Stories from Friday, May 20, 2016

Lila Mae Pritchett, 90, Nevada, Mo., died on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at Freeman West Hospital, in Joplin, Mo. Lila was born May 21, 1925, in Carthage, Mo., to Harold Homer and Lois Josephine (Kiger) Hornback. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., Wednesday, May 25, at the Church of the Nazarene, in Nevada, with Pastor Josh Griffith officiating. ...

Neal Eugene Keithley, 76, Miami, Okla., died on Tuesday, May 17, 2016, at Freeman West Hospital, in Joplin, Mo. Neal was born March 30, 1940, in Branson, Mo., to Robert Eugene and Sheila (Cummings) Keithley. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m., Friday, May 20, at Ferry Funeral Home, in Nevada. Interment will follow in Moore Cemetery. Friends may call now and until the hour of service at Ferry Funeral Home...

The third-seeded Bronaugh Wildcats were defeated 10-1 by No. 2 seed Greenfield in the semifinals of the Class 1 District 6 baseball tournament Wednesday in Lockwood. The Wildcats trailed 4-1 after four innings of play, as Lockwood then scored two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth en route to victory...

Austin Forkner, a 17-year-old Motocross phenom from Richards, will hit track May 21 at the Hangtown Nationals in Sacramento, Calif. Forkner, who is racing exclusively in the Outdoor Nationals in 2016 as he preps for his 2017 Supercross debut, will be the youngest rider on the track. ...

Nevada-native Emree Cameron, 8, picked up her 22nd career victory Sunday, winning the 3rd annual U.S. Kids Golf Oklahoma State Invitational held May 14-15 at Indian Springs Country Club in Broken Arrow. During the first round of play, Cameron and the field battled cold, blustery conditions as well as tough pen placements. ...

For the second time is the past few days, I was awakened by booming thunder and the steady cadence of rain showers pounding on the roof and windows. My lifelong affinity for thunderstorms made sleeping a delightful experience. As a kid I loved rainstorms, as they allowed me to accomplish one of my favorite activities, "wading."...

Nevada High School junior Matthew Sommer was the lone Tiger to medal at the recent Class 1 District 12 tennis tournament in Warrensburg. Sommer, a first-year tennis player finished in fourth-place out of 12 players, as the top four receive medals. In the first round, Sommer defeated Jerry Skinner of Clinton 7-6 (7-4 tiebreaker), 6-4. He then bested Odmund Bautista of Sacred Heart 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the semifinals, where he fell to No. 1 seed Max Manley of Warrensburg, 6-1, 6-0...

Cottey College is making preparations to expand its athletic department, as the school is aiming to add golf and tennis beginning in the 2017-18 school year. Comets Athletic Director Stephanie Beason confirmed to the Daily Mail, that a search is underway for coaches, as the head coaching vacancies for the golf and tennis positions have been posted...

Editors note: this column originally ran in the Dec. 9, 1999 edition of the Daily Mail. I recently spent parts of two days at a book signing in Branson. I have been in Branson hundreds of times because my mother-in-law and others of the Thornton family have lived in Branson for yams. ...

Nevada Daily Mail A special meeting of the Sheldon board of alderman Thursday evening featured a guest speaker from Missouri Department of Natural Resources, environmental specialist Gwenda Bassett, who spoke to the board about DNR's Community Service Program...

Nevada Daily Mail The 10th annual Schowe 'n' Shine! Car Show and Barbecue contest will be held Saturday, with registration beginning at 8 a.m., with the show running from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with awards at 3:30. The first 75 entries will receive dash plaques and there will be Best of Show and People's Choice awards...

May 17, 2016 To: Vernon County Ambulance District Board of Directors C/O: Kendall Vickers From: James McKenzie RE: Board Position Dear Board of Directors: I hereby rescind my acceptance to the Board position in which I was elected. New employment in the Kansas City area will prevent me from maintaining the required "residency" in Vernon County. ...

The fourth-seeded Hume Hornets were defeated by top-seeded Drexel 12-0 in the semifinals of the Class 1 District 13 baseball tournament Thursday in Walker. Drexel southpaw Trevor Gunnels and relief pitcher Ty Woltkamp combined for a five-inning no-hitter, striking out 13 of the 15 batters they faced...

The Nevada Griffons Board of Directors is seeking host families for Griffons baseball players for the upcoming 2016 season. Griffons players come from colleges throughout the country to play in Nevada, while host families and individuals agree to house a player for eight weeks, the duration of the season ---- providing a room and meals...