Stories from Tuesday, December 30, 2008

William F. "Bill" Burks, a 1948 Nevada High School graduate, died unexpectedly Dec. 10, in Albuquerque, N.M., where he and his wife had lived for 44 years. Burks, 78, was president of the Nevada High School class of 1948. He and his wife, the former Susanne Martin, also a 1948 graduate, visited Nevada in October to attend their 60th year class reunion...

Dec. 24 There were reports of a vehicle accident in the Milo area, a traffic stop in the Sheldon area, a careless and imprudent driver in the Dederick area, a burglary in the Harwood area, controlled burn in the Moundville area, a careless and imprudent driver in the Horton area...

Dec. 24 An accident occurred at 4:42 p.m., on Austin at Barrett, involving a pickup driven by Fred L. Buergin, of Nevada, and a car driven by Kevin B. Jones, of Tecumseh, Kan. No injuries were reported. Dec. 25 There was a report of damage to private property, on the 500 block of north Cedar, made by Mark Smith, of Nevada...

As the new year dawns so do the new addresses for Vernon County residents, except those living within incorporated areas such as Nevada, Walker and Sheldon. The new addresses will take effect Thursday and both the old and the old addresses will work with the post office until the end of 2009, at which time only mail with the new addresses will be delivered...

The Nevada City Council will hold a special meeting at 7 a.m., Wednesday, to discuss two issues. The first will be the second reading of an ordinance to approve the city's $17.9 million 2009 city budget and the second will be an emergency ordinance to start an eminent domain condemnation action against Wendell Lee to gain the necessary right-of-way to replace part of the city's interceptor line running to the city's sewage treatment plant...

Some trees are decorated with garland and tinsel, some with homemade ornaments and strings of popcorn; others are elaborately decorated with themes to celebrate the holidays. No matter how a Christmas tree is decorated, it has to go somewhere after the holidays. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has a few suggestions to help with Christmas tree disposal...

It was a year to remember, a year to lay in preparations for the future, and a year to honor those who served the community in many ways, striving to keep Nevada a great place to live, both for today and for tomorrow. In the next few issues of the Nevada Daily Mail, we'll present a month-by-month recap of 2008's news and newsmakers...

February 2008 was a cold, snow covered, icy month. Along with the bad weather came flue fires, and automobile accidents. Feb. 1, one fire was reported at Daylight Donuts, located on the east side of the Square. However, the flames did not keep the business down for more than a day...

March 2008 was a time of new beginnings in Vernon County as the city of Nevada looked over ideas for a new community center, construction began on Vernon County's new jail, and the Nevada Daily Mail/Weekend Herald-Tribune converted to a morning newspaper delivered via postal service...

This is the last column for me to write this year -- since it is scheduled to be published on the last day of 2008. It will be next year before I write another one. A great thing about this time of the year is the large number of good football games to watch on TV. There are a numerous bowl games -- perhaps too many. If there were fewer they would have more meaning. Still, it is good to watch a large number as we have the opportunity. It is especially fun when the team I favor wins...

The Nevada area saw numerous changes in the world of sports in 2008, as well as some continuing trends. Most of the major changes that occurred surrounded the Nevada Griffons. Near the end of the 2008 season, the Griffons announced that not only would fourth-year head coach John Hill III not be returning for a fifth season, but the team would no longer be a part of the Jayhawk League as of next year...