Stories from Wednesday, March 21, 2012

It was just two years ago that this current administration was able to push through Obamacare - the proposed national health insurance that was designed to solve the financial and access problem of health insurance. The questions that circled that ambitious program involved the forced mandate that will compel millions of uninsured to enter the market. One of the larger questions was the lack of available medical providers to cover this new emerging market...

SIKESTON - Lillian Ann Gross, 55, died March 19, 2012, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born March 28, 1956, in Tunica, Miss., to the late Acie and Jewell Hatchett Dixon, she was a member of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Sikeston and formerly attended Travelers Rest Missionary Baptist Church in Sikeston. She was former owner of Lil's Little Rascals Day Care Center in Sikeston...

SIKESTON -- Lloyd Barton "Beans'"Evans, 89, died March 20, 2012, at the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Born Feb. 15, 1923, in Sikeston, to the late Lloyd Wilson and Lucy Culbertson Evans, he was a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served during World War II. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Sikeston and the Veterans of Foreign Wars and had worked as a truck driver for Valley Steel before retiring...

BERTRAND -- Memorial services will be conducted from 2-4 p.m. Saturday at the Church of God of Prophecy at 104 East Elm Street in Bertrand for Claudeen Myracle Russell, 64, who died on Dec. 21, 2011. Shelby Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements...

BLOOMFIELD -- Floyd Allen, 96, died March 20, 2012, at the Golden Living Center in Bloomfield. Born Oct. 3, 1915, in Shelby County, Ill., to the late Jack and Bessie Harlow Allen, he had grown up in Pana, Ill., and moved to the Aid community in 1959. He had worked raising chickens for the Swift Chicken Co. in Dexter before his retirement. He was of the Protestant belief...

SIKESTON -- Spurlin Beck, 85, died March 16, 2012, at the Sikeston Convalescent Center. Born April 23, 1926, in Matthews, son of the late Spurlin and Birdie Duke Beck Sr., he was a veteran of the U.S. Merchant Marine serving in World War II and during the Korean War. He farmed and was involved in many other business ventures...

RISCO -- Picking up their second straight win to start the season, the Risco Tigers got a two-run walk off home run from senior Chris Pavy to beat Saxony Lutheran 7-5 in eight innings on Tuesday. Trailing 5-2, the Tigers tied things up with a three run rally in the fifth. Going into extra inning, Jordon Pavy then opened the eight with a single before Chris Pavy's blast ended the game...

DEXTER -- Backed by a three hit, five RBI performance from Chase Young, the Dexter Bearcats opened their season with an 11-4 win over Malden on Tuesday. "It wasn't pretty at all," Dexter head coach Brian Becker said. "But anytime you can start the season 1-0 and not 0-1 then it's a good start. We saw a lot of positive things and lot of negative things, but that's just the way the first game looks a lot of times."...

NEW MADRID -- The NMCC softball team opened the season with a 9-3 win over Risco at home on Tuesday. The victory marks the 44th-consecutive win for NMCC, dating back three years. Machaela Townsend earned the win, pitching all seven innings, striking out nine while walking three and allowing six hits...

MINER -- The Miner Board of Alderman approved the purchase of a three-quarter ton four-wheel drive pickup truck for the city's public works department from Autry Morlan Chevrolet in Sikeston during their regular monthly meeting Tuesday. Autry Morlan's price of $25,034 was the higher of the two bids. Also bidding was Putnam Chevrolet of California, Mo., with an offer of a vehicle at $21,200 which appeared to meet the requested specifications...

SIKESTON - Southeast Missouri Food Bank with locations has $247,000 in tax credits that must be used by the end of this month or the charity will lose future funding. In March 2010, the organization, which has locations in Cape Girardeau and Sikeston, received $250,000 in Neighborhood Assistance Program tax credits from the state to issue to eligible donors, said Karen Green, Executive Director of the Food Bank. ...

The Sikeston Kiwanis Club hosted their annual Pancake Day Tuesday, serving some 750 persons from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Proceeds from the event will be used for various Kiwanis Club projects. Pictured at the griddle is Jimmy Sanders flipping the pancakes.

About 2:25 p.m. Tuesday, Sikeston Department of Public Safety's fire division was called to the Sikeston Career and Technical Center when a fire began in the Auto Mechanics area. According to Chad King, SCTC director, the students were grinding on a four-wheel all-terrain vehicle when apparently vapors from the drained gas tank caught fire. ...

SIKESTON -- Sikeston city and Scott County officials will soon come to a decision on a proposed merger of 911 dispatching services. Figures that should represent a "worst case scenario" for the cost to merge 911 services were presented by Sikeston Department of Public Safety Director Drew Juden to a group of city and county officials during a special meeting Tuesday...

SIKESTON -- The five local children chosen as this year's poster children for the 32nd Annual Kenny Rogers Children's Center Telethon represent the various services the Center provides, but they're also selected as a way to educate the community. "People know us as the CP Center, but we treat so many other kids with so many other diagnoses and the poster children help us to better educate the community about the work we do," said Brandy Dallas, clinical coordinator and physical therapist for the Center.. ...

BENTON -- Scott County Commissioners hope to see the courthouse roof ready by the building's centennial celebration. A pre-bid meeting for roofers interested in reconstruction of the roof on the north wing of the courthouse was held during the Commission's regular meeting Tuesday...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- The thought behind switching to the new BBCOR bats brought about ideas of shorter games and a more 'small ball' approach. Someone forgot to mention that to Sikeston and Notre Dame. The rivals combined for 16 hits, four home runs and needed extra innings to finish their wild meeting on Tuesday as Notre Dame squeaked out a 10-9 walk-off win at Notre Dame High School during each school's first game of the season...