Stories from Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Ardath Betts Dawes, 94, passed from this life Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016, in Overland Park, Kan. She was a former resident of Nevada, Mo., and lived the last several years in Overland Park. She was born Ardath June Betts to Halmer Earl Betts and Violet Charlotte Brandt Betts and Oct. 20, 1921, in Muskegon, Mich...

Orton Wayne Wilson, 83, of rural Nevada, passed away Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016, following a period of ill health. Orton was born Feb. 12, 1932, in Metz, the son of Earl D. and Zella May (Gregg) Wilson. He married Hazel N. Ricketts in Moundville on Feb. 14, 1974...

Missouri's 126th Dist. Best wishes from a very busy capitol! On the first day of the legislative session, House Speaker Todd Richardson called on the Missouri House to make substantive ethics reform a top priority for the 2016 legislative session. In the first few weeks of session, the House had made good on his promise by approving seven separate bills that take a multitude of steps to improve the culture at the state capitol...

Missouri is right in the middle of a national epidemic. Last year, 40,000 Americans died of a drug overdose -- nearly three in four of those overdoses were from prescription drugs and heroin. Prescription drug and heroin overdoses are the leading cause of unintentional deaths amongst Americans, rising 14 percent from 2013 to 2014. ...

A few weeks ago, letters to the editor regarding Islam and Christian faith were shared. In this discussion, it was too short to share all the information that is needed to understand the difference between the two. First we have to understand the difference between Muslim and Islam. ...

Nevada Daily Mail The Nevada Regional Medical Center's finance committee met to discuss the medical center's financial performance as of Dec. 31, 2015. Mike Harbor, the interim chief financial officer, lead the summary of financial performance portion of the meeting. ...

Nevada Daily Mail The Vernon County Commissioners held their final budget meeting Thursday to finalize Vernon County's 2016 budget. During the short meeting, Vernon County Clerk and budget officer, Mike Buehler read a message for the state auditors and to be submmited to the minutes out loud...

Nevada Daily Mail U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler joined Missouri State Rep. Patricia Pike for an informational hour-long meeting with constituents at the Franklin P. Norman City/County Community Center. Hartzler touched on the deficit, the EPA and specifically the "Waters of the U.S." Act, regulatory "burdens" required for water and wastewater systems in rural communities, Obamacare, and the national defense, before answering questions from the audience...

The Nevada Lady Tigers dealt Sherwood a 63-50 defeat at the Clinton Girls Basketball Tournament Friday, resulting in a fifth-place finish. For Nevada, Megan Payne dropped in 20 points while Megan Hold added 20.

Avenging an earlier loss, the Nevada Lady Tigers junior varsity basketball team leveled Neosho 48-29 Monday night at home. With the victory, Nevada improves to 7-7 overall. The Lady Tigers had three players finish in double-figure scoring, as Danielle Laning, Kat Ream, and Emily Johnson each chipped in with 10 points...

Logan Lamb's career-night propelled the Sheldon Lady Panthers to a wild 39-37 Senior Night victory over the Dadeville Lady Bearcats. Monday night's win improved Sheldon to 3-12 overall. For four quarters the Lady Panthers offense ran through Lamb, as she feasted on Dadeville post players to the tune of 29 points off of 12 made field goals...

Check Wednesday's edition of the Daily Mail for full coverage of the Sheldon Panthers Senior Night victory over Dadeville

The Nevada Tigers shredded Knob Noster 68-40 en route to a third-place finish Saturday afternoon at the Clinton Boys Basketball Tournament. With the victory, the Tigers improve to 12-5 overall (5-1 in the West Central Conference). "While it is disappointing we did not get to play for the championship," Nevada head coach Shaun Gray said, "we are happy to have finished the tournament playing good basketball and on a high note. We look to carry this momentum into the last month of the season."...