Stories from Sunday, December 8, 2002

DIEHLSTADT - Anthony and Connie Simmons are the parents of their first child, a son, born Nov. 16, 2002, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Anthony Keith Simmons II weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces and was 19 1/2-inches long. Mrs. Simmons, daughter of Clarence and Juanita Pemberton, is a corrections officer...

WOODLAND -- Top-seeded Advance survived overtime with Bloomfield to reach Saurday's championship game against second-seeded Woodland. Advance, which lost a nine-point fourth-quarter lead, squeaked by with a 71-69 win over fifth-seeded Bloomfield. Jared Ritter scored a game-high 34 points for Advance (2-0), which also received 15 points from Zach Hudson and 11 from Zack Kelley...

The 31st Annual Sikeston Invitational Tournament will get underway tomorrow at the Sikeston Field House. The SIT is arguably the top tournament in the region every year in terms of quality teams from top to bottom. Where else would you find a tournament that large schools Cape Central and Poplar Bluff haven't won since 1982 and 1988 respectively?...

PORTAGEVILLE -The Kennett Indians notched their second win of the young season with a 50-45 win over the Portageville Bulldogs Friday night. Indians' head coach Tim Turlington couldn't have been happier with the win. "Any time you can come here and come away with a win where all these banners are hanging, it's great," said a jubilant Turlington...

ORAN -- It seems every time Bell City plays Oran, the first 31 minutes of the game are worthless. The two Class 1 powers always take it down to the wire, and the game is decided in the final seconds. On Friday night, in the semifinal round of the Oran Tournament, the two schools lived up to tradition...

BLYTHEVILLE, Ark. -- New Madrid County Central fell to 0-3 on the season Friday night, losing to Blytheville, Ark., 62-50. After both teams fought to a 14-14 stalemate in the first quarter, the Chickasaws outscored the Eagles 20-11 in the second to hold a 34-25 halftime lead. Blytheville outscored NMCC 28-25 in the second half to pull out the win...

SIKESTON - The best reviewed American biography of the season, "The Skeptic: A Life of H.L. Mencken," got its start right here in Sikeston, according to its author, Terry Teachout. Cape Girardeau may be easier to find on a map and has a legitimate claim as Teachout's birthplace, but when he comes home, he comes here...

SIKESTON -- Christmas is less than three weeks away and many area families are still in need of help to have a nice holiday. Many people have already donated time and money to the Community Christmas Campaign but more help is needed to make sure as many families as possible have a festive Christmas. One current need is toys. While many have been donated, there still isn't enough to make sure each child receives a toy...

The Sikeston Community Choir will present their annual Christmas Concert today at the First United Methodist Church. The choir will be singing holiday favorites starting at 3:30 p.m.

SIKESTON - It's still only December, but Friday night's boys basketball game between Dexter and Sikeston carried a lot of weight. With both teams slated to meet only once during the regular season, a favorable seed in the Class 4, District 1 Tournament was at stake...

NEW MADRID -- Five people were injured in two separate, but related accidents Friday evening. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports at 5:40 p.m., on New Madrid County Interstate 55, one mile north of New Madrid, an accident occurred as a vehicle driven by Dramel L. ...

Let's clear the air over the current discussion about the concentration of taxpayer-funded assistance programs flowing into Sikeston. This point has been discussed in this column on countless occasions and was raised again this past week in a well thought-out Speakout comment...

SIKESTON - Sikeston took on an added preholiday appearance Tuesday as Christmas Greenery, an annual Chamber of Commerce project, was installed in the business section. But the usual colored lights - sending a cheery gleam over streets downtown - will be missing this season as a sober reminder that war comes foremost this year...

I have the recipe for Coconut Haystacks. Here it is: 3/4 cup evaporated milk; 3/4 cup brown sugar; 1/3 cup dark syrup; 2 tsp. butter; 1 tsp. vanilla; 3 cups coconut. Mix milk, sugar, syrup and butter together. Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. ...

SIKESTON -- Sarah E. Chesmore, 61, died at 4:40 a.m. Dec. 7, 2002, at MDMC. Services are incomplete at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel.

CHARLESTON -- Mae R. Levill, 75, died at 5:50 p.m. Dec. 6, 2002, at her residence. Born May 30, 1927, in East Prairie, daughter of the late Ewing G. and Bertha Elder Showmaker, she moved to Charleston in 1990, having lived in Cairo most of her life, where she worked as a clerk for the Cairo Police Department and owned and operated Levill Pest Control until her retirement in 1997. She was a member of the First Christian Church in Cairo, the Cairo Ladies Auxiliary and Beta Sigma Phi...

SIKESTON -- Rickey Lee Johnson, 49, died at 2:30 a.m. Dec. 7, 2002, at his mother's residence. Born Aug. 18, 1953, in Sikeston, son of Mary L. McGee Johnson of Sikeston and the late Hilliard Johnson, he was a waiter and bartender. In addition to his mother, survivors include: one brother, Ronald Dale Johnson of Sikeston; one niece, Tiffany Johnson of Sikeston; one nephew, Casey Johnson of Sikeston; and one great-nephew, Malik Barnett of Sikeston...

DEXTER -- Edith Mae Davis, 85, died Dec. 6, 2002, at the Cypress Point Healthcare Center in Dexter. Born May 11, 1917, in Malden, daughter of the late Claude and Iva Harvey Medlin Sr., she had lived in Bell City and Campbell before moving to Dexter in 1965. She was a homemaker and a member of the Friendship Baptist Church in Dexter...