Stories from Thursday, August 2, 2012

Violet Virginia Ellsworth, daughter of the late John O. Wilson and Jesse Pearl Watkins Wilson, was born on May 12, 1920, at Bernie and died in the Garden View Care Center at O'Fallon, on July 31, 2012, at the age of 92. Mrs. Ellsworth was a member of The Pilgrim's Rest Church in Fairdealing, a former caterer with Serv O Nation in St. Louis and a former cook at Newberry's in Poplar Bluff...

Robert Tilson, son of the late Robert Tilson Sr. and Eula Butler Tilson, was born on Dec. 16, 1929 in Earle, Ark. and died at his residence in Parma, Mo. on July 30, 2012, at the age of 82. Mr. Tilson was a member of the Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Parma, a former truck driver with Ohio Pacific Transportation, and a resident of Parma...

Lee Arthur "Pops" Hester, Sr., son of the late Willie B. Hester and Grace Hester Barber, was born in Armorel, Ark., on Aug. 24,1933, and died at his home in Essex, Mo., on July 29, 2012, at the age of 78. He had lived his entire life in Southeast Missouri and had lived in Essex for over 45 years. He was honorably discharged after serving two years in the U.S. Army. He worked for the A. F. Evans family for over 35 years...

SIKESTON, Mo. - Route 25 in Cape and Stoddard County will be reduced as Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform shoulder repairs. The section of roadway to be reduced is located from Route C and Route P. Weather permitting, work will take place Thursday, Aug. 2 and Monday, Aug. 6 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m...

By MIKE McCOY Statesman Staff Writer Back-to-school shoppers will get a sales tax break from the state this weekend as part of Missouri's annual "Back-to-School" Sales Tax Holiday. This year the three-day holiday begins on Friday, Aug. 3, and runs through Sunday, Aug. ...

SEMO News Service CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - James Clay Waller has a new judge in his murder trial and his next court date has changed. Waller will now appear for his arraignment on first-degree murder and evidence charges on Aug. 13, instead of on Monday. A time for the arraignment was not yet set Wednesday, according to the Cape Girardeau Count Circuit Clerk's office...

NOREEN HYSLOP photo Work began Thursday morning on Stoddard Street in Dexter forcing the closing of downtown traffic on Stoddard from Catalpa St. to Hwy. 25. The work is the first in a two-part phase of repair downtown. The crown on Stoddard St. will be milled down and resurfaced in an effort to curb flooding problems that typically occur in the downtown area following a significant rainfall...

By NOREEN HYSLOP Managing Editor Monuments at both Dexter City Hall and at Keller Public Library memorialize the heroism of Dexter native, George Kenton Sisler, who died in the Vietnam conflict at the age of 29 and was later named as a recipient of the military's highest decoration -- the Medal of Honor. Now, a plan is in the works to further honor Sisler's heroics through the coveted International Sigma Pi Fraternity's Founders' Award...