Stories from Friday, January 20, 2006

A man burning sweet gum pods left them for "just a second" Thursday afternoon, and the fire left the pit the pods were in and crossed into a neighbor's yard, destroying the neighbor's house. No one was in the house Casey and Delpha Crain own in the Rolling Acres subdivision when the fire broke out...

By Ralph Pokorny Nevada Daily Mail If any Vernon County company has more than 50 employees and has a written emergency plan, the Vernon County Emergency Planning Committee would like to have a copy of it for the city and county emergency operation centers...

By Ralph Pokorny Nevada Daily Mail For the last year or so, the members of the Nevada Airport Board have been listening to engineers and architects talk about ideas and concepts that the board had told them they would like to see when the Municipal Airport renovation is completed...

Greg Hoffman thought he'd been asked to the Rotary's Citizen of the Year luncheon to present the award to someone else, but this year, the gathering was in his honor. His voice quaking with emotion, he accepted the award with the humility those who know him best will know is just a part of Greg Hoffman...

Helen Diane Fanning, 64, Nevada, Mo., died Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2006, at St. Luke's Hospital, Kansas City, Mo. She was born Sept. 24, 1941, in Nevada, to Harlan Ireland and Helen Howard Ireland. She married Dwight C. Fanning and he survives of the home...

Joseph Delmar Thatch, 91, Carthage, Mo., formerly of Nevada, died Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006, at McCune Brooks Hospital in Carthage. Family information and funeral arrangements will be announced by Ferry Funeral Home, Nevada, Mo. View obituary and send condolences online at www.ferryfuneralhome.com...

Eula Euredice Koshko, Schell City, Mo., died Jan. 19, 2006, at the St. John's Regional Medical Center in Springfield, Mo. Graveside services with interment were held at 11 a.m., Friday, Jan. 20, at the Green Lawn Cemetery in Schell City, with Gene Gray officiating. Arrangements were under the direction of the Lewis-Hoagland Funeral Home in Schell City...

Citizens must have confidence in the honesty, integrity, and legitimacy of their government in order to sustain a healthy and functioning democracy. That confidence should extend not only to elected officials, but also to official staff and others who work for or conduct business with the government, including lobbyists...

When the Missouri Legislature passed workers' compensation reforms last year, the changes were widely hailed as fairer to employers who too frequently saw their premiums skyrocket when employees were awarded damages for, among other things, injuries that had nothing to do with their jobs...

Our first son was born 36 years ago. We were excited and scared. Thank goodness we soon got over the scared part. So 32 years ago we had a second son. We have never stopped being excited about our two sons. If there is a Big Plan for our lives, I believe it includes sons in some significant way...

Buried treasure located EMPORIA, Kan., -- Hidden treasure to the amount of $100,000 is said to have been discovered on Phenis mound a few miles south west of here. The alleged lucky men are Marion Turner and Otto Freshwater, of Emporia. In 1848, three miners returning from California were attacked by Indians while crossing what is now Lyon county, and took refuge on Phenis mound. ...

Nevada Daily Mail The Nevada Tigers will try to win their second consecutive Southwest Conference road game tonight when they take on Neosho. The Tigers are coming off a 61-44 road win at Carthage Tuesday, improving their overall record to 9-4, 2-1 in the league...