Stories from Saturday, February 16, 2008

MATTHEWS -- Vivian Beard of Matthews along with Clyde and Joanne Shubert of Okawville, Ill., have announced the engagement of their children, Michele Beard and Lucas Shubert. Beard is also the daughter of the late Charles Beard. A 1992 graduate of Sikeston Senior High School and a 2007 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, the future bride is employed by the Sikeston R-6 School District...

ST. LOUIS -- Edward Calvin Matthews IV will wed Sarah Ann Mangrum in a ceremony to take place Oct. 4 in St. Louis at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. The bride-elect is the daughter of Mrs. Linda Mangrum of St. Louis. She is the granddaughter of Mrs. Opal Wiesehan and the late Mr. Elmer "Al" William Wiesehan of St. Louis and Mr. A.E. Mangrum of Palm Springs, Calif. The future bride is a native of Palm Springs...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Mary Lee Holman and the late Charles Holman of Cairo and Jerry Don and Eda Holman of Fort Knox, Ky., have announced the engagement of their daughter, Amber Holman to Eric Taylor, son of Susan and William Taylor of West Frankfort. A 2006 graduate of Shawnee Community College, where she received an Associate of Arts and was president of the Alpha Lambda Epsilon chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society for two years, the future bride is employed at Shawnee College as a SSC Testing Lab assistant. ...

SIKESTON -- Janice Swogger of Sikeston has announced the engagement of her daughter, Dr. Marcy Marie Swogger, to Dr. Stephen Thomas Duncan, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Thomas Duncan III of Kenosha, Wis. Swogger is also the daughter of the late George Swogger...

NEW MADRID -- Associated Electric Cooperative's (AECI) New Madrid Power Plant set a record low for workplace injuries in 2007. "Safety comes first at the plant," said Roger Neumeyer, plant manager. "Our record low of safety incidents is a tribute to how seriously our employees take safety and use the training they receive."...

Oh, Miner. Oh, Sikeston. It has been a long and lonely month since I spoke to you last. As I told you I would last month, I attended the Snowbird Extravaganza in Lakeland, Fla. and the American Bus Association Marketplace in Virginia Beach, Va. Alas, the sunshine and perfect weather in Florida and the waves on the beach in Virginia couldn't compare to you. ...

SIKESTON -- Heidi N. Eaton and Dewey W. Davidson II were united in marriage Aug. 11, 2007, at Miner Baptist Church. Dewayne Coleman, pastor, performed the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Tommy Eaton of Sikeston and Janeen Jones of Bell City. The bridegroom is the son of Dewey Davidson Sr. and Janet Davidson of Sikeston...

SIKESTON -- It was a close ball game till the very end at Ronnie Cookson Gymnasium on Friday night, as the Scott County Central Bravettes (8-10) pulled out a squeaker against the South Pemiscot Lady Bulldogs (2-14), 51-47. There were six lead changes within the last three minutes of play, with the biggest one happening with only 12 seconds left in the game...

PERRYVILLE -- The Class 4 District 1 boys and girls basketball district tournament will be getting underway Monday evening at the Perry Park Center in Perryville. In the boys' bracket, the Sikeston Bulldogs will be rolling into Perryville with the No. 1 seed, receiving a bye in the first round. Sikeston's first contest will be against the winner of the St. Genevieve (4) vs Dexter (5) game, at 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening...

SIKESTON - Mr. and Mrs. Freeman Cain today observed their 51st wedding anniversary at their home in Morehouse. --- SIKESTON - Carolyn Wilkinson was named queen at a Sikeston Senior High School valentine party Saturday night at the school. Attendants were: Barbara Bethune, Emily Lair and Carolyn Corlew...

Would you please see if we can get these political calls stopped or blocked or something? It will be a lot worse in November. I feel so sorry for people who are ill that have to answer the phone every two minutes. I guess it's OK if you have Caller ID. but I can't afford that. So what do we do?...

NEW MADRID -- It's been more than 100 years since a major earthquake rattled the New Madrid Fault Line. Science experts say the area is "long overdue" for something similar to what happened in 1895. "We need to be prepared," said Steve Besemer, earthquake program manager for the State Emergency Management Association. And that's what the association aims to do this month, with several programs around the state, with an emphasis on home and business mitigation projects and activities...

BENTON - A traffic stop in Scott County Friday night led to the arrest of two persons on drug charges. A Cape Girardeau couple's vehicle was stopped on State Highway 77 near Benton Friday night, according to a news release from Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter. During the stop officers discovered a controlled substance in the vehicle...

SIKESTON -- When Brandon and Vicki Forester first arrived in Vanuatu almost three years ago, filming of CBS' "Survivor" was wrapping up. But the Sikeston couple had no interest in the reality television show. Their real-life drama was about to kick in as they began their nearly three-year mission trip to Big Bay, Vanuatu, which is located in a group of islands between Fiji and Australia in the South Pacific...

SIKESTON - SEMO Electric Corporation and the other crews from outside the area made great strides in restoring power to many of its members yesterday. Crews have been working day and night following Tuesday's ice storm that left nearly 8,000 residents without power. As the sun came up Saturday morning, only 175 residents were still without power...

Area veterans were honored for their service in a special ceremony held during the halftime break of the Sikeston Senior High School's varsity basketball game at the Field House Friday.

CHARLESTON -- Two Charleston residents are facing drug charges after an arrest earlier this month. On Feb. 2, Mecca Pettigrew, 25, and Jason D. Murray, 27, were arrested under the supervision of Mississippi County Sheriff Keith Moore and Chief Deputy Charlie Marcum following an investigation led by Deputy Marc Tragesser, according to a press release from the sheriff's department...

SIKESTON -- The Scott County Central Braves improved to 20 wins on the season Friday night, easily dispatching the South Pemiscot Bulldogs, 87-45. The rout started swiftly for the Braves, leaping out to a 32-9 advantage after one quarter of play. The first half saw four big leaps from two different Braves players. Three separate dunks by Drew Thomas and a two-handed slam by D.D. Gillespie added to the 57-18 lead the Braves took into halftime...

NEW MADRID -- Coming into Friday night's homecoming game against Portageville, the New Madrid Country Central Eagles seemed to have something to prove. "We really wanted to come out here and show everybody that last night wasn't really us," said NMCC head coach Travis Day, referring to their 70-56 loss at Sikeston. ...

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston Bulldogs came into Friday evening's match-up against the Kennett Indians with three things at stake. A win would give them a share of the SEMO Conference Championship, a 21-3 regular season record, their best in decades, and a solid victory heading into the district tournament...

SULLIVAN -- Willette Dowdy, 82, died Feb. 15, 2008, in Sullivan. Arrangements are incomplete at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter.

DEXTER -- Gladys Cox, 95, died Feb. 15, 2008, at the Missouri Southern Healthcare. Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements which are incomplete.

DEXTER -- Zachary Snyder, 23, died Feb. 14, 2008, in Cape Girardeau. Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter is in charge of arrangements which are incomplete.

LAFORGE -- Shirley Ann Ling, 70, died Feb. 15, 2008, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born Nov. 3, 1937, at Risco, she was the daughter of the late Clopha and Gaustie Carlisle Shaw. On April 22, 1956, at Hernando, Miss., she married Edwin Ling who preceded her in death in 2001...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Pearl E. Combs, 97, died at 2 a.m. Feb. 16, 2008, in the East Prairie Nursing Center. Born Dec. 11, 1910, in Marshall County, Ky., daughter of the late George and Laura Roach Dodge, she lived in Mississippi County most of her life. She was a member of the First Baptist Church in East Prairie...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Johnnie Lou Dean, 57, died Feb. 12, 2008, at her home. Born Feb. 12, 1951, at East Prairie, to the late John J. and Annie Arietta Hayden Grogan, she lived most of her life in Mississippi County. She was a registered nurse and a member of the First Church of God in East Prairie...

SIKESTON -- Fred Olen Gilliland, 78, died at 9:40 a.m. Feb. 15, 2008, at the Sikeston Convalescent Center. Born March 9, 1929, at Morley, to the late Oscar O. "Doc" and Willie L. Smith Gilliland, he served in the 38th Infantry Tank Company in the Korean War as a corporal in the U.S. ...

SIKESTON -- Donna Yant, 66, died at 6:25 a.m. Feb. 16, 2008, at the Sells Rest Home in Matthews. Visitation will be held after 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Nunnelee Funeral Chapel where services will be held at 1 p.m.

PUXICO -- Oscar R. Pate, 82, died Feb. 15, 2008, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born Oct. 8, 1925, in Kansas City, son of the late Oscar J. and Frances Riley Pate, he had lived for the last 17 years in Puxico where he was a member of the Puxico General Baptist Church. ...

CHARLESTON -- Emma Rebecca Burke Shew, 96, died at 12:15 p.m. Feb. 15, 2008, at her home in rural Charleston. Born July 20, 1911, in Mississippi County to the late Rufus Edgar and Ollie Zimmer Barnhill, she lived and worked her entire life in Mississippi County. ...

If this week has taught us anything it should be the obvious - we cannot control the weather. Now granted, this is simply stating the obvious but sometimes, it's the obvious that seems to elude us. February in our neck of the woods is supposed to be exactly what we're experiencing. Yet when Mother Nature strikes, for some reason we seem surprised and woefully unprepared. You'd think by now we would have learned a lesson...

Reflections Hair Care for Men, Women and Children held their grand opening ribbon cutting on Feb. 5. Cutting the ribbon, at the 539 Greer St. location, is owner/stylist Jamie Calbert. From left are: Missy Marshall, executive director of the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce; Jana Calbert, nail technician; Danielle Masters, stylist; Pat Sitz, stylist; Calbert and Stacey Comstock, stylist...

SIKESTON -- When women in the local community think of red this February, Contours Express wants them to think about more than red roses and Valentine's Day; instead, think about the heart. The local women's fitness franchise is celebrating American Heart Month this February by hosting events throughout the month to educate women on the importance of heart health and how heart disease can affect their lives...

Bad credit reports are not just poor payment habits. It was found that over 80 percent of credit reports across the United States contained serious inaccuracies, such as wrong social security numbers, collections or charge-offs that do not belong to consumers, and late payments that never occurred...

Jones & Company Full Service Salon, located at 616 Virginia, recently held a ribbon cutting. Pictured are owner Cindy Jones, cutting the ribbon, along with her husband, Shannon Jones, pictured on her left, and staff members Sabrina Bruch, Christy Small, Nyna Combs, Terry Eakins, June Eastwood, Juli Dees and Mandy Lands; as well as SACC members...

CHARLESTON -- An inmate at the Southeast Correctional Center has died. At 1:25 a.m. Friday, Charles Holmes, 49, an offender confined at the maximum- security state prison, was pronounced dead at the prison as a result of apparent natural causes. Holmes was received by the Missouri Department of Corrections on June 25, 1979, and was serving a 45-year sentence for rape, assault with intent to rape with malice and first degree robbery charges from Jackson County and a first-...

COLUMBIA -- Sikeston senior Gavilan Bland saw his chance at a state title dashed Friday afternoon after losing a 6-5 decision to Dan Schreimann of Warrensburg. While the loss ended Bland's run at a state title he can still finish as high as third place in the 171 pound division. In his first wrestleback match, Bland pinned Neal Finch of DeSoto in 4:37. Bland then defeated Jon Gurule of Farmington 4-2, who Bland beat last week in the district championship match...