Stories from Sunday, November 2, 2008

SIKESTON -- Tom and Athena Zorbas have announced the engagement of their daughter, Patty Zorbas, to Charles Ferssizidis, son of Bobby and Erica Ferssizidis of Athens, Greece. A 1999 graduate of Sikeston High School, the future bride graduated in 2003 from Truman State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. ...

SIKESTON -- Kasey Ann Tierney and Eric Brandon Revelle have announced their engagement. A 2007 graduate of Kelly High School, the future bride is a homemaker. She is the daughter of Matthew Tierney of St. Louis and Terry Schneider of Crystal City. The prospective bridegroom attended East Prairie High School. His parents are April and Micheal Harris of Sikeston...

SIKESTON -- Mr. and Mrs. L. O. "Lennie" Whitworth Jr. will celebrate their 61st wedding anniversary Sunday. Whitworth and the former Marietta Twitty were married Nov. 2, 1947 in St. Joseph. The couple have a daughter and son-in-law, Libby and Michael Bilderbeck, of Memphis, Tenn., and a son and daughter-in-law, Gary and Libby Whitworth, of Chicago; a grandson and granddaughter, Alex and Anna Claire Bilderbeck of Memphis; a granddaughter and grandson, Morgan and Spencer Whitworth of Chicago; a grandson and his wife, Ron and Laurie Brown; and two great-granddaughters, Samantha and Sarah Brown of St. ...

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween I want to thank one last time our Halloween Window painting partners the Elks Lodge for their sponsorship again this year. The windows were great and promoted an important message. As the Chamber moves into November we are busy with our Annual Membership Drive that will take place the week of Nov. 3. SACC volunteers will be calling on new businesses in the area promoting the chamber and its activities...

SIKESTON -- John Bledsoe, vice president of the Board of Directors with SEMO Electric Cooperative in Sikeston was recently appointed as a district representative to the executive committee of the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives (AMEC) in Jefferson City. AMEC is the service organization of the state's 47 electric cooperatives, which serve more than 500,000 rural consumers...

"The Blind Guy" recently held a grand opening ribbon cutting at the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce. The company, which is based in Dexter, offers interior and exterior plantation shutters and custom blinds. Estimates are free and installation is included, according to the owner, Tim Alsup. ...

Used 2 Be Mine, a consignment store which sells furniture, home decor and other items, recently held its grand opening ribbon cutting at the 201 State Highway AA location in Miner. Cutting the ribbon is owner Debbie Vaught, and also pictured is her husband, Phillip Vaught, as well as family, friends and members of the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce. ...

Southern Missouri Bank recently celebrated the grand opening of its 10th branch at 100 Main in Matthews with an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony. Employees represented at the ribbon cutting, shown from left in the front row, included: Vice President Michele Knickman; Heather Colbert, teller; Community Bank President Terry Williams; Customer Service Manager Tera Kelley; Renee Nelson, customer service representative; and holding the ribbon at the far right is Kara Brown, loan coordinator. ...

LEESBURG, Fla. -- Jerald S. Hodges, 76, died Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008, at Lake Harris Health Center in Leesburg. Born to the late John and Irene Hodges, he was was originally from Sikeston, Mo. A member of Providence Baptist Church in Kevil, Ky., Jerald was a veteran of the U.S. Navy. Jerald farmed in the Sikeston area and later worked as a parts manager for a farm implement company in California. He retired in 1998 to Kevil. The last three years of his life were spent in The Villages...

SIKESTON -- Regina Frances Anderson, 88, died Oct. 30, 2008, at Chateau Girardeau in Cape Girardeau. Born Dec. 31, 1919, in Harvel, Ill., to the late John Theodore and Bertha Frances Hoehn Todt, she was a housewife, a Sikeston Senior High School secretary for 22 years and a secretary for Case International Harvester Implement Co. ...

SIKESTON -- Paul David Culbertson, 87, died at 6 a.m. Oct. 31, 2008, at his home. Born Sept. 9, 1921, in Sikeston, to the late General Earl and Elizabeth Anna Johnson Culbertson, he had worked at the Coca Cola Bottling Company and was a U.S. Army veteran, serving during World War II. He was a member of Trinity Chapel and a former member of the American Legion, Sikeston Jaycees and the Teamsters Union...

Virtually lost in all of the Missouri political discussions are two constitutional amendments and three statewide propositions on Tuesday's ballot. For the most part, just the proposition that would repeal the loss limit at Missouri casinos has generated any discussion. That may be because the supporters of the measure have spent nearly $15 million on the proposition...

Shirting the issue

60 years ago

SIKESTON -- The earlier, the better. That is what the Sikeston basketball program will be hoping for as they begin a new era of seventh grade basketball this season for the first time in the Sikeston public school system. Varsity head coach Gregg Holifield said that nothing but good things can come out of the new seventh grade program...

Sikeston native Blake DeWitt made his major league debut as No. 33 for the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 31. DeWitt played a majority of the season with the Dodgers and finished the regular season with a batting average of .264, nine home runs, 52 runs batted in and three stolen bases. He recently talked to Standard Democrat sports writer Matthew Bain and discussed the past season....

SIKESTON -- Sikeston Habitat for Humanity will soon break ground for their second home -- and want you to be there. "Habitat for Humanity is a wonderful thing for our community," said Kathy Hux, chair of development and public relations for Sikeston Habitat for Humanity. "We're starting our second home and I think it is something that all of Sikeston would like to celebrate." The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 9 a.m. Nov. 8 on the lot for the home at 408 East Center...

BENTON -- A Matthews man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for the 2006 shooting death of a Sikeston man. Vincent Keith Minner was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Michael Terry whose death was ultimately caused by Minner shooting him on Nov. 5, 2006. Minner appeared before Judge Frank Conley in Boone County where he had previously been granted a change of venue...

SIKESTON -- Although the under-18 population of the United States may not be a politician's key demographic, the youth are still listening. And, in some area schools, they are getting to make their voice heard, too, even if their vote doesn't count, through mock elections...