Stories from Saturday, December 6, 2014

Margaret L. Kerby, 76, of St. Joseph, Mo., passed away on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014, at Mosaic Life Care. Margaret was born on Feb. 5, 1938, in Kansas City, Mo., to Henry E. and Thelma D. (Morriss) Edmunds. She was a homemaker. She was preceded in death by her parents; two brothers; and an infant son, Kevin...

Blanch Lucy Tracy, 82, Nevada, Mo., was born Oct. 17, 1932, in Milo, Mo., and passed from this life on Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, at Moore-Few Care Center, in Nevada following an illness of several months. She was united in marriage to Lawrence R. Tracy on Oct. 7, 1982, and he preceded her in death on Jan. 7, 1982...

Robert Lee Willson, 44, Archie, Mo., formerly of Walker, passed away at his home on Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, following a lengthy illness. Rob was born on April 11, 1970, in Nevada, Mo., to Gilbert Lee and Eleanor (McDermott) Willson. He was united in marriage to Allison Lee Barnett on Jan. 6, 1996, in Nevada, and she survives of the home...

It was late in the night, cold and windy; her car would not start, and there was no one around to help. Her phone was not getting a signal, and she was not sure she could walk the distance to the nearest phone in this weather to call for help. Sitting inside the car and waiting for help out here would not do much good, and even if someone did come along, in this part of the county a passerby may bring more danger than help...

Flossie burst through my back door the other day. She grabbed a coffee cup before she took off her coat. I sensed she was upset over some major issue. "I have cake," I offered. After cutting her some cake, filling both of our cups with hot coffee, and giving her several packs of artificial sweetener and creamer; we both sat down on the couch...

Contributions, of both time and money, are a key part of the fabric of our society. Our quality of life is often determined by just how much we give. Many organizations and efforts wouldn't exist without our generosity -- United Way, the Humane Society, the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, the Children's Center, Community Outreach, Teen Angel, the Vernon County Ambulance District and American Legion toy drives -- the list is endless...

Nevada Daily Mail In January, the First Baptist Church of Nevada will celebrate the ninth anniversary of Celebrate Recovery, a program similar to the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program. Steve Russ, a pastor of the church and ministry leader, said each Monday night, from 6-8pm, the church holds a service for anyone in the community with "hurts, hang ups or habits" they want to be free of...

Nevada Daily Mail At the start of the new year, the circuit court will be missing a key character who has been a part of the court proceedings for 24 years. After spending two years working with child support for the county, Vickie Erwin was encouraged to run for the circuit court clerk position, a challenge she accepted...

Nevada Daily Mail When I was a kid growing up, I loved winter. There was snow to sled and ride on, rabbits, quail and ducks to hunt. Frozen feet, numb hands and a dripping nose were no problem. It started on November 10, when the quail season opened and there were plenty of them to hunt, the same with rabbits. The ducks had started to move into our area and hunting them was no problem...

The Nevada Middle School seventh grade girls basketball team improved to 11-1 after defeating Stockton 40-2, Thursday night at home. Jadeann Highley and Teagan Charles led in scoring with eight points. Calli Beshore, Hailee Lundine, and Alexis Leighty added six apiece...

Nevada High School's wrestlers had little trouble with visiting Webb City Tuesday. Nevada wrestling coach Devon White was happy with how his team competed. "We went out and only lost one match out of the entire varsity lineup," he said. "We controlled the matches as we wrestled. We dictated what happened."...

Nevada girls' basketball team throttled Carthage 54-30 in the semifinals of the Carl Junction Girls' Tournament Thursday night, controlling each quarter. "It was a great team effort," Nevada head coach Brent Bartlett said. "I really saw some great things out of us tonight."...

Nevada Daily Mail The Sheldon Panthers boys basketball team rolled to a 63-37 home victory over the Hume Hornets Thursday night, while the Lady Hornets smothered the Lady Panthers, 57-13. The Sheldon boys displayed their quickness early, getting up and down the court while scoring in bunches to take a 27-7 lead after one quarter of play...