Stories from Sunday, July 26, 2009

SIKESTON -- Opal White, 97, died July 25, 2009, at her home. Blanchard Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements which are tentatively set for visitation and services on Tuesday.

DEXTER -- Angie Stuever died July 25, 2009, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Arrangements are incomplete with Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter.

DEXTER -- Alberta Schnakenberg Webb,102, died July 24, 2009, at the Golden Living Center in Dexter. Watkins and Sons Funeral Service of Dexter is in charge of arrangements. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...

PORTAGEVILLE -- Mary L. Sloan, 90, died July 24, 2009, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are with the DeLisle Funeral Home in Portageville. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- Family and friends are celebrating that on July 22, 2009, Helen C. Johnson received a new address, which was Heaven, and has been handpicked by Jesus to come dwell among the angels in Heaven forever. Arrangements are with the Nunnelee Funeral Chapel in Sikeston, Mo...

JACKSON -- Their bats once again did most of the talking. And for the past two games, Colin Gilooly's has been the loudest. Gilooly led the hot-hitting Charleston Squirrels at the plate in their 11-7 victory over Booneville on Friday night for their second straight win in the Sr. Babe Ruth Missouri State Championship tournament at Jackson City Park...

SIKESTON-- The Sikeston 10-year-old All-Stars kept things rolling in the Cal Ripken 10-Year-Old Missouri State Tournament, as they downed the New Madrid All-Stars 14-3 Friday at the Sikeston Recreation Complex. Sikeston's hot bats carried over from Thursday night's domination of the Aurora All-Stars, as the team recorded 14 hits in just three innings of work. ...

Craig Templeton, ticket chairman for the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo, checks ticket sales while general chairman Matt Matthews pulls them out of a machine. Due to the implementation of a new online ticket sales system this year, more people are buying their tickets online. Seats remain available, but are selling quickly, for each night of the Aug. 5-8 event, and can be bought at sikestonrodeo.com, by calling 1-800-455-BULL, or at the ticket office at the rodeo grounds...

COLUMBIA -- July weather, usually hot as a firecracker, is on the way to setting new cool records. In Columbia, temperatures the first 22 days of July averaged 72.2 Fahrenheit, putting the month so far in a tie with 1924 as the coolest July in 121 years of weather records...

SIKESTON -- Under a slumping economy, many work firms are facing a reduction in production. Although this would typically mean a reduction in employees, a state program in Missouri and other states are helping out, with the Shared Work Unemployment Compensation Program...

At 82 years old, Vincent Dirnberger's boyhood dream of meeting his idol, Stan "the Man" Musial, has finally come true. The New Hamburg man and his wife, the former Monica Duenne, recently marked their 60th wedding anniversary with a visit to see the Baseball Hall of Famer, who was a pitcher and first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1941 to 1963...