Stories from Sunday, May 2, 2004

VIENNA -- Lois Elnora Taylor, 87, died at 2:30 a.m. May 1, 2004, at the Maries Manor Nursing Home. Born Aug. 4, 1916, in Portageville, daughter of the late J.C. and Nola Johnson Jamerson, she had lived in Licking for several years and was of the Baptist belief...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Larry Riley Johnson, 59, died April 30, 2004, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born June 14, 1944, at Canalou, son of the late James Riley and Alice M. West Johnson, he worked at Fleming Co., formerly Malone and Hyde, in Sikeston for 30 years and then worked at Rubbermaid in Jackson for five years. He was a member of the Cape First Church...

DEXTER -- Erma Bockhold, 90, died April 30, 2004, at Cypress Point Healthcare in Dexter. Born June 20, 1913, in Ste. Genevieve, daughter of the late Joseph and Pauline Melcher Guethle, she was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Dexter, where she was also a member of the Ladies Sodality...

BELL CITY - W. Max Bollinger, 86, died April 29, 2004, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born Sept. 29, 1917, at Bell City, son of the late Walter and Zella Proffer Bollinger, he was a former mayor and alderman for Bell City and owned the Bell City Store for 58 years. A member of Bell City United Methodist Church and Bell City Lakeview Masonic Lodge, he maintained a perfect attendance record for his 54 years of membership in the Bell City Rotary Club...

ORAN -- Oran blasted Bloomfield 12-0 in a five-inning mercy rule win on Friday. Oran (12-2) rode a two-hitter by Paul Bucher, who walked three and struck out two, and offensive contributions up and down the lineup. Austin Dumey ignited Oran's four-run first inning with a two-run single, while Chase Seyer (3), Garrett Roslen (1), Brent Graviett (1), Dustin Eftink (1), Craig Friga (1) and Bucher (2) also drove home runs...

ORAN -- Oran baseball doesn't regress, it just reloads. Oran, a small town of about 1,300, has enjoyed a hugely successful run in the Missouri Class 1 high school baseball playoffs in recent years. The Eagles, currently ranked No. 4 in the state by the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association Poll, are seeking their third straight MSHSAA Final Four appearance and fifth in seven seasons...

SIKESTON - On April 6 the Scott County Central School District was anxious to hear that the people voted yes for the $1.9 million general obligation bond issue. "The board and district have known for a while the need of this expansion for the school, but we had to wait until the plan could financially succeed without raising the citizen's taxes," Scott Central's Superintendent JoAnne Northern said...

SIKESTON - Nicholas Ryan and Lindsey Marie Rhodes are the parents of their first child, a son, born at 9:06 a.m. April 3, 2004, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Nicholas Ryan Rhodes II weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces and was 19-inches long...

SIKESTON - Mr. and Mrs. H.L. Harty were notified Tuesday of the advancement in rank of their son, H.L. Harty Jr., from a senior grade lieutenant commander in the United States Navy Air Forces. He is on patrol duty as a pilot of PBMs. SIKESTON - William L. Pollack was honored Wednesday night at the Holiday Inn. He will be transferred in the highway department to Kansas City effective Monday...

Local rain cancelled all of games in the SEMO Conference Tournament Friday night. Weather permitting, Sikeston was to play their first round game with New Madrid County Central at 9 a.m. Saturday morning. Results will appear in Monday's edition of the Standard Democrat...

CHARLESTON - Marcus Pittman of GH Home Furnishings was recently honored for exceptional achievement at the four-day Whirlpool Regional Technology Training Institute. The Institute included training sessions on all Whirlpool and Whirlpool-made laundry products...

The Scott County Health Department held a grand opening ribbon cutting April 23 at its new location, 102 Groves Estates Court. Cutting the ribbon is Betty Wright, widow of Raymond Wright, who was the chairman of the board for the center. Present for the ceremony were board members Derek Wheeler, Dr. ...

I want to thank all the volunteers and businesses that helped make the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Banquet a success. It was a great evening for the Sikeston and Miner communities. The banquet committee has already started their plans for next year and we at the Chamber are looking forward to next year's celebration...

SIKESTON - Sixty-five years ago this month, when P.E. Brown opened the doors to Sikeston's very first JC Penney store, he was determined to follow the golden rule establish by company founder James Cash Penney. The company's goal then, and still today, is to "serve the public, as nearly as we can, to its complete satisfaction."...

With little fanfare, Gov. Bob Holden on Friday released the remaining $43 million to state agencies that he had withheld because of concerns over the state budget. In all, Holden withheld over $250 million out of fear the budget was unbalanced. Holden proposed increasing a series of taxes to help generate the additional revenue. But Friday - without any tax increases - Holden acknowledged that state revenue was much higher than his experts had predicted...

Whoever took the hats from the Eagles Club on April 24, please return them. They do not belong to the Eagles and we had promised to return them to their owners. What's up with the Standard Democrat sport section? The spring baseball and softball team previews show no schedules for boy's or girl's softball. ...

Lindsey Davis, daughter of Jim and Marsha Davis, is the Standard Democrat's Calendar Girl for May. A finalist in the 2003 Miss Sikeston Contest, Miss Davis plans to attend the St. Louis College of Pharmacy and major in pharmaceutical retail.