Stories from Thursday, June 5, 2008

June 3 There were reports of a vandalism in the Nevada area, a disturbance in the Schell City area, a road hazard in the Richards area, a civil matter in the Deerfield area, a vehicle accdient in the Schell City area, a careless and imprudent driver in the Lawrence County area, harassment in the Nevada area, cows out in the Milo area, a traffic stop in the Schell City area, a storm in the Vernon County area...

We all occasionally are in groups where we are with the same people for several days and then each departs to go to individual homes, usually far apart. During our time together we have many conversations to get acquainted, and usually feel quite close to the others in the group...

Surprisingly, a whole book has never been devoted exclusively to one of the pivotal incidents of the Civil War in western Missouri. Till now, that is. Richard F. Sunderwirth has filled the gap with "The Burning of Osceola, Missouri." It's a timely publishing event for more than one reason. ...

Pat Chambers has been selected as this year's recipient of the Nevada Rotary Club's Citizen of the Year Award. He will be honored tonight at a banquet celebration. Although open to the public this year for the first time, the banquet is already sold out and no more seats are available...

Emergency responders in Vernon County have been getting a workout this past week with several storms passing through leaving broken tree limbs, broken power lines, broken homes and other damage in their wakes. Even the Vernon County Sheriff's Department was affected. Sheriff Ron Peckman said the storms have also taken a toll on his department with all the extra work involved...

Severe weather ripped through Vernon County Tuesday night, tearing down trees and strewing debris in roadways, fields and neighborhoods throughout the area. Many residents throughout the county were forced to take shelter and several towns saw damage from fallen trees and downed power lines...

Storms ripped through the area again late Tuesday night, toppling trees knocking down limbs and causing damage from one end of Vernon County to the other. Nevada Public Safety Director Gary Herstein said the storm escalated quickly. "I was listening to the weather radio, it turns on automatically and runs for five minutes and turns off," Herstein said. ...

The ridin' and ropin' and racin' to the sounds of the cheers and gasps of the crowd will soon fill the arena at the Vernon County fairgrounds. The Vernon County Youth Fair will host their annual Rodeo this weekend with numerous events as well as a queen and princess contest. The purpose of the event is to raise funds needed for the youth fair board and the youth fair -- and, of course, to have fun, promoters pointed out...

With more rain in the forecast, Schell City residents are hoping the slowly swelling Osage River will crest soon rather than continuing to rise. The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the Osage River near Schell City. On Wednesday, the NWS estimated that the Osage would crest at 30.3 feet, or .3 feet above flood stage. At this level, minor flooding would begin to affect the Schell-Osage Conservation Area and begin to lap at low-lying roads in the area...