Stories from Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Ryan Modglin (bottom center), a senior at Scott City High School, recently signed a national letter of intent to play baseball for Missouri State. Modglin, who is a three-year letterman in basketball and baseball, is the first Ram in Scott City history to sign with a Division 1 college to play baseball. ...

CHARLESTON -- The Charleston Lady Bluejays got off to a dominating start Tuesday night in the 2007-2008 season by defeating the Meridian Lady Bobcats by a score of 47-33. Charleston head coach Michael Minner had nothing but praise for his squad as they played tough for four quarters...

SIKESTON - The offices of the Standard Democrat will be closed Thursday and no paper will be published in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. The office will reopen at 7:30 a.m. Friday. The staff and families of the Standard Democrat wish you a safe and happy Thanksgiving...

MOREHOUSE -- The Morehouse Fire Department was awarded $67,478 in grant funding for operations and safety. Fire departments and emergency medical services organizations in the state were awarded a total of $538,484 in U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency Assistance to Firefighters Grants...

SIKESTON -- Charges were filed against two Sikeston men accused of robbing a convenience store earlier this week in Sikeston. Authorities say a third suspect is being sought. Anthony Tobias, 18, and Martell S. King, 18, were both charged Monday with armed robbery and armed criminal action for their involvement with a robbery at Murray Lane Mini Mart, according to Sikeston Department of Public Safety...

One of my pet peeves is to see the flag being flown after it has become tattered and faded. The American flag should be shown more respect. There are two business places in Sikeston doing this right now. One is on North Main and the other is on South Main. If you are flying the flag, I urge you to check on it periodically and replace it when necessary. It would look a lot nicer in the community and the flag would get the respect it deserves...

MALDEN -- The Portageville Lady Bulldogs won their second game of the season Tuesday night in convincing fashion, downing the Malden Lady Greenwave 69-41. Portageville (2-0) came out hot, outscoring Malden 15-6 in the first quarter and adding to their lead in the second to go into halftime up 35-18. The Lady Bulldogs continued to pile it on the second half to win going away...

NEW MADRID -- With Thanksgiving Thursday, everybody knows that the day after can only mean one thing... the busiest shopping day of the year? Not quite, as this Friday New Madrid County Central will kick off their 13th annual Riverbend Classic. "For the past thirteen years we have really enjoyed hosting this tournament here at NMCC," said NMCC athletic director Diane Fowler. ...

SIKESTON -- For nearly 400 years Americans have celebrated Thanksgiving -- usually by gathering for a big meal with family and friends around the dinner table. On Tuesday some students at The Christian Academy in Sikeston discussed exactly what they know about the holiday and what they're thankful for this year...

SIKESTON -- The next municipal elections in Sikeston and Charleston will have only incumbents listed on the ballots. Filing for the April municipal elections in these cities closed Tuesday without any additional candidates. Sue Rogers filed Oct. 18 for another term in her at-large Sikeston City Council seat and is without opposition being the only candidate who filed, according to Sikeston City Clerk Carroll Couch...

SIKESTON -- It is time to break out the rake and pile your leaves near the curb: this year's city Leaf Collection Program is in progress. Crews are collecting leaves in District 3, District 4, District 7 and District 8 through today. Leaf collection began Nov. 12 but those who missed their first collection in Districts 1, 2, 5 and 6 still have another chance...

SIKESTON - Adding a professional touch with a last minute field goal by Mickey Thomas, the Sikeston B Team last Friday night defeated Hayti 9 to 6 in a football game played in the mud on the local field. SIKESTON - Twenty-five school students will complete a special training session tomorrow to prepare them to work for merchants during the Christmas rush, David Miller, cooperative occupational education teacher, said today...

WYATT - Barbara and John Chimienti are the parents of their third child, third daughter, born at 8:43 p.m. Oct. 15, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Hailey Michelle Chimienti weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces, and was 20 inches long...

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving which, as we all know, is a unique American holiday. Actually and technically, it's not a "holiday" since that word derives from holy day and Thanksgiving is not a bibically-based celebration. So much for the history lesson...

BARLOW, Ky.--The 2nd Annual Ballard Memorial High School Golf Championship was held Oct.1-4, in Barlow, Ky. at the Ballard Country Club, and taking the victory was eighth-grader Blake Pendergrass, son of Jeff Pendergrass of Bertrand and grandson of Roger and Brenda Pendergrass...

Jared Boyd was the winner in the 11-year-old division of the Knights of Columbus Soccer Challenge held in Sikeston Sept. 22, and the winner in the Regional Soccer Challenge held in Perryville on Oct. 21. Boyd also competed in the state championship in Jefferson City in November...

I was talking with a guy the other day when the conversation shifted to deer hunting. That was when he asked where I hunted. Not if I was a hunter, but where I hunted. I found that odd since I have never gone hunting for deer, or any other animal, at any time in my life. Don't get me wrong. I'm sure I would enjoy killing a cute, defenseless animal as much as the next guy, but there are several reasons I stay at home when others are out in the deer woods...

MALDEN -- Classie Lee, 73, died Nov. 19, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born May 20, 1934, in Parma, to the late Thurman and Mamie Scott Dukes, she was a member of the House of Prayer of God in Christ. In 1954, at Parma, she married Theortis Lee, who preceded her in death on Jan. 21, 2003...

DEXTER -- Evelyn Hutchcraft, 98, died Nov. 19, 2007, at the Cypress Point Skilled Nursing Center. Born Aug. 14, 1909, near Essex, daughter of the late Fred and Florence Wilkerson Saltzman, she was a member of the Second General Baptist Church in Dexter...

OXFORD, Miss. -- Loleta Bard "Tootsie" Wing, 85, died Nov. 18, 2007, at Baptist Northwest Hospital in Oxford. Born Feb. 27, 1922, in Bayouville, Mo., daughter of the late Joseph Burris and Mary Perneitha Lindley Bard, she was a former franchisee of KFC in Tupelo, Starkville and Meridian...

WILLOW SPRINGS - Mary Louise Mansfield, 76, formerly of Sikeston, died at 10:15 p.m. Nov. 19, 2007. Born July 23, 1931, in Fredericktown to the late James Vallie Ellis Sr. and Ruby Shepard Ellis, she lived in Sikeston most of her life, working as a nurse at Shuffit's Nursing Home for 25 years. For the past five years, she lived in Willow Springs...

CLARKTON -- Monica Edrena Cody, 21, died Nov. 17, 2007, of injuries sustained in an auto mobile accident near Clarkton. Born Aug. 26, 1986, in Kennett, daughter of Freddie Turner of Sikeston and Elisa Jean Cody Wright of Malden, she was a graduate of Malden High School...

ST. LOUIS - Ricky E. Bone, 50, formerly of Charleston, died Nov. 21, 2007, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Arrangements are incomplete with McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston.

EAST PRAIRIE - Clyde Richard Wallace, 77, died at 3 a.m. Nov. 20, 2007, at the East Prairie Nursing Center. Born June 26, 1930, in Hickman, Ky., to the late Charles F. Wallace Sr. and Golda Mae Duncan Wallace, he lived most of his life in East Prairie...