Stories from Wednesday, September 14, 2005

In January 1988, a group of 25 women from Marshall, Carrollton, Malta Bend, Tina and Slater met to discuss a common interest -- quilting. By May of that same year, the group had grown to 39 members and the Country Patchwork Quilters Guild was born. Eighteen years later, the group has grown to a size of nearly 60 women and men with a vast spectrum of quilting interests and talents...

The Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre will begin the fall portion of its 45th anniversary season with Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Driving Miss Daisy." Spanning 25 years, the play tells the story of Miss Daisy and her chauffeur Hoke. Coming from vastly different backgrounds, the pair form a friendship that is at times rocky and often amusing...

Thursday marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month and the Marshall Public Library will be celebrating with three events and the trial run of a possible new program. The "month" commemorating Hispanic culture, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, will kick off at the library with "El grito! Bailando! Comidas!" This event, scheduled to being at 7 p.m. Thursday, will feature traditional food, dancing by the Grupo Folklorico Internacional dancers and "El grito."...

With a boost provided by a favorable energy bill now through Congress, the effort to bring a biodiesel production facility to Marshall appears to be moving froward. "There's a lot of interest,"said Roy Hunter, executive director of the Marshall-Saline Development Corporation...

According to the old adage, it's better to be safe than sorry. Facing a potentially large increase in workers' compensation premiums, it would appear that Marshall Municipal Utilities is falling into the latter category. At Tuesday's meeting of the MMU Board of Public Works, Administrative Services Director Ken Gieringer told the board that he was expecting a letter from the Missouri Rural Services Workers' Compensation Insurance Trust. ...

An audit of the city of Sweet Springs found no material weaknesses in the financial reporting methods, though it uncovered two instances of non-compliance with law and regulations. Randall Fiene, a Concordia-based certified public accountant, performed the audit of the city finances, which was released to the press late Monday. It covered a one-year period beginning March 31, 2004...

Sakie Evelyn Kreisel, 73, of Houstonia, died Monday, Sept. 12, 2005, at Boone Hospital Center in Columbia. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, at Houstonia Baptist Church in Houstonia. Rev. Ron Zamkus will officiate. Friends may call after 4 p.m. ...

Jay Plattner, 53, of Grand Pass, died Monday, Sept. 12, 2005, at his home. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 16, at Victory Christian Fellowship Church in Waverly. Rev. Jerry Curry will officiate. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. ...

Harold Allen Tichenor, 84, of Napton, died Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2005, at University Hospital and Clinics in Columbia. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, at Campbell-Lewis Chapel in Marshall. Rev. W.B. Tichenor will officiate. Visitation be from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Zoar Cemetery in Napton. Memorials are suggested to Zoar Cemetery...

Marcus "Skip" Vesser, 88, of Harrisonville, formerly of Marshall, died Monday, Sept. 12, 2005, at Camden Health Center in Harrisonville. Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, at Campbell-Lewis Chapel in Marshall. William W. Harlow will officiate. Visitation will be from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Sunset Gardens Cemetery in Marshall. Memorials are suggested to the family's choice...

A close call with a deer Tuesday morning left a Marshall man injured and his car totaled. According to a preliminary report filed by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Andrew L. Mallinson, 22, was driving south on Route EE around 7 a.m. when he swerved to avoid a deer near County Road 306...

The winners in the health book coloring contest sponsored by the marshall Democrat-News and participating businesses were Stephanie Minkler of Marshall, first place, and Paige Renfrow of Blackwater, second place. The first place prize was an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. The prize for second place was a book of the winner's choice from The Education Station...

Front matter I learned something interesting the other day. In the town of Silvis, Ill., near Chicago, there is a monument in honor of eight Americans of Mexican descent who gave their lives in the defense of this nation. These eight men are among 110 men from one city block in this city who did not hesitate when their country asked for their help. ...

Contrary to popular belief, math, learning and fun can all be used in the same sentence! I invite every parent, grandparent or childcare provider to try these math skills games with their own creative kids and discover how much fun math can be. Weigh it over...

This week in School Talk I would like to continue a discussion about the Marshall School District CSIP (Comprehensive School Improvement Plan). You may remember that in my last School Talk article, I shared some information regarding the first CSIP goal of providing a rigorous curriculum and instructional learning experiences for all children. ...

WARRENSBURG -- Both the Marshall boys' and girls' cross country teams took third place Friday at the Central Missouri State University Open in Warrensburg. The Owls had three of the top nine runners in the boys' race, which was 2.5 miles -- six-tenths of a mile shorter than the standard high school distance. ...

WARRENSBURG -- The Missouri Valley College cross country team didn't make much of a dent in the standings during its opener Friday at the Central Missouri State Open in Warrensburg. The Valley men were 11th out of 14 full squads with 266 points and the Lady Vikings were last among 13 teams with 311 points. The host Mules (57 points) and Jennies (79) took the team honors...

CANTON -- Four players topped double digits in kills for the Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team Tuesday during a four-game Heart of America Conference victory at Culver-Stockton. After struggling with their strokes in the early going, posting an .094 hitting percentage while losing the first game, 30-24, the Lady Vikings found their marks -- attacking at a .313 and .577 pace over the next sets, winning 30-28 and 30-16...

SWEET SPRINGS -- It wasn't a win, but it was a breakthrough of sorts Tuesday for the Sweet Springs volleyball. After being swept in four previous matches, the Lady Greyhounds claimed the first set of their 15-25, 25-23, 25-17 home loss to non-conference opponent Norborne (3-4-2) before fading at the end...

BOYS' SOCCER NCMC at Moberly 5, Fulton 2 Hannibal 6, at Kirksville 2 Non-conference Smith-Cotton at Marshall, ccd. VOLLEYBALL I-70 Concordia 25-25, at Wellington-Napoleon 11-9 Non-conference at Marshall 25-25, Smith-Cotton 15-19 Norborne 15-25-25, at Sweet Springs 25-23-17...