Stories from Sunday, February 20, 2005

SIKESTON -- Mike and Carolyn Burchett have announced the engagement of their daughter, Cara Michele, to Stacy Paul Greninger, son of Jim and Leslie Greninger of Springfield. A 1995 graduate of Sikeston Senior High School and 1999 graduate of Southwest Missouri State University, the future bride is employed by Noble World Communications in Springfield...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Ted and Debbie Coalter have announced the engagement of their daughter, Laura Renee, to Steven Chad Parker, son of Steve and Carrie Parker of Sikeston. A 1999 graduate of Cape Central High School, the future bride graduated in 2004 from Southeast Missouri State University with a bachelor's degree in health management and marketing. She is a member of Alpha Delta Pi and is employed by Enterprise Rent-a-Car...

COLUMBIA -- Sikeston senior Joe Johnson won his first-round wrestleback match to stay alive in the Class 3 state wrestling tournament on Friday. After an opening-round loss, Johnson pinned Park Hill's Chris Miller at the 1: 35 mark of the consolation bout...

CAPE GIRARDEAU - Dexter's Eric Rinehart scored a game-high 29 points but it wasn't enough as the Bearcats fell to the Cape Central Tigers, 72-70 on the road Friday night. A Cape Central turnover will eight seconds remaining in regulation gave Dexter a chance for the tie, but the Tigers stepped up the defensive pressure a notch and forced an off balance attempt that barely caught the front of the rim as time expired...

PORTAGEVILLE - Malcolm Long hit a layup at the buzzer Friday night to lift the New Madrid County Central Eagles to their fourth win of the season. The Portageville Bulldogs took the loss, their second in a row. Portageville falls to 18-5. Despite entering the contest with only three wins and 19 losses, the Eagles started and finished the contest with a lot of intensity and desire to win...

ST. LOUIS -- Anne Marie Gregston and George Richard Nichols exchanged wedding vows in a 5:30 p.m. ceremony Aug. 14, 2004, at Hanley Road Baptist Church before the Rev. Tom Geers. The bride is the daughter of Keith and Debbie Gregston of Sikeston and the bridegroom is the son of George and Barbara Nichols of Golden City...

SIKESTON -- Julie Harbin-Cook and Donald Jason Snell exchanged wedding vows in a 3 p.m. ceremony Aug. 7, 2004, at the First Christian Church in Sikeston. Dr. Allen Shriver, senior pastor, performed the ceremony. Reader was Ken Harbin, of Lone Oak, Ky., brother of the bride...

SIKESTON -- Mr. and Mrs. George Stevens are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary today. Stevens and the former Marlene Starkey were married Feb. 20, 1965, at the St. James Methodist Church in Danville, Ill., when they were both attending nursing school. ...

I can't even begin to explain what a wonderful weekend we experienced at the 18th Annual St. Louis Women's Show. Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Pansy Glenn and I spent a few weeks before the show preparing "Sweetheart Get-A-Way" packets advertising events in Sikeston and Miner taking place throughout the year...

First State Bank and Trust Company is the February Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce Spirit award winner. Presenting the award to employees of the bank is Missy Marshall, executive director of the SACC. The award stands for superior attitude, customer service and community spirit...

NEW MADRID - Eric Parker, also known as Plenty, is bringing the sounds of the Bootheel to the music industry. Parker is currently finishing his debut album, "Good and Plenty," in Flint, Mich. The album is scheduled to be released June 30. Already he is garnering attention with his singles, "Dance Flow," "Lost Love," "Far Away" and "Down the Road Before."...

CHICAGO -- Sikeston business leader Tim Merideth was inducted into the National Automatic Merchandising Association Certified Executives on Feb. 10. The announcement was made by NAMA President and CEO Richard M. Geerdes. Merideth serves as vice president of Burch Food Services and was award the NCE designation to recognize his accomplishment, initiative and professionalism in the vending, coffee services and on-site food management industry. ...

Ron Whitaker of Chaffee recently retired from the Board of Commissioners of the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority. Whitaker joined the SEMO Port Board in 1995, serving as vice chairman from 1997-98 and chairman in 1999-2000. J. Ronald Fischer, current chairman, praised Whitaker's dedication, expertise and sense of humor and expressed his thanks for Whitaker's service. ...

CHARLESTON -- When it comes to orchids, Mother Nature just didn't know when to quit. There are 25,000 to 35,000 naturally occurring species of orchids in an endless variety of shapes and colors. The flowers can be almost microscopic to 20-feet tall...

SIKESTON - Albrie Dale Forrest, 49, died at 6:38 a.m. Feb. 17, 2005, at his home. Born Aug. 13, 1955, in Sikeston, son of Benson Forrest and Geneva Dufer Forrest of Sikeston, he served as a private first class with the U.S. Army in the Vietnam War. A member of Murray Lane Baptist Church and Disabled American Veterans, he was a small business owner self-employed as a car buyer and professional painter...

CHARLESTON - Jennie Ruth Chronister, 72, died at 10:39 a.m. Feb. 18, 2005, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born Feb. 25, 1932, in Mississippi County, daughter of the late Walter and Martha Helen Scheffler McCormick, she was a lifelong resident of Charleston. She worked in the Brown Shoe Company Commissary until retiring in 1960 and was a member of the Elm Street Baptist Church, where she served as treasurer for 20 years...

ST. CHARLES - Norma Blankenship, 92, formerly of Dexter, died Feb. 17, 2005, at the National Health Care Center in St. Louis. Born Aug. 13, 1912, in Campbell, daughter of the late John and Mertie Miller Lynn, she was a member of the First Baptist Church in Dexter. She lived in Dexter from 1946 until moving to St. Charles, where she resided for the past 19 months...

BLOOMFIELD - Pallbearers at graveside services conducted Friday at the Missouri State Veterans' Cemetery for Martin H. Bondurant, 80, of Lilbourn, who died Feb. 16, 2005, were: Scott Bondurant, Martin Bondurant, Justin Bondurant, Brendan Bondurant, Cory Bondurant, Tom Womack, Jeff Womack and Nelth Williams...

EAST PRAIRIE - Shawn Michael "Mikey" Lorenz, 5, died Feb. 17, 2005, at the St. Louis Children's Hospital following injuries received in an automobile accident on Feb. 13, 2005. Born October 15, 1999, in Poplar Bluff to George Terry Lorenz, who survives of Van Buren, and Lois Ann Reed, who survives of East Prairie, he had lived in East Prairie most of his life where he was a member of Mrs. Beth's Head Start Class and attended St. James Baptist Church...

PARMA - Geneva Lynn Parker, 83, died at 10:30 p.m. Feb. 18, 2005, at the Miner Nursing Home. Born April 21, 1921, in Dyersburg, Tenn., to the late John and Maggie Stewart, she was a longtime secretary at the Parma Elementary School and a member of Business and Professional Women of Parma...

CHAFFEE - Jackson Charles Nanney, 77, died at 9:12 p.m. Feb. 17, 2005, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born April 15, 1927, in Bollinger County, son of the late James Roscoe and Annie Perry Nanney, he retired as a mechanic and maintenance employee of the Chaffee Housing Authority. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II...

SIKESTON - Delfis Martin "Moe" Robey, 64, formerly of Bloomfield, died Feb. 17, 2005, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born Dec. 21, 1940, at Avert, son of Ada Morlan Robey of Sikeston and the late Delfis H. Robey, he had worked for the Hostess Bakery in St. Louis and was a retired farmer and truck driver...

Let the games begin! A newly submitted federal budget marks the first true attempt in years to reduce the size and spending habits of the federal government. But spending reductions also mean the loss of pet projects and programs that have become ingrained in our give-away society. Thus, virtually everyone agrees that spending cuts are needed but no one wants the cuts to hit their pocketbooks. And this hypocritical attitude strikes both Republicans and Democrats...

SIKESTON -Seaman 1c Leonard E. Carroll was one of the survivors of the Ommaney Bay, which was one of the two ships sunk recently in the Pacific. His mother, Mrs. Emma Carroll of Sikeston, was notified by the War Department this Thursday that he was one of the 400 saved...

Bring service to town The following is an excerpt from the Mayo Clinic Health Letter concerning cardiac rehabilitation: "A Mayo Clinic study found that people who participated in a medically supervised exercise program, after having had a heart attack, improved their chances of surviving at least three years by more than 50 percent. ...

CHARLESTON -- It was nothing less than a formidable task for the Class 3 Charleston Bluejays going against the state's No. 3-ranked, defending Class 5 champion Poplar Bluff Mules. Poplar Bluff used its superior size and strength to shoot down the Bluejays 73-63 on Friday in a SEMO Conference matchup at Charleston...

KENNETT - The Sikeston Bulldogs basketball team ended the regular season on a positive note by defeating Kennett 61-49 on Friday on the Indians' homecoming night. With the district tournament starting this week, it was an important win for Sikeston, which entered the game losing seven of its last eight...

DEXTER -- Sherry Machen admits she dabbled with writing poetry in high school, but it was never anything she aspired to do -- that would come years later. In September 2003, while watching a television program, Machen noticed a man reading a story to children and thought, "I can do that," Machen recalled...

SIKESTON - A new focus for the Department of Justice in the 2006 budget could leave Sikeston out of the picture. In President Bush's proposed budget as submitted to Congress, the Department of Justice is allocated $2.2 billion more for fiscal year 2006 than in 2005...