Courtesy of the Evansville Courier and Press, A Proud Sponsor of the Fall Festival Lighthouse Parade

WSNC Member Tom MooreEvansville residents Tom and Barbara Moore got an experience they never expected when they visited Disney World in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 26. It was to be a fun day with their daughter, Julie Couch, and grandchildren Maggie Couch, 9, and Nick Couch, 7. As the four were entering the Magic Kingdom, a Disney employee came up to them and asked Tom if he were a veteran.

Tom said he thinks his flat-top hair style, which he still wears, may have caused that assumption. The employee then asked if Tom would be "Veteran of the Day" and participate in the flag-lowering ceremony in the Disney Town Square at 5 that evening.

"I am a veteran of the U.S. Army," Moore said. "I was drafted in 1970 — the only lottery I ever won. My birth date was the 11th drawn."

Moore served a tour of duty in Vietnam as a light weapons infantryman (a grunt).

"My commander in basic training said we would be ground-pounding, gum-chewing, pot-smoking, pop-up targets," he said.

No one would've ever expected this trip to the Magic Kingdom would tie-in to his days fighting a war in a faraway land. Disney officials asked his granddaughter Maggie to lead the Pledge of Allegiance, but she became bashful, so her brother Nick accepted the duty. After Moore was announced as the "Vet of the Day," the band played the official songs of the four branches of the armed services. When they were done, Nick used the microphone to lead the pledge. Then, the national anthem was played and the color guard lowered, then folded, the flag.

"I was presented a certificate and a Disney pin," Moore said.

Story courtesy of the Evansville Courier and Press

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — It's amazing there's anything left of Rodney Watson.

When the 6-foot-6 Isaac McClure engulfed the University of Southern Indiana men's basketball coach in a hug after USI beat Northern Kentucky for the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship on Sunday, Watson all but vanished in No. 21's arms.

"Words can't describe how I feel right now," said McClure, named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after scoring 20 points on 9-for-16 shooting and grabbing eight rebounds during the fifth-seeded Screaming Eagles' 60-56 victory at the Prairie Capital Convention Center. "All the hard work, all the time we put in and it didn't go to waste. It all paid off. I can't be happier right now."

Said a grinning Watson, who didn't have McClure the first semester after he was suspended for academic reasons: "There's a lot of tough love that goes into this. Hopefully, this is an example of what can happen when you work hard and go to class."

The victory was USI's fourth in the last eight days, the first time the Eagles have ever had to win four games to capture a conference championship.

The GLVC tournament title is the third in the history of the program and first since 2007.

And much of it depended on what McClure did.

He averaged 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds during the four-game run in the tournament. But his most important contributions may have come at the start of the second half against Northern Kentucky on Sunday.

With USI trailing 27-17, McClure scored the Eagles' first five points and seven of the first 12 (Lawrence Thomas got the other five on a 3-pointer following a steal and a layup following another steal). That allowed USI to tie the score at 29-29. Then he buried a 3-pointer to tie the score again at 32-32.

"I know my teammates depend on me," he said. "I knew I had to step up. They put me in a great position to score."

The game went back and forth like that until a McClure layup at 11:16 put USI in front 37-35. Next, redshirt freshman Austin Davis scored his only points of the game — a 3-pointer from the left wing.

Watson said assistant coach Brent Owen set up the play that freed the 6-8 Davis.

"It was the biggest play of the game," said Watson. "Brent had a screen set up for Austin and Austin was open."

Suddenly, with 10:45 to go, the Eagles were in front for good at 40-35. NKU never got closer than three points the rest of the game, but that didn't mean it wasn't close.

The Norse buried five 3-pointers in the final 5:07, four from Jon Van Hoose, a former University of Evansville recruit who tallied 15 of his points in the second half and finished with 18, on 6-of-11 shooting on 3-pointers.

MOLLY BARTELS / Courier & Press Mater Dei senior, Casey Jochem, shows off the net to a cheering crowd after Mater Dei defeated Fort Wayne Bishop Luers 56-52 in overtime in the 2A girls' state championship basketball game at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday, March 3, 2012.

Although the final play in overtime was designed for Muensterman to shoot a 3-pointer from the right wing or a pull-up jumper, it was ably defended by Luers. She improvised like a virtuoso.

Muensterman's 12-footer just inside the right side of the free throw line snapped a tie with 0.2 seconds showing in OT and lifted No. 1-ranked Mater Dei High School to a 56-52 victory over Bishop Luers on Saturday in the Class 2A girls' basketball state championship game.

"Obviously they did a nice job cutting her off and she curled back toward the middle," said Mater Dei coach Steve Goans, who guided the Wildcats to their first state title and a 27-1 record, including the last 20 wins in a row. "She made a spin move toward the lane.

"It was so fantastic to watch it go through the net. Maura Muensterman, all year long, has hit the big shot."

Making its third successive trip to state, winning the title in 2011, Luers ended 21-6.

Mater Dei's Tori Schickel drove the right side of the lane, but her shot was blocked by Miracle Woods with the score tied, 52-52, and 5.1 seconds to play in overtime, setting the stage for Muensterman, whose jumper broke a 52-52 tie.

Bishop Luers was whistled for a technical foul when it called a time-out with none left to take. Muensterman hit both technical foul shots for the final margin.

This holiday season has been especially hard on the West Side Nut Club family.  On December 21st, the West Side Nut Club lost Dan Berry in a automobile accident and December 26th we learned that long time active member Bob Stamp had passed away after a hospital stay. Stamp was 86.

Stamp a very active member in the West Side Nut Club since 1959 was Club President in 1972 and served as the Fall Festival Chairman in 1966.  We will have more information for the membership as it comes available.  We will have more information as details become available.

Funeral information for Dan Berry

courtesy of the Evansville Courier and Press

Danny R. Berry
Evansville, IN
Danny R. Berry, age 53, of Evansville, passed away Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at Deaconess Hospital Main Campus.
Mr. Berry had worked for 31 years for PGW, formerly PPG and as a real estate broker for 20 years currently with Keller Williams Capital Realty. He was the co-founder and owner of Dirt Finders Maid Service. He was a member of the Westside Nut Club, the National Association of Realtors and the Evansville Area Association of Realtors. Danny enjoyed riding motorcycles, fishing and most of all his children and grandchildren.
Surviving are his wife of 25 years, Bev (Caudill) Berry; a daughter, Cassie Berry of Evansville; son, Jason Berry of Evansville; three grandchildren, Kalie Lamkin, Jayla Collier and Ethan Collier; mother-in-law, Kay Barrett of Evansville; brother-in-law, Donald D. (Irena) Caudill, III of Henderson, Ky; nephew, Donnie (Amanda) Caudill and niece Amber Caudill of Henderson, Ky; two sisters, Jana (Buck) Colburn of Portland, TX and Sammi (Billy) Porch of Mathis, TX; three brothers, Robert Sanders of Portland, TX, Jerry (Angel) Sanders, Jr. of Anchorage, AK, John Lyles of Aransas Pass, TX, stepbrothers, Alan (Sue) Steel of Evansville and Greg (Kim)Steel of Jacksonville, FL; step sisters, Renee and Ladonna Steele of Evansville, stepfather, Jerry Sanders, Sr. of Anchorage, AK; stepfather, Durwood Beard of Portland, TX and many nieces and nephews.
Danny was preceded in death by his mother, Glenda Stull Beard.
Funeral services for Danny will be held at 11:00 A.M. Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at Pierre Funeral Home, Rev. Tony Stanley officiating. Burial will follow.
Friends may visit with the family from 2:00 until 8:00 P.M. on Monday at Pierre Funeral Home, 2601 W. Franklin Street.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Westside Nut Club Foundation, P.O. Box 6032, Evansville, IN 47719.
Condolences may be made online at www.pierrefuneralhome.com.

KYLE GRANTHAM / Courier & Press Mater Dei quarterback Dane Maurer, right, cries as he hugs running back Cody Hess, left, at the end of Mater Dei's 27-16 win over Guerin Catholic on Saturday afternoon, November 19, 2011. Mater Dei overcame a 16-7 halftime deficit to win the game and advace to the Class 2A state championship game in Indianapolis.While his players were aching to advance to state for the first time in their high school football careers, it has been a 10-year journey for intense Mater Dei High School coach Mike Goebel, who was wrapped even tighter than usual before Saturday's Class 2A semistate at Reitz Bowl.

"This team has been under a lot of pressure because they've had success not just this year, but throughout their high school careers," Goebel said.

Whether they felt the pressure or Guerin Catholic of Noblesville deserved most of the credit, Mater Dei fell behind 13-0 in the first quarter and 16-7 at the half. Led by senior tailback Cody Hess' two third-quarter touchdowns and junior placekicker Travis Wannemuehler's two fourth-quarter field goals, the Wildcats scored 20 unanswered points to post a 27-16 come-from-behind victory.

"It's incredible," said Mater Dei senior quarterback Dane Maurer. "This is the best feeling I've ever had. I love it. To be down 13-0 to a great team and then coming back shows our character. We had to overcome adversity. It was great to see our defense be so clutch, holding them to no points in the second half."

While Guerin Catholic coach Andy Kremer said the Wildcats created havoc by changing up their tactics and blitzing various linebackers in the second half, Mater Dei senior wide receiver-defensive back Hunter Owen said the turnaround was more primal.

"We had a lot of fire," said Owen, who had two interceptions during the Wildcats' second-half surge. "This is our senior year and we couldn't go out like this. Fortunately, the big plays went our way."

For the first time since 2001, Mater Dei will advance to the state championship game. Once again, the Wildcats will play Fort Wayne Bishop Luers. No. 4 Mater Dei (13-1) and two-time defending state champion Bishop Luers (12-1) will meet at 6 p.m. CST this Friday for the Class A state title at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Luers beat Bremen 35-21 in its semistate on Friday night.

Mater Dei and Luers have met twice in the state championship game; the Wildcats won in 2000 and Luers prevailed in '01.

'Cats' Euler finds redemption as squad earns West Side Nut Club Trophy

• By Steve Ford

Nobody had it worse last year for Mater Dei than senior David Euler, as he broke his leg in the Wildcats' 54-21 loss to Reitz for the West Side Nut Club Trophy.

This year, though, nobody had it better than Euler, who scored on both sides of the ball to help lead Mater Dei to a 34-18 win Friday night at Reitz Bowl, its first in the series since 2004.

Euler's 18-yard fumble return for a touchdown on the first play after the Wildcats went three-and-out on their first offensive series set the tone for the game until it was too late for Reitz.