Stories from Tuesday, December 24, 2013

George Daniel "Dan" Lusk, 60, Mound City, Kan., passed away Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013, at Olathe Medical Center, Olathe, Kan. He was born Feb. 13, 1953, in Siloam Springs, Ark., to Webb Earl Miller and Bernice Odessa Powers Miller. At the age of three Dan was adopted by Donald J. Lusk. On Feb. 22, 1969, he was united in marriage to Laura Rondeau in Noel, Mo., and to this union four children were born. Dan and Laura divorced in 1996...

Martha Irene Igo, 91, Nevada, Mo., passed away Saturday, Dec. 21, 2013, at her home in Nevada. She was born July 26, 1922, in Capps, Ark., to Louis Cecil Stacy and Coral Velma Ferguson Stacy. Irene was united in marriage to Harold J. Igo on May 19, 1955, in Fort Scott, Kan., and he preceded her in death on Jan. 21, 1999...

Elizabeth Lee Gilbert, 57, Ozark, Mo., formerly of Nevada, passed away Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013, in Springfield, Mo. She was born Feb. 1, 1956, in Osceola, Mo., to Lee and Wanda R. (Cross) Gilbert. Elizabeth was raised in Nevada and graduated from Nevada High School Class of 1974. ...

Robert "Bob" Bray, 79, Overland Park, Kan., died Friday, Dec. 6, 2013. Visitation was held 2 to 3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7, at Heartland Cremation and Burial Society, 6113 Blue Ridge Blvd., Raytown, Mo. Funeral services followed at 3 p.m. Burial was in Leavenworth National Cemetery, Leavenworth, Kan. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Crossroads Hospice...

Loraine Ferree, 87, Nevada, Mo., died Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013, at Barone Alzheimer's Care Center, in Nevada. She was born July 15, 1926, in Spencer, Iowa, to William Oscar Roten and Zula Skinnel Roten. A private family service will be held at a later date...

Brian Hume, 41, of Sedalia, Mo., received minor injuries when his 2001 Ford Explorer went off Interstate 49, five miles north of Nevada, and overturned Saturday night. Hume totaled his vehicle and was transported to Nevada Regional Medical Center.

A 39-year-old Nevada man has been arrested in connection with an assault. Nevada Police concluded an investigation into a felony case that occurred the evening of Saturday, Dec. 21, in the 1000 block of West Sycamore. The 61-year-old victim was attacked and stabbed multiple times by a family member because of a dispute over money...

Nevada Daily Mail Community Outreach is facing increasing need for its services in Vernon County and little or no increase in the available resources. Like many food pantries around the country, the cut in food stamps in recent months has caused a rush on the available supplies...

Ice coats the trees around the courthouse two days after the winter storm on Saturday. Photo by Gloria Tucker/Daily Mail

Christmas time in Nevada brings back many memories, but those of the downtown "Square" remain at the top of my list. The glory days of the Square are long past, and they are not likely to return. That is a loss for our community and way of life. The idea for this story came to me when I was watching the morning business shows on MSNBC. The commentators were relating the new shopping figures for the current Christmas Holiday season...

Interest in hunting deer with a muzzleloader is growing in Missouri. Interest will be shown as the Alternative methods portion of deer season opens Saturday, Dec. 21 and runs thru Dec. 31. Several years ago, I visited with some muzzleloader enthusiasts at a weekend "Rendezvous." The group of muzzleloaders were set up in one pole lodges, they were throwing tomahawks and acted as time had stopped in the 1850's...

Bronaugh had little trouble with Northeast Vernon County Thursday, with the Wildcats rolling to a 66-28 victory over their county rival. The game was close early, as Bronaugh led just 11-9 after eight minutes. But in the second quarter, the hosts broke free, going on a 21-point scoring spree, while holding the Knights to just seven points...

RICH HILL -- Host Rich Hill proved too much Thursday night for Hume as the Lady Hornets dropped a 57-31 decision. The visitors fell behind, 19-10, at the first break, but did manage to slow down the hosts' scoring pace in the second quarter. Unfortunately for Hume, the Lady Hornets could only match scores as the teams combined for just 12 points in the frame...

Longtime educator, teacher, former coach and athletic director Kevin McKinley was honored with a retirement reception at Nevada High School Friday morning, on his last day at the school. McKinley served the Nevada Public Schools in a host of capacities for the better part of 27 years, including 15 as the high school athletic director, as well as giving back to the community in a variety of areas. ...

BRONAUGH -- The annual "Christmas Game" is aptly named, since it is not only played right at the end of December as Bronaugh High School prepares for the holiday break, but it also pits the Hume Hornets and Lady Hornets, in red, against the Wildcats and Lady Wildcats of Bronaugh, in green...

HARRISONVILLE, Mo. -- The Nevada Tigers wrestling team competed in its second tournament of the season Friday and Saturday, at the Harrisonville Christmas Tournament. Of the 23 teams in the tournament, Nevada finished tied with Seneca for 13th place, with 518 points. Cameron won the tournament with 885 points, followed by Kirksville, Smithville, Raymore-Peculiar and Pleasant Hill...

Nevada Daily Mail Residents of Walker will get a little more time to pay their water bills before being shutoff as decided by the Walker Board of Aldermen at its meeting Monday. The shutoff time will change from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. so the city's Maintenance Supervisor William Jeffery can check the mail for last minute payments...

Nevada Daily Mail The Western Missouri 911 Dispatch Center's board of directors met Tuesday in a special session -- an emergency meeting -- in order to review and adopt the center's budget for the upcoming year. Board chairman J.D. Kehrman told the board that dispatch center director Tonia Davis had made some additional cuts in spending "to try and bring the center closer to a break even point for the next year."...