Stories from Thursday, November 13, 2014

Donna West has worked at Weber's Ben Franklin in downtown Dexter for 52 years, and among the things she has seen, there has remained at least one constant: Moonlight Madness. The annual event serves as a way to promote local businesses; but, according to West, also seems to help get people in the mood for the holiday season...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- The Stoddard County Commission approved a list of repairs to the Justice Center and also some remodeling to the building after going over a checklist with Architect Dale Rogers. The commission added repairs to the roof to the specifications which will go out for bids in December. The commission met with Rogers at their regular meeting Monday...

Members of the Richland R-1 School Theatre Group perform a scene from The Pony Expresso while practicing for their Friday, Nov. 21, performance at the school. The show will include a "down home" dinner and is scheduled to begin at 6 pm. Tickets, which are $15 a piece, are on sale through this Friday by calling Judy Ackman at 624-1389. ...

The Brothers Walker of Bernie are a pair who believe in giving back, and they are proving that with a series of concerts at local high schools including Bernie, Bloomfield and Advance during the holiday season. Appropriately, they call it the Give Back Tour...

Host sites have been selected for Missouri high school district basketball tournaments for the 2014-15 season. Sikeston is slated to host Class 4, District 1, boys and girls tournaments which feature Cape Central, Dexter, Kennett, Notre Dame, Perryville and Sikeston...

Editor's note: Following is the first in a series of articles by Kristin DeJournett-Simon focusing on women in the local Mennonite community. Lois Troyer was born in Virginia Beach and raised in a Mennonite family with 10 other siblings. "The Mennonite life is all I know," Lois says. "I gave my heart to the Lord at a young age and became a member of the church at age 14."...

For a little more than an hour on Wednesday, things were tense in Dexter as multiple law enforcement agencies urgently hunted for a person of interest who had allegedly made a threat against one of Dexter's schools. According to Bloomfield Police Chief, Tim Zych, a phone call was placed to the Stoddard County Juvenile Office in Bloomfield, concerning an unspecified threat that had been made against the Dexter Central School Campus...

I know my newfound love for Illinois is surprising, believe me, I am as shocked as anyone, but the Land of Lincoln really has a ton to offer for outdoorsmen. Although my budding writing career would lump me in the same tax bracket with a part-time AC repairman in the Arctic Circle if not for my day job and generous wife, there are some perks that go with job. One of which is attending "writer's camps"...

Delbert Dean Bishop, Sr., 87, of Oran died Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 9, 1927, in Neelys Landing, son of Archie and Margaret "Maggie" Bullard Bishop. He and Marjorie "Margie" Weddle were married May 13, 1951, in Amity, Ind. To this union, four wonderful sons were born...