Stories from Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Dorothy Whitehead, daughter of the late James Allen Whitehead and Forest Margaret Grayum Whitehead, was born on May 18, 1927, in Bernie, Mo., and died in the Villas at DeSoto, Mo., on Dec. 24, 2011, at the age of 84. Mrs. Whitehead was a homemaker, a resident of Festus, Mo., and was a former resident of Bernie, Mo...

Ruby Dowdy, daughter of the late John Henry Moore and Mary Gaines Moore, was born on Aug. 12, 1916, in Pyletown and died in the Golden Living Center in Malden on Dec. 26, 2011, at the age of 95. Mrs. Dowdy was a member of the Pleasant Grove Community Church in Pyletown, a home-maker and a resident of rural Dexter...

Pat Cross, son of the late James Thomas and Viola Gann Cross, was born in Bernie, Mo., on Sept. 8, 1928, and died Dec., 25, 2011, at the age of 83. Pat lived most of his life in Bernie, but spent 20 years in Chicago, Ill., where he worked for Myers Material and was a member of the Inter-national Union of Operating Engineers. He also served in the U.S. Army during WWII. He was a member of the Christian Church of Bernie...

Bobby Lee Gordon, son of the late Lester Gordon and Irene Markland Gordon, was born on Dec., 16, 1932, in Dexter, Mo., and died Dec., 26, 2011, at the age of 79. Mr. Gordon was a former truck driver for Gibson Lime Co. in Dexter, a veteran of the United States Army and a resident of Dexter...

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports three people died during the Christmas holiday counting period from 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 23, to 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 26, 2011. No fatalities occurred in the Troop E area. Only one accident involving a Stoddard County resident occurred over the extended weekend, and that accident involved only minor injuries to an Advance man. ...

By MIKE MCCOY Statesman Staff Writer BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - The Stoddard County Commission discussed a drop in sales tax revenue for November at their regular meeting Tuesday. The commission met on Tuesday because county government was closed Monday for the Christmas holiday. ...

By MELISSA MILLER SEMO News Service The warm wood stove, the twinkling Christmas tree, the smell of home cooking coming from the kitchen: To Betty Larsen, a resident at Golden Living Center in Bloomfield, there's no place like home for the holidays...

By DONNA FARLEY SEMO News Service FISK, Mo. - There was no foul play involved in the drowning death of 58-year-old Fisk resident Larry Boyer, according to an investigation completed today by law enforcement. Boyer's body was recovered around 4 p.m. Monday from the St. Francis River near Fisk. He was last seen at 11 p.m. Christmas Day and au-thorities now believe the man's death was an accident...

Second in a four-part series highlighting the year 2011 April 4/1 - Dexter's boys tennis team improved to 3-0 on the season with a 9-0 win over Sikeston Thursday at home. 4/1 - Stoddard County ranked in the lowest tier of state health rankings coming in at 90th. The only nearby counties that were ranked better than Stoddard County were Cape Girardeau County at 21st and Scott County at 79th. Cape County was in the top tier in terms of health...