Stories from Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Zelda Mae Hicks, 79, died Sunday, Jan. 28, 2007, at Sweet Springs Villa in Sweet Springs. Graveside services will be 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, 2007, at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, 701 N. 94th St., Kansas City, Kan. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in her memory to either the American Diabetes Association or Sweet Springs Villa, Sweet Springs. Arrangements are being handled by Porter Funeral Homes & Crematory...

Fair association's dinner rescheduled to March 6 The Saline County Fair Association's annual biscuits and whole hog sausage gravy dinner has been canceled for Tuesday, Feb. 6, and rescheduled to Tuesday, March 6, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the multipurpose building of the Saline County Fairground...

A Saline County Sheriffs Department patrol car sustained over $3,000 worth of damage in a collision with a deer on Tuesday, Jan. 30, police said. According to the report, Sheriff's Deputy Dusty Brandt was driving his patrol car on Route EE about one quarter of a mile south of County Road 316 near Sweet Springs when he encountered a number of deer in the road. Brandt slowed down but was unable to avoid a collision...

As the snow and ice blanket the ground, Missouri Valley College's Camp Administration class is focusing on the sunny days of April as it prepares for the 17th Annual Camp Just For Kids (JFK), which is scheduled for April 13-17, at Knob Noster State Park...

The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame will induct the Missouri Valley College Football team members from 1941 through 1948 as members of the 2007 Enshrinement Class in ceremonies Sunday, Feb. 11, in Springfield. Tickets for the event are $150 each and $1,500 for a table of 10. Tickets are on sale now and available by calling (417) 889-3100; tickets are limited...

The Marshall Municipal Utilities Board of Public Works met on Tuesday, Jan. 30, and approved the purchase of a standby lift station generator and a cab and chassis. Monty Chase, director of underground facilities, asked the board to approve the low bid from Cummins Mid America for the 100 KVA portable generator at $34,265, with the added surge breaks instead of electric breaks on the trailer for an additional $400. The board approved the bid...

It took a bit of a ruse to get Melanie Elfrink to the Marshall Rotary Club meeting Thursday, Jan. 25, but club member Charlie Cooper wanted to surprise her. So while she thought she and her husband, Roy Elfrink, were there to present slides and information about their mission trip to Papua New Guinea, Cooper took the opportunity to present her with a Paul Harris Fellow award, an honor reserved for members of the community who "exemplify what Rotary is all about."...

Today I have a smorgasbord of thoughts (revolving around the library) to share with you. I begin with book drop adventures. Many of you may recall that we were the beneficiaries of a donation from Murrell Library -- our very own book drop! The City was very accommodating and hauled it to their place, sandblasted it, painted it, and installed it on the concrete platform they poured just for the book drop. ...

The Marshall boys' basketball team proved Saturday in the championship game of the Grain Valley Tournament that it could come back from a huge deficit to win. On Tuesday, the Owls demonstrated they were equally capable of blowing a big lead during a 72-64 home loss to NCMC rival Moberly. Marshall was up by 11 points early in the third quarter, but let opportunities -- especially from the free-throw line -- slip away as the Spartans closed with a 43-24 run...

ALMA -- Some last-second heroics allowed the Santa Fe boys' basketball team to stave off imminent defeat Tuesday and beat visiting Windsor, 44-42, to end an 11-game I-70 Conference losing streak. Sophomore Ben Catlett's lay-up with 9.4 seconds to go tied the game and junior Kenzie Thorp came up with a steal and beat the buzzer with a game-winning shot for the Chiefs...

Brrrrr! Happy Wednesday. I hope your furnace is working and that the price of heating fuel doesn't go any higher! Just think ... when you use the Civic Center or visit the Nicholas-Beazley Museum in winter, you'll certainly be warm there! I had to tie that in, you know...