Stories from Sunday, June 8, 2003

Rodeo fans are bound to notice Shane Parli, right away. He's the one risking life and limb, being rolled around in the barrel by a boisterous bull. When he comes out he'll be wearing a big smile -- a real one as well as the upside-down one that's painted on. ...

It was 30 years ago when Charlene Hancock first cooked meals in the Vernon County Jail. Her husband Bob was a deputy and the two lived in the jail. Things have changed quite a bit over the years. Back then her husband was one of only two deputies employed by the sheriff's office. ...

KEARNEY, Mo. -- The River Bandits stole a page from Earl Weaver's book. Weaver, the former Baltimore Oriole manager of the '60s, '70s and '80s, built his great teams around the home run, always playing for the big inning. He once said, "The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three-run homers." That's exactly the formula the Kearney River Bandits used for a 4-2 win over the Nevada Griffons on Thursday. ...

One of the things baseball has done to injure itself, and this more than anything else, is the allowance of free agency, which cut the heart out of one of the game's most interesting aspects -- arguments. That's right, and I'll repeat it. Arguments! Fans used to take their players more seriously than they do today when owners float money under their noses after fans make them their local heroes. ...

At the recent meeting of the Missouri Conservation Commission, the members approved a shift in deer harvest management to increase antler-less deer harvest in units where deer are abundant. One of the key changes that many landowners have wondered about allows resident landowners of at least five contiguous acres to farm tag one deer of either sex. ...

"They looked like works of art. The doctors showed me the pictures. You could see two glowing areas where the prostate cancer was." reports V5, a two-tour Vietnam Dust Off pilot. "Back in the 1980s, I'd signed up on the Agent Orange Registry. I knew Vietnam vets were developing prostate cancer in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. ...

You enter through double glass doors, walk along a steeply descending, rubber-carpeted and windowless steel corridor that protects you from all weather good or bad, until you arrive at the open cockpit door of the 747's fuselage. Once you step inside, a "flight attendant" greets you and, checking your ticket, directs you to your seat, where you toss your brief case or overnight bag into the compartment above your head, open a magazine from those available in the seat before you, and hope to lose yourself in it for the duration of the flight. ...

Hi neighbors. When we pass the age of 50, people start yammering at us all the time to stay active. To them I say "active" can be defined in many ways. To some people, being active means climbing a mountain, bunjie jumping, and ski trips to Denver. ...

100 Years Ago -- June 8, 1903 RICH HILL NEWS -- The hardware store of N. Johannes & Sons was robbed here again this morning of twelve short guns, two Winchester rifles and four revolvers, all very fine firearms. The robbers, three in number, gained an entrance by prying the lock on the front door getting the guns and wrapping them in grain sacks. ...