Stories from Wednesday, December 28, 2016

By CHELSAE CORDIA Staff Writer Facebook made Christmas at the United Gospel Rescue Mission a little bit sweeter than usual this year. The mission's director, Rev. Greg Kirk, said when he headed home Friday evening, desserts for Sunday's meal were nearly non-existent...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer The Wappapello Lake project is offering residents a way to upcycle their real Christmas trees, which will benefit wildlife in Butler and Wayne counties. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is accepting trees from today through Jan. 15 at Redman Creek Recreation Area...

BLOOMFIELD -- Last year's Cinderella story made a big statement to kick off Day 1 of the 60th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. The second-seeded Dexter Bearcats jumped out to an early lead and rolled to 101-49 a first-round win over No. 15 Holcomb on Monday at Bloomfield High School...

BLOOMFIELD -- The Malden boys basketball team didn't get off to the start it expected in the opening round of the 60th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. But once the Green Wave settled in Monday, there was no turning back the tide. Senior Tyler Ison poured in a game-high 23 points, and fourth-seeded Malden broke loose in the middle two quarters to pull away with a 61-39 win over 13th-seeded Van Buren...

BLOOMFIELD -- The Dons steadily cranked up the pace of play, one notch at a time, until they hit 11 to run away from the Indians. Doniphan tripled its lead in the third quarter before beating Puxico 78-54 in the first round of the 60th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament on Monday...

BLOOMFIELD -- There were no first-round upsets in 2014 or 2015 at the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. Twin Rivers, the final game of the night, wasn't able to make it three years in a row. Casey Gregory led East Prairie with 31 points, including half the Eagles' 14 points in the fourth quarter, as the No. 9 Eagles beat No. 8 Twin Rivers 66-62 for the only upset of the first round at the 60th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament on Monday...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- Cole Nichols scored 37 points, 73 percent of Bell City's total. He was 11 for 18 from the field, 13 of 17 at the free-throw line, and propelled No. 11 Bell City to a 51-47 upset of No. 6 Woodland in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament on Monday...

BLOOMFIELD -- As the old saying goes, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. If you don't believe it, ask Portageville's Ian Torrey. The 6-foot, 5-inch junior threw up a prayer from the left baseline as time expired against Bernie in their first round match-up at the 60th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament on Monday night...

BLOOMFIELD -- In their first game of the 60th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, the host Wildcats faced a familiar foe in 13th-seeded Gideon. The two teams had already met once this year with Bloomfield coming out on top. Still, coach Brandon Crook expressed disappointment with his team's defensive play in the fourth quarter, feeling they had let up on their intensity...