Stories from Saturday, January 14, 2012

sports@standard-democrat.com CHARLESTON -- The Scott County Central Braves knew just what they had to do in order to give themselves a chance at toppling the mighty Charleston Bluejays. They looked up to the challenge of doing just that -- for a half...

SIKESTON -- The Standard Democrat will not publish a paper Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Day and the offices will be closed. Regular publication will resume Tuesday with offices opening at 7:30 a.m.

sports@standard-democrat.com BENTON -- Scheduled to meet in the opening round of the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament next Monday, Chaffee and Kelly got an early look at each other when two teams squared off on Friday night. Behind 27 points from Alex Crowe the Red Devils were able to build a 24-point halftime lead against the Hawks before rolling to a 83-40 win...

sports@standard-democrat.com NEW MADRID -- The New Madrid County Central Eagles, a team that is searching for consistency, dropped a home game on Friday against SEMO Conference foe Cape Central, 59-47. Cape Central has had its troubles at NMCC's home gymnasium in recent years, but the Tigers' tall front-court tandem of 6-foot-6 T.J. Tisdell and 6-5 sophomore Jamal Cox proved to be too tough to stop for the Eagles...

sports@standard-democrat.com RISCO -- The Risco Tigers remained undefeated on the season, defeating Campbell 82-43 on Friday night. Dressing only five varsity players due to injury and a suspension, Risco jumped out to a 20-12 lead after one quarter and led 47-19 at the half...

SIKESTON - A tour of Sikeston's Tetra Pak plant was an opportunity for Gov. Jay Nixon to see the impact of one of his Missouri Works strategies. Tetra Pak, which creates food packaging cartons, received $30,000 in assistance through the Missouri Customized Training Program for software training and advanced training for custom equipment used in its manufacturing process...

leonnah@standard-democrat.com SIKESTON -- In a week's time, a Sikeston songwriter and Wyatt gospel music singer have created a Christian country song that's being played all over the U.S. and Canadian airwaves. Written by Sandy Bloemer of Sikeston and sung by Mitch Pullen of Wyatt, "Daddy Was a Jesus Man," hit the No. ...

scottw@standard-democrat.com SIKESTON -- Concealed carry permits locally are up compared to last year reflecting somewhat a national trend. In 2011, a record 16.4 million background checks were performed through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, up from 14.4 million in 2010, according to an Associated Press report...