Stories from Monday, November 18, 2002

Combine enchiladas, quiche lorraine, Thai rice and beef steak, Mexican wedding cookies and dancers from Latino and Polynesian heritage, add a dash of Russian pop music and you have a highly successful first-year undertaking for Marshall High School's International Cultural Club...

FENTON -- The Marshall boys' soccer team can claim the distinction of being the only public school representative in the MSHSAA Championships this year. Otherwise, the Owls had little to show for their trip to the Final Four at Fenton over the weekend, other than the invaluable experience. ...

"I wish you hadn't asked me that," replied Kearney head football coach Mark Thomas when asked if saw any similarities between his current team and his 1998 Class AAA state championship group at Boonville. "It may be too early to tell if we're at that caliber, but 'Yes,'" Thomas warmed to the issue. "It's not so much in the players' abilities, but it's been in the process of getting from Point A to Point B -- the things you have to go through to go from a losing to a winning team."...

ALMA -- Two of Missouri's top small-school programs will finally hook up tonight in the MSHSAA Class 1 Quarterfinal at Alma. How is it that third-ranked Adrian and No. 8 Santa Fe haven't met before? After all, the Blackhawks have been in the playoffs 10 times in George Bruto's 17 seasons as head coach -- while the Chiefs have 11 post-season appearances during the same span, the last seven in a row...

The Missouri Valley College men's basketball team wasn't able to pull off a second upset in a row Saturday. Two days after handing Columbia -- ranked 17th in the NAIA Division I preseason poll -- a 92-89 double-overtime loss, the Vikings fell to undefeated Peru State (Neb.), 75-68, in Volney Ashford Gymnasium...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- John Booth threw three touchdown passes and had a team-high 79 rushing yards as eighth-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene beat Avila 49-13 Saturday. Greg Simpson added three touchdown runs for the Pioneers (9-1, 9-1 HAAC), who won the conference outright with the win. The Pioneers will play at No. 7 McKendree (Ill.) in the first round of the NAIA Championship Series on Saturday...

Chronic wasting disease has been making news headlines and supplying topics for many outdoor articles in periodicals. The disease, which is found only in the deer family -- white-tailed deer, mule deer and elk -- could have a major impact on the deer herds in Missouri and other states...

Kurt Busch took his fourth checkered flag of the NASCAR Winston Cup season Sunday, but Tony Stewart won the championship points race by finishing 18th in the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. However, because of his middle-of-the-pack finish, Stewart wasn't a good choice for the plurality of 233 players in the final week of Democrat-News' "The Race is On" contest, including the 48 who picked him to win. ...

Except for a pair of Big 12 Conference games, favorites ruled Saturday -- making for a tight finish in the Democrat-News' weekly Football Contest. Of the 24 ballots which had seven out of the nine games picked correctly, 21 missed on Texas Tech's stunning 42-38 upset of third-ranked Texas and 16 took hits on Missouri's 33-27 double-overtime victory at Texas A&M -- with 16 of ballots choosing the losing team in both games. ...

Monday, Nov. 18 Class 1 Tipton (9-1) at Hayti (9-1) Ash Grove (10-1) at Lockwood (10-0) Adrian (10-1) at SANTA FE (6-5) East Buchanan (6-5) at Princeton (8-3) Class 2 StL-Lutheran North (11-0) at Portageville (9-1) Centralia (11-0) at Blair Oaks (6-5)...

Dorothy Montague Potter of Marshall and Tucson, Ariz., died Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2002. Memorial services will be held at First Christian Church in Marshall Friday, Nov. 22, 2002, at 3 p.m.

Charles "Chuck" Edward Perryman, 63, of Osceola, died Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2002. Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, at Sunset Gardens Cemetery in Marshall. Rev. Paul Callahan will officiate.

A pair of incidents on the first weekend of the firearms deer hunting season should remind all hunters of three critically important words whenever heading into the woods: Identify your target. Saline County Sheriff Wally George said his department received a call Saturday from the James Wiseman family stating the house had suffered damage from an errant shot from a high-powered rifle...

"To sacrifice something is to make it holy - by giving it away for love," read a recent bulletin at St. Peter Catholic Church in Marshall. Those words were a reminder to parish families pledging to give money to a capital campaign designed to raise more than $1.3 million during the next five years. After Cosgriff Company of Omaha, Neb., conducted a feasibility study, the church decided to begin raising funds to help meet some of the physical needs of the church building and St. Peter School...

Time is running out for Saline County residents to help spread holiday cheer through donations of food, blankets and toys for the annual Community Holiday Project. The holiday project, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 6, will provide families in need with items that will make the holidays a bit brighter. ...

A Sweet Springs teen was injured in a weekend traffic crash on Interstate 70 in Saline County. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported that the crash occurred at 8:10 a.m. Saturday on I-70 just west of Davis Creek. At that time Hilary K. Dohrman, 16, lost control of her 2002 Chrysler, ran off the right shoulder and overturned...

The Saline County Commission, along with Becky Platter, elected as Presiding Commissioner in the Nov. 5 election, were expected to review job qualifications and specifications for the position of Saline County Health Office administrator Monday morning...

Donald W. Brashear, 79, of Marshall, formerly of Calhoun, died Friday, Nov. 15, 2002, at Fitzgibbon Hospital in Marshall. Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17, at Hadley Funeral Home in Windsor. Rev. Colby Smith officiated.

Sarah E. Hall, 85, of Marshall, died Friday, Nov. 15, 2002, at her home. Cremation. Memorial services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, at Sunset Gardens Cemetery in Marshall. William W. Harlow will officiate.

Pepper Dean Messer, 65, of Stover, died Thursday, Nov. 14, 2002, at Bothwell Regional Health Center in Sedalia. Cremation. Memorial services will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, at Houstonia United Methodist Church. Rev. Jim Downing will officiate...

Charles H. Mizer, 84, of Kansas City, formerly of Marshall, died Saturday, Nov. 16, 2002, at North Kansas City Hospital in North Kansas City. Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, at Campbell-Lewis Chapel in Marshall. Father Kevin Gormley will officiate...

Friday, Nov. 15 BOYS' SOCCER MSHSAA Class 1 Championships (Semifinals) KC-Pembroke Hill 3, StL-St. John the Baptist 1 StL-Whitfield 2, Jop.-College Heights Christian 1 (OT) MSHSAA Class 2 Championships (Semifinals) CG-Notre Dame 2, Marshall 0 Wash.-St. Francis Borgia 1, KC-O'Hara 0...