Stories from Monday, August 26, 2002

PERKINS - Gary L. Senciboy Sr., 52, died at 8:55 p.m. Aug. 24, 2002, at his home. Born Nov. 2, 1949, in Oran, son of Harold and Lucille Wyatt Senciboy of Perkins, he had been a carpenter with Wubker Construction Company in Oran. He was a member of Eagles Aerie 4154 of Advance and the Messler General Baptist Church at Messler...

DEXTER - Gladys Langston died Aug. 26, 2002, at the Mulberry Manor in Dexter. Arrangements are incomplete at Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter.

SIKESTON - Sarah Jones, 5-year-old daughter of Keith and Sherry Kinder of Sikeston, died Aug. 22, 2002, in St. Louis. Arrangements are incomplete at Ponder Funeral Home in Sikeston.

DEXTER - Willie Langston, 39, died Aug. 24, 2002, at Three Rivers Healthcare North in Poplar Bluff. Born Dec. 5, 1962, in Cape Girardeau, son of the late Charles D. and Lula Pauline Ivester Langston, he lived most of his life in Dexter where he was a member of the Lighthouse Christian Center. He retired from the Missouri National Guard after 20 years of service and was a forklift operator for Tyson Foods in Dexter...

DEXTER - Elmer "Gene" Medcalf Jr., 84, died Aug. 23, 2002, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Born Jan. 23, 1918, at Bloomfield, son of the late Elmer and Lura Mae Bishoff Medcalf Sr., he was affiliated with the First United Methodist Church in Dexter. He owned and operated the Singer Sewing Machine store in Dexter for many years and was a veteran of the U.S. Army...

SIKESTON - Jeffrey Allen Kallbreier, 16, died Aug. 23, 2002, of injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Born Feb. 8, 1986, in Cape Girardeau, son of Robert Kallbreier of Sikeston and Judi Frazier Blackwell of West Plains, he was a student at Sikeston High School and had been employed by Sonic Drive-In...

LILBOURN - Ethel Mae Palmer Cecil, 83, died Aug. 24, 2002, at her home. Born Aug. 15, 1919, in Des Arc, daughter of the late Walter Lee and Zella Myrtle Hamilton Palmer, she was a member of the First Church of the Nazarene in Dexter. On Nov. 2, 1936, at Lilbourn, she married Bennie Edward Cecil who preceded her in death on Jan. 18, 1996...

PORTAGEVILLE - Susie Elizabeth Baker Burton, 92, died Aug. 25, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born Jan. 12, 1910, in Beech Grove, she was the daughter of the late Ross and Amelia Baker. On Oct. 25, 1924, she married Ben F. Burton who preceded her in death on April 8, 1973...

BERTRAND - Vester "Bet" Vanpool, 78, died at 4:15 p.m. Aug. 24, 2002, at his home. Born May 11, 1924, in Bertrand, son of the late Hal and Grace Adline Brashear Vanpool, he was a lifelong resident of Bernie and worked in construction until his retirement. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II...

CARUTHERSVILLE - Utility workers are working today to restore power to southern Pemiscot County homes and businesses hit by a tornado Saturday afternoon. About 6:40 p.m. Saturday, the Pemiscot County Sheriff's Department received several 911 calls reporting debris, power and utility lines downed and damage to Car-Mac's Stateline Station and the Raceway station. ...

Sikeston Department of Public Safety officer Keith Brown accepts an donation Saturday for the Muscular Dystrophy Association's "Fill the Boot" campaign at Lowe's. The Sikeston DPS will collect donations again this Saturday at the Sikeston Lowe's and Wal-Mart stores. MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat 40 neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and for teaching professional and public health education...

SIKESTON - Southeast Missouri farmers could earn more from their crops if a farmers' cooperative is successful in developing a local processing mill for soybeans and sunflowers. The USDA's Rural Business-Cooperative Service recently presented $180,000 to Adopt-A-Farm Family Inc. in Sikeston to provide technical assistance to develop a value-added cooperative which will find new uses for farm products...

SIKESTON - Sikeston's 2002 tax rates for personal property and real estate will remain at the 2001 levels. City council members set the rates at 55 cents for general revenue, 16 cents for the parks, and 16 cents for the library for a total of 87 cents per $100 assessed valuation as recommended by city staff during this morning's special city council meeting...

Editor's note: The following letter was sent to the Standard Democrat and to the attention of U.S. Rep. JoAnn Emerson (R-Mo.). We forwarded the letter to Emerson, whose response is being published today as well. Dear Rep. JoAnn Emerson: "Rural America is about farming, but it is about so much more. ...

This message is for anyone who is looking for a housekeeper or a caregiver. Please give me an opportunity to define each. A housekeeper will come into your home and clean any and everything in the time it takes for anywhere from $13 to $28 an hour. This includes offices. ...

SIKESTON - Miss Dora Snyder of Jefferson City arrived here Saturday to assume new duties as biologist in charge of the district public health laboratory on the second floor of the City Hall. She expressed the hope that the laboratory could be put in readiness to begin operations within three weeks...