Stories from Wednesday, March 26, 2014

DEXTER, Mo. - Dexter baseball coach Brian Becker didn't hesitate to give No. 2 hitter Austin Aldridge the bunt sign a third time after he obtained two strikes attempting to bunt with runners at first and second and nobody out. "We were in a situation there where we needed to get a bunt down," Becker said. "If you get yourself in a hole on the first two pitches so be it, you are still going to have to get the job done."...

Andrew Michael Albritton, son of Michael and Elizabeth Carroll Albritton of O'Fallon, Mo., was born on Oct. 27, 2009, in St. Louis, Mo., and died on March 24, 2014, at the Children's Hospital in St. Louis at the age of four. Drew attended pre-school at Zion Harvester Lutheran Church in St. ...

Mark E. Hatfield, son of Willa Neal Hatfield Gardner and the late Cleo Edward Hatfield, was born in Hammond, Ind., on Sept. 15, 1952, and died at SoutheastHEALTH of Stoddard County in Dexter, on March 24, 2014, at the age of 61. Mark had been raised in Chattanooga, Tenn., enlisted in the U. ...

It's time for the Stoddard County ARC's annual Membership Drive, and serving as honorary chair for 2014 is Debbie McKay, a retired Dexter Public Schools teacher who serves currently as a classroom teacher at State School No. 27. "I am proud to be part of such a worthwhile organization," said McKay after signing the agreement with the ARC on Tuesday, March 25. "I am asking for help from within the Stoddard County community to make this year's membership drive a success."...

Retired school employees from across Stoddard County gathered Monday for their regular meeting at Hickory Log and in the process brought paper products to be donated to the Children's Home. Among the attendees, representing different areas of the county, are, left to right, Marge Elam (Richland), Debbie Bollinger and Nancy Lanpher (Advance), Phil Dawson (Bernie), and Marty Thompson (Dexter). The donation is one of several made annually through the PSREA group of retired school employees...

CORNING, Ark. -- Poultry supplier Peco Foods Inc. announced plans earlier this month for a new plant, hatchery and feed mill in northeast Arkansas, a $165 million operation expected to create 1,000 jobs in two rural counties. Groundbreaking for the feed mill site in Corning is set for April, while initial work on the hatchery and processing plant site near Pocahontas is set for July. ...

BONNE TERRE, Mo. (AP) -- A man convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing a 17-year-old girl in suburban St. Louis more than two decades ago was executed Wednesday in Missouri, marking the state's fifth execution in as many months. Jeffrey Ferguson abducted Kelli Hall as she finished her shift at a gas station in St. Charles on Feb. 9, 1989. Her naked, frozen body was found 13 days later on a St. Louis County farm, and investigators determined she had been raped and strangled...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Todd Foltz once had a job with health insurance. He lost that as his multiple sclerosis continued to worsen. With medicine costs of around $5,000 a month, Foltz told lawmakers Tuesday that he desperately needs health insurance. Yet he said he earns too much to qualify for Missouri's Medicaid program and too little to get subsidized insurance through a new federally run marketplace...

With election filing now closed for the Aug. 5, 2014 primary election, local and state elections are now beginning to take shape. In some cases, those elections are all but over due to no competition filing for several seats. The race for 151st District State Representative may be the most hotly contested of them all...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Money for a possible state takeover of a southeastern Missouri park remains in next year's proposed state operating budget, but funding for expanding the Medicaid health care program for the poor was left out. Missouri House members gave initial approval Tuesday to a roughly $26 billion state operating budget that will take effect July 1. ...

To become four-day morning edition

Kennedy Essner indicates that she wants no part of touching a bear's skull during a special Story Hour Tuesday morning at Keller Public Library. On hand was Stoddard County Conservation Agent Mark Reed who provides programs at the library at least twice annually. Reed exhibits hides from animals populating Missouri and affords children an opportunity for some hands-on experiences with Mother Nature...

The third Annual Dexter Parents as Teachers Strollerthon, 5K and KidFest takes place this Saturday, March 29 at Southwest Elementary School to benefit the local PAT program. Registration begins at 8 a.m. with the 5K set to begin at 8:30 a.m. The KidFest will open at 9 a.m. and the Strollerthon will begin at 10 a.m...