Stories from Thursday, January 5, 2012

Cottey notebook

NHS freshman excels in the pool

Laura O. Francis was born Jan. 21, 1917, in High Point, (Moniteau County), Mo. She went home to be with her Lord on Jan. 3, 2012. She was the daughter of John and Christena Dampf Hartley. She moved to Sedalia at the age of six and lived there until moving to Kansas City in 1941...

Byron Kenneth Duke, 62, Nevada, Mo., died Monday, Jan. 2, 2012, at Kansas University Medical Center, Kansas City, Kan., as the result of a sudden illness. He was born Aug. 1, 1949, in Sikeston, Mo., to James Owen Duke and Claire Dunn Duke. He was married Sept. 26, 1971, in Pasadena, Calif., to Sharyon Taylor and she survives of the home...

Wilma L. Rippetoe, 84, formerly of Rich Hill, Mo., died on Jan. 3, 2012, at the Bates County Memorial Hospital, Butler, Mo. Funeral services will be held Thursday, Jan. 5, at 2 p.m., at the Rich Hill Christian Church with burial in the Greenlawn Cemetery...

Tyler and Lisa Shouse of Nevada, Mo., are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Clara Jean Shouse. Clara was born at 10:38 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011, at Nevada Regional Medical Center. She weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces, and measured 21 inches...

In 2011 the community struggled with a slumping economy, but fun and tradition also took its place this year. A look back at the trials and triumphs of 2011 continues today.

If Nevada R-5 voters agree, the school district plans to build a new performing arts center, a new multi-purpose building, make upgrades to the district's technology and to make repairs to Wynn Gymnasium and the high school's tennis courts. During a special meeting Wednesday morning the Nevada R-5 Board of Education, which has been discussing six possible capital improvement projects for several months, voted 7-0 to set April 3 as the date for a special election to ask R-5 patrons to approve a $5.9 million bond issue to finance these projects and to hire LJ Hart & Company as the bond underwriter for the project. ...

A submitted item announcing the engagement of Kaylee Hawks and Dakota Feezell turned out to be a hoax -- affected people have notified the Nevada Daily Mail that the information provided was false. The announcement, published in the Dec. 31 edition of the Weekend Herald-Tribune, was submitted online, and the Nevada Daily Mail has investigated the origin of the submission and is taking appropriate action...

On Friday, Nevada Regional Medical Center will hold a meet-and-greet event for several new members of their leadership team. The event will be held at 9 a.m. in the Mezzanine conference room at the hospital and light breakfast will be served. In December, the hospital made some changes to its organizational structure and welcomed their new Chief Operations and Financial Officer, Tommy McGee. ...

Veteran Ralph Zortman repairs aircraft in Vietnam; restores cars back home.