Stories from Sunday, September 21, 2008

HAZELWOOD -- Rick and Julie Harrington have announced the engagement of their daughter, Jessica Ann Harrington, to Matthew Ryan Cotner, son of Ronald and Karen Cotner of Cape Girardeau. A 2005 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University where she earned a bachelor's degree in business administration, the future bride is employed as the office manger for RV America LLC in Sikeston...

SIKESTON -- Mr. and Mrs. George D. Moorman celebrated their golden anniversary Sept. 6 with a surprise gathering of family and friends at First United Methodist Church in Sikeston. Moorman and the former Margaret Lucille Dixon were united in marriage Sept. 7, 1958, at the First United Methodist Church in Germantown, Tenn. The cake topper used at their wedding reception was also placed on top of the cake for their anniversary celebration...

JACKSON -- The University of Missouri Extension Small Business Development Center is offering a "Small Business Start Up" series in October at the local office in Jackson to help those interested in starting a business. There are four classes in the series covering topics related to new business start ups with each class starting at 6 p.m...

CAPE GIRARDEAU (SMNS) -- Small-business owners affected by the drought that occurred from April 1 to Dec. 31, 2007, have until Wednesday to file applications for federal economic inquiry disaster loans. Eligible businesses may qualify for the Small Business Administration loans of up to $1.5 million. Available at a 4 percent interest rate, these loans have terms up to 30 years...

SIKESTON -- Lee Bowman, a financial representative with Modern Woodmen of America, was representative of the month in the Missouri East Region for the month of August. Bowman joined Modern Woodmen's Rainwater Region, located in Farmington, in November 2003...

With the help of funding from the Missouri Department of Tourism, the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Sikeston-Miner recently contracted for a Conversion Study and Performance Analysis and Profile to be conducted. The figures were based upon interviews of those who requested information on the Sikeston-Miner area, and then subsequently visited us. ...

SIKESTON -- Melissa Seiler wants her studio to be a sort of home away from home for students. She envisions it to be a place they can be comfortable, learn something new, and be proud of themselves for their talents. "I want to the studio to be a place where kids don't have any worries. ...

Three cheers (or more) for the Sikeston City Council which this week decided to take decisive and immediate action to remove over 100 condemned structures that have been eyesores and health issues for way too long. And if the aggressive council action gets under way immediately, these problem properties could be history within six months or less...

Great voice, great son Having grown up in the Sikeston area and now living in Wisconsin, I am so proud of the people who helped Neal Boyd attain such great character. Not only does he have a wonderful God given voice, but a person who will honor their mother like that is a great character. Also it is so nice of the people of Sikeston to pool their resources so that his mother could attend the talent show. That shows the great heart of the south...

60 years ago Sept. 21, 1948 SIKESTON - Mr. and Mrs. B.B. Barrett are parents of a daughter born Friday morning at St. Mary's Hospital in Cairo, Ill. 40 years ago Sept. 21, 1968 DEXTER - Residents of the Dexter R-11 School District overwhelmingly approved a proposed $325,000 school bond issue on Tuesday, 490-11...

SIKESTON -- Lizzie M. Campbell, 92, died Sept. 20, 2008, at her home in Sikeston. Arrangements are incomplete at Ponder Funeral Home.

VANDUSER -- Rita Adams, 54, died Sept. 19, 2008, at her home. Born Oct. 31, 1954, in Sikeston, she was the daughter of the late Jerome and Inez Johnson. On June 5, 1992, at Moberly, she married Calvin Adams who survives of the home. Other survivors include two sons, Michael Long of Sikeston and Robert Long, who is serving in the U.S. ...

MCKENZIE, Tenn. -- Mildred Rachael Henry, 88, formerly of Sikeston, Mo., died Sept. 19, 2008 at McKenzie Regional Hospital. Born May 15, 1920, in Carroll County, Tenn., daughter of the late Earl and Blanche Bogle Newbill, she was a member of First Baptist Church in Sikeston and a retired cosmetologist...

ST. LOUIS -- Blanche Brock, 75, died Sept. 15, 2008, at the DePaul Hospital in St. Louis. Born Sept. 28, 1932, in Blodgett, she had lived in Essex and Lawrence, Kan., before moving to St. Louis in 2000. On July 30, 1949, at Parma, she married Eldgria Brock who preceded her in death on Jan. 5, 1987...

PORTAGEVILLE -- Glendle G. Beaird, 89, formerly of Parma, died Sept. 18, 2008, at the Portageville Nursing Center. Born June 1, 1919, at Parma, to the late John Henry and Emma Newton Beaird, he had lived in Parma where he was a member of the Church of Christ before moving to Portageville one year ago. He had worked at the Federal Mogul in Malden...

DEXTER -- Elmer Allen Swallows, 87, died Sept. 19, 2008, at the Missouri Southern Health Care in Dexter. Born April 1, 1921, in Stoddard County, to the late Charlie A. and Lula Ruth Swan Swallows, he had lived in the Dexter and Essex areas his entire life. He was a member of the Friendship Baptist Church in Dexter. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, serving during World War II...

ORAN -- The Oran Lady Eagles Softball team shut down Saxony Lutheran 5-0 Friday in Oran. Lady Eagles pitcher Claire Seyer was only one walk away from a perfect game, but still pitched the no-hitter to lead her team to the victory and a season record of 8-3...

CHARLESTON -- The running game of New Madrid County Central has been tough to stop pretty much all season long. Rotating between a combination of three running backs and a quarterback that all have the speed to break off a big gain at any time. They continued that trend on Friday night against the Charleston Bluejays...

JACKSON -- As the clock rolled down to 9-minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of Friday's game with the Jackson Indians, the Sikeston Bulldogs had four downs to try to pick up a first down and an opportunity to tie if not take the lead in the game. As all four downs dwindled away, so did the momentum of the game as Jackson took over on downs and eventually pushed their lead further out in front of the visiting Bulldogs before they eventually went on to win by a final score of 35-14...

SIKESTON --The 2008 inductees to the Sikeston R-6 Honor Wall/Hall of Fame are some of the most talented, intelligent and athletic individuals and teams the district has ever seen. Individuals scheduled to be inducted into the Honor Wall are Neal E. Boyd, Bill Priday, and Kendra Riddle, and those set for induction into the Hall of Fame are Steve Drake and Lontas McClinton...

SIKESTON -- County and community agencies often have tight budgets, which makes it near impossible to buy new equipment or the material for improvements. However, they get a helping hand when it comes to some special projects, through grants provided by USDA Rural Development. And on Thursday and Friday, the local agency traveled around the area to host media events in area towns for organizations that were recently awarded grant money for various projects and equipment...

SIKESTON -- Testing for uranium in Mississippi County has begun. John Gustavson, a geologist and chemical engineer and founder of Water Research and Development in Boulder, Colo., recently announced the start of his company's test program in the county...