Stories from Friday, November 8, 2013

The Dexter High School held its annual Fall Sports Recognition Program in the high school cafeteria Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Senior football player Holden Bruce received the Charles Bland Award. The award is presented yearly to the most well-rounded football player...

JEFFERSON CITY --The Missouri Office of Administration is now accepting management contract bids for the Dexter License Office. Interested individuals and groups must submit their bids to operate the Dexter License Office by Nov. 27. Prospective bidders may tour the Dexter office from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14 to gain perspective on how a license office is operated...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A Veterans Day observance will be held at the Misssouri State Veterans Cemetery at Bloomfield beginning at 1 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 11. The featured speaker will be Blair Moran, a liife-long resident of Southeast Missouri and a Vietnam veteran. The Bloomfield High School band will be participating, along with members of the Stoddard County Veterans Honor Guard...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A former Bloomfield resident and military veteran was inducted into the R.O.T.C. Hall of Fame last weekend at the University of Missouri. Col. Larry W. Matthews (Ret.), a highly decorated officer in the US Army, was inducted during halftime festivities of the Missouri/Tennessee game. Matthews and his wife, Nancy reside in Fairfax County, Virginia where he is employed as a scheduling optimizer with ExxonMobil Corporation...

"The biggest dilemma many of us have at mealtimes is trying to figure out which restaurant to go to or which cans to open to help prepare for our next meal," says Stoddard County Gospel Mission director, Kim Slavings. But there are some residents in this community who don't have enough food to eat...

DEXTER, Mo. - The Dexter seventh and eighth grade boys basketball programs improved to 5-0 in SCAA regular season play Thursday night with double-digit home victories against Bloomfield. The Dexter seventh grade outscored Bloomfield 28-2 in the first quarter on its way to a 47-14 victory...

Henry Kestner of Dudley died Nov. 8, 2013, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center at the age of 89. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time and will be announced by Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home.

Ramona B. Slover Ratley, 88, of Dexter, died Nov. 6, 2013. She was the daughter of Rayford C. Slover and Beulah Masters Slover. Ramona was a member of First Baptist Church in Dexter and a former member of Farmington First Baptist Church. She retired from Trimfoot Shoe Company of Farmington...

Norma Jean Burns, daughter of the late Russell Simpson and Cloia Harvey Simpson, was born on July 21, 1934, in Lake City, Ark., and died on Nov. 6, 2013, at the Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo., at the age of 79. Mrs. Burns was a member of the Methodist Church in Essex, a homemaker and a resident of Essex...

Henry P. Kestner, son of the late Joseph Kestner and Birdie Scates Kestner, was born on March 3, 1924, in Dudley, Mo., and died on Nov.. 8, 2013, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Mo., at the age of 89. Mr. Kestner had worked as a highway concrete finisher for Fred Weber Construction Company of St. Louis. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving in World War II and the Korean War and he a resident of Dudley...

The Liberty Hill 5K Fun Run is slated to take place at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Dexter's West City Park. The Fun Run has become an annual event for Liberty Hill Church in Aid, with proceeds going to the Stoddard County Relay for Life. Last year the group raised over $25,000 for the charity...

By SHELBY GATHINGS Dexter High School Dexter High School has always been recognized for its sports activities. Well, this year the DHS volleyball team is losing two great seniors, Alyssa Spear and Ashley Brown. The last game was very bittersweet for these girls -- they played their hearts out and gave it their all...