Language can sometimes be a problem (08/17/08)
Translation please Traveling in foreign lands can sometimes cause problems for those of us who call the Bootheel home. Here are a couple of instances that prove my point. Steve Pu was recently dining in a fine, upscale Italian restaurant. One where they serve the meal in courses, about seven I think...

Overcoming challenges, big and small (08/10/08)
The annual Rust Communications publishers' retreat/meeting was held last week and it was a busy time. It was also time to learn a few things, exciting things that we're going to be doing in the future. I am aware many of you follow the news about newspaper companies and the troubles those companies are having. And those are very real stories. However, there is a huge difference between those companies and ours...

Hubby might be overly cautious (07/06/08)
Superstitious Baseball players are known for their superstitions and in some cases more than just players harbor idiosyncrasies. If the St. Louis Cardinals fail to make the playoffs this year the reason became clear last week. Contrary to what some people think, if the Cards miss the playoffs by one game or less it won't be because of starting pitching and not having Chris Carpenter or Mark Mulder in the starting rotation all year. ...

Guess Joyce Kilmer never saw these trees (06/15/08)
Attack of the French "The names 'Thomas and Dorothy' were carved in the bark of one trunk. Another said 'Bob and Carma'. Other trees were marked with soldiers' home states - Iowa, Maine or Alabama - and several bore hearts and the names or initials of a wife or girlfriend...

Getting a few things off the chest (06/08/08)
Just in time… A FOXNews story out of Connecticut says that some 8,558 dead people are still on the voter rolls in that state. Further, the story says "more than 300 of them appeared to have cast ballots after they died." The news came out of a project conducted by the University of Connecticut and is denied by the state's Secretary of State, Susan Bysiewicz, maintaining those votes were only clerical errors. ...

Lessons for today from yesterday (06/01/08)
Life lessons The following came to me from Jack Holifield and are attributed to Bill Gates in a speech the Microsoft founder delivered at a high school graduation ceremony. More on that later. 1. Life is not fair -- get used to it. 2. The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself...

Good reasons to learn the language (05/25/08)
Cell phones revisited Last week I shared a tale about a fellow that likes to stay on a budget and so cut, or at least tried to cut, the number of ringtones on his daughter's phone. Turns out there's another dad who might want to think about constraints he's placed on his daughter's cell phone...

Local man makes his theater debut (05/18/08)
Second career When a lot of folks retire they are sometimes uncertain as to what the future holds or at least what they plan to do with all the extra time on their hands. Some folks even have to un-retire and then re-retire just to get it right. It turns out one of our local fellows, who is about to get the hang of this retirement thing, is on the verge of launching a second career...

He plays by the rules most of the time (05/11/08)
Really, the computer ate it. Last week's column was all ready to go, but when time came to put the Sunday newspaper together it could not be retrieved from my laptop. Technology is great when it works. Rule 4- 4. Maximum of 14 Clubs a. Selection and Addition of Clubs The player must not start a stipulated round with more than 14 clubs. ...

Carnival rides, birthdays and heroes (04/27/08)
Carnival ride I stopped in at Ron Harris' establish­ment last week and thought I was back at the Delta Fair. Ron had surgery on his foot last week and so is confined to a stool as he clips away at his customer's head. Usually Ron's up walking around from one side to the other, but apparently the doctor told him to stay off his foot. ...

Getting the mailbag caught up (04/20/08)
Sq 0420 Head: Getting the mailbag caught up I received a rather long, but very interesting missive from Hadley Ford the 96 year-old cotton farmer originally from Hornersville who now plows a different sort of field in Springfield. Mr. Ford has taken to recording his recollections of a lifetime that spanned two world wars, the second of which he has vivid first hand memories of, for his grandchildren and posterity. ...

Wedding day finally arrived (04/13/08)
Finally, after a year and a-half of planning, preparation, decision-making (some of them tough ones) and a date change the boy is married. Regular readers will recall I have shared some of the experiences leading up to the blessed event. Last Saturday it all came to a conclusion. ...

More aces, but apparently not for one woman (04/06/08)
Follow-up Last week I told you about the George Workman's round of golf from a few weeks past when he recorded a hole-in-one. At that point I wasn't sure if this was George's first ace or not. As it turns out aces are nothing new for George. According to a plaque attesting for such feats at the local golf course, George has at least one other hole-in-one. This particular ace was recorded in 1991. I do not know on which hole he recorded that shot...

Proper recognition and interesting mail (03/30/08)
Some thoughts as we move into the fifth, and hopefully brief, season of the year; the rainy season. Spring has sprung, more like "leaked" its way here. Correctible error I have been remiss in not recounting the glory of one of our own on the local golf course. ...

Someone else sees problems with 'Al Gore lightbulbs' (03/23/08)
Sometimes getting away for a few days almost doesn't seem worth it. Then again, sometimes it does. Followup A couple of weeks ago I shared my thoughts on the "Al Gore light bulbs," more properly known as compact florescent light bulbs (CFLs). I pulled the following excerpt from Gary Rust's column in the (Cape Girardeau) Southeast Missourian last week...

Headlines you probably missed, but shouldn't have (03/09/08)
Good news … … that probably didn't make the headlines it deserved. According to a story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a national study singled out Missouri for its efforts in government management, specifically the state's transportation projects. The Pew Center on the States, "ranked Missouri among the top eight states, awarding a B+ for government management practices. That's up from a B in 2005, when the group last reported...

It's time to put winter behind us (03/02/08)
I have driven through parts of Dexter and Bloomfield since the twin-ice storms came through and caused major problems for folks in those communities. The cleanup is pretty well underway, but there is still a lot to be done. In fact, as of last week one city block in Bloomfield still had limbs hanging on the power lines. ...

A good time was had by all (02/24/08)
Based on the applause and standing ovations, it's pretty safe to say that the roughly 500 people who attended the U.S. Navy Band concert last Tuesday evening in the gymnasium at Kennett High School had a good time. It was an opportunity to see and hear some world-class musicians...

Getting caught up on the happenings (02/17/08)
Super (?) Tuesday For those of you who faithfully check this space each week, I apologize for the omission. I had been in Cape Girardeau for the semi-annual publishers' meeting of Rust Communications. My head was full and my body tired by the time I got home Friday evening so I took a week off from my column...

You just can't please some folks (02/03/08)
Correctible error Let's begin this week with fixing an error in this space last week. Getting all caught up in the unofficially proclaimed "Year of the Woman" I noted several of our area ladies who have taken on leadership positions in, or at, local institutions. One such comment commended Karen Vandiver for being the first female president of the Kennett Rotary Club...

A few political musings in an interesting year (01/27/08)
Politics When Gov. Matt Blunt was announced as the speaker for this year's Kennett Chamber of Commerce membership banquet several people were upset. Tradition has held that no candidate on the ballot has ever been invited to speak at the banquet that particular year. ...

Politicians get to work. Did the bank robbers? (01/13/08)
With little hoopla the Missouri legislature began the Second Regular Session of the 94th General Assembly last week in Jefferson City. I suppose all of the attention has been focused on the presidential side of politics and since many of us can only take politics in small doses this news story just didn't get a lot of attention...

News tidbits from near and far (01/06/08)
Small world The children's refrain, "It's A Small World" came to mind recently while sitting in the chair at Dr. Rick Jones' office. His assistant, Linda Rainey, when she had me upside down in the chair with both hands stuck down my throat, told me about a recent telephone conversation that took place between the office and a dental lab in St. Louis...

A better year in '08? Some ideas to help (12/30/07)
One of the best things about a new year is the promise it holds. It's a clean slate and we will write upon it as we go. Some of us will write with big bold strokes, others will dab a little here and there. Regardless of how we choose to do so we will write history next year...

Helping Santa out with a few ideas (12/23/07)
It's that time of year we try to give Ol' Saint Nick a little help with gifts for a few of our area readers. Some of these folks are just almost impossible to surprise and after all, surprise is one of the best things about Christmas. A lot of thought has gone into most of these suggestions. Then again, not much was needed for a few of them...

Animals in need find friends (12/09/07)
Putty tat The Memphis Commercial Appeal carried a story on Friday about a feral cat that had a peanut butter jar stuck on its head for about 19 days. An area family had been feeding the cat but the feline would never allow itself to be petted. Then on Nov. 10 it showed up with a peanut butter jar stuck on its head. The cat still refused to be touched. When the animal didn't show up for several days they figured it had used all of its nine lives...

Get your boarding pass now (12/02/07)
It's back We've suffered mightily for the last few years in this part of the state. We have languished in need, save for a few diehards that persisted in making the extra effort and commitment those half-dozen weekends each fall. We have now been revived. Joyous celebrations ring throughout the area...

Learning things from long ago and wise pets (11/18/07)
Busy week It's getting to be that time of the year when things can really get hectic and that's true for newspaper people as well. In fact, it's been so busy lately that I haven't had time to learn much about the goings on of our local folks. With a couple of minor exceptions...

Woman gets published in nationwide cookbook (11/11/07)
Local celebrity A couple of years ago we began carrying the American Profile and Relish magazines in the newspaper. American Profile is in the Friday paper, Relish, which is devoted to food, runs the first Wednesday of the month. These two products are a little more hometownish that the Sunday Parade magazine...

Getting ready for the next big wave (11/04/07)
Settling in One of the things my wife and I prepared for in the new neighborhood was a large increase in the number of trick-or-treaters coming by the house. We "candied up" for the night and were amply rewarded with a steady stream of goblins, princesses, devils, Darth Vader, Raggedy Ann, super heroes and an occasionally ghost...

It's all about politics, good and bad (10/28/07)
With the opening of filing for Missouri's presidential primary this past week, it's officially Election Time in Missouri. Most of us complain about one aspect or another of the political election process. That seems to be the case whether it's the long (and getting longer campaigns), fundraising (stories this week of babies in diapers making campaign contributions), a negative tone to many campaigns (too many to enumerate), or just the lack of voter turnout...

More good news we won’t hear about (10/21/07)
Tort reform Last week we started off with a little nugget of good news. Based on feedback I received from loyal readers that theme seemed to resound well so I thought let’s try it again. This time the news is on the healthcare front. From the St. Louis Business Journal:...

Good news abounds, why don't we know it (10/14/07)
Few headlines were seen last week noting all the good news on the economic front and I am curious as to why more attention hasn't been paid to these numbers. First, from The Wall Street Journal: "We hate to be the bearers of good news, but someone's got to do it: The Congressional Budget Office has released its preliminary estimates for Fiscal year 2007 that ended Sept. 30, and the federal budget deficit fell again, this time by 35 percent to $161 billion...

Calling all turkeys and other fowl (09/09/07)
Big plans This is just to whet your appetite a bit, we'll have more later in the news columns. I'm not sure who came up with the idea, but the Kennett Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a SEMO Outdoors Festival on Saturday, Nov. 3. The organizers are planning a lot of fun things for kids of all ages...

Words of wisdom are not wasted (08/26/07)
Move over Mark Twain Most of us are aware of Samuel Clemens, although we know him better by his pen name of Mark Twain. As it turns out there may be another Missourian (Clemens/Twain was born in Florida, Missouri) who has as much wit and wisdom to dispense as the late author...

There goes the neighborhood (08/19/07)
An ordeal Moving is an ordeal. On the one hand it gives a person the opportunity to get rid of some items that were considered almost priceless at one point in time. Funny how that seems to happen, several years later those same items are priceless for another reason, they're not worth anything. We cleaned out the attic, a large portion of the garage and a few closets. All I can say is that I'm glad Allen Branum has a big truck...

A night in a gin (07/15/07)
Tourism idea Tom and Jan Miller were among the thousands who traveled to Mississippi last week to help Tim Joslin celebrate his 40th birthday. After the celebration the Millers decided to take the scenic route back home. Clarksdale is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Blues and is home to the Delta Blues Museum. As such, the city has a pretty good tourism trade and available accommodations include most of the national motel chains...

Fanfare on old and new highways (07/08/07)
Old highway The unofficial grand opening of U.S. Highway 412 -- I guess it's not official until traffic actually begins using the two new westbound lanes -- was a nice affair with the justifiable recognition to a lot of people for a lot of work. On hand for the ceremony were some of the sons and grandsons of the community's leaders who first started addressing the need for a four-lane highway back some 60 years ago...

Modern technology to the rescue (07/01/07)
And? Living in the 21sst Century is all that it's cracked up to be. Whenever a problem or a crisis arises it's nice to be able to have the solution right at hand. And technology, with skill and knowledge how to use that technology goes a long way to making our lives a little easier...

We will party until we drop, twice (06/24/07)
Big show Get ready with the fireworks. Cue the band. Roll out the red carpet it's almost time to celebrate. Break out the punch, ice cream and cake maybe a little watermelon that just now getting ripe. We'll party until we drop. You probably think I'm suggesting all these preparations are for an Independence Day celebration, but you would be wrong. ...

Just shut up and stay out of the way (06/17/07)
My son, stepson actually, Adam Nichols has moved off to the big city, found a job (Hooray!) started a graduate degree program, bought a house and is about to find a wife. All of that didn't necessarily take place in the order I mentioned, but it has either happened or is going to happen...

Different ways to relax on vacation (06/10/07)
More vacation blurbs Since making note of my vacation trip is seems like the tales of our readers own experiences just keep coming. Hayden Combs, young squire of Paul T. and Holly, has returned from the family vacation trip to Gulf Shores, Ala., also known as L.A. or Lower Alabama...

We came back to get some rest (05/27/07)
By now many of you know I slipped out of town last week. Those of you who read the column in this space and took notice of the photo accompanying the article figured it out right away. Southeast Missourian reporter Mark Bliss filled this spot last week. The photo of a younger, and better-looking guy, was a dead giveaway...

Close enough for 'gummit' work this week (05/06/07)
Gummit stuff Francis Slay, the mayor of St. Louis, has his own website and occasionally will post some interesting comments on there. Last week he asked several questions about various issues before the General Assembly. It's interesting that the options for answering some of those questions can be called limited, to be generous. Those options could also be called slanted if one were to read them with a critical eye...

Would you like a lollipop with that book? (04/29/07)
New service One afternoon last week I stopped in at the local library. The local branch of our county library is housed in what was once the Bank of America/Boatmen's Bank/Centerre Bank (not sure if the Bank of Kennett was ever housed in that facility or not) building on North Main Street...

News of travels near and far (04/15/07)
Visiting It's been a busy week and outside of southeast Missouri, an interesting week news-wise. Last Thursday evening I attended the Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce's annual membership banquet. The banquet was hosted by Trinity United Methodist Church in their new facility on the west side of beautiful downtown Bloomfield...

There's a lot of big talk going on. (04/08/07)
Domestic affairs Last week I happened to be at a gathering with several folks that included Ron and Kerri Parker. After a while the Parkers decided it was time to head home. Kerri hinted that she might just make Ron walk, suggesting he should get a little exercise. Ron replied that he had already had taken his walk for the day and that perhaps Kerri should be the one doing the walking...

More about symbols (03/25/07)
Emblematic After last week's column about Missouri emblems and mosquitoes I received an email from the Kennett City Court's chief dispenser of justice, Mike Mowrer. The judge pointed out that anyone interested in learning more about the Show Me State's official symbols might want to read John Fisher's Catfish, Fiddles, Mules and More -- Missouri's State Symbols...

Do you know your Missouri emblems? (03/18/07)
No love For several years now we've tried to get a movement, a groundswell if you will, to find a place for the lowly, but very noticeable mosquito among our state emblems. My first thought was as the official state insect, but we lost out to the honeybee there...

New traditions at chamber gala (03/11/07)
Notes Those who attended the Chamber of Commerce banquet last Monday evening were home before the evening news came on television. When a speaker from the capitol city couldn't make it to the meeting last year it was discovered we got along just fine without an after dinner speech...

Good causes benefit from local auctions (03/04/07)
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Spring is near and we already knew that (02/04/07)
No shadow There was good news out of Punxsutawney, Pa., on Thursday. The groundhog named after that city was pulled from his warm, snuggly abode by a pair of new handlers to see what he could see. Phil looked around, saw a bunch of cameras, microphones, and 15,000 people standing around ogling him (Phil is a "him," right?)...

Spring is near and we already knew that (02/04/07)
No shadow There was good news out of Punxsutawney, Pa., on Thursday. The groundhog named after that city was pulled from his warm, snuggly abode by a pair of new handlers to see what he could see. Phil looked around, saw a bunch of cameras, microphones, and 15,000 people standing around ogling him (Phil is a "him," right?)...

School news from grade school to college (01/28/07)
The right stuff No pun intended with the headline there, so our local guy that was in opposition doesn't need to get upset. Perhaps it's a sign of the times when a prestigious nomination such as curator to the University of Missouri governing board gets met with opposition from their home town, but it's still disappointing. ...

Awards time is getting close (01/21/07)
It's that time of year when we start talking about the various awards which are given out in our community. You're recall the highly-touted, much-coveted Father of the Year Award was retired after Joe Stillman claimed the prize for three years in a row...

Opening up the mail bags (01/14/07)
In the USPS bag Now that the crop is ginned and in the bank, for the most part, some reports are starting to come in to give us an idea of how things went during the harvest. Cotton was down a bit at Caruth, coming in at "$8.65." And there is "strong talk of a farmers' gin being put in here. ...

Settling into the new year (01/07/07)
The New Year is off and running. It seems like only yesterday we were talking about the new millennium and wondering what sort of technological catastrophe awaited us because our computers couldn't count to 2000. Y2K compatible was the catch phrase of the day...

Help is on the way for changes in '07 (12/31/06)
As we sit waiting for the clock to strike midnight, wondering what the new year will bring and contemplating what the last few months have brought us, many will decide to make some changes. Some will opt to drop a few pounds, maybe there will be a couple who will choose to kick the nicotine habit (I'm not preaching here having had a first hand acquaintance with this). ...

Time to help Santa Claus out (12/24/06)
It's that time of year when we try to do our little bit to help ol' St. Nick with an idea or two for folks in the Bootheel. He's been a little busy and a couple of things might have slipped his mind. I have nothing better to do than play elf for the round, jolly fellow...

Updates from friends near and far (12/17/06)
This is one of those weeks when I've been busy doing stuff that's necessary, but not fun. In a word that means I've been doing a lot of newspaper paperwork stuff. Other than not being fun, the other downside to that is trying to come up with something to write about this week...

Hunting for different kinds of game (12/10/06)
Hunting tales Stories about our area hunters have been a little slow coming in this year for some reason. There weren't a lot of deer killed and the warm weather during November and the first few days of this month has kept the ducks from stirring around too much. Although the weather"s certainly changed...

Walking up hill, both ways (12/03/06)
Mike Walker, retired high school principal who resides in Holcomb - that's because Holcomb is centrally located between golf courses in Kennett, Malden, and Poplar Bluff - was in the office last Thursday. We were talking about the impending weather change from balmy 60-degree temperatures to where we are now and the possibility of snow...

Rainy weather causes more headaches, delays (11/26/06)
A little longer Most folks are familiar with the story of how representatives from the chamber of commerce made an appearance before the Missouri Highway Commission (the governing body of MoDot is now known as the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission) back in the early 1990s. Their plea at that time, just like it had been for many years, was for a four-lane highway connecting Dunklin County to Interstate 55 in Hayti...

One concert down and one to go (11/19/06)
'Tis the season Three years ago when the Trans Siberian Orchestra first came to the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau I took my daughter and a couple of her friends to the concert. For the last two years she has been in school at Southeast Missouri State University and the November concert has become a tradition, if you will, for the two of us. Her friends have since gone off to other schools...

Now we can all relax, maybe (11/12/06)
By the time last Tuesday rolled around most of us probably felt like that old Jerry Clower joke. The late comedian from Yazoo City, Mississippi told a story about going hunting for coons one night with one of the Ledbetters, probably Marcel since that's who Clower seemed to pick on the most in that clan. After the dog treed the varmint Jerry's relative went up into the tree to shake it loose...

A lot of good things happening here (11/05/06)
Proper recognition Attending a reception to recognize a local individual or as we'll do this week, several individuals, has become quite the thing to do over the last month or so. As was noted in this space last week, Bid Miles was feted by her family and friends on the occasion of her birthday ...

Not quite like he remembered them (10/29/06)
Umm, umm good Remember those Campbell's Soup commercials with the "Umm, Umm good" line? That line was probably intended to either tell us the soup was good or help us recall the last time we had the soup and want to buy another can.. Last week one of our local fellows got to thinking about the last time he ate persimmons growing up as a kid. Persimmons, also referred to by some as the "apple of the Orient," can be a little tart if not fully ripe...

Lot of interest in 20's track teams (10/22/06)
Follow-up Last week's comments about the 1926 track team, particularly the 440-yard relay team which set a national record, drew several responses. Gerald Wilkison recalled the glory days of the KHS track team. He also recalled a fellow by the name of Tony Cannon who was quite an athlete in his day. ...

Protecting their rights (10/15/06)
Glad they filed A few weeks ago I pointed out that former Bragg City resident now St. Louis attorney Don Downing had filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Democratic Party challenging a law passed in the last session of the General Assembly. That law would have required voters to show a photo identification whenever they appeared at the polling place. Downing was successful in the initial court ruling, but the verdict has since been appealed to the state Supreme Court...

Setting the record straight (09/24/06)
It was with a good deal of interest that I read Dunklin County Democratic Central Committee chairman Jim Pemberton's remarks from the Dunklin County Democratic Women's meeting last week. Pemberton took the floor to criticize the local newspaper for what he called being too partisan in its coverage, slanting toward Republicans. Candidates for the Democratic slots were not getting proper coverage, others added, citing the U.S. senator's race as an example of biased coverage...

Improvements then and now (09/17/06)
Civic improvements All the downtown renovation projects inspired the DDD's unofficial historian, Vivian Helton, to do a little research about past efforts to improve the downtown area. Her efforts brought forth an article in the Sept. 30, 1963 edition of the newspaper...

It's popcorn time in the Bootheel (09/10/06)
Help him out It was in this space several months ago I noted the affinity Kennett school superintendent Jerry Noble has for popcorn. Seems the super just can't get enough of the corny snack. I pointed out that whenever he's attending a game, fans will usually see him with a bag of popcorn in his hand. He just can't get enough of the healthy treat. It appears my comments have had an unintentional consequence...

There's a new game in town (09/03/06)
Stump the Doctor On ESPN there is a show called Stump the Schwam. The show features regular guys who take on a sports trivia nerd in a question and answer game. The Schwam knows more useless stuff about sports, and not just the main stream sports either, than most people would ever want or need to know. Every once in a while one of the three contestants will get very lucky and win a round...

Some veterans still serve (08/27/06)
Hadley Ford was in town last week. The retired farmer, although I suspect the pharmacist was around as well. Mr. Ford was the recipient of a Certificate of Appreciation for his contribution to the Veterans History Project. The history project was created in 2000. ...

Hi Ho! Hi Ho! Off to school we go (08/20/06)
Back in session School is back in session. That means college as well and a couple of local families are going through the change, if you will. Lanny and Lynne Geary sent their daughter, Katelyn, off to Mizzou. Katelyn was the first to leave. She is rooming with her friend and fellow KHS alum, Sally McVey, so the transition on her end will be a little less traumatic. ...

Some things work, some don't (08/13/06)
It's working Several weeks ago we had a story about an undercover operation run by the Kennett Police Department which resulted in the arrest of several individuals for soliciting sex from minors. Just last week there was a news story about a decline in the number of solicitations of minors on the Internet. The report cited in that story came from a survey done by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children...

Traveling along Highway 412 (08/06/06)
Back in the saddle Last week my wife and I were in Eureka Springs, Ark., for the annual Rust Communications publishers' retreat. It was an opportunity to learn a few things. We first started making this trip six years ago. At that time once you got past Paragould the road was almost all a two-lane highway. ...

Old and new friends in familiar places (07/23/06)
Familiar face A couple of weeks ago Steve Pu, Mike Walker and I played in a golf tournament in Dexter. When the pairings for the Saturday round were announced the starter called out the three-person team we were playing with "Nash, Nash and Nash," he said...

Just stay one step ahead of the bulls (07/16/06)
Bully for him We've all seen the pictures of people running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. I, at least, have questioned what would make a relatively intelligently looking individual to get out in front of a bull weighing several hundred pounds with a set of horns three feet long and try to outrun it. Yet every year several hundred people, mostly young men according to one published report, take to the streets for just that sort of fun...

Special days for different reasons (06/25/06)
Birthdays Today (Sunday) is the day. Fireworks will be going off all around the county as Ruble Beaty and Jewell Wayne Davault celebrate their respective birthdays. I don't know what these gals have planned to record this event, but it's pretty safe to assume they will do so in fine fashion. Area caterers have undoubtedly been working overtime to prepare the feasts being set out on the tables for these two...

The bigger the baby, the bigger the fee (06/18/06)
The babysitter Megan Walker was hired a couple of weekends ago to babysit Annelle Harris, youngest child of Darren and Malinda Harris. Malinda had told Megan to come on over that particular Saturday morning and just come right into the garage, that the door would be left open...

Keep surprises to a minimum on special days (06/11/06)
Birthday greetings Several of our area ladies have either just celebrated a birthday or in a couple of instances, making plans for a celebration. Jo Nell Minton, head honcho at Dunklin County Library, celebrated a birthday the end of May. She was recognized, then chastised at the Rotary Club meeting. Jo Nell was recognized for her birthday, but took a little grief for failing to share, or at least offer to share, any of her "big German chocolate cake" to fellow Rotarians...

If paradise only closer (06/04/06)
My wife and I slipped off to Hawaii for a weakling vacation just prior to Memorial Day. The island state is everything advertisements make it out to be. The only cloud on the entire trip is an eight-hour flight from Dallas to Honolulu. Interestingly enough the return flight was seven hours owning to the prevailing tailwinds...

At least it will be easy to find (05/21/06)
Titanic II When the famous luxury liner was built she was billed as "unsinkable." The White Star Line launched what was, at the time, the world's largest ship with much fanfare. Alas, we know the sad and tragic story behind Titanic on her maiden voyage ...

Concrete and several winners recognized (04/30/06)
Clarification Last week I mentioned the concrete plant being built east of town to complete the four-lane project of U.S. Highway 412 into the city limits. I credited MoDot with building the plant. Actually, Illinois Paving Company, MoDot's contractor on the project is responsible for the plant's construction...

The chief got around a bit (04/23/06)
The chief got around a bit Follow-up A couple of weeks ago I mentioned Chilletecaux and what I had been told was the meaning of the name of the former Delaware Indian chief by the name of Chilletecaux. The name originally given to the City of Kennett means, Land of dividing wind."...

Stories in the news (04/16/06)
They work From time to time we've relayed a, hopefully, amusing story about the Internet scams commonly referred to as Nigerian scams. Although I suspect the thievery is not limited to Nigeria. Last week I came across a story that had some interesting facts about "Nigerian" scams. I thought it was worth passing along...

Answering questions and raising another (04/09/06)
Follow-up Last week I mentioned a blurb in the Rotary Club's newsletter that raised a question about the cost verses benefit of putting mile markers on the interstate in tenths of a mile instead of just a mile. Carl Williams, who toils as the official scribe for the club decided to find the answer to that question...

Notes from bygone days (04/02/06)
From the files Vivian Helton has been at it again. The unofficial historian of the DDD passed along copies of several pages from bygone days which contained a couple of nugget's I thought worth sharing. From the Friday, June 13, 1969 edition comes a blurb about a traffic violation charge of a local woman Judge Leon McAnally acquitted of driving without a license. Even though she admitted on the witness stand that at the time her ticket was issued she did not have a driver's license...

From sandy beaches to snow-capped hills (03/26/06)
On the road again With apologies to Willie Nelson. Several of your friends and neighbors have gotten a little wanderlust and decided to satisfy that irresistible urge. Some went to warm climates, others headed into the mountains. All had unique experiences...

Fill up on more than soup (03/19/06)
Lenten lunch Last Tuesday I dropped in at the Lenten Lunch hosted by First Presbyterian Church here. Lunch consisted of a tasty bowl of vegetable soup (prepared by Martha Mobley), homemade bread (at least it tasted good enough to be homemade if it wasn't) and tea or water to drink. ...

Cat training, but who does the training (03/13/06)
Playing fetch Most of us who have, or have had, dogs as pets like to teach our pet to play fetch. It's a favorite game between dog and master. And dogs really do allow their owners to be the master in that relationship, unlike the feline pets where the role is reversed...

Glad this week's behind us (02/27/06)
Just about the time you think we're through the bad weather and sickness season something jumps up and grabs hold. That's what happened to you lowly scribe last week. I can't remember the last time I had to be away from work because of being sick. And if last week's adventure is any indication I know why such memories are erased from the old memory bank...

The Princess is getting married (02/19/06)
By now everyone knows my attempts at wedding planning have failed miserably. About all that came out of that earlier efforts was a couple of chuckles before our local heroine kicked the knucklehead to the curb. You have to be the father of a daughter to appreciate that most guys are knuckleheads when it comes to dating, or heaven forbid marrying, daughters and that they all belong on the curb...

Readers will see additons to newspaper (02/12/06)
I spent a few days in Cape Girardeau meeting with other Rust Communications publishers talking about plans for the new year and other such exciting topics. A couple of good things came out of the meeting that will have a good impact on the our product and which I believe our dear readers will appreciate...

A first class trip (02/05/06)
Several of our area gents like to take warm weather golf trips this time of year. They get such a dose of "cabin fever" they just can't stand it and so they go find some place where they can play golf in shorts and polo-style shirts in the winter. One such group included the foursome of Terry Whitlock, Jeff Lack, Mark Pelts and Lanny Geary. These guys headed out to Scottsdale, Ariz., for an extended weekend of golf last weekend...

He's back in Truman's good graces (01/22/06)
It was bound to happen. Last week it was noted in this space about the winning fortunes of the University of Missouri Tigers athletic teams after an impromptu "blessing" of a Mizzou baseball cap. Just like talking about a pitcher's no-hitter in baseball before the game is over is a well-known, sure-fire jinx, that will practically guarantee a hit, so too was mentioning the Mizzou cap blessing before the big game a jinx...

The house is full again (01/15/06)
New arrival It was bound to happen. After waiting several weeks for her calico cat to return, my wife talked herself into getting a replacement cat. Oh, she went through the usual, "Do I really want another cat?" "It's just something else we'll have to worry about when we take a trip." However, after consulting with others, "Bandit misses his kitty," was the response she got when she put the question to the family dog. ...

One down and several more to go (01/08/06)
The first semester That's the way my wife and I are describing the first semester of college for our daughter. It was an interesting few months. We had a good time and we all learned a few things along the way. For instance. We discovered there are boys at Southeast Missouri State University. Who knew?...