Stories from Thursday, October 24, 2013

Almost half of Dexter High School's graduates in 2013 were eligible for the district's A+ Scholarship. Fifty-six of the 125 most recent graduates , representing 44.8 percent of the class, had met the criteria necessary to meet A+ standards. A report on the status of the A+ program in the local school district was presented at the October meeting of the Board of Education by high school counselors, Judy Patterson and Jennifer Miller...

Members of Dexter Schools' Board of Education met briefly Tuesday night to cover an unusually short agenda of items. In addition to hearing an overview of the district's A+ program (see accompanying article), the board agreed to allow the cost of removing and replacing existing asbestos floor tile from the vocational building as part of the project that will connect the vo-ag facility to the main building. ...

A Marble Hill, Mo. Man was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday for his role in the death of Amanda Allenbaugh in 2012. Allenbaugh was killed in a crash following a high-speed chase with police. At the time of the crash, Donald Smith, Jr. was being pursued by an Advance police officer for suspicious activity around a business in Advance...

The Daily Statesman salutes Women in Business this week. The week is observed nationally each October. At right are many local businesswomen who gathered in downtown Dexter on Monday to mark the occasion. A special section devoted to area women in the work force is included in today's print edition...

Students in Julie Garner's and Tania Reiker's Early Childhood classrooms at Southwest Elementary School got to meet a special someone just about their size this week when a mini-horse named Lucy paid a visit to their campus. Taking a special interest in Lucy, above, is Lexi Morris. Lucy is five months old and was presented to the students by owner, Alex Garner. Additional photos from the visit may be found in Photo Galleries at www.dailystatesman.com...

Jerry Bess, son of Jack and Pauline Nelson Bess, was born in Advance, Mo. on Aug. 8, 1943, and died at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis on Oct. 21, 2013, at the age of 70. He had lived in the Puxico area all of is life. He was a row crop farmer and had served in the Missouri National Guard...

Kenneth Edward Richter was born March 12, 1927, in Steelville, Mo., and died at the Christian Health and Rehab Center in Lebanon, Mo., Oct. 21, 2013, at the age of 86. Watkins and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of all arrangements.

David Michael "Dave" Russell of St. Charles, Mo., died on Oct. 15, 2013, at the age of 51. David was born in Quantico, VA on April 10, 1962. He was the youngest child of Thomas and Hilda Jackson Russell. He had recently retired from Pio's Restaurant in St. Charles where he worked for many years after serving in the US Army...