Stories from Monday, April 22, 2002

While the economic picture might be brightening in other parts of the nation, Missouri's road to recovery remains rocky. During a press conference for the release of a report on Missouri's economic condition Friday, Missouri Department of Economic Development Director Joseph L. Driskill and Department of Revenue Director Carol Fisher spoke about the economic issues facing the state...

For the first time this season, the driver predicted to win a NASCAR Winston Cup race by the players in the Democrat-News' "The Race is On" contest took the checkered flag. The No. 8 Chevrolet of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., dominated the Talladega 500 on Sunday...

SEDALIA -- Rain canceled the final match of the day, but by then the Marshall boys' tennis team had packed up and returned home after a solid showing at the Smith-Cotton Classic Friday in Sedalia. The young Owls came in fifth in the seven-school field with 9.5 points. Two-time defending MSHSAA Class AAA-A champion Pembroke Hill of Kansas City -- even without its top players -- beat Lee's Summit for the title, 21 to 18.5 points. In the process, the Raiders handed Marshall four its eight losses...

It had been a long time between wins for the Marshall girls' soccer team. Ever since a 9-0 rout of Clinton on April 4, the Lady Owls had lost all eight matches during the three-week span. So Friday's visit by another young, struggling program -- Southern Boone, 0-4-1 against the NCMC -- gave Marshall a 9-1 non-conference lift...

SEDALIA -- The Marshall girls' track and field team took home gold medals in seven of 19 events Thursday to run away with the title at the eight-school Smith-Cotton Invitational. The Lady Owls' 161 points easily out-paced NCMC rival Rock Bridge (132 points) and Smith-Cotton (107) for the crown. Meanwhile, the Marshall boys medaled in all but one standard event for second place to the host Tigers (144) with 120 points, their highest point total in several seasons...

KIRKSVILLE -- The standard of excellence for the Marshall boys' golf team is the Class of 1998. However, the current group of Owls exceeded the performance of the squad headed by "The Big Three" at Saturday's Kirksville Tournament -- fighting a cold northwesterly wind and drizzle, not to mention fast greens and a heavy rough -- to fire a 318 for third place...

Friday, April 19 BASEBALL (NCMC) at Rock Bridge 6, Hannibal 0 - (Non-conference) Windsor at Cole Camp, ppd. at Westran 6, Bevier 5 Wellington-Napoleon at Englewood Christian, ccd. ------------------------------ GIRLS' SOCCER (Non-conference) at Marshall 9, Southern Boone 1...

If the defending Heart of America Conference baseball champions didn't want to lose touch with current league leader Culver-Stockton College, which swept Baker on Saturday, they couldn't afford a poor road trip over the weekend. Missouri Valley came through, with three wins in four contests to stay within two games of the Wildcats, whom it had beaten twice on Wednesday, in the loss column...

Fannie B. Howard, 99, of Slater, died Sunday, April 21, 2002, at the Marshall Residential Care Center. Funeral arrangements are pending at Weiker Funeral Home in Slater.

Clyde L. Wood, 63, of California, died Wednesday, April 17, 2002, at the Harry S Truman Veterans Memorial Hospital in Columbia. Funeral services were held at 10 a.m., Saturday, April 20, at Annunciation Catholic Church. Rev. Don Breaker officiated.

Rick R. Wilson, 57, of rural Marshall, died Friday, April 19, 2002, at his home. Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Marshall. The Rev. James Long will officiate.

Omar W. Lohman, 87, of Concordia, died Friday, April 19, 2002 at Western Missouri Medical Center in Warrensburg. Funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, April 22, at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Concordia. Rev. Gary R. Clayton officiated...

Katherine Christine Bauerle, 86, of Odessa, died Friday, April 19, 2002, at New Haven Nursing Center in Odessa. Funeral mass was held at 10 a.m. Monday, April 22, at Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Higginsville. Father Ron Elliott officiated.

Modest plans are being made by 83-year-old Mary Ann Cramer of Houstonia, who won $10,000 on a Missouri Lottery "Diamond Bingo" ticket Sunday. Cramer said she went to the Break Time convenience store at the Marshall Junction (U.S. Highway 65 and Interstate 70) to redeem some lottery tickets and buy a couple of additional tickets...

Receipt of permits and final approval from committed investors are all that remains in order for Renewable Power of Missouri to begin construction of its 30-million gallon ethanol plant in Marshall. Following ongoing negotiations, Renewable Power manager Phil Danforth is confident the first ground will be broken for the new plant in June or July this year...

A Marshall woman suffered moderate injuries in a single-vehicle crash Saturday night. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported that the crash occurred at 6:23 p.m. on U.S. Highway 65 west of Missouri Highway 127. The MSHP report indicates the incident took place when Dana M. Davis, 20, failed to negotiate a curve and ran off the right side of the road. Davis's 1990 Chevrolet then struck a culvert and a concrete post...

If you have out-of-town family visiting you in Marshall, or children in college in Springfield or Marysville, who suddenly realize their license tags need to be renewed, they no longer have to rush back to get their paperwork and new tags. They will now be able to go to the Marshall license bureau office, have an employee pull up tax assessment information on the computer and pay there...

The grim reaper approaches Marshall High School junior José Benevides Thursday after school as he walks down the hall surrounded by peers who were "killed" during Whiteout Day. The day was a time to think about the consequences of driving drunk and with prom held Saturday, the awareness group BIONIC - Believe It Or Not I Care - painted the face of a high school student every 22 minutes to help make statistics more real to students...

Wet fields costs the postponement of three local diamond dates on Saturday, including the Missouri Valley College softball team's regular season finale against Heart of America Conference rival Avila -- which will be played at 4 p.m. today in the Lyon Bowl...