Stories from Friday, September 26, 2008

MALDEN -- Elizabeth Virginia Thomason, 89, died Sept. 25, 2008, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born April 22, 1919, in Harrell, Ark., to the late Irwin Napolean and Irene Abernathy Williams, she was a member of First Christian Church in Malden...

LIMA, Ohio -- Michael G. Bounds, 20, died at 1:15 p.m. Sept. 24, 2008, at Lima Memorial Health System. Born June 30, 1988, in Marceline, Mo., he was the son of Cindy (Swift) and Michael Lane of Sikeston, Mo. Other survivors include: two brothers, Daniel Lane of Sikeston and Nicholas Lane of Springfield, Mo.; one sister, Carlisha Bounds of Sikeston; stepparents, James and LeLanna Spencer of Lima; two step brothers, Michael Spencer and Eric Spencer of Lima; and two stepsisters, Ashley Spencer and Hope Spencer of Lima.. ...

ARNOLD -- Margaret Birdie Annamae Dobbs, 73, died at 11:05 p.m. Sept. 24, 2008, at St. Anthony Medical Center in St. Louis. Born April 28, 1935, at Clarksville, Ark., to the late Garland and Ola Voss McClaine, she was a homemaker. On Jan. 10, 1950, she married William Dobbs who survives of the home...

WYATT -- Robert Gene "Bob" Meeks, 68, formerly of Charleston, died Sept. 25, 2008, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Born May 25, 1940 in Bertrand, to the late George Franklin "Frank" and Retta Lorene Eastwood Meeks, he had lived his entire life in Mississippi County where he was employed with Heppe's Body Shop a number of years and was currently working with Stoney Creek Construction. ...

DEXTER -- Harold D. Perkins, 55, died Sept. 20, 2008, at his home. Born March 1, 1953, in Dexter, he was the son of the late Harold M. and Christine M. Clayton Perkins. He was of the Baptist belief and had lived in the Campbell and Malden areas before moving to Dexter where he lived for many years...

ROLLA -- Doris Jane Wood Denney, 52, died Sept. 11, 2008, at her home. Born Feb. 24, 1956, at Campbell, to Ida Reno Wood of Gideon and the late Wallace Wood, she was of the Christian belief. In addition to her mother, survivors include: one son, Ross Denney of Rolla; one stepson, Jason Denney of St. James; and three brothers, Dwain Wood of Gideon, Donald Wood of Lawrenceville, Ga., and Darrel Wood of Risco; and several nieces and nephews...

WYATT -- William Lafayette Franklin, 82, died at 2:57 p.m. Sept. 24, 2008, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Born May 23, 1926, at Cairo, Ill., to the late Harry Arthur and Gertrude Riggs Franklin, he had lived in Wyatt most of his life and had been employed as a terminal supervisor for a number of places including Water Way Oil Company at Birds Point. He had attended the New Covenant Pentecostal Holiness Church at Wyatt and was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II...

SIKESTON -- Pallbearers for funeral services held Thursday at the Ponder Funeral Home for Larry Floyd, 59, who died on Sept. 21, 2008, were: Gene Stroud, John Trinka, Jerome Henson, Gary Prindle, Chester Kordahl and Blair Moran. Honorary pallbearers were: Roscoe Vaughan, Ale Cato and Richard Holman...

CEDAR HILL -- Lela Mae Reeves, 99, formerly of Lilbourn, died Sept. 24, 208, at Cedar Ridge Manor in Cedar Hill. Born March 9, 1909, in Mississippi, to the late Simon B. and Lela Pyron Blalock, she was a member of First Baptist Church in Lilbourn. She married William R. "Ted" Reeves who preceded her in death on Aug. 10, 1968...

CHAFFEE -- Olga Fluegge Free, 85, died at 5:20 a.m. Sept. 25, 2008, at Cape Girardeau. Born March 22, 1923, at Tilsit, to the late Heinrich Karl "Martin" and Alma Caroline Macke Fluegge, she had worked as a machine operator at International Shoe Company in Cape Girardeau and retired from Chaffee General Hospital where she worked in housekeeping. She worked at her first job in the 1930s as a cook and caregiver at the Cape County Poor Farm. She was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Chaffee...

Wednesday night, my wife saw Pat Oliphant's cartoon spoofing Sarah Palin's "speaking in tongues" on the Washington Post website. She complained for a few moments about how the liberal view of tolerance applied to everyone's beliefs and lifestyle except the conservatives and Christians. ...

SIKESTON - The Little Shop, a child's apparel shop owned and operated by Harriet Little and her mother, Mamie Hefley, will open for business Friday in quarters formerly occupied by Fae's Enchanted Cottage, 216 Hunter St. SIKESTON - Plans to construct a data processing center in Sikeston to serve Southeast Missouri were announced today by the Southeast Missouri Computer Service Inc...

When my husband and I were married five years ago, I relocated from a small nearby town to Sikeston. In the past five years, I have met some of the friendliest people that I know. The problem is that those types of people seem to be the exception in Sikeston. ...

BELL CITY -- In varsity volleyball, the Bell City Lady Cubs snagged a victory from the Dexter Lady Bearcats on Thursday evening. In two sets the Lady Bearcats fell 25-20 and 25-12 to Bell City. "Needless to say, I'm disappointed in tonight's loss against Bell City," said Dexter head coach Kris Vandeven. "We expected them to be tough, but we just didn't bring our best game. We lacked fire and intensity, and that's what we've been struggling with throughout the season."...

SIKESTON -- Sikeston's eighth grade football team rolled through the Charleston Bluejays Thursday evening at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium. The Bulldogs led 26-0 at halftime but would go on to win by a final score of 40-0. "This eighth grade team played well against Kennett and played really well in this game," said Sikeston head coach Brett Blackman. ...

SIKESTON-- The Scott City Lady Rams volleyball team defeated the Sikeston Lady Bulldogs 25-13, 25-11 at the Sikeston Field House Thursday evening. "We battled very hard," Sikeston head coach Steve Beydler said after Thursday's contest. "I was extremely pleased with how hard we played."...

ORAN -- After falling to the Sikeston Lady Bulldogs earlier in the season during the Notre Dame Softball Classic, the Oran Lady Eagles returned the favor on Thursday afternoon with a 8-4 win. "This was a much needed win," Oran head coach Sara Heisserer said. "We've kind of been struggling this week. It was nice to get a win over them since they beat us earlier in the year."...

BENTON - A man who sold crack cocaine in a Sikeston park will spend the next 20 years in prison. Damathan Stevens, 32, was sentence to 20 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections on Thursday, according to a news release issued by Scott County Prosecutor Paul Boyd. ...

SIKESTON -- The Missouri Department of Transportation is making a plan to progress transportation and address the most critical needs in the state. And the Department is asking you to get involved. Bill Robison, transportation planning manager for District 10, spoke about MoDOT's "Conversation for Moving Missouri Forward," at Thursday's monthly luncheon of the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce...

BENTON -- Scott County will add another vehicle to its fleet, to make it more prepared for emergency situations. During Thursday's regular meeting, commissioners voted to accept a used one-ton Chevrolet truck offered by the forestry service. The county will be responsible for insurance costs and also need to purchase tires and a battery. A paint job is also needed...

CHARLESTON -- No matter what their religion or other background, organizers of the Tri State Go Tell Crusade are urging anyone interested in hearing more about the Gospel to attend the four-day event next week. "This really is one of those events that only happens once every 10 or 120 years in a town like ours," said Michael Brewer, pastor of Fist Baptist Church and a member of the Charleston Ministerial Alliance, which is sponsoring the event. ...

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CHARLESTON -- The Bootheel Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission at Dexter is marshaling its forces to make a stand against new EPA standards. Steve Duke, executive director of the BPRC, advised Mississippi County Commissioners during their regular meeting Thursday that the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has joined the state of Mississippi in a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...