Stories from Friday, February 25, 2005

By Ben Holman Nevada Daily Mail In an area that has never had a large black population, it seems unusual to find such a prominent black leader in our own back yard. Those who are unfamiliar with the history of Nevada's neighbor to the West, Fort Scott, might find it surprising that Gordon Parks, an influential photographer, filmmaker, writer, poet and composer, was born and spent his boyhood there...

By Marc Powers Nevada Daily Mail JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Those speaking at a Senate hearing Wednesday on whether to ask Missouri voters to reconsider the state's earmarked sales tax for conservation split into two diametrically opposed camps. One feels the Missouri Department of Conservation is a renegade agency that rides roughshod over the public and spends wastefully. The other credits the department with developing a conservation program that is the envy of other states...

Nevada Regional Medical Center radiologist Ted Moore highlights some of the recent advancements in ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging diagnostic equipment now available at the hospital. A new open MRI machine has been installed at the hospital, accommodating patients with a fear of enclosed places. ...

By Steve Moyer Nevada Daily Mail The Nevada R-5 Board of Education received a show of support from a small group of parents who attended the board's work session Wednesday night. The only item on the agenda for the meeting was the budget but that one subject kept the board busy for two hours trying to find solutions to the situation the district finds itself in...

Tiny yellow crocus blossoms sit nearly blanketed in the snow that fell on Wednesday, bravely declaring that spring will soon be here. Some of the earliest species to bloom in this area, it's common to see the small plants bearing bright colors in February. This bunch was found at a home on S. Pacific, Nevada...

Robert Foster Collier, 77, Nevada, died Feb. 21, 2005. Services were held at Ferry Funeral Home today, at 2 p.m., with John Nichols officiating. Military honors were conducted by the National Guard Juliet Team of Joplin. Arrangements are by Ferry Funeral Home...

Ralph Wayne Blevins, 84, Rich Hill, died Feb. 23, 2005, at his son's home in Independence, Mo. He was born on March 26, 1920, near Cowgill, Mo., the son of Rena Mayes Blevins and Ira Harrison Blevins. On Aug. 3, 1952, he married Mildred Louise Thomas of Lamoni, Iowa...

Leila J. Reed, 88, Oak Grove, Mo., formerly of Metz, Mo., died Friday, Feb. 25, 2005, at Oak Grove Nursing Home in Oak Grove, Mo. Family information and funeral arrangements will be announced later by Ferry Funeral Home.

Herman Jank has again taken pen in hand to denounce my uncultured boorishness. This time he has taken it into his head that he can see into my head, a contention I vigorously deny. While I know Jank and I know he is serious about many worthy issues, ecology for one, and while I respect him I cannot always say the same for the causes he supports...

The lady at the gym said I could add tanning privileges to my membership for just $10 a month and that would include tanning for The Other Half, too. It sounded good, but artificial tanning is just wrong. Dermatologists tell us to wrap up like mummies just to get the mail, so does it make sense to pay money -- no matter how little -- to purposefully expose ourselves to concentrated doses of ultraviolet radiation? Plus everybody knows what you're up to. ...

100 years ago: Carthage couple wed in Nevada Last evening Mr. Willis Man Wellingford, a cousin of Mrs. W.D. Bailey, and Miss Nelle Hamelton, both of Carthage, were united in marriage by the Rev. A.R. Faris, the ceremony being performed at the residence of W.D. Bailey on North Washington Street...

A new study covering three decades of U.S. data has found that giving flu shots to the elderly has not saved any lives. The National Institutes of Health research showed that the incidence of death from flu in people ages 65 to 74 -- about 10 in 100,000 -- remained the same from 1984 to 2001 even though the percentage of elderly vaccinated for the flu more than quadrupled...

By Joe Warren Nevada Daily Mail It's always a struggle when Nevada and Carthage get together on the basketball court. The two teams played each other for the fourth time this season Thursday at the the Class 4, District 12 tournament in Carl Junction, and the game lived up to its reputation...

Associated Press SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Nate Field hurt when he laughed or coughed last August. The Kansas City Royals' right-hander tore his left oblique in an outing at the Chicago White Sox and did not play for the rest of the season. ''I was miserable for three weeks. Everyday things I couldn't do,'' Field said...

Associated Press ST. LOUIS -- Former NFL MVP Marshall Faulk, now resigned to a backup role with the Rams, has agreed to a pay cut in a restructured contract that will essentially guarantee he'll end his career in St. Louis, Faulks' agent said Friday...

Kristen Badgley returns a serve during a volleyball tournament that was held Sunday at Nevada Middle School and Nevada High School. The tournament for 12 to 16 year-old players drew 20 teams from Missouri and Kansas including Jefferson City, Springfield, Kansas City, and Chanute, Kan., as well as four Nevada teams...

There were 28 youth wrestlers from Nevada competing at Butler Saturday, with 23 earning medals. Skyler Scotten (shown trying to cradle his opponent), Regar Hardin, True Beisly and Tanner Charles all had first place. Caleb Shanks, Jacob Johnson, Trey Pritchett, Slade Stiles (twice), Tanner Charles, Zach Shepherd, Todd Brier and Taylor Chapman all placed second. ...