Stories from Tuesday, December 23, 2014

BROSELEY, Mo. - The offensive trio of Dakota Reynolds, Melanie McKuin and Krysten Garrison was more than enough to propel the Dexter Bearcats to its fourth straight Lady Royals Classic title game Monday afternoon...

Dexter Police Dec. 21-22, 2014 Sheena M. Burns, 25, of Dexter was issued a summons at 10:24 a.m. Friday at 911 N Sassafras for discharging an air gun. Police are investigating the use of a stolen credit card device Friday afternoon at a local business...

Photo courtesy of SHANNON PUTNAM/Southwest First graders at Southwest School took various trips around the globe through reading adventures prior to the holiday break. Their stop in France netted some yule logs to eat after discovering that Pere Noel had filled their stockings with treats and toys. Pictured are, from left, Sera Churchill, Alex Munoz, and Caleb Carnell...

Photo courtesy of JOE CRAIG The Richland Rebels Class of 1964 held their 50th class reunion on Sept. 27, 2014, at the Hickory Log in Dexter. Classmates enjoyed visiting with each other and with former faculty members, teachers, bus driver and younger 'Rebels' who came to visit. ...

By JONATHON DAWE Statesman Staff Writer While it remains unclear as to exactly what renewed relations with Cuba could mean entirely, one positive impact could certainly be felt locally. Area rice growers could soon see a bump in prices, as their crops could be headed south to Cuba...

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri's largest electric company said Monday that it plans to invest $135 million in energy efficiency programs for customers over a three-year period. Ameren Missouri said its costs for the energy efficiency initiative would be recouped through charges on customer bills, but it said consumers ultimately should save money because the reduced energy use would decrease the need to build expensive new power plants...

By NOREEN HYSLOP Managing Editor Katie Reiker, a senior at Dexter High School, knows well the mission work of Project HOPE. Along with a host of other teens and adults from the area, she witnessed first hand their work in the poverty stricken are of Managua, Nicaragua while on a mission trip there in the summer of 2014. ...

By MIKE MCCOY Statesman Staff Writer BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- The Stoddard County Commission amended the 2014 budget at their regular meeting Monday following recommendations made by County Clerk Joe Watson. The expenditures were pretty much on target with the exception of some small over-runs in the Drainage Districts ($1,030), the County Farm ($600.10), the Prosecuting Attorney (PA) Training Fund ($1,220.89) and Recorder Maintenance ($1,299.02)...

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- An initiative petition that sought to qualify an early voting measure for the Missouri ballot included the supposed signatures of dead people among other potentially fraudulent names, according to a report from state's top election official...

BROSELEY, Mo. - The top-seeded Dexter Bearcats reached the semifinals of the Lady Royals Classic with a 55-33 quarterfinal victory against the No. 9 seeded Kennett Indians Saturday afternoon. Kennett got as close as 32-25 with 1:22 left in the third quarter after trailing 26-15 at halftime...

Gordon Waggoner, Sr., son of the late Cecil Waggoner and Edith Perry Waggoner, was born on Nov. 9, 1921, near rural Pyletown, Mo., and died on Dec. 23, 2014, at his residence near Bloomfield, Mo. at the age of 93. Mr. Waggoner was affiliated with the Church of Christ in Bloomfield...