Stories from Friday, March 7, 2008

WEST PLAINS -- Although last Tuesday's victory over their arch-rival may seem like the biggest win of the season right now, the Scott County Central Braves know that defeating the Bell City Cubs will mean nothing if they do not succeed down the road...

OXFORD, Miss. -- The Arkansas State baseball team came out swinging, scoring in the each of the first four innings to jump out to a 6-0 lead and knock off the second-ranked Ole Miss Rebels 7-5 Wednesday night at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field...

FARMINGTON -- When the New Madrid County Central Eagles began their season at home with the Riverbend Classic, it looked as if it could be a long season. Memphis Central handled the ball, and the Eagles, by a score of 63- 41. NMCC bounced back the following game with a victory over Byhalia, Miss. 71-61, then dropped four of their next five games...

Atkins SIKESTON - Keane Atkins Sr. and Teletia Barnett are the parents of their second child, first son, born at 1:17 p.m. Jan. 28, 2008, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Keane LeTrell Atkins Jr. weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 19.5 inches long...

DEXTER - David Pyles died March 6, 2008, at the Poplar Bluff Regional Center in Poplar Bluff. Arrangements are incomplete with the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Thomas Lloyd Boren Jr., 86, died Feb. 29, 2008. Born May 30, 1921, in Houston, son of the late Thomas and Verda Boren Sr., he served in the Army Air Force during World War II as a 1st Lt. bombardier in the 43rd Bomb Group. He earned the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, two Purple Hearts, three Air Medals, five Campaign Medals and three group Presidential Citations...

DEXTER - Raymond Pete Atherton died March 6, 2008, at the Central Gardens Residential Care Facility in Dexter. Arrangements are incomplete with the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter.

DEXTER - Alma Blackman, 81, died March 6, 2008, at the Missouri Southern Health Care in Dexter. Arrangements are incomplete with the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home of Bernie.

SIKESTON - John T. Griffin, 81, died March 7, 2008, at Clearview Nursing Center in Sikeston. Born Nov. 7, 1926, in Matthews, to the late John T. and Esther Dickson Griffin Sr., he worked for O & A Auto Parts and was a member of Shady Acres Church of Christ and the American Legion in Jefferson City. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy serving during World War II...

VANDUSER - Sherman Joe Hill Sr., 78, died March 6, 2008, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born Feb. 24, 1930, in St. Louis, to the late Horace S. and Hazel Belle Hatfield Hill, he was a farmer and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He went to St. Denis Elementary School in Benton, was a 1947 graduate of Morley High School and a member of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Sikeston...

LILBOURN - Charles Ellis Dunn, 65, died March 4, 2008, at his home. Born April 1, 1942, in Catron, he was the son of Ethel Elder Dunn, who survives of New Madrid, and the late Christopher Ellis Dunn. Surviving in addition to his mother are: one brother, Richard Dunn of Benton, Ark.; three sisters, Frances Leonard of Lilbourn, Rose Don Powell of Barlow, Ky., and Peggy DeBord of Commerce; and several nieces and nephews...

CRESTWOOD - Mark C. Antrobus, 47, died March 4, 2008, at his home. Born May 28, 1960, in St. Louis, to Richard O. and Marilyn J. Schmalz Antrobus, he was a registered nurse and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He was married to Denise Garrett, who survives of the home...

LILBOURN - Ellenora Summers Giddens, 89, died March 6, 2008, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born Aug. 17, 1918, to the late Waller Nesbit and Ora Engram Summers, she was a retired elementary teacher, having taught in numerous schools, including the Dawson and St. Mary's one-room school houses. She retired from New Madrid County R-1 School District in 1979, after teaching for 30 years...

CHARLESTON -- Mississippi County may finally get a video arraignment system. Mississippi County commissioners reviewed a letter during their regular meeting Thursday from David A. Dolan, circuit judge for the 33rd Judicial Court, advising he is applying for a $15,000 grant from the Office of State Court Administrator to purchase video cameras and view stations and have them installed on mobile carts at the Mississippi County Detention Center and county courthouse...

SIKESTON -- Significant amounts of snow, sleet and ice mixed with gusty winds are expected to blow through the region today and into Saturday morning, creating hazardous -- and maybe impossible -- driving conditions. A winter storm warning remains in effect until 6 a.m. ...

SIKESTON -- A Sikeston school went into a two-hour lockdown Thursday after a staff member found bullets inside the school building. A staff member at the Sikeston R-6 Seventh and Eighth Grade Center found some .22-caliber bullets on the floor of the boys locker room at about 10:30 a.m. Thursday, according to Lori Boardman, Sikeston R-6 director of business services...

SIKESTON - Cadets Paul Trotter, Jerry Kellett, Bill Baker, Charles Pitts, student at the Missouri Military Academy in Mexico, will arrive Wednesday to spend a six-day vacation with their parents. --- SIKESTON - Mr. and Mrs. Joe Lambert moved this weekend to their new home at 819 Moore Ave...

NEW MADRID - Whether working for others or on his own land, Milus Wallace has made conservation a priority. That dedication earned Wallace and his wife, Wanda, the title of Farmer of the Year from the New Madrid County Soil and Water Conservation District for 2008...

SIKESTON -- Several Southeast Missouri law enforcement agencies teamed up Wednesday to arrest 28 individuals on drug-related charges during Operation Byrne Blitz. Officers served two search warrants and located and dismantled three methamphetamine labs. A total of 972 grams of marijuana and 11 grams of cocaine were seized...

Have you ever thought about the people you work for? Your taxes help them in a way to pay their taxes. For instance, Blunt. Your taxes pay his salary, paid his medical and for him to take trips. Some of these people never lived a poor lifestyle growing up. That's why your middle class and lower class get treated the way they do...