Stories from Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Behind Seth Ressel, Oran took down Sturgeon 5-1 to advance to Class 1 state championship game.

For the first time in school history, the Eagles will play in the MSHSAA Class 3 state tournament Thursday against Springfield Catholic.

news@standard-democrat.com SIKESTON -- The Big Idea? Some outside fun. Historic Downtown Sikeston has lined up a variety of area talent to kick off the next five weekends with free musical entertainment Friday evenings. There will be Music in the Park beginning this Friday and on each following Friday evening through the end of June, according to Lynn Lancaster, executive director of Historic Downtown Sikeston...

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today: 1. SYRIA OPPOSITION URGES EU TO SEND ARMS TO REBELS The Syrian National Coalition's call comes after Europe's decision to let the Syrian arms embargo expire...

NEW MADRID -- New Madrid County Central senior Tim Clayton never thought he'd have another chance at a state championship. Neither did senior Tripp Keene. They both played on the same little league team when they were 12 years old that made it to little league's version of a state tournament...

O'FALLON -- Ever since it was announced their head coach Mitch Wood was stepping down at the end of the season, the Oran Eagles have made it their mission to send him and their seniors out with the school's first ever state title. They'll get that chance today after putting together an impressive 5-1 win over Sturgeon Tuesday in the Class 1 semifinals at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon...

SIKESTON -- Lucy M. Hodges Ledbetter, 63, died May 27, 2013, at her home in Sikeston. For the complete article and more stories from the Standard Democrat, log on to the electronic edition.


SIKESTON -- Danny Gene Morgan, 63, formerly of Charleston, died May 27, 2013, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. For the complete article and more stories from the Standard Democrat, log on to the electronic edition.


SIKESTON-- Maxine Woods, 87, died on Sunday, May 26, 2013, at her home in Sikeston. For the complete article and more stories from the Standard Democrat, log on to the electronic edition.


SIKESTON -- Junior D. Lindsey, 85, formerly of Portageville, died May 28, 2013, at Heritage Gardens of Sikeston. For the complete article and more stories from the Standard Democrat, log on to the electronic edition.


WATERLOO, Ill. - Shawna Lane Godwin, daughter of Pam Gayle Kelley Woosley of Essex, Mo., and the late Walter Dale Lane, was born on March 31, 1967, in Sikeston, Mo, and passed away on May 26, 2013, at her residence in Waterloo at the age of 46 years...

CAPE GIRARDEAU - Thelma Eloise Roth, 90, died Dec. 30, 2012, in Universal City, Texas. For the complete article and more stories from the Standard Democrat, log on to the electronic edition.


TALLAPOOSA -- Mark Wendell Fortner, 40, died May 26, 2013, at Heber Spring, Ark. For the complete article and more stories from the Standard Democrat, log on to the electronic edition.


SIKESTON - Oscar L. Shannon Jr., 64, died May 27, 2013, in a boating accident in Charleston. For the complete article and more stories from the Standard Democrat, log on to the electronic edition.


DEXTER - Ruth Verna Patton, 93, died May 28, 2013, at her daughter's home in Dexter. For the complete article and more stories from the Standard Democrat, log on to the electronic edition.


SIKESTON -- When Leonardo da Vinci invented and built his robot in 1495, the thought of it doing surgeries probably never occurred to him. But it is estimated Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci Surgical System did 200,000 surgeries last year. "If you give this tool to a laparoscopic surgeon, it enables him or her to do the most amazing things," said Dr. Ly Phan, a general surgeon at Missouri Delta Medical Center. "Most of us only dreamed of doing these things 10 years ago."...

Dee Hunley gives a thumbs up to the 17 officers with the Sikeston and Charleston Departments of Public Safety along with the Missouri State Highway Patrol taking part in the Special Olympics of Missouri Torch Run on Tuesday morning. The officers work throughout the year raising money in support of the charity through a variety of projects including selling T-shirts and holding car washes...

SIKESTON -- Instructors at Sikeston Career and Technology Center have already begun brainstorming, researching and implementing the student use of iPads in their classrooms for the 2013-2014 school year. "Students today are all so techie," said Brent Taylor, construction technology instructor at SCTC. "They Tweet. They're on Facebook. That's their language. If we get this to a point that gets across to them, it will level every playing field. We have to bring some of the why to them."...

Recent dry days have enable farmers to return their fields. Two tractors work a field south of Matthews in preparation for planting. According to the USDA, while planting is behind normal overall, corn planting was 83 percent complete, soybean planting 30 percent complete and cotton planting 93 percent complete at the end of last week...

The super power of babies amaze me. A baby can appear and turn intelligent people into babbling fools. Einstein: "The speed of light in a vacuum is independent of the motion (enter baby) ohhh gagga goo goo!" I think we should use this super power to bring all enemies to their knees. At war with another country, bring babies to the front lines and watch soldiers wait patiently to hold the little ones. Being attacked by zombies, just hold a baby and watch the undead pinch the little guy's cheeks...

Have you ever heard of the Edna Valley of California? It was, for many years during the Spanish Mission era, the prime wine grape growing region of California. Prohibition and the fruit products that replaced them all but eliminated grape growing in the area. ...