Stories from Saturday, March 7, 2009

Mark Andrew Liter, 31, Carl Junction, Mo., formerly of Nevada, passed away on Thursday, March 5, 2009. He was born July 14, 1977, in Nevada, to Wilson E. Liter and Susan S. Swager Liter. He married Amy M. Carlson on Dec. 19, 1999, in Indianola, Iowa, and she survives of the home...

James (Jim) E. Henderson, 72, passed away at Tidewell Hospice and Palliative Care in Bradenton, Fla., on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009. Jim was born on July 27, 1936 to Ed and Laura Henderson. Surviving are two brothers, Grover C. Henderson of The Villages, Fla. and Marvin L. Henderson of Fort Scott, Kan...

John William Stockdale, age 59, of rural Sheldon, Mo., passed away unexpectedly Friday, March 6, 2009, at his home. John was born July 23, 1949, in Lamar, to Lester "Ott" and Armilda (Elrod) Stockdale. A life-long Barton County resident, John attended Grange Country School and graduated from Sheldon High School in 1967. ...

Florence Christina Cousley, 93, Nevada, passed away on Thursday, March 5, 2009, at Nevada Regional Medical Center in Nevada following a brief illness. She was born on Nov. 15, 1915, in La Due, Mo., to James Newton Maddox and Lena Belle Gross Maddox. She married Joseph Batesman Cousley Jr., on Dec. 18, 1937, and he preceded her in death on March 26, 1991...

Ray M. Shepherd, 89, longtime resident, businessman and civic leader in Fort Scott, and founder of Ray Shepherd Motors, passed away Monday, March 2, 2009, at the Presbyterian Village in Fort Scott. He was born July 23, 1919 in Booneville, Mo., the son of Ivan R. and Grace (Shipley) Shepherd. He married Mary E. Hoover August of 1941...

The countdown has ended, the unofficial start of the fishing season is here. Of course, fishing never stops in Missouri, but there's something special about the opening day at the four trout parks on March 1. After a long winter, anglers were even more anxious to hit the parks, but a Saturday snow made spring seem a long way off. At Bennett Spring, there were 2,309 trout tags sold, far short of the expected 4,000...

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- Home improvements will be the focus this summer for a newly-formed community action team. The Good Neighbor Action Team was formed earlier this year to take on the task of completing various home improvement and repair projects for several low-income residents, disabled residents, and elderly residents who live on fixed incomes...

For a day of good fishing and family fun, consider visiting the Mary A. McGennis Agricultural Park and Youth Center. The 160-acre recreational facility, open to the public, is located in Rich Hill, Mo. Bass, catfish and sunfish are abundant in the 4.7-acre lake, which also has a swim area with sand beach and nearby playground. ...

Fourteen-month-old Alex Woods looked intently at the pictures as his mother talked to him about the book in her hands. He touched the book and leaned his head against his mother, Julie. The moment was short. A few pages were enough, then it was on to other things. ...

Correlated with the birthday of children's author Dr. Seuss, a group of students in the local area participated in Read Across America on Monday. During a special assembly in conjunction with Read Across America, an annual program that strives to motivate children to read, students at Winfield Scott Elementary School learned how reading can benefit their futures. ...

Wayne and Julie Pennock announce the engagement of their daughter, Emily Pennock, to David Hamil, son of Dennis and JoAnn Hamil. Emily Pennock is a graduate of Nevada High School and received a Bachelor of Technology in Graphic Design from Pittsburg State University in 2003. Emily works at ARAMARK as an Account Marketing Manager for Lewisville ISD...

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Fort Scott Community College's baseball team opened Jayhawk Conference-Eastern Division play with a pair of losses to Johnson County here Thursday. The scores were 11-8 and 10-8. The Greyhounds (4-8) rallied in both games only to come up short. ...

OSAGE CITY, Kan. -- Jayhawk-Linn's girls had only one field goal in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's Osage City Class 3A Sub-State semifinal contest but accuracy at the free-throw line held off Allen-Northern Heights in a 45-41 victory. The third-seeded Jayhawks (17-5) will take on No. 5 Burlington (16-6) in tonight's championship game. The winner moves to the Class 3A State Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan., next week...

NEVADA, Mo. -- The Cottey College Comets split their first two home games at Bushwhacker Field Friday afternoon as they took on the East Central College Falcons. "The first game, we really got things going," head coach Greg Tietz said. "Just running the bases well, we were able to put up eight runs on the board. So (I'm) real proud of them, real proud of the way we're hitting the ball."...

NOTE --- This version of the summary has a correction to a player's name. The Tribune regrets the error.