Stories from Wednesday, January 31, 2007

All of the employees at TLC think you are the best managers on this side of heaven. We will all miss you so very much. You are so nice, cheerful and kind. We love you and God bless you wherever you go and may God let you prosper in all ways. Good morning. ...

JACKSON -- The Jackson Indians made it interesting down the stretch, but the Charleston Bluejays hung on for a 60-58 SEMO Conference victory on Tuesday. Although not particularly well-played, the game lived up to its pre-game hype of a close contest between two of the area's best...

SIKESTON - Nominees are now being accepted for the 2007 Honors Board installation by the Parks and Recreation Division. Since 1986, 33 individuals have been honored with their names installed on the Honors Board in recognition of their outstanding volunteer contributions to youth programs in the community including baseball, softball, basketball, soccer and Boy Scouts. The Honors Board is located near the Ingram Road entrance to the Recreation Complex...

Quinn Kaiser is the Standard Democrat Calendar Girl for February. The second alternate in the the 2006 Miss Sikeston contest, she is the daughter of William and Janie Kaiser. After graduation from Sikeston High School, she plans to attend the University of Missouri-Columbia...

BENTON -- Speeding up the wheels of justice may reduce the cost of housing inmates for Scott County. Scott County Commissioner Dennis Ziegenhorn said a meeting was held Tuesday before the regular County Commission meeting to discuss the inmate population at the Scott County Jail and provide commissioners with an opportunity to "ask questions about what we can do to speed up getting people processed through the system."...

OK, so your plans for this Sunday include the usual weekend routine and then you'll join 140 million other "fans" and watch the Super Bowl. I'm not at all sure what magic the Super Bowl holds but whatever it is, it's for real. More people will watch the Super Bowl than any other single televised event this year. In fact, the largest audiences in television history always come during the Super Bowl...

As the years slip by its hard not to acknowledge that you are no longer the young person that you see in your mind. I have had many clues in recent times. I have been poked, prodded, looked at and had pictures taken by doctors and nurses, and they usually say the same thing, as we get older the body changes, you are in good shape, for a man your age...

ST. LOUIS - Walter and Danielle Woodruff are the parents of their first child, a daughter, born at 2:58 p.m. Nov. 16, 2006, at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis. Kylin Rose Woodruff weighed 6 pounds, 9 ounces, and was 19 inches long. Maternal grandparents are Fred and Kaye Estes and Arnie and Dottie Stone of Sikeston. Maternal great-grandparents are Arnold and Charlotte Stone of Sikeston...

SIKESTON -- Neglasper "Frog" Lee, 91, died at 3:30 p.m., Jan. 28, 2007, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. Born Sept. 9, 1915, in Tunica, Miss., son of the late Robert E. and Katie Lee, he lived for over 70 years in Missouri where he was a member of New Morning Star Baptist Church at Haywood City...

KENNETT - Elva Mae Frederick, 82, died Jan. 28, 2007, at her home in Kennett. Born Nov. 27, 1924, in Qulin, to the late John Fred and Ida Jane Tonerlin Piatt, she was a member of Friendship Baptist Church and a retired employee of Gossard in Malden where she worked as a pinner and examiner...

MALDEN - Connie Eugene "Buster" Lacewell, 69, died Jan. 29, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born May 20, 1937, in Malden, to the late Daniel Lincoln and Virgie Mary Neal Lacewell, he was a farmer and affiliated with Spoonerville Baptist Church in Malden...

SIKESTON - William D. "Bill" Johnson, 62, died at 7:30 a.m. Jan. 26, 2007, at his home. Born May 20, 1944, in Poplar Bluff, son of Sol and Dorothy Johnson, of Washington, Mo., he moved to Sikeston in 1983 to be the agent/terminal manager for Churchill Truck Lines. In 1995, he opened the Sears Dealer Store in Sikeston, which he owned and operated until 1998 when he returned to the trucking business. He was a member of Hunter Memorial First Presbyterian Church and the Sikeston Elks...

NEW MADRID -- Leon F. "Bug" Howell, 74, died Jan. 28, 2007, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born March 18, 1932, in Steele, son of the late Lonnie B. and LaVonia Salsberry Howell, he was a retired school teacher and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force...

LILBOURN -- Ruby Rosalia Tope, 87, died Jan. 29, 2007, at Beverly Healthcare in New Madrid. Born May 9, 1919, in Catron, daughter of the late Ralph and Ethel M. Riggs Tope Sr., she was a retired school teacher and principal from Lilbourn Elementary School, a lifetime member of First Baptist Church in Lilbourn and a member and past worthy matron of the Eastern Star...

CLARKTON - Johnnie Avon Baney, 56, died Jan. 29, 2007, at his home. Born Aug. 2, 1950, at Marston, son of Glonda Jocelyn Baney of Clarkton and the late Johnnie Franklin Baney, he was affiliated with the Assembly of God Church in Clarkton. On March 3, 1970, at Poplar Bluff, he married Darcy F. Adams, who survives of the home...

I am on the campaign trail. No, I'm not running for president (I'm not old enough yet), but I am campaigning for an item of great importance: Turning the Super Bowl into a national holiday. I'm not talking about any run-of-the-mill holiday like Columbus Day or Talk Like a Pirate Day. No way. I want all businesses closed the Monday after the Super Bowl, putting it in the same category as Labor Day...

SIKESTON - Lynn Twitty has been named national commissioner of boxing and wrestling for the entire United States by headquarters national encampment of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. LILBOURN - C.D. Wright of Lilbourn, lieutenant governor of Kiwanis International District 15, presented slides on Kiwanis Club activities in past years at the regular meeting Tuesday night at the Rustic Rock Inn...

BENTON -- Scott County commissioners opted to take care of the existing county employees rather than bringing in anyone new in this year's budget. The county's 2007 operating budget was approved Thursday following a public hearing, according to County Clerk Rita Milam, budget officer for the county...

SIKESTON -- Local health centers and clinics could begin receiving supplies of the human papillomavirus vaccine as early as today, allowing thousands of low-income and uninsured women and girls to be guarded against cervical cancer. The vaccine is available through an $11 million Missouri Foundation for Health grant to provide the HPV vaccine for 30,000 females ages 9-26. The vaccine, Gardasil, prevents cervical cancer in females caused by certain types of HPV...

BENTON - After a successful softball season in which Kelly finished third in Class 2, three Lady Hawks will take their skills to the next level. Kalie Hughes, Brittany Ponder and Summer Proctor have signed to play for Jefferson College in Hillsboro. All three were Class 2 First Team All-Staters...

BENTON - The Kelly Lady Hawks basketball team defeated the visiting Neelyville Lady Tigers on Tuesday night, 61-50. After a sluggish first half in which the Lady Hawks only led 25-24 at halftime, solid half-court trapping defense in the second half rode Kelly to the win...

Nobody asked me but...what an effort by the Portageville Bulldogs in Saturday afternoon's amazing come-from-behind victory at Sikeston. Trailing 25-4 in the first quarter, Portageville never quit and slowly crawled back into the game against Sikeston. Portageville was down by 16 points heading into the fourth quarter when they made a comeback even John Elway would be proud of...

NEW MADRID -- The Poplar Bluff Mules got out to a fast start and never let up as they ran past New Madrid County Central 58-39 in a SEMO Conference matchup at NMCC High School Tuesday night. NMCC (4-14, 1-5 SEMO) never showed much life as the Mules jumped out to an 8-0 lead and were never seriously threatened the entire game...