Stories from Friday, June 21, 2013

When I first started having book signing appointments and was giving talks about having some books published I was often asked a question. "When did you start writing?" My smart alecky answer usually was, "Well, I printed until I was in the third grade and then I began writing." That answer will not make sense to younger generations very soon. Because according to the "Reader's Digest" current issue, 46 states have eliminated cursive writing in their public schools...

Dear Editor: The city of Nevada has seen fit to make its citizens leash their dogs in city parks. I personally cannot remember being in a city that does not allow dogs and their owners to run free. I have been in parks in Kansas City, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Springfield and many other cities and always played with my dogs tossing Frisbees and balls: never saw a "NO FREE ROAMING DOG" sign. ...

Many changes have taken place at the Vernon County Jail in the past six months. One of them is giving the opportunity for inmates to volunteer for work details outside of the jail. Vernon County Sheriff Jason Mosher said he, inmates and many in the public like the idea of county inmates working on different projects in the county...

Northeast Vernon County students will have a new sport when the 2013-14 school years gets under way -- archery. Principal Kendall Ogburn showed off one of the school's new bows at the board of education meeting Wednesday. "There's 12 bows -- 10 rightys and two leftys," Ogburn said, noting that the school also has purchased targets and arrows...

Growing up as an only child, Terry Mosher was afraid of having children. "We had our first child in January of '79, said Mosher, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Nevada. "We went on to have eight children. Today we have 12 grandchildren and one on the way."...

The water is warm, the tickets for a drink and popcorn are ready and the screen is in place for the Float 'n' Flick, which will be held June 20 at the Walton Park Aquatic Center in Nevada. The free swim begins at 7:30 p.m. with "Daddy Dare Care" to be shown on the big screen at dusk...

Camping is the oldest way of living. There is hardly an adult who doesn't long for the simplicity of the open road or the campsite. All the refinements of modern civilization haven't dimmed our appreciation for a place away from it all. Our camping roots run deep. Organized camping dates back to the 1860s, but recreational camping didn't take root until the 1920s...