Stories from Wednesday, July 6, 2011

SIKESTON -- Sikeston R-6 School District expects to operate from a nearly $31 million budget for the 2011-2012 school year. R-6 Director of Business Services Lori Boardman outlined the revenues and expenses that will leave the district with a spending deficit of about $195,000...

SIKESTON -- The House of Refuge is celebrating a decade of providing a safe haven from abusive homes. "We began providing residential services July 1, 2001," said Crystal Neufeld, executive director of the House of Refuge. It was from the community that the House of Refuge got its start...

SIKESTON -- It may not be the big birthday bash it was last year, but this year's Historic Downtown Sikeston Car Show and Ice Cream Social is fast approaching -- and still promises to be a good time. "Last year's event was pretty big, and we had a lot of extra stuff going on," said Brandon Kuehn, executive director of Historic Downtown Sikeston, which sponsors the event. "This year, we backed down to just an ice cream social and car show."...

It was 41 years ago today that I strolled into this newspaper office and began work as a cub reporter. I sat down at my manual typewriter and used a nearby paste pot to attach pieces of news copy together. Armed with a journalism degree, I toiled a 44-hour week for $95. It could be argued I was overpaid...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Madalynn "Manna" Wells, of Sikeston Gymnastics, took the Gold Medal at the Gymnastics National Championship Meet this past weekend on her floor exercise. Manna started out the competition at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on the balance beam and scored higher than she has all season long. Her previous best on balance beam was an 8.8, but at Nationals, Manna earned a 9.3...

CHAFFEE -- Lifted by Connor Scott's complete game shutout on the mound, the Chaffee Squids were able to hold on to a pair of early runs to beat the Jackson Senior babe Ruth team 2-0 on Tuesday in the first game of a doubleheader. "The bats have cooled off a little bit for us," Chaffee coach Aaron Horrell said. "We aren't scoring like we were early in the season, but sometimes when the pitching was as good as it was today two runs is enough...

CHARLESTON -- After a tough weekend in the Paragould, Ark., Tournament, the Charleston Fighting Squirrels Senior Babe Ruth team bounced back on Tuesday with an 8-5 victory over Jackson's Junior Legion at Hillhouse Park. The Squirrels (14-14) bolted out to an 8-0 lead in the first two innings, but failed to put the nail in the coffin as Jackson didn't go down without a fight...

CHARLESTON -- The 1st Annual Woodpecker Classic wood bat baseball tournament is scheduled to begin Thursday at Hillhouse Park in Charleston. The Charleston Woodpeckers, as well as their town counterpart the Charleston Squirrels, will both participate as will other local teams...

One of the grounds improvements being made in preparation for the 59th Annual Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo, which runs Aug. 10 through 13, is new chutes below the scoreboard in the arena. Here, Jaycees Blake Wethington, Jerome Henson and Daniel Beck work on the project. Tickets remain available for each night of the rodeo at www.sikestonrodeo.com...

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -- Orval E. "Monk" Harrison, son of the late Charles Wesley and Mary Agatha McFarland Harrison, was born May 1, 1914, and reared in Sikeston, Mo., and passed away at Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville on July 2 , 2011, at the age of 97 years, 2 months and 1 day...

MOREHOUSE -- Michael Everette Cain, 60, a resident of Morehouse, died Tuesday, July 5, 2011, at the St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...

SIKESTON -- Hazel M. Dismukes Evans, 90, died at 5:10 a.m. July 5, 2011, at her home. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition.

CHARLESTON -- Jeanette Ann Hines, 66, died July 1, 2011, at her home. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition.

MINER -- James Robert Harris, 86, died July 5, 2011, at the Jefferson Barracks Medical Center in St. Louis. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...

CHAFFEE -- Nancy Jane Webb, 69, formerly of Scott City, died July 4, 2011, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...

CHAFFEE -- Gene Crump, 83, died July 5, 2011, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition.

CHARLESTON -- Lillian Maxine Scott Horton, 68, died July 3, 2011, at the Charleston Manor Skilled Nursing Facility. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...

MOREHOUSE -- James "Randall" Laminack, 50, died at 8:45 p.m. July 3, 2011, at his home. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition.

SIKESTON -- Theda Hartzog, 84, died at 6:50 p.m. July 4, 2011, at the Sikeston Convalescent Center. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...

LILBOURN -- Loretta W. Thorn, 81, died July 4, 2011, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. For the complete obituary and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition...