Stories from Wednesday, May 30, 2007

SIKESTON -- Dry mulch and a cigarette butt or stray spark combining to start a fire is something one would expect. But the combination of moisture and heat can also cause mulch fires, according to Capt. Jim Hailey, fire division commander for the Sikeston Department of Public Safety...

There is a new game that is gaining popularity every day. It's a game that doesn't take any ability to play and men, women and children all take part. What is the game you ask? The blame game. The game is easy to play. Anytime player A feels guilty about something or finds rationale why someone else is to blame, player B is blamed...

CHARLESTON - Nellie Stallings, 97, died at 4:05 a.m. May 28, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born July 18, 1909, in Marshall County, Ky., to the late Mose and Sara Elizabeth Holley Feezor, she had lived most of her life in Mississippi County and was a member of the First Baptist Church in Charleston...

BERNIE - Robert A. Clark, 88, died May 29, 2007, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. Born Dec. 8, 1918, at Bernie, son of the late Charles and Melvina Nelson Clark, he was a veteran of the United States Army, had worked at Balling Rubber Company of Pontiac, Mich., for 14 years later moving to Bernie where he was owner/operator of the Sinclair Station for many years. He was also an active member of the Church of the Nazarene in Bernie...

SIKESTON - Dorothy Elizabeth Dotson, 88, died May 27, 2007, at her home. Born Aug. 21, 1918, in Sikeston, to the late Doll and Bertha Allensworth Lyons, she lived her entire life in Sikeston, where she attended Lincoln School. She was a member of the Westend Missionary Baptist Church, where she was a secretary for Sunday School and the Women's Missionary Society and an usher for many years. She and her husband operated Dotson's Funeral Home in Sikeston...

NEW MADRID - Charles Lee Williams, 63, died May 24, 2007, at his sister's home. Born Aug. 29, 1943, in Lilbourn, to Renet Williams of New Madrid and the late Charles Lee Williams, he attended LaForge and O'Bannon Schools and was employed as a farmer for many years...

SIKESTON - Edith Cruse, 96, died May 28, 2007, at Hunter Acres Caring Center in Sikeston. Arrangements are incomplete with Ponder Funeral Home in Sikeston.

SIKESTON - Roger Lee Winfield, 51, died May 26, 2007, of an apparent gunshot wound. Born May 2, 1956, in Leflore, Miss., he was the son of the late Willie Jackson and Erma G. Campbell. Survivors include: one son, Roger Lee Winfield Jr. of Detroit; five sisters, Barbara Winfield and Willie M. ...

CHICAGO -- Isaiah Kennedy Shannon, 44, formerly of Sikeston, Mo., died at 10:30 a.m. May 26, 2007, in Chicago. Born June 27, 1962, in Sikeston, son of the late Willie C. and Wycie Carpenter Shannon Sr., he was a contract worker for the Chicago Tribune...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Donnell Wilderness, 48, formerly of Lilbourn, Mo., died May 25, 2007, of an apparent heart attack. Born Sept. 7, 1958, in Lilbourn, to Rose Wilderness Partee of Howardville and the late Lonnie Partee, he had lived in South Bend for 27 years. He was a 1978 graduate of Lilbourn High School and attended Lincoln University in Jefferson City. He was a member of the Pentecostal Cathedral Church of God in Christ and was a master carpenter...

SEYMOUR, Tenn. -- Patricia Irene Branum Kelley, 62, died May 17, 2007. Born Oct. 16, 1944, in Sikeston, Mo., to the late William and Willie Branum, she was a 1962 Sikeston High School graduate and a former employee of Southwestern Bell Telephone Company...

SAN DIEGO - Anthony "Tony" Goodman, 39, died at 2 p.m. May 22, 2007, at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, Calif. Born Feb. 1, 1968, in St. Louis, Mo., to the late Billy Gene and Dorothy Louise Rhodes Goodman, he was a lab technician with Pyco Electronics...

SIKESTON - Elisabeth S. "Lisa" Popp, 79, died at 5:25 p.m. May 27, 2007, at Clearview Nursing Center in Sikeston. Born Dec. 2, 1927, in Vienna, Austria, to the late Antonia Spaniol, she had been a nurse and was an active volunteer at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She and her husband came to the United States from Romania in 1949, and settled in Sikeston on Jan. 1, 1957...

CHARLESTON - Clariece Vance "Jackie" Williams, 71, died May 23, 2007, at her home. Born Jan. 4, 1936, in Humboldt, Tenn., to the late William Houston and Mattie Lou Lowery Vance Sr., she was a member of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church. She was married to Isaiah Williams, who preceded her in death...

DEXTER - Roger Ray, 60, died May 28, 2007, at the M.D. Anderson Medical Clinic in Houston. Born July 11, 1946 in Malden, son of the late James and Violet Cook Ray, he was the owner and operator of Raco Distributing Inc. in Dexter and a member of the Pleasant Grove Church...

CHICAGO -- A Sikeston native was killed after being crushed in a conveyor belt while working Saturday at a printing plant in Chicago. The body of Isaiah Shannon, 44, of Chicago was found caught in a conveyor belt about 10:30 a.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office...

Dear Editor, On June 5, 2007, we invite you to join Americans nationwide in observing Hunger Awareness Day in remembrance of the more than 35 million people in the United States who are living on the brink of hunger. The face of hunger will surprise you. ...

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston Sharks swim team held its first practice on Tuesday evening at the Sikeston City Swimming Pool located behind the YMCA of Southeast Missouri. The Sharks will have a familiar face leading the charge in Lauren Medley, but it is her first year as the head coach of the team...

June 2 Poplar Bluff Swim Meet June 9 Perryville Swim Meet June 16 Junior Olympic Qualifier (Poplar Bluff) July 7 Jackson Swim Meet July 14 Kennett Swim Meet July 21 SMSC Championship Meet (Cape Girardeau)

CARLINVILLE, Ill. -- Richard Landers, a sophomore from Sikeston enjoyed a solid season for the Blackburn College baseball team this spring. Landers started 39 of 41 games for Blackburn and finished the year with a. 266 average and 26 RBI, the second-highest total on the team. ...

SCC Senior Association Congratulations to Tom Fraser for a hole in one on #13 Men's Golf Association Twilight Couples A Flight B Flight Memorial Day Scramble Tournament Results A Flight B Flight C Flight For membership information contact Saralyn Boyer at (573) 472-0656 or Kevin Collins at the pro shop at (573) 472-4225...

SIKESTON - Miss Mary Emma Donnel is entertaining this Thursday evening with a shower complimenting bride-elect Miss Maureen Blanton. SIKESTON - The Lions Club was told last night it is the ninth oldest club among Lions organizations in Missouri, chartered in 1922...

I'm not saying I'm endorsing Mitt Romney for president yet, but, I thought this bio would help give some insight into the man's character and world view, to me the two most important factors in selecting a president or any American leader. We need to investigate for ourselves who we are going to vote for. ...

There was a time - many years ago - when the stupidity of our fellow man would amaze me. Those days are long, long gone. Now I simply smile a bemused grin and recognize that all men are indeed created equal - some are just a bit more stupid than others...

KENTUCKY?LAKE, Ky. -- The Bootheel BassBusters held their third tournament of the year on May 20th on Kentucky Lake out of the KenLake Marina. Stan Pace won the tournament with a six fish limit weighing 16 lbs. 11 oz. Leon Miller was second with a six fish limit weighing 14 lbs. 1 oz. and Leven Cox was third with a six fish limit weighing in at 12 lbs. 9 oz...

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston Junior Legion Auxiliary Unit 114 baseball team improved to 5-1 on the season with a doubleheader sweep of Jackson in the team's district opener on Tuesday at VFW Stadium. Sikeston defeated Jackson 5-4 in the district contest in eight innings and then followed that up with a 5-3 win against Jackson that did not count towards the district standings...

OPEN SWIM: 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. These times are when the pool is open to the general public. FAMILY SWIM: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. These are times for families and their children...

SIKESTON -- Sitting poolside, Renea Nichols of Sikeston kept a close eye on her 7-, 8- and 9-year-old children, who were enjoying the Sikeston City Pool as temperatures climbed into the high 80s Tuesday afternoon. "A pool can be a fun thing -- if you keep it safe and responsible," Nichols said...

SIKESTON -- Dry mulch and a cigarette butt or stray spark combining to start a fire is something one would expect. But the combination of moisture and heat can also cause mulch fires, according to Capt. Jim Hailey, fire division commander for the Sikeston Department of Public Safety...