Stories from Friday, August 21, 2009

William (Bill) Arnold Dixon was born in Nevada, on Jan. 9, 1918, and passed away in Chandler, Ariz., Aug. 18, 2009. He was married to June Eileen Fischer, (deceased) formerly of Nevada, and they had two children, Stuart (deceased) and Leslie. Bill worked for more than 40 years with Trans World Airlines where his employment began as a ticket agent in December 1936. ...

Mary M. Garner, 85, Ozark, Mo., formerly of Deerfield, Mo., passed away on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009, at Ozark Riverview Manor, in Ozark, following a brief illness. She was born May 5, 1924, in Nevada, to Elton Woods and June Berry Woods. She married Russell Earl Garner on April 20, 1946, in Paola, Kan., and he preceded her in death in 2003...

Charles W. Ryan, 71, Nevada, died Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009, at St. John's Medical Center, Joplin, Mo. Funeral services and family information will be provided by Ferry Funeral Home, Nevada.

Emory M. Kiger III, 63, of Kansas City, Mo., died Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m., on Saturday, Aug. 22, at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, in Burlington, Kan. Interment will follow in calvary Cemetery. Rosary will be held today at 6:30 p.m., at Jones Funeral Home, in Burlington, with visitation following from 7-8 p.m...

August 15 was, for many years, the day we used to begin football practice. I noted in the paper that our local teams have again begun their annual summer practices, although much earlier. I had been to quite a few football games as a young kid, but it was when we moved to 320 North Olive in 1959 that I got my first real taste of football practices...

The Nevada Police Department will be cracking down on impaired drivers Aug. 21-Sept. 7 during the "You Drink and Drive. You Lose." statewide campaign. Law enforcement efforts will be increased in an endeavor to reduce the deaths and serious injuries caused by impaired drivers...

Officials at Cottey College are urging motorists -- especially those traveling Austin Boulevard in Nevada -- to keep an eye out for pedestrian traffic near the campus. Students begin moving in today, and there will be many people in and around the campus who are unfamiliar with the local traffic patterns...

The 2009 Vernon County disaster drill is history and the Vernon County Local Emergency Planning Committee will be starting work on the 2010 drill in September. "We had a good turn-out," Dennis Kimrey, Vernon County emergency management director, said during Wednesday's LEPC meeting about the July 21 drill that was held at the Sheldon School...

Blossom-end rot is among the most common issues gardeners encounter with homegrown tomatoes. This physiological disorder is characterized by the development of a depressed, brownish, rather dry rot the size of a dime to a half dollar on the blossom-end of the maturing tomato. As the fruit grows larger, so does the affected area until the whole tomato becomes unusable, said a University of Missouri Extension horticulture specialist...

On Tuesday, Aug. 18, three more people who'd taken a long journey toward a better future got their second chance. A large crowd of family, friends, well-wishers and past graduates filled the gallery in the circuit courtroom of the Vernon County Courthouse to celebrate the graduation of those three people from the Vernon County Adult Drug Court Program...

JEFFERSON CITY-- Representative Barney Fisher, R- 125th District, and Senator David Pearce R- 31st District were recently appointed to serve on the Missouri Veterans Commission by Speaker Ron Richard, R-Joplin, and Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, respectively...

The Nevada Lady Tigers golf team has a new look for the 2009 season and hopes are high for a strong season. "We only lost, and I hate to use the term lost, but we graduated a senior, Lakyn (Mansfield), who qualified for state," head coach Brian Leonard said. "And of course, Emily (DeBrine) was killed in a car wreck. So those are two big shoes that we're going to have to fill."...