Stories from Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Walter “Jake” James Kenney, age 57, of Walker, was suddenly taken from us on June 3. Walt was born in Minnesota on April 18, 1960, to Oliver and Anne Kenney. Walt’s pride and joy were his kids, grandkids and his motorcycle. He enjoyed scenic bike rides with his good friend Tommy and relaxing on the porch swing drinking tea, especially during thunderstorms...

James Ronnie Haddan, 70, of Nevada, passed away at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital in Tallahassee, Fla., on Thursday, June 8. The family will have a memorial service at a later date. Mr. Haddan was born on April 30, 1947, in Panama City Beach, Fla., to the late James Clarence Haddan and Hattie Ruth Davis Haddan. ...

The Nevada Neptunes swim team hosted its annual Neptunes Invitational over the weekend, as the host’s claimed first-place at the 11-team event. The Neptunes finished with a grand total of 571.5 teams points, while the Joplin Stingrays placed a distant runner-up with 432.5 points. ...

Seventy-four year-old Darrell Mooneyham, who was inducted into the Ozarks Area Racers Association Hall of Fame in 2008, added to his sparkling racing resumé with a victory in the Late Model division Saturday night at Nevada Speedway. Mooneyham was money, as the Verona native started third in the feature before flying the checkers. Mooneyham was engaged in a side-by-side battle with Webb City’s Mark Daye, who settled for runner-up...

Nevada Griffons fans and players alike can breathe a big sigh of relief. After 10 consecutive losses to open the season in which the Griffons were outscored 85-38, Nevada finally broke through Sunday night with a 4-3 walk-off victory over the visiting St. Joseph Mustangs...

The City of Nevada has hired Kevin Crump as parks and recreation director. Crump is a native of Illinois and will begin serving the city and community on June 19. He currently works at the Champaign Park District in Champaign, Ill., where he is director of the operations and planning department. He has also worked at the Village of Brown Deer, Wis., as their parks and recreation supervisor. He has more than 30 years of personnel, fiscal and resource management experience in the public sector...

On Tuesday, Patricia Breckenridge, chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court, addressed a luncheon gathering of some 30 area attorneys, prosecutors and judges. Introducing her, the presiding judge of the 28th Judicial Circuit, David R. Munton said, “Not only has she been a judge since almost the start of her legal career but currently, she is the sixth longest serving judge on the Missouri Supreme Court.”...

Since graduating high school, Ray Hascall has had a dream to ride horseback from where he lived in Tecumseh, Okla. to his childhood home in Collins, Mo. “Was going to do it by horseback — figured a wagon would be more comfortable,” Hascall said. Hascall, now retired, is accompanied by his nephew Bobby Tarver and Terria Tarver...

Nevada’s Mayor Brian Leonard and Nevada Police Department officer Marcus Champion were honored by the Southwest Regional Council of the National Association of Housing & Redevelopment Officials at their annual conference in San Antonio, Texas, last week. Their awards were presented to them Tuesday afternoon at Nevada City Hall by Carol Branham, executive director Nevada Housing Authority and Missouri NAHRO president...