Stories from Thursday, July 12, 2012

sports@standard-democrat.com CHARLESTON -- There was no way they were supposed to win this tournament. Not this year. Not with this team and the record they came in with. Some fans and even parents had them counted out. No way were the Charleston Fighting Squirrels going to beat a Poplar Bluff Thunder team, arguably the front-running favorites, that had an impressive 33-4 regular season record coming in and it's pitching set up perfectly for a championship...

sports@standard-democrat.com SIKESTON -- Starting this Friday at VFW Memorial Stadium, Sikeston Junior Legion Auxiliary Unit 114 will get a chance to defend its home turf when it hosts this year's Junior Legion District Tournament. After consisting of only three squads the past few years, this year's tournament field will grow to four as newly formed Scott County Junior Legion Post 369 enters the mix. They'll be joined by teams from Cape Girardeau and Jackson to round out the field...

SIKESTON -- Cheston Pierce, 86, died July 9, 2012, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born June 17, 1926, in Lamar, Ark., to the late Eara and Sinda Phillips Pierce, he had been a maintenance worker for the Sikeston Country Club and was a member of the Assembly of God Church in Canalou...

WYATT -- Rochelle Orr, 39, died July 9, 2012, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Born July 12, 1972, in Charleston, to the late Jim Davis and Sally Orr, she was an honor student and 1991 graduate of Charleston High School. She is survived by: one son, Dominque Orr of Wyatt; four brothers, Ernest Tate, Wiley Orr and Jimmy L. ...

WILSON CITY -- Louis Banks, 85, died July 7, 2012, at his home. Born June 26, 1927, in Crittenden County, Ark., to the late Will and Mary Moses Banks, he was a butcher for Meat Packers and a member of Wounded Healers Word Church Baptist in Chicago. In 1947, at Marion, Ark., he married Zenora Moore who survives of the home...

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Gaylon M. Lawrence, 78, of Vero Beach, Fla., formerly of Sikeston, Mo., died July 10, 2012, at the Baptist East Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Born March 15, 1934, in Pollard, Ark., to the late David Monroe and Rita Dees Lawrence, he was a landowner and farmer with ownership in various other businesses. ...

SIKESTON -- Edward C. Matthews Jr., 92, died at 12:45 p.m. July 11, 2012, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. until noon Saturday at the Nunnelee Funeral Chapel in Sikeston where services will be conducted at 1 p.m. Saturday...

DEXTER -- Sophia E. Deason, 95, died July 11, 2012, at the Crowley Ridge Care Center in Dexter. Born March 29, 1917, at Dexter, to the late Oscar and Mary Elizabeth Jarrell Masterson, she had lived all her life in Dexter where she attended the New Bethel General Baptist Church and had worked for over 30 years at the Elders Manufacturing Company...

PADUCAH, KY -- George B. Bennett, age 72, passed away at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 5, 2012, at his home in Paducah. George was born in Sikeston, Mo., on Jan. 8, 1940, to Norman P. and Hazel L. (Morrow) Bennett. He was a retired medical sales representative. ...

davidj@standard-democrat.com SIKESTON -- From muddy shoes to grass-stained jeans to ice cream on the face, children always seem to enjoy a good mess. On Saturday, the YMCA is making it easy for kids to get as messy as they want. From 10 a.m. until noon, the YMCA will host "Dress for a Mess," for children 1 to 8-plus at the YMCA North Field. The event is free, with adult supervision required, but will give kids a chance to have fun and make a mess...

SIKESTON - Eleven shiny shovels lined up in a row. You can bet Do It Best Corporation had the tools on hand for their official groundbreaking Wednesday. Officials with the company, which is a hardware, lumber and building materials buying cooperative in the home improvement industry, joined state, county and city officials at the Sikeston Business, Education and Technology Park on Rose Parkway to mark the beginning of construction of the 550,000-square-foot retail service center...

CHARLESTON -- A Charleston man already awaiting a jury trial now faces charges for assaulting law enforcement, resisting arrest and possessing drugs. Jeffery C. Riley, 28, of Charleston is charged with two counts of first degree felony assault of law enforcement, resisting arrest, tampering with evidence, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and first degree property damage...