Articles

He had heard the good news for the first time about an hour before Sunday night’s game.

But it didn’t faze Brent Metheny either way.

The Columbia city prosecutor dropped charges Wednesday against five people arrested during a break-up of a house party, said George Batek, an attorney for some of the partygoers. The move came after the Columbia Police Department conceded that officers did not have a valid reason to enter the house.

Police Chief Randy Boehm said Tuesday that disciplinary action was taken against Officer Alan Mitchell after an investigation found he used “poor judgment” in breaking up a party in the 1000 block of Rogers Street on Feb. 12.

Black coffins lined one entrance to the Salute to Veterans Air Show on Saturday as thousands of spectators entered the show’s tarmac at the Columbia Regional Airport.

Members from the Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation brought the caskets as a reminder of the cost of war. Keith Brekhus, public outreach coordinator for the organization, said he hopes they cause people to stop and think.

As Joe Mahan sits at a table in Ernie’s Cafe and Steakhouse in Columbia, he sifts through photocopied newspaper clippings about his younger brother Doug. His eyes tear a bit, and he runs his finger over the words and pictures.

A clipping from July 1961 includes a picture of Doug, 17, reaching out to accept a ribbon at the Central Missouri Pony Show. There are news items about Doug receiving the Vice Commandant’s Award at Schilling Air Force Base in Salina, Kan., and about his receiving his silver pilot’s wings in Enid, Okla.

I was up just after dawn Friday. We were closing on our old lake house the next day, and although most of the furniture had been moved, it was up to me to pack what was left in the house.

I felt up to the task. As a matter of fact, it was one of those rare days when I had extra energy.

Fifteen years ago, Patty Cornell’s fifth-graders could swing from the uneven bars, toe the balance beam and handle other gymnastic feats with ease.

Now, Cornell doesn’t offer that gymnastics unit; most of her students don’t have enough upper-body strength, she said.

Hickman first baseman Andrew Mueller stepped into the batter’s box Saturday and stared down Joplin’s relief pitcher Kyle Veazey. The Kewpies stood two runs away from ending the quarterfinal game 12-2 in the fifth and there was only one out left.

“I felt like I had to make up for the last game when I didn’t do so good,” Mueller said. “I kept up my confidence and decided I was going to get it done today.”

OKLAHOMA CITY — Three home runs couldn’t save the Tigers men’s baseball team Saturday night in its 17-9 loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Nebraska advances to the championship game that will be played today at 1 p.m. at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City and broadcast on Fox Sports Network.

The loss followed a 5-4 loss to Nebraska in the early game Saturday and, for Missouri, marked the end of the Big 12 Conference season.

Standing in her blue cap and gown with a smile on her face, Marjorie Quinn told her teachers and classmates not to cry. “This is not the end,” she said.

She and other Douglass High School seniors received their diplomas Friday night, confirming that it is the end, at least, of their high school careers.

The 10th annual Boone Hospital Center 5K Run/Walk will begin at 9 a.m. Memorial Day at Twin Lakes Recreation Area 2500 Chapel Hill Road as a fundraiser for the Columbia Youth Track Club’s Columbia Colts program.

Interested runners or walkers with any range of ability can register the day of the race at Twin Lakes from 7 to 8:30 a.m. for $20. All proceeds go to the Columbia Colts program.

Runners and fans from around the state gathered at Dwight T. Reed Stadium at Lincoln University in Jefferson City on Friday and Saturday for the 2005 MSHSAA Track and Field Championships.

For most of the runners Friday was the day to win their heat and make it to the finals, but for Hickman senior Tim Cornell it was the last race of his high school career.

Rock Bridge seniors Justin Winner and Matt Dresner ended their high school tennis careers on a high note Saturday.

Winner and Dresner, Rock Bridge’s No. 1 doubles team, placed third at the Class 2 State Championships at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield. Winner and Dresner defeated Drew and Doug Brightfield of DeSmet 6-1, 6-3.

Rock Bridge freshman Lauren Borduin turned some heads two weeks ago at the District 5 meet at Rock Bridge when she beat Jefferson City’s Atilivia Spencer by .02 seconds in the 800-meter dash in 2 minutes, 20.4 seconds.

Then her times only decreased against more difficult competition.

LeBlanc is sitting in the third-base dugout at Taylor Stadium, slightly sunburned and red in the face. Every few minutes, he’ll take off his cap, run his hand through his brown hair and then place the cap loosely back on his head.

There is a glint in his eye as he talks about his size.

Boone County Assessor Tom Schauwecker said 2005’s property reassessments will show signs of the burgeoning real estate market but predicts relatively conservative tax increases.

Schauwecker foresees no sweeping changes but said assessed valuations will shift the tax burden.

Mid-Missouri bench coach Thomas “Wakes” Waelchli had never seen Auggie Rodriguez pitch before Saturday night. But he knew what to expect from the Mavericks’ starter just by looking at him.

He figured the diminutive Rodriguez, listed at 5-foot-9, wasn’t going to throw the ball by many hitters in his minor-league debut.

U Police Chief Jack Watring was cleared of any wrongdoing Friday after MU officials wrapped up a nearly three-month investigation into charges that he assaulted a University of Kansas fan at a basketball game.

When Russell Gray releases his parachute 3,000 feet above downtown Columbia, he can hear the roar of the crowd waiting on Broadway.

His scheduled touchdown at 9:55 Monday morning signals the beginning of the annual Salute to Veterans Parade.

Although the marijuana ordinance has sparked bitter debate between the police who want to see it repealed and the voters who passed it, the two sides may soon reach a compromise on the issue.

Proposition 2, which passed in November’s election, has come under attack by prosecutors and police officers because it allows offenders in possession of less than 35 grams of marijuana not to be prosecuted. However, attorneys and police officers said a compromise to the ordinance has been in the works for the last couple of weeks to limit the law under certain circumstances.