Stories from Tuesday, February 26, 2008

As a boy I dreamed of hitting home runs or running for touchdowns, but as I've gotten older I've had to set aside childish goals of athletic accomplishment. Just recently, however, I achieved a record I never thought possible at my advanced age: The other morning, while making coffee, I launched into a sneezing fit of truly heroic proportions...

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers around the world Feb. 18 Lubbock (Texas) Avalanche-Journal, on President's Day, and the President's office: Many adults remember celebrating the Feb. 12 birthday of Abraham Lincoln and the Feb. 22 birthday of George Washington each year when they were children. .....

The Nevada Lady Tigers won their second consecutive district championship on Saturday, Feb. 23 at Harrisonville High School gymnasium. The Lady Tigers (12-14) beat the Harrisonville Lady Wildcats (18-9) 46-36. Harrisonville's main strength has been their outside shooting, but Nevada's aggressive defense only allowed them five three-point shots the entire game. ...

The Cottey College Comets beat the St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley Norsewomen 69-49 Saturday to win the first round of the Region XVI playoffs. The win gave Cottey a 16-7 record for the season and earned them the right to play Region XVI's number two ranked St. ...

Funeral services for Doris L. Fairbanks Ross, 74, of Nixa formerly of Branson, will be Thursday, Feb. 28, at 1 p.m., in the Snapp-Bearden Funeral Home, in Branson. The Rev. Floyd "Bud" Arnold will officiate. Burial will follow in the Ozark Memorial Park Cemetery, in Branson. Mrs. Ross passed away Saturday, Feb. 23, 2008, at St. John's, in Branson...

Caryl "C.J." Moore, of Nevada, is proud to announce the birth of her son, Brantley Preston Moore. Brantley was born at 8:14 p.m., on Feb. 17, 2008, at Nevada Regional Medical Center. He weighed 6 pounds 15 ounces, and measured 20 1/4 inches. Grandparents are Carl and Judy Moore of Nevada. Great-grandparents are Twilia and the late Gerald P. Moore, of Nevada, and Oran Burrus, of Nevada...

Whitni Webb and Micah O'Connell, and big brother Logan O'Connell, of Nevada, are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Lainee Elizabeth O'Connell. Lainee was born at 4:52 p.m., on Feb. 16, 2008, at Nevada Regional Medical Center. She weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces, and measured 20 inches...

Jeremy and Robin Day and sibling Cadence, of Yakima, Wash., are proud to announce the birth of their daughter and baby sister, Kennedy Elise Day. Kennedy was born on Feb. 19, 2008, at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital. She weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces, and measured 19 1/2 inches...

Joe and Gwen Day and siblings Emma and Hope, of Frohna, Mo., are proud to announce the birth of their son and baby brother, Nolan Thomas Day. Nolan was born at 2:44 p.m., on Feb. 8, 2008, at Southeast Missouri Hospital, in Cape Girardeau, Mo. He weighed 5 pounds, 3 ounces, and measured 17 1/2 inches...

Rex Rector has announced his plans to run for Missouri State Senate in the 31st District on the Republican Party ticket. Rector was born into a family of farmers in Rockville, Mo., and says that from his family he gained his sense of values and learned the meaning of hard work and personal responsibility...

A Vernon County man is seeking a grand jury's assistance in punishment and further monetary retribution of a local cooperative's ex-CEO and board members he accuses of theft. "We, the undersigned, request a grand jury investigation going back to and including 1993 for alleged illegal financial expenditure cover-up and records pertaining to the Board of Directors, all incumbents, prior directors and CEO's," reads a petition currently being circulated to area residents by Wendell Mayfield, in an effort to draw a closer look at one local cooperative.. ...

Republican David Pearce, a three-time state representative, made the announcement at a press conference at the Vernon County Courthouse Feb. 25, that he would be filing for the seat of 31st District state senator. "We came down this morning just to announce that we are going to file for senate tomorrow," said Pearce. ...