Stories from Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Julie Rene Stark, 49, Milo, Mo., passed away on Monday, March 25, 2013, at her home following a lengthy illness. She was born on June 2, 1963, in Nevada, Mo., to William James Palmer and Evelyn Joyce Harmon Palmer. She married John W. Stark in 2007, in Nevada, and he survives of the home...

Blanche Higgins, 76, Sheldon, Mo., was called home to be with her Savior on Monday, March 25, 2013, at Medicalodge of Nevada, following a lengthy illness. She was born on Feb. 16, 1937, in Excelsior Springs, Mo., to John Walter Gaines and Fern Rothgeb Gaines. Upon the death of her mother, she was adopted at the age of 2 by Mable Frances and Willie "Dutch" Peters of Sheldon, Mo. She married Charles W. Higgins on Dec. 17, 1954, in her parents' home in rural Sheldon and he survives of the home...

Virginia Lee Jenkins, 91, Nevada, passed away on Monday, March 25, 2013, at Freeman Health System West, Joplin, Mo. She was born on Oct. 21, 1921, in El Dorado Springs, Mo., to James W. Vohs and Dorothy B. Cornelius Vohs. She married H. Everett Jenkins on Nov. 24, 1937, in Nevada, and he preceded her in death on Aug. 26, 1988...

Lieutenant Floyd M. Smith, 85, of Harwood, Mo., died Monday, March 25, 2013, at the Barone Center in Nevada, Mo. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, March 29, at the Lewis-Hoagland Funeral Home in Schell City, Mo. Visitation will be held from 9 to 10 a.m., just prior to the service at the funeral home. Burial will be in Green Mound Cemetery, Harwood, Mo...

Eva Mae Sparks, 86, Keller, Texas, formerly of Nevada, Mo., passed away on Monday, March 25, 2013, at her son's home. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m., Friday, March 29, at Ferry Funeral Home, Nevada. Interment will follow at 2:30 p.m., in National Cemetery, Fort Scott, Kan...

Florence Evelyn Flynn, 84, Nevada, died on Tuesday, March 26, 2013, at Nevada Regional Medical Center. Family information and funeral arrangements will be announced later by Ferry Funeral Home, Nevada. View obituary and send condolences online at www.ferryfuneralhome.com...

Jonathon and Jennifer Pursley of Schell City, Mo., and older siblings, Kyleigh, Jadyn, Rhianna, Holden, and Kuper, are proud to announce the birth of their daughter and baby sister, Cecily Haven Pursley. Cecily was born at 9:11 a.m., Thursday, March 21, 2013, at Nevada Regional Medical Center. She weighed 9 pounds, 9 ounces, and measured 20 and 1/2 inches...

Casey Kalleck and Briana Belew of Sheldon, Mo., are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Alyson Paige Kalleck. Alyson was born Friday, March 15, 2013, at Nevada Regional Medical Center. She weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces. Maternal grandparents are Jim and Candi Belew, of Sheldon, Mo. Maternal great-grandparents are Mary Spall and the late Rex Spall...

Three candidates are running for two open seats on the Nevada School Board. Incumbents Joy J. Hawks and Amanda Fisher are being challenged by newcomer Michelle Ji. All board members are elected at large. Profiles of the candidates follow in question and answer format in ballot order...

The Nevada Regional Medical Center has added two new hyperbaric chambers to its wound and skin care clinic to treat diabetic ulcers of the foot, burn patients and patients with other ailments that can benefit from the concentrated oxygen of a therapy session...

SHELDON -- People interested in making Sheldon, a better place to work, live and play gathered at the community center Monday to lay the groundwork for a concerted effort to improve the city. Organized and conducted by retired teacher and administrator Phyllis Sprenkle, the meeting attracted 18 residents of Sheldon and outlying areas...

Rural Missouri, the largest paid circulation monthly publication in Missouri, has named the Bushwhacker Museum of Nevada as runner-up in the Best Small-Town Museum category in its annual Readers' Choice awards. Now in its 12th consecutive year, the Best of Rural Missouri Readers' Choice contest asks Rural Missouri's more than 540,000 recipients to vote on their favorite Missouri eateries, destinations, and activities in some 20 categories, ranging from "Best Restaurant" and "Best Burger" to Best Small-Town Museum" and "Best Theater.". ...