Stories from Sunday, January 27, 2008

On the NBC Evening News of Jan. 24, there was a short film clip of our President slightly slumped against his fancy chair, visibly snoozing while a high-up dignitary was delivering a sermon last Sunday. NBC wasn't the only venue where this notable gaff could be seen; all you had to do was consult any newspaper in the U.S. ...

In 2003, Dave Isay, the founder of StoryCorps, began collecting the stories of everyday Americans with the idea that everyone has an important story to tell. The following interview of Cynthia Rahn is from a collection of stories, "Listening is an Act of Love":...

Hi neighbors. Such an unusual week this has been. It began with an early morning drive to Stockton in Cedar County to attend that county's historical society meeting Saturday. This time the meeting was in the old Hoff home, which is assumed to be the oldest house in Cedar County...

Doris Irene Purvis, passed away Sunday, Jan. 20, 2008, at Palm Grove Healthcare, Beaumont, Calif., She was 93 years old and had been in failing health for the past few years. Doris was born June 29, 1914, in Edna, Kan., to Sidney Harlow Hunziker and Freda Edna Massey Hunziker. ...

Eugene "Gene" Gray, 55, of Schell City, Mo was welcomed into Heaven on Jan. 23, 2008, from the Elleitt Memorial Hospital, in Appleton City, Mo., after a long struggle with cancer. Gene was born on Dec. 29, 1952, at Walnut Ridge, Ark., to Aileen Gray. ...

EImo Neal Gerster, age 91, the son of Charles Otis and Daisy Ethel (Scott) Gerster was born Sept. 7, 1916, in Walker, Mo., and passed from this life on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008, at his home in Schell City, Missouri. Elmo attended school in Dederick and then graduated from El Dorado Springs High School, in 1934. ...

Nevada, Mo. -- People in Vernon County don't like to think there are homeless people among them, but there are. Homelessness looks different in every community, according to Nevada Housing Authority Director Carol Branham. In Vernon County, "It's the young man or young lady who got kicked out of his or her home by the parents, who wants to stay in school and get a diploma. ...

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- A number of local agencies that provide aid for area residents can only do so because of assistance provided to them through the local chapter of a well-known national organization. Bourbon County plays host to 18 different community service agencies, which rely partially on funds provided by the Bourbon County United Way. ...

Nevada, Mo. -- Connie Denning pointed to a small caricature on the document in front of her, carefully pulling the yellowing, delicate old newspaper pages a little closer. "That's Burton Hoff-man," she said. Turning the page, she said, "and that's L.F. Richardson. People can tell who it's supposed to be without being told. This has been at Catherine's (restaurant, on Osage Boulevard, Nevada) and people will say, 'oh, that's my mother! Or, oh, that was my neighbor.'"...

For many years, the debates revolving around sex offender rehabilitation have been heated and controversial among law enforcement officials and treatment specialists. Statistics and beliefs conflict, as many feel sex offenders are rarely rehabilitated; nevertheless, often the numbers show most offenders released from prison do not re-offend. ...