Stories from Tuesday, August 13, 2002

Maybe the fourth time will be the charm for the City of Sweet Springs as aldermen there try once again to pass a levy supporting the city's cemetery. "In looking at the information as to what date items can be put on the ballot by, we found out tax issues can be put on the ballot by August 27," said Sweet Springs Mayor Vivian Wiley. "So I would like for this council to consider putting the half-cent sales tax on the ballot again in November."...

2001 Record 2002 Voting Rank School Finish HAAC Overall 1st Place Points 1 Evangel 1 10-0 11-1 5 92 1 Benedictine 2 9-1 12-2 3 92 3 MidAmerica Nazarene 3 7-3 8-3 3 88 4 Missouri Valley T-4 5-5 5-5 0 56 4 William Jewell 8 4-6 4-6 0 56 4 Baker T-4 5-5 5-6 0 56...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Even with a new field boss, Heart of America Conference football coaches picked Missouri Valley College to finish in the first division during the 2002 season. The Vikings are among three teams tied for fourth place in the preseason poll with 56 points, tied with William Jewell and Baker. Two coaches thought Valley could finish as high as third, two slated the team to place as low as ninth and the remainder of the ballots placed it between fourth and seventh...

John E. Bishop, 94, of Marshall, died Sunday, Aug. 11, 2002, at Sweet Springs Villa in Sweet Springs. Private graveside services will be conducted by Sweeney-Reser-Wills Funeral Home in Marshall.

Monroe "Pete" Kirchhoff, 80, of Concordia, died Sunday, Aug. 11, 2002, at St. Mary's Hospital in Blue Springs. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 15, at Bethel United Church of Christ in Concordia. Rev. Jerry Basye will officiate...

Cecil LeRoy Winfrey, 57, of Carrollton, died Sunday, Aug. 11, 2002, at his home. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14, at Gibson Funeral Home in Carrollton. Rev. Lee Borders will officiate.

Blanche L. Ryther, 73, of Marshall, died Monday, Aug. 12, 2002, at Mar-Saline Manor Care Center in Marshall. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, 2002, at Britton Funeral Home in Steelville. Rev. Dennis Bowman will officiate...

John E. Bishop, 94, of Marshall, died Sunday, Aug. 11, 2002, at Sweet Springs Villa in Sweet Springs. Private graveside services will be conducted by Sweeney-Reser-Wills Funeral Home in Marshall.

The phone number for information about the American Heart Walk listed in the Aug. 12 edition of the Democrat-News was incorrect. The correct number is 831-3232. The Democrat-News regrets the error.

A Louisiana man who brandished a gun in a Marshall convenience store has been charged with two counts of felony unlawful use of a weapon. Adam Lafette Sands, 31, of Pollock, La., was arrested following a report called in by a clerk at the Odell Express convenience store on South Odell Ave. The clerk told police that a white male subject had come into the store asking where "the hood" in Marshall was...

The Malta Bend Board of Education met Monday evening to establish a tax rate for the district and approve handbooks and curriculum for the coming year. Beginning the meeting with the tax rate hearing, Superintendent Scott Huddleston recommended the tax rate be kept the same as last year, at a total of $5.10. ...

U.S. Representative Ike Skelton visited Marshall Monday afternoon to visit with employees at the Missouri Valley Human Resource Community Action Agency. Having visited the agency about five years ago, Skelton received updates about each of the programs offered to area communities within the agency's reach. ...

The Saline County Extension office will be offering an Internet safety class from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22. This is the first class of this type offered by the extension center. Darin Starr, regional agricultural engineering specialist, will provide the instruction and training, which will cover topics such as on-line identity protection, youth and teen Internet safety, developing home Internet usage rules, computer virus myths, hoaxes and urban legends, chat room safety and computer virus prevention. ...

Property tax in the City of Sweet Springs is likely not go up or down for 2003 as the city's board of aldermen agreed to recommend no change from last year's rates. During the board's meeting Monday night, Mayor Vivian Wiley noted that the city had inadvertently sent out incorrect levy figures to local papers. The levy will in fact not change remaining at $1.5641 per $100 of assessed valuation...

A Blackwater man faces nearly a dozen separate charges, seven of them felonies, following the kidnapping of a Marshall woman. Steve Thomas Sites, 42, was taken into custody over the weekend by officers of the Morgan County Sheriff's department after the woman was able to escape and contacted police in Laurie, near the Lake of the Ozarks...

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Myles Yokeley of Marshall was among 31 student-athletes who participated in the U.S. Tennis Association's Invitational Tennis Leadership Camp last week in Carson, Calif. Yokeley, 13, the son of Dennis and Cathy Yokeley, is among the elite junior players in Missouri and one of just two in the state to be selected for the camp -- which is designed for youths who demonstrate tennis talent, sportsmanship and leadership skills...