Stories from Tuesday, October 7, 2003

SIKESTON - If you've been thinking about serving on a city board or commission but haven't yet, your time may have come. With so many city board and commission members serving on multiple boards, an appointment to the Department of Public Safety Advisory Board was put off during the regular City Council meeting Monday to allow other interested parties to throw their hats into the ring for consideration at the suggestion of Councilman David Teachout...

SIKESTON -- Blake Taylor and J.R. Bizzell each scored two goals, leading Sikeston's soccer team to a 7-1 victory over Fredericktown on Monday. The Bulldogs jumped out to a commanding 6-0 lead in the first half and never looked back, improving to 6-7-1 on the season...

LEXINGTON, Tenn. - Gary and Jody Adams of Lexington and Jeff and Dawn Kobiske of Parsons have announced the engagement of their children, Pamela Elizabeth Griffin to Jeffrey Roger Kobiske. The future bride is the granddaughter of Bill and Maxine Marlar of Hardin County. She is a 2002 graduate of Lexington High School and is pursuing a degree in elementary education at Jackson State Community College...

BENTON -- Rick and Mary Woods of Russellville, Ky., have announced the engagement of their daughter, Jennifer Marie, to Scotty Dale Melton, son of Dale Melton of Malden and Jan and John Massey of Benton. The future bride is also the daughter of the late Glenda Woods...

SIKESTON - Miss Mary Em Donnell, who entered Missouri University at Columbia, has pledged Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority. SIKESTON - The 1963 United Fund of Sikeston campaign officially got under way this morning with a kickoff breakfast at the Rustic Rock Inn, where directors and volunteer workers were guests...

Sikeston Department of Public Safety Director Drew Juden answers a question from kindergarten students Monday afternoon. Juden was participating in the school's "Leaders as Readers" program and attending as part of "Fire Prevention Week," which began Monday...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Kelly's cross country team ran in the Notre Dame Invitational on Saturday, taking fourth place out of eight teams in the varsity boys race. Trey Simmons finished 11th overall with a time of 17:50, and Michael Glastetter came in 12th at 17:57. Both were medalists...

Farmington - Seeds were released for the upcoming district softball tournament in Farmington, which starts on Thursday. Cape Central was seeded first, followed by Hillsboro second, Jackson third, Farmington fourth, Sikeston fifth and Poplar Bluff sixth...

SIKESTON -- Sikeston's tennis team ended the regular season in impressive fashion on Monday, beating Cape Central 7-2. "The girls had a great season," said Sikeston tennis coach Lynne DeWitt. "They came back today and beat Cape. We played exceptional. All the senior girls stepped up and took charge."...

The Sikeston High School Marching Band practices for a Marching Festival at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium tonight. Seven bands will be featured at the festival which begins at 7 p.m.

NEW MADRID - A ceremony to celebrate the completion of requirements for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act on the St. Johns Bayou and New Madrid Floodway Project is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday. The ceremony will begin at the St. Johns Bayou Outlet Structure on Highway WW, east of New Madrid then move to Big Oak Tree State Park for a ceremonial tree planting and catfish luncheon...

SIKESTON - Henry Mitchell "Beaver" Mathis, 38, died at 10 p.m. Oct. 5, 2003. Born July 31, 1965, in Turrell, Ark. he was the son of Jodie Freeman Sprous of Sikeston and the late Elbert Lee Mathis. Other survivors include: his stepfather, Bill Sprous of Sikeston; two sons, Scotty Mitchell Mathis and DeCoda Allen Mathis of Lilbourn; and two brothers, John Franklin Mathis and Hollis Lee Mathis of Sikeston...

POPLAR BLUFF - Lena Klein, 76, died Oct. 5, 2003, at The Manor in Poplar Bluff. Born Dec. 21, 1926, in New Madrid County, daughter of the late Thurman and Sue Beatrice Haynes Rodgers, she was a retired registered nurse and member of Bluff City United Pentecostal Church...

CAPE GIRARDEAU - Mary Louise Young, 82, formerly of Dexter, died Oct. 7, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center. Arrangements are incomplete at Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter.

ALLENVILLE - Henry F. Wolfe died Oct. 7, 2003, at Jefferson Barracks Veterans Administration Medical Center in St. Louis County. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee.

LILBOURN - Mavis Miller, 75, died Oct. 7, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Ponder Funeral Home of Lilbourn is in charge of arrangements which are incomplete.

LEAWOOD, Kan. - Lois Hedrick, 85, died Oct. 7, 2003, at Villa St. Joseph in Shawnee Mission, Kan. Ponder Funeral Home of Sikeston is in charge of funeral arrangements which are incomplete.

DEXTER - Martha Henry, formerly of New Madrid, died Oct. 6, 2003, in Dexter. Arrangements are incomplete at Richards Funeral Home in New Madrid.

POPLAR BLUFF - John Kimbrel, 44, formerly of Dexter died Oct. 6, 2003, at Three Rivers Healthcare North Campus. Arrangements are incomplete at Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter.

BERTRAND - Dorothy L. Middleton, 72, formerly of New Madrid, died at 12:20 p.m. Oct. 6, 2003, at the Bertrand Retirement Home. Born June 19, 1931, in Jackson, Tenn., daughter of the late Charlie and Vivian Wade, she lived in New Madrid most of her life. She was a certified nurse aide at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston for 15 years before retiring and was a member of Abundant Grace Church in Bertrand...

SIKESTON -- Delmar Alcorn, 82, died at 4:22 a.m. Oct. 7, 2003, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. Arrangements are incomplete at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel.

DEXTER - Maudie Walker Grubbs, 92, died Oct. 6, 2003, at the Crowley Ridge Care Center. Born Jan. 17, 1911, in Dexter, daughter of the late Frank and Lora Bean Bell, she lived in Detroit and Rochester, Mich., and Grayridge before moving to Dexter in 1987. She was a member of the Church of God of Prophecy in Utica, Mich...

WADSWORTH, Ohio - Chloeta Fay McArthur Martin, 73, died Sept. 27, 2003, at Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital following a lengthy illness. Born March 11, 1930, in Dexter, Mo., daughter of the late William and Mabel Hudson McArthur, she lived in Wadsworth for 46 years. ...

ADVANCE - Donald Lee Kielhofner, 52, died at 9:30 p.m. Oct. 3, 2003, at his home. Born Nov. 8, 1950, in Cape Girardeau, son of Georgia Ann Bucher Kielhofner of Perkins and the late Albert Leo Kielhofner, he was a self-employed farmer and co-owner of Ever Ready Electric in Malden. A member of Guardian Angel Catholic Church in Oran, he served with the National Guard...

Here's how police described Judith Scruggs' house. "There was barely room to move around her home because of the clothes, boxes, papers and other debris that littered the floor. The kitchen was full of dirty dishes and spills and stains. The bathroom floor and the bathtub were covered with clothes, and the toilet, sink and tub were soiled." One officer suggested the foul odor in the house was like "sticking your head in a hamper full of dirty clothes and whiffing garbage at the same time." In short, the house was no place to be raising a 12-year-old son.. ...

Simpson SIKESTON - Danna Jo Simpson is the mother of her first child, a son, born at 9:52 p.m. Sept. 2, 2003, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. Karson Blake Simpson weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 19 1/2-inches long. Grandparents are Danny Joe Simpson and Kristy Lavon Shultz...

To the grown men who beat up minor boys, it is very upsetting. These men are fathers. They need to act like fathers. They are adults. They know better. They act like they are the mafia of Matthews. Anyone in their right mind would have known better You men need to think about what if this would have happened to your children...