MANNING (Jan.

 ELK HORN (Jan. 21) -- The Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls basketball team extended its win streak to 13 games here Tuesday night with a 58-36 home win over Paton-Churdan.

 ELK HORN (Jan. 21) -- The Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton boys bounced back from a tough loss Monday to defeat Paton-Churdan 44-35 on Tuesday night in Elk Horn, improving to 7-5 overall and 6-4 in the Rolling Valley Conference. The Spartans led 24-21 at the half before outscoring the Rockets 6-4 in the third quarter and 14-10 in the fourth to complete a regular season sweep. Creighton Nelson led a balanced Spartan scoring attack with 11 points.

    AVOCA -- Doris “Jeanie” Mertz, 96, Avoca, died January 30 at Avoca Specialty Care.    Services will be held Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 10:30 a.m. at Pauley Jones Funeral Home in Avoca.    Mertz is survived by her husband, LaVerne Mertz, of Avoca; son Ron (Michele) Beckler of Santa Ana, CA; daughter Susan (Jerry) Pells of La Salle, CO; six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

    HARLAN -- Edna Lucille Paulsen, 98, Harlan, died February 2 at Elm Crest Retirement Community.    Services will be held Saturday, Feb. 8 at 10:30 a.m. at Pauley Jones Funeral Home in Harlan with burial in the Harlan Cemetery.  Visitation is Saturday from 9:30-10:30 a.m. at the funeral home.    Paulsen is survived by sons Rev. Dr. Wayne (Julie) Paulsen of Wichita, KS and Rueben (JoAnn) Paulsen of Overland Park, KS; daughter Mary Kay (Rev.

    HARLAN -- Philip Ward Madson, 96, Harlan, died February 2 at Peace Haven Retirement Home.    Services will be held Saturday, Feb. 8 at 1:30 p.m. at Pauley Jones Funeral Home in Harlan with burial in the Cuppy’s Grove Cemetery in Harlan.  Visitation is Friday, Feb. 7 from 2-8 p.m. with family greeting friends from 5-7 p.m.

    HARLAN -- Lynn J. McCord, 94, Harlan, died Saturday, Feb. 1 in Harlan.    Services will be held Thursday, Feb. 6 at 10:30 a.m. at Burmeister-Johannsen Funeral Home in Harlan with burial in the Bowman’s Grove Cemetery in rural Shelby County.  Friends may call Wednesday, Feb. 5 from 3-8 p.m. with family greeting friends from 5-7 p.m.

    HARLAN -- Nurses at Myrtue Medical Center are being honored with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's program to express gratitude to nurses that perform extraordinary care and compassion every day.      The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation was established by family members in memory of J.

    HARLAN -- All of the students at Shelby County Catholic School participated in STEM-based challenges on Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 29 during Catholic Schools Week. The theme for the day was “Be a Creative Problem Solver.”  From left: Payton Kobold, Zoey Schulte and Edie Mae Kaufmann work on building a perch that will hold a small plastic animal.