Stories from Friday, March 18, 2011

William W. (Pat) Murphey, 93, Kansas City, Mo., formerly of Bellevue, Wash., passed away on Mar. 16, 2011. Pat was born Feb. 14, 1918, in Braggs, Okla., and grew up in the El Dorado Springs and Nevada, Mo., area. He attended school in Stillwater, Okla., where he met his wife Alma, the love of his life...

Kenneth and Stephanie Hackman of Deerfield, Mo., and older sister Kaylee Ann Hackman, are proud to announce the birth of their baby daughter and sister, Sophie Mae Hackman. Sophie was born at 3:55 p.m., Wednesday, March 16, 2011, at Nevada Regional Medical Center. She weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and measured 20 inches...

Cottey College will present the world-renowned play "Life in a Jar" on Saturday, March 26, at 8 p.m. in the auditorium inside the Haidee and Allen Wild Center for the arts, on the northeast corner of Austin and Tower streets in Nevada. In 1999, a Uniontown, Kan., teacher encouraged four students to work on a National History Day project which would meet their classroom motto, "He who changes one person, changes the world entire." They discovered a Catholic woman who saved 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942-'43. ...

Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler said Thursday that the House Agriculture Committee opposes an attempt by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to declare rural dust "particulate matter" and fine farmers for stirring it up. "We had Lisa Jackson, the EPA director, testify and expressed our disapproval of the way she is conducting her agency," Hartzler said from Washington. ...

No one was injured in a Sunday house fire at 917 N. Adams Street, where the Nevada Fire Department responded at 5:06 p.m. According to a report from the Nevada Fire Department, dispatchers informed firefighters the home could be occupied. Once on scene, firefighters found a single story wood frame structure with smoke and fire showing on one side, and a search was conducted to confirm that the residence was unoccupied. No one was found inside, and the fire was extinguised...

The Missouri State Highway Patrol, a premiere law enforcement agency, is testing for new troopers. The Patrol is encouraging qualified individuals of all backgrounds to apply. Those who successfully complete testing will be eligible to continue in the selection process for the 95th Recruit Class, scheduled to begin training on April 2, 2012. The application deadline is May 23, 2011...

March is Red Cross Month, and the American Red Cross is asking people to join them in helping those in need by volunteering their time, making a donation, taking a class, or giving blood. "When someone provides a hot meal to a disaster victim, gives blood, takes a first aid class, or helps someone in the military, they join the Red Cross," said Peggy Tedlock, Representative for the Greater Ozarks Chapter.-Nevada office. ...

Bronaugh R-7 School Practical Parenting Partnerships held their annual Make It Take It Educational Fair on Tuesday, March 8. Nearly 50 students and their parents attended. Families went to two sessions -- one focusing on math and the other focusing on science. Children completed Tangrams, molecules made out of marshmallows, Flip the Facts math game and made terrariums...

A Nevada tradition returns Friday and Saturday as the 25th Annual Nevada Home and Leisure Show returns for another year. Produced by KNEM/KNMO Radio in Nevada, the Nevada Home and Leisure Show annually features products and services from businesses in southwest Missouri and southeast Kansas. Each year displays include items never seen before by the general public as some businesses use the event to promote new products or services...