Stories from Thursday, February 9, 2006

SIKESTON - Tara Couch is the mother of her first child, a daughter, born at 6: 38 p.m. Jan. 7, 2006, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Kelsey Lynn Couch weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces, and was 19 inches long. Grandparents are Terry and Debbie Couch of Sikeston...

MURRAY, Ky. - Ellen Newton, formerly of East Prairie, Mo., died Feb. 8, 2006. Arrangements are incomplete at Shelby Funeral Home in East Prairie.

SIKESTON -- Pallbearers for services conducted Wednesday at Ponder Funeral Home for Betty Lou Wright, 81, who died Feb. 6, 2006, were: Jim Young, Stephen Hill, Dan Brewer, Burdette DeCota and Dan Byrd.

PORTAGEVILLE -- Theodore "Ted" John Brands, 90, died Feb. 7, 2006, at Miner Nursing Center in Miner. Born April 30, 1915, in Bollinger County, son of the late John and Bernadine Brauer Brands, he was a retired farmer, a World War II veteran, having served in the United States Army and a lifetime member of the St. Eustachius Catholic Church in Portageville...

LILBOURN - Anita J. Downing, 67, died Feb. 9, 2006, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at Ponder Funeral Home in Sikeston.

SAN ANTONIO - Linda Lou Wamble, 58, died Feb. 8, 2006, at North Central Baptist Hospital in San Antonio. Arrangements are incomplete with Nunnelee Funeral Chapel in Sikeston.

BLOOMFIELD - Hilda Fuwell, 67, died Feb. 7, 2006, at her home. Born Jan. 21, 1939, at Tigrett, Tenn., daughter of the late Alvin Gauldin and Helen Smith Gauldin Prince, she was the owner of Fuwell Residential Care in rural Dexter and had been a foster parent since 1982...

QUINCY, Ill. - Ronald Gaylon Lloyd, 67, died at 2 a.m. Feb. 6, 2006, at his residence in Quincy. Born Aug. 12, 1938, in Deventer, Mo., he was the son of the late Ralph Thomas Lloyd and Frances Marie Thompson Lloyd. On Sept. 2, 1962, in East Prairie, Mo., he married Sharon Faye Royal, who survives...

President Bush sent Congress a new $2.77 trillion budget this week and to be real honest, I'm not even sure how many zeros are in a trillion. The budget is heavy on defense, as would be expected in a time of war. But to address a soaring deficit, Bush also proposes to cut the rate of spending on a host of domestic programs from farm subsidies to Medicare...

Ron Jarrell of Jarrell Construction prepares a driveway for concrete Thursday morning. The cold temperatures are expected to continue today and through the weekend .

CLASS 4 Dexter Bearcats (9-14) Sikeston Bulldogs (14-6) CLASS 3 Charleston Bluejays (16-5) East Prairie Eagles (11-9) Kelly Hawks (14-7) NMCC Eagles (7-13) Portageville Bulldogs (13-6) CLASS 1 Bell City Cubs (18-3) _ Oran Eagles (8-11) _ Richland Rebels (6-12)...

SIKESTON - High school football will have a different look for certain teams in the area. The biggest changes will take place in Class 1 and 2, while Class 3 and 4 will stay the same for the new 2-year cycle. Sikeston will stay in Class 4, District 1 with no changes made to the teams they have been playing for the last two years. The Bulldogs will still face Cape Central and Poplar Bluff in district action, as well as West Plains, who has won the last two district titles...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- The Sikeston Bulldogs will be shooting for their sixth straight victory when they take to the road to play Cape Central on Friday night at Cape Central High School. The Bulldogs, coming off a huge upset victory against state-ranked Poplar Bluff last Friday, have hit stride the last couple weeks...

If you really think our boys and men are dying for a cause you have a hole in your head. The reason our boys over there are dying is because of the oil wells. They need them over there to protect the oil wells because Bush is an oil man. Mike, you can say this is a line or a bunch of bull, but I don't think you will say it to God when you die. ...

SIKESTON - Spring is just around the corner, as jonquils have begun to push through the ground at the editor's home. CHARLESTON - Charles Bethune, office manager for the International Shoe Co. plant here, said that the factory now employs from 365 to 433 people, depending on orders. He talked to the Kiwanis Club last night and displayed shoes made at the plant...

SIKESTON - A Sikeston-based bank's stand on eminent domain has caught the interest of a national television show. Troy Wilson, chief executive officer of Montgomery Bank, will discuss the bank's position on eminent domain for private purposes, on Hannity and Colmes, the Fox News debate program. The interview is to be broadcast between 8 to 9 p.m. today and repeated at 1 a.m. Friday...

SIKESTON -- Some area businesses now have the means to make some much-needed improvements, thanks to federal funds recently announced by the Delta Regional Authority. Among the slate of local improvement projects for Southeast Missouri are renovations at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston and construction at the New Madrid County Port Authority and Southeast Missouri Port Authority in Scott City...

Blake Below competed this past Saturday in the Elks State Hoop Shoot that was held in St. Louis. He is pictured with his 3rd place awards.