Stories from Sunday, May 27, 2007

NEW MADRID - Carlan S. Femmer, 85, died at 10 p.m. May 25, 2007, at the Golden Living Center in New Madrid. Richards Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements, which are incomplete.

PORTAGEVILLE -- Billy Wayne Grisso, 61, formerly of Charleston, died May 24, 2007, at the Pemiscot Memorial Hospital in Hayti. Born Feb. 25, 1946, in Mississippi County, son of the late John Wiley "Bill" and Willie Sue Ray Grisso, he had lived in Mississippi County most of his life prior to moving to Portageville. He had been employed with Hart's Bakery in St. Louis...

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Anthony "Tony" Goodman, 39, of San Diego, died May 22, 2007, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee.

BLOOMFIELD -- James "Danny" Dobbs, 43, formerly of Oran, died at 11:23 a.m. May 24, 2007, at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter. Born Jan. 17, 1964, in De Valls Bluff, Ark., son of the late Charles Thomas Dobbs and Mary Wade Dobbs, he was employed by Tyson Foods in Dexter. He was a member at the New Life Christian Center in Morley...

SIKESTON -- Claud Glendon Thurston, 86, died May 26, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born Sept. 13, 1920, in Vanduser, son of the late James Frederick and Ada Joyce Thurston, he served for 40 years of active duty in military services, beginning in 1940 while he served on the USS Tennessee and was a Pearl Harbor survivor. ...

FREEPORT, Ill. - Mary Osterburg, 88, formerly of Dexter, Mo., died May 24, 2007, at Provena St. Joseph's in Illinois. Born Jan. 9, 1919, in Dexter, to the late Raymond and Emma Webber, she had worked at the Trammel Agency, Stovall's Clothing Store, Citizen's Bank and Webber's Motors in Dexter. ...

SIKESTON -- A man is in custody in connection with a fatal shooting early Saturday. Roger Winfield was found dead at 1:30 a.m. Saturday from an apparent gunshot wound in the 700 block of Taylor Street, according to Sikeston Department of Public Safety Director Drew Juden...

SIKESTON -- Forms to nominate individuals for the Sikeston R-6 Hall of Fame/ Honor Wall are now available. The Hall of Fame/Honor Wall event will be held Sept. 21 during half time of the Sikeston Bulldogs and Jackson Indians football game. New inductees will be notified by Central Office no later than Aug. 24...

SIKESTON - The Sikeston swimming pool will open June 1 under the new management of Bill Baker and Tally Malcolm. CHARLESTON - A fire this morning at John's Drive-In, the corner of Marshall and Main streets, destroyed most of the interior when grease in the kitchen caught fire. The flames spread quickly when a bottle of oxygen exploded...

I'm speaking about the unsatisfied customer that was in the SpeakOut. I just want to know why the Standard-Democrat left Wal-Mart's name out? Were they scared or what? Apparently not! I thought this was a newspaper. I have called two times about people who can't speak English buying food with a debit card and stuff like that. ...

Filling the shoes of departed University of Missouri President Elson Floyd will be a tough job. Southeast Missouri native Kenny Hulshof, however, seems to be a perfect fit. Hulshof revealed this week that he was under consideration for the university post. We can only hope those making this critical decision recognize the unique value that Hulshof could bring to this position...

JEFFERSON CITY -- Sikeston freshman Eli Jackson placed third in the long jump at the Class 3 State Track and Field Championships at Dwight T. Reed Stadium in Jefferson City on Friday. Jackson was in ninth place with one jump to go when he leaped 21-feet, 7 1/4 inches to place third. ...

ORAN -- The Oran Eagles saw a 4-0 fourth-inning lead evaporate in a Class 1 quarterfinal loss to the Valle Catholic Warriors on Friday. Valle (27-2) earned its first-ever visit to the state baseball playoffs with a 5-4 comeback win over perennial playoff contender Oran, which finished its season at 24-5...

SIKESTON -- Large groups of people partying, blaring music and downing Jell-O shots and large quantities of beer has been a typical scene on the Current and Jacks Fork rivers on Saturdays during June and July. But that won't be so this year. On May 5, several new regulations went into effect by the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, primarily aimed at making the rivers it controls more orderly and family-friendly. ...

SIKESTON - Courtney Copeland and Bobby Couch Jr. are the parents of their first child, a daughter, born at 5:04 p.m. April 4, 2007, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Briley Renae Couch weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce, and was 20 inches long. Maternal grandparents are Dee Copeland and Sonny Copeland Jr...

DESOTO -- Lindsey Rogers and Jason Evans were united in marriage during a Dec. 4, 2006, ceremony in Miami Beach, Fla. The bride is the daughter of Karen and Dave Rogers of Desoto, and the bridegroom is the son of Sandy Griffin and Rick and Karen Evans of Sikeston...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Mr. and Mrs. Joe Hunter Oliver have announced the engagement of their daughter, Lou Shelby Oliver, to Joshua Douglas Underwood, son of Mr. and Mrs. Donald F. Underwood Jr. of Portageville. A graduate of Murray State University where she received a B.S. ...

SIKESTON -- Ronnie and Teresa Templeton of Sikeston and Mike and Cindy Collier of Dallas have announced the engagement of their daughter, Audrey Nicole Collier, to Rodney Crosier, son of Robert and Lisa Crosier of Charleston. A 2000 graduate of Sikeston Senior High School, the future bride expects to receive a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Southeast Missouri State University in May 2008. She is employed by Southeast Missouri State University Child Development Lab in Sikeston...

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston Bulls first official season didn't produce many victories on the field in the Kitty League last year, but a decent fan base was established and the foundation has been laid for new coach Jamie Puckett. The Bulls are under new management this year with Fred Johnson taking over general manager duties and Puckett, a player-coach last season, will be the head coach of the team...

Friday, June 1 @ Owensboro Oilers Saturday, June 2 @ Owensboro Oilers (doubleheader) Monday, June 4 @ Tradewater Pirates Tuesday, June 5 @ Tradewater Pirates Thursday, June 7 Union City Greyhounds at 7:00 p.m. Friday, June 8 Union City Greyhounds at 7:00 p.m...

SIKESTON - Jewell Gist was nominated by her fellow colleagues at Bootheel Counseling Services as Employee of the Quarter for the second quarter. Gist serves as a support staff member and has been employed with the agency for a year. She is described as dependable, caring towards clients and fellow employees, flexible, willing to go the extra mile, patient and honest...

Sunset Pool, Spa & Metalcraft held a grand opening ribbon cutting May 18 at their 801C South Main location. Cutting the ribbon is Blake Wells. From left are: Pam Tibbs, Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce; Lisa Davis, employee; Casey Porter, employee; Jill Sherrill, assistant manager; Katie Caudel; Audrie Caudel; Mickey Rankin, owner; Tom Rankin, owner; Mike Wells, general owner; and Leslie Winchester, SACC president. ...

Wow! Thank you to everyone who helped the Historic Midtown Development Group make Sikeston in Bloom a success on April 28 -- volunteers, vendors, and attendees! We had the most beautiful day, great music by the Bluegrass Revival and Josh Monroe, and a great crowd. Downtown business boomed and the Depot had a steady flow of visitors (many who had never even been there before)...

SIKESTON - Manpower Inc. announced the recipients of the Manpower Power Awards recently recognizing individuals and operations across the company's network of 4,400 offices in 73 countries for outstanding performance in 2006. This year, Manpower recognized Debbie Glenn and staff for winning the prestigious award. All eligible participants were judged on criteria by an executive panel, comprised of Jonas Prising and other North American executives representing sales, operations and quality...

SIKESTON - Laurie Ryan wants to know what's in your closets. If it is something that your child isn't wearing she thinks her new business, What's In Your Closet, might just be the place for it. Ryan, who also owns Wallpaper for Less, recently turned her store at 2107 E. Malone Ave., into two businesses...