Stories from Friday, June 16, 2017

Lester I. Thornton, 92, Nevada, passed away on Tuesday, June 13, at Mercy Hospital in Joplin, following a brief illness. Lester was born October 17, 1924, in Ocie, Mo., to Ruic Harve and Smitha Jane “Jennie” (Braly) Thornton. On June 4, 1946, Lester was united in marriage to Carolyn J. Gray on the lawn of The Wayside, the Gray Family home in the Ellis Community and she survives of the home...

Edward Lee Hallam, 36, Nevada, died Wednesday, June 14, in Nevada. Additional family and service information will be announced by Ferry Funeral Home in Nevada at a later time.

One of my favorite pastimes is to look at old copies of the Daily Mail on Google News. One of my most enjoyed sections to review, is that of “Circling The Square,” the regular local news, views, and thoughts, of editor Peter V. McCoy. On Feb. 5, 1967, McCoy listed some information regarding the upcoming Bond Rally, for the prospective 3M Company...

Editor’s note: This column originally ran in the July 8, 2010 edition of the Daily Mail. House cleaning is not one of my favorite things, in fact it comes way down on my list of chores that I like to do. Come to think of it, there are not very many chores that I really like to do. I wouldn’t call them chores if they were something I wanted to do for pleasure. However, there are some that do give me some pleasure...

“I think this is fantastic. You have to have qualified, motivated people — this is how you get them,” Nevada R-5 Board of Education member and retired R-5 teacher Lois Pendrak said during a lengthy discussion of a new salary schedule for R-5 certified employees, before the board voted 6-0 to approve the salary schedule, Wednesday night, with board member Mike McCaffree absent...

Wednesday’s meeting of the Sheldon R-8 school board reviewed details of the resurfacing of the gym floor, discussed flooring in the elementary area, selected a bid for the purchase of a new freezer and warming oven and approved student handbook changes...

An overnight storm damaged houses and uprooted trees along Walnut Street on the west side of Nevada before dawn Thursday. Thursday afternoon, National Weather Service Meteorologist Doug Cramer said the Nevada area received an average of three inches of rain and up to 70 mile-per-hour winds overnight...

Vernon County Sheriff’s Officials confirmed Thursday morning that detectives with the investigations unit responded to the area of BB and Quail Road after the dispatch center received a call of an unresponsive person. Investigators said the person was pronounced dead at the scene and has been identified as Edward L. ...

White Ember, formerly Hoffman Financial Resources, held their open house and ribbon cutting Thursday afternoon. Greg Hoffman and Ross Lawrence, center, cut the ribbon along with White Ember employees Bridgette Wallace, Rhonda Farmer and Shannon Jones as well as other business people and clients during the ceremony...

Coming off a recent victory at the U.S. Kids Midwest Invitational, Emree Cameron, 10 of Nevada, competed on the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour, this past weekend in Polk City, Iowa. Cameron, who entered ranked 101st in the girls’ 13-and-under division, placed third, moving up to 57th place on the tour...

The Nevada Griffons have left their season-opening 10-game losing streak in the dust. Thursday night’s 5-3 extra inning MINK League road victory over the Jefferson City Renegades moved Nevada to 4-10 overall and 4-8 in MINK League-play. Meanwhile, after a red-hot start to the season, South division foe Jefferson City falls to 7-6 in league-play...

The Nevada High School golf team, who finished third at the Missouri Class three state golf tournament for a second consecutive season, was honored at the team’s recent postseason awards banquet. Senior John Quitno garnered the “Lowest Stroke Average” award for the 2017 season. Quitno’s 37.7 strokes per nine holes was tops...

B.G. Wolfe of D.S.W.A. Certified Public Accountants presented the 2015-16 audit to the Vernon County Ambulance District board of directors Thursday evening. “This is the July 30, 2016, audit,” Wolfe said. “Before we start, we know there were still elements of the suspected fraud going into this fiscal year.”...

Izac McDermott, left, Mason Bradley, and Alexis Brown, speak to Emily Smith from Preferred Family Healthcare, second from right, about finding employment with the Youth@Work program at the group’s barbecue at Walton Park Wednesday. The program is open to ages 14-24 and has been available for many years. ...

Events on Thursday afternoon, Friday morning and Friday afternoon made for an eventful 24-hour span for local attorney, Dustin W. Dunfield. The most dramatic events occurred in court testimony late Friday morning. Held in the associate circuit courtroom in the Vernon County Courthouse, the session was presided over by Jasper County Division II, Circuit Judge, Dean G. Dankelson...