Stories from Friday, January 9, 2004

Dudley Mack Divine III, 56, of Momence, Ill., passed away Saturday, Dec. 27, 2003, after a one-year battle with cancer. Mack was born June 10, 1947, in Lamar,Mo., to Dudley Mack Divine II and Jackie Perry Divine. He was a pipe fitter supervisor. He was a Catholic. Mack graduated from Nevada High School in 1965. He served in the United States Coast Guard...

Frank C. Kluth, 88, Springfield, Mo., formerly of Nevada, Mo., passed away Thursday, Jan. 8, 2004, at Springfield Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center after a two month illness. He was born Dec. 10, 1915, in Nevada, the son of William J. and Anna Mae Peters Kluth. He married Anna E. Wilson on April 5, 1948, in Wichita, Kan., and she survives of the home...

Hazel J. Hackett, 91, Appleton City, Mo., formerly of Nevada, Mo., passed away Friday, Jan. 9, 2004, at Appleton City Manor following a short illness. She was born March 14, 1912, in Moundville, Mo., to Jesse John King and Ada Mae Burnsworth King. She married Lavon H. Hackett on Nov. 13, 1936, in Independence, Mo. He preceded her in death on Feb. 2, 2003...

Nevada was rolling along with a 29-18 lead when things began to unravel. McDonald County captured five of the final six matches -- two by forfeit -- to sink the host Tigers 48-35 in a Southwest Conference match on Thursday. The two forfeits along withthree pins vaulted the undefeated Mustangs, 3-0 in the conference, from an 11-point deficit to victory...

The Nevada Middle School seventh graders defeated Joplin North 34-22 for a fifth-place finish in the Nevada 7th Grade Basketball Tournament on Thursday. "I'm very proud of these kids," said Nevada coach Jared Brown. "They've worked hard all three nights since we opened (the season)."...

If you are one of the many Americans who made the New Year's resolution to quit smoking, you may feel overwhelmed by the prospect. However, there is help available locally for those trying to ditch their habit. The Nevada Regional Medical Center is hosting a class, sponsored by the American Lung Association, called Freedom from Smoking. ...

Senior Sara Earnest was named Matwarming Queen at Nevada High School Thursday, and last year's queen, Megan McCord, crowns Earnest in a ceremony before the wrestling meet later that day. Earnest was escorted by Zach Walrod. The ceremony officially celebrates the wrestling season...

A Nevada man became the Missouri Lottery's largest Club Keno prize winner on Jan. 3, when he matched nine numbers and the Bulls-Eye number on a $2 wager to win $50,000. Jerry Holcomb, 60, said he always teased about winning big, but he was surprised when it happened that day at the Elks Lodge in Nevada...

Emergency teams from across southwest Missouri are converging on Springfield today for a terrorism response exercise. Six weapons of mass destruction/hazardous materials response teams from Taney, Newton, Jasper, Vernon and Green counties will participate in a tabletop exercise dealing with terrorism on Jan. 9, from 1 to 5 p.m., at the Ozarks Technical College...