Stories from Monday, December 31, 2012

Dear Editor: The recent elementary school tragedy in Connecticut has brought the issue of gun control into the mainstream once more. It would seem that some form of gun control is likely to be forthcoming. But what form of control? Tighter background checks of those applying for gun ownership? Certainly, one would question the wisdom of issuing a permit to someone who is known to have serious mental problems, and particularly those on psychotropic drugs...

Anita Byers, assistant show choirs director at Nevada High School, says Wes Morton is a charismatic teacher who applies his prodigious musical talent to the classroom. "Wes is a lot of fun," said Byers, who has worked with Morton for seven years while singing duets with him and participating in choirs he directed. "He has an amazing voice and the kids really respond to the way he teaches because his love of music is contagious...

"We tried to keep expenses in line with 2012," David Heumader, 28th Circuit Court administrator, told the Vernon County Commission during a budget hearing Friday afternoon. Presiding Commissioner Bonnie McCord said Friday that state law requires the circuit court to submit its budget before Jan. ...

Mention Wes Morton and Nevadans think of music, not just his well-known lyric tenor voice, but also the church, community and school choirs he has coached into performances that showed just how magic al music can be. The 46-year-old Raymore native's parents, Gerald and Shirley, began taking him to Kansas City for voice lessons when he was in the fifth grade, and he studied with Placido Domingo's voice teacher in New York City while pursuing a 1991 bachelor's degree in vocal performance with an emphasis on Italian opera at the University of Missouri, in Columbia.. ...