Stories from Sunday, January 11, 2009

SIKESTON -- Mr. and Mrs. Steve Gillespie have announced the engagement of their daughter, Jenni Lynne Gillespie, to Austin Kyle Weeks, son of Mr. and Mrs. Scott Weeks of Hendersonville, Tenn. A 2004 graduate of Sikeston High School and a 2008 graduate of Missouri State University where she received a bachelor's degree in cell and molecular biology, the future bride is employed at Cox Hospital in Springfield and pursuing medical school...

SCOTT CITY -- Mr. and Mrs. Steven Glenn have announced the engagement of their daughter, Sarah Jane Glenn, to James Clayton Carbaugh, son of Mr. and Mrs. Steve Moore of Jackson and Ted Carbaugh of Cape Girardeau. A 1998 graduate of Scott City High School, the future bride earned a Bachelor of Science in 2002 from Southeast Missouri State University. ...

SIKESTON -- Mr. and Mrs. Michael Moyers have announced the engagement of their daughter, Meredyth Gail, to Cooper Franklin McKelvey, son of Mr. and Mrs. Allen McKelvey of Jackson, Tenn. The future bride is a senior at Union University, where she expects to graduate with a degree in marketing and public relations in May. McKelvey is also a senior at Union University, majoring in political science and business administration...

MATTHEWS -- J.R. and Ruth Holman recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at their home in Matthews. The couple were married Dec. 23, 1948, in Piggott, Ark. Those in attendance for the celebration were William and Ruth Holman and Tyler of Jackson; Beverly and Mike Murphy of Sikeston; Tim Holman of Miner; Aaron and Amy Murphy and daughters; (Shawn) Tonya Murphy and daughter; Dustin and Lori Holman and daughter; Daniel and Joshua Holman; Tracey and Rodger Burney and sons, all of Sikeston; Kevin and Mindy Holman and daughters of Bloomfield; Jason and Tammy Holman and son of Advance; Steve Holman and children of Benton; Stacey Holman and daughters of Cape Girardeau; Rita Vaughn of Canalou; and Doug and Karen Pullen of Diehlstadt.. ...

SIKESTON -- Ralph and Barbara Ayers celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Nov. 21, 2008, with their family who surprised them with a trip for all to Maui, Hawaii. The Ayers were married Nov. 29, 1958, at Little Vine Baptist Church. Pictured with the Ayers are their children and grandchildren: Allen and Julie Ayers with their son, Austin of O'Fallon, Ill., and daughter, Lindsay, a student at BYU in Utah; and son Ralph Ayers Jr. of Burbank, Calif...

BERTRAND -- Robert and Delina Crosier are the parents of their second child, second son, born at 8:26 a.m. Dec. 1, 2008, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Landon Tyler Crosier weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces and was 20 inches long. Maternal grandparents are James Still Jr. and Kelly Still...

60 years ago Jan. 11, 1949 SIKESTON - Sikeston residents were shaken at 9:44 p.m. last night by an earth tremor which was reported in four states. No damage of any consequences has been reported in the city but a panic was narrowly averted at the Malone Theater...

Trophy trashing I would like to comment on the tournament held in Poplar Bluff last week that the Bulldogs were in. I witnessed poor sportsmanship from a certain member of the team. After he accepted the trophy, he walked by and acted like he was throwing it in the trash. ...

I'm tired! I'm tired of reading bad news and I'm tired of funerals. I'm tired of hearing how my success - limited though it may be - should be shared with others. I'm tired of reading where the outgoing Blunt administration has spent $1.5 million trying to avoid releasing emails from the Governor's office...

LEOPOLD -- Leopold stated their case. Coming into Friday nights game against the Leopold Wildcats, the Risco Tigers recently had just been ranked No. 8 in Class 1 in this season's first Missouri state basketball poll. This was the first time in school history that a Risco team had ever been ranked...

BENTON -- The defensive pressure of the New Madrid County Central Eagles proved to be too much for the Kelly Hawks to handle as the Eagles downed the Hawks 63-30 Friday night in Benton. The game began as a hard-fought, defensive struggle. The Eagles (8-4) held a slim one-point advantage of 11-10 at the 6:31 mark in the second quarter before they began to pull away...

CHARLESTON -- The Charleston Bluejays gave the Sikeston Bulldogs all that they could handle on Friday evening but in the end the Bulldogs pulled out of town with a 70-61 victory. The crowd, at full capacity before the first quarter was over in the junior varsity contest, saw an all-out battle for 32 minutes between the two rival schools...

SIKESTON -- Tuesday marks National Amber Alert Awareness Day, and law enforcement and highway officials say some of the best help they receive is from the public. "The public is a vital tool for effective law enforcement as far as when a crime has been committed," said Lt. Jim McNiell, commander of Missouri State Highway Patrol's Troop E Service Center in Sikeston...

The walls for the new Orgill "Mid-America SuperCenter" began rising last week at the Sikeston Business, Education and Technology Park. The 26- by 40-foot slabs which are used to make the walls for the 795,000-square-foot distribution center, each weigh 90,000 pounds. ...

WASHINGTON -- A $52,500 Community Facility Grant has been made available by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program for upgrades to the Dorena-Hickman Ferry, according to a Friday new release from U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) and U.S. Sen. Kit Bond...

SIKESTON -- The Dorena-Hickman Ferry will be back in operation this spring. "With the budget now set up for the Tennessee and Kentucky departments of transportation, it's determined that the ferry will commence operation March 1 on a 12-hour, seven-day-a-week schedule," said Swayne Byrd, chairman of the Mississippi County Port Authority Board. ...

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston Housing Authority is once again extending a helping hand to the Land Clearance Redevelopment Authority. The Housing Authority board presented a donation of almost $100,000 to the LCRA on Thursday. "It's right at $98,000," said Bill Mitchell, chairman of the Sikeston Housing Authority's board. "This is money that we over the years have been able to accumulate due to the sound financial management that the Housing Authority has been operated under."...