Stories from Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Enough is enough, that's the message Sheriff Ron Peckman wants to send to those who have been setting fires all over Vernon County. Over the weekend local firefighters responded to at least eight fires, five of them in the Bronaugh area. The fires have caused damage to land and buildings and have even resulted in injury to the firefighters responding to the blazes...

About 25 animal lovers met in Nevada Monday evening to organize a not-for-profit corporation for the purpose of protecting neglected and abandoned animals. The organization, to be known as "Vernon County People For Pets, Inc.," authorized the formation of a Missouri not-for-profit corporation and ap-pointed a nominating committee to recruit directors of the organization. ...

Vernon County Sheriff's deputies spent Friday afternoon chasing four individuals and eventually caught three of them. Donald Beck, 35, Joplin along with Shane Maas, 17, and Preston Lynch, 17, both of Wright City were apprehended after a chase that started when the group was spotted at an anhydrous storage facility near Sheldon and ended near Nevada. Bonds for the three are set at $100,000 each...

The spirit of Mardi Gras permeates the air this time of year, not only in New Orleans but here as well. The recently displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina keep the spirit of their hometowns with them. Some make their own King Cakes, don their masks and throw doubloons to their children...

Hundreds of people turned out for the annual Nevada/Vernon County Area Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet and casino night, held Saturday night at the Eagles lodge in Nevada. Long-awaited awards given to community leaders who made special contributions throughout the past year were presented...

Greg and Melissa Hoffman, Nevada, and Anthony and Bailey are proud to announce the birth of their brother and son, Derek Andrew Hoffman. Derek was born at 4:42 a.m., Feb. 20, 2006, at Nevada Regional Medical Center. He weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces, and measured 20 inches...

Retha Fern Johnston, 92, Butler, Mo., died Feb. 26, 2006, at the Bates County Memorial Hospital in Butler. She was born Nov. 20, 1913, in Cedar County, Mo., to Thomas Cleveland Smith and Mamie Ellen Hart Smith. She and Earnest Johnston were married on April 1, 1934, in El Dorado Springs, Mo. They were married for 55 years when he preceded her in death in 1989...

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad: --- Vice President Dick Cheney has been widely criticized across party lines for the way he handled his quail-hunting accident. He kept it secret for a day, then didn't put it out himself, but had his host call a newspaper...

Three fatally burned LAWTON, Okla., -- John Jamison, manager of the Hydro-Carbon Light Company here, and Andy Fitszwater were fatally burned by the explosion of a gasoline lamp yesterday afternoon. Jamison lit the pressure lamp and was preparing to place the light...

DREXEL, Mo. -- The Hume Hornets and Bronaugh Wildcats won first-round boys basketball games during the Class 1, District 12 tournament Monday, advancing to the semifinals. Hume (18-7) beat Northeast Vernon County 62-31, using a 10-0 run in the first quarter to open up the game...

NEVADA, Mo. -- The Cottey Comets won their first-ever region tournament game by beating St. Louis Community College-Forest Park Saturday, 78-62, at the Hinkhouse Center. The Comets (11-10) used a 19-6 run to start the second half to propel them into the NJCAA Region 16 semifinals Friday at Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City...

Nevada Daily Mail The Bronaugh Wildcats and Hume Hornets split a doubleheader in Bronaugh Friday, ending the regular season. Bronaugh won the girls' contest, 54-38. Jessica Langford, Stormi Wilson and Morgan Hinkle were all in double figures for Bronaugh...