Stories from Wednesday, January 7, 2009

DUDLEY -- Bayless Earnest "Sonny" Taylor Jr., 80, died Jan. 6, 2009, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Born Oct. 15, 1928, in Jacksonville, Ark., son of the late Bayless and Alma Taylor, he was a veteran of World War II and an active member and trustee of the Liberty Hill General Baptist Church in Aid. ...

POPLAR BLUFF -- Valerie Denise Dockery, 40, died Jan. 3, 2009, at the Poplar Bluff Regional Hospital. Born May 24, 1968, in Dexter, to Martha Cook Simon of Parma and the late G.L. Jones,, she had lived in the Poplar Bluff area most of her life and was of the Baptist belief...

SIKESTON -- Imogene Patrick Wheeler, 90, formerly of Bell City, died Jan. 5, 2009, at her daughter's home in Sikeston. Born April 3, 1918, at Indianapolis, to the late Clarence and Anna Jessup Patrick, she was a homemaker. She was a member of the Bell City United Methodist Church and the Order of the Eastern Star...

DEXTER -- Robert C. Adams, 80, died Jan. 5, 2009, at his home. Born June 1, 1929 at Limestone, Ark., son of the late Floyd Adams and Nannie Brown Adams, he was the office manager for Averett and Son Implement and ProAg in Dexter for over 40 years. A veteran of the United States Army, he had served during the Korean War...

MOREHOUSE -- Eugene Raymond Harper, 83, died Jan. 5, 2009, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born April 23, 1925, in Visalia, Calif., to the late Henry E. and Ortie Reynolds Harper, he had lived most of his life in the Morehouse area where he was raised by his uncle, Sam Robey. He was retired from the Himmelburger-Harrison Furniture Manufacturing Co. in Morehouse and was a veteran of the U.S. Army serving during World War II and the Korean War...

SIKESTON -- Margaret Maxine McGee, 79, died at 10:03 p.m. Jan. 4, 2009, at her home. Born May 3, 1929, in Sikeston, to the late Robert and Gertrude Casteel Lane, she was a legal secretary and a homemaker. A member of Concordia Luther Church, she also belonged to the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod since Jan. 29, 1956...

GREELEY, Colo. -- Charles Edgar DeRoush died at 10:05 a.m. Dec. 24, 2008, after a short battle with cancer. Born July 3, 1940, in Sikeston, to the late Charles Edgar "Eddie" and Lorene Harris DeRoush , he attended school in Sikeston until his senior year. He graduated from Grayridge, Mo., in 1959. He performed with his own country music band and was an actor and stuntman, performing under the name of Bob West, for movies and television shows...

As the national economy continues in free fall, President-elect Barack Obama has at long last outlined his recovery plan. The new administration wants to jump start the economy with a massive stimulus plan that will eventually reach $1 trillion...

I read the Dec. 24 sports page and I still can't believe what was said about the Braves. They are a 1A (Class 1) school. If Sikeston would win the match-up it's because they were supposed to. Scott Central has many larger class teams on its schedule and play some of the areas best in the Christmas Tourney every year. ...

BERTRAND - Mr. and Mrs. Burvey Hager of Bertrand are parents of a daughter born at the Delta Community Hospital this week. BENTON - Gayle Jackson of Sikeston was elected president of the Southeast Missouri Funeral Directors of District 9 in a meeting Wednesday...

JACKSON -- The Kelly Lady Hawks rolled past Saxony Lutheran 68-42 on the road Tuesday night. Saxony hung with the No. 10 ranked team in Class 3 for one quarter, trailing only 15-13 after one. Kelly took a 29-20 lead into half and broke the game wide open in the third, leading 53-26 heading into the fourth quarter...

EAST PRAIRIE -- For the past two seasons the Bloomfield Wildcats have been trying to incorporate a full-court pressure defense into their style of play. "It's been a culmination of building up to it," Bloomfield head coach Dustin Hicks said. "Last year we didn't have the depth at the varsity level but we pressed all the time with the J.V. and now we're getting to the point where we're doing it more with both groups."...

I've got to admit, this week's column is giving me fits to complete. I've had a few ideas, but one or two of them have been too risky to roll with, for the sake of my life and the fact that I have to visit some of the schools in which I could've discussed...

SIKESTON -- The Poplar Bluff Mules wrestling team downed the Sikeston Bulldogs 54-15 in duel meet action Tuesday at the Sikeston Field House. Highlights of the Bulldogs outing included a pin victory by Sikeston's Faylon Marshall and the Bulldogs Kenton Robinson's victory with a 2-point take down to win 8-6 as time expired in the third period...

MOBERLY -- The first Missouri state high school regular-season basketball rankings have been released with several local schools being recognized by the Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. In Class 4, the Dexter Lady Bearcats are ranked number one with a 12-0 record. The Lady Bearcats are coming off winning the Lady Royals Holiday Classic and have only had one opponent play them within 10 points all season...

BENTON -- A Sikeston man pled guilty to second degree murder charges in connection to the 2006 stabbing death of a former girlfriend and the mother of his child. James Vernon Cullum, 26, appeared Monday before Judge Fred Copeland in connection with events occurring June 5, 2006, in Sikeston. Cullum was charged with stabbing Tishania T. Walker, 20...

SIKESTON -- As Jan. 16 -- the first day the IRS begins processing tax returns -- approaches, taxpayers want to know what changes are ahead this filing season, and they have many questions for their tax preparation professionals. "We are getting a lot of questions such as when is the IRS accepting electronically filed returns," said Karen Martin of H&R Block of Sikeston...

SIKESTON -- They say a rose by any other name smells just as sweet ... and a cookie by any other name tastes just as good. That's what local Girl Scouts say about their cookies, which are made by a different baker and have different names this year. Sales kick off Friday...

BENTON -- Having the Southeast Missouri Economic Development Alliance in place means this area won't miss out on opportunities "funneled down" from the state level. Missy Marshall, executive director for the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce, met with Scott County commissioners during their regular meeting Tuesday to provide an update on SMEDA...