Stories from Sunday, September 16, 2007

Back in December, federal officials with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had reason to believe many workers at the Swift meatpacking plant in Omaha, Neb., were here illegally. To put it bluntly, the fact that the plant employed a number of illegal immigrants was not the best kept secret in the world...

ARCADIA - Juanita Johnson and Steven Volner of Iron County have announced the engagement of their daugthter, Sarah Ann Volner, to Joseph Ryan Miller, son of John and Diann Miller of Sikeston. The future bride is a 2006 graduate of Arcadia Valley High School and attends Southeast Missouri State University...

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage held its grand opening ribbon cutting Sept. 6 at the 603 S. Main Suite C location. Cutting the ribbon is Tiffany Hammer, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage consultant. The business is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. It offers home loans, and specializes in first-time home loan and government loans. ...

CAPE GIRARDEAU - Local banks have formed a coalition to increase the resilience of the financial services industry in the region in the event of a regional disaster in collaboration with city, state and federal agencies. Called ShowMeFIRST, the organization has established goals of: protecting the lives of the people working in the industry, protecting the financial assets entrusted for safe keeping and investment, working with city and state authorities on emergency coordination and evacuation and implementing the primary objectives in a rapid manner.. ...

CAPE?GIRARDEAU - As they enter the building, some soldiers quickly drop their gear and get ready to work. Some soldiers hurry to greet their buddies they have not seen in a month. And, as some new soldiers enter the Missouri National Guard armory for the first time, they anxiously look around the busy drill floor wondering what will happen next...

FLORENCE, S.C. - McNair Auditorium, the principal academic arena of Frances Marion University, has been named after FMU Provost Richard N. Chapman, a native of Sikeston, Mo. "Chapman Auditorium" was dedicated during a ceremony at the auditorium Aug. 20 where FMU President Luther F. Carter said it is Chapman's numerous contributions to the university that merit such an honor...

PILOT POINT, Texas -- Emily Winchester Ryan has announced the engagement of her daughter, Samantha Snow Ward, to Joseph Brian Cardwell, son of the late Mary Jo Cardwell. The future bride is also the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ken R. Ward of Katy and the granddaughter of Mrs. ...

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - John and Carol Stark have announced the engagement of their daughter, Katie Melissa Grace Stark, to Tyler Wayne Sloan, son of Terry and Tammy Sloan of Sikeston, Mo. A 2003 graduate of North Little Rock High School, the future bride received a degree in psychology in 2007 from the College of the Ozarks. She is employed at Banana Republic. She is the granddaughter of Sarah Shults and John and Bonnie Coors of North Little Rock and the late John Shults...

MORLEY -- Kay Frances Cross of Sikeston and Timothy Quentin Ingram of Morley have announced their engagement. The future bride is the daughter of Kay Frances Cross of Sikeston and the late Rupert D. Cross. The prospective bridegroom is the son of the late Quentin and Joyce Ingram...

HANSON, Ky. -- Abby Elise Veal and Chance Reed Oliver were united in marriage during a 4:30 p.m. ceremony June 2, 2007, in the garden of Linda Greenfield of Hanson, aunt of the bride. The Rev. Eugene Poole of Portageville, Mo. performed the ceremony...

SIKESTON -- Laura Nicole Reiminger and Matthew James Dennis were united in marriage during a 1 p.m. ceremony June 2, 2007, at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Kelso. The Revs. Oliver Clavin and Ralph Duffner officiated. The bride is the daughter of Mike and Nancy Reiminger of Chaffee, and the bridegroom is the son of Jim and Lynn Dennis of Evansville, Ind...

INDIANAPOLIS - Enid Marie Freels Bratcher, 87, formerly of Catron, died Sept. 14, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Indianapolis. Born Sept. 8, 1920, in Catron, to the late Chester and Glenn F. Berry Freels, she had been a fabric department supervisor for Zayre's in Indianapolis and was of the Pentecostal belief...

SIKESTON -- Shawna Lynn Tidwell, 27, died Sept. 13, 2007, in Sikeston. Born March 18, 1980, in Okinawa, Japan, she was the daughter of Ricky Tidwell of Sikeston and Denise Smiley Elwood of Temecula, Calif. She was a 1998 graduate of Sikeston High School, where she had been a member of the Red Peppers and women's track team. She was employed as a secretary at Double D Tractor in Sikeston and was of the Southern Baptist belief...

DEXTER - Gladys Mae Mallory, 69, died Sept. 14, 2007, at her home. Born Sept. 27, 1937, to the late James Edwin and Lilly Irene Bright Mardis, since 1969 she had lived in Dexter where she was a member of the Calvary Baptist Church. On Feb. 10, 1957, in Bloomington, Ill., she married Duane K. Mallory, who preceded her in death on Oct. 28, 1995...

BENTON -- Cornelius Z. Dirnberger, 81, died Sept. 14, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Ford and Sons Benton Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

SIKESTON - James Douglas "J.D." Kent, 81, died at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 13, 2007, at the Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born June 22, 1926, to the late Dessie Bell Nettleton Kent Fletcher, he was a U.S. Navy veteran serving during World War II. ...

DEXTER - Wanda E. Walker, 84, died Sept. 13, 2007, at the St. Louis University Hospital. Born June 10, 1923, in Success, Ark., to the late Curt and Alta Willis Cobb, she had lived in the Essex and Grayridge communities and moved to Dexter in 1975. She was a member of the General Baptist Church...

WYATT - Mildred R. Sevic, 94, died at 4:25 p.m. Sept. 14, 2007, at the Charleston Manor. Born March 20, 1913, in Dardanelle, Ark., to the late Wiley and Virginia Turner Hicks, she had lived in Mississippi County for most of her life and attended the First Baptist Church in Wyatt...

BENTON - Louis Paul Glastetter, 81, died at 3:07 a.m. Sept. 14, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born Aug. 2, 1926, in Kelso, to the late Paul Joseph and Anna Helen Scherer Glastetter, he was a farmer. He also worked for Lightner and St. Joseph Cemeteries as a cemetery sexton and for the Drury Company. He was a member of St. Denis Catholic Church in Benton...

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. -- Caden Chance French, infant son of Nelson and Sarah McConnell French of Fort Walton Beach, died at 3:28 p.m. Sept. 13, 2007, at the St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Survivors in addition to his parents include: paternal grandparents Billy and Peggy French of Charleston, Mo.; maternal grandparents Harold and Shari McConnell of Cape Girardeau and Deborah and Melvin Schott Jr. ...

Sikeston -- Mary Lee Nelson, 67, passed away at 3:30 a.m. Sept. 15, 2007, at Clearview Nursing Center after a courageous battle with cancer. Born Nov. 9, 1939, in Fayette, Ala., daughter of the late Eulas Clinton and Sylvia Rosetta (Tidwell) Hubbert, she was a faithful member of Temple of Faith General Baptist Church in Sikeston. She had been a cook for various restaurants including her own over the years, but most recently an associate of the Standard Democrat...

PORTAGEVILLE -- The annual Soybean Festival in Portageville will be celebrated for the 60th year beginning Saturday. And the biggest draw now is the same as it was back in 1948: the parade. "I've seen a lot of other parades, but usually our parade is the biggest parade in Southeast Missouri," said Don Hawkins. "We still have thousands of people that come and line up on Main Street to watch it."...

CARUTHERSVILLE -- A South Pemiscot School District teacher's aide is facing felony charges alleging sexual acts with a student. Micheal Willard Smith, 41, of rural Steele is charged with two counts of statutory sodomy and one count of deviate sexual assault. All three charges are class C felonies...

SIKESTON -- Sikeston officials are hoping for a big crowd at Tuesday's bridge summit. "We want to have a good turnout from our area because we want to show our legislators that this is very important to us," said Mayor Mike Marshall. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Clinton Community Building...

ORAN?-- The Oran softball team improved to 8-2 on the season with a 5-2 win over Scott City Friday afternoon. Oran's Callie Kielhofner tossed a one-hitter to improve her record to 6-2 on the season. Jodi Urhahn went 2-for-2 at the plate with a double and an RBI...

PORTAGEVILLE -- On a night where two hungry clubs met up, Charleston took the bigger bite, defeating the Portageville Bulldogs on their home turf by a score of 38-13. It was obvious from the start that Charleston was out for blood, as they jumped all over Portageville's offense from the opening kickoff. Charleston forced three fumbles in the first three minutes of the first quarter...

DEXTER -- After giving up 72 points in their first two games of the season against state-ranked teams, the Dexter Bearcats defense came alive at the wrong time for the Sikeston Bulldogs. The Bearcats turned in a dominate defensive performance and took advantage of several Sikeston mistakes en route to a 21-0 victory Friday night at Charles Bland Stadium...

POPLAR BLUFF -- The Mules didn't waste any time breaking in a new scoreboard Friday night at Morrow Stadium. Ben Knuckles returned the opening kickoff 90 yards as Poplar Bluff handed New Madrid County Central its first loss of the season 32-12. "I wasn't worried about the opening kickoff," NMCC coach Arlen Pixley said. "We didn't do a very good job of getting off the football and they did."...

SIKESTON - The foundation for an additional to the Crenshaw Distributing Co. building on Highway 61 has been poured. --- SIKESTON - Nelson Neumeyer, who has been assistant manager of the Carbondale Store, is now the new manager of the Cut-Rate Department Store in Sikeston...

I live in small town in Southeast Missouri that was just hit with the highest electric rate in history. Not only did the electric rate go up 38 percent, but we lost our trash service and water and sewer went up. I read with interest on the Internet where our secretaries that work for this city are now making more than the skilled professional administrative assistants in the large metropolitan areas. ...