Stories from Thursday, August 27, 2009

Arthur Lee Armstrong, 83, Nevada, passed away on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008, at his home in Nevada following a brief illness. He was born on Oct. 14, 1925, in Nevada, to Commodore Perry Armstrong and Mabel Phillips Armstrong. He married Edith J. Davis in 1984, in Nevada, and she survives of Nevada...

Erin Barbara Murphy, age 76, a resident of Fort Scott, died Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009, at the Mercy Health Center in Fort Scott. She was born March 22, 1933, in Norfolk, Neb., the daughter of Cecil E. Murphy and Harriett E. Walters Murphy. Erin graduated from the Fort Scott High School in 1951. ...

Max Allen Smith, 80, Milo, passed away on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009, at St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., following a sudden illness. He was born Jan. 13, 1929, in Collyer, Kan., Gove County, to Hugh Allen Smith and Mary Miska Smith...

James Elwood Hendren, 89, Independence, Mo., passed away on Aug. 24, 2009. Services will be Saturday, Aug. 29, at Mt. Washington Forever Mausoleum Chapel, 614 S. Brookside Ave., Independence, Mo. Visitation will begin at noon followed by funeral service at 1:30 p.m. Burial in Floral Hills Cemetery...

Aubrey and Dusty Elkinton, of Moundville, and big sisters Halley and Talya, are proud to announce the birth of their son and baby brother, Ryden Lee Elkinton. Ryden was born at 2:15 p.m., on Aug. 24, 2009, at Mercy Health Center, in Fort Scott. ...

Aug. 25 There were reports of a traffic stop in the Walker area, a disturbance in the Nevada area, an abandoned vehicle in the Nevada area, harassment in the Nevada area, a traffic stop in the Nevada area, a check well being in the Nevada area, an automobile theft in the Nevada area, and a traffic stop in the Nevada area...

In addition to the new ban on texting while driving for younger drivers, Governor Jay Nixon has signed several vehicle-related bills into law Some of the laws went into effect upon the signing; others will go into effect Aug. 28. Intoxicated drivers...

On Aug. 28, a new Missouri law will prohibit drivers 21 years of age or younger from sending, reading, or writing an electronic message while driving. "Young people will be forced to at least keep their fingers off their keyboards while they drive,"said Leanna Depue, director of Highway Safety or the Missouri Department of Transportation. "The law is a small step toward counteracting some of the distracted driving that causes crashes in Missouri."...

Vernon County has a long tradition of family farming, and that can be seen on the membership rolls of the Missouri Century Farm program where five new Vernon County farms have been added in the last two years, which brought the total in the county to 71 recognized farms...