Known for his smile and his ability to make his friends and baseball teammates laugh, Danny Sickles, junior accounting major, will be remembered for the way he loved life. Sickles, a 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher, passed away Feb. 23. Sickles had played his way up from little league alongside junior outfielder Juan Hernandez.
Weather conditions caused administrators to close campus at noon on Feb. 21. Students clutching their cell phones filed from the buildings when the Missouri Southern campus closed at noon today. Some students called friends to tell them class would be canceled, others tried to find their ride.
Her life reached into departments across campus, and when Jan Crandall passed away on Feb. 15, her friends felt her loss. Faculty and staff remember Crandall for a devotion to students. Students remember her exuberance. "She was like a mother to them as much as a teacher," said Charline Lewis, English secretary.
Recent break-ins targeted classroom projectors in Kuhn Hall, Plaster Hall and the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. The short-lived string of thefts started Feb. 20, but all the stolen projectors were back on campus by Feb. 27. "We have recovered all of the property and have a suspect in the case," said Ken Kennedy, director of the department of public safety.
For Missouri Southern's basketball teams, the away game on Feb. 16 felt like a home game. A spirit bus drove Southern fans to the game at Southwest Baptist University in an attempt to bring support to the teams. Harold and Lena Mitts, the parents of women's Head Basketball Coach Maryann Mitts, paid for the $750 rental bus.
Graduating high school seniors and home-schooled students receiving a GED are eligible to apply for a $500 scholarship. The seventh annual George Washington Carver Scholarship is offered in part by the Carver Birthplace District Association and the George Washington Carver National Monument.
Reports on the autopsy of baseball player Danny Sickles have confirmed he died of bacterial meningitis. Initial reports stated that the cause of Sickles death was unknown, possibly being attributed to low electrolyte levels due to the flu. "The pathologist didn't see the problems you normally see with meningitis," said Jasper Country Coroner Jerry Neil.
An autopsy report revealed that the sudden death of Danny Sickles, 20, a junior accounting major, was caused by bacterial meningitis. Missouri Southern is currently taking precautions to make sure that a death like this doesn't occur again among the students on campus.
One woman's generosity has changed the future for KGCS-TV. Thanks to a donation given by Ruth Kolpin-Rubison, Missouri Southern's television station will be able to make the change to digital broadcasting. "She's been a very strong supporter of our communications program," said Judy Stiles, KGCS General Manager.