Stories from Sunday, May 16, 2004

EAST PRAIRIE - Eddie V. Golightly, 60, died at 3:25 a.m. May 15, 2004, at his home near East Prairie. Arrangements are incomplete at Shelby Funeral Home in East Prairie.

Charleston - Daisy B. Sutherland, 84, died at 5:30 a.m. May 14, 2004, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born April 7, 1920, in Maben, Miss., daughter of the late Robert and Mabel Barfield, she had lived in Charleston most of her life and was of the Protestant belief. ...

DEXTER -- Jewel Talkington, 96, died May 13, 2004, at the Crowley Ridge Care Center in Dexter. Born Aug. 12, 1907, in Moreland, Ark., daughter of the late Benjamin Washington and Martha Ellen Duvall Turner, since 1946 she had been living in Dexter where she was a member of the Church of Christ...

SIKESTON - James "Mike" Cox, 58, died May 15, 2004, at his home. Born March 6, 1946, in Sikeston, son of the late James L. and Mary Olivia Tompkins Cox, he served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War and was a letter carrier for the U.S. Post Office before retiring. He was a member of the Murray Lane Baptist Church where he served as a deacon...

SCOTT CITY - Mary Ann Hale, 63, died May 14, 2004, at Scott City. Born June 6, 1940, in Illmo, daughter of James Franklin and Annie Inez Brock Owen, she was certified as a lumber inspector through the National Hardwood Lumber Association and worked for Havco Wood Products as a lumber grader...

On May 8, the American Legion Post 114 Ladies Auxiliary held their annual Red Cross blood drive and the turnout was ridiculous. After al the money the auxiliary donates to different groups in Sikeston and Scott County, one would think those groups would be happy to help such a cause. ...

EAST PRAIRIE - Tara Tatum and Teddy Hutchason are the parents of their second daughter, born at 12:50 p.m. April 17, 2004, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Saylor Leigh-Ivie Hutchason weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces and was 20-inches long. Tatum, daughter of Bud and Susan Thurman and John and Melisa Tatum, is employed by the Bertrand Nursing Center...

BENTON - When Russ and Kim Mothershead decided to open their newest venture, it was with the community in mind as well as business. "This is our home. We built this to invest in the community," Mothershead explained about opening Express Fuel Center at the Interstate 55 Benton Exit 80. "The location is good, there is a strong customer base in the region for services we already provide and we believe the community could benefit from what we had to offer."...

We celebrated the 21st Annual National Tourism Week at the Missouri Welcome Center in Marston and had a great time. Monday morning, we loaded up complementary giveaways from Sikeston and Miner businesses and headed south to the Missouri Welcome Center located on Interstate-55 North at mile marker 42. The Welcome Center's Supervisor Jan Farrenburg allocated a section at the counter for the Sikeston and Miner Convention and Visitors Bureau where we greeted visitors as they came in...

SIKESTON - The Full Size Fashions store, located in the Sikeston Factory Outlet Mall, is closing. J.T. Harris, president of Lots to Love Inc., announced May 12 his company would close all 23 Full Size Fashions stores located within 15 states within the next few weeks. The local store began its going-out-of-business sale on Friday...

JEFFERSON CITY - Dr. Christy Fowler of Sikeston was confirmed by the Missouri State Senate on April 14 as the newest member of the State Board of Optometry. Currently the co-owner of and a practicing optometrist at Regional Eye Care Center Inc. in Cape Girardeau, Fowler earned a bachelor's degree from Murray State University and a doctor of optometry degree from the University of Missouri-St. ...

SIKESTON - Kathy L. Duncan was included in the upcoming 2004 edition of the Heritage Registry of Who's Who. The Heritage Registry of Who's Who acknowledges individuals for their achievements in their specific profession. Duncan's inclusion is as a result of the success she has attained in the field of real estate...

SIKESTON -- As the peak travel days for summer are approaching, the Missouri Department of Transportation and law enforcement agencies continue working together to keep the highways safer and the number of fatalities down. To do that, MoDOT is making the public aware of its "Click It or Ticket" campaign starting Monday with enforcement efforts beginning May 24 and running through June 6...

SIKESTON - Sikeston High School news. One of the highlights of the school year, the annual Red Pepper banquet, is scheduled to be held Friday at the Dunn Hotel, preceding the Red Pepper dance. Red Pepper officers for the year 1944-45 will be announced. Guest speaker will be Betty Jayne Taylor, cayenne of 1940-41...

I would like to SpeakOut about Sikeston Public Schools. They waste too much money and in the Morehouse and Lee Hunter schools, the bathrooms stink because they never clean them. I went into the gym at Morehouse School one day when it was still very cold outside and the smell of urine was so bad that it almost knocked me down. They had both back doors open. They don't know how to turn the thermostat down...

SIKESTON - With the addition of the National World War II Memorial, the National Mall in Washington, D.C., has changed forever, but some changes are for the better. "It is amazing," said Elbridge Bartley of Sikeston, the first local World War II veteran to visit the Mall's latest addition. "That is one beautiful memorial - long, long overdue but it was worth waiting for, I guess."...

Members of the Sikeston Veterans Park committee and the Sikeston VFW Post David Bizzell, Neal Wagley, Jiggs Moore, Steve Taylor, Dennis Ziegenhorn and Frank Ferrell discuss how the Bell Aircraft HUL-1 Sioux helicopter will be displayed at the park. The Veterans' Park committee received a donation from the VFW Post to fund the display...

BENTON - The Class 2, District 2 Tournament will get underway tomorrow at Kelly High School at 10 a.m. the Charleston Bluejays find themselves in unfamiliar territory as the tournament favorites, garnering the top seed. They will play Crystal City at 10 a.m...

ADVANCE - Top-seeded Oran is the consensus pick to capture its third straight championship in the upcoming Class 1, District 2 baseball tournament, scheduled to open on Monday at Advance. "They're definitely the team to beat," said Advance coach Bob Moses. "They're well coached and they've been there before."...

If all goes according to plan, the city next month will begin the demolition of condemned houses in Sikeston that have been identified by the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority. And this week, the LCRA hopes to identify another 50 homes for the second wave of renewals here. Residents should begin to see immediate, visible progress in June and the demolition should continue monthly for about two years. In the end, we'll be much better off than we are today...