Vernon County's sixteen polling places  in Nevada include the First Baptist Church for voters in wards one, three and seven, the home economics building for voters in wards two and five, the United Methodist Church  in ward four, the National Guard Armory in ward six and the Osage Prairie YMCA in ward eight. Center-Outside precinct voters are to cast ballots at the County Courthouse. Also open Tuesday will be the Rinehart Christian Church for voters in the Horton, Metz and Stotesbury precincts, the Walker Community building for voters in Walker, Harwood's Town Hall for voters in Harwood and Dederick, Schell City's City Hall for voters in the Blue Mound and Schell City precincts, the Milo Fire Department for Badger and Milo voters, the Deerfield Baptist Church for voters in Richards, Deerfield and Shiloh precincts, the Moundville Community building for Harrison and Moundville voters, Bronaugh's City Hall for voters in the Bronaugh precinct, the Sheldon Methodist Church for voters in Bellamy, Montevallo and Sheldon and the Don and Barb York Farm for Virgil voters. Ellis precinct voters cast ballots at the National Guard Armory in Nevada and Lake, Lone Star and Oak Grove voters ballot at the Osage Prairie YMCA.

A Lamar man has been charged with arson after a fire at an apartment complex over the weekend. Lamar police officers and firemen answered the alarm at 506 W. Tenth Street about 1:30 a.m. Sunday and found flames in the second-floor windows and through the roof of the apartments -- owned by O'Sullivan Rentals. An upstairs apartment sustained heavy damage with water damage to in two apartments on the first floor. The suspect -- identified by police as Kurt R. Shumny, who lived in the complex -- was arrested about 9:00 a.m. Sunday near the Barco Drive-In Theatre.

Missouri U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill wants rural post offices to remain open. The U.S. Postal Service expects to lose $14-billion this year and a plan to close 3,700 Post Offices -- many in rural areas -- is on hold until mid-May. McCaskill's proposal, to be announced today, would allow the Postal Regulatory Commission to prevent the closing of Post Offices when the Postal Service does not offer communities an alternative such as reduced hours. She also wants six-day-a-week deliveries continued another four years and a one- to three-day delivery standard for first class mail. Her proposal would reduce the Postal Service's payments to an account for future retiree health benefits by $2-billion to $2.5-billion. She also wants to see a new business model for long-term sustainability within a year and says Uncle Sam might have to subsidize rural mail deliveries as it did with electrical and telephone services years ago.

Nevada Elks Lodge members have honored a veteran Nevada police officer as its officer of the year for 2011. Elks Lodge exalted ruler Blaine Diehl says Sgt. Steve Bastow was chosen for the award by members of the lodge's past exalted rulers association for his consistent and exemplary service to the citizens of Nevada -- including a commendation for saving the life of an elderly resident in December, 2011. Bastow joined the city police force in May, 2001 and was promoted to sergeant five years ago.

Nevada police officers are investigating the apparent attempt to break into a business on the Nevada Square. Captain Casey Crain said today the back door of a finance firm on the East side of the Square was damaged but the burglar or burglars did not gain entry. The property damage was reported Friday.

Barton County sheriff Mitchell Shaw says two teenage boys are suspected of vandalizing a church in Golden City January 27. He says they used chalk to write anti-Hispanic slurs on the front door of the Mission of Encouragement church. The sheriff adds church pastor Greg Earl is not seeking charges and the parties are working together to find a reasonable resolution. Spanish language services were started at the church last August and have attracted about three dozen people from Carthage, Neosho and other Southwest Missouri communities. Sheriff Shaw says the two boys apparently wandered away from a high school basketball game a week ago Friday and were responsible for the problem at the church as well as problems elsewhere in Golden City.

The next Nevada/Vernon County Chamber-of-Commerce luncheon is to be held at the Missouri National Guard's Camp Clark Training Center at 12:00 p.m. two weeks from today at the National Guard's Training Center at Camp Clark. Vernon County Youth Task Force youngsters are to provide and serve the lunch to raise funds for a program featuring Willy Jolly April 26. Tours of the Training Center begin at 10:00 a.m. February 17 and the deadline for reservations is February 14 at the Chamber-of-Commerce office, on the lower level of the Carnegie Building, 225 W. Austin, Nevada, 417-667-5300. Chamber-of-Commerce executive director Gina Ensor is the guest on this afternoon's public affairs program, Update, with more about next week's Chamber luncheon and the Chamber's annual awards banquet March 3. Update airs after today's 1:00 p.m. ABC News on KNEM and KNMO as well as live on-line at www.knemknmo.com.