Stories from Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Austin Forkner moved into the top-10 in points for the 250 class of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship with a 13th-place finish Saturday at Unadilla MX. The professional rider from Richards crashed out after just three laps of the Moto 1, before responding with a sixth-place run in the Moto 2. That combination landed him in 13th overall, bumping his season point total to 152 with four events left in the 2021 Motocross season...

Gene Wagner, 92, of Nevada, Mo., formerly of Harrisonville, Mo., peacefully passed away Aug. 16, 2021. Gene was born on Sept. 2, 1928, in East Lynne, Mo., the son of Charles Fern and Grace Edna (Smith) Wagner. He had three sons from a previous marriage and married Donna Hammond on Jan. ...

Betty Lou Barnes, 84, formerly of Stotesbury, Mo., died on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021, at The Meadows in Gatesville, Texas. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m., Monday, Aug. 23, at Ferry Funeral Home in Nevada. Interment will follow in West Liberty Cemetery in Fulton, Kan. Friends may call now and until the hour of service at Ferry Funeral Home in Nevada...

A gathering of community members, family, and co-workers gathered in the Vernon County Courthouse Tuesday afternoon to honor Vernon County Assessor Cherie Roberts during a retirement reception. Vernon County Presiding Commissioner Joe Hardin said a few words at the start of the reception, recapping Roberts' tenure with the county. Roberts was voted into the role of assessor in 2000...