Stories from Friday, May 24, 2013

For more than 40 years Jean Bedwell had been a friend. She was not just a friend; she shared with Lester and me two wonderful grandsons and six special grandchildren because her daughter, Jenny, married our son, Michael. This marriage brought the two families together for many occasions. Birthdays and holidays were not complete unless there were Bedwells mixing with the Thorntons. Sometimes we would almost forget which was which, but Jean and I shared some thoughtful times together also...

U.S. Bank customers can make donations to the American Red Cross at more than 2,000 U.S. Bank ATMs in 25 states, including the one in Nevada, to support relief efforts across the country like the devastating tornadoes that hit Oklahoma and the Midwest this week...

The Rotary Club is searching for Nevada's top citizen -- a person who embodies serving others -- and is seeking the public's help in determining this 2013 Citizen of the Year. Nominations may be submitted by anyone for anyone in the community who the nominator thinks fits the criteria, said Carol Branham, chairwoman of the selection committee...

Outdoor enthusiasts of all ages are invited to enjoy a weekend on an original American landscape -- the tallgrass prairie -- at the Missouri Prairie Foundation's Denison and Lattner Prairies in Vernon and Barton counties on June 1 and 2. At this free event, adults and children with enthusiasm for the outdoors will team up with biologists to explore the prairie and document plants and animals of the 440-acres of these contiguous prairies...

Special to the Daily Mail Bonnie Teel of Vernon County received some wonderful news on May 18. The previous day, the Missouri Natural Areas Committee, made up of professional biologists from conservation agencies and other groups, had nominated 178 acres of her nearly 1,000-acre Prairie View Farm to become a designated Missouri Natural Area...

The 10th annual Nevada Regional Medical Center Foundation Golf Classic was held on May 10, at the Frank E. Peters Golf Course, in Nevada. Opening ceremonies included recognition of the sponsors who have supported the tournament since its inception. Foundation President Sue Quitno -- along with Golf Committee Chairman Seth Barrett -- handed out awards to First National Bank, RJ Dutton Inc., Nevada Anesthesia Consultants -- Dr. ...

Tom Smith, Springfield, is one of many outdoorsmen who look forward to the big Memorial Day Weekend. Smith is both a squirrel hunter and smallmouth bass angler. This year, both seasons open on May 25, and Smith is ready. "There are plenty of squirrels in the Ozarks, both red and gray, and with a liberal limit of 10 bushytails, hunters' chances of taking squirrels are excellent. I use a .22 rifle -- the same one my father started me on 30 years ago," Smith said...

JEFFERSON CITY -- The Nevada High School track and field team took two relay teams and three individual athletes to the MSHSAA Class 3 State Track and Field Championships Friday afternoon, on the campus of Lincoln University. Three of the five events that featured Nevada High School representatives had their preliminary rounds on Friday and things didn't go nearly as well as Nevada head coach Robert Watts might have hoped. ...