Stories from Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Twice per year, teachers and administrators from the schools which make up the Golden Valley/Vernon County Conference of schools hold a joint professional development day. While the fall conference was in Ballard, on Monday, staff from the Ballard R-2, Bronaugh R-7, Hume R-8, Miami R-1, Montrose R-14, Northeast Vernon County R-1 and the Sheldon R-8 districts converged in Bronaugh...

Martha Jean (Spencer) Grider, age 61, of rural El Dorado Springs, Mo., passed away at home on Saturday morning, Feb. 2, 2019. Martha was born April 12, 1957, at Martha Chambers Hospital in El Dorado Springs, the daughter of Albert and Minnie Spencer. She graduated from El Dorado Springs High School in 1975. She was a member of the National Honor Society...

Leonard William Grant, 59, Nevada, Mo., passed away on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019, at Freeman West Hospital in Joplin, Mo. Leonard was born Aug. 12, 1959, in Norfolk, Va., to Albert Rufus and Delores Laverne (Hostic) Grant. He married Helen Lorraine Smith on June 13, 1981, and she preceded him in death on Jan. 14, 2017...

After concluding their regular-season slate with Thursday’s 39-27 victory over Seneca, the Nevada Tiger middle school eighth-grade basketball team returned to the hardwood on Saturday — downing Seneca for the second time in three days. Nevada (7-3), seeded second, and hosting the Big 8 Conference West division tournament — coasted to a 38-22 opening-round decision over seventh-seeded Seneca. ...

It was a day of firsts for Nevada High School over the weekend. The school’s first female grappler, Lotus Van Dyk, qualified for the inaugural Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Class 1 girls’ state wrestling championship meet, slated for Feb. 14-16 in Columbia...