Stories from Sunday, January 8, 2006

By Afton Bugg Herald-Tribune Nevada, Mo. -- A little-known but deadly problem is lurking in almost everyone's garage, cabinet, and cleaning closet. It is for sale in most convenience and grocery stores in every town in America. This menace takes hundreds, and maybe thousands of youthful lives each year...

By Michael Glover Herald-Tribune Fort Scott, Kan. -- Building a strong youth population can positively affect how a community develops for decades. That concept is a key component in a revitalization effort under way in Fort Scott that could have a major influence in rebuilding the community's vitality...

By Mitzi R. Shead Herald-Tribune Fort Scott, Kan. -- Bad weather tends to go along with the month of January. With that fact in mind, the Scottish Rite Masons from Fort Scott and surrounding areas decided to schedule a fun night for their members and invite the general public. That way, if bad weather prevented some members from attending, they wouldn't miss an important business meeting...

Nevada, Mo. -- Tori Butterworth, right, watches as Amber Lehl practices her humorous interpretation presentation before the annual Nevada High School speech and debate tournament starts Friday afternoon, making the hallway her stage and a wall her audience. ...

Herald-Tribune No outdoor fires are allowed this weekend in Nevada, and danger of wildfires is high in both Missouri and Kansas, as the National Weather Service has alerted local fire departments that "conditions leading to wildfire behavior are possible this weekend."...

By Steve Moyer Herald-Tribune Nevada, Mo. -- Talk about students in the Nevada R-5 School District and most people think of elementary and high school age students, but no one is too old to learn; and there are subjects that can pique the interest of just about any age being offered at the Nevada Regional Technical Center North Campus...

By Jason E. Silvers Herald-Tribune Fort Scott, Kan. -- Ann Ackerman knows what it means to be a volunteer. Ackerman, a 15-year Fort Scott resident, has been involved with the Bourbon County Court Appointed Special Advocates of the Sixth Judicial District, Inc., an agency that trains its volunteers to be advocates for children who have been abused or neglected, not juvenile offenders, and have come under protection of the juvenile court, for the last 16 years. ...

Jennifer Marie Batchelor Lewis, 29, Nevada, Mo., died Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2006, at her mother's home in Milo, following a sudden illness. She was born Jan. 3, 1977, in Fort Scott, Kan., to Hollis Wayne Batchelor and Judy Lee Goddard Batchelor. She married Leonard J.D. Lewis on Aug. 16, 2005, in Miami, Okla., and he survives of the home...

In his book, "Ten Seeds of Greatness," Dennis Waitley shares a poem that all of us need to hear: Take a moment to listen today To what your children are trying to say; Listen today, whatever you do Or they won't be there to listen to you. Listen to their problems, listen for their needs,...

Hi neighbors. We have made it through our first week of 2006. How are we doing? Have you made your resolutions for the year yet? Have you already started applying them or making plans to bring those goals to reality? Or, have you already messed up and broken one of your just-made resolutions? If you are like most of us, the one you have already broken is probably the one you most needed to keep...

During the Truman Administration, the National School Lunch Act was approved by Congress and signed into law to fight child hunger in America. For more than 50 years, our nation's policies have reflected our values that no child should go hungry and that hunger should never cause a child to miss the opportunity to learn...

Battlefield Dispatches is a column featuring original documents from the era of Bleeding Kansas (1854 -- 1861) and the Civil War (1861- 1865) west of the Mississippi River. --- Private William F. Nichols served with Company A of the 11th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry Regiment for approximately 18 months, from Feb. ...

By Joe Warren Herald-Tribune CARTHAGE, Mo. -- The Lady Tiger Classic might be the name of the tournament, but it could also be referring to just the championship game at the annual girls basketball tourney held in Carthage. The past four years, the Nevada Lady Tigers and the Carthage Lady Tigers have squared off in the title contest. ...

By Scott Nuzum Herald-Tribune UNIONTOWN, Kan. -- Uniontown's boys were hot in the first quarter of Friday night's game with Erie. However, the Eagles eventually cooled down and the visiting Red Devils took a 67-52 win in non-league play. Uniontown (3-4) made nine of 12 field-goal attempts in the first quarter as the Eagles built a 20-13 lead. ...

Herald-Tribune MONTROSE, Mo. -- The Bronaugh Wildcats struggled in their second road game in two days, as both the boys and girls were defeated. The boys lost 65-41, as Montrose came out firing, scoring 22 first-quarter points. From there the Wildcats (4-4) weren't able to get back into it, as they fell behind 22-9 after the opening stanza...

By Scott Nuzum Herald-Tribune UNIONTOWN, Kan. -- Kaity Smith's buzzer-beater gave Uniontown's girls a 35-34 victory over Erie here Friday night in a non-league contest. Smith pulled down her eighth rebound of the night and hit a short jumper with seven seconds remaining. Erie tried to get downcourt in time for a winning basket of its own, but a desperation 35-footer fell short...

"Pie in the sky," that's what they call it these days, but it's exactly what Jackson Countians voted for way back in 1968, before the Harry S. Truman Sports Complex even had a name. The Kansas City Royals, to the best of my memory, were still known as Kansas City's new expansion franchise when voters were asked if they wanted two new stadiums, one for baseball, the other for football, with a sliding roof between the two. ...

With time running out in 2005, I had to give both hunting and fishing a last shot. Starting out with a late morning duck hunt, I remembered what the late, great, home-run slugger, Roger Maris told me. Maris said, "Back in North Dakota, I used to finish the duck season by hitting all the ponds that were still open and jump shoot the remaining mallards. It was some of the best hunting of the season."...

The family of Jim and Veda Edmonds are celebrating the couple's 70th wedding anniversary, Jan. 18, 2006, with a card shower. Cards may be mailed to: Jim and Veda Edmonds, RR1, Box 692, Richards, MO 64778-9561.

Mr. and Mrs. James P. Eastwood, Fort Scott, Kan., have announced the upcoming marriage of their daughter, Casey Eastwood, to Matthew Rhea. The bride-elect is a 2000 graduate of Fort Scott High School and a 2003 graduate of Fort Scott Community College. She holds an Applied Associates of Science in Nursing and is currently employed by Olathe Medical Center on the Open Heart Surgery Team...