Stories from Sunday, March 21, 2004

Eugene A. Diehr, 103, died March 17, 2004. Services were held at Evergreen Memorial Chapel on March 20, at 2 p.m., with Dr. William C. Cox officiating. Taped musical selections were "Snowbird," "Amazing Grace" and "The Lord's Prayer." Pallbearers were Gary Kitsmiller, Todd Davis, Ronnie Kitsmiller, Justin Diehr, David Kitsmiller and Verne K. ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Stockton won its third state basketball title in four years on Friday 56-44 over Metro in the Missouri girls Class 3 championship. Stockton's Kiana Bock scored a game high 15, Kyla Burns added 14 and Jessica Stanley had 13. Deidra Dace scored 10 points for St. Louis' Metro...

Eight members of the Nevada Youth Wrestling Club will compete in the USA Wrestling State Tournament at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo., on March 26-27-28. The youngest competitor is Slade Stiles, entered in the 10-and-under, 50-pound class. Stiles placed third in both the district and regional qualifiers in his first year of competitive wrestling...

March doesn't just mean the opening of trout season in the four trout parks in Missouri, it also is the month the snagging season opens for paddlefish on the 15th. After a long winter the snaggers are ready. The season that opened March 15 runs through April 30 with a daily limit of two fish...

Film makers can convey the message that went with the unlikely American victory in hockey in the 1980 Winter Olympics, but they can't duplicate the feelings of Americans at that time. That's why I attended the movie about it a while back. It was a bad time in the U.S.A. ...

Governor Bob Holden announced Friday that the Southwest Missouri Mental Health Center will be kept open next year due to the tireless efforts of area senators and representatives, the City of El Dorado Springs and multiple state agencies. "The interested parties came together and I believe we have succeeded in maintaining this facility," Holden said in a press release...

By Steve Moyer Nevada students got a treat Friday when Kevin Wanzer gave a spirited talk on the benefits of staying drug-free. Wanzer, 39, has been speaking to student groups since he was a sophomore in high school. In introducing Wanzer, Ranea Schulze, drug-free program coordinator, noted the many different venues at which Wanzer has appeared...

By Nick Wright Robert Purtle and granddaughter Sidnee Moore, 3, try to get a kite up and flying Thursday afternoon at Walton Park in Nevada. Several people throughout town had the same idea, and several of them reported similar difficulty in getting the devices to take flight -- but most appeared to have fun trying...

By Ralph Pokorny Ken Loomer, his son Mark and most of the Precision Aero Services personnel, as well as Sam Foursha, Nevada economic development director, stood in the warm March sunshine Wednesday afternoon watching as the operators of a 200-ton capacity crane from Joplin fastened one-inch diameter steel cables around the 90,000 pound green autoclave, lifted it off its transport trailer and gently deposited it on the asphalt parking lot behind their plant...

By Nancy Malcom Kelsey Smith is a Vernon County resident now serving with the U.S. Marine Corps, in Iraq. His grandfather retired from the U.S. Navy, his uncle served in the Navy, and his older brother, Zachary Tennison is now serving in the Navy on the USS J.F. Kennedy. But a career in the Navy didn't hold water for Smith...