Stories from Friday, May 19, 2006

I'm calling about housing. I want to let them know we have wonderful people working in the office. I am old and sick and they came and checked on me. I brought a statement from the doctor and showed them that I could not live by myself, and one of my family came and stayed with me. ...

BENTON -- A Scott City man is in jail after striking and grabbing a 7-year-old boy by the throat. Travis W. Eaker, 27, charged with first degree domestic assault and endangering the welfare of a child, is in the Scott County Jail after inflicting serious injuries to the son of his live-in girlfriend, according to a Scott County Sheriff's Department news release...

SIKESTON - Stock up on your insect repellent because with the vast amount of rain in the past few weeks and the relatively mild winter, this summer could see a rise in the insect population around the Sikeston area. "The moisture promotes the population of many insects and pests," said Stoy Atdes, and entomologist from Terminix, "and can cause them to move indoors."...

CHARLESTON -- Mississippi County commissioners are happy with their local university extension office but welcomed the opportunity to pick a former county commissioner's brain. Tony DeLong, county council coordinator for the University of Missouri Extension program, met with Mississippi County commissioners during their regular meeting Thursday...

MINER -- A Jackson man was killed in a traffic accident near the 2800 block of Malone Avenue Thursday afternoon. The Miner Police Department received a 911 call at approximately 3:15 p.m. stating there had been a traffic accident, according to Chief Roger Moore, after which several police officers responded...

SIKESTON - A class of 60 high school students graduated from Sikeston High School and will attend commencement exercises to be held May 27 in the high school auditorium. MATTHEWS - The top two students at Matthews R-V High School are Miss Diane Bratton, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Bratton, and Alan Hartlein, son of Mr. and Mrs. R.E. Hartlein. Miss Bratton is the valedictorian...

PUXICO - Norman 'Nellie' Underwood, 83, died May 17, 2006, at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter. Born Aug. 15, 1922, son of the late Walter and Ola Humphrey Underwood, he spent most of his life in the Bloomfield Community. He owned and operated Underwood Shell Station for many years, worked at Christian's Store in Bloomfield for the past 25 years and was a veteran of the United States Army, serving during World War II. ...

CHAFFEE - Hollie Robert "Bob" Cutright Jr., 64, died at 7:15 p.m. May 18, 2006, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born April 23, 1942, in Cape Girardeau, son of Lucille B. Thorn Cutright of Cape Girardeau and the late Hollie Robert Cutright Sr., he had worked at Jim Wilson Company in Cape Girardeau after retiring as a parts clerk from Superior Electric in Cape Girardeau after 25 years of service...

DEXTER - Mildred D. Gregory, 73, died May 18, 2006, at the Crowley Ridge Care Center in Dexter. Arrangements are incomplete at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter.

HURRICANE, W.Va. -- Elsie Dowdy, 96, formerly of Dexter, Mo., died May 18, 2006, at Hurricane. Arrangements are incomplete at Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter.

SIKESTON - Charles Walter Chesmore, 75, died May 18, 2006, at his home. Funeral arrangements are incomplete with Nunnelee Funeral Chapel of Sikeston.

PERRYVILLE -- The Kelly Hawks battled back from deficits all day, but, in the end, it was the Valle Catholic Warriors who prevailed with a devastating finish. No. 2-seed Valle handed No. 1 Kelly a 15-8 extra-inning loss in the MSHSAA Class 2, District 2 baseball championship final on Thursday at Perryville City Park...

ORAN -- The Oran Eagles baseball team claimed their fourth district championship in the last five years with an 8-3 victory against Advance on Thursday in the Class 1, District 2 title game at Oran High School. Top-seeded Oran broke open a tie game in the bottom of the third inning, connecting on back-to-back home runs to pull away for a surprisingly comfortable victory...

BONNE TERRE -- The Class 3 Sectional 1 track and field meet will be held at North County High School in Bonne Terre tomorrow at 11 a.m. Sikeston will be sending several athletes as they will be vying for the right to compete in the state track meet in Jefferson City...

NEW MADRID - A nationally televised show will include a segment on New Madrid and the 1811-12 earthquake. Dateline NBC is scheduled to present a program on earthquakes at 6 p.m. Sunday locally on its NBC affiliates. A portion of the show was taped May 3 at the New Madrid Historical Museum and along the town's riverfront. Two cameramen and the show's producer, Jason Samuels, oversaw the local production which featured New Madrid resident Lynn Bock who spoke about the New Madrid fault line...

A Morehouse farmer discs his field to prepare it for planting while another farmer plants in the background. Farmers have been using the break in the rain to plant their fields.

EAST PRAIRIE - After seven years at the helm of the boys basketball team at East Prairie, Jason Irby has decided to step down as head coach. Irby has accepted a heading coaching position at Lovington High School in Lovington, Ill. Lovington is approximately a 30-minute drive from Decatur, Ill. and is close to Irby's hometown of Charleston, Ill...