Stories from Wednesday, June 4, 2003

Every year, the federal government spends large sums of money on a wide variety of programs in communities throughout the U.S., and last year was no exception. In 2002, the federal government spent about $1.9 trillion in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and other territories. ...

Dozens of local youth, the future of baseball and softball in Vernon County, gathered Tuesday at Lyons stadium to learn as much as they could from mentors who stepped up to the plate and offered some of their skill and knowledge to the youth. The Nevada Griffons' annual youth baseball and softball camp began Tuesday. ...

The Cottey College Comets basketball team announced two new signees for the 2003-04 season. Nati Lenchner and Sinem Tirkes have transferred from Casper College in Casper, Wyoming. The Casper College Lady T-Birds were 23-10 overall in the 2002-03 season, and ranked in the top 20 in the country in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), Division I. ...

All-Southwest Conference baseball selections were announced with several Nevada Tigers earning spots on the team. Nevada finished with a 13-13 record and won its first district championship since 1995. Nevada's first-team choices were Danny Penn, Kellan Foster and Zach Sandoval. ...

Late-inning heroics helped the Nevada Griffons open the 2003 season on a winning note. Tim Law laid down a perfect two-out, safety squeeze bunt in the bottom of the ninth inning to drive home the game winner in a 6-5 win over the Springfield Slashers on Tuesday night. ...

Before the Memorial Day weekend, I noticed the American Flags had been put up on the square -- which I always appreciate. When I got on Austin, I noticed flags on Austin as well. Having known that plans included getting flags up along Austin for Memorial Day, I was especially impressed with the number of flags and the appearance of those near Cottey College. ...