Stories from Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Few if any favor reforming Medicaid more than I. The health program for the low income was expanded during the Carnahan years to include more Missouri residents than taxpayers can now afford. Recognizing the problem is the easy part - finding a solution is proving more difficult...

My thanks to the person who put the article in Thursday's paper entitled, "That's the Truth." They hit the nail on the head. Most of the ones protesting the war in Iraq do not have a loved one over there. They are merely concerned about their pocketbooks. ...

SIKESTON - Mr. and Mrs. C.L. Hamby of Sikeston are the parents of a son born at the Sikeston Hospital July 1. A son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Bill Littleton July 1 at the local hospital. SIKESTON - In the Musial League Saturday night, John Deere conquered Rotary in a protest game, 11-10. With the victory, John Deere became the league's No. 1 team to take the championship position...

SIKESTON -- When it comes to battling extreme heat, sheet metal worker Austin Maxwell is no fool. On Monday, while working at a house in Sikeston, Maxwell took advantage of the surrounding trees and positioned his ladder in the shade to avoid the sun during peak hours...

BENTON - Slides and kids go together. That's what Rick Dittlinger said, and part of the reason why he is donating the proceeds from the antique elephant slide he selling to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. "It's for the kids and a sliding board is for the kids," Dittlinger said of his donation...

BERNIE -- Gloriaetta Beaird died July 25, 2005, at the Malden Nursing Center. Arrangements are incomplete at Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Bernie.

SIKESTON - James Daniel "Dan" Russell, 51, died July 25, 2005, at his home. Born Aug. 18, 1953, in Sikeston, son of the late Clifford Daniel and Vivian Parish Russell, he was a 1971 graduate of Sikeston High School and worked for Noranda from 1977 to 1998. A former T-ball and Little League baseball coach, he had been a paper carrier for the Standard Democrat since 1982...

MATTHEWS -- Mary Magdalene Boyet, 80, formerly of Gideon, died July 21, 2005, at Sells Nursing Home in Matthews. Born July 12, 1925, in Wibaux, Mont., to the late Elton Luther and Mary Magdalene Bistrum Bolser, she was a homemaker and member of the Potter House in Sikeston...

PORTAGEVILLE - Brenda Lue Hecht, 56, died July 22, 2005, at her home. She was born April 22, 1949, in Elgin, Ill., daughter of the late Elmer Frank and Marilyn Ester Block Carlson. Survivors include: one daughter and son-in-law, Rebecca and Vikram Kundu of St. Charles; one son and daughter-in-law, Richard and Jess Hecht of Jacksonville, N.C.; two sisters, Joyce Ann Fowler of Portageville and Paula Sue Reicks of Des Moines, Iowa; and three grandchildren...

EAST PRAIRIE - Jerry Wayne Adams, 59, died at 3:30 p.m. July 25, 2005, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born March 27, 1946, in Sikeston, son of the late Ernie and Alta May Jenkins Adams, he lived most of his life in East Prairie and was a retired cook. A veteran of the United States Air Force, he attended the Freewill Baptist Church in East Prairie...

ADVANCE -- Rita Regina Kenkel Koechner, 80, died July 25, 2005, at the Advance Nursing Center. Born March 17, 1925, in Advance, daughter of the late Frank and Mary Weber Kenkel, she had been a school teacher for nine years at Leopold and Oran schools. She was also a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Advance...

SIKESTON -- Janice Sue Scott, 60, died at 5:24 a.m. July 25, 2005, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. Born Dec. 1, 1944, in St. Louis, daughter of Dorothy Abbott Cobb of Grayridge and the late Claude W. Adams, she had worked as in inspector at Fram Filter Company in Dexter before retiring and attended Link Full Gospel Church in Aquilla...

CARDWELL - Kyle Marshall, 89, died July 24, 2005, in Cardwell. He was born July 2, 1916, in Flatwood, Tenn., son of the late A.P. and Nancy Marshall. On Oct. 31, 1936, in Cardwell, he married Audrey Bost, who survives of the home in Cardwell. Other survivors include: one son and daughter-in-law, Clinton "Sonny" and Pat Marshall of Senath; three daughters and sons-in-law, Phyllis and Bill Traywick of Cardwell, Gwenda and James Godfrey of Senath and Elaine and Jim Marret of Sikeston; one sister and brother-in-law, Bonnie and Rex Glen Hooper; and nine grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and three great-. ...

BERNIE -- Lula Cooper died July 25, 2005, at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter. Arrangements are incomplete at Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Bernie.

MOREHOUSE -- Pallbearers at services conducted Monday at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Morehouse for Joseph Elvin Adkins, 83, who died July 21, 2005, were: Donnie McGuirt, Larry Frazier, Randy Copeland, John Copeland, Bob Cooper and Walter Moss.

ESSEX -- Lavon Odell Stoker, 62, died July 25, 2005, at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter. Born Aug. 16, 1943, in Pollard, Ark., son of the late Charles and Iva Gilbreath Stoker, he was a former employee at Federal Mogul in Malden. A veteran of the United States Navy, he was a member of Harvest Assembly of God Church in Essex...

SIKESTON - Martha Fay Duke Bryant, 92, died at 11:29 a.m. at Missouri Delta Medical Center. Born May 21, 1913, in Lamar, Ark., daughter of the late Jim Hopper and Mabel Hopper Daniel and Jess Daniel, she lived most of her life as a farmer's wife in East Prairie and had lived in Morehouse from 1974 until the time of her death. She was a member of the Assembly of God Church in Morehouse...

NEW MADRID -- Dora Marie Plymate, 67, died July 26, 2005, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. Born Nov. 12, 1937, in Missouri Valley, Iowa, daughter of the late Howard H. Johnson and Gladys Irene Stueve Johnson, she was a member of the Order of Eastern Star and a charter member of the ICES cake decorating club...