Stories from Saturday, December 24, 2011

DEXTER -- Cody Stevens is a player who simply makes things happen. Whether it was with his arm or his legs, Stevens led Dexter to two of their more successful seasons as of late and made a name for himself among the best quarterbacks to ever wear a Dexter football jersey in the process...

QB -- Cody Stevens sr., 5-9, 180, Dexter ------------------------ RB -- Tyson Estes sr., 5-6, 164, Chaffee ------------------------ RB -- Maurice Moore sr., 5-7, 233, Charleston ------------------------ RB -- James Watson sr., 6-0, 165, Sikeston ------------------------...

WHITE HOUSE, Tenn. -- John W. Hill, 83, formerly of Sikeston, Mo., died Dec. 21, 2011, at the Select Specialty Hospital in Nashville. Born Sept. 11, 1928, in Sikeston, to the late Marvin and Lena Godwin Hill, he was a maintenance engineer for Hart's Bakery in Sikeston, retiring in 1979. He later worked as a manager for the Union 76 Truck Stop in Ridgetop...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Margaret Ann Russell Helms, 81, died Dec. 22, 2011, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born March 14, 1930, at Lawrenceburg, Tenn., to the late James Harrison and Martha Elizabeth McCurry Russell, she had lived most of her life in East Prairie where she was a member of the Harvest Free Will Baptist Church...

A volunteer waits for a cart to be loaded at the Sikeston Food Pantry by Missy Rice, agency relations and program director for the SEMO Food Bank Friday. While many needed some extra help for the holiday season, the need does not end with Christmas. "We're here to serve year round," said Karen Green, executive director of the Food Pantry, also pictured. Open from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Fridays, the Sikeston Food Pantry typically serves around 100 people each week...

BENTON -- A local judge was among those tapped for ideas on saving the state money on prison costs while continuing to keep the public safe. David A. Dolan, circuit judge for the 33rd Judicial Court, was one of four judicial branch appointees chosen for the Missouri Working Group on Sentencing and Corrections...

SIKESTON -- Many children often associate Santa Claus with Christmas, but there's also another person who is very visible during the holiday. Recently some local children took time to explain the reason for the season. According to Dalton Frazier and Ben Gilmore, kindergartners at The Christian Academy in Sikeston, the reason Christmas is celebrated because it's Jesus' birthday...

It isn't easy sharing wrapping duties, just ask 5-year-old Hunter Collins, whose efforts to put the finishing bow on a package are being undermined by little sister Maggie, 2. The girls are the daughters of Laura and Ryan Collins of Sikeston.

SIKESTON - For Kenneth Vowels career of service to farmers isn't coming to end with retirement. Vowels who retired as county executive director for the Scott County Farm Service Agency Office on Nov. 30 has found another way to put his agricultural background to use. Today, he is affiliated with Pollock Realty and with American Agri Financial Services Inc. as a broker/salesman of farmland...