Stories from Thursday, November 7, 2002

SIKESTON -- Melissa Renee Ratledge and Richard Dale Murphy exchanged wedding vows in a 2 p.m. ceremony Oct. 26, 2002, at Temple of Faith Church before the Rev. Loy G. Miller. The bride is the daughter of Jimmy and Sondra Wills and Jerry Ratledge of Sikeston and the bridegroom is the son of Eddie and Glenda Murphy of Charleston...

BENTON -- Stephanie TyAnn Dannenmueller and Terry Lee Woods exchanged wedding vows in a 2 p.m. ceremony Oct. 12, 2002, at the Unity Baptist Church before the Rev. Dennis Low, pastor. The new Mrs. Woods is the daughter of Mark Dannenmueller of Oran and Steven and Sheila Lee of Sikeston. The bridegroom is the son of Jimmy and Jeannette Woods of East Prairie...

CAPE GIRARDEAU - R.B. Potashnick, Cape Girardeau contractor, who is a brother of Ralph and Gene Potashnick of Sikeston, has been awarded a contract to rebuild approximately 18 miles of the main Mississippi River levee on the Missouri side of the stream in Scott and Mississippi counties...

If you'll remember last week there was a brouhaha about a St. Louis AIDS group that hired a black male porn star to "speak" with their members as part of an AIDS awareness meeting. The gay porn star appeared wearing only his imagination to entertain the two dozen or so young gay men in attendance. And did I mention that the meeting was funded with part of a federal taxpayer grant through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention?...

I've been giving this idea a whole lot of thought. Why don't the citizens, between now and April 2003, election time, see if we can't get enough petitions or whatever it takes to bring up before the city board meeting between now and then to get the City of Morehouse a good second-hand for Morehouse City Transit (that's what it would be called). ...

FREDERICKTOWN -- For the first time in eight years, a school other than New Madrid County Central will win Class 3, District 1. The championship game takes place on Friday at Fredericktown, when the Blackcats play host to Dexter. "This was a goal of ours," said Dexter head coach Aaron Pixley. "We've played well together all year long. We just hope we can put it all together again and pull one out on Friday night."...

CHARLESTON - Paula Kay Casey, 40, died unexpectedly at 12:45 p.m. Nov. 5, 2002, in Charleston. Born Feb. 16, 1962, in Granite City, Ill., daughter of James Cann Sr. of Oxly and the late Ruth Jones Cann, she lived in Charleston most of her life. A 1980 graduate of Charleston High School, she was a dental assistant for Dr. Charles Barnes in Charleston and member of the Full Gospel Church in East Prairie...

SCOTT CITY - Fred Wadlington, 83, died at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 5, 2002, at his home. Born Aug. 6, 1919, in Blodgett, son of the late Robert Daniel and Laura Adell Dean Wadlington, he was a truck driver with the Elfrink Trucking Company before retiring. On March 23, 1940, he married Eva May Walter who preceded him in death on June 11, 1989...

CARUTHERSVILLE - Loyd Wayne Shaffer Sr., 55, died Nov. 6, 2002, at his home. Born Feb. 3, 1947, in Vanduser, he was the son of the late Claude Dallas and Tressie Mae Petty Shaffer. He attended Oran schools and received a bachelor of science degree from Southeast Missouri State University at Cape Girardeau. ...

DEXTER - Lena Fulkerson, 91, died Nov. 6, 2002, at Cypress Point Healthcare in Dexter. Arrangements are incomplete at Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter.

ST. PETERS - Lorna Belle Ray, 93, formerly of Bernie, died Nov. 5, 2002, at the St. Peters Manor Nursing Home. Born Aug. 1, 1909, in Petersburg, Ill., daughter of the late Matthew and Chloe Jane Collins Sinclair, she was valedictorian of her high school graduating class. She was a seamstress at the Garment Factory in Malden for 20 years before retiring, had attended the Missionary Alliance Church of Bernie and was a member of the Sugar Tree General Baptist Church in rural Bernie...

SIKESTON - Jo Ann Ebersole, 66, died Nov. 6, 2002, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. Born April 5, 1936, in Rapid City, S.D., daughter of the late Arthur and Emma Steiner Moodie, she was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, where she had been a Sunday school teacher. A volunteer for the Girl Scouts of America, she was also a member of the Colease Club for which she served as president in 1975...

SIKESTON - Children have somewhere safe and fun to go after school until mom or dad gets off work. They have a place to learn sportsmanship, character development and how to get along with others through a variety of sports. Day camps give young people a summer filled with field trips, swimming, crafts and games...

SIKESTON -- Mr. and Mrs. Kem Marks have announced the engagement of their daughter, Kelly Elizabeth, to Raymond Laird Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Laird of Sikeston. The future bride graduated in 1999 from Sikeston Senior High School. She will graduate in 2003 from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a degree in political science and history. She is employed by Walgreen's Pharmacy in Columbia...

SIKESTON - Digital clocks, videocassette recorders, personal computers, DVD players - the list of electronic items in our homes just keeps growing. As the list grows, so does our irritation with power interruptions. "That's what's changed - the need for reliability for the system," said Wayne McSpadden, operations manager for the Board of Municipal Utilities. "Our world is less tolerant now to power outages than it used to be."...

SIKESTON - When Harry Sharp received his September issue of the Missouri Conservationist magazine, the photos and article on tree topping hit all too close to home. "They just finished the big oak trees across the street when I got the magazine," said Sharp, "and I had done it to a tree the year before thinking I was doing the right thing."...

SIKESTON - The Sikeston community will observe Veterans Day with a ceremony at the Sikeston Field House scheduled for 9:45 a.m. Monday. Participating in the service will be local veterans from the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion along with the local National Guard unit. The Sikeston High School band, choir and orchestra will also participate...