Stories from Tuesday, January 6, 2009

SIKESTON -- Imogene Wheeler, 90, died Jan. 5, 2009, at her daughter's home in Sikeston. Arrangements are incomplete with Morgan Funeral Home of Advance.

DEXTER -- Robert C. Adams, 79, died Jan. 5, 2009, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete with the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter.

SIKESTON -- Pallbearers at services conducted Monday at Ponder Funeral Home for Naomi Ruth Parr, 75, who died Jan. 1, 2009, were: Tommy Sutton, Paul Barnes, Buddy Parr, Tim Parr, Jason Williams and Joe Sadler.

LILBOURN -- Vosie D. McCain, 93, died Jan. 4, 2009, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikesotn. Born Feb. 22, 1915, in Mount Judea, Ark., she was the daughter of the late John and Arizonia Freeman Reddell. Her husband, Edgar McCain, preceded her in death...

PORTAGEVILLE -- Fred Albert Harmon Jr., 84 died Jan. 5, 2009, at his home in Portageville. Born Aug. 21, 1924, at Lamar, Ark., to the late Fred Albert and Alberta Bradley Harmon Sr., he was retired from the University of Missouri Delta Center and Noranda Aluminum. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Portageville and a U.S. Army and Air Force veteran of World War II, serving in the Philippines...

CANALOU -- L.J. Harwood Sr., 82, died Jan. 4, 2009, at the Sells Close to Home Nursing Center in Matthews. Born May 4, 1926, in Center Ridge, Ark., to the late Perd and Annie Hill Harwood, he had lived in the Canalou area most of his life. He retired as a laborer from the Gemeinhardt Grain Elevator, was a member of the Church of Christ, and was a veteran of the U.S. Navy serving during World War II...

DEXTER -- Ralph G. Thurston, 76, died Jan. 4, 2009, at his home. Born July 5, 1932, in Bernie, son of the late Walter and Ora Deck Thurston, he was a retired engineer for local clothing manufacturers and a U.S. Army veteran. On Oct. 5, 1979, at Bell City, he married Marge Heigle who survives of the home...

DEXTER -- Norma E. Sells Wilson, 93, died Jan. 5, 2009, at her home. Born Aug. 7, 1915, in Gideon, daughter of the late William W. and Ethel Deckard Whelchel, she was a member of the Apostolic Pentecostal Church in Dexter and a homemaker. On Oct. 23, 1932, in Corning, Ark., she married Wesley S. Sells who preceded her in death on Nov. 2, 1989. On Sept. 9, 1995, in Dexter, she married Cecil H. Wilson who survives of the home...

SIKESTON -- Pallbearers for services conducted Monday at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel for Virginia "Gin" Learue, 81, who died Jan. 2, 2009, were: Kevin White, Bill Bacchus, Jerry Holland, Lynn McKinnie, Terry McKinnie and Donald Harper.

DEXTER -- Pallbearers at services held Sunday at the Watkins and Sons Funeral Chapel in Dexter for William "Bill" Mangum, 79, who died Jan. 2, 2009, were: Stacy Mangum, Eric Mangum, Jeremy Wood, William Dowdy, Ryan Rascher and Johnathon Massey.

DEXTER -- Pallbearers at services held Saturday at the Watkins and Sons Funeral Chapel in Dexter for Shirley E. Duncan, 74, who died Dec. 31, 2008, were: Keith Richardson, Kevin Richardson, James Richardson, Brian Wilhite, Nick Apicella, Charles Summers Sr., Charles Summers Jr. and Darrin Gilcrest...

SIKESTON -- John William Fuchs Sr., 56, died at 7:24 p.m. Jan. 4, 2009 at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 25, 1952, in Cape Girardeau, to the late Narcisse Edward Fuchs Jr. and Elizabeth Vaughan Bowman Fuchs. He attended St. Francis Xavier Elementary School, Sikeston Public Schools and graduated from Chaminade College Preparatory School in St. Louis in 1971. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Mississippi in Oxford in 1975...

SIKESTON - L.T. Davey, Sikeston plumbing and heating contractor, announced today that he has sold his firm and will retire from active business. The business has been purchased by B.C. Compton and M.F. Carlock of St. Louis and will be known as the Midland Engineering Co. Inc...

I'm calling to say thank you to a lady that lives on College Street. A couple days before Christmas, me and my daughter broke down in the ice and snow. She was nice enough to give us a ride to our home. She also gave me some gasoline for my car that wouldn't start. God bless her and her family and thank you very much. It's people like that that show there are true Christians...

SIKESTON -- Have an idea for where you would like to see Sikeston in the future? Then time is running out to share your vision. The final stakeholder meeting for Sikeston Vision, a strategic planning process that examines the needs in Sikeston, is Thursday. It looks at the future direction and how citizens can address those needs, while growing the community...

SIKESTON -- Despite a nationwide drop in 2008 sales, officials in the auto industry say now couldn't be a better time to purchase a vehicle. "GM (General Motors) is out there fighting for business. They've had more rebates on vehicles than I've ever seen, and I've been here for 30 years," said Jeff Williams, general sales and service manager at Autry Morlan in Sikeston...

SIKESTON -- Despite a citizen's suggestion, the city won't be adding automated red-light camera/ticketing systems any time soon. Mayor Mike Marshall said during the regular Sikeston City Council meeting Monday that a city resident told him she was seeing a lot of motorists running red lights. Marshall said she suggested the city look into putting in an automated red-light camera systems to ticket red-light offenders...