Stories from Friday, January 4, 2013

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- Saying the deal that increases taxes on the highest earners to avert the full force of the so-called "fiscal cliff" was "the best that we could have ever hoped for," Rep. Jo Ann Emerson defended her "yes" vote Wednesday, a day after the House passed the deal that also kept tax rates down for most earners...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has set January 18, 2013, as the next cut-off date for ranking applications for about $25.6 million available through its Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)...

They're an unlikely pair -- a 51-year-old and his 35-year-old nephew -- on a mission to inspire others to follow their dreams. Their dream, which they've been ardently pursuing since last May, is to reach the Grand Canyon. When they reached Dexter over the New Year's holiday, the duo had logged in nearly half of their proposed 3,000 miles -- all by bicycle...

Dexter showed no signs of a holiday hangover Thursday night at the Bearcat Event Center. Dexter's state-ranked Lady Bearcats returned to action for the first time since winning the Lady Royals Christmas Tournament and delivered a surprisingly easy 88-36 win over the Farmington Lady knights...

George Eldon Waggoner, a resident of Dexter, Mo., passed away on Jan. 3, 2013, at the Golden Living Center in Dexter at the age of 76 years. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time and will be announced by the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter...

Frankie Hunsperger, son of the late Thomas and Pearl Driver Hunsperger, was born in Koshkanong, Mo., on Aug. 21, 1928, and died at the Golden Living Center in Dexter on Jan. 2, 2013, at the age of 84. He had lived in Dexter for 40 years. He was of the Baptist faith...

George Eldon Waggoner, son of the late Cecil Elmer Waggoner and Edith Lenora Perry Waggoner, was born on Feb. 11, 1936, in rural Dexter and died Jan. 3, 2013, at Golden Living Center in Dexter, at the age of 76. Mr. Waggoner was a member of the Army Reserves and a lifetime resident of Dexter...