Stories from Sunday, June 17, 2007

SIKESTON -- Scott County will get new floodplain maps developed with federal funding. Missouri is receiving over $4.2 million from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency to update and digitalize flood maps in 15 counties and the city of St. Louis, according to a press release from Gov. Matt Blunt...

SIKESTON -- Scott County retail locations named in a news article as possibly facing fines or liquor license suspensions are actually the ones who were found to be in compliance. In an article which appeared on the front page of Thursday's Standard Democrat, Rhodes 101 Stops in Chaffee and Scott City, the Oran Kwik Stop and Tanks One Stop were all erroneously listed as having been cited and facing possible fines and/or suspension of liquor licenses following recent alcohol compliance check investigations by the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control. ...

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston Bulls' offensive woes continued on Friday night as they fell to the Farmington Firebirds, 3-1 at VFW Stadium. The Bulls have been managing to pull out victories with pitching and defense for the most part. While those two phases of the game were once again strong, the Bulls couldn't over come just one run scored and just five hits...

STE. GENEVIEVE -- Austin Williams was a home run shy of the cycle and Josh Stevens picked up the win in relief as the Sikeston American Legion baseball team squeezed out a 11-9 non-district victory in 10 innings over Ste. Genevieve Post 150 Friday night at Yanks Field...

SIKESTON - WestRidge Place, assisted living by Americare, was deemed deficiency-free during its recent survey by the State of Missouri's Division of Aging. The survey is conducted annually and is a comprehensive review of the facility's entire operation...

SPRINGFIELD -- Topics to promote more efficient electricity consumption took center stage during the 45th annual meeting of Springfield-based Associated Electric Cooperative June 6-8 at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City, Mo. About 500 representatives from AECI's member cooperative systems, including directors and managers from six regional generation and transmission cooperatives and their 51 local distribution cooperatives in Missouri, Iowa and Oklahoma, participated in sessions with national experts in the fields of energy efficiency and demand-side management. ...

SIKESTON - Herman Wood of Sikeston celebrated his 90th birthday on June 16. Originally from Alabama, he was a farmer and put his first crop in at the age of 11. He later relocated to Missouri where he farmed in the Gideon area until 1958. He and his wife, Meg, moved to Sikeston, where he worked at Robinson Lumber Wholesale and later for Woody's and Bridger Plumbing. ...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Scott Nelson of Lakeville, Minn., and Mrs. Marianne Meyer of Minneapolis, Minn., have announced the engagement of their daughter, Valerie Rose Nelson, to Steven Daniel Pullen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Darrell Pullen of Benton, Mo. A 2006 graduate of Belmont University in Nashville, where she earned a degree in music business, the future bride is employed as a marketing agent at Grand Vista Music...

BENTON - Cherlyn Laxton is the parent of her fifth child, third son, born at 11:44 a.m. May 16, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Daniel Lee weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and was 20.5 inches long. Grandparents are Carolyn Blankenship and Orville Blankenship of Benton...

SIKESTON - In the Middle Ages, those in need could find rest and comfort in a hospice. Today, hospice is still available, but now is a concept of caring for patients and families facing life-limiting illnesses. It is to help these families in Southeast Missouri that Preferred Hospice has opened an office in Sikeston. ...

Sikeston Bulls players, along with general manager Fred Johnson, recently visited with the residents and staff at the Hunter Acres Caring Center in Sikeston. Bulls players have been providing services and making appearances at local establishments in an effort to connect with the community of Sikeston...

MOREHOUSE - Pallbearers for services held Saturday at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel in Sikeston for Helen Auda Dodd, 87, who died on June 13, 2007, were: Bill Pierce, Tony Parker, James Price, Tucker Price, Jackie Tucker and Keith Hazel.

DEXTER - Wayne Reed, 48, died June 13, 2007, at his home in Dexter. Born Aug. 13, 1958, in Poplar Bluff, son of Wafe B. and Virginia Pierce Reed of Dexter, he was affiliated with the First Baptist Church in Dexter. He was a former employee of Tyson Food and Holden Pallet Company, both in Dexter, and several other businesses in the area...

MOREHOUSE - Larry James Coatney, 58, died June 15, 2007, at VA Medical Center in Marion, Ill. Born Aug. 1, 1948, in Morehouse, son of Lilie Whittemore Coatney of Morehouse and the late T.L. Coatney, he was a U.S. Army veteran who served during the Vietnam War in 1968-69. He was a tow motor driver for Arvin Automotive in Dexter...

CHARLESTON - Virginia Crider, 88, died June 14, 2007, at Charleston Manor. Born Sept. 14, 1918, in Philadelphia, Miss., to the late Stennis and Mary Kirkland Clemons. A a resident of Missouri for over 50 years, she was a member of Sanders Chapel AME Church where she served as an usher, and a member of the Order of the Eastern Star...

SIKESTON - Lena Matthews, 97, died at 2 a.m. June 15, 2007, at the Clearview Nursing Center. Born March 10, 1910, in Sikeston, to the late John A. and Annie Matthews, she had lived all her life in Sikeston. She worked at the Scott County Milling Company until retiring at the age of 70...

Jeanne Pepper, 85, died June 15, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born Sept. 17, 1921, in Flat River, she was the daughter of the late Lewis Eugene and Sue DeGrant Jones. She was a homemaker and a member of the First Christian Church Disciples of Christ in Dexter and Order of Eastern Star member Chapter 385 in Bloomfield...

Today being Father's Day, it seems only appropriate to share some thoughts on the subject. For starters, I may well have written virtually the same column in the past. After nearly 30 years of writing these opinions, cut me some slack if I'm repetitive from time to time. It goes with the territory...

This is in regards to the article talking about Madam President. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. Hillary will be the next president in 2008 and I will be the first one to vote for her. On Saturday, Sept. 29, the Sikeston High School Class of 1987 will hold its 20-year reunion at the Sikeston Country Club. At this time we are trying to locate and notify all classmates. If you are a class of '87 or know someone who is, please provide contact information to sikeston87@yahoo.com or 472-0746...

SIKESTON - Jeff Baugher has sold his interest in the North End Grocer this week to Lige Inman. SIKESTON - Wheat prospects in Southeast Missouri is for an average crop. Yields are expected to produce 30 to 35 bushels per acre. MATTHEWS - Two large service stations and truck stop layouts will be built at the Matthews intersection of Interstate 55 and Highway 80. Both tracts of land, 29 acres and eight acres respectively, were owned by Hunter-Smith Farms...

SIKESTON -- People often look to their dad for encouragement, support and advice, especially when it comes to sports. All fathers are special people. There are also fathers who go above and beyond. Sometimes it means closing the doors to their business. Sometimes it's participating in a dance recital, helping out in the classroom or just taking a child out for treats...