Stories from Saturday, November 21, 2015

(COLUMBIA, MO) November 3, 2015 -- Farmers and ranchers in seven Missouri watershed areas are eligible for $3.5 million from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to help them install conservation measures that will contribute to cleaner water flowing into the Mississippi River and, ultimately, the Gulf of Mexico. Applications will be accepted through December 18...

JEFFERSON CITY -- Calling all Missouri high schools to compete in the 2015 "It Only Takes One" campaign for an opportunity to win prizes for your school while educating young drivers about safe driving habits and safety belt use. Sponsored by the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety and ACT Missouri, the statewide competition will run from October 1 to the end of the school year...

MINNEAPOLIS -- 1,500 pastors leave their ministries each month feeling burnout, irrelevancy... North Central Theological Seminary has aligned with Favorfloat Corporation to encourage Christians to honor, appreciate, and show gratitude to their pastors this Christmas through the Gratitude Award, instead of just sending Christmas greeting cards with pre-written messages that don't come from the heart...

Kylus Thompson scored three touchdowns and had a key fourth quarter interception to seal Malden's trip to the Class 2 state championship game.

NEW MADRID -- The annual Riverbend Classic has become an unofficial kickoff to the high school basketball season and the 21st edition of the event will be no different. Featuring some of the area's top teams taking on teams from Missouri, Arkansas and Tennessee, the games will be played Friday and Saturday at New Madrid County High School...

The 18-time state champions had four players in double figures and it was the first coaching win at Scott County Central for newly appointed head coach Matt Cline.

SIKESTON -- "Anytime you give a blessing, you receive a blessing," said Hugh McGowan. In that case, the blessings given and received at last year's Radical Christmas must have numbered in the thousands. McGowan and other organizers are gearing up for another round of blessings and the sixth annual Radical Christmas, which provides senior citizens and families in need with food and gifts for Christmas...

SEATTLE, Wash., - Larry G. Rogers, 61, formerly of Chaffee, Mo., died Nov. 19, 2015 in Seattle. For the complete article and more stories from the Standard Democrat, log on to the electronic edition.


MINER -- Roxann McRoy, 64, died Nov. 16, 2015, at her residence in Miner. For the complete article and more stories from the Standard Democrat, log on to the electronic edition.


MINER -- Larry "Mac" McRoy, 62, died Nov. 16, 2015, at his residence in Miner. For the complete article and more stories from the Standard Democrat, log on to the electronic edition.


It's Thanksgiving week, a special time in this great country when we pause from our hectic lives and give thanks for the countless blessings that surround us. Your Thanksgiving list of blessings is surely the same as mine - family, health, freedoms and countless opportunities that all-too-often we fail to recognize...

Let's start with Obama, and then Obama's right-hand man, Holder. Ferguson, Mo., the highway patrol captain and let's not forget Governor Jay Nixon and now the leftist liberal chicken you-know-what officials at Missouri University. Missouri has to be the laughingstock of the United States as we speak...