Stories from Thursday, July 5, 2012

A Peculiar, Mo., teen suffered serious injuries in a one-vehicle crash Wednesday evening, July 4, on Interstate 70 in Saline County, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report. Alexander W. Grable, 18, was taken by air ambulance to Centerpoint Medical Center...

Saline County Historic Preservation Commission will begin reviewing a National Register of Historic Places nomination for old Fitzgibbon Hospital in Marshall at its meeting Thursday, July 5. A Kansas City partnership, Sunflower Developer Group and Pioneer Group Inc., is proposing to redevelop the old Fitzgibbon Hospital building at 868 S. Brunswick Ave. in Marshall, converting it to affordable senior housing...

Clara K. Griffith, 91, of rural Nelson, died Tuesday, July 3, 2012, at The Living Center in Marshall. Funeral services will be held 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 6, 2012, at Campbell-Lewis Chapel in Marshall, with Rev. Bill Cook officiating. Visitation will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. ...

Barclay VanDyke, 97, of Daytona Beach, Fla., formerly of Marshall, died Tuesday, July 3, 2012, in Daytona Beach following a brief illness. Memorial graveside services will be held at a later date in Ridge Park Cemetery. A full obituary will appear at a later date.Barclay VanDyke...

A Marshall man has been charged with class B felony second-degree robbery after allegedly beating and robbing another man Tuesday, June 26, in front of a Maplewood Circle residence. Robert Joseph Brooks, 24, is being held on a $10,000 cash-only bond, according to court documents...

The Marshall Democrat-News 2012 Pet Idol is Eve, a dog entered by Mallorie Hejmej of Marshall. Hejmej will receive a T-shirt with the Pet Idol logo noting "My Pet Won Pet Idol" and a $20 Walmart gift card. The winning cat entry in the second annual online contest was Booger, owned by Ashley Caton of Marshall...

Charles Carr, of Malta Bend, bent down toward a bottle rocket and lit the fuse at Slater City Park on Wednesday, July 4. As the small rocket soared several feet up, a small group of onlookers cheered. The group had traveled from Malta Bend for their Fourth of July celebration. Throughout the past week, county and city burn bans have spread through Saline County nearly as quickly as fire spreads on dry grass. By the Fourth of July, few towns allowed fireworks -- Slater was one of them...

An issue of contention was raised Thursday, July 5, when Saline County Commissioners approved a request for a pay raise for two employees in Saline County Recorder Jamie Nichols' office. Nichols requested a raise for her two employees to "bring them in line with other employees of the courthouse." Nichols' employees have worked under her for 11 and 13 years. The increase will amount to roughly $2,200, and will come from parts of Nichols' budget that she does not expect to use...

Arrow Rock has declared Saturday, July 7, Marilynne Bradley Day. Bradley has conducted watercolor workshops in Arrow Rock for 34 years and is being honored for her contributions to the Missouri artistic community. A watercolor art exhibit is open free to the public, as is the reception for the artist that will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Arrow Rock Historic Site Visitor Center...

The abandoned structure on South Brunswick Avenue was once the site of births and deaths, but these days, the old Fitzgibbon Hospital Building gropes for its own new life. The Saline County Preservation Commission and Southern District Commissioner Monte Fenner hosted a discussion regarding the old hospital during the regularly scheduled preservation commission meeting on Thursday, July 6. ...

Fireworks weren't the cause of a Fourth of July fire. Instead, a grease fire Wednesday morning destroyed a home on one of Saline County's Century Farms.