Stories from Monday, March 20, 2006

It's a battle over the blanket as Linus (Trevor Williams) explains to Lucy (Mindy Wolford) why it is so important to him during a scene from "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown." The musical will be presented Thursday through Saturday at New Madrid County Central High School. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the curtain going up at 7 p.m. All seats are reserved and sold in advance. Tickets are $5 each and available by calling the school office at 688-2165...

COLUMBIA -- The Bell City boys basketball team singled out a pair of Jefferson players it wanted to defend in 3-point range during Saturday's Class 1 championship game at Mizzou Arena. Senior Jared Dowis one of them. Dowis led Jefferson in 3-pointers through the season, hitting 30 more 3s than any other teammate. ...

COLUMBIA -- Delta bounced back from a semifinal loss to defeat Silex 42-37 for third place in the MSHSAA Class 1 girls championship on Saturday. Kaci Menz topped the Lady Bobcats with 16 points. Freshman Jodi Menz chipped in with seven points and hauled down a game-...

NEW MADRID -- New Madrid County Central appears to be well-armed for the 2006 baseball season. According to coach John Jones, 17 of his 29-player roster can pitch. "Out of our starting nine, seven are legitimate pitchers," said Jones. "I've got the luxury this year of not having to worry about one or two or three kids having to carry the load. We've got some great young kids out there and I've also been blessed with six left-handed pitchers this year...

COLUMBIA -- It's not too often that the Charleston Bluejays run into a team that is as quick, if not quicker, than they are. But that appeared to be the case on Saturday evening as the Cardinal Ritter Lions defeated the Bluejays in the Class 3 state championship game, 67-55 at Mizzou Arena...

SIKESTON - Robert J. Edwards and family moved last Wednesday into their home, which they recently purchased from Doyne Chartrau on Matthews Street. SIKESTON - Forty units in the Okeechobee District have reserved booths for the Boy Scout Exposition from 2-9 p.m. Saturday in the armory. All units have a booth centered around the theme of "Adventures in Scouting."...

This is in regards to the comments about the cheerleading tryouts in Sikeston. And no, I'm not a parent who is afraid their child won't make it, I don't have a child in this school district whatsoever. That is for those parent's comments who will be, "Oh they're just mad their kid won't make it!" I think it is crazy that the cheerleaders are judged by the red peppers and green peppers, who most of them know nothing about cheerleading and already have their minds made up on who they will "vote" for before they even see the girls talent. ...

On April 4th, the East Prairie R-2 School District will be asking voters for approval to borrow money in the amount of $2,750,000, of zero interest Qualified Zone Academy Bonds, for the purpose of providing funds to complete roof repairs and replacement, electrical wiring upgrades, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems upgrades, installation of new energy control system, lighting and ceiling improvements...

SIKESTON - Charles C. Day, 88, died at 11 a.m. March 18, 2006, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born April 1, 1917, in the Henderson Mounds community, near East Prairie, to the late John H. and Rhoda Lee Cooper Day, he lived in Hammond, Ind. ...

SIKESTON -- Neoma Johnson, 82, died March 18, 2006, at Sikeston Convalescent Center. Born March 15, 1924, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of the late John Elsie and Ida Elizabeth Evans Sledge, she was a member of Miner Baptist Church. On Dec. 5, 1944, in Mississippi, she married Billy F. Johnson, who preceded her in death on Feb. 6, 1997...

SIKESTON - Active pallbearers for Elze Andrew Graham, who died on March 18, 2006, will be: Clem Scheffer, Jerome Rennier, James Urhahn, Mike Rennier, John Turner and Jim Leigh. Honorary pallbearers will be: Kenny Wasson, Clem Scheffer, John Southern, Murray Sullivan, Clyde Launius, Bob Patterson, Charles Manley and Dr. David Pfefferkorn...

PUXICO - Pallbearers for the funeral service conducted Saturday at the Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Puxico for Neal Hendrix, who died on March 15, 2006, were: Carl Jones, Ronnie Martin, Keith Hancock, Scott Burge, Brian Franklin and S.L. Cates.

PUXICO - Beulah "Boots" Hartz, 84, died March 18, 2006, at the Puxico Nursing and Rehab Center. Born Aug. 20, 1921, in Victoria, La., daughter of the late William J. and Ora Bates Johnston, she worked for the Puxico Handle Factory. She and her husband had lived in Bakersfield, Calif., where she worked for 30 years for Sears Federated Stores before returning to Puxico. She had also lived in St. Louis and was a member of the Eastern Star and the Assembly of God Church...

PHOENIX, Ariz. - Gladys Hale, 95, formerly of Mississippi County, Mo., died at 1:24 a.m. March 16, 2006, at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix. Born Dec. 1, 1910, in the Dogwood community near East Prairie, to the late Arch and Josephine L. Ponder Hale, she lived in Phoenix since 1950 moving from North Carolina, was a retired accountant and was of the Methodist belief...

ESSEX - Wayne Maurice Stevens, 67, died March 18, 2006, at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter. Born Jan. 27, 1939, near Dexter, son of the late Linous and Beulah Campbell Stevens, he was a farmer and a veteran of the United States Navy. In 1958, he was united in marriage to Nancy Jane Walters...

ORLANDO, Fla. - Jeremy Wayne Weinkauf, 19, died March 15, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq. Visitation will be at 9 a.m. Saturday at DeLisle Funeral Home in Portageville, Mo. Funeral services will be conducted with full military honors at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Dry Bayou Baptist Church in Pemiscot County, Mo. The Rev. Bobby Quinn will officiate...

PUXICO - Pallbearers for the funeral service conducted Friday at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Puxico for Gertrude Olia Ryan Downie, who died March 10, 2006, were: Donald Downie, Rod Downie, Bob Downie and Norman Noel.

MONTGOMERY CITY - Velma Carr Elfrink, 78, formerly of Williamsburg, died at 7:35 p.m. March 16, 2006, at the New Florence Nursing and Care Center. Born April 3, 1927, in Hopewell, to the late Homer and Dezilla Brugere McClelland, she retired in 1991 as postmaster of Williamsburg after 35 years of service. ...

As spring officially arrives today, more people will be active outdoors, where hazardous materials will be present. Remember to contact the Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222 for immediate assistance should contact occur with any of the hazardaous chemicals...

SIKESTON -- From eating a cigarette butt, which can cause seizures in children, to swallowing bleach (not as harmful as you'd think), the Poison Control Center has heard it all over the past 45 years. This week marks Poison Prevention Week, the nationally recognized week to educate and inform consumers of the dangers of unintentional poisonings. ...

SIKESTON -- After just over a year with a new maintenance program, Sikeston's alleys are better than ever. In October 2004, Sonny's Solid Waste asked city officials to consider ending alley pickup for trash and having all pickups occur from front curbs due to the poor condition of Sikeston's alleys...