Stories from Wednesday, October 21, 2009

ST. LOUIS -- Marcia Smith Manning, formerly of Sikeston, passed away peacefully on Oct. 17, 2009, at the de Greef Hospice House in St. Louis after a long battle with breast cancer. Funeral arrangements are with the Ponder Funeral Home For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...

PADUCAH, Ky. -- Tommy Hugh Watson, 78, died Oct. 18, 2009, at his home in West Paducah. Funeral arrangements are with the Milner and Orr Funeral Home. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...

SIKESTON -- Captola Ruth Oakley, 66, died Oct. 19, 2009 at Sells Rest Home in Matthews. Funeral arrangements are with the Nunnelee Funeral Chapel. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...

DEXTER -- Kenneth Baker, 50, died Oct. 19, 2009, in the emergency room at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter. Funeral arrangements are with the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Chapel. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...

NEW MADRID -- Dave Cobb, 57, died Oct. 16, 2009, at his home. Funeral arrangements are with the Richards Funeral Home. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Bedith C. "Bea" Henson, 84, died at 12:05 a.m. Oct. 20, 2009, at The Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are with the Crains Funeral Home. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...

SCOTT CITY -- Sandy Lee Comer, 48, died Oct. 20, 2009, at her home. Funeral arrangements are with the Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...

SIKESTON -- Pallbearers for funeral services conducted Tuesday at Ponder Funeral Home for Leo W. Rofkahr, 88, who died on Oct. 18, 2009, were: Bobby Graham, Charles Mulcahy, Gary Rofkahr, Steve Hays, Dennis Hinkle and Harold Head.

DALLAS -- Myrtis M. Smith, 94, formerly of Lilbourn, Mo., died at 3 p.m. Oct. 20, 2009, at The Plaza At Edgemere Home in Dallas, Arrangements are incomplete with Nunnelee Funeral Chapel in Sikeston.

NEW HAMBURG -- Lorena Marie Enderle, 92, died Oct. 19, 2009, at Saxony Village in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are with the Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...

CHARLESTON -- William "Billy Joe" Brothers, 72, died at 7 a.m. Oct. 20, 2009, at the Charleston Manor. Funeral arrangements are with the McMikle Funeral Home. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...

To all of my officiating friends, do not make any note of what I'm about to say, as it doesn't apply to you. I am 'the' Yankees fan around here, and despite their success in the playoffs, which is a lot, I'm not going to talk about that today, I want to talk about the horrible umpiring in the 2009 playoffs...

ORAN -- After a strong, second place showing in the SEMO Conference tournament just this past weekend, the Oran Lady Eagles had trouble continuing that momentum on Tuesday night. For more pictures and stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- The Sikeston Bulldogs junior varsity soccer team is heading to the finals of the Cape junior varsity tournament for the first time in their program. An overtime victory in a penalty kick shootout by a final score of 5-4 in the session gave the Bulldogs the win over Notre Dame...

NEW MADRID -- The New Madrid County Central Eagles football team was awarded the schools first seasonal Team Sportsmanship Award Tuesday night during senior night. During the presentation, NMCC athletic director Diane Fowler cited the reasons for the football team's selection...

NEW MADRID -- The New Madrid County Central Lady Eagles fought valiantly on Tuesday, but fell well short to the Class 3 No. 6 ranked Lady Bulldogs of Notre Dame, losing 25-0, 25-12. Notre Dame (29-4) came out guns blazing Tuesday, showing they had no problem moving the ball. Shannon Brennan had all 25 service points in the first set shutout...

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston Lady Bulldogs volleyball team squared off with another difficult opponent on Tuesday evening and at the end of the night, the Advance Lady Hornets got the best of Sikeston in two sets, 25-21 and 25-21. Once again, the Lady Bulldogs played to their opponents' level, but couldn't manage to hold on for the victory...

BLODGETT -- With a decade of experience providing October family fun, Beggs Family Farm has even more to offer for this year's Fall Harvest Festival. "We try to add something new every year," said owner Donnie Beggs. One of the new features, "The John Deere Crop Hopper," is a 60 by 47 foot open-air jumping pillow...

SIKESTON -- Susan Comer of Sikeston said she and her husband recently decided it was time to have their home fireplace inspected. So on Tuesday a certified chimney sweep came to their home to complete the inspection. "We usually let it go a few years in between inspections," Comer said of her fireplace. "We did use the fireplace for several days during the aftermath of the ice storms."...

You don't have to tell Colby Ault the importance of buckling up. The 2-year-old assists Andrea Pratt, a certified child passenger safety instructor, during a child passenger safety inspection. The Sikeston Kindergarten Center will serve as a car seat safety checkpoint from 10 a.m. ...

SIKESTON - Sikeston's Criminal Investigative Unit conducted another undercover sting this month, seeking out local businesses selling alcohol to underage persons. For the complete article and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...