Stories from Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Preston and Zach Dover fish at the Sikeston Sports Complex pond Tuesday afternoon. They were able to fish before a wave of rain engulfed the area late Tuesday afternoon. The rain should be clear of the area by this afternoon as temperatures begin to increase...

SIKESTON -- Sikeston R-6 parents will see a 15-cent across-the-board increase in the price of their children's meals and a collective increase of 5 percent for a la carte items beginning next school year. During Tuesday's regular meeting, R-6 Board of Education members approved the increases, specifically the reduced lunch rates of 45 cents for breakfast and 55 cents for lunch with rates to be adjusted to the maximum allowed by the state for 2007-2008 should the state allowance be less than the recommended rates.. ...

SIKESTON - A Sikeston company will continue its expansion thanks to a state program. Gov. Matt Blunt announced Tuesday the creation of 20 new jobs over a period of three years at Telecommunications Management, doing business as New Wave Communications in Sikeston. The creation of the jobs was assisted through Missouri's Quality Jobs Act, which provides tax incentives to new or expanding businesses...

SIKESTON - Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Barton, Atlanta, purchased the Pine Motel on Highway 61 South and plan improvements to its structure. 40 years ago April 11, 1967 SIKESTON - Five hundred men wearing cogged-wheel lapel buttons and their families are expected for the annual district 609 conference here April 20-22. Thatcher Scism is president of the host club and president-elect Fred Koch of the Sikeston organization is chairman of the committee...

In an amazing report that has generated absolutely no notice, it appears likely that the day will arrive when most of our large urban cities are populated almost exclusively with immigrants - a third of which will be illegally in this country. Here's the numbers from the Census Bureau report released last week. ...

CHARLESTON - The Dexter Bearcats battled back and defeated the Charleston Bluejays at Hillhouse Park on a blustery Tuesday afternoon, 17-8. Trailing 8-6 heading into the top of the fourth, Dexter scored 11 unanswered runs in the final four innings. The Bearcats plated five runs in the fourth inning and five more in the seventh to get past the pesky Bluejays...

Nobody asked me but...the area's best athletes will be on display Friday at the newly refurbished "Sapp Stadium" track for the first ever Sikeston Relays. All SEMO Conference teams including Poplar Bluff, Jackson and Cape Central will compete. Kelly, Charleston, East Prairie, Caruthersville and Festus are also involved in the 15-team event...

BENTON -- Renovations at Benton have been completed and are ready for the season opener Friday, April 13. A large amount of interest has been shown both from spectators and car count. Outlaw sprintcars will appear weekly, along with Modifieds, PureStreet, Crusiers and a few super Late Model shows...

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston Bulldogs boys and girls track and field teams came in second place in a quad-meet held by the Bulldogs at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium on Tuesday. Sikeston's boys finished with 101 1/2 points to finish behind Jackson's 112 points. Scott City had 26 points to finish in third while Kelly brought up the rear with 13 1/2 points...

ST. CHARLES -- James Phillip Saulter, 82, formerly of Sikeston, passed away April 10, 2007, at St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles. Born May 27, 1924, in Dublin, Texas, son of the late James Perry and Lillie Mae Ellenberg Saulter, he worked over 45 years for Reiss Dairy and Turner Dairy in Sikeston. ...

TOWNSEND, Tenn. -- Joseph Wayne Walters, 64, died March 23, 2007, at Blount Memorial Hospital in Maryville. Born Nov. 24, 1942, in New Madrid, Mo., to Elsie Reva Rodgers Walters and the late Joseph Henry Walters, his family moved to Kennett, Mo., in 1950 where he attended Kennett Public Schools and graduated from Kennett High School in 1960. ...

NORTH KANNAPOLIS, N.C. - Gregory Theodore Scheffer, 58, died April 3, 2007, after an extended illness. Born Jan. 4, 1949 in Cairo, Ill., he worked in the high-rise window washing business for 30 years. He was a U.S. Army veteran having served during the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1969 in the First Air Calvary Division. ...

MARSTON - Maggie Maudean Freeman Mitchem, 78, died at 10:10 p.m. April 9, 2007, at her home. Born Sept. 17, 1928, in Navarro, Ala., she was the daughter of the late Alan and Lillian Blackburn Freeman. Her husband, Pete Mitchem, preceded her in death...

CHARLESTON - Randy Moss, 61, died at 3:15 a.m. April 11, 2007, at the Charleston Manor. McMikle Funeral Home of Charleston is in charge of arrangements which are incomplete.

DEXTER - Pallbearers for funeral services conducted Tuesday at the Hagy Cemetery in Dexter for Ruth Louise Black, 75, who died April 9, 2007, were: Danny Kirkman, David Harrison, Michael Harrison, Matt Alley, Ricky Black and Ricky Black Jr.

RIDGWAY, Ill. - Marabeth Pfifer, 82, died April 7, 2007, in the Suncoast Medical Center, in Largo, Fla. Born Aug. 10, 1924, in Matthews, Mo., to the late James William and Birdie Leach George, she worked at Jones Farm Store for many years as bookkeeper, and for Rides Transportation before retiring. She was an active member in the Women's Auxiliary of the Ridgway American Legion...

DEXTER -- Thelbert Coleman, 83, died April 10, 2007, at Landmark Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born Aug. 10, 1923, in Blytheville, Ark., son of the late Robert Clinton and Georgia Russell Coleman, he was the owner of Coleman Sheet Metal in Bloomfield and a World War II veteran of the U.S. Army...

SIKESTON - Ed Dixon, 60, died April 8, 2007, at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Born March 3, 1947, in Sidon, Miss., son of the late Emma Mae Dixon and Elijah Phiffer, he lived in Missouri for many years. In December 1991, he married Lois Ellen Simpson who preceded him in death on May 2, 2001...

DUDLEY - Harold Arden Davis, 57, died April 10, 2007, at his home near Dudley. Born July 16, 1949, in Dexter, son of Malinda Davis of Essex and the late Charles Arden Davis, he spent his entire life in the Essex, Dexter and Dudley area. He was a U.S. Army veteran having served during the Vietnam War...

MINER -- The regular monthly Miner Board of Aldermen meeting got off to a rocky start Tuesday but ended with business items being resolved including several appointments, among them a full-time fire chief. The meeting began with Mayor Betty Barnes refusing to recognize a motion from Peggy Holman, Ward 2 alderperson, to accept the bid for a new heating/...

SIKESTON -- Dates for the City of Sikeston's Spring Cleanup is set for the last two weeks in April. The Spring Cleanup program gives residents two opportunities to dispose of bulky rubbish during their regular solid waste pickups. Residents with Monday and Thursday trash collection will have their Spring Cleanup opportunities on April 16 and 19. Those with Tuesday and Friday solid waste pickup will have their Spring Cleanup collections on April 24 and 27...

CAPE GIRARDEAU - A New Madrid County man was sentenced to federal prison on felony drug charges. Glen Allen Smith, 44, of New Madrid was sentenced to 188 months in prison on one felony count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in U.S. District Court Tuesday in an appearance before U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey...

BENTON -- The Scott County Highway Department is now on its summer schedule. Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger said during the regular County Commission meeting Tuesday that as of Monday, the county highway department is now working 10-hour days Monday through Thursday...

I have a day bed to give away. It's white and brass. I live in an upstairs apartment at Virginia Pines. If anybody would be interested in that, you can have it free of charge, you just have to take it apart. My number is 472-6322. This is free of charge...

Easter Sunday is usually an uneventful holiday around the Jenkins household. A trip to the parents house where the dogs play and my wife and I chitchat with the parents is about as exciting as it got. That is until my little nephew came along. Let me give you some background on the little guy. ...