Stories from Wednesday, January 16, 2002

Timely tips for reluctant readers "Read to your children. Read often and regularly. This is the best thing parents can do to help their children read successfully." -- Missouri State Library A few words from the director It has never been an easy job for me to find something to write in this column. Doing this just once a week has given me a new-found respect for journalists who fight deadlines everyday to get a newspaper, television news show or magazine into our information hungry hands...

BOYS (NCMC) at Moberly 67, Rock Bridge 55 - (Lewis & Clark) at Salisbury 56, Slater 46 - (I-70) Santa Fe 47, at St. Paul 44 - (CAC) Brunswick 65, at Malta Bend 51 at Glasgow 77, Keytesville 37 at Madison 54, New Franklin 34 - (Non-conference) Sweet Springs 56, at Pilot Grove 40...

CONCORDIA -- It appeared that St. Paul would be a willing 12th straight victim for the second-ranked Santa Fe girls. Except nobody told the Lady Saints. Junior Nicole Dierking's 11 first-half points staked the visiting Lady Chiefs to an eight-point halftime lead before a third-quarter collapse saw St. Paul go on a 22-4 run to take a 36-26 advantage into the final period...

CONCORDIA -- Santa Fe saw a 15-point third-quarter lead dwindle to nearly nothing by a determined St. Paul gang before leaving Concordia with a 47-44 I-70 Conference decision Tuesday. Senior Austin Rolf scored 13 of his game-high 15 points as the Chiefs assumed a 33-18 lead early in the second half. However, Santa Fe made just four more field goals the rest of the game after the Saints switched to a man-to-man defense...

MALTA BEND -- The final score was a little deceptive. Visiting Brunswick found winless Malta Bend a lot harder to put away than the 57-32 margin of Tuesday's CAC clash indicated. In fact, the Lady Wildcats had to feel a little uncomfortable while going into the second half with a mere seven-point lead...

MALTA BEND -- If Tuesday's CAC home contest against Brunswick had been called at the half, Malta Bend head boys' basketball coach Aaron Varner would have been a happy man. Unfortunately, 16 minutes still remained and the Tigers' three-point lead rapidly evaporated during a 65-51 loss. The Wildcats used an 18-9 third-quarter run to propel them to their sixth win in a row...

Helen M. Thomas, 88, of Marshall, died Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2002, at Big Bend Retreast in Slater. Arrangements are pending at Campbell-Lewis Funeral Home in Marshall.

Elmer E. "Don" Dishman, 73, of Palm Desert, Calif., died Jan. 7, 2002, at Rancho Mirage, Calif., following illnesses including cancer, pneumonia and emphysema. Cremation. Military services will be held at 11:45 a.m. Friday, Jan. 18, at Arlington Military Cemetery, Staging Area 4, in Riverside, Calif...

Joseph Henry Bruns, 88, of Jefferson City, died Monday, Jan. 14, 2002, at Capital Regional Medical Center in Jefferson City. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Jefferson City. Rev. David G. Buescher will officiate...

Richard W. "Ricky" Arbogast, 39, of Kansas City, Kan., formerly of Slater, died Sunday, Jan. 13, 2002, at his home. Private family graveside services will be held at New Frankfort Cemetery north of Slater.

The Saline County Commission met Wednesday morning discussing new business concerning payroll and insurance for county employees. Northern District Commissioner Richard Pemberton announced that because Blue Cross/Blue Shield made a filing with the state in October, the insurance premium for county employees has been reduced by 2 percent. That makes the premium $246.43 per month per employee, an amount the county will pay and the commissioners approved...

The Marshall-Saline Development Corporation's Board of Directors will be under new leadership as the new year begins. In a letter distributed to the media prior to the board's Tuesday meeting, former board President Larry Morgan announced his resignation. In the letter, Morgan said he had enjoyed his time on the board, but felt it was time to bring his attention back to his business and family...

The city of Marshall is growing with the times. Construction activity is increasing and its value was over three times higher in 2001 than in 2000. In 2000, 369 construction permits for work valued at $4,516,404 were issued in Marshall. For 2001, the number of permits dipped to 347 but the value of construction projects increased significantly to $13,712,118.41...

The city of Slater will have one fewer candidate on its April ballot following an action by the Slater City Council Tuesday. The council voted to remove Stanley Conger from the city's mayoral race at its regular meeting. The matter was broached by Assistant City Administrator Gene Griffith, who said he had received a number of calls from regarding the city's residency requirements for political candidates...

While filing for local elections got off to a slow start, a flurry of late candidate entries has resulted in a field of 12 competing for three seats on the Marshall Board of Education and two of four City Council races being contested. School board incumbents Ed Kays and Raymond Thompson have filed for re-election, but board member Phil Perkins will not seek another term. Thompson filed Tuesday, the last day for candidates to submit their names...