Stories from Wednesday, February 13, 2002

SPRINGFIELD - An appeals court on Tuesday affirmed the murder conviction of a former Arkansas man for the 1999 murder of his wife in Dunklin County. Jimmy Cook, formerly of Paragould, Ark., was convicted in a bench trial in Pemiscot County of first-degree murder and armed criminal action for the shooting death of his third wife, Linda Cook of Cardwell, Mo. Circuit Judge Fred W. Copeland sentenced Cook to life in prison without possibility of parole...

SIKESTON - Tuesday's school board meeting was just an example of the talent that can be found in the Sikeston Public Schools System. A student at Senior High, Jessica Cox was introduced as the R-6 District's candidate for the John T. Belcher Memorial Scholarship. Currently working at Super-D, her goal is to go into the field of medicine...

SIKESTON - The New Madrid County Central Eagles clinched at least a share of the SEMO Conference championship with a 57-49 win over the Sikeston Bulldogs on Tuesday at the Field House. The win moved Class 3A No. 2 ranked NMCC (21-3, 7-1) into a half game lead over Poplar Bluff in the conference...

COLUMBIA -- Sikeston's wrestling team is sending one senior, a sophomore and one freshman to the state meet tomorrow, with hopes that all three can place in their respective weight classes. The event will take place at the Hearnes Center in Columbia Thursday through Friday...

EAST PRAIRIE - The Kelly Hawks basketball team took another step towards an improbable conference championship with a 56-48 road win over the East Prairie Eagles on Tuesday. The Hawks, now 6-14 overall and 4-0 in the Scott-Mississippi Conference, have two games conference games left. They host Delta next Tuesday at 6:30 and they will travel to Oran the following Thursday...

Sikeston Department of Public Safety Lt. Ken Dicus demonstrates how to extricate a person from an accident Tuesday afternoon. Five public safety officers are in the process of learning various life saving techniques in the Fire Fighter I and II Academy. The eight-week program is for International Certification for firefighters...

CAPE GIRARDEAU - Madelin Mackley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Mackley of Blodgett, was married to Sherman Grant, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wilmer Grant of McMullin. The marriage was held at the First Baptist Church. SIKESTON - The March of Dimes received $325 in donations from students at five elementary schools. Presenters of the funds collected included Diane Taylor, Connie Bolden, Eddie Felker and Curtis Burnett...

I guess I'm getting old. I can remember when a local food chain had fast food service. When I was in there Sunday, we stood there 22 minutes before we got our sandwich. There was one man working the counter and they have three cash registers. They had 15 people waiting. These people who manage or own these places better wake up. There are other fast-food places in Sikeston...

It was New Year's Eve just two years ago. The setting was one of the rougher neighborhoods of Kansas City. On a street corner stood a group of young thugs celebrating the new year as thugs often do - with guns drawn, shooting into the cold night air in some stupid ritual of sorts that is common place in some cultures. The same thing happens in Sikeston, I'm told...

MATTHEWS - The 2002 Matthews Street Ball Tourney will be held Saturday, March 30, at the former Matthews High School gymnasium. The tournament is an annual charity event which benefits non-profit organizations operating within the city of Matthews. Registration forms are available at Matthews City Hall and First Missionary Baptist Church. Registration will remain open until Feb. 28 or until 16 teams have registered...

New Madrid County has more than just the back-to-back 3A state champions to brag about. They've also got the Portageville Bulldogs, who were the back-to-back-to-back-to-back 2A state champs from 1991 to '94. The two schools should've been playing all along, and this Friday, they finally will...

SIKESTON - Kareem and Charlotte Pulley are the parents of their second child, first daughter, born at 1:17 a.m. Jan. 4, 2002, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. Keiera Danyel Pulley weighed 5 pounds, 13 ounces and was 18-inches long. Mrs. Pulley, daughter of Carolyn Smoot and James Winfield, is a full time college student...

SIKESTON - After years of commuting to Memphis and St. Louis, area youth (and their parents) will finally have the convenience of a local safe and legal skate park. Dirty Bearings, scheduled to open on Wednesday, was founded by Sikeston High School students, Devin Mills, 16, and Jordy Parker, 15. It's believed to be the only skate park in the history of the city of Sikeston, they said...

WARRENTON - A jury of 11 men and one woman was seated at 5 p.m. Tuesday to hear a New Madrid County double-murder case. Opening statements will be made today by the prosecution and defense as the first degree murder case begins for Cecil Barriner of Poplar Bluff. Barriner is accused in the murder of Candace Sisk, 19, and her 73-year-old grandmother, Irene Sisk. The Sisks were stabbed to death in their Tallapoosa home on Dec. 16, 1996...

NEW MADRID - New Madrid County R-1 officials are conducting a study into the feasibility of consolidating the district's three elementary schools. Currently the district provides prekindergarten through fifth grade programs at Matthews, Lilbourn and New Madrid...