Stories from Monday, April 3, 2006

SIKESTON - Ruth Inez Felker Sharp, 92, died March 29, 2006, at her home. Born October 21, 1913, in Sikeston, daughter of the late C. E. "Daddy" and Bertie Utterback Felker, she lived her entire life in Sikeston except for two years in Poplar Bluff during World War II. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church, having joined that congregation seventy years ago...

CRYSTAL CITY - Laura S. Ryan, 84, formerly of Puxico, died March 30, 2006, at her home. Born Jan. 6, 1922, daughter of the late William T. and Fannie Hastings Burge, she opened and operated Stylette Beauty Salon until 1986 and was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Crystal City, where she served as an usher. She was a member of the Jefferson County Art Guild, Jefferson Memorial Hospital Auxiliary and the Horticulture Study Club...

ARNOLD - Doris Catherine Slaughter, 77, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died March 30, 2006, at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur. Born March 2, 1929, at New Hamburg, daughter of the late Anthony and Estella Burger Hahn, she was a homemaker...

WYATT - Edith Adell Cossey, 96, died at 1 a.m. March 31, 2006, at her home. Born Aug. 19, 1909, in Dardanelle, Ark., to the late Wiley and Virgie Turner Hicks, she had lived most of her life in Mississippi County and was a member of the Wyatt Baptist Church...

SIKESTON -- Cenora Teresa "Baby-Bop" Porter, 25, died Marc 29, 2006, at St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born Dec. 12, 1980, in Chaffee, daughter of George Daniels of Chicago and Delories Marie Porter of Grand Rapids, Mich., she was a graduate of New Dawn State School and a member of New Morning Star Baptist Church in Haywood City...

SIKESTON - Pallbearers for services held on Saturday at St. Francis Xavier Church for Bernice Buck, 86, who died March 29, 2006, were: Eric Yates, Kyle Deuster, Kendall Miller, Herbert Dale Lathum, Clem Scheffer and Keith Elsperman. Burial followed in Garden of Memories Cemetery in Sikeston with Nunnelee Funeral Chapel in charge of arrangements...

Without a doubt, there is a widening gap between the rich and the poor in this country. Every study available will tell you so but the truth is, you really don't need a study to prove that which is obvious. Politicians look at this economic gap and their solution is to take money away from the rich and give it to the poor. ...

SIKESTON - Mary Kate Cannon, 88, died April 3, 2006, at her daughter's home in Sikeston. Born June 28, 1917, in Ceroordo, Tenn., she was the daughter of James C. and Nervie Elizabeth Smith Garner. On Aug. 27, 1942, in Caruthersville, she was united in marriage to Thomas T. Cannon Jr., who preceded her in death on March 11, 1982...

PORTAGEVILLE - Beverly Foster, 55, died April 2, 2006, at Portageville Nursing Center. Arrangements are incomplete with the DeLisle Funeral Home of Portageville.

SIKESTON - Kenneth Hopwood, 83, died April 2, 2006, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Arrangements are incomplete at Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan.

MORLEY - Vida Esther Henson, 94, died at 5:10 a.m. April 2, 2006, at Clearview Nursing Center in Sikeston. Born March 29, 1912, in Gatewood, daughter of the late Wiley Benjamin and Zilpha J. Pulliam Holland, she had worked in retail sales at a men's store. She was a member of the Morley Church of God and the Ladies Auxiliary VFW in Morley...

ORAN - Mary Baker, 84, died April 1, 2006, at the Chaffee Nursing Center. Born Feb. 12, 1922, in Allenville, daughter of the late John and Lilly Randles, she was a homemaker and attended church at the Victory Life Center in Oran. On Sept. 11, 1945, she married William Baker who survives...

CHAFFEE - Iris Lee Taylor Slinkard, adoring and loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister and aunt, went home to be with our Heavenly Father on Saturday, April 1, 2006. She was born on Oct. 21, 1944, in Chaffee, daughter of Hampton Howard and Maude Louise White Taylor...

CHARLESTON -- For Charleston's basketball team, anything less than a state championship is perceived to be a disappointment. But the reality of the situation is that just making it to the state tournament is truly an honor itself. Charleston has reached the state tournament four straight times, taking third place twice and second place the last two years...

NEW MADRID -- New Madrid County Central pushed across nine runs in the fifth inning to put away Jackson for a 15-8 SEMO Conference win on Friday. The Eagles (2-1, 2-0 in the conference) fought back from deficits twice before the decisive fifth. Jackson (2-4), aided by two Eagle errors, jumped to a 4-0 first-inning lead...

SIKESTON - W.L. "Bill" Scott of Kendall Street celebrated his 45th anniversary recently as an implement dealer and maintenance man in the Sikeston district. SIKESTON - The high school ensembles will be featured in the concert of the high school choir at the junior high auditorium at 3 p.m. Sunday. Gordon Beaver directs the choir, who is accompanied by Judy Matthews...

I saw this 11 to 12 year old girl. She was wearing a tiny little shirt and a mini-skirt so short I practically saw her "you know what" and had to describe to my grandson what it was. Wearing 6-inch heels. Her hair was bleach- blonde and I gave her mom a look and she mouthed to me "her idol is Paris Hilton". ...

Mike, You are right on when you talk about the give-away programs the state of Missouri has that are sadly misused and it seems no one ever checks. People think this gravy train will never stop, but if the state and country goes broke what will they do?...

As the co-authors of the recently-released survey "Losing Health Care in Missouri: Impact of the 2005 Medicaid Cuts," we object to the characterization of our report in the Standard-Democrat's March 19 editorial. The editorial questions the survey's validity. ...

ORAN -- Voters in the Oran R-3 District will decide on Tuesday whether or not to borrow $2.5 million to build a new elementary and junior high school connecting to the high school. "It will put all the students under one roof," said Oran R-3 Superintendent Mitch Wood...

CARUTHERSVILLE -- A Pemiscot County man was found guilty by jury Thursday on several counts of sex-related charges. Harold Rushing, 38, was found guilty by a Dunklin County jury on three counts of statutory sodomy in the first degree and one count of attempted forcible rape. Sentencing for Rushing is set for May 10...

SIKESTON -- Technology changes, parental support and student achievement are among the biggest challenges facing the Sikeston R-6 School District, according to candidates squaring off in the district's school board race. Voters in the Sikeston R-6 district will choose two of the following three candidates for three-year terms during Tuesday's election: Scott Crumpecker, Julie Crader Dolan and Ann Jones...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Severe storms that swept through East Prairie last month only added to the already deteriorating roofs at some of the East Prairie R-2 school buildings. School district officials were already aware the roofs at the high school were in bad shape. Droopy ceiling tiles, holes in the ceilings and skylights and cracks on top of the roofs are only a few of the visible signs of the 50-year-...

SIKESTON -- An article in Friday's edition of the Sikeston High School Bulldog Barker is causing quite a stir. The front page article said that construction on the new math and science center at the high school had halted because of budget issues. Trouble is, the article was an April Fools' Day spoof -- a somewhat annual event for many publications...

Bootheel Agri-Energy LCC board members announced during a Friday morning news conference at Sikeston City Hall that their company is purchasing the option on approximately 160 acres at the Sikeston Business, Education and Technology Park to build a $205 million ethanol production plant...

SIKESTON - Wallace C. Henry of St. Louis, recently named manager of the E.C. Robinson Lumber Co. in Sikeston, assumed his new duties Monday. He succeeds Robert Guthrie, who resigned. SIKESTON - Two school directors will be elected tomorrow for three-year terms in the annual Sikeston R-6 district voting. Four men are seeking the positions - Lee Austin Bowman, the Rev. C.D. Butler, Dr. A.D. Martin and Dr. Wendell Weathers...

Mayor of Sikeston, Mo. Mike Marshall Your Honor: My name is Jim Cutler and I live in Appleton, Wis. On Dec. 29, 2005, my wife and I were traveling to our vacation spot in Mercedes, Texas, pulling our fifth wheel RV on Hwy 55, about 6 miles north of Marston, Mo. A wheel came off of a semi-trailer, came across the median and hit our F250 Ford truck...

I would like to ask where are the Highway Patrol? I travel to Sikeston to work from Benton on Hwy 61 and the speed limit is 60 mph from Morley to the city limits of Sikeston and on the road at 6:30 a.m. I set my cruise on 60 and I might as well be a snail. ...

Tiffany Robison, daughter of Mark and Paula Robison, is the Standard Democrat's Calendar Girl for April. Tiffany, fifth runner-up in the 2005 Miss Sikeston Contest, plans to attend Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Ark., in the fall.

Craig Cox, a Sikeston Jaycee, grinds a piece of metal Saturday afternoon at the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo Grounds. The Jaycees are preparing for their upcoming rodeo and Professional Bull Riding.

NEW MADRID - Voters in New Madrid County will be choosing city officials and in most cases board members to serve local school districts when they go to the polls April 4. The polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. There will be two races decided by Canalou voters. ...

SIKESTON -- This year's road construction season will be the biggest ever for both the Missouri Department of Transportation and its southeast district as the department works around the clock to meet a new challenge. This is the second year for MoDOT's Smooth Roads Initiative. Funded by the voter-approved Amendment 3, the initiative was originally designed to be a three-year program but has now adjusted its schedule...

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston Bulldogs basketball team seemed to have a different player step up with a huge game on different nights. In fact, seven different players led the Bulldogs in scoring this season. But two players stepped up and became the leaders of the team during the Bulldogs' 14-game winning streak that ended with a runner-up finish in the state in Class 4 with a 23-7 record...

MURPHYSBORO -- Sikeston track teams, boys and girls, competed at the Murphysboro Invitational on Saturday. The boys placed fifth in a 15-team field while the girls, in a field of 14, finished seventh. Boys team scores were as follows: 1. East St. Louis, 132; 2. ...

CIRCLE CITY-- Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes produced strong winds that killed at least three people in Missouri, including a Stoddard County man whose mobile home blew over. A 42-year-old man was killed when winds knocked over his mobile home near Circle City, Stoddard County Sheriff Carl Hefner said...

SIKESTON - The Sikeston Bulldogs baseball team took advantage of some costly mistakes and timely hitting, to dispatch the visiting East Carter County Redbirds 11-1 on Friday afternoon. Trailing 1-0 after one complete inning, the Bulldogs scored 11 unanswered runs to down the Redbirds...

SIKESTON - Missouri Delta Endocrine and Diabetic Center received a three- year Physician Recognition Award with Commendation based on the Center's continuous medical education activities, which approached 300 CME hours over a three-year period. Previously Missouri Delta Endocrine and Diabetic Center received a second Certificate of Recognition by the American Diabetes Association and the National Committee for Quality assurance for delivery of quality diabetes care. ...

Goodwill, 214 N. Main St., held its grand opening ribbon cutting March 16. MERS/Goodwill is a nonprofit agency that provides opportunities for individuals who have barriers to employment to work and live more independently in the community. The store serves Scott and New Madrid counties with the proceeds from the store to help fund job placement service programs. Cutting the official grand opening ribbon is manager Beth Bowers...

VALLEY, Neb. - Mid-Valley Irrigation in Charleston, Mo., earned a Valley Performance Plus Dealer designation for outstanding sales performance by delivering the highest standards of service and product support to its mechanized irrigation customers...

JEFFERSON CITY -Residents of Scott, New Madrid and Mississippi counties left unemployed due to the recent severe spring weather may be eligible for disaster unemployment assistance. Individuals who need information about how to file a claim should call (800) 788-4002...

We are ticking down the minutes to the 56th Annual Awards Banquet to be held Thursday, April 6, at the Sikeston Senior High Field House. The planning committee has been busy with arrangements for the big night. The theme of this year's banquet is "We're Going for the Gold" and that is exactly what we will be doing. We will be recognizing our best in the Sikeston and Miner communities...

MINER - For Betty Sue Rapien, hers is more than a business, it is a cause. It's Just Cause to be exact. Located at 201 State Highway AA, next to the Book Bug, Just Cause is the result of Rapien's efforts to help others, from working to help the needy to most recently volunteering at Camp Katrina at Benton, which served as a temporary home to those impacted by the hurricanes of 2005...

CHARLESTON -- Marion and Mary Ann Stricker have announced the engagement of their daughter, Lori Beth, to Brandon Lee Gross, son of Teresa Geringer of Biehle and the late Roy "Killer" Gross. The future bride is majoring in accounting at the College of the Ozarks, where she expects to graduate in May 2007. Her fiance is a 2001 graduate of Thomas W. Kelly High School in Benton...

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Meleesa Younggren and Tom Pruett have announced their engagement. The future bride is the daughter of John Younggren of Fort Scott, Kan., and the late Linda Colvin Adams. She graduated from Kansas State University with a bachelor's degree in agriculture and is currently the director of business eevelopment for Agri-Energy Solutions in Lubbock...

EAST PRAIRIE -- The engagement of Ashley Danielle Magee and Gary Dean Harper Jr. has been announced. The future bride is the mother of Lauren Magee and the daughter of Phil Blackman and Karen Blackman of East Prairie. She is the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Jim Blackman and the late Mrs. Edna Crenshaw...

ST. PETERS -- Mary and Stan Shepherd have announced the engagement of their daughter, Erin Elizabeth, to Stephen Anthony Drake, son of Jane and Carroll Drake of Sikeston. A 1999 graduate of St. Francis Howell High School and a 2004 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, the future bride is employed as a physical education teacher and coach at Sikeston R-6 Schools...

CLAYTON -- Stephanie Marie Matthews and William Nicholas Lillios Jr. were united in marriage during a 5:30 p.m. ceremony Oct. 1, 2005, at St. Michael and St. George Episcopal Church in Clayton. The Rev. Michael Blewitt performed the ceremony. Tim Allan was the organist for the occasion...