Stories from Tuesday, July 28, 2009

July 13 Alex D. Christensen, Nevada, failure to transfer plates. Amanda M. Gede, Serviell, Tenn., driving while suspended. Nellie S. Guinn, Westphalia, Kan., speeding 43/30. Steven E. Masheck, Richards, expired license plates. Jacob D. Mosher, Nevada, expired license plates...

July 24 A report of a one-vehicle accident occurred at 12:13 p.m., at Wal-Mart, when a pickup driven by Harold D. McFadden, of El Dorado Springs, struck a pole in the parking lot. No injuries were reported. An accident occurred at 2:07 p.m., at Maple and Adams, involving a pickup driven by Jackie D. Klotz, of Nevada, and a car driven by Nickie A. Stanfield, of Nevada. No injuries were reported...

Norma "Louise" Johnson passed away Sunday, July 26, 2009, at Moore-Few Care Center. Norma was born on Sept. 13, 1924, in Taylorville, Ill., to Charles Strevel and Margaret "Louise" Dust. Surviving her are children, John Timmerman and Kenneth Green of Kansas City, Mo., and Gene Timmerman and his wife Martha of Lamar, Mo. ...

Jeremy Robert Smith, 32, Nevada, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, July 25, 2009, at Freeman Hospital West, in Joplin, following an illness of several months. He was born Sept. 12, 1976, in Nevada, to Robert Leon Smith and Peggy Sue Hamilton Smith. He married Cheri Maulsby on June 7, 1997, in Nevada, and she survives of the home...

Thelma Denise "Denny" Estes, 48, Nevada, passed away on July 26, 2009, at Nevada Regional Medical Center following a lengthy illness. She was born Dec. 28, 1960, in Kansas City, Mo., to Earl Junior Edmunds and Dorothy Jean Newton Edmunds. She married Ronald Estes on December 20, 1980, in Nevada, and he survives of the home...

Norma "Jean" Gipson, 76, died on Thursday, July 23, 2009, at the Grinnell Regional Medical Center. A graveside service will be held 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, July 29, 2009, at Hazelwood Cemetery in Grinnell. The family will be present at the Smith Funeral Home beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday...

What does the Missouri Literary Festival have in common with Oscar-winning director Ang Lee? Great taste in authors, for one. The Missouri Literary Festival, slated for Oct. 2, 3 and 4 in Springfield, Mo., is proud to announce award-winning novelist Daniel Woodrell as part of the festival lineup...

The first annual "Back to School Blast" is a three day horse show, Aug. 28-30, being held at the Ozark Empire Fair, 3001 N. Grant Springfield, Mo. This horse show is open to 4-H members nationwide and is a major fundraiser for Greene County 4-H. Proceeds from the show will help fund the Greene County 4-H fair, Greene County 4-H scholarships, contest fees, trips and many other 4-H activities in the community...

A weekend wreck on James Road northwest of Nevada left a Richards woman with serious injuries and a Richards man with moderate injuries. Aron Stacy, 28, was southbound in a 2005 Chevrolet when, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, westbound Jonathan Forester, 17, Richards, in a 1996 Jeep, failed to yield. The crash happened at approximately 2:30 p.m., Saturday...

In conjunction with the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the U.S. Department of Labor has re-named and re-launched DisabilityInfo.gov as Disability.gov. Available at http://www.disability.gov, the site offers comprehensive information about programs and services to better serve more than 50 million Americans with disabilities, their family members, veterans, employers, educators, caregivers and anyone interested in disability-related information...

July weather, usually hot as a firecracker, is on the way to setting new cool records, said Pat Guinan, University of Missouri Extension climatologist. In Vernon County, the highest temperature forecast through July 31 is 87 degrees, the estimated high expected on Friday; cooler than normal...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- "Tnghat week layoff kind of killed us, we kind of came out flat. I'm still proud of the boys." Nevada Red Sox assistant coach Jason Irwin came out of Monday's game at Glendale High School with a degree of disappointment, but still holding his head high as what was a solidly competitive season came to an end Monday afternoon at the hands of Willard. ...

As Foster Care Month comes to a close, the Children's Division continues its quest for more foster parents in the area. Both emergency foster homes (homes where foster children can be placed at a moment's notice at any time, including weekends and holidays; usually for short terms) and regular, longer -term foster homes are needed in Vernon County, according to John McGinnis of the Children's Division...

Dear Editor The park board, city council, mayor and city manager decided to allow dirt to be removed from the Frank E. Peters Golf Course driving range in order to use it for some baseball fields around the first of the year. The "plan" was to have it done, rebuilt, and seeded by early April. Well, it's still not complete, and remains unusable and closed...

Dear Editor: I once ran across an essay online called "A True American." The author proudly gave his or her own prejudiced and extremist views about what constituted a true American. The essay sounded like something that might have been written in Germany during the Nazi era, but it had a 2009 date and U.S. address. Anyway, in my humble opinion, here is what I think a true American is...