Stories from Wednesday, April 5, 2006

I love April Fools' Day. It is the one day of the year that you can lie or pull a prank and get away with it. Myself, I have been pulling April Fools' Day pranks since I was a kid and still enjoy it today. Whether I'm removing the balls from a co-workers' computer mouse or creating "adult-themed" Web sites, nobody is safe from me...

CHAFFEE - Daniel Lee Gossett, 77, formerly of St. Louis, died at 10:10 p.m. April 3, 2006, at his home. Born Aug. 4, 1928, in St. Louis, daughter of the late Carl Jackson and Thelma Laura Brown Gossett, he served in the U.S. Navy and was a chemical operator for 25 years for Mallinckrodt Chemical Co. in St. Louis...

CHARLESTON - Justin Robinson, 23, died March 31, 2006, of injuries sustained from a gunshot wound. Born July 4, 1982, in Charleston, son of Larcene Robinson and Christopher Oliver, both of Charleston, he attended school in Carbondale, Ill. In addition to his parents, survivors include: one son, Justin Patrick Robinson Jr. ...

PRINCEVILLE, Ill. - Dorothy M. Stokes, 88, died at 8:58 a.m. April 3, 2006, at Methodist Medical Center in Peoria. Born Aug. 2, 1917, in Poplar Bluff, Mo., daughter of the late V.L. and Elsie Webb Porter, she was a member of Tower Park Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. She and her husband custom farmed in the Alta area and later, from 1956 to 1965, they operated the A&W Root Beer Stand...

CHAFFEE - Eugene Musgrave, 64, died April 4, 2006, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born Aug. 12, 1941, at Baderville, son of Clem C. and Daisy Mae Taylor Page Musgrave, he retired after 22 years as a driver and mechanic at McCrate Equipment Co. in Portageville. He was a member of St. Ambrose Catholic Church of Chaffee, the Knights of Columbus Council 4311 of Oran, Sikeston Order of Eagles and St. Ambrose Men's Club...

Dear Editor, Hopefully some of your readers can help. I have old photos of Mr. and Mrs. William Hastings (Maudie Beck), Mrs. Anna Dodson and children, Margurite and Horace, also Billie Talley. Were they friends of the James Bishop family or kin? Is there a Genealogy Society in Scott County? Is there a publication on family history in the area that covers Scott and New Madrid counties?...

BENTON -- Voter turnout in Scott County was average with about 15 percent of eligible voters stepping up to the polls during Tuesday's municipal election. And apparently that was just enough to elect a new mayor in Miner and Morley, pass a school bond issue in Oran and keep familiar faces on the county's school boards...

Caleb Dannenmueller, 10, fields a ground ball at the Sikeston Sports Complex. Major league, college and high school baseball have started with area Little League players preparing for the start of their seasons as well.

NEW MADRID - An unusually large number of write-in candidates slowed the counting process for the New Madrid County Clerk's office, requiring election officials to hand-count votes as the electronic ballot machine also clicked along. In at least one case, according to unofficial totals provided by County Clerk Clement Cravens following Tuesday's election, the write-in candidate defeated a declared candidate...

Garrett May (left) and Chris Matthews, members of Sikeston Senior High's Bleacher Bums, move boxes from the basement of the Sikeston Public Library Tuesday afternoon. The library is preparing for its annual book sale, which will be from 5-8 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday ($1 a bag). Sikeston Senior High is also conducting a book sale through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. in the high school library...

CHARLESTON -- Investigations into recent murders in Charleston are still under way. While no arrests have been made yet, Charleston Police Chief Paul Johnson said Tuesday he hopes to be able to announce a positive outcome for the investigations soon...

CHARLESTON - The New Madrid County Central Eagles baseball team used a big sixth inning to open up a close game and got past the host Charleston Bluejays, 20-5 on a Tuesday afternoon. The Eagles took advantage of five Bluejay errors in the sixth and scored 15 runs, to break open a 5-5 tie...

POPLAR BLUFF -- The Sikeston baseball team improved to 4-3 on the season and 3-2 in the SEMO Conference with an 8-6 road victory against Poplar Bluff on Tuesday. Sikeston bolted out to an 8-3 lead and held off a late Mule rally in the bottom of the seventh inning to record the victory...

Nobody asked me but...what the heck is going on over at Dexter? How is boys head coach Eric Sitze's job on the line? Do records like 24-4, 21-5, 23-8 and 21-6 in four of his first five years sound like a problem? This season Dexter fell on some hard times with a 10-16 record, but to try and get rid of Sitze after one lean season is uncalled for. Don't give us the 'he's too hard on our boys' baloney. Plain and simple, it is about wins and losses...

JACKSON -- Jackson coach Rex Crosnoe said it resembled "a boxing match" as Class 1 Chaffee nearly traded Class 4 Jackson punch for punch. The Red Devils battled back twice but couldn't muster a third comeback in an 8-6 SEMO Conference loss to the Jackson Indians on Tuesday...

BENTON - Two Scott County men remain in jail awaiting arraignment on drug-related charges. Kevin R. McClendon, 47, of Sikeston, is charged with possession of a controlled substance, and James K. Sutton, 46, of Morehouse is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. ...

CHARLESTON -- City Council incumbents in Charleston will keep their seats and East Prairie schools will get funding. Voters in the R-2 East Prairie School District overwhelmingly approved Proposition Two, 641-84, authorizing the district to borrow $2.75 million in zero-interest Qualified Zone Academy Bonds to complete a long list of needed repairs, upgrades and remodeling for district facilities...

When they are given everything, they don't have to work for anything. They have no intention of stopping bouncing that ball long enough to learn anything. You are whistling in the wind. This is to the parent who was complaining about the bartender that was serving their underage child drinks all night long. Apparently your underage child was not responsible enough to know that they were not allowed to drink, but they went ahead and did it anyway. It's your child's fault, too...

SIKESTON - It was a lovely spring day and the urge for adventures proved a little too much for Kendall Stallings, 5, when he climbed a tree, which had low hanging branches, the result being a broken wrist when he fell. MINER - Harold Lewis and Jackie Campbell were elected to Miner's Board of Trustees in a city election yesterday...

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston boys and girls track and field team swept a triangular meet at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium against Poplar Bluff and Oran on Tuesday. Sikeston's boys team scored 86 points to beat out Poplar Bluff's 81 points. Oran followed up with three points...

With the arrival of daylight-saving time, I've heard more people complain this week that their sleep patterns were disrupted. When the alarm clock sounds and it's still dark outside, it's disturbing for a week or so. But since I'm talking about sleep, I've come across two fascinating articles that address the subject. And since we sleep almost one-third of our life, the subject is an important one. But confusing...

SARDIS LAKE, Miss. -- The Bootheel BassBusters held their first tournament of 2006 on March 26th on Sardis Lake, Mississippi out of Engineer's Point. Ty Garrett won the tournament with four fish weighing 7 lbs. 7 oz. Mitch Allen was second with five fish weighing 7 lbs. 4 oz. and Kenny Dement took third place and big bass honors with one fish weighing 4 lbs. 15 oz. Shannon Garrett won the "Lucky Drawing."...

SIKESTON -- The beginning of daylight savings time is also the time wild animals have their little ones. Calls have already begun coming in about orphaned wildlife. Baby animals are rarely abandoned. People often jump to the conclusion that a new-born animal is abandoned if they find one all alone. The parent is afraid of people and will retreat when you approach. If the animal is left alone, the parent will usually return...

SIKESTON -- Here are the results from Saturday's Sikeston Drag Strip action. Junior Dragster Class 1st Place - Brett Castro Sikeston, MO DI - 9.29 ET - 9.249 MPH - 70.32 RT - .701 2nd Place - Ricky Skelton Jr. Sikeston, MO DI - 12.05 ET - 12.071 MPH - 50.16 RT - .465...