Stories from Tuesday, December 18, 2001

I get so tired of reading in the paper where people call Clinton "Slick Willie." Slick Willie kept us out of war; we didn't have any war and we didn't have a recession the eight years he was in there. He did something right. So think about that...

MALDEN - Mary Ruth Hogeland, 60, died Dec. 14, 2001, at the Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter. Born March 24, 1941, in Dudley to the late Marvin and Genevieve Laramore Eagan, she was a member of the Second Southern Baptist Church of Malden. On Oct. 14, 1983, at Malden she married Harold Hogeland, who survives of Malden...

WASHINGTON, Mo. - Margaret "Marge" Reynolds Williamson, 81, formerly of Dexter, died Dec. 17, 2001, at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Washington. Born Dec. 31, 1919, at Washington, daughter of the late Arthur and Laura Jasper Cierpiot, she was a member of Sweet Prospect General Baptist Church in Dexter and retired as secretary of Elder Manufacturing in Dexter...

SIKESTON - Cecil Crawford, 93, died at 10:15 p.m. Dec. 16, 2001, at the Sikeston Convalescent Center. Born June 14, 1908, in McCracken County, Ky., son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Robert Crawford, he was a farmer. In May 1935, in Sikeston, he married Mary Lillian Westmoland who preceded him in death on May 14, 1989...

BENTON - Kelsi Marie Essner, 8, died at 9:05 p.m. Dec. 15, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born Nov. 14, 1993, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Ronald Joseph and Laura Anne Riley Essner, she was a second grade student at St. Denis Catholic School. She was also a member of St. Denis Catholic Church in Benton...

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Paul Ellis, 74, died Dec. 17, 2001, at Sunbridge Nursing Home. Born Aug. 25, 1927, at Risco, Mo., son of the late William and Pearl Dowdy Elllis, he was a retired pipe layer and had worked for McMullen Excavating for many years. He had lived in the Missouri towns of Catron, Bernie and Dexter before moving to Granite City three years ago...

SCOTT CITY - Stanley Jamito, 90, died at 8:15 p.m. Dec. 16, 2001, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born May 8, 1911, in Milwaukee, Wis., he was an elevator operator for the Edgewater Beach Hotel and Lion-Healey Company in Chicago, Ill...

CANALOU - Lila Mae Scott, 88, died at 5:22 p.m. Dec. 17, 2001, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born March 14, 1913, at Morley, daughter of the late William P. and Artie M Baughn Scott, she was a homemaker and of the Assembly of God faith...

TALLAPOOSA - Annie Northannie Swinford, 79, died Dec. 16, 2001, in Tallapoosa. Born Dec. 27, 1921, in Russellville, Ark., daughter of the late William McKinley and Ila Whitfield Carter, she was a member of the Oneness Pentecostal Church in Tallapoosa...

EAST PRAIRIE - William David "Duckie" Russell, 89, died at 10 a.m. Dec. 16, 2001, at his home. Born Aug. 23, 1912, in East Prairie, son of the late Elijah D. and Lula Brown Russell, he had lived in East Prairie most of his life. He was an Internal Revenue Service attorney and veteran of the U.S. Army, having served during World War II...

LILBOURN - Lydia Tillman, 84, died Dec. 17, 2001. Arrangements are incomplete at Ponder Funeral Home in Lilbourn.

SCOTT CITY - Donna Faye Mosier, 61, died at 12:28 a.m. Dec. 17, 2001, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Born May 21, 1940, in East Prairie, daughter of the late Paul and Florence Bibb Busby, she was a member of Gospel Assembly in Anna, Ill. On July 28, 1966, at Union County, Tenn., she married John Edward Mosier who survives of the home...

SIKESTON - Shooting of forward Dick Searless of Caruthersville was the difference between victory and defeat for the Sikeston High School Bulldogs in the season's basketball opener at the gymnasium Friday night. Hack Hopki's Caruthersville five won by a score of 11-7 in a raggedly-played contest, Searless accounting for six points...

BROSLEY - After a dismal first quarter, with Sikeston only scoring two points, the Lady Bulldogs pulled out a 35-21 victory against Greenville's Lady Bears (6-4) in the second round of the Lady Royals' Holiday Classic. "We started really slow," said Sikeston coach Lee Brooks, whose team improves to 5-3. "I think it was mainly because of the morning game on Saturday. I just wanted to get them through the second half because I knew they would be sluggish."...

For those who have tired of the Community Christmas Campaign, this will mark the final words I will write on the subject this year. Beginning tomorrow morning, hundreds of Christmas baskets will be delivered to the needy in Sikeston. It is because of the generosity of Sikeston residents that this is possible...

Sikeston Public Works employees use a backhoe to remove debris from the creek on Smith and Second streets in Sikeston on Monday afternoon. The weekend rains created flooding and other problems for Southeast Missouri residents. However with dry weather expected at least until Sunday, the Bootheel will have the opportunity to dry out over the next several days...

CAPE GIRARDEAU - A New Madrid man entered a guilty plea on a felony methamphetamine charge. George W. Slayton Jr., 34, entered a plea of guilty to one felony count of attempt to manufacture methamphetamine. He appeared in court Monday before U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber...

SIKESTON -- The Christmas season is one of the most festive of the year. It is the time when many decorate their homes, visit family and spread Christmas cheer. However, the holiday season can also be a dangerous one. One of the highlights for some families over the holidays is decorating the Christmas tree. While the tree can look beautiful, it is also a fire hazard...

SIKESTON - Home Rule Charter commissioners received feedback from the public at the first of two public meetings scheduled for that purpose. Commissioners presented the latest draft of the 26-page charter for approximately 20 people Monday. They began with a review of a handout with the charter's preface and a "Charter at a Glance" section highlighting seven major items addressed in the charter...

SIKESTON - Dayna Lynn Westerhold and David Matthew Rouse exchanged wedding vows in a 2 p.m. ceremony Oct. 6 at the First United Methodist Church before the Rev. Sandra Schaller. The bride is the daughter of Cynthia Westerhold of Sikeston and Walter Westerhold of Pacific. The bridegroom is the son of Linda Rouse and John and Beverly Rouse of Columbia...

SIKESTON - Kathy and Thomas Allmon of Sikeston and Jimmy and Lori Wimberley of Blodgett have announced the engagement of their daughter, Lisa Michele Wimberley, to Michael Vernon Shanle. A 1996 graduate of Sikeston Senior High School, the bride-to-be is employed by A Plus Inc. Home Services...