Stories from Friday, July 10, 2009

Gary and Liz Simons of Kearney, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Sara Elizabeth, to Grant Duane Kohlstaedt, son of Duane and Becky Kohlstaedt, also of Kearney. The future bride is a 2004 graduate of Kearney High School and a 2007 graduate of the University of Missouri in Columbia. She has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and is employed as the Human Resource Director of Northland Sonic Drive-Ins, Liberty, Mo...

Bob Schuster and Lisa Hochanadel were married June 19, 2009, at West Martello Gardens in Key West, Fla., in an 8 p.m. ceremony. Eileen Jensen was the officiant. Dinner followed at The Tavern and Town inside the Marriott Beachside Resort Hotel, in Key West...

Rodney and Amie Mather, Nevada, are proud to announce the birth of their son, Ryan Elden Mather. Ryan was born at 10:30 a.m., July 2, 2009, at Nevada Regional Medical Center, Nevada, Mo. He weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces and measured 19.75 inches. Paternal grandparents are Mack and Debbie Smith, Nevada. Maternal grandparents are Karen and Shannon Pettit, Sheldon, and Jerry and Kay Moore, Rich Hill. Great grandparents are Marge and Ernie Turner, Montevallo, and Jerry and Shirley Moore, Harwood...

Kathy Ross, 56, of Mapleton, Kan., died unexpectedly on Friday, July 10, 2009, at her home. Funeral services will be announced by Cheney Witt Memorial Chapel, 201 S. Main, Fort Scott, Kan.

Foster families are needed in Vernon County. Nevada, Mo. -- Mary seems happy in her life now and has settled into a profession helping children and families but that is a long way from where she started, left at an Indiana hospital by her mother at the tender age of 2 months...

After spending a week at the Josey All-Around Clinic at the Josey Ranch near Marshall, Texas, Elizabeth Meech not only bettered her rodeo skills, but also brought home a new trophy. At the week-long clinic, conducted June 21-27, Meech said she learned how to better compete in barrels, poles, goat tying and calf-roping. For the first six days, event attendees participated in riding sessions that covered a variety of topics and activities throughout each day...

He was a father, a grandfather, a U.S. Navy veteran, mayor of Schell City and assistant fire chief until the end, A crowd of about 300 packed into the Schell City Christian Church Friday morning to remember the life of Dale Haddix. 70, who died while assisting with firefighting operations during a July 4 fire sparked by the misuse of fireworks. ...