Stories from Thursday, November 27, 2014

Jordan Penn has been named head coach of the Kennett High School girls basketball team, according to Kennett School District Assistant Superintendent and Athletic Administrator Brandon Jones. The announcement comes nearly three days after the sudden resignation of former head coach Richard Driscoll, who took over the role in June 2014...

Host sites have been selected for Missouri high school district basketball tournaments for the 2014-15 season. Sikeston is slated to host Class 4, District 1, boys and girls tournaments which feature Cape Central, Dexter, Kennett, Notre Dame, Perryville and Sikeston...

Jake Sisson and his 01 Lobos Rush Premier teammates won the Division 1 Tennessee State Soccer Championship in Murfreesboro, TN the weekend of November 7-9. The team had two wins and one tie in the State Tournament with one of the wins being against the reigning state champions in the finals. The next step for the team includes Premier League in the Spring of 2015 along with the Regional Tournament in June 2015. Sisson plays center defender and is co-captain of the team...

"Our team will have good size and height this year," said Portageville High School (PHS) Bulldogs Boys' Basketball Head Coach, Jason Irby. No doubt be a team to watch in southeast Missouri basketball. "In looking at our district, we may have one of the toughest districts in the state. ...

ST. LOUIS -- A local Portageville farmer is to represent U.S. soybean farmers, and help steer projects to raise their profitability. Lewis Rone, a soybean farmer from Portageville, was recently selected as a director to the United Soybean Board (USB). Appointed by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Rone will represent his fellow soybean farmers by investing soy checkoff funds in marketing, promotion and research projects that aim to increase the profitability of all U.S. soybean farmers...

A Howardville woman is one of the individuals who recently received the first annual Governor's Natural Resources Award of Excellence. Vannessa Frazier was honored during the Governor's Conference on Natural Resources, held Nov. 12-13, in Springfield. The conference theme was "Exploring Our Legacy, Charting Our Future."...

The official Thanksgiving Day goes all the way back to 1789 when George Washington, the first President of the United States, proclaimed November 26th as a day of Thanksgiving. After that, Thanksgiving Day continued to be celebrated on different days in different states until finally in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a White House proclamation calling on "The whole American people to observe a special day of Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November of every year." But I've got great news for you, if you are a Christian, though every day is certainly not a holiday; every day is a "Thanksgiving Day.". ...

"Of course I don't!" we impulsively reply, "I'm thankful for all the blessings in my life." Let's be clear about the question. The line that separates the difference between being glad about what we have and being thankful is a blurry one these days. All of us would do well to be reminded that a truly grateful heart appreciates the giver more than the blessings given...

Johnson Oatman, Jr. was a failed singer. Try as he might, he could not reach the success of his baritone-voiced father who was in high demand by churches all over New England. Largely, he was a failed minister too. An ordained Methodist, he hoped to become the next Francis Asbury or Peter Cartwright - a circuit-riding evangelist - who could turn legions of souls from perdition. He never preached in more than a few local pulpits...