Stories from Friday, March 1, 2002

The $1 billion spent on Missouri farmers more than pays for itself, Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director Tim Kelley told farmers, businesspeople and Rotary Club members during the club's annual Farmer Appreciation Luncheon held Thursday...

BOYS District 16A Tournament, Concordia (Championship) Santa Fe 51, Sweet Springs 39 - District 17A Tournament, Harrisburg (Championship) Harrisburg 56, Bunceton 40 - District 21A Tournament, Madison (Championship) Madison 51, North Shelby 46 - District 7AA Tournament, Centralia...

CONCORDIA -- St. Paul's stranglehold on the District 16A Tournament girls' championship continues. The Saints used an 11-point first-quarter run to establish the tempo of the title game Thursday and held on at the end, despite acute foul trouble and horrendous free-throw shooting, to beat state-ranked and top-seeded Santa Fe, 46-43 -- avenging a one-point loss in December which forced them to share the I-70 Conference title with the Lady Chiefs...

CONCORDIA -- It wasn't but a handful of minutes after his Santa Fe boys won the District 16A Tournament championship Thursday that head coach Gary Littrell found a cellular phone. Although the Chiefs had won their fifth title in seven years, and the third in a row for Littrell -- this one following a four-year hiatus -- his primary concern was to share the good news of the 51-39 victory over Sweet Springs to his wife. ...

BOYS (Class AAA) Chillicothe (21-7) vs. Westport (22-5) at Warrensburg St. Francis Borgia (24-5) vs. New Madrid Co. Central (26-3) at Farmington St. Charles West (23-7) vs. Country Day (26-3) at St. Louis Nixa (26-4) vs. Logan-Rogersville (21-8) at Springfield...

David W. Wolford, 82, of Marshall, died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002, at the Mar-Saline Manor in Marshall. No services are planned. An anatomical donation was made to the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Margaret E. Price, 95, of Chandler, Ariz., formerly of Slater, died Saturday, Feb. 9, 2002, at Pennington Gardens Care Center in Chandler. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, March 9, at Weiker Funeral Home in Slater. Rev. Robert Sisney will officiate...

Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) have announced that disaster recovery centers will take to the road in an effort to bring recovery information to Missourians affected by the January ice storm...

The Saline County Inter-Agency Council met Tuesday to hear updates from each agency and plan for upcoming activities. Representing University Outreach and Extension, Carol Pardeck announced that the Missouri Association for Family and Communication Education, which the Saline County Homemakers Club was part of when it was active, is planning to publish a book. ...

Marshall Municipal Utilities management is working to prepare its claim for the State Emergency Management Agency following the ice storm of late January. At Tuesday's meeting of the MMU Board of Public Works, Administrative Services Director Ken Gieringer reported that MMU will be required to file its application with all the other departments of the city of Marshall...

Bumping up expected revenue and cutting expenses has enabled the Sweet Springs Board of Aldermen to eliminate a budget shortfall of well over $30,000 in the city's general fund for 2002. A large portion of the deficit the board was facing was eliminated by adjusting expected revenue for 2002...

In celebration of Women's History Month, the Marshall Habilitation Center will host a number of presentations to explore history and address current concerns throughout March. The observance is part of an overall effort by the Department of Mental Health and its facilities to raise awareness of women's heritage within the state...

A panel of community members described the word "crisis" from their own points of view and experiences Thursday night at the Marshall Habilitation Center. Sept. 11, 2001, is often described as a day of crisis in the nation and the discussion was brought forth as part of the MHC Black History Month celebration as a time for individuals to learn about the different types of crises, how they affect people and how to deal with them...

Spring training is under way in the warmer climates of Arizona and Florida and, even with the threat of snow in the forecast, a baseball fan's thoughts in early March start turning toward those warm summer evenings at the ballpark. I've written a few columns about some of the pleasures enjoyed at both minor league and big league ballparks. ...