Stories from Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Opal Jean (Kane) Righter, 91, Nevada, passed away on Monday, March 10, 2014, at Christian Health Care, in Nevada, following a brief illness. She was born June 18, 1922, in Duquoin, Ill., to Valdie Jefferson Kane and Lillie Anna (Beers) Kane. She and Leonard "Pete" Righter were married on April 19, 1942, in East St. Louis, Ill., and he preceded her in death in 1985...

Shirley J. Judd, 61, Nevada, Mo., passed away on Friday, March 7, 2014, at Moore-Few Care Center, in Nevada, following a short battle with cancer. She was born July 23, 1952, in Aurora, Mo., to Siegel Andrew James Batson and Oma T. (Calhoun) Batson. She and Verland "Gene" Judd were married on Oct. 14, 1969, in Kimball, Neb. He preceded her in death in 2002...

Lorn Edward "Sonny" Lawrence, 93, Nevada, Mo., passed away Thursday, March 6, 2014, at Moore-Few Care Center, in Nevada, after a brief illness. Sonny was born July 28, 1920, in Deerfield, Mo., to Edward and Nellie (Zimmerman) Lawrence. He was united in marriage to Ruth Warner in 1940, at Fort Scott, Kan., and she preceded him in death on May 21, 2009...

During a weekend visit to a friend's home, I let my mind wander, as I intently watched the beauty of his fireplace. When it was time for sleep, I passed on the offer of a nice bedroom, preferring instead, to sleep on a comfortable couch, to remain in clear view, of that wondrous miracle of life, an overnight, ember-based wood fire...

Dear Editor: I am responding to the letter by Lester Thornton in the March 7 paper. I disagree slightly with his statement that the Constitution grants us freedom from religion. That is true in a narrow sense and he is correct in saying that the Constitution does not permit our government to coerce anyone to worship any specific religion and in fact does give us freedom from religion as in being an atheist if we choose...

Citing a desire to get America working again, U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler filed paperwork with the Secretary of State's office for re-election in Jefferson City. "The American people deserve a government that works for them, not against them," Hartzler said. ...

Nevada Daily Mail Do you know how to get the best bargain for your buck, or how to read a nutrition facts label? Healthy Nevada will soon be offering shoppers the opportunity to learn through an upcoming grocery store tour program. The tours, called Cooking Matters at the Grocery Store, will educate participants on understanding nutrition facts, determining healthy options, understanding in-season produce shopping and other savvy shopper skills...

Nevada Daily Mail Sheldon and Bronaugh families and individuals can get help with groceries 10 a.m. March 13 as Ozarks Food Harvest's Mobile Food Pantry plans another distribution at the community building in Sheldon. The mobile pantry has visited Sheldon five times previously, in August, September, October, November and January...

Nevada Daily Mail Sheldon residents got their first taste of the future vision for Sheldon at the second vision meeting on Monday. Four Drury University architecture students gave four initial concept presentations based on feedback from the last meeting in which they evaluated the community's thoughts on their future visions of Sheldon through a goals, objectives and methods card game...

Nevada Daily Mail A Nevada man who slit a woman's throat multiple times in January was sentenced Tuesday to 18 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections system. Arren McDermott, who was charged with felony first degree domestic assault -- the equivalent to attempted murder in Missouri -- and felony armed criminal action, pleaded guilty to both charges...