Stories from Wednesday, June 13, 2007

SIKESTON - Helen Dodd, 87, died at 12:43 a.m., June 13, 2007, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Funeral arrangements are incomplete with Nunnelee Funeral Chapel of Sikeston.

EAST PRAIRIE - Raymond Earl "Pete" Blue, 89, died at 8:52 a.m. June 12, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born Feb. 6, 1918, at Farrenburg in New Madrid County, son of the late William Henry and Geneva Harr Blue, he retired from the railroad where he worked in telecommunications. He was a member of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in East Prairie and was a U.S. Army veteran who served during World War II...

LUBBOCK, Texas - Juanita Veda Capps, 92, formerly of Bloomfield, Mo., died June 11, 2007, at Lubbock. Born May 17, 1915, at Bloomfield, to the late Justin and Ellen Whitledge Magee, she graduated from Bloomfield High School. She had worked and attended classes at Missouri University and University of Michigan. She was a federal government employee, library board member and public school teacher. In 1996 she moved to Lubbock where she was a member of Oakwood Baptist Church...

EL PASO, Texas -- Sally W. Fisher, 84, formerly of Morehouse, Mo., died June 5, 2007, in El Paso. Born June 3, 1923, in Morehouse, daughter of the late W.T. "Ducky" and Nellie Edwards Wofford, she graduated from Morehouse High School and attended Chillicothe Business College. ...

BLOOMFIELD - Anthony Haynes, 45, died June 11, 2007, in Dexter. Born May 13, 1962, in Dexter, son of James and Willeadean Huddleston Haynes of Essex, he was a truck driver for U.S. Food and affiliated with the Faith Lutheran Church On Oct. 2, 1982, in Bloomfield, he married Linda Holder, who survives of the home...

NEW MADRID -- Weba Ross Blankenship, 82, died June 11, 2007, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born Sept. 27, 1924, in Carson, Ark., the daughter of the late Byron and Minnie Ross, she grew up in Marie, Ark., and then moved with her family to Kewanee in 1939. ...

When the words came out of my wife's mouth, I cringed. "I'm having another garage sale so gather up all the stuff you don't want." The whole concept of the garage sale, yard sale or rummage sale, whatever you want to call them, boggles me. Basically somebody just lays out their junk and then hopes somebody will pay them for it. They should really call garage sales, junk sales...

BENTON - A Scott County man, already in custody in the Scott County Jail for assaulting a 7-year-old boy, is charged with additional crimes. Additional charges involve the same child and another 5-year-old child, from January through April 2006. Travis W. Eaker, 28, of Scott City, is charged with 15 counts of statutory sodomy over the four month period and bond has been set at $150,000 cash only...

SIKESTON -- Some Sikeston R-6 students will begin their school day at a different time this August. Superintendent Steve Borgsmiller informed board members of the new times at Tuesday's regular meeting. "We have had staggering start times in this district for a long time," Borgsmiller said. With the reorganization, different times are needed to manage the buildings as effectively as possible...

MINER -- The Miner Volunteer Fire Department will soon be using better gear. The Miner Board of Aldermen approved the purchase of 14 used self- contained breathing apparatus units at a total cost of $16,800 during their regular meeting Tuesday. "These units are two years old," said Randy Allen, fire chief...

SIKESTON - The St. Francis Xavier Church was the scene for a June 10 wedding of Maureen Blanton and Jean Murray Klein. SIKESTON - The mosquito situation is improving. Nightly fogging to rid the city of the pests will continue until the war is won, probably throughout the summer, City Manager Raymert Miller said. The street department is in charge of the fogging of insect spray to kill the pests...

I am a Republican, but after watching the Republican debate, I don't know of one candidate I would vote for. I don't think a mayor knows enough to be a president. I'm leaning more toward the Democrats, they make more sense. If the Republicans get elected, the Iraqi War will go on another four years, or more, because they are all for it. ...

Don't think for one minute that the immigration bill is dead. President Bush lobbied his fellow Democrats Tuesday with a personal appeal during a rare visit to the Capitol. Bush is clearly putting what remains of his political clout behind this legislation but for the life of me, I do not understand why. But I have a suspicion...

MINER -- Friends and family of missing people from the area looked through scrapbooks and collages at a table Tuesday afternoon across from the Miner police station. They congregated to remember missing persons, as well as search for answers of their whereabouts...

BENTON -- Random drug testing for Scott County employees will be less costly than expected. Scott County Commissioners were presented with information including pricing on employee drug testing services from Occupational Drug and Alcohol Collection Services of Cape Girardeau during their regular meeting Tuesday...

FULTON, Ky. -- The Sikeston Bull lost to the Fulton Railroaders 7-0 on Tuesday, dropping the team out of first place. The Bulls (5-5), struck out 12 times against Fulton hurler Corey Brown. Sikeston also made four errors in the contest. Sikeston's Robert Anders took the loss in six innings of work. He allowed four earned runs off 10 hits with seven strikeouts...

KENTUCKY?LAKE, Ky. -- The Bootheel BassBusters held their fourth tournament of the year on June 2nd and 3rd on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes out of the Buckhorn Ramp. Stan Pace won the tournament with a two-day total of eleven bass weighing 27 lbs. 6 oz. Ty Garrett was second with eight bass weighing 19 lbs. 5 oz. and Leon Miller was third with seven bass weighing 16 lbs. 4 oz...

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston Senior American Legion Post 114 baseball team broke out of its slump in a big way on Tuesday, defeating Scott County 11-1 in District 14 action at VFW Stadium. Sikeston enforced the 10-run rule in the bottom of the sixth inning to secure the victory...