Stories from Wednesday, October 1, 2008

SIKESTON -- Natalie Lewer and Steven Carlyle are the parents of their second child, first daughter, born at 9:01 a.m. Aug. 25, 2008, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Emma Renee Carlyle weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce, and was 20 inches long...

SIKESTON -- Pallbearers for services conducted Tuesday at Spirit Life Ministries Church for Shirley Ann Amos, 73, who died Sept. 26, 2008, were: Logan Gilmore, Barry Hooper, Kevin Becker, Joey Heckert, Jeff Gates and Rocky Chappell. Nunnelee Funeral Chapel was in charge of arrangements...

SIKESTON -- Lee Andrew "Lamus" Hamilton, 70, died Sept. 28, 2008, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Born May 16, 1938, in Kewanee, son of the late David and Morean Hamilton, he attended Hooe Public School and retired from General Motors Corporation in St. Louis in 1972. He was a member of the Masonic Harmony Lodge 40 and New Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church in Haywood City...

CHARLESTON -- Pallbearers at services scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday at McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston for Opal Fleming Greer, 95, who died Sept. 29, 2008, will be: Gary Fleming, Dennis Fleming, Bob Greer, Joe Greer, Albert Goodin and Al Drinkwater...

BLOOMFIELD -- Mildred "Mickey" Rice died Sept. 29, 2008, at the Golden Living Center in Bloomfield. Daughter of the late John W. Clubb and Bertha V. Gregory Clubb, she was a former telephone operator in Bernie and a waitress for many years. She was a member of the Sweet Prospect General Baptist Church...

SIKESTON -- Geraldine Burnett, 76, died Sept. 29, 2008, at her home. Born Jan. 22, 1932, in Warrior, Ala., daughter of the late Hubert and Nettie Mae (Watkins) Barrow, she was a member of the former Temple Baptist Church. On Dec. 12, 1947, she married Frank Burnett, and he preceded her in death on Dec. 20, 2007...

CHARLESTON -- Phyllis Ann Bailey, 57, died at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 30, 2008, at her son's home in Anniston. Born Aug. 7, 1951, in Monett, Ark., to Albert Phillip Bailey of Anniston and the late Margie Frances Bradford Bailey, she lived most of her life in Mississippi County...

You could fill a library with all I DON'T know about politics and an equal amount with what I DON'T know about the foibles of the economy. Last week, I pondered all of the unanswered questions about the economy that have thrown us into a financial panic smack dab in the middle of a presidential campaign. And after listening and reading what seems endlessly about the crisis, I still am as dumb as a proverbial rock...

Republicans had finally convinced us that government was the problem, not the solution. Up until last week - that's when we learned the hard way that government can be the solution and that Democrats are better at governing. For all of us who live in fear that welfare mothers and the disabled are taking all our money, we sure had our eyes opened this week about where the serious money is really being stolen. Corporate welfare has trumped alms for the poor to the point of absurdity...

SIKESTON - The downtown parking meters produced $512 in coins Monday when they were "robbed" by Police Chief Harold Wallace. SIKESTON - Winner of a new bicycle in the bicycle safety program conducted during the summer by the auxiliary police in conjunction with the police department was Marty Godwin, son of Mr. and Mrs. Glen Godwin...

While the stock market falls like a lead balloon and lawmakers bicker back-and-forth about what to do next, I have turned my attention to a couple of other issues that are flying under the radar...

KENTUCKY LAKE, Ky. -- The Bootheel BassBusters held their eighth tournament of the year on Sept. 21 on Kentucky Lake out of the Fenton ramp. Mike Estes won the tournament with five fish weighing 11 pounds, 9 ounces. Leven Cox was second with two fish weighing 5-5 and Jim Sindle took third place and Big Bass honors with one fish weighing 5-3. Don Porter won the "Lucky Drawing."...

SIKESTON -- The future of Sikeston High School football has been showing quite a bit of promise from the seventh grade program all the way up to the junior varsity squad. On Tuesday evening the seventh grade team proved their ability as they handed the visiting East Prairie Eagles a 20-6 loss at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium...

SIKESTON-- The Sikeston Lady Bulldogs softball team downed the East Carter County Lady Redbirds 10-0 in five innings at the Sikeston Complex Tuesday afternoon to move to a record of 11-8 for the season. Pitcher Sarah Hopson led the way for the Lady Bulldogs pitching four hitless innings with four strikeouts and going 3-for-4 with an RBI at the plate Tuesday afternoon...

JACKSON -- The Sikeston Bulldog soccer team fell to 2-12 on the season with a 4-0 loss to the Jackson Indians on Tuesday. A breakdown in the second half was the back-breaker for the Bulldogs in an otherwise tight first half. It was 1-0 Jackson at half time but three goals in a span of five minutes proved to much for the visiting Bulldogs...

Playoff baseball has finally arrived. Anybody watching? Go Dodgers. If they're out, I'm done watching. Seriously though, how crazy has this season been for Blake DeWitt? Random opening day starter, good start, mid-season assignment to AAA Las Vegas then called up for the remainder of the season and now on a playoff squad. ...

SIKESTON -- The Oran Lady Eagles picked up a conference win against the Sikeston Lady Bulldogs on Tuesday at the Sikeston Field House in two sets, 25-23 and 25-17. Sikeston's head coach Steve Beydler stressed after the game that errors was the big reason for the loss...

SIKESTON -- Tonight the suspense will be over for Neal E. Boyd and his fans from his Sikeston hometown and across the country. The tenor has been a part of the NBC series "America's Got Talent." The third season of the show premiered in June, and Boyd has survived cuts to make it to the top five of the competition. At 8 p.m., the finale will air, and announce the winner of the talent search...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Donna Turnbo-Smith, principal at A.J. Martin Elementary School, opened a Tuesday afternoon assembly with an apology to the third through sixth-grade students. "I brought you all here under false pretenses," said Turnbo-Smith. Teachers and students were told the assembly was the kickoff for a fundraiser. "But that's not the truth."...

BENTON - Additional charges were filed against the two men who allegedly broke in to Schindler's Tavern on Aug. 21. In addition to burglary and felony property damage charges, Charles D. Dobyns and Kent J. Courtney, now have multiple charges related to the theft of personal property from motor vehicles in the area of Schindler's Tavern on the same morning of the burglary...

SIKESTON -- Several factors, including the slumping economy, are impacting the nation's postal service and translating to a change in how things are done. Beginning Saturday, mail at the Sikeston Post Office is being sorted in Cape Girardeau instead of at the Sikeston location...

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BENTON -- Scott County's 2007 Delta Regional Authority funding will prepare roads for Orgill's traffic. Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger said during the regular Scott County Commission meeting Tuesday that he had received an e-mail Thursday regarding the county's request for a "change of scope."...