Stories from Sunday, March 31, 2002

Ali Borgsmiller, daughter of Steve and Mary Borgsmiller, is the Standard Democrat's April Calender Girl. Borgsmiller, a finalist in the 2001 Miss Sikeston contest, plans to attend the University of Missouri-Columbia in the fall.

NEW MADRID - Her story is being told in the rotunda of Missouri's State Capital but that really doesn't concern Mildred Henry at the moment. What does concern her is if there is enough food for those who will soon gather round her table at noon. There is fried chicken, mashed potatoes, cornbread, green beans, okra, homegrown tomatoes and pickle relish. ...

I would like to thank a DPS officer for the professionalism he showed in helping me recover my lab when he got out of his kennel. Thanks to him and the lady who worked the desk that Sunday morning, no harm came to a great hunter and companion. ---- I think the Sikeston Department of Public Safety is doing a fine job, especially in the west end of town and Sunset. ...

SIKESTON - Approximately 4,000 rodents paid with their lives during the first annual elimination campaign sponsored by the City of Sikeston, Lions Club and McKnight-Keaton Grocery Company. --- SIKESTON - Ten members of the 1941-42 Bulldog high school basketball squad have been awarded letters. They are: seniors, Clem Beal, D.B. Waggoner, Leonard Crase, Lowell Skelton and J.M. Arnold; juniors Wayne Ables and Tommy Roberts, Bob Mitchell; sophomore, Billy Jo Buchanan; and freshman W.C. Andrews...

Tuesday is election day for Sikeston residents and at least according to some, the outcome will set the course for our community's future. The key issue on Tuesday's ballot is the adoption of a new Home Rule Charter that rewrites municipal history for our community. The eventual outcome will hinge on whether Sikeston voters want to adopt this new form of government or whether they are satisfied with the form that has governed our community for the past 40 years...

I recently traveled to New York City. I crossed several state lines and did not have to stop, have my car inspected or show any proof of whom I was. Why? America is a country of many freedoms - freedoms that were earned by shedding of blood and the participation of the citizens of our great country. The most precious freedom we have today is voting...

As a member of the Sikeston City Council and also a member of the Charter Commission, there are a few things about the flyer that was sent out regarding the charter that bother me. It appears, from the City of Sikeston letterhead and logo, that the City Council endorses the charter. ...

DUDLEY - Michael Lee Fuqua, 38, formerly of Dexter, died March 29, 2002, at his mother's home in Dexter. Born Nov. 28, 1963, in Oklahoma City, Okla., son of Eva Lee Kilmer Fuqua of Dexter and the late Dale Fuqua, he had lived most of his life in Dexter and was a veteran of the U.S. Navy...

BLOOMFIELD - Helen Lorene Welker, 85, died March 28, 2002, at Parkland Health Center in Farmington. Born Dec. 14, 1916, at Bell City, daughter of the late Wilmer and Myrtie Garner Dunlop, she spent most of her life in Bloomfield and retired from Elder Manufacturing Company in 1982 after several years of service...

ST. LOUIS - June Mangrum, 83, died March 29, 2002, at St. Mary Hospital in St. Louis. Born June 5, 1918, in Caruthersville to the late James and Lulubelle Ash Ferry, she had lived her entire life in Missouri and was a homemaker. Her husband, Leonard, preceded her in death...

EAST PRAIRIE - Eleanor L. Kennedy, 82, died at 12:55 a.m. March 29, 2002, at the East Prairie Nursing Center. Born March 2, 1920, near Clinton, Ky., daughter of the late Hubert and Ida Wilson, she lived most of her life in Mississippi County. She retired from the East Prairie School District where she worked as a cook for 25 years and was a member of the St. Henry's Catholic Church in Charleston...

ADVANCE - John Blankenship, 80, formerly of Zalma, died March 29, 2002, at his home. Born May 4, 1921, at Braggadocia, son of the late James L. and Mary K. Phillips Blankenship, he was a retired farmer and a U.S. Army veteran of World War II. On Jan. 7, 1950, at Advance, he married Edith Nash, who survives...

HIGH RIDGE - Julie Ann Palmer, 13, died March 28, 2002, at the St. Johns Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. Born Oct. 21, 1988, daughter of Rodger Dean and Donna Gail Palmer of High Ridge, she was a student at Northwest Middle School in House Springs. In addition to her parents, she is survived by: one brother, Michael Allen Reeser of High Ridge; three sisters, Candice Dawn Palmer, Kelly Lunn Palmer and Tracey Lea Palmer of High Ridge; her maternal grandparents, Theron and Dottie Palmer of Dexter; and by her great-grandmother, Syble Stark of Dexter.. ...

BERTRAND - Bettye Lou Wagner, 84, died at 8:31 p.m. March 29, 2002, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born Feb. 8, 1918, in Graves County, Ky., daughter of the late Harris and Annie Josephine Jones Spieght, she was a home maker and a member of the Cornerstone Church in Bertrand...

SIKESTON - Although the vote to present the Home Rule Charter to the voters was unanimous, at least one Charter commissioner has enough reservations about some of the Charter's content to vote against its adoption Tuesday. Seven of the 13 charter commissioners said they plan to vote for the Charter with the mayor elected by the voters, four said they plan to vote for the Charter with the mayor selected by the council and one commissioner plans to vote no on the Charter but if it is passed prefers the mayor continue to be selected by the council.. ...

BENTON - A Sikeston man and woman are in custody on methamphetamine charges. James W. Still, 36, and Beverly A. Owen, 33, both of State Highway O in Sikeston, were charged with possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute after being served with a search warrant Thursday night by officers with the Scott County Sheriff's Department, SEMO Drug Task Force, Drug Enforcement Administration and Sikeston Department of Public Safety K-9 unit, according to the Scott County Sheriff's Department.. ...

SIKESTON - Advertisements being sold and donations being solicited for a Sikeston Department of Public Safety DARE calendar in the area are not legitimate, according to Drew Juden, director of the Sikeston Department of Public Safety. "I don't want people to think they're donating to us when they're not," he explained. "If anybody is donating or being contacted, we want them to know it is not authorized by our department."...

SIKESTON - To Christians, Easter is a celebration of the life and resurrection of Christ. To many communities, it is the time of year to host springtime festivals. And to children and the young at heart, it means receiving a delivery from a very special rabbit...

BENTON -- In the last five seasons, Kelly's baseball team has reached the district title game four times. Eleven players were offered baseball scholarships in that span, and six were named all-state. In 1997, the Hawks finished third in the state. Under the direction of Mike Scott, Kelly built quite a tradition in the spring, going 97-63 in his seven years at the helm...

SIKESTON - For the last five years, the Sikeston Bulldogs have consistently fielded one of the top baseball teams in the area. Every team in that span has had star pitchers, star hitters and maybe a standout fielder here and there. But rarely does a Bulldog team have two top-notch glovemen on the same infield...

The MSHSAA released the standard enrollment breaks for the 2002-03 and 2003-04 schools years. With the new classification format coming into effect next school year, there were going to be some obvious changes on where schools would be classified. Under the new breaks, Sikeston will remain in Class 4A the next two years in football. Most schools in the area weren't affected by the changes in football, which will add a 6A class for the biggest schools...

The Cardinals' approach to building a new ballpark in St. Louis shows their commitment to be productive citizens of Missouri, not its pampered guests. The ballpark proposal now awaiting approval by the legislature puts the financial burden for building the new park squarely on the Cardinals, not on taxpayers. ...