Stories from Wednesday, May 9, 2012

sports@standard-democrat.com SIKESTON -- Graves County took advantage of Sikeston's miscues. The Bulldogs, who have made it an unhealthy habit of giving their opposition extra outs and bases of late, committed four errors which led to three runs Tuesday as Graves Co., Ky., defeated Sikeston, 5-4...

sports@standard-democrat.com NEW MADRID -- Combining for seven innings of one-hit ball on Tuesday, pitchers Josh Reed and Logan Frazier guided New Madrid County Central to a 6-0 win over Portageville on senior night. "It was a good day for the seniors," NMCC head coach Joseph McClarty said. "Great job by Josh and Logan pitching a combined one-hitter. We had great defense behind them and swung the bats well."...

SIKESTON -- Visitation for Geraldine Vaughn, 69, who died Feb. 23, 2012, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, will be held from 1 p.m. until time of a memorial service at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Ponder Funeral Home. Don Swilley will officiate...

SIKESTON -- Pallbearers for services conducted today at the Nunnelee Funeral Chapel for Evelyn C. Teachout, 82, who died on May 6, 2012 were: Bob Crosno, Mike Crosno, Gary Linebaugh, Ryan Dukes, Carl Merideth and Roy Dale Merideth.

LILBOURN -- Betty L. Hughey, 54, died May 6, 2012, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born March 20, 1958, in St. Louis, she was the daughter of Betty Bush Raidt of Lilbourn and the late James Raidt. In addition to her mother, survivors include: one brother, Johnny Raidt of Lilbourn; two sisters and a brother-in-law, Cathy Rainwater of Lilbourn and Linda and Robin Shelby; one niece, Kimberly (Rick) Patoon of Lilbourn; and two nephews, Nick Raidt of Sikeston and Aubra Shelby...

MONETT -- Hilda I. Streeter, 92, formerly of Sikeston, died May 8, 2012 at the Lacoba Nursing Home in Monett. Born March 17, 1920, in Eau Claire, Wis., to the late William and Marie Boetzer Boetcher, she was a self-employed hairdresser and a member of the Concordia Lutheran Church in Sikeston...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- George Taylor Killion, 83, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, May 8, 2012, at The Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born on Oct. 13, 1928, in Portageville, the son of Dr. H.A. and Bessie Barbara Killion. He graduated from Portageville High School in 1946 where he was the valedictorian of his senior class. ...

GREENVILLE -- Terry Allen Standridge, 60, formerly of Sikeston, died May 8, 2012. Arrangements are incomplete with Nunnelee Funeral Chapel in Sikeston.

DEXTER -- John D. Hartline, 70, died May 8, 2012, at his home. Born Jan. 7, 1942, at Bernie, son of the late Fred and Emma Pavey Hartline, he was of the Baptist belief. A former union carpenter in Flint, Mich., he was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps...

FRIENDSWOOD, Texas -- Billie Ray Majors, 77, formerly of East Prairie, Mo., died May 2, 2012. Born Dec. 8, 1934, in East Prairie, son of the late Robert and Alma Majors, he lived many years in the Houston and Friendswood area. He served for eight years in communications in the U.S. ...

CHICAGO -- Eric Pierce, 59, formerly of Charleston, Mo., died May 3, 2012, in Chicago. Born Nov. 4, 1952, in Charleston, to the late Waymon and Rovine Crider Pierce, he was a graduate of Charleston High School and attended the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. He retired in 1991 from the U.S. Postal Service in Chicago...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Carlandus Ware, 38, died May 6, 2012, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Born March 6, 1974, in Cairo, to Gloria Ware Whitfield of Cairo and the late Carlandus Mallory, he was a 1992 graduate of Cairo High School and served in the U.S. Navy, receiving an honorable discharge in 1998. He was an employee of Alexander County Public Housing...

ESSEX -- J'Vierre Lamont Durden, 2, died May 5, 2012, in Kansas City, Mo. Born June 11, 2009, in Hayti, the son of James and Diamond Wigfall Durden of Essex, he attended Temple of God's Glory in Portageville. In addition to his parents, he is survived by: three brothers, Desmond Tate of Nashville, Tenn., Cornelius Ellis of Sikeston and James Reed Durden of Charleston; two sisters DeAvion Caldwell of Portageville and Imyja Neal of Birmingham, Ala.; maternal grandparents, Roy and Annie Wigfall of Portageville; paternal grandparents, Della and James Oliver of Sikeston and Lavell Durden of Kansas City, Kan.; maternal great-grandmother, Julia Wigfall of Portageville; his godmother, Jan Saxton Holmes; and a host of other relatives and friends.. ...

BLODGETT -- Barbara Gail Cooper, 70, died Friday, May 4, 2012, at her home in Blodgett. Born Feb. 13, 1942, in Sikeston, to Virginia Dunn Beggs, who survives of Sikeston, and the late W.A. "Dubb" Beggs, she was a member of the Miner Baptist Church. On Feb. 17, 1961, at Blodgett, she married Larry G. Cooper who survives of the home...

EAST PRAIRIE -- The Chaffee Red Devils ended the regular season with a 21-3 record after downing East Prairie 9-1 on Tuesday. Chaffee got a dominant pitching performance from Cody Payne who tossed a complete game, striking out 14 and allowing just one unearned run...

scottw@standard-democrat.com SIKESTON -- While experts debate strategies and solutions for the country's obesity epidemic, a local group is offering moral support. The Institute of Medicine, a part of the National Academy of Sciences that advises the government as an independent organization, released a report Tuesday indicating progress on obesity rates isn't being made fast enough, according to a recent Associated Press report...

SIKESTON - The unseasonably warm spring is bringing a bounty of produce to local consumers a littler earlier this year. Kim Robinson, executive director of HMDG, said that after talking with local producers, the Downtown Farmers Market will open at 7 a.m. this Saturday in the American Legion Square. In the past, the local Farmers Market has opened around the first of June...

jillb@standard-democrat.com SIKESTON - It is a message as important today as it was when it was penned by Miguel de Cervantes in the 17th century. "I think the message is needed today," said Barbara Shriver, director of the Sikeston High School's production of "Man of LaMancha." "We have a tendency to look for the bad. Don Quixote tells us differently. He want us to see things -- maybe not how they are but as how they should be."...

leonnah@standard-democrat.com SIKESTON -- For the first time in 20 years, plans are being finalized for an outdoor graduation ceremony at Sikeston High School. High School Principal Tom Williams briefed the Sikeston R-6 Board of Education on graduation procedures during its monthly meeting Tuesday. Graduation is set for 7 p.m. May 24 on the football field, making it the first outdoor commencement since the class of 1992...

Every four years during the Presidential election cycle, we're urged to ask the question, "Are you better off today than four years ago?" The catchy line made famous by President Ronald Reagan during a 1980 debate with President Jimmy Carter has already surfaced this year. You'll likely hear it often...

BENTON - Two Sikeston area men are in jail on methamphetamine-related charges. Donald W. Freeman, 39, and Dean S. Robinson, 46, are charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance and manufacturing a controlled substance, according to Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter. Bond is set at $50,000 on Robinson and $5,000 on Freeman...