Stories from Sunday, September 22, 2002

FARMINGTON -- New Madrid County Central got a long touchdown reception with just over two minutes left in the game, coming from behind to beat Farmington 24-21 on Friday night. Both teams faced sloppy field conditions as rain pounded the field at Haile Memorial Stadium for the past two days. ...

CHAFFEE -- The Red Devils, who have relied heavily on the pass this season, were held to 63 passing yards and fell to 0-3 with a 23-0 shutout loss on Friday night. "They bottled our passing attack up," said Chaffee coach Allan Horrell, who said the team was also hurt by too many dropped passes on a wet field. ...

SIKESTON - Clark Walter Wallace, 61, died Sept. 20, 2002, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. Born Feb. 15, 1941, in Shannon County, son of the late Walter Lee and Gertrude Clark Wallace, he was a member of Local 27 Boilermakers of St. Louis and was of the Baptist belief...

COLUMBIA - Stephen Skalsky, 46, formerly of Sikeston, died Sept. 20, 2002, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, following an extended illness. Born Feb. 12, 1956, in Sikeston, he is the son of Orville Skalsky of Sikeston and the late Norma Jean Parker Skalsky. ...

CHAFFEE - Charlie Lee Prater, 82, died at 11:10 a.m. Sept. 20, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born April 29, 1920, at Nashville, Tenn., son of the late Will and Lena M. Brewington Prater, he was a retired machine repairman for Lone Star in Nashville. He was a U.S. Army veteran, having served during World War II...

SIKESTON - Ira Merideth died at 7:50 p.m. Sept. 20, 2002, at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Visitation is from 5-8 p.m. Monday at Ponder Funeral Home where services are scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday.

SIKESTON - Jason and Shannon Keller are the parents of their first child, a daughter, born at 9:50 a.m. Aug. 23, 2002, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. Samantha Anne Keller weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces and was 19 1/2-inches long. Mrs. Keller, daughter of Penny and Craig Hahs and Dianne Dickerson, is a teacher...

SIKESTON - After starting the season 0-2, the Dexter Bearcats football team knew it was only a matter of time before they put it together. Their timing couldn't have been worse for Sikeston as the Bearcats shocked the Class 4, No. 10-ranked Bulldogs 29-3 on a rain-soaked Public Schools Stadium...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Scott City posted its first win of the season Friday night, shutting out East Prairie 14-0. The Rams won playing power football, chipping the ball down the field with their foot-to-foot, shoulder-to-shoulder offense. With the blue and gold sideline chanting "steam roll," Scott City killed East Prairie's defense and the game clock three and four yards at a time...

SIKESTON -- Farmers and motorists are reminded to take extra safety precautions this fall as harvest season is in full swing. "There's no doubt that traveling in tractors and with equipment -- especially in the fall -- creates a dangerous situation," said Evan Ayers, agricultural engineering specialist for the Stoddard County Extension Office...

Pilot Tim Fulton, a contractor working for the Southeastern Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation, treats an infested field with the chemical malathion. The foundation is part of the nationwide Boll Weevil Eradication Program which is in its second year of a seven-year project. Contractors for the foundation will be treating cotton fields in Southeast Missouri for the next two weeks...

BENTON -- Citizens with information about a crime can now go online to alert law enforcement officers. According to Scott County Sheriff Bill Ferrell, a Crime Tip link was added to the Sheriff's Office web page to enable citizens to leave information for investigators. Ferrell said the crime tip form has optional fields for persons wishing to identify themselves but, these fields can be left blank if the person leaving the information wishes to remain anonymous...

SIKESTON - It's amazing what a difference a few empty cans can make. A little over 2 1/2 years ago Della Hubbard asked residents to drop off their empty aluminum cans as a communitywide project to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis...

In some ways, public education in this nation is in trouble. There's a growing indication that public education is being strongly challenged by private and parochial schools to capture students and guide their educational needs. This growing gap between these two approaches to education will become a battleground in the years ahead. I have said that countless times in the past...

SIKESTON - Twin sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. George C. Alsup of Route 3 at Sikeston General Hospital Wednesday, the second multiple birth to occur at the facility this week. --- SIKESTON - Miss Mary Em Donnell of Sikeston is a student at William Woods College in Fulton, where she has been named vice president of the senior class...

If I were Saddam Hussein, I would be angry with the United States too. Sanctions have been on his people for 12 years, including medicines. The real threat is the Muslim army which is in every country in the Mid-East, so if we attack any Muslim country, we've got them all to fight, plus probably a loss of gasoline to this country. Do you want to park your car and walk?...