Stories from Tuesday, April 12, 2005

By Steve Moyer Nevada Daily Mail It's never easy when a person retires who's held a job for several years but for the employees on the second floor of the Vernon County Courthouse April 15 will be a very bad day indeed. Pete Schmidt will retire from the prosecutor's office that day...

Nevada Daily Mail In a ceremony steeped in tradition and brimming with hope for the future, Cottey College inaugurated Dr. Judy Robinson Rogers as its newest president, at 10 a.m., Saturday, April 9. The ceremony opened with some words from Kathi Wysong, a former employee of Cottey College and current executive director of the Nevada/Vernon County Chamber of Commerce...

By Patrick Brophy Nevada Daily Mail Certainly she was a pioneer -- a memorable and influential one -- in the eyes of her adoptive hometown. But that she was a pioneer in the larger sense we can appreciate only by reminding ourselves just how comparatively recent is the coming-of-age of her field...

By Steve Moyer Nevada Daily Mail The 16-year-old girl who ran from police in a chase -- called off in Nevada but resumed in Lee's Summit last week -- died after spending several days in a Kansas City hospital. The youth was one of two people who were on Commercial Street and attracted the notice of residents. When Officer Mark Burger attempted to speak to her she fled in a car, which she later abandoned, stole a pickup and drove north on U.S. Highway 71...

George Jesse "G.J." Six, 78 and a half years of age, Holiday, Fla., died Monday, April 4, 2005, at the Marliere Hospice Care Center in New Port Richey, Fla. A memorial service in celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, April 23, at the Schowengerdt Funeral Chapel, Butler, at 2 p.m. Contributions may be made to the Hospice Center in Florida or locally of a charity of your choice...

Elza R. Pruitt, 93, Fort Scott, Kan., died late Saturday, April 9, 2005, at the Fort Scott Manor Nursing Home. He was born Nov. 28, 1911, in Shawnee, Okla., the son of James Asa Pruitt and Lucy Ellen Watkins Pruitt. He married Bernice Killion on Jan. 29, 1934, in Fort Scott...

Margaret Rae (Scism) Harless, 70, Van Nuys, Calif., formerly of Walker, died Sunday, April 3, 2005. Services were held at Ferry Funeral Home on April 9, at 1 p.m., with Ray Dean Scism officiating. Organist was Betty Seitz. Congregational hymns were "Saved, Saved," "Victory in Jesus" and "When We All Get to Heaven." Pallbearers were Jeff Duey, Doug Scism, David Harless, David Levy, Matthew Seigel and Sgt. ...

At first glance, the headline seemed to promise an enlightening story: "Study: Your brain works like the Internet." So that's why my brain's clogged with so much spam! It all made sense. It was the spam -- all those useless, idle and idiotic thoughts -- that had slowed my brain to a crawl...

It turns out Terry Schiavo's death wasn't the first step down a slippery slope, it was a head-first dive off of a deep precipice. This is what I, and many others, tried to get across -- morality means something. Denigrate the importance of morality in making hard life and death decisions and you demean the value of life...

100 years ago: Cousley injured in rail yard accident Sam B. Cousley, the night yard master who has his face severely bruised yesterday morning while at work is to be out today but he wears a bandage on his face as big as a bat. Mr. Cousley was on the board of the switch engine when the engine bumped into a string of box cars throwing...

By Ralph Pokorny Nevada Daily Mail The Nevada Volleyball Club ended its 2004-2005 season Saturday by holding a tournament for 12-16 year-old players with a field of 24 teams from western Missouri and eastern Kansas. Nevada's 13-14 and 15-year-old teams placed second in their divisions Saturday...

Associated Press NEW YORK -- Colorado Rockies outfielder Jorge Piedra was suspended 10 days Monday for violating baseball's new policy on performance-enhancing drugs. The suspension begins with the Rockies game at Arizona on Monday night, the commissioner's office said...

Nevada Daily Mail The Calvary Christian School Eagles participated in the Blue Ridge Christian School Relays at Lee's Summit Friday. There were 11 schools competing in the event. The relays were held with four-person teams participating in the track events and three-person teams in the field events...

Nevada Daily Mail The Nevada High School track team competed in the Pittsburg State University Relays Friday, and two of their seven relay teams placed third. The girls 800-meter relay team of Brittany Pettibon, Bridget Baldwin, Afton Baldwin and Katelyn Brier placed third with a time of 1 minute, 52.94 seconds...

Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Royals disappointed a lot of people. The crowd of 41,788 was the largest ever to see a Royals' home opener, and the third-biggest regular-season gathering in Kauffman Stadium history. So what reward did fans reap for this rousing show of support on the heels of a 104-loss season?...