Stories from Wednesday, September 8, 2021

The Sheldon High School volleyball team won a set during pool play at the Jasper Invitational on Saturday, but were bounced out of the bracket by the top seed. The Lady Panthers — who were without senior setter Madison Garren, who was competing at a cross country meet — battled with Jasper's JV to open pool play but ultimately lost both sets, 25-22 and 25-18...

The Cottey College volleyball team earned a sweep to begin the William Penn Labor Day Tournament on Saturday, but that would be the highlight of the team's weekend trip to Oskaloosa, Iowa. After topping Iowa Wesleyan 25-18, 25-20, 26-24, the Comets failed to win another set — losing to Avila 25-22, 25-8, 25-17; Mount Mary 25-17, 25-19, 25-11; and Waldorf 25-9, 25-23, 25-18...

The Nevada High School softball team closed out the Paige Neal/Christina Freeman Invitational Saturday in Joplin with a pair of shutout victories. After losing all three games on Friday, the Lady Tigers responded the next day with an 8-0 win over Carl Junction in six innings and a 10-0 stomping of Seneca in five innings...

Carthage High School's reputation for having a slower indoor pool proved true once again for the Nevada High School boys swimming team on Tuesday, but head coach Clayton Wheeler felt his squad had a good showing. "The boys all swam good races and have shown improvement technique-wise since the first meet," stated Wheeler, whose team earned top-10 finishes in two relays and two individual events for seventh overall out of eight teams...

The Northeast Vernon County High School volleyball team nearly blew another two-set lead Tuesday at McAuley Catholic — but the Lady Knights survived a fifth set to improve to 2-1 on the season. NEVC started off strong with 25-20, 25-15 wins in the opening sets, before losing 14-25, 24-26 in the next two. The Lady Knights eked out a 15-12 win in the fifth and final set to claim the match...

Nevada High School senior Evan Rea has been preparing for the spring tennis season — and another trip to the state tournament — by playing in the UTSA Western Arkansas Baller Junior Championships this past weekend in Fort Smith. In the boys’ 18-and-under singles division, Rea lost to hometown kid Keven Praphan 6-0, 602 in the opening round. Praphan proceeded to win the whole thing without dropping more than two games to any opponent...

The Nevada High School junior varsity football team went to work on Labor Day, shutting out Hollister 33-0 at Logan Field. Junior Tayvin Moore punched in the earliest, logging a 40-yard touchdown run in the first quarter (freshman Elijah Bootle booted the extra point)...

Nevada High School's cross country teams got their first taste of action at the SWCCCA Richard Clark Invitational Saturday in Bolivar — highlighted by four runners emerging out of the loaded field with medals. Allie Rains had the best finish for NHS, taking ninth in Class 4 girls with a time of 21 minutes, 59 seconds. ...

Sheldon High School senior Madison Garren, a returning state medalist in Class 1 and the only runner representing her school this season, earned a top-10 finish in her 2021 cross country debut at the Missouri Western State University Griffon Invitational in St. Joseph on Saturday...

Despite the weekly races getting rained out Saturday night at the Nevada Speedway, 74 cars from around the country showed up to compete in the Lucas Oil NOW600 and Titans B-Mod Series on Sunday. Jaxton Wiggs of Benton, Ill., took home the checkered flag in the Restricted A Class, going wire-to-wire in the 20-lap feature race. ...

The Cottey College cross country team is off and running. And winning. The Comets cruised past the competition in their season-opener Saturday at the second annual NCCAA Falcon Classic 4K in DeSoto, Kan. — earning a team victory thanks to individual finishes in the top-four spots...

Contractors erected barricades at each end of Austin Boulevard railroad overpass late Monday morning. Work on the long-awaited deck replacement project is expected to be completed by March 2022. Nevada City Council member Richard Brockman commended the City of Nevada on preparing for the project during Tuesday evening's city council meeting. ...

Sheila Darlene Hogan, 78, of Horton, Mo., passed away on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021, at her home following a lengthy illness. Sheila was born Oct. 29, 1942, in Chapel Hill, Ind., to Cecil A. and Della L. (Eads) Rife. Sheila lived and worked in Indiana until she moved to Vernon County in 1963. She worked at Nellie Don for many years and also Metz School in Metz, Mo., as a teacher’s aide...

Randolph James “Randy” Torchia, 62, passed away on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, at his home in Nevada following a lengthy illness. Randy was born Aug. 14, 1959, in Kansas City, Mo., to Ronald J. and Frances M. (Naccarato) Torchia. He married Maria Stutzman on June 1, 2021, and she survives of the home...

Dixie Lee Thomas, 78, formerly of Nevada, Mo., died on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021, in Mt. Vernon, Mo., following a courageous battle with breast cancer. Dixie was born on Feb. 8, 1943, in Muscatine, Iowa, to Gail W. and Wanda J. (Smith) Stafford. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m., Friday, Sept. 10, at Ferry Funeral Home, in Nevada. Interment will follow in Moore Cemetery, in Nevada. The family will receive friends from 1 to 2 p.m., prior to the service...

Reverend William Elmore (Bill) Bell, 96, formerly of Nevada, Mo., went to his heavenly home Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021. He was a resident of Gran Villas Pittsburg, Assisted Living, Pittsburg, Kan. He lived most of his adult life in the Nevada and Bronaugh area...