Stories from Thursday, March 14, 2013

Friday, March 22, 2013, Bell City United Methodist Church. Please call 733-4444 Ext.1 to schedule your appointment. You must bring these items to the screening: Birth Certificate, Social Security Card and Immunization Record. Your child must be 5 yrs. old before August 1st, 2013...

WAPPAPELLO, Mo. -- The SEMO Regional Water Safety Council will resume meeting on a monthly basis beginning Tuesday, March 19, 2013, at the Bill Emerson Memorial Visitor Center located at Wappapello Lake. These monthly meetings are held every third Tuesday, beginning at 10 a.m., from March through October...

Jerry Gossett, age 77, of Dexter died on March 14, 2013, at the South-eastHealth Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by the Riney-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter.

James "Jimmy" Lindsey of Morehouse, Mo., died March 12, 2013, at the St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter, Mo.

Bearcat Paws were in abundance Wednesday as Southwest Elementary students helped to give the Lady Cats a royal sendoff on their journey to the Final Four in Columbia. Kindergarten teacher Amy Pixley is shown with Kaitlyn Stidhom and Ben  Christian as they wish the team well...

The Regional Health Care Foundation in Dexter hosted Business After Hours Tuesday. Foundation Director Lisa Thrower, at right, points to a picture of members of the first auxiliary at the hospital. Several pictures of board members, staff and the groundbreaking for the hospital which was built in the late 1960s were on display for the public. The event was catered by Patty Shell and drew a good crowd...

A rugged regular-season slate of games will hopefully have the Dexter Bearcats primed and ready for the season-ending district tournament. Dexter coach Brian Becker says the 2013 Bearcats schedule if the toughest "we've ever hand in my 23 years at Dexter. In addition to our rugged SEMO Conference schedule, we play state-ranked teams such as Valle, Oran, Cooter, Twin Rivers and Scott City."...

The 'luck of the draw' was anything but lucky for the Dexter Lady Bearcats. Dexter's semifinal opponent in the Show Me Show Down in Columbia will be Incarnate Word Academy, a team that many have already crowned as the Class 4 champions. The Lady Bearcats (26-3) hope to prove them wrong when they tip it off with the Red Knights (29-0) at 6:50 tonight at the Mizzou Arena on the University of Missouri campus...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missouri's Republican-led Legislature dealt a triple defeat Wednesday to a Medicaid expansion plan as Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon continued to travel the state trying to rally support for an enlarged health-care program for lower-income adults...

Prior to activities getting underway Monday night at the Annual Friends of the Library Dinner and Fashion Show, Keller Public Library Director Pam Trammel took a moment to recognize the contributions of Annis Fortner, a key player in the Friends of the Library for many years who died following a brief illness in August 2012. Fortner was instrumental in annually organizing the fashion show, which serves as the primary fundraiser for literacy purchases and summer reading programs at the library...

The city opened bids on an approximate $475,000 improvement project at the Dexter Municipal Airport recently and is waiting on approval from the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to get the improvements underway. The project is being funded through the State Aviation Trust Fund, which requires the city to pay five percent of the project cost. The Aviation Trust Fund receives money from a use tax on aviation fuel...

NOREEN HYSLOP photo - Southwest students are shown with their Good Luck Lady Bearcats Basketball Team banner made for the team's sendoff Wednesday morning. The chartered bus carrying the team on their journey to the Final Four in Columbia, Mo. made its way through all school campuses before taking to the highway. The girls will face Incarnate Word Academy at 6:50 Thursday night...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri officials are hunting for the best pictures and videos depicting life in rural communities. The state Agriculture Department's fourth annual Focus on Missouri Agriculture contest runs through July 1. It asks amateurs photographers of all ages to share their favorite moments...