Stories from Tuesday, January 24, 2012

sports@standard-democrat.com DEXTER -- Taking on eighth-seeded Bell City in the opening round of the Stoddard County Activities Association Tournament on Monday, top-seeded Dexter took a 19-point halftime lead before cruising to a 90-47 win. "I expected us to have a better showing tonight," Bell City coach Nate Wills said. "But you have to give credit to Dexter. They shot the ball lights out tonight. They're very well coached and I thought that they looked pretty tough...

sports@standard-democrat.com CHARLESTON -- Cape Central's Apolonia Thomas personally sank the Charleston Lady Bluejays on Monday night at Charleston High School. With just 2.2 seconds left, Thomas, who ended up with eight points, hit a game-winning 3-pointer to defeat the Lady Bluejays 64-61...

sports@standard-democrat.com NEW MADRID -- Following a dreadful 61-50 loss to Class 1 Naylor on Saturday, the New Madrid County Central Lady Eagles bounced back in a big way on Monday taking care of the East Prairie Lady Eagles 74-42. "We definitely came out with more intensity and energy than we did Saturday," NMCC head coach David Crockett said. "That's the way we have to play. We can't decide which nights we're going to play hard. We have to come play hard every night from the start."...

SIKESTON - Beginning at 7 a.m. Wednesday, Col. George E. Day Boulevard will be closed to traffic due to a new sanitary sewer being installed. Work by R&K Curtis Inc., is expected to be completed by 5 p.m. Friday. All motorists and residents in the area are asked to use alternative routes to avoid the site and to use caution when in the construction area...

CARUTHERSVILLE - A reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for starting a fire at a family's residence. The Missouri State Fire Marshal's Office is offering a $5,000 reward for information about a residential fire reported at 3:13 a.m. Sunday in Caruthersville...

NEW MADRID -- Lemull D. "L.D." Roseman, 86, died Jan. 23, 2012, at his home. Born March 4, 1925, in Gideon, to the late Charles Andrew and Francis May Dillon Roseman, he was in the U.S. Army from April 19, 1944, to Nov. 28, 1945, receiving two Purple Hearts...

NEW MADRID -- Louis Franklin Jones, 87, of New Madrid, lost his battle with cancer on Jan. 22, 2012, at his home. He was born on July 27, 1924, to the late Louis Daniel and May Henry Jones of New Madrid. On Sept. 8, 1948, he was united in marriage to Dorothy Cobb who preceded him in meeting the Lord on March 12, 2003...

SIKESTON -- Edward L. Freeland, 57, died Jan. 19, 2012, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center. Born Nov. 13, 1954, in Charleston, to the late William Inman and Helen Pearl Freeland, he was employed by Triangle in Sikeston for 30 years and by the DeWitt Company in Sikeston. He was of the Baptist belief...

SIKESTON -- Lonnie Vester McWhirter, 66, died Jan. 23, 2012, at the St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born April 15, 1945, in Fayette, Ala., to the late Thomas Cleburn and Dessie McWhirter, he was employed by Bill Cole Farms. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and was of the Baptist belief...

ADVANCE -- Joseph R. Capps, 76, died Jan. 22, 2012, at the Golden Living Center in Dexter. Born Aug. 25, 1935, in Bakersfield, Calif., to the late James Robert and Zetta Long Capps, he had lived in Michigan before moving to Advance 42 years ago. He had worked at Arvin Automotive in Dexter and was a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses...

DESLOGE -- Irma Lee Inman, 67, formerly of Conran, died Jan. 22, 2012, at National Healthcare-Desloge. Born Dec. 31, 1944, in Conran, she was the daughter of Ruby Florence Curtis Inman of Desloge and the late LeVoyd R. Inman. In addition to her mother, survivors include: two sons-in-law, Ralph Winn of Ogden, Utah, and Adam Trevino of Summerset, Texas; one sister, Jonnie Sue Payne of Farmington; and one brother, Danny Inman of Hornbeck, Tenn...

DEXTER -- Joyce Maxine McQuary, 76, died Jan. 21, 2012, at the Golden Living Center in Bloomfield. Born June 30, 1935, in Dexter, to the late Moy W. and Hortense "Tensey" Farmer Davis, she was a member of the United Methodist Church in Dexter and had worked as a rural letter carrier...

LOLA, Ky. -- Paul Manker, 77, formerly of Mississippi County, Mo., and Sikeston, Mo., died Jan. 20, 2012, at Livingston County Hospital in Salem. Born Jan. 12, 1935, to the late James and Helen Manker, he was a member of St. William Catholic Church and Knights of Columbus...

CHARLESTON - The death of an inmate at the Southeast Missouri Correctional is due to natural causes. On Jan. 22 at 11:52 a.m. offender Robert Bransford was pronounced dead at the Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City of natural causes, according to a news release...

news@standard-democrat.com MINER -- Let the campaigns begin. With filing concluded, several communities have contested general municipal election and voters will have decisions to make when they head to the polls on April 3. In Miner, Mayor Frank Tatum faces opposition from Peggy Holman, a current member of the Board of Aldermen...

scottw@standard-democrat.com SIKESTON -- Mark your calendar and practice those scales: the Seventh Annual Telethon Idol Auditions will be here soon. "It's been a great event for us so we want to continue on with it," said Christy O'Neal, marketing and development at the Kenny Rogers Children's Center, of the KRCC Telethon Idol contest. "We've had a lot of great singers over the years."...