Stories from Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Forest Eugene Meritt, 76, Nevada, Mo., passed away Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014, at Nevada Regional Medical Center, in Nevada. Eugene was born Dec. 16, 1937, in Nevada, to Forest E. Meritt and Thelma V. Cooper. Eugene grew up in this area and graduated from Nevada High School in 1956. He worked throughout his life on the family farm raising hogs and cattle and doing general farm chores. With the exception of two years when the family moved to California, Eugene lived his entire life in Vernon County...

Hazel Lorene Burris, 100, Nevada, Mo., died on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014, at Barone Alzheimer's Care Center, in Nevada. Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 21, at Deerfield Cemetery, Deerfield, Mo., under the direction of Ferry Funeral Home, Nevada...

By Eric Wade Daily Mail Sports Editor SHELDON -- Free throws ultimately proved to be head coach Jason Irwin's Sheldon Lady Panthers basketball squad's undoing Monday night, when the Wheatland Lady Mules invaded Sheldon High School for a game that was rescheduled due to winter weather. In a contest that saw the Lady Panthers miss a total of eight free throws, Wheatland came out on top of a seven-point decision, taking the victory by a final score of 32-25...

GOLDEN CITY, Mo. -- Sheldon's boys came up two points short of taking third place in the 58th annual Golden City Boys' Basketball Tournament. The Panthers fell to Dadeville, 55-54, Saturday night, finishing in fourth. Liberal topped Jasper, 63-55, to win the tournament championship. Jasper had defeated Sheldon Thursday, in the semifinal round...

Nevada High School graduate Ashley Wysong is one of four former Missouri Tigers and Lady Tigers athletes scheduled for induction into Mizzou Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame Feb. 15. Wysong -- who is now a physician in California -- was a four-time All-American in track, specializing in the middle distance races, while she was a four-time USA Track and Field Academic All-American. ...

APPLETON CITY -- The Hume Lady Hornets got back into action in the Appleton City Tournament Thursday, taking on the host Lady Bulldogs of Appleton City High School. In a contest that was neck-and-neck, right down to the wire, the Lady Hornets ultimately fell by a final score of 45-44...

Nevada Daily Mail The Nevada City Council will be considering the first reading of two ordinances when it meets at 7 p.m. regarding the Nevada Fire Department's response to rural fires. One confirms the Nevada Fire Department's rural fire response and procedures. The second establishes the rural fire membership fee from Jan. 1, 2014, to June 30, 2015...

Nevada Daily Mail With the visit to Drury University coming down to the wire, the Sheldon Vision Committee met Sunday to finalize their plans for presenting their town to the university's architecture students. Vision committee members Robert and Marlene Moran told the group about some insights they gained during a recent visit to the students' professor, Jay Garrott...

Nevada Daily Mail A Nevada man was arrested Friday for an assault which resulted in one woman being airlifted to a Joplin hospital for serious medical attention. The Vernon County Sheriff's Department reported that 33-year-old Arren Lee McDermott faces charges of first-degree domestic assault resulting in serious physical injury and armed criminal action...

Nevada Daily Mail The Vernon County Sheriff's Department is currently investigating a phone scam targeting teens in the area. Several parents in Schell City recently reported suspicious conversations between their children and an unidentified individual who was contacting teens through text messages. Girls were approached by a person pretending to be a friend, who then asked the girls for nude photographs. The pictures were then sent to boys of similar ages to entice a meet up...