Stories from Wednesday, July 2, 2003

When America fights wars, we always say we do it to protect liberty and freedom. That's true of course, but those terms should not be taken in an absolute sense. No one has an absolute liberty to do whatever they please or total freedom. We are governed by laws passed by those we elect and scrutinized by our courts to be sure they don't violate our rights under the Constitution...

Johnson SIKESTON - Starkeysha Banks and Otis Johnson are the parents of their first child, a daughter, born June 4, 2003, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. Zy'Tiona Gabbrelle Johnson weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce and was 17 3/4-inches long. Maternal grandparents are Abigail Smith and Larry Beasley...

SCOTT CITY -- Sikeston's Junior American Legion team ran its record to 24-9 on Tuesday night, sweeping district rival Scott County in a doubleheader. "Its always good to win the district games," said Sikeston coach Jeff Limbaugh. "We're starting to play pretty well. We're coming together at a good time."...

COLUMBIA -- At the request of the Big 12 Conference and television partner ABC Sports, Missouri has agreed to move its previously scheduled Nov. 1, 2003 home football game against Iowa State to Nov. 29th. The game will be televised on ABC and will kick off at Noon (central time) at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium...

Here are the weekend race results from tracks around the area. SIKESTON DRAG STRIP SIKESTON -- Posting his first Super Pro win of the season, Mike Buckley of La Center, Ky., ran 5.87 on a 5.87 dial at 121 m.p.h. His reaction time was .519. Second place went to Jack Maupin from Cape Girardeau. Maupin ran 5.98 on a 5.99 dial at 115 m.p.h. His reaction time was .524...

LAKE BARKLEY -- The Bootheel Bassbusters held their sixth tournament of the year on June 22 on Barkley Lake out of Devil's Elbow. Leven Cox won the tournament with a six-fish limit weighing 11 lbs., 6 oz. Travis Garrett was second with 9 lbs., 15 oz., and also won the Lucky Drawing...

MILWAUKEE -- Five local fishermen competed in the 21st Annual Fishing Tournament at the Milwaukee Yacht Club on June 28. The Southeast Missouri team competed against 20 other teams to win the championship. The team consisted of Lynda Lovins of Dexter, Bill and Val Carroll of Chaffee, and Wally and Cheryl Jones of Scott City...

SIKESTON - Southeast Missouri plans to celebrate this Fourth of July with a bang and more. This year's celebration of the birth of America will "bigger and better than ever" promised Wayne Smith, exalted ruler of the Sikeston Elks Lodge which annually sponsors the local fireworks display and fishing derby...

BENTON - Terrorism and weapons of mass destruction will soon join the list of events Scott County addresses in its Emergency Operating Plan. Scott County commissioners were visited during their regular meeting Tuesday by representatives from the consulting firm hired by the State Emergency Management Agency to update the county's plan. A revised plan must be in place by the end of the year...

SIKESTON -- When school begins in August, many area students will pile into freshly cleaned, renovated and painted school buildings -- thanks to the efforts of their schools' maintenance workers this summer. For the past four or five weeks, workers were busy painting and renovating drywall at the Sikeston Public Schools alternative school in the Bailey facility, noted Terry Bryant, maintenance supervisor of Sikeston Public Schools. ...

Sikeston's DPS director recommended that the resients of Sikeston go outside the city to shoot their fireworks. Is this the way he takes of a problem? We live outside the city and we don't appreciate his solution. Does he realize that we are permitted to shoot skunks?...

SIKESTON - In observation of the first birthday anniversary of her son, Pat, Mrs. Paul David Malone has invited a group of babies accompanied by their mothers to spend an hour at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Clay Mitchell. Pictures will be made of the young guests...

It will come as no surprise that poor health of those without health insurance costs our nation an estimated $130 billion annually. This illustrates to me a couple of points. First, we indeed need an overhaul of the health care delivery system in this nation in the worst way. ...

SIKESTON - Martha Cristeen "Chris" Whitaker, 76, died at 10 a.m. July 1, 2003, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. Born Sept. 28, 1926, in Canalou, daughter of the late Thomas Allen and Lenna Laverta Henson Waters, she was a restaurant cook for Navada's and the Palace Cafe. She was a member of Miner Baptist Church and the Golden Circle Sunday school class...

MONETT - Calvin Blankinship, 70, formerly of New Madrid County, died June 30, 2003, at his home. Born March 27, 1933, in New Madrid County, son of the late Conliff and Ruby Lucy Blankinship, he served with the U.S. Air Force in Korea and Vietnam before retiring. Also a retiree of the US. Post Office, he was a member of the Church of Christ in Monett and Tom Wolfe VFW Post 4207 in Monett...

LILBOURN - Vernon Junior Earp, 79, died July 1, 2003, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born Feb. 2, 1924, in Decatur, Ala., son of the late Yancey and Ramey Die Earp, he was a retired farm laborer and of the Pentecostal belief. On Aug. 10, 1945, he married Toy Esther Farley who survives of the home...

SIKESTON - Ruby Lois Mills, 73, died at 5:05 p.m. June 30, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born July 1, 1929, in Vanduser, daughter of the late William B. and Ethel L. Cooper Parks, she was a private duty caregiver for the Norman Lambert family and was of the Baptist belief...

CHAFFEE - Mary Lovina LaMar, 87, died July 1, 2003, at the Portageville Nursing Center. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Home in Chaffee.

DEXTER - Bill Hampton, 53, a resident of Dexter died July 2, 2003 at the emergency room of Missouri Southern Healthcare. Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter is in charge of arrangements, which are incomplete.

PORTAGEVILLE - John Allen Lane, 32, died June 30, 2003, at Poplar Bluff. DeLisle Funeral Home in Portageville is in charge of arrangements, which are incomplete.