Stories from Wednesday, May 18, 2005

To The Editor: I am writing to voice my concern ABOUT military recruiting in our public schools. While I support the troops and the rights of a volunteer military, I do not support institutionalizing involuntary recruitment practices. The No Child Left Behind Legislation automatically gives the military the right to take any students private information without any form of parental permission or notification! This snooping into students' private school information needs to stop!...

BENTON - Grant funding through the Missouri Department of Transportation may help the Scott County Sheriff's Department better equip itself. Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter met with county commissioners during their regular meeting Tuesday to discuss the MoDOT grant and other opportunities for funding...

Public protests are part of the political fabric of this nation. If they remain peaceful, I have no problem with anyone voicing their support or opposition to issues of the day. When they turn violent however, the rights of the protesters are fully abandoned...

DONIPHAN -- Lee Channell, 81, died May 16, 2005, at the St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born Feb. 15, 1924, in Hickman County, Ky., son of the late Clyde and Maggie Tucker Channell, he was a heavy equipment operator for Stagner Equipment Co. before retiring. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, he served during World War II...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Mary D. Flaker, 82, died May 16, 2005, at Lenoir Retirement Community in Columbia. Born May 21, 1922, in Salem, daughter of the late James E. and Susan Foust Cook, she had been a secretary for a business machines retailer and had worked at Remington Rand in St. Louis. She was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church and its Council of Catholic Women...

SIKESTON -- Nicole Stewart, 28, died May 17, 2005, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born Sept. 13, 1976, in Sikeston, daughter of Lonnie Stewart of Sikeston and the late Phyllis Dockins Stewart, she was employed by the City of Sikeston in the tax collection office...

JACKSON -- Leah Virginia McCollum, 92, formerly of Bloomfield, died May 16, 2005, at Jackson. Born March 14, 1913, at Clines Island, daughter of the late Marion and Lizzie Robey Curd, she was a member of the Beech Grove General Baptist Church. On Sept. 13, 1930, she married Winzel "Jack" McCollum who preceded her in death on Oct. 3, 1976...

PORT ORANGE, Fla. - Wanda Louetta Dillon, 71, died at her residence May 16, 2005. Born in Morehouse, Mo., she retired to Florida in 2003 from Cape Girardeau, Mo. A life-long resident of Sikeston, she was employed by the Private Industry Council where she retired after 18 years of service...

ANNISTON -- Ray Hatton, 65, died at 9:10 p.m. May 16, 2005, at John Cochran VA Medical Center in St. Louis. Born June 15, 1939, to the late James "Nig" and Mildred Husk, he lived most of his life in Mississippi County and was a veteran of the U.S. Army...

Third graders from Matthew Elementary School in Matthews dance to "Did You Ever See a Lassie?" Tuesday afternoon during a performance of "Teach the World to Sing," a musical for young singers arranged by Cristi Cary Miller.

SIKESTON - When it comes to hosting district championships, Sikeston says bring it on. This week Sikeston is serving as the host for two district championship tournaments. The first four district tournament games for Class 3 District 1 baseball were played Monday at VFW Stadium during which Sikeston advanced to the semi-...

SIKESTON -- As the weather heats up so do those too-good-to-be-true summer scams. Sikeston Department of Public Safety Capt. Mark Crocker remembers a couple of summers ago when a resident was taken for $7,000 during a power washing scam. "They were supposed to power wash her house for $50, and the resident let them write out her check. Well the guy wrote $50 but he left a big space where he could add a seven and zero later," Crocker recalled...

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston Lady Bulldogs' run to a district soccer championship came to an end with a 3-0 loss to defending champion Notre Dame on Tuesday. Sikeston, the fourth seed, appeared tentative in the early going as No. 3 Notre Dame counted two goals in the opening 12 minutes...

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston Bulldogs reached the finals of the district tournament for the sixth straight year on Tuesday as they pounded fourth- seeded Kennett in a Class 3, District 1 semifinal game at VFW Stadium, 9-1. The Bulldogs, seeded first, will take on third-seeded Notre Dame at 4:30 p.m. today for the championship, marking the third straight year the two teams will play for the title...

The Blodgett mower man is back on the job now. He must have been on strike but they must have been given a raise because he is blowing and going now. I don't know who he is but he is doing a good job. Go boy go. I think what some of the other people like Michael Jensen who put things in the paper about people who are drawing money but don't need it. ...

SIKESTON - Lt. Olon Hitchcock, who served with the Army Air Forces for 31 months, with six months of that time spent overseas, received his final discharge from service at Jefferson Barracks, the first of the week. Lt. Hitchcock, the first reported Army release in Sikeston, had a total of 81 points to his credit...

RESULTS: Men's Golf Association Thursday Night League Play (5/9) First place Team: Craig Brinkman, David Yarbrough, Keith Davidson, Kyle Davidson. Team Score: 30 SCC Senior Association 1st - Allen Small - low gross 1st - Craig Brinkman - low net 1st (tie) - Ron Greenlee - low net...

CHAFFEE - In a close game it usually comes down to the team which makes the fewest mistakes. That held true on Tuesday, as second-seeded Oran took advantage of a costly Bernie error in the fifth inning to squeak by the third-seeded Mules 4 -2 in a Class 1 District 2 semifinal game at Chaffee...

SIKESTON -- In the Dixie Doorslammers, a special annual event, Jim Clement of Jackson, Tenn., took the top prize at the Sikeston Drag Strip last weekend. Clement ran an elapsed time of 5.038 seconds with a dial-in of 4.99 at 126.36 mph and a reaction time of .448 second...

MALDEN - The East Prairie Eagles advanced to the district championship game for the first time since 1996 as they posted two victories on Saturday in Malden in the Class 2, District 1 Tournament. Second-seeded East Prairie defeated Senath-Hornersville 11-4 in a game that was picked up after darkness ended it on Monday...