Stories from Thursday, October 3, 2013

BERNIE, Mo. - Mother Nature finished first at the September Showdown baseball tournament for a second straight day Thursday. Heavy rain halted play before the seventh-place game between sixth-seeded Twin Rivers and eighth-seeded Southland was completed...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- The Bloomfield Police Department has purchased body cameras for its officers to use while on patrol. The cameras attach to the officer's shirt and, when activated, can record any incident. Police Chief Tim Zych said that about a year ago the department invested in some cheaper cameras to test out such a program. While the concept was great, the cheaper cameras were not durable enough to withstand daily use...

The federal government shut down that began Oct. 1 is having an impact in Stoddard and Wayne Counties with the shut down of the Mingo Wildlife Refuge and the Corps of Engineers recreation areas at Wappapello Lake. Workers in the USDA offices north of Dexter are on furlough. USDA's Rural Development said it will cease processing loans and grants, and the Federal Housing Administration will stop processing some loans...

Dexter Senior High School will celebrate Homecoming Friday night when the Bearcats take on New Madrid County Central. The community is holding a Tailgate Party prior to kickoff at the Bearcat Event Center, and the coronation ceremony will take place at 6:30 p.m. ...

A student's suggestion at Dexter High School recently turned into a sizeable shoe drive for another country. DHS math teacher and Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) co-sponsor Kurt Lovelady was approached recently by Kendra Stevenson who serves as captain of the organization...

Windy, drizzly, September weekends are inevitable, but for us weekend warriors, they're still a big inconvenience. Fortunately, Saturday morning gave us a window of opportunity before the gloom set in, and myself and a lot of other outdoorsmen took advantage of it...

Bernie and Bloomfield are among the teams set to compete in the 20-team varsity volleyball tournament at Perryville Saturday. Bernie will compete in a five-team pool at Perryville High School beginning Saturday morning. Bernie will take on Sikeston Saturday at 9:15 a.m., Eminence at 11:30 a.m., Jackson at 1 p.m. and Perryville at 2:30 p.m...

Darrell Lynn Lillard, son of Gaylon Lillard and Brenda Leathers Lillard of Dexter, was born on Dec. 22, 1965, and died on Sept. 30, 2013, at Medical University Hospital in Charleston, SC at the age of 47. Mr. Lillard was a member of the Faith Assembly of God Church in Summerville, SC and was a resident of Summmerville. He was a former resident of Dexter. He was self-employed in the construction trade and was a veteran of the United States Navy...

Linda "Geraldine" Wallace, 66, of Advance, died Oct. 1, 2013, at her home. She was born Aug. 3, 1947, at White Oak, Mo., the daughter of Wilburn Thomas and Audie Key McWhirter. Geraldine had been a seamstress at Thorngate's. She was a member of Varney Missionary Baptist Church where she was baptized as a child...

A Sunday afternoon drive through the country will soon convince the traveler that our Southeast Missouri barns, once the pride of every farm, are disappearing at a rather alarming rate. Despite the nostalgia associated with these American icons, barns are the victims of that notorious enemy called "demolition by neglect." Once built of sturdy cypress lumber, these long-standing symbols of our country heritage are being replaced by more economical metal sheds...