games Saturday night in the Golden Valley-Vernon County Conference tournament with the Montrose girls beating the Bronaugh Lady Wildcats 64-23 and the Montrose boys upsetting the Hume Hornets 56-44. In the boys third place game Ballard narrowly beat the Bronaugh Wildcats 46-44...

The Hume Hornets beat Adrian Monday night 66-63 for a season record of 18-3 and 5-0 in conference play. Cameron Hinton led the Hornets with 23 points, closely followed by Clinton Irwin with 20 points along with 16 rebounds and seven assists, Cody Franklin with 13 points including two treys, Andy Yarick with eight points and Ryan Austin with two points...

The Penn Valley Community College Lady Scouts soundly defeated the Cottey Comets 96-75 Tuesday night to sweep their two game series, dropping Cottey's record to 14-7 for the season Cottey lost at home to the Lady Scouts 59-64 in December. Four Cottey players scored in double figures, with Jessica Roberts leading the team with 21 points, including four treys, closely followed by Brittany Smith with 19 points and hitting 7-9 free throws, Liz Waggoner with 15 points and Melissa Hedges with 12 points. ...

Michael Mikkelsen, a 25-year-old Kansas City resident, began a statewide petition last June to lower the legal age for consuming alcoholic beverages in Missouri to 18 years old. To date Mikkelsen has garnered between 5,000 and 10,000 signatures for the petition, short of the 100,000 needed in order to get the petition on a ballot...

Additional reports from the Missouri State Highway Patrol are in on traffic crashes caused by ice-covered road conditions in Vernon County on Tuesday. At noon, Dec. 12, Aaron C. Blondell, 38 Nevada, lost control of the 1988 GMC he was driving on Route D, about seven miles north of Nevada, traveled off the left side of the roadway, struck an embankment and overturned. ...

Noted author, businesswomen, and leader, Susan Bulkeley Butler, will be on campus at Cottey College, Feb.19-20, to serve as a leader-in-residence. While on campus, Bulkeley Butler will speak to classes in marketing, women's studies, leadership development, and social justice and civic engagement...

"I'm getting older and I doubt if I'll see this in my lifetime," Jim Novak, parks board president, said of the unfinished enclosed shelter house that was among the promised projects from the first parks capital improvement sales tax. Novak has made completing that project a priority of his tenure as parks board president...