Stories from Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Patricia Ann Thiel Patricia Ann Thiel, 77, of Marshall, died Tuesday, March 28, 2006, at her home. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, March 31, 2006, at St. Peter Catholic Church in Marshall. Father Kevin Gormley will officiate. Pallbearers will be Greg Thiel, Jim Thiel, Steve Schieszer, Lonnie Schieszer, Billy Thiel and Donnie Thiel. ...

Evelyn W. Kirchhoff, 86, of Sedalia, formerly of Marshall, died Tuesday, March 28, 2006, at her son's home in West Plains. Funeral arrangements are pending under the direction of Sweeney-Reser-Wills Funeral Home in Marshall.

Mary Margaret Westbrook Hoy, 89, of Atlanta, Ga., died Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2005. Cremation. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 1, at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Marshall. Interment will be in Ridge Park Cemetery in Marshall...

Last week, I made a call for action in this column by stating that there was a need for local planning. I want to acknowledge that the Marshall Saline Development Corporation (MSDC) has developed a three-year plan for 2006-09, complete with a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). ...

A public meeting to discuss how a Community Watch program would function in Sweet Springs drew a capacity crowd Tuesday evening to the city hall's council chambers. Among those in the audience were Mayor Roxanne Hinton, Sweet Springs Police Chief Dick Downing, Saline County Sheriff Wally George and three of the town's four aldermen along with more than 30 citizens...

The Missouri Valley College Gospel Singers, under the direction of Diana Malan, will present an "Evening of Gospel Music" beginning at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 2, in the Eckilson-Mabee Theatre. The evening will include a variety of gospel music selections from the MVC Gospel Singers, Bathsheba Marie Love and Gospel Harmony (Diana Malan, Janet Bryan, Ramona Bullington, Terry Wright and Paul Bear). Several students from the Gospel group will also be featured in solos and dramatic sketches...

Northern District Commissioner Norvelle Brown reported Wednesday during the regular meeting of the Saline County Commission about a Missouri Department of Transportation meeting he attended Tuesday, March 28, in Jefferson City. Brown said the meeting was primarily informational and concerned establishing statewide transportation priorities for 2007 to 2011, although funding for MoDOT is not yet clear since Amendment 3 monies have been used up...

Only a couple of countywide offices will be contested during the primary and general elections later this year. The only two races with more than one candidate to file are the race for presiding judge of the 15th Judicial Circuit and Saline County presiding commissioner...

The race for Sweet Springs mayor on the April 4 ballot features the incumbent, Roxanne Hinton, seeking another two-year term against a former city alderman, James Lindemann. Roxanne Hinton Hinton said she would like to be retained in office to continue improving the city and bringing in money through state and federal grants...

Four choirs from Marshall High School received superior ratings in the annual state high school choir festival held at Boonville High School Monday, March 27. This annual evaluative event is sponsored and governed by the Missouri State High School Activities Association. Choirs from a dozen high schools in the Marshall region participated...

The open forum for Marshall Board of Education candidates Tuesday, March 28, did not draw a huge crowd, but the 50 to 60 members of the community who were there had plenty of compelling questions to pose. Janine Machholtz, vice president of the Community Teachers' Association, which sponsored the event, counted nine different issues raised during the course of the forum following candidates' opening remarks...

SPRINGFIELD -- File this in the One That Got Away folder: the Missouri Valley College women's tennis team's 5-4 loss to Evangel during its Heart of America Conference opener Monday at Springfield. The two closest contests of the day both went to the Lady Crusaders, who held on with a 3-3 split in singles play after taking two out of three doubles matches...

SEDALIA -- Last week, Marshall boys' golf coach Erek Dusenberry lamented his team's performance on an unfamiliar course. That reasoning wouldn't wash Tuesday, when the Owls shot 174 at nearby Sedalia Country Club to finish in the middle of a three-way match against Sacred Heart (164) -- eighth at the MSHSAA Class 1 Championships a year ago -- and Stover (212)...

The home opener for the Marshall girls' soccer team Tuesday turned out much the same way as its previous two matches, with slight improvement. For one thing, the Lady Owls weren't subject to the 10-goal "mercy" rule during a 7-0 non-conference loss to Smith-Cotton. For another, Marshall finally directed a shot on goal, that by senior Rachel Deaton...