Stories from Saturday, March 28, 2009

Wendi Jones and Zachary Valdez, of Nevada, and big brother Riddick, are proud to announce the birth of their son and baby brother Zayne Leonard Valdez. Zayne was born at 6:10 a.m., on March 23, 2009, at Nevada Regional Medical Center. He weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces, and measured 21 inches...

Rachel and Daniel French, of Fort Scott, and big sister Grace, are proud to announce the birth of their daughter and baby sister, Sophia Michael French. Sophia was born at 2:58 p.m., on March 25, 2009. She weighed 6 pounds, 8.4 ounces. Maternal grandparents are Doug and Madge Cox, of Fort Scott. Maternal great-grandparents are Ruby DeCoudres, of Fort Scott, and Margret Cox, of Fort Scott...

March 4 12:15 p.m., transfer, KU Medical Center. 1:17 p.m., medical, Nevada Regional Medical Center. 4:10 p.m., transfer, St. John's, Joplin. 8:50 p.m., transfer, Children's Mercy. March 5 4:33 a.m., refusal of care, no transport. 12:01 p.m., medical, Nevada Regional Medical Center...

Robert Daniel "Bob" Baird, age 62, former resident of Fort Scott and more recently of Gardner, Kan., died Thursday, March 26, 2009, in Gardner. He was born Dec. 19, 1946 in Washington, Kan., the son of Floyd Malcolm Baird and Margaret Dorothy Wohler Baird. ...

March 24 There were reports of a burglary in the Sheldon area, roads flooded in the Walker area, vandalism in the Hume area, rape in the Nevada area, a found dog in the Nevada area, a stranded motorist in the Milo area, a careless and imprudent driver in the Sheldon area, a juvenile in the Nevada area, a juvenile in the Nevada area, cows out in the Stotesbury area, property damage in the Nevada area, a vehicle theft in the Nevada area, a careless and imprudent driver in the U.S. ...

March 25 An accident occurred at 6:32 a.m., on U.S. Highway 54, and 1700 Road, involving a car driven by Tisha A. Short, of Neosho, Mo., and a car driven by Daniel R. Williamson, of Sheldon. Short was listed with evident but not disabling injuries. March 26...

This is a follow up and continuation of the column that appears above. However, in this set of entries in his diary Sgt. Mallery of Co. A., 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry records his patrol or scout does indeed find and attacks some Bushwhackers. Sgt. Mallery's entire diary was phonetically transcribed by Historian Pat Brophy and has been published by the Vernon County Historical Society. ...

The title of this column is very appropriate in describing the frustrating "Union" search and pursuit of the Confederate Guerillas in Missouri during the Civil War. It is also part of the June 3, 1864 entry of Sgt. James P. Mallery's Civil War Diary that describes the good Sergeant's activities for the entire year of 1864 when he was stationed with Co. A. of the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry at Fort Curtis near Balltown, Vernon County, Mo...

Shortly after my own article on Nevada-born Metropolitan Opera flash-in-the-pan Marion Talley ("Talley-Ho!") appeared here, Mr. Pat Brophy, my fellow-columnist, was kind enough to send me a copy of his own article, "Marion Talley, Nevada-Born Enigma," of May 11, 2006. Mr. Brophy is a lot more knowledgeable about this woman than I am, and I want to thank him for his kindness. From what little I've dug up, I do believe he's surely correct in calling her an "enigma."...

Hi neighbors. For those of us who are fortunate enough to have jobs, we may think news about today's job market may not be of importance to us. I suggest we should, more than ever, keep a sharp eye on whose being hired, fired and retired. In a country where hundreds line up to apply for a job cleaning out an animal shelter for less than minimum wage -- it pays to know what your employer (or more importantly your employer's company) wants from its workers...

UNIONTOWN, Kan. -- Uniontown's softball team began its second season of existence with a 11-1 victory over St. Paul in a Three Rivers League game here Thursday afternoon. The scheduled second game was rained out. In fact, Eagle head coach Alan Shinn said that the last three innings of the first game were played in a steady drizzle...

The Nevada Tigers boys' golf team competed in the Neosho Kick-Off tournament in Neosho, Mo., Thursday. The tournament consisted of individual, best ball and scramble events, along with an overall team score. As a team, the Tigers posted a final score of 363 overall, good enough for 10th of the 16 teams in attendance at the tournament...

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- Fort Scott High School head baseball coach B.J. Pruitt does not have a great deal of experience returning for this season, which opens Monday at Nevada. There are no seniors and only three letter winners returning. However, Pruitt says, there is a lot of competition for starting spots and the Tigers (9-9 in 2008) are ready to go...

Chilly temperatures and freezing precipitation swept across the Midwest Friday, and Bourbon County in Kansas and Vernon County in Missouri faced a 100 percent chance of precipitation ranging from rain, freezing rain and sleet to snow overnight Friday and throughout the day, today. As of Friday evening, up to one-tenth inch of ice accumulation was expected Friday night, to be followed by rain, freezing rain and sleet this morning, in turn to be followed by more snowfall...

The Vernon County Arts Council announced on Friday that its gallery, located on the lower level of the Carnegie Building, at Ash and Austin, Nevada, will close as of March 31. Citing difficulties in maintaining funding and a small volunteer pool, board members said they are grateful for the support they've received, and proud of the accomplishments made. The arts council will remain active but will no longer have the gallery...

The Nevada High School Forensics and Debate squad is hosting a Forensics Showcase at 6:30 p.m., March 31, in the NHS Auditorium. Members of the squad will perform their award-winning competition pieces. Senior Zack Nichols delivers an original oratory titled, "Just Smile," freshman Dakota Mitchem interprets a collection of Vietnam War poems written by John Musgrave that he will perform at state competition, sophomore Teryn Greer performs an original oratory called "To Do or To Have," senior Nicole Blum shares a prose piece titled, "A Sandpiper to Bring You Joy" By Mary Sherman Hilbert, and junior Michael Walters delivers an original oratory called "The Magic of Music.". ...

Kent Abele had no idea when he worked at the University of Missouri bull test facility during his college years that he would someday own and operate the second largest test station in the country. But that is exactly what this Vernon County native does. He -- along with his wife Kathy and son Cole -- runs the Green Springs Bull Test Center...

Fort Scott, Kan. -- Encouraging local residents to live healthier lifestyles is part of the mission of a new grassroots committee currently forming in Bourbon County. Not only is this community-driven task force, which is being formed through a grant program at the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas, promoting healthier living, it is also brainstorming ways to make this way of life more accessible to county residents, according to CFSK Program Director Stephanie Joiner...

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- Location complications could put a halt on plans for a new animal shelter. The Shirley Yeager Animal Friends organization has been working for the past 10 years to build a new animal shelter to replace the current facility. Kathy Dancer, member of the Shirley Yeager Animal Friends organization, said finding an acceptable location has been the main issue...

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- Based on what head coach Alvin Metcalf said Friday morning, Fort Scott High School's softball team can't wait to finally get the season started. "I know that they're ready to start the games," Metcalf said. "This is all they have talked about for the last week. Just the idea of a game being this close is exciting. The enthusiasm, you can see it on the field every day...

Crappie anglers know that, during the spring, the fishing and catching can be excellent as the fish move close to the bank for the annual spawning run and that makes for an ideal situation for catching a limit of these tasty fish. As Fred Thomas, Oak Grove, always says, "If you can't catch crappie when the spawning run is going, then you just aren't a true crappie fisherman."...

FORT SCOTT, Kan.- Organizers of the Youth Activities Team said the group wants to make the most of its 2008 success. Following the success of last year's world-record breaking Pennies for the Park project, YAT members have planned a week of activities next month that are designed to update the community on the group's fundraising plans for 2009, according to YAT co-convener Clayton Tatro...

NEVADA, Mo. -- Brandon J. Woods, of Nevada, has recently enlisted in the Missouri Army National Guard. Woods is currently attending one-station unit training at Fort Benning, Ga. After almost 14 weeks of training, he will be an infantryman for the 1/138th Infantry in Monett...

Joyce and Raymond Hueston, Mapleton, will celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary on Sunday, March 29, 2009. The couple were married in 1964. Together they have two children: Mike and Jolene; five grandchildren, Justin, Zak, Raylene, Kaylyn and Callie; and two great-grandchildren, Colby and Paityn...

Announcement is made of the engagement of Travis Stewart and Karlee Daylong. The couple plan to be married on June 20, 2009, in Iola, Kan. Travis is the son of Mark Stewart and the late Debra Stewart, Bronson, Kan. He is a 2007 Uniontown High School graduate and is currently earning his degree in plastics engineering technology at Pittsburg State University. Travis is employed by Plastic Resource Group, Pittsburg, Kan...