Stories from Thursday, April 29, 2010

Barbara Ann Shumaker, 58, Nevada, passed away on Tuesday, April 27, 2010, at her home in Nevada following a lengthy illness. She was born Aug. 31, 1951, in Nevada, to John J. Holland and Ethel F. Rackley Holland. She married Raymond L. Shumaker on May 29, 1971, in Nevada, and he survives of the home...

Shirley Jean Thompson, 74, Nevada, died on Tuesday, April 27, 2010, at Nevada Medicalodge. She was born Oct. 28, 1935 in Vernon County, Mo., to Alfha Rusk Thompson and Velma Fern Oxford Thompson. Family information and funeral arrangements will be announced later by Ferry Funeral Home, Nevada...

Shirley Flake, 73, of Schell City, died Tuesday, April 27, 2010, at St. Joseph Medical Center, in Kansas City, Mo. Graveside services will be held Monday, May 3, 2010, at The Green Lawn Cemetery, in Schell City. Visitation will be from 2-6 p.m., Sunday, May 2, at the Lewis-Hoagland Funeral Home, in Schell City. with Eastern Star services at 4 p.m. Friends may call after noon on Sunday at the Funeral Home...

Less than 15 years ago, Jay Johnson was a hometown kid playing football for Kickapoo High School and starring in his school plays. When he reached the age of 21, he made his dreams come true by landing a role on NBC's daytime hit drama, "Days of Our Lives," after packing up and moving to Hollywood. This past weekend, he shared his story of his dreams coming true with local communities and urged support of fine arts programs for young people...

The 15th Annual Saddle Up Trail Ride for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will be held on May 15, in Milo, Mo. The volunteer coordinator for this event is Kelly LaPreze, who encourages everyone to participate. By participating in or attending the event, participants will help raise funds for children of the world who are stricken with diseases like cancer, AIDS and Sickle Cell Anemia. ...

When you search for Nevada, Mo., on Internet search engines, the city of Nevada's Web site is what usually pops up at the top of the list. Unfortunately, that does not benefit Nevada's tourism committee's Web site, www.visitnevada mo.com, which, on a Google search, shows up as the 23rd entry...

With somber passion, public officials, families, and friends of Vernon Countians who have been victims of crimes gathered for the annual Crime Victims Walk Tuesday evening. The procession was led by Southern Commissioner Kennon Shaw, along with Northern Commissioner Neal Gerster and Presiding Commissioner Bonnie McCord, from Dr. Warren Lovinger's office on South Ash to the Vernon County Courthouse, while holding a banner proclaiming Crime Victims' Rights Week...

The Nevada Tigers and Lady Tigers junior varsity track team competed at Fort Scott High School Tuesday. Sophomore Kyle Bennett had the best performance of the day for the Tigers as he brought home three top-five finishes. Bennett took second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.75 seconds and in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.5 seconds while taking fifth in the pole vault at 9 feet, 6 inches...

The nice thing about traveling in the spring is that you can see spring arrive several different times. Even though I only drove just across our own state, I noticed daffodils blooming in one part of the state, while none were showing in another section. The same was true for forsythia blooms. But the biggest joy was driving in the Ozarks and seeing the dogwood and red bud in bloom at the same time...