Stories from Wednesday, February 11, 2004

Andrew L. Hartman, 36, Fort Scott, Kan., died Monday, Feb. 9, 2004, in Nevada, Mo. He was born Sept. 24, 1967, in Pennsylvania to Ebert C. Hartman and E. Ellen Maybee Hartman. Andrew had lived in Fort Scott, Kan., since 1986 when he moved there from Pennsylvania. He worked as an environmental driller for several years...

This week we will continue last week's column titled, "Chamber Mixed Fun with Recognition." Last week there was a discussion about the chamber of commerce's annual banquet, which was held in January. Also, discussed were the Individual Pacesetter award, presented to Dr. Helen Washburn, president of Cottey College; and the President's Award, presented to Kathi Wysong, Chamber of Commerce director...

100 Years Ago -- February 11, 1904 Parties are making delivery of the plat books showing the towns, townships together with the farms of Vernon County. Accompanying these two books is a beautiful large full sheet map of Nevada. The county is shown by towns, townships, section lines and the owners name is given on each tract of land. ...

The Nevada Lady Tigers clawed and scratched but couldn't quite dig themselves out of a cavernous hole. Neosho hung on to clip Nevada 71-68 in a Southwest Conference matchup on Tuesday at Wynn Gymnasium. Trailing by as many as 18 points -- 15 entering the fourth quarter -- the Lady Tigers pulled to within two with less than a minute left. But Neosho's diminutive sophomore guard Meaghan Smith hit three clutch free throws in a 20-second span to clinch the win...

Nevada coach John McNeley was having none of it. "That's no excuse," he said, when reminded that his team was playing its fourth game in five days. "We just didn't look like we had much of an idea about what we were doing out there." The Tigers fell 38-33 to Neosho in a lackluster performance by both teams in a Southwest Conference game on Tuesday night...

The Bronaugh Wildcats had a relatively easy time with winless Sheldon on Tuesday. The 60-26 win lifted the Wildcats' record to 13-5. "After a slow start in which we allowed 12 points in the first five minutes of the game, we picked up the defensive intensity, creating some turnovers for easy transition baskets," said Bronaugh coach Tim Judd...

Editor's note: The following is a student account of an unexpected encounter between Sheldon FFA students and President George W. Bush. The group went to Springfield for a leadership workshop and ended up meeting America's leader, when both Bush and the students decided to work a spontaneous visit to Bass Pro Shop into the day's itinerary on Monday. "We had quite an interesting outing," said Tyler Garrison, Sheldon FFA advisor. Garrison said the meeting was a fluke, a chance coincidence, but one that the students will probably remember for years to come.

The fund raising drive to complete the equipping and furnishing of the new Vernon County Senior Center is well underway, according to Wayne Reinert, president of the Vernon County Seniors, Inc. "We are pleased with the initial response to our requests," Reinert said. "To date, we've raised a total of $23,000 and have additional requests for funds outstanding."...

Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in what is happening in our own lives. A swirling mist of bills, work and the Wednesday night TV line up clouds our vision. The philosophy of EXCEL holds that to be able to look into what the future has in store for Nevada we must get past our own lives and participate in the leadership of Vernon County...