Stories from Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Margaret Lee (Stewart) Miller, 67, of Nevada, Mo., passed away Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015, at the Nevada Regional Medical Center, in Nevada, after a lengthy illness. She was born Feb. 15, 1948, in Kansas City, Mo., the daughter of Richard Marion "Sonny" and Willa Mae (Hilburn) Stewart. On April 10, 1977, she was united in marriage to Michael Gregg Miller Sr. in Purdy, Mo., and he survives of the home...

Ted Joe Tucker passed away peacefully beside members of his loving family in the Veteran's Home, in Mount Vernon, Mo., on Dec. 10, 2015. Born on July 27, 1932, Ted was the youngest son of Setta Jane and Auzie Tucker, of Doniphan, Mo. Blessed with an easy-going manner and a wry sense of humor, Ted was a peaceful soul. ...

Dear Editor: In the Oct. 7 issue of the Nevada Daily Mail, there was a warning issued by Dr. Ron Jones regarding an epidemic of "wrong thinking." Ten days later, in a Letter to the Editor, Dan Gayman wrote of "The Muslim Invasion of the West." He speaks of "politicians, news media moguls, charitable Christian outreach organizations" being "all for giving these so called refugees asylum and our very pro-Muslim White House and liberals all across the country are quite open to untold numbers of these Muslims coming into the United States of America.". ...

JEFFERSON CITY -- Best wishes for a happy holiday season! My thoughts are with all of you, especially the brave men and women serving on our behalf in the military. It is a busy time in Jefferson City. Legislators are pre-filing bills before the 2016 session begins on January 6th. ...

By Rebecca French Smith Anyone can take a photograph. Some people use professional cameras, while for others it's just a smartphone. Some are particularly adept at capturing a moment fraught with emotion -- they have a knack for telling a story -- while others simply document life and leave the interpretation up to the viewer. For me, the story a photo tells is the most important part. So much can be understood, but then again, there is always more to learn...

Nevada Daily Mail The Annual Toy Drive is underway. Donate a new, unwrapped gift until Wednesday, Dec. 16. Drop off locations are 229 N Cedar (Community Outreach), 225 W. Austin (Chamber of Commerce), and 225 W. Austin (Hoffman Financial). For questions call Community Outreach at 417-667-4339...

Nevada Daily Mail Mason Forkner, a fifth grader from Truman Elementary School, will be among students competing at the national level after his poster entry in the Missouri Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts took both Vernon County honors and first place in the state...

Nevada Daily Mail The Schell City Board of Aldermen met to discuss with their water system maintenance and citizen concerns, Dec. 2. The water system had a "small" leak, City Clerk Erin Lee said after the meeting. The city hired Missouri Rural Water Association to help find and repair the leak. Lee said the leak was "Not a huge deal, we just had trouble finding it."...

By Floyd Jernigan Nevada Daily Mail The Teen Angel program is now year-round. And while a concerted effort continues during this holiday period to provide Christmas needs for area teens, the need never goes away. That was the message of Teen Angel coordinator Corey Johnson and assistant Kendra Miller...

Hosting its first meet of the season Dec. 10, the Nevada High School wrestling team defeated School of the Osage before falling to Bolivar. NHS vs. Osage Nevada beat Osage 45-30. 220 pounds: Nevada's Scott Swink defeated Chas Kempf via fall, earning six team points...

Northeast Vernon County and Sheldon earned a split of their games Friday, with the Lady Knights rolling 45-21, while the Panthers squeezed out a 56-48 decision in double overtime. In the girls' game, scoring started out slow but steady in the first with Northeast's Becky Jennings opening with two points just 30 seconds in. NEVC built a 10-6 lead before Jennings kicked off an eight-point run that lasted into the second quarter...

The Nevada Lady Tigers eighth-grade basketball team wrapped up its season with a third-place finish at the Carthage-hosted Tri-County Invitational. The Lady Tigers hammered Neosho 47-4, Dec. 10, as point guard Calli Beshore scored a game-high 17 points. Teagan Charles, Payge Dahmer, and Lindley Ferry chipped in with six points apiece as Nevada finished the season 12-2 overall...

Host Hume swept rival Northeast Vernon County, with the Lady Hornets victorious 57-32 and the Hume boys prevailing 52-20. Lady Knight Kiersten Diamond opened the scoring with two points at 1:15 into the first. Megan Sutcliffe tied the score a minute later, and Hannah Gorda put one in from the line to give Hume the lead...

The Nevada Tiger Pit Youth Wrestling Club is now taking sign-ups through Dec. 23. Practices are held at the Nevada High School wrestling room. Practices will be Dec. 16-17 from 5:45-7:15 p.m. There will be a parent meeting at the beginning of the Dec. 17 practice...

The Fort Scott Community College Greyhounds romped to a 90-55 victory over the Cottey Comets Saturday afternoon in Nevada. The Comets are now 3-6 overall and have dropped four consecutive contests. The Comets had previously defeated FSCC 80-78 Nov. 20 at the Gladbach Classic in Fort Scott...

The Nevada Tigers basketball team suffered its first conference loss of the season, falling 98-74 Tuesday night to the Kansas City O'Hara Celtics. The West Central Conference road loss makes the Tigers 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the WCC. Ranked No. 4 in Class 3A, O'Hara features returning conference player of the year Dezmond McDaniel...

The Bronaugh Wildcats rolled to a 64-31 conference victory over the visiting Sheldon Panthers, while the Lady Wildcats topped the Lady Panthers 67-39. The Tuesday night contests improve the Wildcats to 3-4 overall and 2-0 in the Golden Valley Vernon County Conference, while the Lady Wildcats move to 5-2 overall and 2-0 in the GVVC. Both Sheldon teams are 2-5 overall...

Pictured above, Isaac (left) and Brady Hargrove flash big smiles after competing in the recent Diamond Youth Open Wrestling Tournament and the Diamond Youth Novice Wrestling Tournament. Isaac placed second in both tournaments while Brady placed fourth at the Diamond Open and second at the Diamond Novice. Both Isaac and Brady are members of the Nevada Tigers Pit Youth Wrestling Club. (Submitted photo)...