Stories from Tuesday, March 30, 2004

SIKESTON -- Spring's unseasonably warm weather has put a few kinks in the University of Missouri Extension's vegetable planting calendar, therefore allowing gardeners to begin their growing ahead of schedule. According to the gardening guide, the average date to begin planting sweet corn is April 15 in Southeast Missouri. For green beans, it's April 5...

NEW MADRID - Two New Madrid County communities will place issues before voters as they go to the polls Tuesday to pick city officials and their school board representatives. Parma has sales tax issues on the ballot and in Risco, residents will decide whether the job of marshal should be an elected or appointed post...

SIKESTON - Measures to move a redevelopment deal at the old Missouri Department of Transportation complex near the intersection of Main and Malone forward were approved by the City Council during a special session Monday. Council members first approved a bill terminating the redevelopment agreement with NOVUS Companies for the site...

SIKESTON - City Council members agreed to "fine tune" a proposed amendment to property maintenance codes after hearing concerns from citizens. Concerns voiced by citizens attending Monday morning's City Council meeting were mainly focused on the change which would make it unlawful to have unregistered vehicles on property outside of garages, although a few residents took issue with sentencing code violators to weekend jail time...

CARUTHERSVILLE - The Charleston Bluejays baseball team suffered another tough loss, falling 7-4 on the road to Caruthersville on Monday. Charleston (0-2) committed seven errors in the game which led to all seven of Caruthersville's runs. "I'm disappointed in the defense of course, but this is a group that we're confident can get it turned in the right direction," said Charleston head coach Chris Stanfield. "We're seeing good things but it's just a matter of putting it together."...

JEFFERSON CITY - The Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association released the All-State basketball teams for Classes 1-3 today. In all, 15 boys and girls from Southeast Missouri were selected to the all-state teams, the highest honor given out by the Missouri media...

Audrey Keller and Ben Ray hop during the Presbyterian Preschool MDA Hop-A-Thon Monday morning. The class hopped over 3,700 times with Ben hopping 285 times.

With April 15 just around the corner, let's talk taxes. I was reading this morning about the differences in the tax plans by the Democrats and the Republicans and to be real honest, I have a host of questions. Here's the tax line that will be repeated a million times or so between now and November. The Democrats want to eliminate the tax cuts to the "richest" Americans while the Republicans want to keep all of the tax cuts in place in hopes of igniting the economy...

CAPE GIRARDEAU - Lauren Marie Wilson and Jeremy Jerome Gantt are the parents of their first child, a daughter, born at 2:16 p.m. Feb. 27, 2004, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Tessa Grace Wilson-Gantt weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces and was 21-inches long...

Can you find information on Marc Miringoff with the Index of Social Health Indicators? He apparently recently died at age 58. I'd be curious to know how. This man apparently was publishing statistical figures that could be of great use to the American people comparing this country with other industrialized nations of the world, and we were not number one...

SIKESTON - Mary Cecilia Litchford invited a group of friends to a party at her home Saturday to celebrate her 8th birthday. ORAN - Mr. and Mrs. H.B. Green and daughter, Margaret, were business visitors in Cape Girardeau on Saturday. SIKESTON - V. Allen Hubbard, right-of-way agent for the Missouri Highway Department's Division 10, was elected president of the Rotary Club at a meeting at the Rustic Rock Inn last night. ...

DEXTER - Pallbearers at graveside services conducted Monday at the Mole Cemetery near Broseley for Jakob Lane Vaughn, who died at birth March 26, 2004, were Jason Vaughn and Bradley Vaughn. Watkins and Sons Funeral Home of Dexter was in charge of arrangements...

MINER - Burleigh E. "Bud" Spitler, 72, died at 8:25 a.m. March 29, 2004, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born Jan. 20, 1932, in Lamar, Ark., son of the late Harley and Minnie Davis Spitler, he served with the U.S. Army for 22 years and was a veteran of the Korean War and Vietnam War eras. A lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans in Dexter, he was also a member of Fraternal Order of Elks, American Legion and Fraternal Order of Eagles...

PARMA - Bobby Okerleen Cunningham, 72, died March 29, 2004. Born April 30, 1931, in Kennett, daughter of Nebraska J. Denson of Kennett and the late Robert Andrew Denson, she had lived in Germany, Alaska, Kansas, Georgia, Maryland and Kennett. She moved to Parma in 1972 and was a member of the First Baptist Church in Parma...

BERTRAND - Geri Moody Hulshof, 69, a resident of rural Bertrand, died at 10:45 p.m. March 29, 2004, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born Jan. 25, 1935, in Bragg City, daughter of the late Ed McKinley and Opal Mae Hutson Moody, she lived in Mississippi County since 1957. A member of St. Henry Catholic Church and the Charleston Country Club, she had worked as a receptionist for Dr. R.L. Frazier...

SIKESTON -- Dr. and Mrs. Sam M. Hunter have announced the engagement of their daughter, Laura Frances, to Ryan W. Collins, son of Mrs. Mike Tullis and the late Terry Collins. A 1999 graduate of Sikeston Senior High School, the future bride earned a Bachelor of Science in agricultural business in 2003 from Mississippi State University. A member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, she is actively engaged in row-crop production farming...