Stories from Friday, January 27, 2012

Ruby Inez Curtis, daughter of the late Lee Walker and Laura Jones Walker, was born on April 1, 1914 in Ouachita, Ark., and died on Jan. 25, 2012, at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter at the age of 97. Mrs. Curtis was of the Assembly of God faith, a retired worker from Inland Shoe Company in Parma and also helped her husband on the farm...

ORAN, Mo. - Two Oran teens are in custody in connection to burglaries that happened overnight Tuesday. Jesse S. Brown, 18, and Michael W. Williams, 18, both of Oran, are both charged with two counts of burglary, two counts of stealing and a count of first-degree property damage. Their arrests stem from burglaries at an Oran business and a building behind a home Tuesday night, according to a news release from the Scott County Sheriff's Department...

SIKESTON, Mo. - A Sikeston, Mo., man is in jail after authorities received a tip that he was inappropriately touching and photographing a child. Ronnie G. Newell, 41, is charged with first-degree child molestation, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana, according to a news release from the Scott County Sheriff's Department...

Scott Kruse, at left, representing the Ben Kruse 18 Fore Life Foundation, accepts a check for $600 from Chamber of Commerce President Kenny Pope. Kruse's organization was selected as the 2011 Organization of the Year by the Chamber during festivities held on Jan. ...

DEXTER, Mo. -- For the third-straight year it will be Dexter vs. Bernie in the varsity championship game of the SCAA tournament. Top-seed Dexter used the 3-point shot and a big edge at the free throw line to beat No. 4 Bloomfield, 71-59, while No. 3 Bernie avenged a regular-season loss to No. 2 Advance with a 62-54 win in the varsity semifinals Thursday at the Bearcat Event Center...

New Media Coordinator Corey Noles will join with Joe Northern, who called games for the Bloomfield Wildcats last season, to call the shots for the annual Stoddard County tournament. Games can be viewed by going to dailystatesman.com/sports and clicking the link for the Dexter Bearcats Network. All games will be broadcast live and will also be available as an archive immediately following the game's conclusion...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - To honor veterans in a way that reflects their service to their country is Tammy Smith's purpose. That's how she begins each day's work at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield, Mo., whether her time is spent assisting grieving families, overseeing the maintenance budget or inspecting headstones...

Their numbers have dwindled over the years, but not the spirit of members of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Ken Sisler Missouri Chapter 47 in Dexter. Years ago, says the local unit's commander, Jerry Elder, there were active units as close as Sikeston and Poplar Bluff. But as membership fell off and expenses rose, those chapters folded and the Dexter chapter absorbed their memberships...