Stories from Thursday, May 17, 2012

sports@standard-democrat.com SIKESTON -- When looking for a college where he could continue his wrestling career Sikeston senior Kenton Robinson spent a lot of time trying to figure out where he would be most comfortable. After weighing all his options, Robinson decided to join teammate and friend Blake Angle in signing a letter of intent to wrestle at Lindenwood-Belleville University...

leonnah@standard-democrat.com SIKESTON -- About 100 second graders at Lee Hunter Elementary will be safer this summer in and around the water after completing a pilot program at the YMCA in Sikeston. The four-day program, YMCA Splash, ended Wednesday at the YMCA of Southeast Missouri after offering four 50-minute sessions that teach water safety practices and basic swimming skills...

CANALOU -- Larry Bellinger, 55, died May 17, 2012, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete with Ponder Funeral Home in Sikeston.

SIKESTON -- Joe Esther Williams, 101, died May 16, 2012 at the Clearview Nursing Center in Sikeston. Arrangements are incomplete with Nunnelee Funeral Chapel of Sikeston.

ST. CHARLES -- Charlotte Bailey, formerly of Sikeston, died on Sunday, May 13, 2012, at the age of 76. She was born March 11, 1936, in Oklahoma City, Okla., to the late Wyman Lloyd Henry and Katharine Elizabeth Newman Henry. In 1960, she married David Hall Bailey, who preceded her in death in 2001...

ESSEX -- Jesse James Getter Sr., 64, died May 12, 2012, at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter. Born Nov. 23, 1947, in Marvel, Ark., to the late Leonard Mann and Ollie Mae Jones Getter, he had lived in Alton and East St. Louis, Ill., before moving to Essex in 2008. A member of the Mt. Zion Church at Gray Ridge, he was a retired machinist and had worked at an aluminum plant...

CHAFFEE -- Dixie Jewell Brock Yount, 86, died May 16, 2012, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born April 7, 1926, in Parma, to the late Walter and Florence Walker Brock, she was a member of Arbor General Baptist Church. On Sept. 3, 1943, she married Vyron Yount who preceded her in death on April 23, 2012...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Larry Junior Grimes, 70, died May 16, 2012, at Chaffee. Born Dec. 25, 1941, at East Prairie, to the late Rev. Raymond E. and Lela Bell Woods Grimes, he had lived in East Prairie most of his life and was a self-employed truck driver until his retirement in 2011...

JEFFERSON CITY -- A Sikeston resident took a day off from delivering meals to senior citizens to accept a special delivery from Missouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder. C.L. McCoy was honored as a winner of the Senior Service Award. Kinder presented the awards at a May 9 luncheon for the winners and their guests outside his office in the Capitol...

WASHINGTON -- Eighth District Rep. Jo Ann Emerson won acceptance for an amendment to the FY 2013 Homeland Security Appropriations bill, which provides funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, regarding changes to flood hazard maps. The bill was considered in the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday morning...

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CHARLESTON -- An East Prairie church pastor accused of sexually assaulting children pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Mississippi County Circuit Court before Judge T. Lynn Brown. Kenneth N. Allen, 36, who is the pastor of Grace Apostolic Church in East Prairie, was charged last week with three counts of first-degree statutory sodomy and possession of child pornography...